A Big Week

This is going to be a big week.  School starts Thursday (sniff) and we still have supplies to purchase and open houses to attend.  Summer reading is taking much longer than our boys realized.  Note to self, The Count of Monte Christo is a big book.  And so is Genghis Khan.  We are trying to squeeze the last few drops of summer out of our days.  The high dive at our pool is always the end of summer celebration.  In other words, it isn't summer until my husband and I go off.  I usually manage to put it off until the day the pool closes because heights aren't my idea of a fun time.

Yesterday I cut the last remaining flowers from the hydrangeas.  Another sign that summer is coming to an end.  Just as a side note, Annabelle hydrangeas should be cut to 12-18" above the ground at the end of summer.  They bloom on new growth.

Over the weekend, Mom shared some goodies from her garden.  She has such a green thumb and her gardens always blow me away.  This year, she tried growing butternut squash with great success.  Eating butternut squash in the summer has been a treat because we usually only have it in the fall roasted or in soups. This summer we have enjoyed it grilled using this recipe here.

We also celebrated Mom's birthday over the weekend.  It was a surprise and we actually pulled it off well.  Over the years, Mom has collected many things.  Her new collection is Limoges boxes.  We gave her two boxes to add to her collection.  I must admit that I have grown rather fond of these darling little boxes myself.  I can just imagine an entire collection on a dresser or side table.  They are all so delicate and the colors are beautiful.

The true Limoges boxes are stamped.  You can find them on ebay or etsy.