The Heat Gets Hotter

July offered a brief reprieve from the humidity this week (and I spent several hours on the porch enjoying it!), but now that humidity is back with a vengeance.  I've taken cover in my air-conditioned apartment with some no-cooking-necessary recipes (ceviche!  marinated mushrooms! sushi! summer salad!).

Here's what July brought to my world:

• Drinks with friends! We had a lovely but short evening out - we still have more catching-up to do.
• 4^thof July road trip.  The Outer Banks are fantastic.  There, I said it.  And luckily, we have a few great excuses to keep going back.
• Get photos printed to finish off last month’s goal.  Photos printed!  Captions written!  Mail sent!
• Keep the plants alive.  Well, they're all alive and doing...okay.  I've had a huge number of flowers falling off due to excessive heat, but I'm still eating the fruit of my labors.  The first tomatoes went into a delicious guacamole last week.
• More summer clothing!  Thank goodness for Goodwill.  I now have a couple more dresses, some tshirts and shorts that are more weather-appropriate.  In Michigan, I could go the whole summer without wearing shorts.  Things are little different here (for reference: see title).

August is upon us!  I have no significant plans for this month, so maybe I should make some.

• Elderberries are now fair game.  It's wine time.
• Same thing with prickly pears.  I want to at least try some prickly pear juice, but I'd love to make wine out of it.
• Buy a flippin house.  I'm tired of looking at houses.  Just buy one already!
• Car oil change.  This needs to happen soon.
• Bus work.  After a few months of neglect, we're ready to start attempting some parking lot projects.
• Enjoy the pool more.  There's one at the apartment complex and I need to take advantage of that.

We found a new hangout this month.  It's really great.  You should visit us, and we will take you there.

This is dinner on a pretty regular basis.  Tacos are the best.

Mornings on the porch with coffee and a book?  I could get used to this life.

The Outer Banks, immediately post-Arthur.  Not a lot of damage, but the water was still turbulent.

These are NOT cherry tomatoes.  I don't know why they're so small.  Also in the last week, the tomato leaves have all turned very yellow.  Sigh.

 

Here's a garden buddy I found hanging out!

Kyle made some candied sugar (?) in order to start a Belgian Dubbel beer.  I'm hoping that gets bottled soon because I can't wait to try it!

I made this.  Double chocolate zucchini bread.  You should make it too.  Like, yesterday.

Goes well with red wine.  Do it.

All in all, a pretty fantastic month on the outside.  I also started to really miss a lot of people that I used to see regularly.  So if you're reading this, drop me a quick note or text!  I miss you!