Anyone that knows us well, knows that we usually have one, or multiple, house projects going on. There has been endless DIY opportunities in this massive, old duplex. I like to think that we are rescuing this beautiful piece of history (built in 1898) and setting it up for a future of shining brilliance…. We have learned a lot of handy skills along the way, and have made many major improvements to it, some fun projects and others we. will. never. do. again. Sometimes we need to multi-task as we did this weekend and every room, including the apartment we rent out, had some form of project or general chaos.
Even the front yard was in disarray. Living next to a Polish deli, we get lots of front sidewalk pedestrians passing by our house. If only I could capture their faces as they stepped out of their cars and walked past our yard as we worked on cleaning up the front hedge, ha! You see, when there are so many magical happenings in the garden, the front hedge gets neglected, much to the chagrin of certain visitors and neighbors, I’m sure.
Yikes! But we decided to clean it up, well, um, start cleaning it up, as it turned out. See that thing in the center of the above photo? We call them “weed trees” and they are EVERYWHERE on our city lot. There is a rose bush in there, actually, but these weed trees are opportunists. So, we got a handy, dandy tool to help us pull them out by the root instead of trimming them back every summer.
Ta-da! Pretty great tool to have around. While we worked in the front yard, I took the time to rescue that strawberry patch that was being taken over by grass. Whew! So with a massive pile of weed trees, dead rose branches, and tons of grass on the sidewalk PLUS the chaos in the house, it was a welcome retreat to the garden for dinner.
On these busy summer days, we are so grateful for the garden bounty that nourishes us. Many, many quick summer meals consist of these two dishes, and their many iterations. Fried green beans (yum!) and caprese salad, of many different colors. That day it was red and yellow, yesterday it was pink and orange. We LOVE our rainbow of summer tomatoes.
Leave it to R for a hilarious post-dinner game with the serving tongs to ensue. What better tong-tag obstacle than sawhorses full of saw dust! Such is our life, and it is life I love so much.
What is your favorite, go-to summer meal?
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