Friday Favourites

 

Here we are at the end of July already. As Shakespeare noted, "Summer's lease hath all too short a date". I want to laze around and soak in the beauty and warmth, but I also want to make the most of summer weather. Bright colours fill the garden beds - zinnias, echinacea, rudbeckia, and more. Tall white phlox tones things down, and the big bushes of blue hydrangeas dominate other areas. The garden is very, very dry. We've not had any measurable rain for 50 days, and there's none in the forecast. 

Our weekend camping trip was a lot of fun. It was impossible to find four campsites in our provincial parks due to incredible demand, so we settled for a private campground alongside a river. The three eldest grands had a wonderful time exploring the rocky shoreline. They were gone for long lengths of time, and it was a delight to see them engaging with the natural world so freely. They created a little "fort" in the woods that we were invited to visit on the last day. 

Here at home the garden is producing beets and carrots, lettuce, zucchini, and Swiss Chard. The other night I roasted baby carrots and beets, and set them on a spread of drained plain yogurt, and topped them with lemon zest, chopped cashews, and a good sprinkle of snipped chives. A squeeze of lemon juice over all added the finishing touch. It made a good accompaniment to grilled chicken.

I've had grands visiting this week during the day while their parents work. On Tuesday we baked and decorated a cake, on Wednesday they created a fort in the living room with the sofa cushions and happily read for quite some time. We played Set, a matching card game. Thursday we went to the beach where they discovered a driftwood structure and added to it. It was big enough for both of them to sit comfortably inside. They are growing up so quickly. 

This morning I made apricot jam before going to the beach. It's my mother's recipe and has pineapple and a hint of orange in it. The golden jars will sit quietly on the basement shelves until we open them and spread summer on buttered toast. 

We're in for a few very hot days again, but nothing like the heat dome we had last month. It's a long weekend here and we're planning a walk with friends on Monday morning when it should be a bit cooler. Happy Weekend, dear friends!