The clock is ticking on the kids leaving for college. Mini-me goes in a week and a half, J is the week after. The piles of supplies are beginning. Last minute orders and trips to the stores, doctor appts, new glasses just to name a few items on the list. But slowly, we are making progress.

To add to the busy time…the garden is also producing like crazy.

That means that I need to preserve the harvest.

I’ve canned 7 pints of spicy beans and 3 pints diced tomatoes.

Air drying herbs as well as trying to dehydrate some.

Mini-me seemed to have an allergic reaction to the herbs in the dehydrator so after we finally figured out why her nose was running like a faucet, I shut it down and got it out of the house. Poor kid.

I was attempting to dry some of this mint as well. Its really growing like crazy. Since the dehydrator seems out of the question, at least until she leaves the nest for college, I tried making some tea with fresh mint and nasturtium blossoms.

It was ok. Not bad but not very flavorful…which is not surprising. I know herb flavors concentrate after drying.

I may try to dry some but I am not holding out a lot of hope that I will enjoy the end product so therefore I am not super committed to the process.

One day last week, Mini-me and I took a quick drive over to IKEA and the Mall of America. We were able to get a few items on her list for college ay IKEA. Obviously a lot of other people had the same idea before us since several of the things on her want list were sold out. We decided to go into MOA since it is literally across the street from IKEA.

I quickly snapped this photo of a few of the truly massive Lego creations that sit atop the Legoland.

And Nickelodeon Universe. The mall was really not busy at all which was very refreshing. I don’t think we would have stayed if it had been busy.

I’m posting this on Monday evening because I have an eye appt in the morning. I know she will dilate my eyes so I won’t be able to see much of anything for several hours. I’m not a fan of it but I know its to check eye health so I will do it begrudgingly.

Last week we were dealing with air quality issues with the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Thursday looked like this. It was really unhealthy air. We kept inside as much as possible.

Since the forecast was supposed to clear up as far as the smoke went, Mini-me and I went with my neighbor on a daytrip to Alexandria MN. aka Lake country…cabin country. I love it up there. We had a cabin there when I was a teen and my cousins still have one in lake country. It’s my happy place. Well, maybe tied with Duluth.

We went out to eat and had probably the best food I’ve have ever had at a bar/restaurant. It was so good I didn’t even remember to take a photo until it was nearly gone. We sat on the patio that overlooked the lake. It was awesome.

Next we went to a winery that had also just added a brewery. We had a flight of Minnesota wines…not a fan. But the beer was really good. I ended up buying two Growlers to bring home to share.

The flight of wine came with a complementary glass to take home. My neighbor gave me hers as well so now I have a pair.

We also stopped at a quilt shop and picked up some goodies. I bought some science themed fabric as I was planning to make some more masks for J and myself. Mini-me picked out the cat fabric. Luckily I did pick up more fabric because we just learned that the University system in MN is requiring masks for everyone.

I also grabbed the two small scrap packs I found in the clearance area. I honestly was hoping for more scraps.

Boy, I had so many drink references in this post that I could have split it into three. :)

I wasn’t sure I’d make it here for T stands for Tuesday with Elizabeth and the gang…I was feeling down right rotten for the past 36 hrs or so. But my stomach no longer feels like its trying to eat itself from the inside out so I think we’re good now. Likely TMI…but I’ve been known to overshare before.

As par for the course, I didn’t have a solid plan of what I was going to share anyway. I did realize that I had created a few journal pages and never got around to posting them.  So here they are in no particular order.

My typical indoor photo spot wasn’t working for me today…So I had to improvise on the patio table. A little bit of dappled sunlight just for fun.

This page started with gelatos over gesso. I’m not a fan of this gesso as its so grainy. I ended up with these loose, whimsical flowers somehow. Cultivate Kindness just seemed to fit.

I love this color combo. And circles. This has to be my favorite page as of late.

This was a page from my wonky junky journal. I remember it coming together so quickly that I was almost a bit sad it was over. I believe that was when I put gesso down for the first page in this post. Gosh I hate wait for paint and glue to dry. I need a much bigger area so I can have several things going at once. LOL

A week or so ago a neighbor shared a new Surly beer with a few of us. Typically I’m not a fan of Surly brews…usually too bitter. But this, my friends, was awesome. It was very difficult to find but I am oh so glad I did.

