Summer Days- Daybook Entry

Outside my window...  steamy, hot afternoon.  And rain.  Every day it rains.  So far it seems to be a repeat of last summer, which I was really hoping wouldn't happen.  Oh well, you take what you get and try to be grateful for it.  Even though it's lethal for my tomatoes, it's good for other things.  Just for the record- the picture below was not taken outside my house window, but outside my car window.  I brake for hay rolls in a field.

I am wearing... red button up cotton shirt, jean skirt, flip flops.  Except for when I'm working in the garden, this skirt is becoming my summer uniform.  So comfortable!

I am listening to... the air conditioner and a gentle snore from the napper across the room.   Here's a few Podcasts that I've enjoyed this month :  this one from Michael Hyatt on the practice of stillness,  this one from Krista Tippet from an interview she did with Roseanne Cash, this one was good too, and to be honest I just enjoy listening to Krista Tippet's voice and I think she's a great interviewer, so I like most anything she does. I look forward to the Splendid Table each week and loved this last episode with David Sedaris.  Man, he's a funny guy.  And lastly, I discovered America's Test Kitchen podcast and I love it!  The episode with Ruth Reichl was especially good.  I had just finished one of her books, so it was fun to hear her interviewed.

I am thankful for... garden food, mountain laurel blossoms, blueberries and being surrounded by green.  These are just a few of my favorite June things.

Around the house... still working on the basement.  Lately, I've been into the food storage area; checking all the canned food, rotating things, trying to make room for new items.  I still have plenty of canned tomatoes, green beans (and yet I planted rows of beans!), peach jam, and apple butter.  What I'd like to put up this year are dill pickles, salsa, chow-chow and blackberry jam.

In the garden... pulled the carrots and cleaned out the lettuce and spinach bed.  This week I'll harvest the garlic.  It's ready!  The beets are growing well, beans are climbing, the squashes and cucumbers need to be picked everyday.  I dug one plant of fingerling potatoes so I could show an inquisitive little one how the potatoes grow under the ground.  Digging potatoes are one of the simple joys in life.  If you've never done it, you don't know what you're missing.   I'm getting a handful of blueberries a day.  The tomatoes have me worried, but I hope I will have plenty to eat, despite the overwatering they're receiving and the blight that's already starting to creep up from the bottom.    Walking through the garden and picking items to have for dinner brings a smile to my face.

I'm loving... my Fitbit.  Have you heard about them?  I purchased a pedometer earlier in the year, but just couldn't get it to work well for me.  So, I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and get the Fitbit, which measures steps, calories burned, sleep patterns and more.  After only a week of using mine, I'm completely hooked.  My goal is to get in 10,000 steps a day.  I don't always make it, but that's the goal.

I'm reading... a collection of short stories by Alice Monroe and a nonfiction book about the Martin and Willie Handcart companies.  I'm working on my summer reading Bingo card.  You can read more about that here.

I'm creating... many wonderful dishes from the summer produce.   I knitted a set of dishcloths to add to a friends birthday bag.  I just love taking pretty colored yarn and whipping those together.

I'm learning... * how to play "He Sent His Son" on the piano.  It's such a pretty song.   * I'm attempting to learn the discipline of  being still.  Do you know how hard it is to turn off your mind and be completely present, for just fifteen minutes?  Of course, I can't do it yet, but I'm trying and I am getting better at it.  * I'm trying to figure out how to use Evernote, because I know once the learning curve is past, I will love it!  Less paper and the ability to find everything I've filed with a few clicks on the computer, yes siree, I need this.  Although, I admit, going paperless and relying on my computer makes me a little nervous, but I know this is the wave of the future.

30 Day Challenge... my goal this month was to get eight hours of sleep each night.  I failed miserably.  I mean, really, who has time to sleep for eight hours?!?  Actually, I would love to sleep that long, but I just can't seem to make it happen.  I find that I function pretty well if I can get seven, but I keep trying for eight.  Sleep is important!  As a follow up to May's challenge, I'm still training three days a week for that 5K.  I can't say that I really like it, but I do  like the way I feel when I get off the treadmill.

I am pondering... 

"The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the 

single most important skill that can be acquired in this life."      

 Julie Beck

A few plans for the rest of the week... I'm working on lesson plans for Patriot Camp that begins on Monday, meeting with primary presidency to plan fall training meeting, going hiking and eating a hotdog cooked over an open fire!   Happy Fourth!