As we get back to work after the long Labor Day weekend, today’s Ten on Tuesday prompt is simple – things from the weekend. The long weekend around here was a nice combination of busy/productive and low key. On Monday night, I was rested and also felt like I accomplished a lot; however, I’d take a couple more days like this. From among the hours, a few highlights:

Fast & Fancy Monday Dinner: Seared Scallops with Pan Fried Zoodles & Oven Roasted Tomatoes

1. Knitting on a new cowl for me – as my August cowl knit came off the needles, I decided that “as knit” it wasn’t for me so I cast on for a 2nd one and am modifying the pattern for me.
2. Reading – finishing up Yes, Please by Amy Poehler; making progress on a couple of other active reads; enjoying long spans of reading time peppered throughout the weekend.
3. Winding yarn for my knitting project to accompany the upcoming Packers season – details to come in coming weeks.
4. Listening to “the voice of the Bears” call Mercer’s season opening win against Austin Peay State University via the I Heart Radio app. Welcome back, college football.
5. Tweaking a favorite broccoli salad recipe to be Whole30 compliant. Broccoli + bacon + homemade mayo + golden berries + chopped pecans = a tasty version that hits the spot
6. “Finally” taking the Edge for a much needed carwash & clean. Once the windows were so clean, it was time to add the “ADK” oval sticker to the back windshield to remember a great family vacation.
7. Catching up with the Texas girlies on the phone on Sunday morning – hearing about how 7th grade, 5th grade & kindergarten are going. When did they all grow up so much?!?
8. Lots of food prep to keep me going with the current round of the Whole30. The fridge is filled with all sorts of things to easily grab & make meals this week: oven boiled eggs, roasted tomatoes, cooked bacon bits, homemade mayo, buffalo chicken, pulled pork and more.
9. Finally putting my t-shirts in a box to mail off for a Project Repat quilt.
10. Continuing the kitchen #konmari in the hall closet (extended kitchen storage) – among the accomplishments, all stained tea towels have been culled out of the basket.

As the temps around here this week try to give us our 6th heatwave of the summer, it doesn’t feel like the end of summer. What did you do on this “end of summer” extended weekend?

The meteorologists say that summer “officially” arrives this weekend – even as they are providing the forecasts for hot & humid in these final “spring” days. Now that we are in summer, today’s Ten on Tuesday is a summer bucket list – things I’d like to do before autumn rolls in.

Filling the summer bucket…

1. Continue to exercise #konmari as I tackle the stuff in my house. I recently read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and have started applying her principles to my “stuff” – I will definitely blog about this experience. This morning, 9 large bags of clothes were picked up for donation as a result of the weekend #konmari session with my clothes.
2. See a movie at a drive-in theater.
3. Take in another Iron Pigs baseball game.
4. Visit another presidential library.
5. Can some jam. As summer fruit starts to appear at the farm stands, I look forward to spending a few hours in the kitchen & “putting up” some pretty jars for winter enjoyment.
6. Enjoy some family vacation time at summer camp in upstate New York.
7. Send a pack of t-shirts away to become a t-shirt quilt.
8. Achieve my “summer reading challenge” at the local library. My target is 12 books – of course, they consider summer to end on August 18^th.
9. Spend some time coloring in my copy of “the” Secret Garden coloring book I picked up in London last summer.
10. Complete a photobook for 2013 or 2014 with the Shutterfly Photo Story app. This is my new scrapbooking.

I’m sure there will be many other things that will fill my summer bucket in the coming weeks. As I look at this list (& other things on the calendar), I see a nice mix of home…travel…family…friends.

What is on your list for the summer?

For this Tuesday…how to make winter less bleak. Knock on a wood-like surface, winter around here this year hasn’t been nearly as bleak as last winter. In fact on Sunday evening, a local newscast mentioned that this time last year PENNDOT had used 4 times as much salt as they have so far this season. While the snow has been less than last year, we have definitely had quite a few gray days and soggy days here – so there is some bleakness.

In the bleak midwinter…

So, a hodge podge of simple things that seem to keep the bleak at bay around here.

1. Lighting a candle in the evening – the glow & scent of citrus candles easily takes me to warmer days on the calendar.
2. Snacking on citrus. Now is the time to enjoy peel & eat mandarins (which honestly seem not as good as past years). It’s time to make my Sunshine Citrus Salad again, too.
3. Starting to plan summer vacation fun…looking at the summer months and fun times with family & friends on the horizon…family camp in NY…graduation & birthdays in WI…and more…
4. Even though toes are hidden in thick socks, bright colored pedicures bring some cheer.
5. Using the Shutterfly Storybook app to get back into personal scrapbooking…remembering bright bright days and good memories as I create pages (an evolution from January scrapbooking weekends to escape winter)
6. Wearing the hand knits – without a doubt, this is the season when being a knitter is the best.
7. Accessorizing the work wardrobe with travel memories…the scarves I picked up from Liberty in London last year; a scarf from Assisi in 2011; my cameo from Italy in 2005; fun necklaces from visits with my girlies in TX…bringing a bit of travel into the office…
8. Meyer Lemons – the smell of one takes me back to my Grandma’s house in Southern California
9. Wrapping up in my Wisconsin Wanderings afghan – keeping warm in the living room while remembering happy days
10. Keeping on top of groceries and having basics on hand so when bad weather comes through, I can easily choose to “hunker down” through the weather.

Connecting up with Carole’s 10 on Tuesday prompts.

How do you battle the bleak during these winter days?