the end...

...of summer. Or, if you look at the weather forecast, possibly the beginning. It's the nicest 3-day stretch of weather (sunny, warm) that we've had all weekend. As usual, we are headed north to the cottage tonight, to try and squeeze what we can out of the summer. Tuesday, I'm back to packing school lunches, checking homework, organizing after school activities and everything else that comes with it. Luckily, my son loves school and is looking forward to it. They've posted the class lists, and he's in a grade 4/5 split class which will be something new for us - he's never been in a split before. I'm happy that if he is in a split, at least it's a 4/5 and not a 3/4 - this way, he's exposed to some grade 5 work.

There have been some other signs of fall showing up:

22 litres of garlic dill pickles - Son and I made these last weekend, and he's a little peeved we have to wait a couple of months for them to be really ready - he wants to eat them NOW!

There are also plans to do something with the masses of basil and rosemary that have taken over my herb garden - I'm thinking herb jellies, and if I get really ambitious, I'll wait until the apples are ready and make it with fresh apples. Personally, I don't eat this jelly myself, but my Mom and my In-Laws love the stuff, as do some friends. I will use it in a marinade or something, but other than that - I'd rather make it than eat it.

I don't know what it is about this time of year - I feel the need to stock up on home made stuff. I like to bake bread on the weekends, and all that stuff that I don't really have time for, but I make the time. It's like the knitting - I start with the woollier stuff (although I have been working on the Kauni through most of August already). I start planning out any Christmas knitting that needs to be done. Other than the fact that I love my creature comforts too much (nothing like knitting in front of a big plasma TV, and indoor plumbing is a necessity), I would have made a good pioneer.