Weekly recap of my ritual of existence in this liminal space called life. (See here for more info.)
- Weather
High temperatures were all in the 70°Fs this week, ranging from 77.2°F on Friday to 71.2°F on Saturday, averaging 73.9°F. The lows were all in the 50°Fs, ranging from 50.2°F on Sat. to 59.7°F on Friday, averaging 54.1°F. We had no measurable rain this week, though light sprinkles fell a couple of times.
- Beginnings/Firsts
We had our first ice cream cones of the season on Sunday night at a place on a nearby lake harbour!
✨✨✨
I think this is the first goldenrod Brussels sprout gall fly (Procecidochares atra) I’ve ever noticed, on goldenrod in the garden:
- Wild Things (Flora, Fauna, Fungi) in addition to others elsewhere in this post
So many monarch caterpillars, and so many on plants other than milkweed, probably looking for their forever home temporary chrysalis locale. Here are but a few this week:
🐛🐛🐛
- Wandering
I walked in town on Monday, Tues., Thurs., and Sat. We drove to a nearby lake harbor town on Sunday and as mentioned elsewhere I drove someone to the regional hospital on Wed., where I walked around the building for 45 mins. or more as well as other spots in the area while running errands.
hospital
in town (ours and others)
- Curiosity & Discoveries
Not surprising because it usually happens but it was nice to discover that the Centaurea (perennial bachelor’s button) is reblooming now, after its first blooms in May and June.
Never noticed this in our yard before (though we see it along roads and sidewalks and edging fields nearby), rabbitfoot clover (Trifolium arvense):
- Creating
I made three loaves of peach cobbler bread on Friday from the scarcity of peaches that we had this season. I used pans that were a bit too big so though they rose they’re a little flatter than usual. Still yummy.
- Repairing and Maintaining the human(s), the cat, and the cars
Human: I worked out four times (4 hours) this week, using the Body Electric streaming program. I walked more than 10,000 steps on six days and more than 14,000 steps on three days, with a high step day of 15,339 on Monday. I meditated every evening, totalling 4 hours 25 mins. I really enjoyed helping friends pack and clean on Thurs., Sat., and Sun.
Cat: On Tuesday I cleaned the cat’s second litter box, the one he never uses but which due to humidity and drip-drops from hands reaching for the towel above it starts to look and feel gnarly after a month or two. We keep it in play in case he can’t get into the other bathroom or just wants a change of venue, but so far (8 years?) these contingencies have not occurred.
- Nesting
Cleaning/Maintenance: I did a load of clothes laundry on Monday and Saturday and one of towels on Wednesday. I vacuumed the kitchen rug on Tuesday and swept the bedroom carpet (a thing I like to do) on Thursday. My husband worked on repairing some rot near the sunroom door this week (to be continued.).
Financial/Admin: I backed up my laptop on Monday.
Food: We finished the egg fried rice on Monday, with steamed broccoli, plus cukes and tomatoes with homemade aioli. Tuesday was grilled hot dogs (soy and beef), corn on the cob, mac & cheese, and cukes, carrots, cherry tomatoes and humus. I bought pre-made meals for us from the regional co-op on Wednesday, knowing I would be home late: meat lasagna and cole slaw for my husband and tuna and potato salads (on local arugula) for me and we finished those on Thursday. I made the one-pan orecchiette with chickpeas and kalamata olives (served atop arugula) on Friday, which we had again on Saturday with (air-fried) grilled shishito peppers. Sunday we went out to dinner on a lake harbour (grilled trout, fingerlings, squash and zucchini; fish & chips and coleslaw) and afterward had our first ice cream cones of the summer at a nearby spot.
On Sunday, my husband dehydrated some peach drops (i.e., the ones that fall off the tree of their own accord and tend to have mushy spots, which can be cut out when preparing them). He also made three sourdough baguettes that day (gave one away). I made three loaves of peach cobbler bread from our peaches on Friday (this recipe, and I triple it).
- Garden
I spent about 4-1/2 hours in the garden this week, watering, harvesting, weeding, and dutifully checking for hornworms every day (twice a day!). More on the harvests below in that section.
some garden pics this week
🌸🌸🌸
- Sleeping & Dreaming
Sleep was pretty good, with four scores in the 90s (including a 96 and two 95s) but one in the 70s (76), for a sleep score average of 89.1. I was in REM sleep for 13 hours 36 mins and deep sleep for 8 hours 48 mins.
- Reading / Words & Ideas / Listening / Watching
Reading
BOOKS: I didn’t finish a book this week, I barely started one — Contrapposto (2026) by Dave Eggers — before it was due back at the library but I will put myself back on the wait list because I was enjoying it.
OTHER: Nothing here, either!
Watching the same stuff as usual
Listening
- Connections & Community
Local Support: I bought lots at the regional co-op on Wed. when I was nearby. I bought items from the local farmstand on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday (two bags of arugula, six ears corn on the cob, one summer squash, one cauliflower, a bunch of scallions, one lime, and a Firecracker (Cuphea) annual plant 25% off — the latter should live until we get a very hard frost or a freeze). I bought snacks for me on Thursday and a sandwich for friends on Sunday from a local bakery/café, and my husband and I had breakfast (outside) there on Saturday. I bought a friend sandwiches at the local co-op on Saturday. We had dinner at a local restaurant on Sunday evening. We enjoyed a local art show on Tuesday.
Relationships: I spent about 7-1/2 hours this week with friends JS & HW, helping them pack, move items from place to place, and clean the old apartment as they change living spaces.
One really sweet thing I experienced because of this was spending some time, completely unexpectedly, in the house that used to belong to our good friend AFK (may she rest in peace), in which my husband and I spent many happy hours sharing food and talking with a group of other close friends over many years; it turned out that the house my friends are moving to, transitionally before the final move to another apartment in a few weeks, is her charming house, now owned by other people and being rented to JS&HW for this timeframe. It was lovely to walk through the door again, the memories rushing back.
It was also wonderful to spend more time than usual with HW as we worked together over three days. And to have lunch with and car-ride chats with JS on Wed. when I drove him to a regional hospital for a 4-hour medical visit. And while I was at the hospital, I ran into our neighbour, SL, and we chatted for 10-15 mins, and then I heard my name, turned around, and found a friend I’d met through the permaculture group, RC, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, and we caught up for about 10 mins. I love (love love) these serendipitous happenings.
We also ran into our neighbour SS twice this week, on Monday when she came over to harvest excess basil from my garden (yay!), and the next day while we were out walking she pulled over to mention the art show that we ended up walking to and enjoying. On Friday, Salon met for two hours with six of us, and my friend BF brought the comforter she’d beautifully and cheerfully repaired for us at home. Sunday our friend LD came by to drop off some peaches from his trees (knowing ours were not prolific this year) and we later took a baguette down to his house.
Donations: I renewed our Seacoast Science Center membership on Monday.
- Endings/Harvest
Endings: RIP Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday. She was a one of a kind.
Harvests: We picked the last eight peaches from our tree on Sunday, Other harvests included 9 Sungold tomatoes, 4 Matt’s wild tomatoes, 37 sweet millions tomatoes, the first Amish paste tomato, 3 cucumbers, probably 35 dropped peaches (mostly used for making bread and dehydrating) and a few others picked from the tree. And the basil a neighbour was able to use.
- All This Useless Beauty
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