A Good Summer

Ian and I had a lovely 4th of July weekend. We had dinner with friends and walked to the State Capitol grounds to watch the fireworks. It's been a decade or so since they were at the Capitol so it was a special treat.

The last time I even thought about going to see fireworks was the summer of '09 when I made a fireworks-watching quilt and then didn't actually go to see any fireworks. But this year the quilt finally saw some fireworks action.

On my to-do list this summer are two non-project-related items: Read Hemingway, Drink Absinthe. So far I've managed to do a little of both but not enough of either. What I'd really like to do is read Death in the Afternoon while drinking Death in the Afternoon. Both written and invented by Hemingway himself. "Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly." Oh dear! Methinks I'll have to add "take nap" to the to-do list.

Ian's little container garden is going strong...so far mostly just leaves but so many leaves! And tiny green tomatoes! His community garden plot is coming along too. So far he's harvested a few radishes and a huge bag of Swiss chard. The chard went into beans and greens paired with a grilled vegetable salad. Ian is cooking so many good things these days. Just yesterday we ate coleslaw for lunch. That's it...just coleslaw. We were both stuffed to the brim with tangy, crunchy, sweet and summery coleslaw. It's the first time since I was a kid that I haven't wanted summer to end. All the heat, all the sun...I find little enjoyment in it. But this summer, on our shady little balcony...this one is turning out to be just about right.