Dinner under a tent, feet from corn fields. The air in Bucks County is discernibly lighter than the stuff we breath in Center City.

On my co-worker Eric’s last day, we left work a few minutes early in order to celebrate his time with us with drinks and food at Devil’s Alley. The light coming through the big, second-floor windows was irresistible to my camera, as we defended our seats, waiting for the rest to arrive.

It was CSA pick up night and we got a bountiful array of the most beautiful summer fruits and vegetables. The months of July, August and September are such joys, food-wise.

A picnic dinner with friends Becky and Eric at Penn Treaty Park, while the Dixie Hummingbirds played. What a good night out it was!

An evening at the William Penn House pool. Truly a mid-city oasis.

I woke up this morning feeling deeply unrested and under the weather. Scott brought me my computer so I could send my co-workers an email, declaring myself on a sick day. I went back to sleep and spent the rest of the day drifting from couch to various little tasks around the apartment.

For dinner, I made my July/August/September soup. It’s onions, garlic, eggplant, summer squash and tomato, cooked together with a parmesan cheese rind and a bit of water. When the veggies are soft, it gets worked through a food mill, so that all the skins and seeds get left behind. It tastes good and uses up an enormous volume of veg. This time of year, those are my favorite qualities in a soup.

We had cookout plans with friends on Sunday afternoon. An hour before we were supposed to gather, the skies darkened and the rain began to fall. Happily, the plans shifted and Shay, Scott and I ended up eating burgers and hot dogs at Jamie and Scott’s.

We spent the evening around their dining room table, talking about their soon to expand family (child #2 is due on Friday), tv shows from the eighties and the length of time we’ve all known one another. Ivy serenaded us like youngest child in The Sound of Music as she scooted up the stairs to bed.

It was a good night.

Saturday morning, I woke up, glanced at the clock and saw that it read 8:15 am. I had that rush of adrenaline that shoots through you when you realize you’re running late and need to have been in the shower ten minutes ago. And then. I realized it was the weekend. Joy.

I snuggled back down for another 45 minutes, before getting up to head out to Mood’s Farm Market to pick blackberries with Shay. After filling our bins, we sat in the shade for nearly an hour, delighting in the breeze and the dappled effect that the overhead leaves gave the sunshine.

When I got home, I cobbled together some enormously delicious breakfast burritos (despite the fact that we were on the far side of lunchtime). I really couldn’t ask for a better Saturday than that.

Prepping a salad for a potluck with my church auction committee friends. Gave my salad bowl a good oiling before heaping the veg inside. I got that bowl at the bins* in Portland about seven years ago. It cost what it weighs, so it was just a buck or two. Best thing I ever got there.

*The bins is the as-is Goodwill, where everything is splayed out on big tables and is sold by the pound.

On my way back to work from the press preview for Seeing ‘The Gross Clinic’ Anew, I took a moment to gaze up at the Joan of Arc statue across from the Art Museum. Sure it shiny against that blue sky.