1. It's that time of year again: zucchini for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Yep, that's how well my garden is (finally) producing. At least in the squash category, we're doing well. I really do have days where I eat zucchini and/or yellow squash at three meals a day. Recipes next week.

2. A few weeks ago I hit an awesome garage sale from a lady who must have been just about the same size as I am and also has good taste in clothes. I got a hat, some pants, a shirt, and this sweet leather jacket!

Please excuse the very crappy quality of this photo. I took it on the webcam because I'm too lazy to find my camera, set up the timer, take a self-portrait, then download it.

Also, she happened to have a nightstand that is almost identical to the vintage dresser my mother-in-law gave me. The garage sale nightstand has already been nicely refinished, whereas the hand-me-down dresser is still in need of some TLC. If we ever finish our bedroom project, I'll show you pictures of them, and you too will appreciate how cute and funky they are. But for now, just trust me that this was the best garage sale I've been to all year. I feel like garage sales are always like that for me. Either it's someone who has a ton of cool stuff that you love, or it's all just 100 percent junk that you are not interested in. There is no middle ground. Does anyone else have that experience?

3. When we visited Meg's family in Montana, the girls were exposed to a much more Western style of decor than they are used to. Meg's family are all avid hunters, and their house is (tastefully) decorated with buffalo hides, stuffed pheasants, and many very impressive heads of deer, caribou, mountain goats, and so on.

When we put the girls to bed the first night, we put them in the bedroom, tucked them in, and then thoughtfully (or so I assumed) left the door to the adjacent living room ajar, with a light in the living room on, so some light would shine in on them and they wouldn't be in complete darkness. I also warned them sternly to stay in bed and go to sleep--not to get up and wander around the house. I then went upstairs to visit with the other adults.

I came down to check on them awhile later and found Evie asleep, Beth awake but nervous, and Lucy in tears, fully terrified. Turns out that light I'd left on in the living room? It was a light that had been specifically designed to shine on the two stuffed deer heads mounted on the wall. And one of the deer had its head slightly turned, so that it was looking directly in at the bed where the girls were sleeping. Creepy? Just a little. "I feel like they're watching me," Beth said. Lucy was also convinced that there was a bear in the closet. Judging by the rest of the house, I can see where she might have come up with that idea (although we opened it up to show her that it was, in fact, false. No bear). But the girls were so good, (or maybe also so terrified) that they barely made a peep and they didn't come up to find me and tell me they were scared.

Yeah, I win Mother of the Year award for that one.

4. Other Montana news: we saw deer, magpies, snakes, ospreys, eagles, and a giant porcupine in their yard. Eric caught some amazing trout and now wants to become a fly fisherman. It was awesome.

5. Does anyone know why some people are apparently super-attractive to mosquitos, while others are only mildly so and others are pretty much immune? I am in the first category, and one of these days I think the mosquitos are actually going to do me in. We went on a hike in Montana during which Meg, the girls and I all sprayed ourselves with the same bug spray, and Eric used none at all. During the last hundred yards of it we went through a little grassy, flat meadow which was apparently bug heaven. The girls and Meg ended up with a few mosquito bites each. Eric came through with one. I came out covered with literally dozens of giant welts. What's the deal? What's so wrong (or right) with my blood that makes me irresistible?

6. Interesting post from Rebekah: how much do you spend on back to school shopping? Go check out her post and the comment thread below. I'm interested to know how I measure up to others.

7. My favorite video of the week (which a couple of my friends have posted on Facebook): Jane Austen's Fight Club! You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll have the urge to put on a dress and punch your friends in the face.



More quick takes here.