I had originally intended to keep going at school like we have been, regular school days, the works. But this week, with getting ready for vacation, I let it slide. And I may continue to let it slide, I think we both need a real break, but more on that in another post. Regardless, no school has happened this week nor will it. We have been busy though!

Getting ready for a trip is so much work! I have my list made of hopefully everything we need, and started assembling it all on our dining room table. I have to work systematically. I will load everything on to the table, then pack it all up once it is all together. This is just how I roll and function best. So as I have been accumulating and gathering, I have also been working on other little projects as well.

First, I made soap! Melt and pour, but it turned out so cute and it smells so good! I used this recipe with a few additions – Coconut Citrus Sorbet scent and Kermit Green Mica for color, both from Brambleberry. I picked up my other supplies from Amazon. I also told Billy I wish I could have taken that photo next to a pond in our yard, hint hint.

And since we are going away, I am trying to use up and give away vegetables and strawberries from the garden so they don’t go to waste. So far the garden is only producing romaine lettuce and the aforementioned strawberries, but with this heat the romaine will bolt and the strawberries – well I can’t leave them behind. They are seriously the best strawberries ever. Sweet with a hint of tart. Just perfection. So the other day Wyatt and I went out and harvested the ripe ones. Or I did, while Wyatt ate lettuce and played. This was our biggest haul so far and I had to keep fetching more bowls and containers!

We ate some fresh, and then added some to pancakes. And I made a strawberry bread that is delicious! I am not the best baker at times (and pretty messy too), but this one turned out pretty darn good. I actually just ate a slice for breakfast, and it was quite yummy with my coffee. I sat on the porch looking at the fog and listening to the birds while I ate it, and it was a nice peaceful moment.

I also made two loaves of sandwich bread. We are trying to find a good, quick recipe and this one wasn’t too bad. Although, my loaves are very unattractive. It tastes amazing though, so I think I will keep working on it! I simply can’t post photos of them, so I will post these garden photos instead. The very first bloom on my David Austin Munstead Woods rose that I treated myself to with Christmas money a year ago. Sigh. It was a good pick. And then a Peck’s Skipper sitting on a leaf.

Today, my plan is to catch up on blogs and paint with Wyatt and read some books and finish packing. Oh! That reminds me! I finished the kids book Gone-Away Lake and I absolutely loved it! I think I will definitely read it as a family read aloud this summer. It is super cute and enchanting and whimsical and quirky, and full of nature! It reminds me of a fun, wild and free, perfect summer for childhood, and I definitely recommend it! It is more of an elementary read but I could see a little bit older kids enjoying it as well. I actually enjoyed this book so much that I immediately requested the sequel, Return to Gone-Away Lake, from the library.

What have you all been up to lately?