NOT that summer is over. It is not. Sure the kids are going back to school, sure it's cooler at night, but summer is still alive and well and you can put the pumpkin spiced candle down for now. We're not there yet.
This is, on the other hand, the traditional end of summer for most people's brains. The Labour day weekend.
What I Have Planned
For this last long weekend of the summer my goal is to accomplish these things:
- Bath, blow dry and clip Philip
- Watch the US Open
- Go to an antique market, buy things I don't need and eat french fries
- Make my first batch of canned tomato sauce for the year
- Make some pizza and sit outside at night - not sure if I'll invite guests or not.
They might not be exciting plans, but at least if someone asks me what I'm doing this long weekend instead of saying "Nothing" I can answer with confidence that I'll be doing these things.
These things will be ignored by most people as they wait for me to ask them what THEY are doing this long weekend. They're going to the cottage by the way. All of them. All the people who ask what I'm doing will be going to a cottage.
Thanks to bathing a 62 pound dog, my memories will be just as water soaked as theirs.
This is What My Summer Looked Like
Taken straight from my camera roll. My summer memories. Not perfect shots with good lighting and pretty editing.
This ... is my life. The real one.
Yep. This happens to me too. #compostablebags 
C'mon Getting ready to make Garlic Scape Pesto 
Betty at the garde Rearranged the bedroom. Found dust Wallaby's behin Hike up a hil with the dog. I waited for half an hour for a train to come by. It didn't. So here's a pretty shot A MOUNTAIN of writhing ants at the garden. The same day a snake. The same day a toad. THIS was a ridiculously good beef and broccoli recipe from Natasha's Kitchen that I wanted to remember. I highly recommend i Remember the golf course walk? Strawberry Jam day - note the berry stained kitchen towel hanging off the doorknob. Shagging.
Are you bored yet?
I understand if you are.
This is the online version of someone showing you their vacation photos.
Counter conditioning for reactivity on the trails. Same day but with his hair up so he can see. This was when I discovered if you accidentally make a mess of your wood oven pizza, you can flip it over and turn it into a Panzerotti. 
The first time I could see the sunrise from bed in 25 years. Philip and his best friend Sterling on one of their many, many, many, many walks. Sterling his usual happy go lucky self. Philip his usual self. A single petunia stem makes an easy long lasting flower arrangement. Found a feather on a walk. Stuck it in a tree.
Post professional haircut Outside the old doctor's office. A tray of radishes. Sent the pic to Betty. She thought they were beets. I'd like to draw your attention to the size of Philip's tongue. Post haircut by me. This is the same one I'll be doing this weekend. Arrangement made from OTHER even bigger arrangement my former renter dropped off one evening. That's my Uncle Jack and his catch of the day. He also gave me the vintage Picasso print in the previous photo. One afternoon I went outside and someone had put tiny rocks painted like shoes in my flower bed. The very first one of these of the season. Another night that another neighbour dropped off something for me! (she made it) Wheat Woes. Separating the grain from the chaff. BEET varieties. Behind, Detroit Dark Red beet. In front, Merlin. Family dinner at Quatrefoil. Fried Green tomatoes done fancy! My new favourite bowl for a single snack serving of chips. My biggest fear in summer is running out of buffalo mozzarella. Pausing so we don't scare the deer. 
Community Garden annual end of summer BBQ / pot luck. 
Getting ready to make Wild blueberry banana bread. Which you'll find out all about next week. One of a zillion flower arrangements from this summer. You'll see a lot more of these later in the year.
Have a good long weekend. I'll be here eating pizza and washing a dog. How about you? Lemme guess. You're going to a cottage.
Lovely photos...Entertaining and amusing! Thank you for sharing, even the odd ones!
I'm glad you liked it Helen! ~ karen!
Wonderful! THANK YOU! MERCI BEAUCOUP!
De rien! ~ karen
Rated 5 stars as Best Post To Read in the Doctor’s Waiting Room
Ha!!! I might have to add that award at the top of the post or something. ~ karen!
