Life has just been happening too much for me to keep up in writing. Lots of things have taken priority. But...I woke up this morning, I don't have to go to work, it is chilly and grey outdoors, so I thought, "Ah, a perfect morning to sit down and type a bit!"

I think my favorite things so far this summer have been having Josh, Julie, and Morgan around, and having that little pickle bucket of a nephew Clayton. I love my family. I am really enjoying having a niece who I can talk with, who wants me to do things, as well as having a nephew that I can enjoy his being a baby. He has really chunked out and is just too much!

The garden was great for producing peas and carrots. It also produced tons of tomatoes, but we only got to enjoy one! F-ing squirrels! Next year I am constructing a cage of netting to protect my tasty Cherokee Purples. The herbs have provided many ingredients for salad dressing, mojitos, pesto, and future teas among other things.

There have been lots of friends buying houses, getting married, and in various stages of having babies. It's really fun to watch, and to enjoy all the happiness.

Work has been blissfully mellow, as it usually is, for the summer. The last few weeks though, our weekly trucks have been bulging and we have been stowing backstock everywhere. I've seen one or two earlybirds with their supply lists in hand. I will be enjoying my days off this week, as next starts the mad rush for inexpensive art supplies. I also told my boss, "Work me!" 'cause towards the end of that back-to-school bonanza she is letting me fly away to Vancouver with Jeremy, Piper, Nick, and Clayton! The Couv! Whee.

I hosted a fairly successful art sale in our yard a couple of weeks ago. There were four artists represented with three of us present. We all sold work, and those of us there traded work with each other. I will definitely be doing it again next year, but hopefully with more artists and better advertising.

I love summer food. The farmers market is always such a pleasure to look at. Lately there have been piles of tomatoes and potatoes of every kind you could ever dream. We've certainly been putting away our share of the goods. There has been much cooking at home and with friends this season (as usual I suppose.) Also, we recently tried out a new bistro (Grace, a Bistro on the Edge) that is two blocks away from us. Drool. The prices are low for the kind of food they are serving, but I'm not complaining. We had a mussel appetizer that was...so.damn.good. It had white wine, cream, and tons of garlic. Thankfully it was served with bread so we could sop up all of the sauce. Jer got scallops that had nice pieces of pork folded into them, served on a bed of raw green apple chunks and with really tasty green beans on the side. I got simple, yet divine, fettucinne alfredo. We managed to save room for dessert which was layers of a wafer-like material with thin smears of chocolate mousse and a smidge of apricot, then totally dunked in chocolate. In addition to serving up great food, they are super nice! Plus, they serve breakfast. Dangerous!

The weather turned from the usual August baking into a flood of water and cool-greyness a few days ago, and it hasn't changed back. I've been enjoying the rumbles of thunder while I've been writing. It is teasing me with the possibility of more rain. All I know about this change in weather is that the cicadas don't sound nearly as harsh, and dusty in their calls, and it is baby cricket fest 2005 in our basement.

Alright...I'm off like a prom dress. I have a cat that is anxious for petting and a stomach that needs a bagel with salmon and coffee.