Come grab a a coffee or an iced one if your temperatures requite it and join me in my virtual coffee date July. We are meeting up on my terrace today because it is my most cherished space these days. Specially early in the morning when the warm sun is out and peaks across the treetops, the sparkling river sends rays of reflected sunlight through the foliage and the air is breezy and heavy with dew from the woods.
If you and I had coffee…
…I asked how your summer is going so far? Is it a busy season in your life or more relaxed, no routines, lots of reading and pajama time? Pool sessions, ice cream runs and sand between your toes…
For me summer usually is more busy with work. People are on vacation and I usually pick up some of the work as a freelancer. I like staying indoors in the heat and so are more focused on work too. Additionally after eight years as a freelancer I can see a pattern too. There are usually not many jobs in the first and last quarter of the year. All my new projects started in Q2 & Q3 so it is busy with onboarding getting to know the new clients and such. Also I get much more inquires and I do more networking. So yes, summer is much more busy. I lost that insight earlier this year and was not as calm as previous phases… with the economy and all. I should have known and trusted my gut, my knowledge and just chill and enjoy the downtime. Anyways… summer is here.
If you and I had coffee…
…I share my (again) my plans for a Summer Salad Challenge. It is the perfect time to have salads as mains for dinner. Less cooking, less heavy and stuffing, more nutritions, fresher and just so so delicious, I have already had couple fancy salads (egg cottage cheese salad, potato pepper salad – recipe to come) and the staple green leave side salad of course I try to serve to as many dishes especially pasta.
I just learned that you can eat the pods of radishes too. My radishes never formed bulbs so I added the leaves to salads. Now I have a lot of pods after an extensive blooming phase. I was planning on cutting it down this weekend but now I think I let it grow and have provide me with more fresh produce. It is a mazing what this already had provided. Did you ever eat radish leaves or pods? Anyways, back to salads. I think I create a radish pod salad and will share. If you have other cool salads and have not yet share please feel free to do so in the comments or your blogs.
If you and I had coffee…
…I tell you about the birds that also feast on my radishes. Saturday morning while I sat in my reading chair reading, blogging, scrolling four birds (I noticed) stopped by jumping into my radishes and flying away with green caterpillars. I had seen some leaves have big holes but the abundance was so much that I just let them have their share. Now I just checked the plant and saw four caterpillars immediately. I guess they are taking over a bit. So I wonder if I should pick them and lay them out for the birds. Or leave and hope they are quick in picking them off. Not sure yet.
I checked with my aunt a hobby ornithologist and she said it’s an eurasian redstart. These are some cute little birds with a red tale. Not sure they exist in your neck of the woods.
Edit: I did google a bit. I was happy seeing the cabbage butterfly in my plants a few weeks back and of course these are their caterpillars… They are supposedly very invasive and ravenous. I guess I will have to gather some of them off and feed some to the birds. Otherwise no more salad for me.
If you and I had coffee…
…I asked if you have ever used Apple fitness. I am thinking about signing up for it and using it in August as my daily fitness challenge. August is such a tough month for me and I wonder if having a bunch of things to pick from would motivate me more. But at the same time I am wondering if it might be overwhelming if there ar so many options. But then I could give different things a try. Sigh… Not sure yet. If you have any experience please share.
If you and I had coffee…
…I let you know that last Friday I went to the party of the century. Ha. A friend of ours turned 45 and his sister 40 and they threw a huge party with renting a loft over Berlin’s skyline a a DJ and all drink included. It’s been a lot of fun even though the night started with a sudden migraine at 4.30pm. I immediately took two pills and went to bed for a nap. Which made the pain not even go full force but the other migraine symptoms (sensitivity to noise, fatigue, slow mind) where still there. We did go to the party of course. And I decided to have the best time and worry about the full force migraine when coming back home. So I danced, I had four drinks (!), we stayed till 2am and it was wonderful. And On Saturday morning I woke up with … not a single issue. Of course I was a bit tired but nothing else. I will not repeat popping pills and sipping Moscow mules but I am very glad that it worked out this time because I really did deserve the migraine to stay the f* away. Yeah.. And I wondered during and after that night why I do not go out dancing a bit more. I obviously like it. Maybe I should… Are you still going dancing? Clubbing? I never had this excessive phase in my youth. I think I can count the times I went to a club on my hands. But I did enjoy it.
If you and I had coffee…
…I share that I was able to cross off another bucket list item last week. I spent a whole day with my niece and then she stayed for the night. Yeah. I went to pick her up at my parents house where she and her brother stayed for the week. My nephews plan was to spend a whole day riding public transport and my mom was up for it (it was a birthday present). His sister was not going to spend her day hopping on and how trains. So I took her to an illusionist museum. They had a number of fun activities and exhibits we could test. A favorite was the kaleidoscope where we looked through at each end. Here is the picture my niece took of me.
