Summer Days

So Summer is officially here and with it brings the unbearable hot days and high humidity in this concrete jungle I live in. We've been having crazy thunderstorms lately, usually early morning or late at night. The kind of thunderstorms where you suddenly have a lake in your backyard in ten minutes flat. Crazy! But then the sun comes back out and dries it right up and melts anyone that dares step outside. 

But still, I'm trying not to let the sun make me lazy. I went and did some work at Champs on Friday, treating myself to a giant iced coffee w/ soy milk and a cookie. Yum! Nik and I took the ipad and went to a few different coffee shops (for some more icy beverages!) on Saturday, and just played many games of chess, checkers, and othello, basking in the AC of the cafes. Super-fun (and I won them allll!)  We shall defeat you Summer!

The season of pickle-making begins! We got a bunch of pickling cucumbers in our CSA on Saturday, so I promptly turned them into some dill pickles on Sunday. I also roasted some beets and threw some jalapeños and onions in a jar to make some spicy pickled beets. I just use a simple refrigerator pickle recipe, so I can eat them in a week or so (and they don't usually last long around this apartment!) I love the way newly pickled things in jars look; so pretty!