July kitchen windowsill

This month, on my kitchen windowsill there is…

A clipping from my basil plant.     My first attempt at growing something edible and I have to say there is nothing quite as good as eating what you just picked, even if it is only an herb.  I am quite tempted to grow something more substantial next year (Tomatoes?  Lettuce?  Berries of some kind?) but until then I happily chomp down on my basil with nearly every meal.  Except breakfast—I can’t quite figure out how to make it work in my yogurt/oatmeal/fruit combo.

My good ol’ Carmex.  This small tube of liquid gold has become even more crucial during these hot days.

A black matchbox car.            George’ favorite.  Unfortunately he expresses his adoration by chewing on it giving his mother an uncomfortable knot in her stomach and voices in her head screaming, “LEAD POISONING!  LEAD POISONING!”  I can’t imagine the toy does have lead paint, but I am not taking any chances.  It may become a permanent fixture on our windowsill or at least until George stops doing things just because I asked him not to.  Yes, as I said, permanent.

Our lucky penny.  Hasn’t let us down yet!

A tiny ceramic souvenir frog from Puerto Rico.  I’m sure you’re wondering who the lucky recipient of this trinket is.  Will and his law school friend, Brian Glass, have a nearly 10-year tradition of buying each other souvenirs from their trips.  Will can’t remember when this odd custom began, but the rule is (yes, there are rules…I know, I’ve just stopped asking “why” sometimes) it has to be less than $3.00.  Don’t worry, Brian – Will spared no expense this trip with this $.30 beauty.  It’s still sitting on our windowsill because the second unofficial rule (I suppose that would make the first rule official?) is that you must wait at least six months after the trip to remember to send the gift to the other person.

Our thermometer reading 105.8 degrees!  As if anyone needs reminding, it has been HOT this past week.  Frances, George and I have either been at the pool or in an air-conditioned building running off some excess energy (so far, Costco seems to be the coldest store east of the Mississippi).



The temperature actually rose .2 of a degree between pictures.  Ugh.



PS – it seems like last week that I was writing “where in the world did June go?” and now I find myself wondering the same thing about July.  Maybe it’s me or maybe it’s my new life, but this summer seems to be flying by even quicker than most.  And can someone please tell Target and K-Mart to stop sending those lovely “Back to School” catalogs our way??  Even though no one in my house currently attends school (except Frances, I suppose) seeing those fall colors sends my brain instantly back to my ten-year-old self mourning the end of summer.  And it’s still July.  For the next 10 hours anyway.

Have a great week everyone!