1.Did anyone notice I posted Tip Tuesday on Wednesday? That’s what a holiday week does to me. First, I felt like Tuesday was Monday, then of course I went into Wednesday thinking it was Tuesday. Oh well. Just for the record, today is Thursday, of that much I’m sure.

2. Another fact I know for sure is that all the YoungAprons are now out of school. Our life is different during the summer. This year I anticipate much more hooking up with their friends than in years past and opening my kitchen more to the friends for food, popsicles, ice cream, and cold drinks. We’re also letting our teen ride his bike to the pool and venture out a bit more without a helicopter parent at his side. This is the hard part of  him growing up. To me it’s not the getting taller and smarter that’s tough, it’s the leaving our nest to explore that smacks of a day where they’ll be on their own. Time is fleeting.

3. I’m on a kick to get back to Kool-aide. For 10 cents a packet, and the use of my own sugar (of which I can add less) and tap water, I make an  economical pitcher of lemonade for thirsty wiffle ball players. (No green, red, orange, or blue Kool-aide. Not my favorites.) We save money, containers, and if served from a reusable cup, we even save on cups. Plus kids need to learn how to pour drinks from jugs and pitchers and not always be handed a neat, tidy individual packaged serving. I’m slowly stepping away from the microphone.

4. We loved our Memorial Day weekend. The best part of the weekend is the annual Park Hills Memorial Day parade where firetrucks and politicians flow through the streets throwing candy to anyone who’ll eat it. In my next life I plan to live on a parade route. One more thing: when walking home I noticed untouched hard peppermints and butterscotch candy littering the streets. I think we’re getting picky about our free candy.

5. Speaking of Memorial Day iwith summer unofficially underway, this is the first summer in several years I haven’t been in the middle of editing a cookbook and the first summer I’ve found myself in the middle of the production of my own cookbook.  I like the prospect of spending the days of summer a bit more in tune with my own schedule which today included getting up for an early morning walk, followed by a sit on the patio to read. By the time the YoungAprons roll out of bed I’m exercised and refreshed for our day together. I plan to run my test kitchen in the morning to beat the heat and then do editing and other work in the afternoon. One of my new favorite blogs about writing and publishing is The Creative Penn. Check it out.