Dear Readers,

I am always sad to see summer go. I love summer. I am glad my birthday is in summer. I need summer. And yet, summer always goes away.

Dear Readers,

TJ and I made a very quick trip to Chicago last week and tacked on a drive to Michigan to see my tattoo artist, who recently moved his shop from Chicago to New Buffalo. I know your question and the answer is radishes. The second answer is this fall or winter. The third answer is v. excited.

Dear Readers,

I am getting used to not having chickens and their eggs. Happy Egg Co. eggs were on sale at Publix recently, so I bought two dozen. Before that, I bought a dozen local eggs from Swamp Rabbit Cafe that were brown, white, and blue.

Dear Readers,

One of the most beautiful things I’ve memorized is “A Liturgy for First Waking” from Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey. I will never get tired of saying this prayer or hearing my children say it.

Dear Readers,

This is a first: I spent $3 today on one avocado. I already have a whole bowl of more reasonably-priced avocados on my kitchen counter but they are hard as rocks. I need an avocado for salads tonight and the Ingles near our house is reliable in that evidently no one else buys avocados there, which means I can always count on getting a good ripe avocado.