Before we get any further into September, I feel I must give at least a quick look back at what I’ve been up to these last three months of (mostly) radio silence.

1. I went to Nicaragua. It was amazing. As I mentioned, I led a team from my church on a service trip there – we helped install water filters in people’s homes, we did children’s health and hygiene education, and we worked with a youth empowerment project. The trip was everything I’d hoped it would be, and more.

We worked with a nonprofit there called AMOS Health and Hope – if you’re ever looking for an incredible organization to support, either through financial donations or volunteer work, I would highly recommend them. They work to address issues of poverty, disease, and preventable death by working alongside local communities in health, education, and development. I love their model of partnership and empowerment.

2. While there, I knit for a minute. Seriously, watch:

Like I said – about a minute. I just rarely had the right conditions or energy for my handiwork. Here’s what I accomplished:

Impressive, right?

I obviously should have wasted very little time and energy worrying about what yarn to bring and what pattern(s!) I might want to work on while traveling.

3. I planted a square foot vegetable garden. 

It’s looking pretty shaggy right now, but I was pretty proud of it. It’s been years since I’ve had a real vegetable and herb garden (I’ve grown tomatoes and sometimes peppers in pots for the last several years). Despite my efforts at putting up barriers around the raised beds to keep the critters out, I’ve had to do regular battle with squirrels over my produce, but at least they’ve left the herbs and flowers alone.

4. I went to my happy place (i.e., Santa Rosa Beach, Florida).

 

5. I had lots of time with family, including my little nugget of a grand-niece. 

6. I didn’t spin. (But I’ve started rectifying that situation).

7. I didn’t sew. (But that wasn’t just limited to summer – how long has it been now? At least a year. I hope to rectify this soon.)

8. I didn’t blog (and I took some breaks from Facebook, too). The Nicaragua trip forced an electronic break that actually set a nice tone for the rest of the summer. Now I’m working on setting up some healthy parameters for my digital life (step number one – no checking my phone as soon as I wake up), which has been a good experience so far. But! I’m back to blogging for real now.

And that about sums it up, I guess.

How was your summer?