Goodbye Summer 2012.....

We have had a whirl wind summer.  It has been such a fun, busy summer that i have not been able to capture it all on my blog even though i had great plans to do so.  Rather than dedicating a page here and there to highlight the summer, i better summarize it the best i can in one posting.  Even this task will prove to be difficult as i rarely have the time to sit at my computer these days.

We planted another garden this year with the girls helping with the planting and harvesting....i almost forgot the munching.  It was not a rare sight to see the girls snagging (the poor plants, its a wonder they survived my kids) a snack of sugar snap peas in the garden.  We planted many of our usual: peas, tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, beans, lettuce, squash, cukes, and a variety of peppers.  The cooler summer temps and stretches of over watering from the rain did decrease the amount we were able to harvest this year.  We also tried some new veggies like vine beans and asparagus.  It is recommended to wait to harvest asparagus a year or two so i just stared at my scrawny little asparagus plants dreaming of a time when i can harvest them fresh from my garden to make one of my favorite Filipino dishes.  As for the vine beans, while it made a beautiful tee pee in my garden, the beans were sparse and i did not like the the variety of beans.  They had a rough furry exterior and did not taste nearly as good as the bush varieties we have planted in the past.  While i enjoyed the experimentation, i am missing my green bean casserole.  With fall in full swing and experiencing numerous frosts, gardening is almost finished for the year.  We just need to harvest the rest of the potatoes and turn the garden to prep it for spring again.

Another summer delight is our rhubarb and raspberry plants.  We only have one rhubarb plant but next year i hope to have a few more as i have been experimenting with a variety of new recipes.  This summer, i not only made my usual rhubarb bread and cakes, but i also found a wonderful lemonade and wine recipe.  I was able to freeze some rhubarb for winter use thanks to a friend who gladly exchanged some of hers for a bottle of rhubarb wine.

Wine...i have been trying my hand at making wine.  Besides the rhubarb wine, i decided to try a zucchini wine, too.  We harvested some rather large zucchini which would normally be destined for more bread and freezer storage but then i had this wild idea of making wine.  The Internet is such a wonderful tool.  I was able to find a zucchini wine recipe.  I am hoping to make a sugar snap pea wine next but i may not have enough peas.  We will just have to wait and see.  I will be making another batch of zucchini wine  along with some liqueurs (Raspberry and Coffee for starters) this winter.  If my local friends are interested in trying some and/or if you have any wine bottles or jugs that need a new home, give me a call.

I spent the first part of the summer training for my big hiking trip on the Chilkoot Trail.  At least twice a week you could find me hiking with my fellow Chilkoot Chicks and/or the local hiking club.  I started off slowly with 20lbs on my back and by the time we were ready to leave for our adventure, i was ready to don my near 40 pound pack.  The hike was amazing, beautiful scenery, crazy climate variations, wonderful people, and a three wonderful and supportive hiking companions.  I look forward to more future hikes with my gal pals.

After my great hiking adventure, i jetted down to Washington state the following weekend for my 20-year high school reunion and some random fun in my old stomping grounds.  Reunions are hard mentally and emotionally.  Most of us have changed physically over the years making it difficult to figure out whose who.  And, of course, my mind is not what it was (ha, ha) or maybe some folks just did not make that much of impact on my that i would remember them twenty years later.  I am sure the same could be said about me and i am okay with that.  I have not spent the last twenty years dwelling on my high school years but look back on them fondly.

Outside water dome at the Pacific
Science Center in Seattle.

A boy sliding down concrete
towards the dome.

It was a great year and one of the best summers....EVER!