The End of Summer

Not yet. The end of summer is not yet here.

This is especially true since my life is not connected or impacted in any way by school schedules. It's still 90 degrees outside, so thus, it is still summer. And thus starts my summer "cabin fever." I am so sick of the heat and my garden demanding me to do things like water it and hauling that stupid hose all the way to my corner plot.

Yeah, this time of year in Kansas makes me very grumpy.

I am ready for fall and spices and the changing of the world.

But that is not yet.

Still, I thought this would be a good time to look at my "summer bucket list" I created a few months ago and see what I accomplished.

1. Go to the Wichita Farmer's Market with my sister.

Thankfully, I was able to do this right away in the summer with Leah before they moved. I also went another time with my friend Jill. Check.

2. Eat brunch as much as possible.

Yeah, maybe not as much as possible, but it happened a few times. I ate with Leah that morning we went to Wichita, Levent took me out for breakfast for my birthday, ate brunch outside before the Baker's left town, went to Modd's in Moundridge with some friends, and recently had breakfast at the Lincoln Perk with Jill. Check. Check. Check and Check.

3. Make popsicles.

Yep. Those popsicle molds are a great investment. I actually had ate one before I started writing this post. check.

4. Go to Kansas City with my sister

Sister City Weekend! It was nuts, but I am glad we did it. check.

5. Make homemade ice cream

Thanks to Levent, we did this at least once (not counting the time we made some and it was gross). It is a little bit of a shame that we did not make more than that. Oh well. Who says we can't make homemade ice cream in the fall or winter? check.

6. Try all the half-priced sonic milkshakes that I think sound appealing. (There has to be limits on this. They have a peanut butter and bacon one. No thanks).

Oh man. I go there like it's my job. The mini size is the perfect one for me. The best flavor has to be either the chocolate covered strawberry or the peanut butter fudge. check, check, etc.

7. Go to the beach with my family

Yep. It was great. Check.

8. Go to some type of outdoors music event

:-( No. We never made it, but we almost did... I did, however, attend a thing at the Dyck Arboretum, but that was technically in the spring. Kansas is not really the place to enjoy outdoor music in the summer. yuck. oh well. Maybe next year.

9. Can a lot of produce

Yep. Even though my tomato yield is not as much as I would like and it was a horrible pear year in Colorado, I did can enough green beans to "survive the winter." So that feels like a win. Gosh, I am excited to be done canning. Check.

10. Paint something

I have started painting, which has been fun, for the most part. I am almost done with what I am currently working on. I have loved getting back into it. Check.

11. Make ricotta cheese

Well, no. But I did made a mozzarella spread so that kind of counts.

12. Jump on the bandwagon and make a cauliflower crust pizza

Eh, I had better things to make. I did not grow cauliflower nor can you get that at the farmer markets around here. So, instead, I concentrated on what produce was currently local and in season. Minus lemons for hummus and ice tea and the occasional lime, I did not buy any produce at the store this summer. It was all either from my garden or from the local farmers markets. score. Cauliflower things, you'll have to wait for another season.

13. Try a new vegetable from the Farmer's market

I bought scallions for the first time and didn't see what all the hype was about. check. 

So, overall, I think I did a pretty good job (although I did add some of these on here that I already knew were for sure going to happen, like all the trips, etc). Oh well. 

This summer has been surprisingly awesome considering it is summertime in Kansas and my sister moved far way. But looking at the good (and there was a lot of good  - oh my gosh the rain!), I find myself grateful for this season (despite being ready to dump it by the wayside). 

Okay, fall, let me know when you're ready. I certainly am ready for you.