My Bin Runneth Over!

                                                         

It's been almost a month since my last blog post, Etsy creation listing, or home DIY project. Where has the month gone? It has certainly flown by.

I've been busy getting back to work with the beginning of a new school year. My day job, as I call it, takes precedence over most everything else at the beginning of the year. I am busy settling into a new year with new lesson plans in the library for my 540 wonderful Wildcats. I love my job! I'm so thankful that the two things that keep me from progressing on the creative, home business, front are things that I love....my family and my day job!

The picture above is of how my day begins each and every day. Some people may look at that bin full of books and see an overwhelming amount of work to do. I look at it and think of all the wonderful adventures my Wildcats have experienced with the turn of every page.   I can't wait to check the books in and get more ready for them to check out again. I always strive to introduce them to the joy of reading in fun and exciting ways.....while touching on the exhausting list of standards they must meet in order to proceed to their next milestone in learning. (Or master on their standardized tests!) So, when I get discouraged about not making progress on my "side" job, or as my husband calls it, our pre-retirement experiment, I think of all my Wildcats and how much they love their library......

My Father's Workshop ~ Tuesday's Treasury List

'My Father's Workshop' by hartleyrowe

I'm starting a new Tuesday tradition for the blog beginning this week. I'll create an Etsy Treasury List, a similar themed collection of items from various artists and curators found on Etsy. For this first Treasury List, I decided to create "My Father's Workshop". These are items that remind me of working in my father's workshop. There I developed a love for creating treasures.

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

A Strawberry -Shortcake Goodbye

We said goodbye to summer today.  While we have been excited to have a three day weekend, we also knew what the weekend would mean.  The Summer of 2012 is behind us and now it is time to begin the countdown to the end of the year.  School is back in session, football season is upon us and the weather is cooling a bit....

So, why do I have a picture of this evening's dessert? Because it represents a bit of spontaneity that summer supports. I'm lucky enough to work for our local school district and have the same schedule as our youngest son who is still at home in high school. I love that summer means to us an entire season of schedule free days.  Sure we have been busy.  But our days were unstructured, except for my son's summer Cross Country training,  and blissful in a way that doesn't happen during the school year. 

With our two college-aged kiddos home for the summer, we have had weeks of down time for of us that usually go full speed ahead during the school year.....a mention here, and a shout out,  would have to go  to my husband and oldest son.  They are year rounders and I'm so sorry they can't enjoy the summers the way we can.  My husband is in the  military and my oldest son is a full-fledged member of the corporate world.  Their weekends of summer have to get them through the season.

Oh,  yes, I digress!  Back to the strawberry shortcake.   We were in the store today to pick up some organic strawberries for my husband's weekly lunches and my daughter's morning fruit bowl.  The strawberries looked just like the delicious first berries we see here in Southern California in mid-May.  They were pretty  much irresistible.  My husband lamented that it had been ages since he'd had a homemade strawberry shortcake.  I agreed and we went on our way.  Then, I make an about face, marched back to the refrigerated section of the store, and bought more strawberries. I then stopped by the dairy section to pick up some organic whipping cream.  You should have seen the look on my husband's face.  He knew exactly what he would be having for dessert this evening.  I loved that look.  It was almost childlike.  I wanted to kick  myself for delaying that expression.  I could have, and should have, been making strawberry shortcake every week this summer.  

The strawberries will get less sweet as the end of the year approaches and we will not be making scrumptious shortcakes.  However, on this last unofficial evening of summer, I rolled with the punches, was spontaneous for one last time (I usually plan each morsel we eat in advance during the school year) and fixed the best shortcake of the century....if I do say so myself.

So, here's to the end of summer.  I hope you all have enjoyed yours as we have ours.  And may all your strawberry shortcakes be scrumptious ~ in summer-time and beyond!