Lovely Mystic

 I spent a fun day in Mystic, Connecticut with my friends Meredith and Beth and Beth's teenage daughter Maeve at the end of June. It was a fun way to start the summer! 

We went to a nice outdoor shopping village called Olde Mistick Village and (stating the obvious) we shopped and ate lunch.

I like Christmas shops, and this one didn't disappoint!

I found an owl nutcracker!! Of course I had to get it.

More owls

I took pictures of Greek mythology things that I saw and texted them to Sam.

I like dolls but not these ones!

😂😂😂

Lunch was so good. Meredith and I shared an absolutely delicious mushroom pizza (we were in Mystic so we had to get pizza!) and I got a root beer to go with it. Pizza and root beer, such a good combination. 😋

I got some really, really good olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I need to go online and get more. It was that good, and they had so many different flavors.

The giant gnome was an irresistible photo opp. LOL

Then we went to the Mystic Seaport Museum, which is a great collection of museums, buildings, and ships. It's like a recreation of a historic village ("living history museum" is the term), like Old Sturbridge Village and Plimoth Plantation. 

Check out these cool mastheads from old ships...

It was fun exploring one of the ships. I could live like this on solid ground, though I wouldn't enjoy the lack of space and privacy, but on a smallish ship? Not so much! I don't know how our ancestors did it. 

The houses on the other side of the river were so pretty.

The restoration work on the Mayflower II was done in this shipyard before it sailed back up to Plymouth last year.

This picture with Meredith practically made my summer. 😆 (Even though my forehead looks huge!)

Mystic was lovely and it only took about 90 minutes to drive there. I'm looking forward to going back again! 

Progress Report: The Garden in June

 The garden did pretty well in June. Except for the peas, which were a mess...

I've never done peas. I didn't realize you're not supposed to let them get all tangled up. I thought they could just grow wild, like grapes. 😄 I hoped they'd work themselves out, but no such luck. Classic nature, so dependent on us humans. 😆

 

I spent an industrious evening getting them all untangled and trellising them up. I'm not sure that I did it right, but it was kind of fun. (I'm pretty sure that I didn't do it right, or I waited too long to do it, because not a single pea grew this summer!)

The tomato plants were growing well. I love tomatoes, so I was particularly happy about that.

The cucumber plants were growing well too. But I made a fatal flaw and didn't thin them out, so I ended up not getting a good crop of cucumbers at all, especially compared with last year. Next year, I'll definitely do seedlings instead of direct-sowing.

The beans were growing well too, and they were starting to flower.

I call these two pictures "Bean blossom beauty." 😆

The view of three of the four raised beds looking down from the back deck. 

After all, I am the goddess of this garden! 😉

Reading Al Fresco

 One of my favorite things is reading outside by the pool. I do some of my best reading there. 😁

Evening is my favorite time to read outside because the sun's glare is gone, the temperature is usually more comfortable, and the sky looks pretty.

Violet likes to hang out by the pool too, but no reading for her since she's illiterate. 😄

Wisdom, Humor, and Inspiration in June

 Public Service Announcement: the following nuggets of "wisdom, humor, and inspiration" are in the order that I took them. Normally I'd want to organize them into categories, but I'm lowering my standards (just a bit) in preparation for becoming a single working mom when my time is going to become much tighter. My blog is something I want to continue so I'm going to have to be okay with things being good enough and not editing everything to death! 

I can relate to this guy 😆

Personal revelation has blessed and continues to bless my life greatly.

Yup.

Helpful advice. Cognitive reappraisal is something I do regularly for a variety of situations, and it really can help.

I love those Brits! I find daily routines immensely helpful in good times and in hard times, and following those routines during the hard times (while not being too rigid about it) is one of the things that helps build my resilience.    

Someone close to me who knows my situation well woke me up to the concept of gaslighting and that that's what's been happening to me over the last few years. At first I didn't believe it, but researching and discussing this issue has been enlightening, enraging, empowering, and freeing, all at the same time.

Now that I know about this, I'll never again allow anyone to gaslight me about anything.

This is one of the big reasons that I'm very careful and choosy about the TV shows and movies that I watch.  

Good food advice

🙋😆

IF I date in the future once I'm no longer married, I'm definitely going to follow this advice this time around. 

I love this hymn. We sang it in sacrament meeting and my eyes filled up with tears. I felt comforted in the midst of my trials. I know that my Savior is always there for me and with me as I follow Him.

"And while I strive through grief and pain, His voice is heard: 'Ye shall obtain.'"

More good health advice. I try to do all of these things.

Moving mountains IS possible...

This concept has been so helpful for me.

Also very helpful, all of it.

Also very helpful

I did everything I could but it simply wasn't possible to single-handedly save my marriage. Both people have to want it and both have to be willing to put in the work.

Here's looking at you, avocado toast (which I love!).