summer reading list.

I mentioned wanting to do some reading this summer. And I mentioned thinking I needed to run out and buy something interesting to read. But I also mentioned that I had plenty of unread reading material in my possession so buying something new was not only not necessary, but silly.

I decided to shop my book shelves for interesting reads for this summer...this is the stack I came up with...

bird by bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott - I have started this book  a half dozen times but haven't ever read it to the end. I'm thinking it might have something to do with what Steven Pressfield had to say when interviewed by Oprah on Super Soul Sunday. I don't make it a habit to watch Super Soul Sunday (and quite frankly, I think the name is just stupid) but when another show ended and I happened to catch the beginning of what this guy had to say my interest was piqued. He talked about creativity, and resistance, and why we have such a hard time fulfilling our creative calling. I don't necessarily agree with the delivery of his philosophy, and wasn't appreciative of his wishy-washy "spirituality". But the main idea was spot on. It got me thinking. So with all of that being said, my goal is to actually finish bird by bird...and we'll see if it sinks in this time.

The Old Farmer's Almanac - This little booklet is just always on the reading list. I ask for it in my stocking every Christmas, and it makes me happy, but I have yet to actually read it cover to cover. Who knows? I might learn something!

One Thousand Gifts by Anne Voskamp - This book was all the rage a few years back. Everyone was reading it and going on and on about how great it was. So naturally, not wanting to jump on anyone's bandwagon, I resisted. But then...but then one day a dear friend sent it to me as a gift...and was I ever glad that she did. (I really need to get a handle on this rebellion of mine...it really works against me most times.) We began to read it together...making notes in the margins, placing sticky note after sticky note with arrows and exclamation points and "Amen's" plastered here and there...then having a discussion vie email. Unfortunately, I didn't finish reading this book either. I think it had something to do with where I was at spiritually (which wasn't the best place, if I'm honest, and I am) so I just sort of let myself drift further away from the book and eventually it landed on the bottom of the book pile. But I never stopped thinking about it...which in spiritual terms (for me, anyway) means that I really need to read it and let it soak in.

The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears by Mark Batterson - I purchased this book several weeks ago. I stopped in to the Christian book store to purchase a small gift for a coworker. And I couldn't help but check out the sale table. I had never heard of the book nor the author. But the subtitle intrigued me. And the price was right. So I bought it. I'm thinking it's gonna be helpful and enlightening.

Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson - I bought this book a LONG time ago. And I can't remember why. I don't know if I'd read about it or heard about it or what. But a major book seller was going out of business here in town and I found it sitting all alone on a shelf marked way down. So I bought it. And now, I need to read it.

The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison - This is another one of those books that was so popular a while back. I stumbled across an excerpt from it one day and just knew that I had to read the whole book. I found it on sale during one of my periodic trips to the book store and snatched it up. I haven't even cracked the spine. Yet. It's gonna get read this summer. And as has been recommended, I will keep a lot of tissue handy.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver - Definitely one of my all-time favorite books EVER. It was life-changing. Yes, I've already read it. But it is SO worth a second (or a third or a fourth) read. And I can't wait to dig in again.

The Honey Prescription by Nathaniel Altman - this was a (very thoughtful) gift from my mom for my birthday. She knows how intrigued I am with bees and honey and that when I'm not feeling well I like to try something natural before resorting to a pill. (I'm pretty sure I got this from her...she wasn't one to just instantly give us a pill or run right to the doctor for any little ailment...thank goodness.) There's a little bit about it here....I am really looking forward to reading this one!

Becoming Myself by Stasi Eldredge - This was another sale table find at the Christian book store. The title caught my attention as I feel like that is what I have been doing over the past several years. God didn't create us to be like everyone else. He created us to be unique, ourselves. He created us for a purpose and has a divine plan for our lives. But I think for many of us circumstances, bad choices, unhealthy relationships have turned us into a warped version of what God had in mind when He knit us together in our mothers' wombs. I'm thinking this book might be a piece of the puzzle that helps me find my way back to God's original plan for my life. I'm hoping so, anyway.

