Where Has the Summer Gone?

So technically this picture is from earlier this summer, but since the scene is pretty much the same this evening I figured I could use it just now. 

The summer has been a blur...literally. I can't even remember who all and where all and what all I saw and did. In the coming weeks, I may try to recap as I do like to use the blog as a running record of experiences and insights, but then again, I also might not choose to worry about it. 

We're headed toward September and I honestly couldn't be happier. I'm ready for fall. I'm ready for a change in season, a change in pace of life, and a change in (well technically the first word that came to mind here was direction.....) so let's just say a break. Technically I won't truly get a a break until December (which is when I need to study for massage licensing exams), but after this coming week I will be back to three weeks of only having school and no work to attend. I'm tired. This summer has been FULL, and while it's been lovely in so many ways....I'm exhausted in a big, bad way. I've been taking four separate classes, teaching three separate courses, managing two renters in my house, maintaining the daily chores (chickens, dogs, cat, garden & yard watering), continuing to date, assisting with family endeavors, trying to increase mileage, attempting to pick/can/preserve produce, and making sure that I see everyone who has come through town this summer. It's been a lot....and yet I also know that I am so incredibly fortunate for every single one of the items that I just mentioned. This busyness means that I'm stimulated, I have a paycheck, I can pay my bills and have spent the summer living in great community, I've had wonderful individuals to spend time with, my legs and body continue to function, I come home every day to the happiest of dog smiles, I've canned & picked more than ever, and I am so fortunate to have amazing family & friends in my life and to live in a great home. The exhaustion and having too much to do will pass and eventually life will settle back down again in about half a year, but the moments along the way will continue to stick with me as memories of awesomeness. While it hasn't been the same level of immense joy as last summer, my soul and my mind have spent the last three months feeling really pretty content. It's been a great season all around.

So as we wrap up these final weeks of "Indian summer" with temperatures still hitting the 90s, I plan to look back with fondness on the months behind while looking forward to the opportunities that loom ahead. This weekend I'll wrap up my summer teaching courses, finish canning the rest of the pears, and finally accomplish one of my life goals of trying to learn to surf. I hope to spend most of next week trying to finalize the rest of the homework for my massage courses, so that truly all I'll need to worry about is attendance and final exams for the two weeks after. My teaching (4 sections of the same course) and student schedules (clinic, spa, & thai massage) for fall term are already set, so I'll also need to spend some time next week prepping my fall teaching courses. D is back in my life and we have two backpacking trips planned for the middle weekends in September and I have a goal of accomplishing 100 total miles for the month. The summer housemate left mid month and a new one will take her place in a week or so...hopefully staying until November. I've registered for two fall kayaking trips (October & November). And lately I've been getting into the seasonal transition desire to purge and organize the house again. The next several months will fly by but I'm excited by the prospect of what all they might hold...and I'm looking forward to these middle "easier" weeks directly ahead. Here's hoping that all continues to progress smoothly and that in no time we'll be walking on crunchy leaves, wearing sweaters, and cuddling by fires drinking cider! :)

Brain Dump of Recent Events

Life has been a whirlwind. I love how whenever I expect things to slow down, then things totally get packed in :)

--One thing I didn't mention in my last update post is that on the run date, we actually crossed paths with an old acquaintance of mine from my hometown. I got in touch with the guy via FB to find out if it was really him, which led to happy hour, which led to dinner & drinks during the next week with our one of our many mutual friends and his wife (who happens to be a former boyfriend and then we were best friends for years after the fact). So literally in the span of three days, I saw the two guys from my hometown who I hadn't really seen in 6-10 years, finally got the opportunity to meet the one guy's wife (who I loved...they are so wonderful together!), plus hosted my old undergrad friend and her husband who I had only seen once in the last ten years also (and they might be moving up here!!). Lots of reconnecting with some amazing people. Tonight I'm meeting up with the old acquaintance and another gal from our hometown in order to run Mt Tabor.

--I spent a morning Upicking cherries and then drove to my sister's for a fun morning/early afternoon of making strawberry freezer jam. And then on Saturday, I accomplished my simple goal of getting up with the sun on the solstice and embracing the whole day :)

--The second new housemate arrived and so far she's been great. She's only here for two months and based on how the summer is already going, I have a feeling those two months are going to fly by! Compromising some as with all living situations, but it's wonderful to feel like the house might be settled for a bit (fingers crossed....).

--I don't want to post too much about all my adventures and interactions lately BUT I had an amazing Sunday of making pies from scratch with left over strawberries from the jam making and rhubarb that was picked from the garden....followed up with riding on the back of a motorcycle through the backroads of my local area. It was SO.MUCH.FUN and I had a smile plastered to my face the whole time. It'd been forever since I'd been on a bike and it was incredible to see the country fields and farms from a different perspective with the breeze whipping us and the sun shining down. All of the mountains were visible in the distance, big American flags were flapping on farm lands, cows and alpacas were out in the fields, and it was fun leaning around all the curvy roads. The rest of that day was also pretty stellar with dinner thrown together and eaten on the patio with sparkly lights lit around and an easy walk with the dogs around the neighborhood. Things in life aren't always simple....but the moments that are easy and free seem to make life feel more spectacular.

