Hello hello, welcome to episode 65 of Life On the Brink!
Today we have a bit of a twofor, we’re wrapping up both the Summer Reading Challenge AND I’m giving a recap of the 2022 garden so far. What worked, what didn’t work, and what I hope to change in the future.
I’m also sharing a few of your favorite summer books, and ways that I celebrated reading this summer!
What’s in my teacup? I’m once again drinking the Trader Joe’s Organic Ginger Turmeric Herbal Tea, but I brewed several cups worth with some fresh ginger, peppercorns, lemon zest, and a cinnamon stick. Now I’m drinking it iced with a squeeze of lemon, kind of a refreshing anti-inflammatory booster. YUM!
Alrighty then, grab your cuppa and let’s cozy up with a book chat!
WHAT I READ THIS SUMMER
-“Book Lovers” by Emily Henry (4 stars)
-“Malibu Rising” by Taylor Jenkins Reid (4 stars)
-”Meg” by Steve Alten (2 stars)
-“Beach Read” by Emily Henry (4 stars)
-“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid (4 stars)
I go into more detail with my book reviews in the podcast. Head to 4:02 to hear my reports.
Also, I read “Meg” because my sister hosted a summer book club party for this book. We talked it over, then watched “The Meg,” one of our favorite shark movies. The book wasn’t great but the party was bomb.
Some of your summer reads:
-”Part of Your World by” Abby Jimenez
-”How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals” by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Rebecca Green
-The Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull
My Reading Challenge recap:
I did read all 5 books before I went to any professional development days for this school year, so I agreed to treat myself!
You’ll recall that I drew inspiration for this challenge from Barnes and Noble’s summer reading challenge for kids, so for my “prize” I set myself a budget and went to B&N to pick out a new book.
I ended up getting two! A few tables were “buy one get one 50% off,” so I picked up two books that have been calling my name for quite a while:
-”One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez, translated by Gregory Rabassa
-”The Ten Thousand Doors of January” by Alix E. Harrow
It was a cute little treat for myself, and Josh and I kinda made it part of a date night too. Very special and fun, and I hope to set more challenges for myself in the future!
I’m currently collecting books to read this fall (I AM SO EXCITED), and will be sure to share them in an upcoming podcast episode, but for now, let’s switch over to the garden for a little summer garden recap….
2022 SUMMER GARDEN RECAP
What I harvested:
-5 BIG tomatoes (so far)
-1 (tough) zucchini
-a spring harvest of radishes
-a few carrots from last winter
-several jalapeños
-a few habaneros
-lots of lavender blooms
-so much basil! Genovese and Thai
-lots of other herbs
…plus, the daylilies, purple queen, crepe myrtle, liriope, and yarrow all came back in the flower bed
What didn’t work:
-both my zucchini plants got all shrively and died.
-I only harvested like 4 strawberries, they got really dried out.
-most of my spring carrots came out really tiny.
-the sunflowers just didn’t take. I tried from seed 3 times.
-both the chamomile and cilantro plants died
-caterpillars ate all the arugula
Absolute mysteries:
-Somehow a branch of tomato plant is growing in the crepe myrtle barrel. I never used it for tomatoes, and it’s in a completely different part of the garden!
-A maple tree is growing through one of our apartment-alloted shrubs. It wasn’t there last year, but here it is.
My plans for fall: because fortunately, the growing season here lasts well into Christmastime.
-I plan to plant more carrots once it cools off. I can continue harvesting into the winter.
-Ditto with some broccoli.
-I’d like to add more kale to the boxes and figure out how to keep caterpillars off of it.
-I’ll surely buy a few more chrysanthemums (2 came back from last year).
-Maybe plant some more garlic?
-Continue harvesting as long as possible.
Thoughts for next year:
-I’d like to put more herbs in the veggie boxes and let them help each other. *I learned a lot about this during my talk with Nicole Schauder in Episode 56.*
-If I decide to plant sunflowers, I think I’d like to start the seeds indoors and transfer the seedlings to the garden, rather than sow in-ground.
-I’ll do a bit more research on zucchini to see if there’s a better way to take care of them next year.
-I’ve seen people plant strawberries in hanging baskets, and I really like it. If I get any more berry plants I might consolidate them into a basket.
-It might be time to try cucumber again.
I hope your summer has been full of good books and ripe veggies, and I can't wait to transition both of them into autumn! Be on the lookout, it's coming soon....
This Week’s Little Joy: So Josh and I have been planning all summer for this. I got the idea from this video to try and make a scavenger hunt that didn't involve hiding physical clues, but instead relied on knowledge of the area (or amusement park). We made said scavenger hunt for my brother-in-law Christian, who both loves puzzles, and Busch Gardens, our local theme park.
It took a lot of planning and writing and last-minute shuffling, but it was a success! The hunt lasted about 5 hours and took us all over the whole park, and really made everyone think. So super fun, I can't wait to try something like this again.
What I’m Listening To: This self-titled album by Rachael & Vilray is just so cute. I believe all the tunes are originals, but they all have a very timeless and funny feel to them, you'd think they're jazz standards from decades ago. I found it so happy and easy to listen to, highly recommend!
Thank you so much for listening, friends! I will be back for 2 more episodes as we get into the fall season, but then we'll have 2 weeks off. Josh and I are traveling (I'm SO excited), but then I'll be back for more weekly episodes. Have a great week!