* * *

Honestly, this list is pretty ambitious of me as I am not a big reader. I don't have a book going at all times and if I do have a book going but it turns out I don't care for it, I stop reading it. I don't read for the sake of reading.

I do read blogs. And magazine articles. But it's rare for me to finish a book cover to cover. I'm more of a skimmer. Call it ADD. Call it commitment issues. Or maybe it's my visual learning style. Whatever it is, I just don't read a ton. I am also a picky reader. It has to be really interesting or contain really helpful info for me to read it from start to finish. So we'll see how I do with this list...I'll keep you posted!

Sunday morning...

in the garden.

The garden harvest is starting to take off. We've been getting zucchini for a couple of weeks now and have enjoyed it fried, sauteed and grilled. It's always good. 

The tomatoes have finally begun to ripen...I can't believe how badly I've been craving them! The cherry tomatoes ripen first and are wonderful to snack on while watering. It's the main reason I plant cherry tomatoes! Chris will be turning these guys into salsa soon...can't wait! (I already added the cherry tomatoes to salad...so good with thinly sliced red onion and a simple vinaigrette.)

The green beans came from out of nowhere...one day there were a few flowers and the next there were long, plump green beans. There aren't a whole lot of them ready at the same time...which tells me I really need to plant more bean plants each year as it's one of our favorite vegetables. But there are enough to steam with a bit of zucchini for a nice side dish.

And that cucumber? I fear it may be the only one we get. I planted two plants and they're doing OK. Tons of flowers, but not tons of cukes. So we shall see. The cucumbers and zucchini I planted from seed aren't doing that great...not sure what I am doing wrong in the seed planting department? The beans did great. (But when don't they? If a kindergartner can grow them in a Dixie cup with wet paper towel, I certainly should be able to grow them in some decent soil.) So I dunno...probably just didn't give them an early or strong enough start. I'll try again next year.

We have only harvested two little peppers so far...they're not doing great. But I'm holding out hope. I feel like peppers do that every year...sort of slog along, not in any hurry, then all of a sudden have a growth spurt and start producing like crazy. So let's hope for that. We need them for Chris' salsa!

I never get tired of a garden. It's amazing. And I just know that if we just sat in the garden for a day we could actually watch bean tendrils grow and twist around their supports and watch the red deepen on the tomatoes and watch those green beans grow longer and longer. And don't get me started on the zucchini! You'd probably only have to sit for an hour or so to witness a zuke grow from perfect size to crazy big. I love it...it's miraculous. 

these summer mornings...

For as much as I complain about summer, I gotta tell ya, these past few mornings have been...glorious. Cool, breezy and slow...that's a good combo for some good moments.

I've been waking naturally (or with the help of a cat who hasn't caught on that I don't have to get up quite so early!), sipping coffee and watching my "church shows", taking time to gaze out the back door at the chickens scratching and pecking at the ground.

I've been wandering around in the garden while it's still cool outside, in pajamas and flip flops...checking to see what's going on with what...and why exactly are the tomatoes losing flowers like that? Hmmm....I'll have to Google that...

I've been writing a lot...as you may have noticed. Sometimes I question whether or not I should publish certain posts that I write here...too boring, too mundane, too whiny, too repetitive...but then I post anyway, for me. For my own recollection.

Honestly, I'm not even sure how many people read these words (well, I know one person does as she comments often! Hi, D!) and sometimes that makes me question whether or not I should write anymore...at least here. Maybe I should just keep a journal instead...and not worry about who reads it...or not.

But then something keeps drawing me here...something keeps me sharing the mundane, the daily, the real...whether it's for one person, or a hundred.

I'm learning that I love to write. Blogging has been an enlightening process for me. And it's gone hand in hand with photography. I take photos documenting daily life...then share them here...and write a little about it (or a lot if I've had too much coffee)...and sometimes, before I know it, I've worked something out in my head. I've processed something that's been on my mind....like the question that's been in the back of my mind for a while now..."should I continue to blog?"

And the conclusion I've come to is...yes. I think I should. Because it's good for me. And hopefully, somewhere along the way, it's good for you, too.

