Harvest Time

We're going to be a little backwards with this post, but I'm simply much to excited about today's activities to leave them until the end! With a title as such, you can likely guess where I was working today. You got it, one of my favorite of all, the kitchen garden. It was a busy afternoon for Mark and I filled with harvesting, weeding, dead-heading, planting, and more.  Some taste testing was also necessary, especially the raspberries!  Our harvest included quite an array of crops, picked by both Mark and me.  Some of those included: tomatoes (heirloom, cherry and grape varieties), peppers (green & purple bells, jalapeno, and cayenne), eggplant, basil, lemon-scented thyme, cilantro, celery, radishes, okra, and tomatillo!  Some of our harvest is being used by the Education department for their "Daily Drop Ins" at the Hershey Children's Garden.  Anything that is still left gets sent to Bon Appetit, the catering service at CBG.

Well now that I have got over my excitement towards veggies I can go back a few days to chat about my long weekend.  Even though rain seemed to be a frequent visitor, I still found plenty of activities to keep me busy.  On Friday, I checked out the rest of the museums in University Circle which includes the Museum of Natural History and the Western Reserve Historical Society.  I loved the Natural History Museum, especially the outdoor animal exhibit.  In fact, I enjoyed this exhibit more than my trip to the zoo, perhaps because it was a cooler day and the animals were really active.  I never knew they had animals outdoors, and in fact when I was working in the kitchen garden today, I could faintly hear the Bald Eagle squawking across the street.  And of course I enjoyed the gems and stones portion, being sure to take lots of pictures for my mother.  She would have loved it, especially the diamonds!

Next stop was the Western Reserve Historical Society.  Unfortunately, this was not that exciting for me, maybe because I am partial to Minnesota history!  But, I did find the 'Tying the Knot" exhibit quite interesting, especially the replica dress of Kate Middleton's wedding.  I know a couple of people who would have really enjoyed getting to see that.  No worries, I snapped a photo illegally!  Don't tell on me, but this one is just for you Mom and Gayle, I apologize if it's blurry! 





On Saturday, I took a trip downtown as well as back in time.  I visited the beautiful Palace Theatre to take in a showing of the classic Casablanca.  It was a wonderful afternoon, I cannot even describe in words how beautiful the theatre was.  I love the red carpets, columns, and marble staircases.  I also enjoyed the film, I think my favorite part was actually the adorable older couples sitting all around me.  I also did some shopping in the Coventry area which is quite close to my house.  I refrained from swiping the credit card too much, but couldn't resist some great deals at the Antique shop. 

I rounded out the weekend with a lovely bike ride through the North Chagrin Reservation with a friend.  It was a gorgeous evening, finally some tolerable temperatures around here!  Plus, great scenery.  I know I have said this before, but it deserves another mention - the Cleveland metroparks system is phenomenal and it amazes me how this vast green space is just outside of the city.  Of course the Minneapolis park system is quite impressive as well, and after this summer I have realized I have not fully enjoyed my area.  In fact, I have even started a list of things to do in the Twin Cities when I return home.  It's amazing how much we take for granted when it's right within our reach.

I've had a successful few days, I really want to make the most out of these next two weeks.  I am really going to miss my summer in Cleveland, more than most will probably realize.  However, still lots to look forward to especially "The Feast."  The feast of the assumption, a strong Catholic tradition for the Italians is set to take place in a few days.  Vendor tents and carnival rides are already being set up all around the neighborhood.  I am really looking forward to all of the amazing food I have been told about!  I am not looking forward to the masses of people and traffic dispersal though, I feel as if that will frustrate me rather quickly.  I'll let you know how it all goes, including my walk to work because I likely won't be able to get my car out my parking lot!