There were also some fun rooms with optical illusions we tested. Overall it was fun but it was very crowded so that you were at times rushed. I also didn’t like that there were no explanations on why certain things were seen this way. For my niece it was ok she was more into the trying mode I kinda wanted to know why. Some I had an inkling about but others… I will die dumb.
After that we walked back home (2 km) stopped for falafel on the way and some ice cream, went to a toy store and bought a little gift for her brother and just chatted. We stopped at my parents and brought my dad and ice cream since he still home bound. And then we hopped on the train to my place. Here we first had to cool down. The bathing site 10 min away was too far so we threw on our swim wear and had a hose water battle on my terrace. After that we sat in the share and read. We read. That was what she wanted to do. My heart was full. Definitely my godchild. After relaxing a bit we decided to do some crafts. We had only 2 hours left and so I suggested to make some envelopes from paper. She loved it. We each made four. Here is the photo my niece took
After that I made dinner (mine and her favorite potatoes with quark and linseed oil), we ate and then watched the soccer game (Spain vs Netherlands) while having dessert snacks. The husband also made it home on time and joined us.
If you and I had coffee…
…I would ask before we wrap up for today about your summer reading. Do you have a different kind of taste in books during the summer? Or is summer a time you rarely get to read? I tend to read a few more romances. I also love to dive into long books. There is a challenge by a German bookstagram lady who is organizing a reading camp every summer in July and August. The only goal is to read books with more than 500 pages. I have been loosely participating for the past years. I have some 500+ page books on my TBR and just started two. I even have a special list on goodreads to keep a track. At storygraph you can easily filter and I love that app as statistics and filters are much better.
Do you enjoy reading 500+ page books? Do have one to recommend?
If you and I had coffee…
…I share with you my image from the office window. You can see the radishes on the right getting huge. My rose bush is in his second bloom.
How is you summer going? What are you reading and where? Have you eaten radish pods? Any new salads on your table? Who was your last overnight guest? when have you been last out and dancing?
18 comments
What a great coffee date! My BIL used to love riding the trains all day too. I think he still would, too bad he’s in California. :-) I hope your nephew had a great time. It sounds like you and your niece had a wonderful time.
Two books that I loved that were over 500 pages were Half of a Yellow Sun and Cloud Atlas.
Half of a Yellow Sun tells the story of the Biafran War in the 1960s through the perspective of 3 characters, and won the Women’s Prize for fiction in 2007.
Cloud Atlas is a complicated book to describe. The chapters are all told in different genres, and they are ‘nested’. So the first and last chapters of the book are one story, and take place in the 19th century, and are very slow and I had trouble getting into them. The second and second to last chapters take place in Belgium in 1931, and are letters. Next are a mystery/thriller, and then a more comic story, then a dystopian story from the 22nd century, and finally a story after society collapses in the future. It’s really good once you get into it.
I’m glad you didn’t suffer a migraine after going out dancing and drinking! Maybe that’s the cure? ;) I used to go out dancing with my boyfriend (now husband) a lot when we first got together, there was a club a couple of blocks from our house that played good music and only charged a dollar to get in if you had a student ID on Thursdays. So if I had the night off from work, we would go. Such fun memories. Now I’m more of a ‘in bed, lights out by 10pm’ person.
argh… for some reason my reply has been deleted twice now.
I keep coming across the cloud atlas and I think I really need to get a copy. It does sound like a book after my liking specially after reading your summery. So interesting. I did read a short story by Adachi but didn’t like it much. But I want to give her another try. So thanks for the recommendation.
I believe my nephew was more than happy with his day. We also had lots of fun and enjoyed the time spend with my niece.
Haha yes, I lucked out popping pills and sipping drinks. It could have been the other fork in the road.
Tobia recently posted…Virtual Coffee Date | July 2024
Radish pods! I had no idea you could eat any part of the radish except the bulb! How neat that the rest of it is edible too.
Your time with your niece sounds fabulous. And that illusionist museum — really cool!
So glad that your migraine stayed away and you were able to have such a fun time at the party! This made me giggle: “I will not repeat popping pills and sipping Moscow mules but I am very glad that it worked out this time”
I wasn’t totally sure about eating other parts of radishes but had an inkling it would work. After some research I was sure. I have eaten pods and leaves and it’s really good. The pods especially.
Yes, very happy the migraine stayed away. It was a gamble with the pills and alcohol but I lucked out.
Do people even go out dancing anymore? Do nightclubs exist? The last time I went to a wedding was probably the last time I danced and that was a few years ago. I really should put on some music and just dance around my house!
I think they do but I’ve not seen them in the wild for ages. Dancing at home by myself becomes a favorite workout though. Enjoy if you try it.
I don’t enjoy nightclubs or bars. I went to a few when I was much younger and quickly realized they were not for me. I’m glad your migraine went away, and you could enjoy yourself! Green salads are so nice in the summer. I’ve been adding fun things like mandarin oranges and chicken. It’s nice to have a variety of items to throw in the bowl. I didn’t know you could eat radish pods! That sounds interesting to me!
