Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Taste and Smell of Summer

 The summer is flying by. We are just getting back from our annual two week trek up to the north country. The week before that, we were busy with VBS. As soon as it was over, we packed our bags. Tucker and Kiefer tried to stow away in our bags, while Bo looked on with his face getting longer and longer. He was so morose by the time we left, we always get a case of the guilts for leaving him. Charley promised to let him sleep with her while we were gone.

June 2010 004

We had a lovely time. First at the family reunion in Branson, Missouri, and then on to my mother’s in Illinois. We ate, and played. Shopped and antiqued, and lost track of time. We took our time going home, antiquing all the way home. We stayed at our favorite B&B in Kansas City and visited all our favorite antique shops and found some new ones. But, it’s good to be home. I missed our fur-babies and grand-kids terribly, not to mention the garden. By the time we got back from vacation, the daylilies were done. The garden looks like a jungle, and the temperature is nearing triple digits—so it will have to stay a jungle awhile longer.

lemonade stand 2010 004

Now the girls are getting ready for their camps. Charley to horseback riding camp with her best friend Sam. Libby with her best friend Becca to a beautiful camp in the mountains.

Summer is in full-swing. Lemonade stands and watermelon feasts. Pesto making parties and ice cream socials. Early morning gardening and Saturday afternoons is a cool dark movie theatre. What are you doing to celebrate the summer?

17 comments:

Cheryl said...

Hi Jenny....I am so pleased you enjoyed your break. I love antique shops....so fun. I have a few small pieces in my home but nothing of great value....just things I like, and that is what it is all about.

No doubt you will get your pretty garden tamed......and you will be able to enjoy it.

Pesto....delightful, one of my most favourite things. I am the queen of pesto.....

We are having sunshine and showers at this time....I am so enjoying it. I do love summer rain....


Enjoy the rest of the season.....time passes so very quickly. I am beginning to sound like my mother!!!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

It sounds like you had a lovely vacation. It is always good to get back home though.

What I'm doing this summer is trying to keep cool, and not stress about all the gardening that isn't getting done. I just try to keep up with necessary things to keeps things alive.

FlowerLady

Susie said...

Sounds like a great summer. So far we've really done nothing. Just trying to stay cool.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Roses and Lilacs said...

I'm not doing nearly as much as your family:) Wonderful trip. I'd love to go for a long drive and visit every antique store I pass.
Marnie

Morning Glories in Round Rock said...

Cheryl, I have a few old pieces of furniture mixed with hand-me-downs and very few new pieces. Such an eclectic mix, I call it "Early Attic". LOL! Mostly what we collect are small things--mainly glassware from the depression era. Hubby found "the piece" he has been hunting for most of our married life.

My daughters and I have pesto parties, where we get together and make pesto. I knew before we left on vacation, that the basil was needing a good haircut, so that was high on my to-do list when I got home. My favorite way to make it is with walnuts. Do you prefer the more traditional pine nuts? I freeze most of it in little ice cube trays, and then we can enjoy a little taste of summer in the middle of winter.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend,
jenny

p.s. Thanks for you concern--I would never think you nosey! I consider you a very good cyber-friend. -jen

Morning Glories in Round Rock said...

Dear Flowerlady, I always get a little anxious when we leave. I hate to leave my house, my garden, and most of all, my pets. If it weren't for Hubby insisting, I wouldn't go anywhere--I am sure I would become somewhat of a hermit.

I know what you mean about the garden. Living in Florida, like Texas, this is the time of year when you have to put the garden on auto-pilot and let it take care of itself until cooler weather. Early morning is the only time I can safely go out to do watering, harvesting, or trimming. It just doesn't do any good to stress about it.

Morning Glories in Round Rock said...

Hi Susie! Sometimes the best summers are the ones where you "do nothing". It has become a lost art in our fast-paced world. Enjoy your weekend--as well as the summer! -jenny

Morning Glories in Round Rock said...

Marnie, It has been a very busy summer for us--mainly because of the grands. Daughter had envisioned days of quiet repose once school was out...LOL...it has been anything but!

Both hubby and I share a passion for antiques...we had our own business for awhile. We stop at every antique store we see whenever we go anywhere. He can't abide anything "crafty" whereas I love to check out handmade soaps and quilts.

Rose said...

Sounds like you are taking advantage of every day of summer, Jenny! I love to go antiquing, too, though I have to be careful--I've vowed not to add to the clutter around here:)

Summer does seem to be flying by, and I'm not sure what I've done to celebrate it. Just quiet moments in the garden, I guess, and curling up with a good book in the A/C. I'm looking forward to having my youngest daughter home in a week and a half; then I'll celebrate!

Just noticed the photo on your sidebar of "cats in the cradle"--too cute:)

Rose said...

Just saw your reply to Cheryl, Jenny and had to chuckle. For half of my married life I called my decorating style "Borrowed Relative":)

ShySongbird said...

Dear Jenny, It sounds like you had a wonderful time visiting family and indulging your passion for antiques.

I just saw on your reply to Cheryl that you make pesto with walnuts that sounds delicious, I adore walnuts!

It is not very Summery here at the moment after the heat of last week we now have frequent showers and rather unpleasant high winds.

I hope the girls enjoy their camps and that you all continue to enjoy Summer :)

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Having a lot of summer fun makes having a garden jungle Ok--at least that's what I keep telling myself!

Morning Glories in Round Rock said...

Rose, We are faced with the same problem of not having room for anything else. This has not stopped our antiquing habit, but it has made us more judicious about what we purchase.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate the season than out in the garden or curled up with a good book in the a/c...maybe coupled with a big glass of iced tea. :-)

Thanks for the comment on the cradle pic of the cats. They are very willing subjects--they spend their afternoon nap in the cradle every day.

I have to laugh at the furniture styles I put together--I can remember when I thought everything HAD to match to look good.

Morning Glories in Round Rock said...

Dear Shy Songbird,

The cooler weather sounds nice, but those high winds are no fun. We have been miserable with mosquitoes--at least the wind would keep them off.

I love walnuts too--I try to eat a handful everyday. I love them toasted on a salad as well as in pesto.

Morning Glories in Round Rock said...

Dear Garden Faerie,

That's what I keep telling myself--(it's okay to have a jungle in the garden) at least until the weather starts to cool down a little, so that I can get out there for more than 15 minutes without fear of heat-stroke.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like the best kind of summer. I always like to visit, but then I get so homesick. Glad you're back and writing Jenny.~~Dee

Corner Gardener Sue said...

It sounds like you had a great time, and are enjoying summer.

We've had so much rain and heat, that I am not making outside as much as I want. I have enjoyed going out as soon as it gets light out, and deadheading. That's been my fun, relaxing time. I eat lunch around 10:30. I've been working on different rooms of the house, mostly a room upstairs, to get them in good enough condition that I can finish them up in the evenings when I go back to work, which is real soon. That has been a bit stressful, but now that I'm making progress, it's getting easier.

The rabbits are enjoying the vegetable garden. Most things are behind. We're finally getting a few grape tomatoes that need to be picked not quite ripe so the birds won't take bites out of them.