Dog Days of Summer

The summer got away on me and I came to the sad realization last week that there's really only a few more weeks left of sultry weather and lazy days. I probably feel like the summer was so short because Ada was born this summer and because there has been a lot to do around the house.

The garden was quite a success this year. I was pregnant when it had to get started, so Nethanel and the other boys were a big help with rototilling and digging up the garden. Liam loves to help out the big guys, even if the shovel is bigger than he is!

The broccoli had a great start, but a tragic ending. I'll spare you the horrible details.

The peas, beans and raspberries were wonderful. I blanched and froze what whatever Liam didn't manage to eat before I got to it. It was a real pleasure to watch Liam enjoy our raspberries and peas, but it made for some pretty gross diapers!

I also discovered a great recipe for Raspberry Italian sodas. It's sure to be a regular every summer at our house.

Raspberry Italian Sodas

4c raspberries
1c water
1c sugar
Club Soda

Wash raspberries and put them in a pot along with 1 c water.
Bring the fruit mixture to a boil and stir until the fruit breaks down.
Pour the fruit mixture through a strainer and collect the juice in a large bowl.
Transfer the juice from the bowl back into your clean pot and add the sugar.
Bring back to a boil and boil for 1 minute, skimming off any foam.
Remove from heat and cool.
Pour 2 oz of your raspberry syrup into a glass club soda and enjoy.

Liam is turning out to be quite the gardener. He loves to help me pick and wash the vegetables and is very good at putting our waste into the compost. I'm thinking next year he will be old enough to have a garden of his own - won't that be fun?

We weren't the only ones enjoying the food from our backyard this summer. The spider in the picture below lived in our tomato plant for most of the summer and, for the most part, stayed in one spot while he let his food come to him.


We've also decided to paint the garage, garden shed and house this summer because we're hoping we'll be able to sell the house in the next year or two. Thankfully Nethanel came over to help us with this chore.

Here Nialle and Nethanel take a break from the sanding and priming to chat.

I've come to realize that as much as I'd love for Nethanel to marry a certain gorgeous dutch girl at church, having a single and available brother around is very advantageous because we get a lot more work done when Nethanel's around to help. (Don't tell him I said that)

Here's the start of our priming. We're still not done all of the painting, but hopefully I can post pictures of our finished work soon.


Ada has been growing quickly and Liam is her constant companion. Liam is a wonderful big brother and likes to help me out by watching Ada while she has 'tummy time' - something she hates.

Ada sleeps in the living room during the day so that she can get used to our noisy household. It seems to be working great because I can vacuum in the living room and she doesn't wake up at all. She is such a content baby full of smiles and snuggles!

It's been a busy summer and I'm sad it's almost over. But at least with the cold weather I can look forward to lots of knitting!