And please, feel free to leave a comment...let me know you're out there...I'd love to hear from you...xo

happy accidents.

So the peach jam I made the other day was a bust. It never set. But I didn't want to waste it so I had the idea to give it a second chance by boiling it down and adding apple peels (natural pectin) to see if it wouldn't thicken up to a nice consistency for jam.

Well. It didn't. It was just as runny as when I started.

Determined to not let the gift of delicious peaches go to waste I gave the mixture a crack at a new life...as ice cream topping. Yes I did. I scooped two scoops of vanilla bean ice cream into a bowl and topped it with some of the peach jam that refused to gel. And oh my goodness, was it ever go-oo-ood. Imagine peaches and cream on steroids.

I'm thinking this was definitely a happy accident.

the summer manifesto...making fun and interesting things a priority, too

A friend of mine put the whole idea of a manifesto perfectly when I fretted over the have-to's vs. the want-to's...this is how she put it , "It is not that I am not going to do those things - I will and do. It is about making the other things a priority too!" Yes. You nailed it, girlfriend.

So, that being said, here are some of the things I'm going to make a priority during my summer break...in the midst of life and the have-to's...

• breathe deep
• drink plenty of water
• move my body
• sit up straight
• eat lots of fresh peaches
• embrace the warmth of summer
• read books (can you sense that other list coming?)
• make gnocchi
• use my camera
• eat lots of greens
• use my rotary cutter 
• sew a t-shirt skirt (or 2, or 5 if it works out!)
• make freezer jam
• transplant the succulents 
• send hand-written notes
• meet a friend halfway
• plant seeds for a winter garden

apparently I'm incapable of making just one list.

"Get a grip already." -Minnie

So I sat down to write my summer manifesto. (Doesn't it sound so romantic?) But as I'm writing this romantic manifesto of the wonderful things I want to do to fill my glorious summer days, somehow it turns into a to-do list...of all the chores and things I don't really want to do but that I really need to do.

So I go with it, begrudgingly. I keep writing...except for that now I'm also categorizing my list...to do, should do, want to. And suddenly the to-do's are shadowing the want-to's...and I can feel myself getting tense.

In my mind I begin telling myself, "Now Michelle, these to-do's are ALL the things you MUST get done before you do one single fun thing this summer."  Work now. Play later.

Then I get sad. And mad. And I sulk. And I set the list aside. And now the wind is gone from my sails. And I grumble about why do I even have time off in the summer anyway if I'm just gonna work, work, work the whole time.

Then I get a grip. And I bargain with myself, "OK Michelle, how about this? Each day you MUST do one chore on your to-do list before doing ANYTHING fun AT ALL."

I chew on this proposition a while. And think to myself that it's not a bad idea...it's a good compromise...but still something just isn't sitting right with me about the whole thing. I'm frustrated. And I'm pretty sure that's not what a manifesto is supposed to be about anyway. I'm pretty sure a manifesto is a list of the things you're going to do instead of chores and the daily grind to ensure that you have a pleasant summer vacation and don't let that time go to waste not having done anything enjoyable. Am I right?

But eventually, all this crazy making comes to a halt when I stop and take a look at the list. And really weigh out how long each to-do will take vs. how long each want-to will take. And really, the to-do's aren't really going to take all that much time. Honestly, I'm spending more time thinking about it and fighting it and arguing with myself about it and making list after list after list than it would take to just do the thang! I could be done with at least one of my big to-do's by now had I not spent so much time obsessing over what activity should be on what list and in what stinkin' order.

(This is how my mind works, folks. Are you exhausted yet? Yeah...me too.)

Good gravy, please tell me I'm not the only one that makes life so hard for themselves? I'm a mess! Do you have this inner dialogue? Do you make life hard for yourself? This is ridiculous!

Only I can take something that is supposed to be nice and fun and inspiring and turn it into drudgery and frustration. It's a wonder I get anything done at all...

OK. Deep breath. Shoulders back. Head up.

Now...back to those lists...they're gonna get written if it kills me...even if it's the only thing I actually DO this summer!

I'll keep you posted...