This week was hectic, between catching up on work after being in Florida last week, then preparing for my upcoming two week vacation. Thankfully things were still slow enough that I was able to get plenty done over the week between trips. I even had time for a few Powerline Trail walks, and time to make some lovely summer salads for lunch! Sadly, I missed out on the eclipse on Monday entirely - all I saw of it was the dusky light out my window near noon. Hopefully the next time one comes around, I'll have a little less going on! 

Andy and I made no plans for the weekend to allow lots of time for all the laundry, cleaning and packing we'd need to do before a long vacation. The one exception for me was a lovely garden tea party hosted by my parents neighbors. Our families have been close since we moved to Washington, and we used to see each other regularly, but life has been hectic, and it had been too long since we all got together as a group. There was tons of delicious food (all impressively both gluten & dairy free!!) champagne for the adults, and lots of adorable activities for my niece and one of the other neighbors' two little girls. I always loved playing in the beautiful garden next door, and it was truly wonderful to watch my niece exploring it too.