Thursday, September 1, 2011

End of August......Already?

Well, here we are at the end of summer when everyone is commenting on
how quickly it flew by.  I have to agree.   I made every effort to enjoy it to
the fullest and having my summer plan helped me to make the most of each
day.  So did I accomplish everything I set out to do?  Let's take a look.

 My Summer Plan
* Read lots of books - check
* Eat homemade ice cream (any flavor will do) -  Nope, but I didn't need
                         it anyway.
* Hike  - check
* Ride my bike - check
* Go to Carl Sandburg and watch Rootabaga Stories -check
* Go on a picnic -check
* Swim in a pool-check (kind of- it was really a river- does that count?)
* Star gaze - check 
* Watch my nephews play ball - nope, hope to catch a game this fall
* Sit by a campfire and eat s'mores - check!  more than once....
* Go to Flat Rock Playhouse - check
* Listen to a concert at Brevard Music Center- nope, wasn't in the budget
* Pick peaches at the orchard - check
* Cook on the grill-  check
* Take a road trip to a new place - check !!
* Eat tomato sandwiches and corn on the cob- check
* Learn to play tennis- nope, maybe this fall when it's cooler
* Sit on a beach and dig my toes in the sand- nope, still hoping 
              this will happen soon
* Master Beethoven piece on the piano - check (almost :)  I'll
               let you decide for yourselves soon
* Host our family reunion - check
* Take a vacation with my husband- Nope, I'm thinking this 
                may involve a kidnapping.
* Sit on the deck and watch the hummingbirds - check


Overall, I think I did pretty well.   Maybe I can squeeze a few more
things in before it get's too cool.   When I flipped the calendar page
this morning to September, in my mind, summer was over.  I know
that's silly because it still feels like summer....but September means
fall to me.  I think that is a carry over from when I was a little girl
and school started in September.  That was when "back to school"
clothes looked like fall, instead of summer, and you had to wear
a sweater to school in the mornings, but quickly shed it on the
playground in the afternoon.  As much as I've enjoyed summer,
I'm ready for fall.  It is my favorite time of the year and I'm
already beginning to think about my fall plans. ( I know, I know,
I just can't help myself - I'm a planning fool!)  But I could have worse
vices, don't you think?

Before I jump into all things autumn, here are a few more things
I wanted to post about from this past month.

I had a group of young women over to the house to talk about
gearing up for the new school year and how Personal Progress
can help them- if they will let it...... which means they have
to work on it!  Come on girls, you can do it.
We roasted marshmallows over the fire and made s'mores.
Mmm,mmm, good!
*MYOF Goal - #44  Give 50 hours of service.
This is how many of my National Geographics I haven't read......I am failing
miserably at this goal.  They just keep stacking up and I can't seem to make 
the time to get them read.  Maybe I'll get to the September issue, but I'm not
holding my breath.

* MYOF Goal - #46  Read National Geographic magazine each month. 

We had a Suburban full of women to go to the temple this month.  It was
great to spend the day with these sisters.  I especially enjoyed getting to
know Amy  (the pretty blonde in the center).  She and her family have
recently moved to our area from Utah.  We're so glad to have them here!

*MYOF Goal - #7 Meet 12 new people
                            # 24 Attend the temple once a month

I made an attempt to exercise, but not a big attempt.....There's always
next month, right? I promise, I will do better next month.

*MYOF Goal-16 Exercise 50 minutes a day 5 days a week.

Books I read:
*Choose Ye this Day to Serve the Lord - Talks from 2010 BYU Women's
          Conference  - I have a collection of these Women's Conference talks
          and I always enjoy them.  But this might be my favorite one yet.  I
          read these talks while I was having scripture study in the mornings.
*Growing a Farmer- How I Learned to Live Off the Land  by Kurt 
           Timmermeister.   A successful restaurateur turns farmer on a four
           acre plot near Seattle, Washington.  An honest memoir about the
           work involved and how he learned to install bees in a hive, milk
           cows,  establish an orchard and make cheese.  Very interesting 
           reading for this wanna be farm girl.
*Bloodroot by Amy Greene - A little slow in the beginning, but it quickly
           grabbed me and I enjoyed this tale that takes place in rural
           Appalachia.  It was a time of great struggle for Myra Lamb
           and her family and I found myself cheering the women in this
           family along.  For some reason, I like books where the protaganist
           has to overcome great odds.   I like to be inspired.
*Finding God in the Garden by Brent and Wendy Top - I received this
           book as a Christmas gift, but wanted  to wait until I was immersed
           in gardening to read it.  This month was the time.  Beautiful 
           photographs of the author's gardens compliment their writing. 
           They relate the lesson  they've learned, both about growing plants 
           and about growing in the gospel from the vegetable and flower
          gardens they've  kept.  It was an enjoyable read.   Thanks, Shannon.

*MYOF Goal - #9 Read 50 books.

I enjoyed an amazing tomato harvest.  I loved the different varieties I grew.
I think my favorite is still  Cherokee Purple, but I also liked those little green 
zebra tomatoes a lot. It was fun experimenting and with all those tomatoes,
it's hard to believe that I didn't get tired of them.   But I didn't!  I really do
love tomatoes in a big way.
Brussel sprouts were a first for my garden.  I didn't get a large harvest,
but we did enjoy them for several meals.  I think I will plant more next year.   
Heavenly Father really blessed my gardening efforts. 
I'm so thankful.

* MYOF Goal - #43  Expand my vegetable garden.

2 comments:

  1. You did well on your goals. I too think Fall when I flip my calendar to September and it is by far my favorite time of the year. I love the cool mornings and evenings and nice warm days. Was ready for a new season!

    ReplyDelete