tomatoes

Victory! My elaborate tomato protection system seems to work. In a few days, these will be joining up with peaches, red onion, cilantro, and red pepper flake for a delicious salad. #2 off The Minimalist's list of summer salads.

review: Glutino crackers

Holy crap, these things are good. They are way better than the nut-based gluten-free crackers from Blue Diamond, although I like the nut flour crackers with cheese. These are by far the closest thing to Ritz or Club or any of those traditional crackers.

They even look like Ritz crackers. Why can't I get rid of this dumb weblink text?

They're a little dry all on their own, but with Philadelphia Light Chive and Onion cream cheese, they are a fantastic snack.

Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

Ok SO. I'm back. Here I am. See me?

I don't have to go out of town until the middle of August, and after that - no plans! Hooray!

I am looking forward to:

farmers markets

new recipes

sticking with Weight Watchers (signed up online on Monday)

sewing

working on the house and yard

gardening

swimming

This week, David's going fishing with his Dad in Canada and I've got big plans.

1) I'm installing some shelves in the laundry room so I can store more food in there.

2) I'm trying out the ol' sewing machine (finally!!)

3) I might put in some tomatoes and squash. I have to ask the nice people at Harlow Gardens if it's too early for fall tomatoes. I really want to pot some cilantro, parsley, tarragon, and dill, and maybe pick up one of those Trader Joe's cheap and ginorm basil plants. I've got plans to make a huge batch of pesto and freeze it in an ice cube tray. It's funny that I have these huge sage and thyme plants, plus tons of rosemary, and I wind up buying cilantro at the store but barely use the herbs I have outside. I do use my basil and chives more often but about half of my basil has gone to seed. Gah. My tomatoes are getting attacked by birds, so I rigged a protective contraption out of an upsidedown tomato cage and some garden netting.

4) I'm going to the farmer's market. I've never been to the one at St. Phillips on Saturday, so I'm going to check it out. And of course I'll be there Sunday, bright and early to get the good stuff. Sybil found this awesome list of 101 summer salads and I'm dying to try about 45 of them.

I can hardly wait!

Oh, and here I am in Rocky Point, Mexico, enjoying a gorgeous sunset.

one more week

One week until things settle down, until we're back in town, until our calendar is free of out-of-town trips for at least a little while.

I want to make a plan to lose these 20 pounds, but I can't quite think until next week. Not when I'm staring down a wedding and another 4 flights and sitting in the airport.

Breathe...

summer vacation

This has been the busiest, most over-packed summer I can remember. Since the beginning of June, we've celebrated our anniversary, gone to Ohio, had my mom and sister visit, driven to San Diego with the dogs for the 4th, and now we're headed to Rocky Point, Mexico for the weekend with David's company. OH, and next weekend we're going to Idaho for a wedding.

I need a vacation from vacations. More importantly, I need a few weekends at home to finally learn how to use my sewing machine, tackle some gluten-free baking projects, and shop for an entertainment center for the living room.

I can't complain; this has been a really fun summer. But I really can't wait until we have a weekend free of plans. I miss the farmers market.

Here's David and the dogs at the beach in Cardiff by the Sea, California. It was a great 4th.