Roasting Romas

 The abundant harvest of Roma tomatoes in my kitchen garden continues. Although I have roasted a small quantity before this time I did two large pans and experimented with the best method for saving some for winter also. I added fresh basil and garlic and let them roast longer than usual.

 I had some yellow cherry tomatoes from a co-worker and added those to the second pan. The house smelled amazing and the finished product had an intensely rich tomato flavor. I will be doing this again. There are many tomatoes still on the vines; some are green and others are getting very close to ripe red.

 They were a delicious addition to a very simple dinner tonight. These may not make it to the freezer.

September Heat

 It has been unseasonably hot for September. We have been breaking record highs and it doesn't feel good to me at all. So what's a girl to do to avoid the heat and humidity?

Find the cutest toddler you know and go to Target!

If the mommy takes to long, get out the point and shoot camera.

Get out of town and enjoy the gorgeous Iowa countryside from the comfort of your air conditioned vehicle.

 Do an indoor photo shoot.

My friend, Kymm is starting her own business called "Blue Book Editing" and she asked if I could take a couple of quick photos that she could use for her publicity. I wish her all the best and am glad to make a tiny contribution.

Quilt  in the middle of the day like it was winter!

I am making a few more long strips to put along the edges of the current quilt that Lincoln and I are making because it seems pretty long and narrow at this point. It's almost time to shop for the backing and batting.

Fortunately there is a break in the heat forecasted for this week. I am looking forward to getting back on my bike and enjoying the trails and anticipating the upcoming leaf color changes. 

ARTapaloosa

 Saturday was filled with fun but I didn't carry a camera, just my iPod. I can't help but snap a shot or two so that I can document the wonderful day even if the quality is a bit less. Briana, Ashley and I headed to Main Street Cedar Falls for ARTapaloosa and we had a great time. I bought a couple of Christmas gifts and saw lots of people. We chose a patio lunch right on Main so Lincoln and Travis joined us. Lincoln even had a little time to check out some children's activities. By then Jay was up and invited us all over for dessert. It really was a perfect Saturday morning.

By late afternoon Dale was done working and we headed to the UNI-dome for the UNI - Drake football game. Since we have followed both teams it was especially fun to watch the game. We didn't make it to the dome for a game last year so I was very excited to get there this year. I do love Saturdays and this one was especially good!

Cow Shopping

Shopping with a toddler can be lots of fun. Lincoln and I headed to Farm and Fleet and spent an hour browsing there on Wednesday afternoon. He had mentioned many times that there is no cow in my "little people" farm so I thought we would go look. He enjoyed the cows and all the other animals as well as the mowers and tractors but we left empty handed. We really didn't need any of them and were just happy to look, touch and give them kisses.

 

After our fun shopping trip I enjoyed dinner and a UNI volleyball game with Briana. It was the first home game and with six thousand other fans and Iowa State was very strong, so there was lots of energy. Both Briana and I have early bedtimes so we didn't stay for the entire event but enjoyed being there lots. That's a pretty fun Wednesday!

Labor Day

 

I had lots of motivation to wash some windows this weekend. Labor Day seems like a good time to do some labor, right? I guess the main motivation might be that the windows were dirty. It was 2012 the last time I climbed a step stool to clean them.  It was also a great opportunity to try out my "expensive rags." I have always used old diapers and cotton cloths to do my windows but recently purchased some Norwex microfiber cloths. One is for cleaning and the other is polishing. It really worked, no Windex, just a damp cloth. I liked the system and it was a great way to be productive outdoors on a gorgeous Labor Day. Dale and I have enjoyed watching the humming birds on the flowers outside of the family room and since Dale is using his big lens to get photos I thought clean glass would be an improvement. Obviously he shot a few of me too! Although I remember the day that I would wash every window in the house as one project it's not that way anymore, but I am almost done with the family room!   

Seventy-seven Degrees

 After attending the last outdoor worship service of the summer at church on Sunday I noticed that it was only seventy-seven degrees with a nice breeze. I was so excited about the break in the heat. It's only been two weeks but I greatly dislike the heat and humidity. As soon as I got home I changed my clothes and took Mowgli for a hike at Katoski Greenbelt. I had abandoned that park and trail in early June when the mosquitos invaded after the flooding. Today I was glad to be back on the trail. The dry summer gave the added bonus of a longer hike because there was no water over the trail in the spot where I usually need to stop. There was more sand on the trails but the park has recovered well from the flooding.

 Deep in the woods there was little breeze but plenty of shad.  The area with the open meadow had a great breeze and lots of yellow. There are a few brown and yellow leaves on the trail but I am very anxious to get back there on a regular basis as Summer turns to Fall. I love the change of seasons and this one is my favorite. It's the first day of September. I know that there will be some heat ahead but Fall is just around the corner.

Peach Crisp

One of the courses for my Saturday morning feast was fresh peach crisp. It actually became lunch after the project but it was very yummy. The Colorado peaches were perfectly gorgeous and smelled so good. Dale snapped photos for me while I was making it but once it was time to serve nobody slowed down enough to think about photography. I sent the leftovers home with Ashley or I would have cleaned up the pan myself on Saturday night. Peach season is yummy and short.