I hope you had an enjoyable Labour Day. We started school yesterday after a very busy August.

Read

I pre-read Hittie Warrior and Galileo and the Magic Numbers for school. (I suppose I could count both of them for my Books of Centuries challenge in the Biblical times and 17th century categories — or I could wait and read something written during those periods.)

The Pelican Can is a simple picture book that my three-year-old really liked.

Eat

I was craving sweet potato fries with sriracha mayo and turns out there’s a few more ingredients than just sriracha and mayonnaise (i.e. lemon juice, garlic, and salt) — very tasty.

The girls continued their Friday cooking, until other events interfered. They made pulled pork with coleslaw and savory crepes with peach dumplings for dessert.

Some other baking the kids did was brownies, lemon bars, cranberry phyllo triangles, blueberry scones, and chocolate cherry cream cheese pie bites. I barely get a chance to bake these days!

Do

Now for what kept us so busy!

• Youth Garden Club wrapped up with flower arranging and cooking
• Swimming lessons ended with a special water Olympics
• We hosted a tea party for fourteen girls with sandwiches, dessert, and games
• We went on a hike before church at Swallow Bluffs Wildlife Management Area
• We walked in the parade with our church float for Lisbon Homecoming (and had a cookout the night before)
• We spent some time at the Eisenhower Lock visitor center and got a close up view of a cargo ship being lowered
• Beaver Camp was a blast with water activities, a challenge course, gaga ball, and lots of good food and board games with cousins
• Our church hosted an outdoor Psalm sing with about 100 people in attendance
• We ended the month with the kids going to a harvest festival and tractor show with Andrew’s parents while Andrew and I went to the Indian buffet, Potsdam Farmers’ Market, Birch Bark Bookstore, and Stone Valley Trail where kayakers were going over a waterfall! Then we all visited the Potsdam library and walked on a trail along the river.

Listen

Two new-to-me songs: “All My Days” by Side Saddle and “Later On” by Fantastic Cat.

Meditate

“If favor is shown to the wicked,
    he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
    and does not see the majesty of the Lord.” – Isaiah 26:10

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
    and passing over transgression
    for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
    because he delights in steadfast love.
He will again have compassion on us;
    he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
    into the depths of the sea.
You will show faithfulness to Jacob
    and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
    from the days of old.” – Micah 7:18-20