2018 Summer in Review

Posted on by Amie Posted in My home lifeTagged , , , ,

Anyone else agree that it is still summer? Because, I mean, waiting for me in the garden is at least 14 quarts of beans to pick.  But, regardless, I am here to show you what I have done with my summer.  I’ve never done a review post before.  Like, never, and I know a lot of bloggers do one every month, but that’s just not my kind of thing.

I thought you would be interested in how I spend my life, and hopefully you won’t be disappointed.  I’m a rather boring blogger in real life.

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Surprise surprise!  I’ve spent part of my summer blogging!  Not only blogging, but editing, graphic design, and writing.  I think I’ve spent maybe too much time on my laptop??  That reminds me…I still have more of all the above to do.  😀

There isn’t much to say about all that, because I mean, I write, edit, blog, and mess around with graphic design all the time, and it isn’t a strictly summer thing to do.

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Canning/helping my mom can has taken up so much of my time!  I lost count of how many quarts of beans I’ve canned, but it was 21 last month…And we’ve canned 14 quarts at least every week this August.  We’ve made onion relish, pickled okra, cantaloupe jam, plum butter, plum jam, strawberry jam, Scuppernong jam, black berry jam, and a few more. Oh, peach.  Don’t forget peach.  And we’ve canned asparagus, too.  Whew!  We’ve been busy, and we’re probably going to can more, so see?  Summer is so not over yet.  Plus the weather is still in the 90s.  😐

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Gardening is a never-ending struggle with weeds.  It’s been too hot for tomatoes, but my corn was amazing…But now, my darling plants have died.  And the beans are taking all my time.  XD We got five meals out of my corn, which means we had roughly 45 ears of corn.  I’ve had nightmares since picking corn that I had a whole field of corn, and there were worms as big as the ears in the corn.  😂  Organic corn sometimes isn’t the prettiest, but it sure tastes good!

My whole family is plagued with food fatigue.  It’s getting pretty bad with the cantaloupe.  We have roughly a dozen in our basement, and even more in our garden.  We haven’t even touched our 25+ acorn squash.  Guess what I’m eating this winter?  But, the Lord has been kind to give us this food, and I’ve enjoyed learning about chiggers, and how the best way to squish certain bugs, and…Can I tell you how exciting it is to actually BUY a watermelon?  It’s those simple things, y’all, that keep you happy.  🙂

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Between music and books, I have no time at all!  LOL!  Violin has taken a lot of my time, but I’m in love with it!  😍 Honestly, violin is my love, piano my inspiration, guitar is a way to reach people, and banjo?  Hehe, banjo has been neglected somewhat this summer.  (I’m so sorry, banjo!)

I’ve read…(Goes to count) 21 fiction books so far!  Well, I have read a few books that I didn’t write down.  Oh, well! 21 books it is!

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I’ve worked on my art skills that I didn’t know existed.  Allison has been the best in encouraging me, as a few of my other friends.  I doubt I’ll ever be another Monet, but I love the feel of a paint brush, and the sound of charcoal is invigorating!  It’s just another way to express personality and creativity. 🙂

Sometimes I’m afraid I have too much creativity, but I guess that’s a blessing in disguise.

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And here is one of the biggest projects I’ve done this summer.  I wrote and illustrated a children’s book for a contest.  Of course, I don’t know the winner until November, but I feel proud of my work, and that makes me a winner, right?  At least I’m not ashamed of it because I know I did my very best.  (Plus, Snowball loved me sitting next to him as he modeled for me.  😉 )

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I’ve spent a lot of time hanging out with my friends, too.  My DLFs (Shh, I know, I know.  Prince Caspian reference.) are the most amazing people ever, and all my big friends are awesome, too.  My family has been a huge part of my summer as well, but all my siblings are labeled my DLFs, so they’re covered in this.  😉

And that is how I spent my summer, excepting school and chores, of course.

How did you spend your summer?  Have you started school?  Are you sad summer is over?

~~Amie~~

31 thoughts on “2018 Summer in Review”

  2. Reply
    Carolyn says:

    I’ve done alot of reading and surprisingly some music (I play the piano). I usually stay away from music during the summer because of piano lessons during the school year but this year was different. We also helped our Mom make strawberry jam. We are planning to make apple sauce in the fall!
    I graduated so I don’t have to go back to school! 😁 But I am planning to apply for a job soon.
    Yes, I’m sad summer is almost over. 😢 It flew by so quickly! Thankfully we are going to the beach in a few weeks so our summer is still another few weeks! 😉😊
    (Sorry about rambling!)

