I see summer outside my window every day from the table where Kev and I have set up our work from home stations. We're nestled between two corner windows, and I get to look out at the plants in our front yard and the tree in front of our house. These long summer days are so welcome. I'm sitting down to write my list for August and the light is still bright outside at 5:30pm.
Where July was about catching up as much as possible on pottery, August will see more home life in the mix.
Sundays at the studio
Every Sunday afternoon in July was spent at the studio, and it'll be the same this month. I've made good progress on my backordered items and am determined to fulfill them in August.
There was a prolonged heat wave in July and it was always hot at the studio. A giant fan and an old, sputtering AC help, but with the windows wide open to promote air flow, they can only do so much. Still, the hours spent there are peaceful and productive. Despite the last minute desire to ditch my plans and hang at home with the fam that hits me each time right before I leave the house, I always end my studio sessions feeling good about what I've accomplished.
Better use of the evening hours, sometimes
I've been getting tired around 8:30/9pm lately so my evenings have been pretty short. I want to be kind to my needs for rest, but I also want to take advantage of summer's long days. A few specific, and low effort, options for nights when I'm not going to bed when the sun goes down: making the next day's to-do list, 30 more minutes on pottery, a board game with Kev, tidying one part of the house, and working on plans for world domination (or for M&m).
Afternoon tea in the reading nook
The living room in our house is oddly laid out, and the best way we could furnish it was to create two separate spaces: a tv and sofa area and a reading nook/bar cart area. We've added two rattan chairs, a side table, and a shaggy rug to that nook.
This month, I'm looking forward to taking a break from work in the afternoons at least twice a week to sip some tea and read my New Yorker in that corner.
Design decisions
Our landscaping work is done! We had to add the unexpected expense of removing a large tree that was dead and completely split down the center that our neighbor pointed out to us. We're super happy with the work, and our yard now looks less cluttered and more spacious than before. We've also set up our new grill which we're looking forward to using after this heat wave.
The next thing we need to tackle is renovating the downstairs. It's a big project made more daunting by the fact that before COVID, two separate contractors fell through after we'd already made progress on decisions. We now have to start from scratch in our search for someone to work with. However, the benefit of having been in the house for a few months is that we've realized we don't need to do as much work as we'd originally thought.
Instant Pot cooking
We have a new Instant Pot that we're trying to figure out. We've made a few recipes with it that were successful, and I'm looking forward to incorporating it more into our cooking. It's nice that the heat is mostly contained and doesn't heat up the house like the stove and oven do - very helpful when it's already so hot out.
If we come across any GREAT recipes, I'll be sure to share here or on Instagram.
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