Hubby and I have been enjoying our annual summer vacation and this year we decided to leave our schedule wide open so we could do whatever. Or nothing. We've been doing both... we enjoyed a day with family in northern Wisconsin, a few leisure days at home with the kiddos, we tended to some much neglected work around the house, took a day trip to Appleton, and visited the Horicon Marsh twice.
Our trip to the marsh on Friday was highlighted with absolutely beautiful weather that was reminiscent of my hike in the Colorado mountains a few weeks back. We commented during our marsh hike, that even though Wisconsin is very different than Colorado, the landscape is equally stunning - especially on a day with perfectly blue skies. I'll be sorting through my Colorado pictures soon, so you can see what you think.
We made another trip out early this morning. After the crazy commotion of getting the boys into the car for the 20 minute drive, everyone had a great time! With Logan now at 13+ years and Rollo a mere 5, we have to go at different paces since Rollo and can run circles around his older brother (and us, for that matter). When Logan decided it was time to enjoy a bowl of water (laying down), Hubby stayed with him, while Rollo and I went off on our own for a few miles where we saw turtles, frogs, and lots of birds, including these geese. It was beautiful again today, but the skies weren't nearly as beautiful as a couple days ago. Both boys are currently napping off their exciting excursion.
I've also done a fair amount of cooking during our time off and hope to do more today yet. The best part of cooking during time off is not having any time restrictions - I could start something and tend to it throughout the day. I made us a fresh batch of Roasted Tomatillo Salsa from Against All Grain's Meals Made Simple, but I grilled everything this time and it added so much depth to the flavor of the finished salsa! I also made an extra large batch, so we have plenty in the freezer - it freezes REALLY well. And... I also made gyros - from scratch...
I've been gluten free for 2 years and the benefits have been tremendous for me, but there are many things I miss, including gyros. So, on Friday I made homemade gyro meat using this recipe by The Domestic Man with this tzatziki recipe and some delicious Mybread gluten-free pitas. These pitas were SO soft and SO chewy that I could have mistaken them for the real thing (from what I can remember). I'm skeptical of the GF substitutions/recreations, but I was introduced to these pitas at our local heath food store, The Natural Way, a few weeks back and they were just as good as I remembered. YUM!!! We have leftovers and I can't wait to dig in again!
Of course, I've been knitting. I have a new finished sweater (it's been too hot to get outdoor photos of it) and I'm close to finishing a couple other projects, so hope to have details to share soon. I've been pretty focused on working through my current WIPs and I've been doing pretty well, so far. I did get a wee bit distracted because I have to finish up the next knit along project for Firefly Fibers, but it will all come together. Right?
I'm off to knit a bit before we record this week's podcast episode and make supper. I hope you're enjoying summer and finding time to do what you enjoy!
CHEERS!