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Reply
      Amie says:

      Really? I hope you get an amazing job! Ooh, beach time sounds wonderful! I don’t mind rambling at all. In fact, I’m known to do it all the time. 😂

      Like

  3. Reply
    Laura Baloga says:

    Sounds like you had a wonderful summer!! Your drawing is wonderful!!!! Feel free to show me any drawings when you draw them. 😉 And your book about Snowball looks awesome! That is so cool you wrote a children’s book! let me know if you win!
    I, also, did lots of reading, violin playing, writing and we canned some. Not as much as you, wowzer! You canned lots!! But we made some jam and Mom canned relish and tomato sauce. Applesauce is next!!
    I’m a sad summer’s over. 😢 we’ll be starting school next week! My last first day! 😂😉
    (Wow! This is the longest comment ever!!) 😂

    Liked by 2 people

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  5. Reply
    Natalie Therese says:

    Sounds like a fun summer! Speaking of piles of produce, my family’s apple trees had a bumper crop this year and we got several gallons of apple cider, plus bushels of them stored in our shed. Of course, I can’t eat apples, but….XD
    My entire summer was essentially dance, dance, dance. But it was fun, because I got my pointe shoes this June.
    Lovely photos, by the way!
    ~Natalie

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      Amie says:

      You’re already picking apples? That’s amazing. XD Apples season here isn’t for like, another two months! Well, month and a half, really. Oh, I didn’t know you danced! Dancing is such a beautiful sport. (Or do you consider it an art instead of a sport?)

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Natalie Therese says:

        We have two types of apple trees, one is usually ready in August, and the other in late September/early October.
        Thank you! I actually consider it an art and a sport. But I may be the only one who thinks that, haha. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Reply
    Jac says:

    Wow! That is alot of canning! I spent my summer running around like a chickey with it’s head cut off. WE were so CRAZY BUSY! Not yet, we will soon though. Not really, maybe know it won’t be so hot. Also, it’s been so smoky from all the fires….

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Jac says:

        There are a lot of fires in Montana. No one ever hears about them for some reason. In fact, there’s one threatening to burn down my uncle’s property that is worth millions of dollars in the North Fork.

        Liked by 2 people

  7. Reply
    Mackenzie says:

    Wow girl!!! You have done SO much! How cool that you illustrated a children’s book?! Amazing. I do hope you win! Canning sounds awesome- I’d like to try that someday. Thanks for sharing, chica!

    Like

  8. Reply
    Aria Lisette says:

    AMIE. SUMMER DEFINITELY IS NOT OVER. But. You did have quite the busy summer! And NO, AMIE, don’t even start to talk about food fatigue. We had 80 cantaloupes and divided among the three families, that’s 26 a piece. Not to mention our around 250 watermelons. SO. Aww, your DLFs! I love that! Such a great reference. ☺ Anyway, I much enjoyed this post, seeing how you’ve been spending your summer 🙂 (AND I AM NOT SAD SUMMER IS OVER BECAUSE SUMMER IS NOT OVER YET.)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      Amie says:

      I agree with you! It’s not over yet! Oh, my! We’ve had about 26+ cantaloupes, and there’s still more coming! *groans* Well, watermelons are hard to get tired of, honestly. Watermelon is DELICIOUS!

      Like

  9. Reply
    Hannah says:

    Okay, I fell like I never really have had summer… well, except for maybe like 4 weeks… My summer has been semi cold and rainy just about the WHOLE STINKIN SEASON!!! Summer (and HEAT) is my favorite season, so like why?!?! NOOO!!! LOL 😀 ❤ Loved seeing how u spend ur summer, my summer was spent being outside, doing chores, freezing tons of green beans, carrots, making peach butter, and now we're into tomato sauce season, so…. yeah making buncha that and canning it!! Other than that I have gone on several short biking trips with my sibs… yeah, it was sorta uneventful summer… oh, and also swimming during the warm weeks that would occasionally pop up!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Reply
    Allison says:

    I really enjoyed this post, Amie! Oh my GOODNESS, that’s a lot of canning. O.o The only canning we did this year was, like, a dozen jars of peach jam. Heh heh. Yeah, our garden was a ton smaller than usual. Ugh, I feel you on the green beans – I despise picking green beans, but I love eating them! I think once we canned 100 quarts of green beans and still didn’t have enough to last the year. 😛 Aww, I’m SO glad I encouraged you in art, dear! ❤ Unfortunately my slow internet didn't load most of these pictures, but I trust that you'll send me pictures of your art through email too. 😉 Eeep, you made a children's book?! That's SO EXCITING! I hope you win the contest! (And I'm so glad you feel like a winner whether or not you do. 🙂 )
    Once again, great post, dear, and I look forward to reading more! 😀

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Reply
      Amie says:

      I will totally send you some pictures of my art through email. 100 quarts of beans is a lot! I should go count how many quarts of beans we canned. We just did seven quarts today! I’m glad you enjoyed the post, Allison!

      Like

  12. Reply
    Anna says:

    This was a BLAST to read! You totally inspired me…I just made a post + a tag! 😉 My summer was great–full of experiences that were fun and exciting! I was blessed to learn many lessons this summer, too during all the circumstances God gave me. Praise God! ❤ It was awesome reading about your summer!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Reply
    Olivia Bell says:

    I loved reading this and hearing of all you’ve been up to! My summer I spent pretty much all of my time studying for Bible Bee which was AWESOME!!! It was the best experience of my life! Besides that, I went to a lot of bike races, entered stuff in the fair, and more! But you know, summer is NOT over yet, hahaha! And then I’m like, what, because I don’t have to go back to school this year! *cheers*

    Liked by 1 person

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