Are you tired of hearing about the new side porch yet? At least you can tell the joy it’s bringing me everyday! The new addition in July was the redone outdoor couch and chairs that I shared a picture of in the last Around the Farmhouse. Which meant I now have a place to relax and read or knit with a breeze and a view of the hills and pastures.
Brian said to me the other day that he wondered if people who lived with an ocean view would eventually get so used to it that it failed to inspire anymore. I had to say I didn’t think so since I’m not tired of our view and we’ve been here 8 years. What do you think?
I had actually bought a Gap cotton sweater from Thredup for our trip to England, but had caved to the popularity of a full-button crew neck cardigan instead of the v-neck I preferred. Wearing it in England confirmed that I needed a v-neck! I never button it all the way and don’t like how the top (corners? not sure what to call them…) flaps when left open (good thing it was cheap). I had read a lot of good things about the Quince Cotton Cashmere sweater so I bought it and really do like it - the v-neck is perfect. It’s also the nice lightweight layer I was looking for (I use wool in the winter) and seems timeless to me. I should mention that it’s mostly cotton with some viscose and the “cashmere” part is like 5%, so the name is a bit of a stretch, but it is a nice, flowy fabric.
Lesson learned: Go with what you know works for you, not what someone else is saying is the best (I have to keep learning this I guess, lol.)
If I get ripe tomatoes in July here in western Oregon I’ve always counted it a garden win, but this year I had a basketful starting in mid-July! So thrilled (now just to keep them from the squirrels…).
And if last month was about my first big raspberry harvest with the plants I put in a sunnier area, July was about big, juicy blackberries. Oh my gosh, they are SO good. And I get to pick them almost daily to keep up my summer rhythm of fresh berries on my granola.
Our grandson was here for a few days and he loved to help pick the berries, but wouldn’t try one, insisting like 4-year-olds everywhere that he didn’t like them without trying them. Then his daddy ate half of one and shared the other half and now of course he LOVES them.
These are Navaho thornless blackberries I planted in this area since I have Triple Crown in another area.
I have no idea why this makes me so happy, maybe because it’s such a purely seasonal thing, both the weather and the flowers that are blooming? Most of the time I don’t even listen to an audiobook, I just take in the sounds of the birds, bees, and any mowing or tractors that happen. It’s wonderfully grounding to me. Oddly, though, if I miss the morning and have to water in the hot afternoon or even cooler evenings I do not enjoy it as much and try to get it done as soon as possible, lol.
I’m not sure this counts as a home thing, but it’s made a big difference in our home budget, so I decided to share it here. We had been on T-Mobile’s phone plan for many years and in the beginning it was the cheaper option. But they informed us our plan was being “upgraded” to a higher cost one and we decided it was time to do some research into phone plans. We decided to go with Visible after looking at a number of other plans because it’s inexpensive and uses Verizon’s network which actually gives us better coverage in our area than T-Mobile. The best part? We’re saving almost $60 a month! I wish we had done it sooner, so here’s your encouragement to check your plans if you haven’t in awhile.
My brother and I took a trip to a local nursery in the middle of the month when I don’t normally go (it was a birthday gift for him) and we were thrilled to find the clearance plant section FULL of great deals on plants that mostly still looked great! The huge spirea pictured above was 50% off and I got 1-gallon laurels for $10 each. My brother got some beautiful roses for 75% off! We came home with way more plants than I thought we would for the money we had to spend.
Lesson learned: Don’t forget to check out the clearance sections of nurseries mid and late summer for the best deals. Even if you can’t plant them, you can keep them watered and fed until the fall when you can (and it’s usually prime time to plant anyway - it gives the roots time to get established before the next spring’s growth).
Did we have any kids to take to Toy Story 5? No we did not. Did that stop us? No, it did not. I’ve talked to some people who didn’t think we needed a 5th edition of this movie, and while I agree the rebooting and constant sequels of movies is getting tiresome, this movie had all the things I love about the original Toy Story: the families, friendships, and emotions. Plus, I knew when I saw the trailer that it was about handheld devices taking kids attention from their toys that this was maybe even a needed update to address that issue (and it did head on). Brian and I enjoyed every part of this - don’t be afraid to go see it even if you don’t have kids!
This month’s favorite book was The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley. It’s a historical fiction set in the 1600’s with a focus on a messenger of the king (King James) who is to find a man and bring him back to the king to face trial for the possible poisoning in the death of the king’s son, Henry. It’s the messenger’s story and that of his neighbor and the neighbor’s daughter who is a love interest. So there’s royal intrigue, a dangerous road trip, insights into the queen, and a love story all wrapped in lots of details of living in the mid 1600’s. It was interesting and I loved the lengthy author’s note at the end sharing what was the real history (surprisingly a lot) and what she added and why.
In addition to the first tomatoes in July, we also started getting tender green beans (I was reminded again why they are so much better than store bought). So it’s probably not a surprise that my favorite meal was simply sliced tomatoes with balsamic and feta and grilled green beans with some garden onions. Bliss. And combined with ribs? Summer on a plate. (Easy, tender rib recipe coming in August on the website!)
I just had to share this - it made me laugh so much. When we stayed at the coast for the July 4th weekend our hotel room was on the third floor and the stairs were easiest for us to take to our car. By the second time we’d gone down our dog, Jynx, was aware there was a door at the bottom to go outside, but she’d stop at every.single.landing and stare at the wall where the final door would be, just as if it were a door! How can she not see there’s no door there? It cracked us up - we went down those stairs probably 15-20 times and she’d rush ahead to stop at each landing and stare at the wall every time.