Are you going to brave the crowds at Aberfoyle? I’d love to go but waaay too many people….. I miss the Christie show 😢
Loved going through the pictures! My weekend should consist of making a landfill run; a Goodwill run; and re-starting reactive training for my dog, Goose, who is a German Shephard (proper name is Gustaf, but he is too much of a derp for the regal name). See - we're twins. ;)
I absolutely love those names! ~ karen
A great spot to experience the train going by is just past the rail bridge as you walk up the Greenville hill. There is a section where you are standing eye level with the track as the train goes by and you are just feet away from it. Unfortunately it would not be safe for Lipp as you have cars going by you down bound at high speeds. The passenger train goes by around 12:10 to 12:15 everyday. Have had a freight go by a couple of times and it is quite exciting as the ground shakes.
I really REALLY wish in one of the many millions of times they redid the Greensville hill they had put in a sidewalk. ~ karen
Well, not a cottage but our campsite 1.5 hours away where we have a trailer parked permanently - niece and her kids are coming. I'm in Alberta.
Just finished a 30+ hr drive from “the cottage” back to Colorado. Love it there but the return is brutal. 51 years…
Your "cottage" is 30 hours away? Is your cottage in Canada?? ~ karen!
Washing and clipping my dog, going to a bbq, playing golf and watching the air show from my balcony overlooking the lake.
Oh! You're in the weekend dog washing club. I'll look into having tee shirts made for us. ~ karen!
For years, we had cats. Oodles of them. And we didn't go anywhere. Every time the next-door neighbours went away for a weekend, we looked after their dogs. Our last cats past away 2 years ago and the neighbours sold their house last year right before prices dropped. We're still not going anywhere. Our older boy will be by to help hubby work on the old bathroom. And me...I'll be puttering in the backyard garden, catching up with the never-ending tasks.
O.K. well you have to plan one thing to make the long weekend special. Back in the olden days you could walk around a Blockbuster video, stop and get a pizza on the way home and just like that you had an instant mini-event for the weekend. ~ karen!
Wonderful! A review of the summer and all those beautiful flowers. Perhaps I will undertake such a venture this fall. No dog pictures though as the "king of the castle" dislikes man's best friend. He has no idea what he is missing!
He just hasn't met the right dog yet. ~ karen!
Here in North Carolina everyone is going to the beach. I’m not …but I’m not bitter! Maybe I am. Enjoy the holiday
Ohhhh the beach. Well. It's FULL of sand spiders and people's naked bums so ... you're lucky you aren't going. ~ karen!
Was at the cottage last week, so this wknd will (in no particular order) swim in the pool, work in the garden, attend a Food Truck Festival, make MORE tomato sauce & tomato soup, read a book, listen to music (Rumer ... her voice is pure delight), go for a walk and then have brunch with a friend. Happy Labour Day weekend everyone!
You sent me an email that I meant to reply to right away and just remembered I didn't! I'll do that now. ~ karen!
Enjoyed the photos. Thanks. Philip is a born model. Have a good weekend.
Closely resembles a collection of my summer photos, various other subject matter mixed with adorable dog pics; otherwise looks like a collection of potential puzzles to me! 🤣
I was just wondering about what photo I'll use for this weekend's puzzle. ~ karen!
🤣
I'm going to make the best peach pie ever and can some peaches, nectarines and plums. Then I will feel ready for winter.
Enjoy the market. That makes me the most envious.
Loved the photos! Can't choose a favorite.
Crud, I should can peaches too. My weekend list is getting longer thanks to everyone else's weekend lists. ~ karen!
Going to a wedding, then to a cottage. I love your pics of tomatoes!
I think your extended weekend plans are so lovely! I wish I could say I would be relaxing in my backyard, but sadly, my backyard isn't relaxing...yet. It is a horrible, weedy mess of trails leading to other horribly weedy places. Instead, I shall be roasting green chile peppers...again. Because when you have 35 chile pepper plants, that's what you do...every...single...weekend.
That is an enormous amount of a very prolific plant! ~ karen
Going to the local fabulous Bristol Renn Faire, in costume of course, on Saturday and Sunday and then to my son's lake house for a nice Labor Day BBQ. Not exactly a 'cottage' but I reckon it kinda qualifies. On an unrelated note, I gotta ask, do you even remember what your life was like pre-dog? They do take over one's existence....... mostly for the better.
Back then all I had to manage was 6 chickens, 7 fish, 2 cats and a man. ~ karen!
Fun fact. In some of the Bewitched episodes that Picasso painting is hanging sideways over their fireplace like he’s lying on his back.
I'm going to have to Google! I may be inspired to do the same! ~ karen