At Home,  Baby,  garden

A Summer at home goals list

I’m in my two-week countdown toward full immunization. I’m planning monthly summer field trips with homeschool friends. I expect to host once or twice this summer. The girls are signed up for overnight camp. There’s a wedding on the calendar. So yes, it feels like things are “ramping up/opening up,” alll the euphemisms we use to describe the normal none of us even remember all that well now.

One particular aspect of the former normal, I’ve been thinking about friendships and how much it seems like the terms have changed. The primary and most important elements for friendship right now are patience, understanding, empathy, and…patience again. Speaking from the experience of finding myself with an irrationally drained well for sympathy, I suppose it will take pathfinding to get back to that cool meadow where we understood each other fully and felt comfortable leaning on each other.

a couple things of I’m looking forward to this summer, be it what it may…

Contemplating an outdoor shower. A meditational experience that requires no action, only imagination.

Foraging more. As each season I ends, I realize which plants were the plants I was looking for, like, “ooo that was blood root” after seeing the peppy tiny white flowers by the roadside all spring. Then, the following year I come into it so ready. This year, for the first time, I was prepared for ramps and fiddleheads. I was prepared to ask my friend for nettles before they went to seed. And to ask for rhubarb at the point in the season when there was plenty to share. Forestbound’s forage pinterest board is full of dreamy wandering inspiration.

To make: day pickles. Cucumbers sliced really thin, sprinkled with salt and vinegar, and refrigerated.

To make: Popsicles, always a riff on Molly’s recipe, which itself is a riff on David Lebovitz’s recipe. Please don’t try to skip the sugar. There is something about tart raspberries mixed with chillingly sweet sugar that can’t be replicated by honey. (I don’t bother to strain out the seeds.) Her recipe makes more than enough for our six small molds. So I  either put the extra mixture in the fridge and re-fill the popsicle molds after the girls have eaten them, or serve the extra as a sweet smoothie while we wait for them to freeze. Speaking of popsicles, we have these IKEA popsicle molds from eight years ago, and I thought I was in the market for an upgrade. But actually, I think I may just want a second set of those same IKEA ones. I like the size (small, very kid friendly amount), they are easy to pop-out, and the reusable sticks.

Visiting a friend’s garden. Once you begin gardening and have made a healthy amount of mistakes, you learn SO much from seeing friend’s gardens! I like to plan stop-bys in late June when everything thriving.

So. much. reading. Lux is in an online reading group this summer. Theme: Growing Up is Hard to Do. I think I’ll read all of the ones they are reading, just a week behind. A couple of the titles on the list are: The Red Pencil, Wonder, and A Monster Calls.

Potato chips with sour cream. This is the snack I put on the table outside when I’m watching adult education things on zoom. The children descend and eat until the bowls are empty, stare at the screen for a bit, stare at me to see if I’m actually interested in this stuff, and then disappear. Classical Conversations has online tutors training that I’ll be working through, notebook at my side. I’m also thinking about signing up for this natural wine conference, since we’ve been learning about growing grapes here in Vermont. Are there any online education events you’re looking forward to?

To order: a takeout burger, with fries. Thankful thankful to have an excellent burger and fries available at the Brownsville Butcher, not far from us. Soft serve too.

Making dinner in the afternoon when it’s hot and sleepy, so you can settle into your evening and enjoy the best time of day.

Watching butterflies.

Staying too late at the water (pond, lake, etc). Staying through dinner because the light and the temperature are perfect. Even if everyone cries in the car on the way home.

summer photos from Ashleigh Coleman, last year. 

7 Comments

    • Rachael

      We are doing the one offered by The Well Trained Mind Academy. They are reading a book a week. But I love the list and theme!
      +I would check out the options by age at Outschool. I haven’t looked there in a bit, and I can when I have a minute, but check there first.

  • Catherine

    These are lovely goals; perfect for the slow return to normal (or new normal?).

    And, I second Lara’s inquiry! Would love a good online bookclub for my 9yo daughter…

    • Rachael

      We are doing the one offered by The Well Trained Mind Academy. They are reading a book a week. But I love the list and theme!
      +I would check out the options by age at Outschool. I haven’t looked there in a bit, and I can when I have a minute, but check there first.

      • Moira

        My daughter has done a few online reading and other classes with Outschool this year. Classes of course vary a lot by instructors but she especially loved her Percy Jackson and the Lightning Theif class by instructor Beth Roussakis (who was great. In addition to reading they learned a lot about Greek mythology and even did a virtual visit to a museum that is featured in the book, and everyone in her class was so sweet and enthusiastic).

  • Monica

    This list made me FEEL things (mostly excited anticipation). We are looking forward to many of the same things here in the PNW.

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