It’s raining this morning. Heaven knows, we need it. The landscape was looking a little brown at the end of July, and the ponds behind the house, which rely on rain to maintain their levels, were receding quickly. Of course, the rains and the clouds are keeping the summer temperatures lower as well, a thankful relief from 100-degree days earlier this month. There are a lot of good things that happened this month.

1. We spend a Saturday afternoon with our sons, daughter-in-law, and grandson. Sully is two and a half, and a “miracle baby.” He’s beginning to talk and not just in baby babbles–whole sentences. He has two speeds: off and full steam ahead. It is rare for him to be completely still. When our sons were toddlers, my father made a rocking dog for them. Surprisingly, it survived the house fire, and we dusted it off and gave it to Sully. He was enchanted and kept saying, “That’s cool!”

2. Books and more books! One thing retirement has given me is more time to read the books I want to read. I admit that I quite often binge read, especially Regency/historical novels, but this year, I took on a challenge to read at least 52 books. I have more than exceeded that number and working on 100 books for the year. At the rate I’m going, I may exceed that number as well! It’s hard to pick the best book for this month, but there are a couple that rank right up there. The Secret Book of Flora Lea is one of them. The Lost Story and A Novel Love Story are two others. This month I have read more in the genre of magical realism.

3. Crafting is one of my “things”. I knit or crochet just about every day. This week, I finished the nine squares of the Irish Fields afghan kit. I just need to assemble the complete afghan. This months Hooks and Needles crochet and knitting box arrived, and I completed two of the projects: a crocheted Granny square crossbody bag and a knitted shoulder bag. I also used some HTV (heat transfer vinyl) to make a book bag for Sully’s library books. He is entranced by the Disney-Pixar movie Cars, and LIghtning McQueen is one of his favorite characters, so he has a personalized LIghtning McQueen bag for his library hauls.

After that success, I made two more, one for me and one for Sully’s mom, Sherry.

4. My sourdough starter is working again. The last couple of times I made bread, the starter would bubble but would not grow after I fed it. I had lots in the jar, so I baked anyway. The bread turned out okay, but I wasn’t satisfied. Moreover, my starter kept separating with that dark liquid on top, which I found out is called “hooch.” Yeah, the same name given to moonshine, well, because, that liquid is alcohol from the fermenting process. I read all kinds of articles on making sourdough breads and maintaining starter, and I learned that my starter was starving. So, following the advice given, I fed the starter daily for two days, keeping it out of the refrigerator. After the second day, the starter bubbled AND grew–and I made a loaf of cinnamon-raisin sourdough bread. It turned out beautifully. Next time, I’m going to double the cinnamon; it needs a little more kick! By the way, raisin bread was my grandmother Wessinger’s favorite bread, so I’m eating this bread in her memory!

5. I splurged a couple of weeks ago and had a professional manicure. It’s nice being pampered. The only thing is, the polish chips off so soon. I need another one to fix this one.

Good things–definitely. They are all around. I just have to look for them.