What I did in July: Fourth of July travel, Roadtrip in Canada, Sprained My Ankle.

This month has been a mixed bag as far as months go. I began the month with family, spending the week of the fourth of July working and watching the neighbors put on an impossibly long, loud and undoubtedly expensive fireworks show.

Week one: Fourth of July

There's something about the Fourth of July that always sneaks up on me. I am usually still in that early-summer haze, where I can scarcely believe that I can actually go outside without wearing a jacket, when suddenly, boom! (literally, boom, bang, crack), it's Independence Day, and everyone is setting off fireworks and roasting s'mores and boating on the lake. I spent a long weekend with my family on the coast of Lake Michigan, walking to the beach every day after I finished work and generally being lazy, enjoying the flowers and the tall grass and the smell of pine trees all around me. Too quickly, the week was over.

Week two: Canadian Road Trip

At the end of the second week of July, I already needed another mini break. I jumped in my VW convertible and hit the pavement, logging a few hours' drive into Canada, my husband's home and native land. There, I explored a garden of lavender, a quaint 1940s inn on a small lake (and a delicious smoked salmon eggs benny for brunch), and visited a quartz mine with enthusiastic owners who gave an animated tour (in French) about both the physical and metaphysical properties of quartz and the process of getting them out of a mine and into my eager hands (I bought a small piece in the nice gift shop!)
I also vlogged about the idyllic adventure:

Week three: Sprained ankle

So, PSA time. Don't text and walk and carry three bags of groceries and not watch where you are going, so you step off the side of an uneven sidewalk and collapse upon your foot, spraining it so badly that you can't really walk for a handful of days (and, 11 days later, it still hurts). This little incident cost me a weekend... although sitting on my two balconies enjoying the fruits of my labor (my flowers were in full bloom and I am harvesting cherry tomatoes pretty much nonstop) was not exactly the worst activity.

Week four: Wait, it's almost August?!

We've had a relatively rainy summer so far, so it was a big relief that this weekend was gorgeously sunny and cloudless. I am still somewhat limited in my choice of activities thanks to aforementioned ankle that is struggling to heal, but I am able to put more weight on it when I walk so I took advantage of the return of my freedom to drive around, feel the wind in my hair, and step out (in short spurts) to get some errands done. I also had a birthday party to attend on Saturday night in a cheerfully decorated backyard (the party - decor, food, location - would put most of Pinterest to shame). I also got to go to the market to see what mid-summer has to offer, and I found the first of our local peaches, gorgeous summer fresh-cut flowers from my favorite vendor, and live music. I'm trying to soak up the summer because it's relatively short lived where I live. #yolo to the next few weeks, I need to get it alllllll done! P.S. Happy Birthday to Harry Potter tomorrow - July 31st - and I can't believe that this summer it's already been 10 years since "Deathly Hallows" came out!