The calendar informs me that I have five days left in which to refer to the current season as, “summer.” And that being so, I’m taking advantage of the fact in the titling of this post (even if it is being accompanied by an illustration of a woman kitted out for cooler temps).
The past few months have been busy with work, full with life and attempts at balancing the two. Deadlines have been intense, but I did manage to fit in a trip to the amazing Maine Botanical Garden for my birthday and had a visit with family shipping overseas. Other things as of late:
* Eloise’s Garden, my first fabric collection comes out in November!
* I gave gardening a go for the first time this summer after binge watching Monty Don on Netflix. I had good luck with peas, scallions and small pumpkins, but no joy with sweet pea or basil. And the swiss chard is surviving, but barely, because apparently goldfinch have a taste for it. I’ve already put in another row of peas, figuring it nothing else I’ll have shoots for salads and plans for radish.
* Speaking of gardens, my mom had a bumper crop of zucchini so I made this zucchini chocolate bread and it’s outstanding. My grandmother used to make a similar cake and baking it was 100% an act of nostalgia for me.
* One of my favorite reads so far this year has been The Map Thief. Please, someone in Hollywood, make this a movie.