Dog Days of Summer

Besides basic emotional turmoil of all single twenty-something women, my life, in the words of the Fresh Prince, has been "flipped turned upside-down."  By a small dog who goes by the name of Basil.  Half dachshund, half shar-pei.  Cute as anything, crazy as all get-out.  Apparently, abandoned dogs sometimes suffer from separation-anxiety, and Basil's is severe.  That, and some other factors, have brought me to the decision to stay home this summer and take care of her, and take care of my dad after he has back surgery.  I think it will also be nice to stay home and catch up on reading, Spanish, crafting, and of course, tap-dancing.  I'll just need to live a little more thriftily.  You'll hear about that here.

I've spent this weekend at garage sales, the public library, and the farmer's market.  At the library, I got Mark Bitttman's The Food Matters Cook Book, which is companion to his book that I love so much, and changed my views of food completely.  I'm looking forward to cooking from it!

At the garage sales and antique store(with the help of Molly and Jess), I got some awesome deals!  I spent less that 25 dollars and got two dinosaurs, wood blocks, three movies, two books, pipe cleaners, four spools of ribbon (for my classroom), a NEW game of Catch Phrase, a gift for dad, a picture of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, four pairs of earrings, a feather boa, and two vintage maps to use for a project!  I am so happy with the results.  Garage sales are a teacher's best friend.

I also got this FABULOUS trunk for ten dollars!  I look for a trunk everywhere I go, because I've been dreaming of turning one into a coffee table.  They are usually somewhere from 150-300 dollars, which is obviously too expensive.  When I saw this one for TEN DOLLARS, I flipped!  It needs a lot of work and I know I don't have anywhere to put it right now, but I couldn't pass that deal up.  And I'm so looking forward to the fun of re-finishing it and making it my own!

Finally, this morning, I went to the downtown farmer's market at First and Mosley.  It was delightful!  There were people abound, live music, and local food and produce to die for!  I ended up with a package of Thai Basil and three tomatoes (for bruschetta this week!) and a package of fresh flowers. Heaven. :)

I really wanted some fresh eggs, but they sell out quickly, I was told!  I'll have to go earlier next weekend.  I miss Salina because I got fresh, free-range eggs from a co-worker. :(

Enjoy the bounty of summer, my friends!