Too Hot

 It's too hot to garden, too hot to sit on the patio, too hot to go for walks. . . just too hot! I even think it's too hot to go swimming. The sun feels like a broiler lately and I have been in the shade as much as possible. Although I am sure that the bill might be shocking, I am enjoying my AC very much these days. I have dug out my sewing machine to get going on the next stage of this quilt project. I always seem to have very long pauses between phases of quilting. I finished the quilt top months ago and didn't touch it again until this weekend. I have also picked up my knitting, sorted through a closet and done some cleaning. I don't feel like I have cabin fever but if I did it would be more likely to happen in the heat of the summer rather than winter!

Wreghitt Family Fourth

Again this year the entire family gathered in Clear Lake at Aunt Snooks' house to celebrate family and the Fourth of July. We park on the lawn, line up the coolers, fill tables with food and circle our lawn chairs for a couple of days of talking, eating, drinking and lots of laughter. It was horribly hot this year so I have fewer photos but here is a glimpse into our family gathering.

Garage Project Start

I knew I wanted to do something to make my garage more space efficient, less cluttered and a bit more attractive but I had decided that it would probably be a project for next year. I changed my mind when a friend offered to help me work on it now. Although the heat has been awful, I have been pulling down pegboard and removing nails along the two walls that are all studs. Don't feel badly about the pegboard; it was really crappy and the holes were too small for modern pegs! I think it's going to look lots better when we are done but for now it actually looks worse and I have been sweating lots! I will show the finished project before the month is over!

Early July Garden

Love seeing the harvest!

Although it's too hot to enjoy garden work lately, I am enjoying the fruits of my labors. The cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen and I am still eating lots of lettuce with a new crop of spinach on the way. Yesterday I made salads with the tomatoes, lettuce, baby carrots, banana pepper and onion from the garden. The cabbage is getting big and the broccoli is still producing some. The carrots were planted for Lincoln but he doesn't seem too impressed by them yet. When they get lots bigger we will steam some and squish them up for him.

Of course I have to have a baby face in my garden posts!

We just got back from a family reunion in Clear Lake. . . after all that Wreghitt food, it's good to come home to a garden with fresh veggies! I will post some photos of the reunion very soon but be warned; it was hotter than hot and nobody looks good in the photos!

Sturgis Falls Weekend

I am one happy Mama!! Here I am back at Sturgis Falls Celebration after being gone for six years and I have my entire family with me. One of my reasons for moving back to the Cedar Valley was because all of my kids were here. When we all gathered on a blanket under a tree in Overman Park to enjoy Sturgis Falls festivities I was thrilled. Big thanks to Dale for taking the photo. No, I am not getting shorter. . . my family just keeps getting taller!

June Garden

 After being gone so much in June it was time to get reacquainted with my gardens. My "Mollie Garden" out front has lots of new blooms including these gorgeous daisies. I am serving lots of salads at my house and harvesting spinach and lettuce most days. The spinach is almost gone so I planted more seeds in a big pot on the deck to see if it would work. My lettuce pot is overflowing as well as the lettuce bed. The cauliflower and broccoli have been harvested and I look forward to the new broccoli that is growing. I probably will not plant cauliflower or cabbage again. They take lots of space and just produce one head for the season.

 I came home to some nice garden surprises including the fact that everything survived my absence, thanks to Ashley's watering. Another surprise was petunias, growing in the cracks of my brick sidewalk. They were volunteer seeds from the former owners petunia bed in 2011. Fortunately there has been a brief break in the heat and humidity and I was able to spend most of the morning working and enjoying my gardens yesterday. Thanks to Jay's mowing and the lack of rain I have not had to mow since before vacation. That's a very nice surprise too!

Family Visits

This week I have been lucky to have some fun family visits! I was so busy with a houseful on Wednesday that I didn't even get my camera out so on Thursday I got just a few shots of Lincoln with his Great Grandma Nonnweiler. You cannot tell by the photo but they had fun together. Lincoln was blowing bubbles, smiling, talking and squealing for Grandma. It was a fun visit with my parents, nice to catch up and have a nice meal. On Wednesday I had Kaley, Brecken, Drew, Molly, Ashley and Lincoln all here. It's so much fun to have the house filled with kids; little ones and adult "kids." Brecken was so much fun and so sweet. He is just 14 months older than Lincoln and it will be fun to watch them grow and play together for years. On Tuesday I start my real job, so I was thrilled to have the time for visits this week! I so love it when family comes! Thanks for the visits!!

Homeward Bound

 After about a week and a half of exploring and driving 3375 miles it was time to head back west into the sunset. We fueled up at the Wawa, our new favorite convenience store. Wawas were everywhere and had no-charge ATMs, local snacks and it was just really fun to say, "Wawa!" It was a good trip. Now that I have been home for a week and a half I am getting rested. As much as I love to travel, I do love sleeping in my own bed and being near family.

Pittsburgh and the Pirates

 When we paused briefly in Pittsburgh on our way east someone told us that it was the "City of Bridges." We did see lots of beautiful bridges on this trip since we were exploring areas filled with rivers, bays, harbors and creeks but Pittsburgh is certainly notable. I loved the yellow bridges. No doubt it's a nod to the bridges themselves as well as the Pirates and the Steelers. They seem to like their teams in Pittsburgh.

 This town takes baseball tailgating to a new level for me. There were lots of city lots filled with music, coolers and sports fans before the game and during the game. Along the river there got to be quite a crowd of boats doing the same things. We didn't do much in Pittsburgh but I was impressed by the bridges and team spirit. It was a nice ball park with some great views.

Baltimore

 Baltimore was one of my favorite cities on this trip. We spent most of the time at the inner harbor and Camden Yards but what I saw would make me want to go back. If I were spending more time in Baltimore I would go into some of the museums and see more of the city but this was a great one day visit.

 Of course there is lots of history in this area and Baltimore is no exception. We walked up the steep hill to the fort overlooking the harbor where there are cannons and statues commemorating the defense of the harbor.

 It's set up so well to walk around and I love the contrast of the old ships, new boats and high-rise buildings. There were so many things to see and do in a relatively small area. I thought it would be fun to do the paddle boats on the water but we stayed safely on the land. It was a great visit.

Camden Yards

 Oriole Park at Camden Yards deserves it's own post. We visited four major league baseball parks on this trip and Camden Yards was my favorite. They are celebrating twenty years at this park and it seems like the perfect blend of some modern conveniences with lots of old ball park charm. Dale and I got tickets in the very top row. It was a packed house with almost as many Phillies fans as Orioles.

 One of the most unique features was this "alley" that was between the ball park and the brick building, all within the park. The people were wonderful, the crab cakes were delicious and Baltimore is a great city. This was a great addition to my own personal list of major league ball parks.

Annapolis

I truly enjoyed our visit to the Maryland State Capital in Annapolis. Often we just walk around the building, take a few photos and enjoy the opportunity to stretch our legs and move around. This setting was so beautiful that I enjoyed strolling around the neighborhood and just soaking up the sights and history. This State House is the oldest in the nation still in legislative use. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson conducted business here. When Dale went into the building I sat outside on the steps to enjoy the atmosphere and gorgeous day because I was not carrying the required photo ID with me, but it was very nice.  

As much as the State House was interesting it was really the neighborhood that captivated me. Spokes of narrow streets with quaint stores, coffee shops and small homes went out in all directions. We went into several shops and enjoyed the walk. I do have some buyers remorse about what I did not buy. I should have purchased a piece of pottery at the Annapolis Pottery shop pictured below. They had gorgeous pottery and the setting was so perfect. I took this photo from the grounds of the state house.