The "Calm" before the "Storm"

My final days before the "whirlwind" of school responsibilities begins...
I have done some more cooking, baking, and gardening. I spent all last week blanching, pureeing, and boiling tomatoes. The picture is a little less than half of the tomatoes we had over 5 days!

Chris and I have planted a few new plants in our garden as the green beans are finished and the corn has been pulled (did not grow well this year). I replanted my herbs (Basil, Cilantro, and Dill) that died while I was away. We have now added Sugar Snap Peas, a Summer Squash plant, two types of Lettuce, Asian Cabbage, and a pack of assorted Winter Squash (Butternut, Spaghetti, Acorn, and Lakota - which I have never heard of!) I am curious to see if any of it will grow...

I have made homemade granola. I found a few recipes online and adapted and added my own touch to them. It's not bad for my first time, at least I don't think it is! It goes pretty well in my yogurt!Our last 2 Zucchini have been picked as well. The plant is not entirely dead yet but is pretty close. I was not sure what to do other than grill it or saute it as usual so I looked online. I found a great recipe for Zucchini Cake and Chocolate Zucchini Cake. I did not make the icing for them as I have been trying to eat healthier. It tasted pretty good!!
While I was away Christopher got used to having our King-size bed all to himself. After I returned this was his idea of sharing "half" the bed. His side is the right with the light blue blankie, mine is the left! Boy is he good at fractions!
August 10th so happens to be 2 wonderful women's birthdays! Both of our mothers have the same birthday! As tradition with his family, we get together for lunch or dinner around the person's birthday. We decided to have everyone over to our house and grill steak and chicken instead of going out to eat. With people coming over, we of course cleaned which then made it a great opportunity for taking some pictures of our home.

The more time I spend cooking the more I remember how much I enjoy it!

I also drove to Raleigh to visit with friends! I was able to have lunch with Jessi (my neighbor and friend from the year in China) at The Pit (really good BBQ)! Then I met up with Debbie who was in town for some work meetings. After that I went to visit friends from my childhood, the Pierce's! I enjoyed the conversation as well as dinner with Joy and Scott another set of parents. It felt like old times!
I am glad to have a few more days to enjoy before school begins!