the sky is pink

Tomorrow is Mason's birthday and party. We have been busy beavers getting ready for his first "friends" party. (Poor guy, with a birthday right before school starts, it is always too hectic to pull together a real party. But this year I promised him. And, as crazy as it is in my house, I am so happy that I kept my promise.) He's having an old-fashioned birthday celebration. Details are forthcoming. "So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it." (Anyone recognize that famous quote?)

In the spring I planted six jalapeno plants. One was promptly eaten by a critter, which left me with five. I guarded those plants with my life. That is, if you include the cut hair from my boys' head as being part of my life, which I totally do because I gave them life. Anyway .... Our plants are literally popping with jalapenos and I'm in heaven. I picked a colander full just this morning to pickle. I have at least this many jalapenos still on the plants. And I'm drying a few. I tossed in a few cayenne peppers, too. (A lot of our cayennes are still green.) My house is filling with pepper fumes and sometimes I can feel it in my throat and it makes me cough. * Ooh! And notice the yellow pear tomatoes? They were a garden surprise. Over near our mint patch (which is now also a strawberry patch), I noticed a few volunteer tomato plants. Two were yellow pears and two or three are cherry tomatoes. I just love how Mother Nature works with the artful calculation of plants re-

So much yummy stuff is coming from the garden these days. These are the days that I love. Love, love, love . I often eat roasted veggies for lunch and as a side for dinner. And sometimes on the same day. This day I had cherry tomatoes, sweet yellow peppers, potatoes, onions and jalapenos. I can't simply get enough tomatoes or tomato sandwiches in my system. I love tomatoes on toasted bread with salt and mayonnaise. I don't use mayonnaise often, but it's almost a necessity on tomato sandwiches. However, that being said, have you ever tried it with homemade pesto? Wow. I don't know which I love more. Some days I wish my belly could hold more. Last week (in the midst of our family room remodel) I roasted bunches of tomatoes both cherries and romas . I turned some into roasted tomato sauce that will be used in soups and such this winter. I just roasted them and ran them through my food mill. (One of the food mills I used to make baby food.) And homemade pesto and mar

Nearly two years ago I mentioned I wanted to get new sofas for our family room. I was waiting until the last of the children (Sawyer) was potty-trained. And then I waited until we had some extra money and well, here we are. With new furniture. Getting new furniture isn't about only getting new furniture. It means new paint, new curtains, new pillows and throw blankets (those might be awhile), and everything else. Because surely you can't put new furniture in a room that has been lived in by six children. It would be sacrilege. So, the four big boys were off to camp, again , this past week. (My mother jokingly says that I am trying to find every way to get rid of my children this summer, which is not true, but it seems to have worked out that way.) We wanted to surprise them with new furniture, so we ordered it and had it delivered while they were away. We made pinky promises with Spenser and Sawyer that they wouldn't tell the surprise to the boys when we picked them up on

I bought a pack of men's white undershirts a while back with the idea of repurposing them. One of the first things I made was a cover-up/dress for Spenser. It's very similar to the bandanna shirt I showed last week, except it's longer. I used the original hem of the shirt for the hem of the dress and serged all exposed raw edges. The first day she wore it, she belted it. All on her own. (I just love her style.) Sadly, I made her go change her clothes because we were going berry-picking and I knew how it could end. (And, sadly, after she wore it, it was misplaced for several weeks. It was later found with some of my white tees.)

Since my serger and I are friends, again , I decided I should spend some more time with her. I was looking for a quick and easy project. My sewing time has been limited this summer with all the kids home. (My house is a constant mess even though I am constantly tidying. You seriously do not want to use my bathrooms if you come to visit. There are too many boys here full-time right now and I can't keep up ... The week they were all at camp was the week my house was at its cleanest this summer.) Anyway, I had some assorted bandannas lurking around my sewing area from past projects of skirts and shorts . I grabbed two pink ones and got to work. I did a rolled hem around all the exposed edges and then sewed it together at the shoulder and side seams. I left the bottom untouched. I added a pink vintage button with a bit of velvet ribbon and it was complete. I found her a few days later wearing it with a set of wings. I love that girl.

We've had a few busy weeks. Taylor and Carter went to Boy Scout camp one week. The following week Jackson attended Cub Scout Day Camp all week and Taylor and Carter volunteered all week. The next week all four big boys went to summer camp . All four boys. (Thanks to Operation Purple.) Then we went on vacation. It's been wild and crazy this summer, but so, so much fun. In the past week we've hiked several times, including a mountainous five-mile hike. Sawyer never complained until the last half-mile or so. His poor little legs and feet were tired, but he was a trooper. We geocached, as we hiked, in the mountains and by the lake. The kids swam and played in the lake. We took the troop canoeing twice. Spenser found a seashell fossil in the lake. We kept telling her she wouldn't find any shells and she proudly found this "shell." After a quick inspection, I realized it was a fossil and she felt like a rock star and impressed her brothers. We set out to take th