Last days of summer

Today was a good day and I'm feeling very content tonight. It's a good night to post. :) I am nearing the end of the class I am taking. It's been a challenge and I definitely have shorttimers syndrom. I REALLY need to pass this CLEP test. I don't know what I'll do if I have to take classes all the way through January. But either way, one more week of this class then 2 weeks off to study for the CLEP. I bought some study guides to help, but honestly haven't really looked at them yet.

For those of you who know me well, you know....I don't cook. It's not necessarily that I can't cook. My mom is a great cook and I just never learned to enjoy it the way she does. I always was spoiled by letting her try her new recipes on me. When I didn't want to cook, I'd call her up and we'd either go out or she'd have something on her table for us to try. It was easy to never cook when I had pizza places, fast food and other options all right down the street. I've tried many times to start a resolution to cook and eat at home, but it's never lasted more than a week or 2 at best. Here the options are much more limited. All the normal fast food places are about 20 min away and some of them are a pain to get too. For example, the only Taco Bell is inside the mall. The only Wendy's has a pretty small parking lot. Subways are all over, but again, pretty small parking lots which fill up quickly. There are a few places in Keeseville, but they are 10-15 min away and down the highway. So I've rekindled my resolution to cook. It's working out much better here. I had packed all my cookbooks so I would be able to use them when I got here. Since I've never been much of a cook, I don't have a lot of recipes in my head. However, I never found them in the unpacking. I have one that Katie gave me as a going away present and one I bought at a used book store. When I got my new phone, I was going through the free apps and found a cookbook one. Big Oven. I liked it cause I could also log on to the website and access the same info. It gives me a shopping list option, a try soon and a favorites. There is also a leftover wizard. You put in all the leftovers in your fridge and it'll tell you what you can make with them. I love it. The website is www.bigoven.com. I have found TONS of great recipes on here. You can search by ingredient or just about anything. I have become totally addicted to it. So today I decided to try something else new. I love steak. It's one of my favorite meals. Again...no good steakhouses around here so I have been missing it. Usually when I cook steak at home, I just grill it and then use tons of A1 ( i use the A1 when I'm out too. :) ) But in true addict fashion, this morning I thought, "I wonder what big oven has for steaks!!!" I found a great marinade recipe and I had almost all the ingredients. I mixed it up and soaked the steaks for about 5-6 hours. Put them on the grill tonight and had the best steak ever. I put A1 on my plate and didn't even use it. It was great. I am so proud of myself and gaining confidence in my cooking abilities. I'm branching out and trying more things as I go. It's really been fun.
I also got a lot of work done today which was very exciting since I've been slacking off the last few weeks. When Sean was home we started unburying the front sidewalk but we never finished. From what we can tell, it goes straight and then either curves or turns at a right angle. There is a bush completely covering that part, so I'll have to have that removed before I can tell for sure. Today I went out with a shovel, gloves and the pressure washer and found the rest of the sidewalk to the bush. It's really pretty: not just concrete, but slabs of stone. It'll be a nice addition when the bush is gone and it goes all the way around.
Melody and I have also been working on the back lot. I have cleared some small trees and cut a bunch of low branches to make another area accessible back there. I have a row of irises that has been almost totally overgrown with grass. We haven't been mowing there because i don't want to lose the flowers, but I had to get the grass out before it choked out the flowers (plus you couldn't even see some of the flower plants anymore). Melody and I started the other day and finished one whole section of them. It looks much better. I still have another row to go, but it was hot and I was done for the day at this point.

Miss Alyce showed up right at the end and asked if Melody wanted to go to the beach with her and Shera, so off they went. They came home with a milkweed with a catapillar on it. We put it in a jar and ara watching. Alyce says it will make a cocoon and turn into a monarch if we keep watching it. Melody's pretty excited about that. Melody also played at Alyce's house for awhile and had a great time with Shera.
We ended the day with a trip into Keeseville for ice cream. It was a good day. Now I'm sitting on the porch (trying not to be eaten alive) with a drink and relaxing. I meant to bring out the camera to post pictures of the sidewalk and irises, but left it inside. I'm too lazy to go get it right now, but will do a post of pictures later. :)