goodbye july

Late summer is on our doorstep and that makes me a tad anxious. Winter will be here before I know it and that means less time outside. >_<  While locals complained of the dry heat that accompanied this past month, I was savoring it. It was wondrous and made me feel alive! July was non-stop busy and mostly involved working extra hours at my job. I didn't do as many fun summer activities as I had wanted to, but August is my second chance! Even still, July was semi-productive. I have been somewhat of a recluse lately due to some creative goals that I am working on. For those who don't know, I am in the process of copyrighting a collection of my songs so that I will be able to share them via the internet without fear of some weirdo laying claim to my originals. This goal has been slow going so I cannot say when I will have it completed. I am recording each of my songs for this and that takes me quite a bit of practice and time. I am halfway there, though! Woot! Also, in the creative department, I have been putting up some finishing decor touches in our master bedroom (which takes money and time, ugh!), but I hope to share photos of the results in a couple months or so. For now, here's a sneak peek of two adorable side tables I snagged at a consignment shop right across the street from us. These tiled tables are from Mexico!

 
















While I didn't "get out" as much as I had hoped this past month, I did enjoy some peaceful moments at Lemon Lake and along the Animas River. I have been taking lots of walks lately and it has done wonders for my mood. My time at physical therapy has really begun to pay off as I have had more days of no pain this past month than in previous months! Long days at my job are a challenge for me in this regard. Because my job is very physical, it is easy to feel "set back" in the progress I am making with my muscular health. However, as I have increased the number of exercises and weights that my physical therapist recommended to me, I have felt more consistent results in being able to recover sooner from long and exhausting days at work. This has been a wonderful breakthrough in my battle with chronic pain and I am incredibly grateful!

The harvest has slowly started to come in at the Rhodes' homestead. Nolan's parents' are so generous in regards to the amount of food they give us. It's difficult to come up with recipes with some of the vegetables they give us (particularly since I work and feel too lazy to cook complicated meals), but I made pretty good use of a large cabbage head by cooking some deliciously divine cabbage beef rolls. I am not a fan of cabbage, but I ate these three nights in a row and did not complain! I can't believe I was able to make something so good! Also, I threw together some nourishing quiche pies from the eggs from his parents' chickens.

 

Chocolate, almond butter, coconut milk popsicles!

Blueberry and coconut cream popsicles!

 Also, these two photos below are but a small glimpse of their peach tree harvest. This peach-obsessed fan is all jittery about it! We will be picking these for the next few weekends, but the load that was ripe towards the end of July were incredibly juicy and sweet. I was dreaming about peaches that whole weekend! *sigh*

My husband purchased himself a motorcyle in July and I am so glad for him. He first mentioned his desire for one when we were dating back in 2012. Over the years, he has continued to mention it in passing. Well, I was thankful that he was done talking about it and finally decided to just pursue buying one! haha! It's his perfect escape during the days that he needs to recharge and find solace along some back roads through the mountains. 

Near the end of the month, Nolan's family came to Durango to visit for some quality time. My brother-in-law's husband, Brian, and his family traveled from Ohio to join in. It was my first time meeting Brian's talented and spirited family! We had several days together to get to know one another and visit. Much time was spent enjoying fine dining at Durango eateries and we even got to take some of them on a hike along the Colorado Trail. It was a great way to end a long month!

My husband will kill me for sharing this, but it's not every day that I get to capture him and his siblings in their environment! hehe!

Also, I just cannot forget to mention...the Outlander season finale aired July 9th and my heart was a-flutter! While there was a certain, new, main character that grated upon my nerves as much as she does in the books (seriously! The trauma that await her in book 4 I feel absolutely no sorrow about! She's obnoxious!), it was still glorious to see the final events of book 2 on screen! It was exhilarating!! While there were two departures from the book this season that I wasn't entirely happy about it, everything was perfected in this scene....

It was more breathtaking and moving on screen than in the book! <insert a million heart/tear emjoi's here> Loved the tender changes they made to this scene as it captured their relationship powerfully.

Anyway, I haven't been *this* obsessed with a fandom in a long time. I must be allowed to squeal!

Oh yeah, in case one couldn't tell from my July photos, I chopped my hair off shorter a couple weeks ago. After watching Downton Abbey (just completed season 5), I was inspired to go with the bob, a style that I haven't worn for at least 10 years. My hair doesn't really know what it wants to be right now, so I am just having fun with different cuts this past year.

In other news, now thinking about August...this next week marks a full year that I have been working my job at the preschool! What an insanely busy year full of new experiences and learning! I am so full of gratitude towards my boss who has really opened the door of opportunities and education for me in the field of early childhood development. While I first began this job just as a means of money and experience, it really has grown into something more meaningful with the children, parents, and coworkers that have filled my weeks for the past year. It hasn't been without its share of downs, but I am thankful that I have been given a second chance at doing something for myself. It has been a good path of learning more independence and growing into my adulthood (for my homeschooled, sheltered, naive-self, haha! Okay, I over-exaggerate). I am continuing to pursue my teacher qualification in this field and look forward to what this next year will bring in my learning!

Well, there's food to be cooked, more photos to be edited, rooms to be cleaned, songs to be practiced, family to call....I am signing out for now! The weekends are never long enough!