It Looks Like a Beautiful Weekend

It was a lovely day today; the students don't come back to school until Wednesday, because our district has an in-service day on Monday and a teacher workday on Tuesday, which made today seem like the day before a holiday.  I had my honors kids in the computer lab to complete an essay contest assignment, and my fourth block students got to watch the second half of The Crucible.  All in all, it was a pretty relaxed day, despite a paperwork deadline that I had to scramble to meet.  After work, I met my parents for dinner, and then stopped at the farmer's market for my soup vegetables.  I think it's amazing that I got all of these wonderful vegetables for $29.  

A huge butternut squash, an acorn squash, carrots, celery, shallots, garlic, apples, beets, sweet potatoes, and even purple sweet potatoes. A panoply of produce.  

I don't remember if I showed you the lovely color of the sweet potato soup.  It was so good I've been excited about making it again, but first I have to eat the pot of cranberry beans I cooked in the slow cooker yesterday.  They were so creamy and good, even just plain, with only a little butter.  

I picked up two free bales of hay yesterday to use in the weedy area beside my garage.  I would have gone back for more today, but I had my car in the shop for a door lock issue and had to leave it overnight. If there is any hay left tomorrow, I will pick up two more bales.  Why only two? Believe it or not, that's all I could fit in the back of my car!   I'm looking forward to being outside tomorrow, spreading the hay, taking a walk on the beach, and hanging my sheets out to dry on the clothesline.  Since the temperatures are supposed to be in the low sixties, I plan on opening all the windows too.  I so love the cooler weather, especially this close to the water.  

This is a close up of the shawl I finished up a week or so ago.  The lighting isn't great, but it's good enough to show the grellow and grey yarn, aptly named A Crack in the Sidewalk.  How cute is that name? Still not sure how to separate my paragraphs on the new app, so apologies for that.  A reminder on the importance of touch from the NYT. I feel so lucky that as a teacher, I am the recipient of hugs almost every day, even though I teach high school kids.  Trust me, they still love to give and receive hugs, and since I'm old enough and have the motherly (grandmotherly) vibe, it's never been an issue for me.  Now that I live alone, I am even more grateful for them.     Hope you have a lovely weekend and thanks for the love and comments.  Peace.