Yes you can! I had a whole salad last night with the pods and I am still among the living. They are really good and are very crisp. Love it.
I never was a night club girl either and always wondered if I missed something… don’t think I did.
How fun is that Kaleidoscope picture! You are an awesome aunt!
I went to a club once – it was a special night club for underage people, and I went with my friend after getting back from a very long trip and almost fell asleep in a corner, and the security guy kept asking me if I was okay – which I appreciate because for all he knew someone could have drugged me or something. But in general, I get very intimidated by loud and crowded places.
I’ve lately been obsessed with shaved zucchini salad. I shave zucchini with a peeler into very think strips then dress it with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add parmesan cheese, walnuts, mint and a boiled egg.
I’m currently reading a biography of the Bronte sisters that is quite a doorstop – I think it’s 800 pages. It’s taken me almost two years to read it. Last year, wanting to read a very thick book, I read the Weight Of Ink. I like it a lot. I tend to want very thick books for the winter months, not in the summer months, though.
That is really great that the security person had an eye on you. This would be my fear… getting something in my drink. I am not a fan of loud crowded places. I guess I was comfortable because it was a private party and not a club.
That salad sounds so good and it reminds me of one my sister once did. It was with goat cheese instead of Parmesan but the rest sounds similar. I need to put that on my list of salads to do this summer. Thank you.
Your night out in Berlin sounds like so much fun! I’m glad you didn’t have to deal with any major migraine symptoms, woohoo! I rarely go out these days, but I do love dancing, especially once I have a few drinks in me ;)
I was trying to read one long classic every year using the Serial Reader app, and got through Anna Karenina and The Count of Monte Cristo that way! But then I stopped doing that, lol. I don’t think I’ve read a book over 500 pages in a long time!
Dancing is so fun. I need to integrate it more as a cardio workout. It’s the only thing that gives me joy. Oh i haven’t read these two classics. I love a huge epic book but classics this long scare me.
Those envelopes are really fun Tobia!
The kids’ have been doing camps but one more week and we will go on a road trip vacation to Oregon. I on and off had regrets not doing our usual summer Germany trip but maybe it’s good to change it up. My hope is that I will feel refreshed after the trip.
Oh a Road trip to oregano sounds so good. We did that back in 2000 and I have fond memories.
Thank you. We had fun making those envelopes
Your day with your niece sounds wonderful. How fantastic that you are both into the same kinds of things. It’s winter here, but I’ve finished more books this month than usual. One was The Ink Black Heart, which is 1391 pages long, but I started it in June.
That party sounds fantastic and I’m so glad you could get there and didn’t have a bad migraine afterward. I was a big clubber back in the day, basically Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights every week for my first couple of years at uni. I do love to dance, but I’m also a bit self-conscious. I think the last time I danced was at my sister’s wedding. One friend had a party at her place a few years ago and set up a dance floor, with everyone providing a song for the night’s playlist. The rule was that when your song came on, you had to dance, and the winner of the game was whoever’s got played last, which turned out to be mine. That was a good party.
I didn’t know you could eat radish pods … leaves and bulbs yes, but not the pods. Are they aspicy tasting as well?
I love that she is also my godchild as we are very similar in our character. And my heart was so happy when she said let us read a bit.
I also feel very self-conscious about dancing. I prefer dancing with myself and my headphones. I do that more regularly now. I love that party rule of your friends.
Yes, radish pods. I have been adding them to my salads or my cream cheese. I just harvested a punch and put them in the freezer. I think you could also use them like green beans and cooks them. I will try that. And I will also add some to my soups. They are bit spicy but not as strongly as the radishes. More subtle so they give a nice flavor without overpowering. But eating them when they are young/fresh is recommended. The batch I harvested yesterday was a bot on the old side so they have more fibers. Also I feel like I could have watered them more for a crisper taste. Hope that helps.
I have not tried Apple Fitness, but it’s supposedly similar to Peloton with a gazillion different classes. I think you can’t go wrong with a trial to see if you like it… I find it to be a positive to have a lot of different workouts to choose from.
I love 500+ books (all the Outlander books are 500+ and I don’t mind that I am not getting through as many other books because of it. If a book is good, I want it to be a tome! :))
That’s so wonderful that you were able to spend a day with your niece. And i LOVE that you made envelopes together. I used to make envelopes from magazine pages all the time when I was younger and would send all my letters in those! ;)
500 books are so good. I also enjoy diving deep into a story. If an author can grab my attention for the time it’s a great achievement. My day with my niece was so good. I really enjoyed it a lot. Did you by any chance read Brigitte Young Miss? That is what started me in my envelop making area.
I think I’ll try Apple fitness in September or October. I’ve watched a few of the free courses and I think I like the hours and dance workouts. I don’t have all the equipment for others but to get started it could be interesting