The Little Things No. 55

Dear Friend,

The end of summer often makes me sad. It’s not that I don’t love autumn, autumn in New England is magical, but I always feel like there was more that I wanted to do during summer that I did not. More time spent outdoors, more gardening, more trips to the sea, more dancing on the patio with my family, more summer reading, more swims in lakes and rivers and oceans. . . It is time that I want more of.

All that being said, this spring and summer was good to me. I started a new job after more than two and a half years at an arts non-profit. The slower pace was good to me, although I still found myself busy and overwhelmed working at a local library part time and a law firm part time while running my photography business. At least my schedule was set and not sporadic. I didn’t have to work as many weekends or late nights. Gosh, I wish I could afford to cut something but rent and groceries and student loans and other bills are just so expensive. Even with all that, I am so grateful. There were challenges with my new job and routine, but it seems to be working out for the best and at the moment I am content.

This was the summer that we leaned into being home. As renters, it sometimes feels hard to settle in as nothing feels permanent, but Matthew and I really made the most of where we are. Matthew fixed up an old grill that was gifted to us for free and he has been learning how to cook on it this summer. We have eaten al fresco as much as possible, which was my biggest summer goal, and we updated the front porch with more seating, plants for the pollinators and sheer curtains to keep out the bugs at night. Matthew even hung solar powered string lights. It has extended our time spent outdoors and has added a sense of tranquility that has been missing when we get home from work. Instead of being inside at twilight or after dark, we’ve spent evenings eating dinner, reading and even watching our favorite shows right on the front porch.

In early summer Matthew hung a swing in the back yard and my cousin Brian mowed pathways and trails through the property. I’ve nicknamed it our secret garden. I’m a children’s librarian and when I came home on a Saturday after our Summer Reading Festival, there was a swing hanging from the apple tree as a fun surprise. Some mornings I walk down the hill with my strawberry shaped teacup full of green tea and sit and sip.

In May we ended our spring and started summer with a ten-day trip to France. After that, we did not travel far this summer. One day we went for a hike in the Catskills and swam under a waterfall. We spent a few days at the local Lake Compounce amusement park, the oldest amusement park in the United States. For the fourth of July we went to my aunt’s cottage on the lake I grew up on and we line danced on the patio, as one does when the cousins are all together. I’m hoping for a few more hot days to swim after work and games of pickleball before leaning into the autumn season.

Thank you for appreciating the little things with me.

With gratitude,

Courtney

 

 

Mornings and afternoons reading my favorite magazines (including the British edition of Country Living).

A morning in Colmar, France.

Tearing up while taking in Monet’s water lilies in Paris.

Summer programs at the library as the new children’s librarian.

Time with my grandmother and Great Aunt Eva at my Great Aunt and Uncle’s 70th wedding anniversary.

Wading into rivers with my cousins.

In my garden. (When the turkeys took over my strawberry patch).

Strawberries and lemons on the dining room hutch.

An oil painting I painted of Sugar Hill New Hampshire and a bowery basket full of lavender.

Hiking the Catskills.

Summer days at the lake.

Trails to the secret garden at the cottage.

Grilled dinners on the porch.

Summer programs at the library. My cousin’s partner visited us at the library and brought my niece and nephew to our Llamas at the Library program this July.

Peaceful evenings at the cottage.

Sunsets at the cottage.