Here is a list of things making me happy this week:
Complete Works of Shakespeare
I started the brilliant Shakespeare play Richard III today. And as I pulled the book off my shelf to read my September play (I am reading 1 Shakespeare play a month since last year), I was so thankful to have that book just sitting there month after month for me to dip my toes in it one play at a time. I don’t think my One-A-Month Shakespeare reading project would be that fun if I had to source all the plays every month. I love having the whole collection right there on my bookshelf. At this point, I am half-way though my project…which means another year and a bit to go before I have read all the works of Shakespeare…yay!
Tomatoes
We got half a bushel of tomatoes from the farmers’ market last week, and Sunday I spent the day processing them. I had help from my husband. They got roasted in olive oil and rosemary, and then frozen; or chopped and frozen raw. I did save a few to use in cooking in the next week or two. But seeing those beauties all together, and knowing that I have good local tomatoes to cook from for the next few months…how amazing, right?
Dates with my Son
Thursdays mean after-school dates with my son at a local coffee shop close to home, and to his school. We had stopped this for the summer, as life was busy in other ways. But this practice came right back on once school started, and we both look forward to this easy connection time together…and I get to do it again this afternoon!
Regular Life
Summer was great, and I do miss the easy going-ness of it, but there is something to be said about the regular rhythm of fall and back-to-school season…this is the time of the year to think about one’s goals and work towards it. The season when I can settle down at home without having any upcoming breaks on the horizon, and just get on with life…the season to move the needle- to put the hours in, to be consistent, to dream big and follow through. With no more vacations or weekends away all the time, and children back to school, and having a good break over the summer, the energy has definitely shifted, and I am going to enjoy this work and focus time for it’s particular gifts to my life.
All the Fruits
We have so many fruits at home…its crazy! Peaches, prunes, apples, pears (3 kinds), grapes (also 3 kinds) are the local ones. And then there’s kiwi, bananas and avocados that are not local. We are a fruit loving family, so it’s quite a delight for us to be able to just dip into all sorts of fruits at any time, and this is the only time for the rest of the year that we will have so many local fresh fruits available. So we are enjoying them before they are gone! In fact, we have so many pears that they will need to get preserved in some shape or form this weekend…another kitchen-bound weekend coming up for me! (Last Sunday was a Tomato Sunday, remember?)