Summer Vacation – Week 12 – The Grand Finale

Our summer vacation officially ends today.  The girls start back to school, a new school, on Monday.  While they are a little nervous about the “new” factor they are both excited to meet their teacher, the new friends they will make, and all this year will have to offer them.  I love their attitude.

The girls have had their haircuts.  The summer clothes have been purged, washed and organized.  The school clothes as well.  The backpacks and lunchboxes are ready.  Ice packs are in the freezer.  I finished the last item on my summer sewing project list, a corduroy skirt for the youngest.  Any mending that needed done was done. 

We harvested a lot of zucchini this week and tomatoes too.  Our corn didn’t do well so we pulled it up, no point in wasting any more water on it.  Our new strawberry plants are coming on with a few berries.  The lettuce is done and the pepper plants didn’t do a thing.  My cucumbers are late, but as many times as I had to re-plant them that is to be expected.  They are loaded with blossoms so I am hopeful for at least enough for a small batch of pickles. 

My mother’s garden is definitely one to envy.  As a result she has brought us lettuce, cucumbers and green beans not to mention all the raspberries I picked and froze earlier this summer.  She reports that more are on their way – hurray!   

We are eating our produce as fast as we are picking it which is great because it has freed up a lot of cash to stock our pantry and freezer for winter.  We also share it with our chickens to supplement their diet.  I started picking pears this week off our tree too.  Our first crop!  So exciting! 

I spent the better part of Tuesday baking whole wheat bread and breakfast breads to have on hand for after school snacks as well as breakfast in the morning.  I also made up a huge pot of beans in the slow cooker to make refried beans for the freezer. 

We had hoped for a bike ride this week along the greenbelt and a picnic but with all the smoke in the air I decided it probably wasn’t a good idea.  Instead we found plenty of crafts and things to do around the house. 

My family room and garage look like a bomb have hit it.  The garage is full of boxes of furniture to be assembled and set up at the new shop.  My living room floor is covered with eyeglass frames and optician’s tools I’ve been collecting.  I still have more supplies, frames and furniture yet to arrive.  It makes it hard to dust and vacuum but I’ll have plenty of time to do that later. 

We move into our shop a week from tomorrow.  The time has arrived quickly and I am thrilled.  I am so ready to get back to work and do what I love.  Grand opening straight ahead!