A Short Note...

I hope you are all enjoying these last few days of summer. Ours is technically over, though I haven't quite been able to wrap my head around it. With the kids back in school, my days should feel free, but instead seem mysteriously full and busy...but at least there's peace and some much needed solitude. I have a new computer, which has been lovely (and SO necessary--ever since I spilled a glass of wine on mine...whoops!), except for that it has slowed down my work a bit due to file transfer time. But I hope to be fully functional by later this afternoon.

I've taken over the dining room table as my desk and have a cat on my lap and a dog at my feet. There are piles of cooking magazines, my inspiration, next to me, and my ever-present cup o' caffeinated beverage...today it's coffee. To my left out the window, are two busy bird feeders, with a squabbling array of small birds chirping and pecking at each other. They remind me a bit of my children...

In other news, Matt built me a new raised garden bed in the kid's no-longer-used sand box last weekend that we filled with a whole truckload of organic soil/compost today. The seeds and seedlings will be put in tomorrow morning. It was an unbelievable amount of work, and with all this heat, it's a wonder we were able to do so much. It only took him one afternoon to build it...of course he had some helpers. It's very exciting and the kids and I are itching to get our hands dirty. I think the weather will hold and we should have a nice harvest by Thanksgiving time. How appropriate.

Like our wheel barrels? An empty recycling bin-or two-did the job. And there's nothing quite like shoveling piles of steaming compost in 100 degree temperatures. Now that's some hot...well, it was very hot (and aromatic), let's just leave it at that. Whew!

And finally, I've got a big project due at the end of September, which is super exciting, and kind of terrifying too. So much of my creative energies will be temporarily diverted. But I hope to still be able to post here at least once a week. And maybe I'll try a giveaway too. Would anyone like some homemade jam?