--I celebrated the end of the massage term, so technically this week and next I'm "on vacation." Although my new work term started this week and I taught my first inperson course of summer term last night. My classmate and I are heading on our first backpacking trip Sunday-Tuesday and we're both pretty stoked. I just got a new backpacking book which has some great new trails to check out in it, and the old backpacking buddy (reg D) and I have been trying to figure out when we can get out on the trail together. He also came out with my massage classmates and I to help us celebrate the end of our term and so I could finally introduce old and new backpacking friends :) It'd be great if the three of us can manage a trip together. See again...this summer is going to be a blur! ;)

--We had our second book club meet up and I'm so happy to be back at it with these gals. Each one of them is so dear to me! We're reading: The Other Wes Moore this month, which is a book I've been wanting to read for a while, so I'm looking forward to it.

--Lil Jenny chicken passed on, so now the two mainstay ladies are full-time in the coop. They don't seem to be the brightest two of the bunch but they're still loads of entertainment at the moment! ;) In mid July I'll get two more chicks and raise them in the kennels until I can try to transition any survivors into the coop with the two that I have. Ideally I'd like to have at least 2-3 bigger laying hens for eggs and right now I just have one big bird and a small to mid sized bird.

--I've still been struggling with lower leg issues since trying to stage a comeback in the last few months. I'd finally paid to have one of my instructors work on my left ankle as it has been the thing causing me the most trouble. While it's definitely muscular, the bones in my foot and leg are pulling away from each other which isn't the most pleasant sensation and doesn't make running much fun. I've been wondering if different footwear might help, so I sucked it up this week and tried out new options at REI. While I'd been wanting to do minimalist shoes, none of them felt comfortable, so for now I'm trying out a pair of solid Brooks. Yesterday's run was less than pleasant also as my legs try to adjust to using my muscles a little differently. I've been hoping to run a half this summer, but at this point I know that I'd have to retrain back up to it and until I figure out the footwear issue....that plan might be on the back burner.

--The garden is seriously doing better than any other year that I've been in the house. Not only is my one raised bed going crazy, but the berries/grapes/kiwi are heavy with the start of fruit. I also was able to get the front planted like I'd hoped and it's fun seeing stuff trying to come up in a new spot. I have been lacking motivation for the last few days to work on yard stuff, but hopefully next week I'll get a few more projects done!

--Besides everything already mentioned there were a few other times of going out with friends or new people and hosting others at the house. Needless to say, as an introvert who sometimes passes as an extrovert, I've been spending this week in hibernation as much as possible so I can recharge. I've spent plenty of time just lounging on the patio or in the hammock doing nothing, working, thinking, or reading...relishing the simple pleasures and awesomeness of the backyard. As much as I absolutely love connecting with all the amazing people I have in life, I also tend to need some solo time for myself. It's been lovely to get a few days during the middle of this week to do just that....especially since tomorrow I'll see two separate friends coming from out of town, Saturday is schedule to be a hike/beach outing, and Sunday-Tuesday is backpacking time. For the fourth, I'm taking the dogs and Granny to the beach to save Roxi from the chaos of 4th of july fireworks in the neighborhood and then the following week is when I'll now have four different out of state friends all passing through in the same 4-5 days :) Ha! So excited to see everyone, but definitely glad for some time to recharge this week :) It seems like the theme of this summer is just taking things in stride. Accepting the chaos and seeking out the simple moments that exist too.

Hope you all have been doing wonderfully!

Annual Kings Mtn Summit Hike

Fourth year in a row that the dogs and I have made the 2.5 mile, 2500 ft incline trek to the top of Kings Mtn. This year was a gorgeous day with blue skies, wildflowers, & lots of sunshine. 

"Come on, E, get up here!" :)

Sometimes it's incredible how much a trail can teach you. The first year I hiked this sucker was when I realized I have a fear of heights. The ex patiently waited while I coaxed myself up the mountainside. The next year the dogs and I did the trek in record speed, not stopping once til we made the top, as I needed to prove to myself that I was tougher than I thought. Last year we let Tall D join us again and I smiled through the rain that fell on us. This year...well sunshine & wildflowers, again speedy, and with a trail jog back down. I'd randomly woken up at 5:30am that morning so we made the trailhead by 10 and were back off the mountain by noon, which meant limited people interactions on the trail. With summer approaching, Kings Mtn gets used quite a bit so going earlier in the day definitely lessened the number of people we came into contact with along the way. Beautiful day...and I can't help but wonder what year 5 will be like! :)