Mini-me and I went to an event on Saturday. An outdoor art fair! It just so happened to be at a beautiful location in Minneapolis as well. Minnehaha Falls park.

The falls are running a little low since we are in a drought. I honestly was surprised at how much water was coming over but we did have an inch of rain last week.

The little bit of rain did nothing to help the pathetic state of the park grass.  This is an extremely poor photo of the fair but it was the only angle that didn’t have a ton of people right in front of me.

Mini-me purchased a pair of cute earrings, I bought a quilled paper card and a hand thrown pottery planter. I also spoke to a gentleman who makes jewelry from flatware and other metals. I want to have a piece made from my Grandma’s sterling. I think it might be cool to make a piece from my parents sterling as well.

Meanwhile here at home, I’m harvesting a little each day.

Making card and journal embellishments from scraps

and am playing in my journals.

I may have taken a little trip to the fabric store one day as well.

Today’s list includes mowing and laundry…so much fun. I do hope to get some creative time in as well.

Time is so fleeting…every year that passes, I realize this even more. I’m beginning to change my mindset. Savor every moment. Not wishing for the next but living in the present.

My garden is beginning to pay off with fresh produce.

I’m loving the food forest I’ve created on the deck. It adds a bit of privacy in addition to ascetics.

I’ve also been adding flowers to the deck. This was a hodge podge on the table until I got things planted.

I decided to make some plant stands for a couple of pots from old tomato cages.

The bonus was using Mr. G’s power tools with the air compressor.

Me- looking kinda bad a$$ in my safety gear.

Here’s a little video of me cutting the very last bit.

and the completed product…

Well technically I did spray paint them after since they were a bit rusty.

Mini-me went and picked us up a treat yesterday morning before she went to work. Love that girl.

I almost forgot Marvin… evidently he thinks he has his own spot for breakfast at the table.

Errands and household chores are on the list for today.

Well, we made it…end of school year…end of k-12 career for Mini-me.

Wow! It’s been a bit of a whirlwind here at the end. Leading up to the end of the year I was having very mixed feelings. I was so ready to be done working for the summer so I could start on projects and spend more time gardening but at the same time I was feeling a but sad that my time as a mom of school aged children is over.

I think it all started to become real when I was making a stack of graduation cards about a month ago.

Not sure why it was the cardmaking that triggered things but one never can tell how a mind works. This is my go-to grad card design…the only issue is when I have to mail them. They are non-machinable which means a trip to the post office.

This was the traditional staff photo after “waving off” the buses. It was almost 100°F, I can safely say we were all hot and tired.

I got this sweet gift from a student I’ve been helping virtually on their “at home” day throughout the year. It’s the perfect size coffee mug for me.

A friend, co-worker and mom of a 2021 graduate gave me this candle holder on our last day to commemorate our kiddos final day of school.

I thought this was a really fun photo a mom captured and shared with me. Mini-me is third from the right.

She has an affection for Eeyore so she found an Eeyore quote that fit both of them. She picked out some handmade paper from my stash to add a borders to the elements. Thanks Elizabeth for the fantastic handmade paper. A little piece of you was at Mini-me’s graduation. :)

My neighbor was watching the live stream and snapped this photo just as she was moving her tassel to the left. Speaking of tassel…she chose to wear the tassel she received from her college honor society instead of her high school tassel. She was the only one with a yellow tassel. She graduated Magna Cum Laude. So proud of that girl!

Ok I’ll stop gushing…I’m just so excited for her!

Truth be told, I’m proud of both my kids. J has a paid internship this summer. He’s doing things that I don’t really understand but that’s ok because I’m not the one getting a Chemical Engineering degree. He’s working in R&D for a local company which is right up his alley.

Me…I’m just happy to be working outside with my plants. Every morning I go out to check on my plants. It’s so rewarding to grow your own food. Granted it’s not enough to live off but it sure is a nice fresh addition.

With more time to walk in the mornings I’m sure I’ll be racking up some more Fitbit badges. They just make me happy…gold star girl. 🌟