July Highlights and Goals

July was such a fun and busy month! I didn't really have much free time, which is exactly how I prefer my months. I had family come and visit for a week, then went to Cleveland and Put-in-Bay to visit with some friends. Add in some craziness at work, a renovation on our primary bathroom, and lots of time with friends- it was very hectic without much free time. But, I did spare some time to literally smell the flowers and enjoy the bloom of the sunflower field in Dix Park!

Let's get into the goals!

Annual Goals

Korean Vegan Cookbook

The next chapter in my cookbook that I tried out was the Soups and Stews- which probably wasn't the best for the hot weather we've been having but ended up being amazing! It was a fennel and tofu stew with doenjang broth. Super light and tasty and I loved the char of the tofu with it. It tasted like something from a restaurant- really good and easy dish.

Temperature blanket

I'm done with month 7 of the temperature blanket. This was the first month I could be completely covered by the blanket while I was working on it- not that I needed the warmth anyway since it was all in the 80s and 90s this month, but it was still a very cozy way to crochet.

Here are some stats for July-

- I used a total of 2 colors- my lowest amount of changes so far.

- The highest daily temperature was 97 and the lowest was 85 (just a reminder, I'm only doing the "high" of the day so I didn't record the daily low or average)

- My most used color was red (used 22 times) which is used for the range 90 to 99 degrees.

Here's what the blanket looks like now-

Hike 100 Miles + Check Out 10 New Parks

I did a few more hikes this month to add 10.5 more miles onto my total, making it 86.2 total miles this year. I didn't visit any new parks this month!

Read the Goodreads Best Books

This month I finished Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. I really liked it- I was a big fan of Station Eleven but didn't like (and ended up not finishing) The Glass Hotel. This one might be my favorite so far- I liked the sci fi aspect and future worlds that were created, and the fact that everything tied up in a nice ending.

I also read the Heart Stopper graphic novel series! I enjoyed this a lot- it was really easy to read and understand and the story line is so realistic and charming. I flew through these and want to read more in the series.

Work from a Coffee Shop Once a Month

I worked from Fount again this month- I went there before meeting up with friends to watch Barbie and it was a great day! I want to try out a new shop this month instead of going back to the same one again. I'll have to start going into the office in September though, so this goal might have to change a bit.

Here's a look at how my summer bucket list is going-

Summer Bucket List

• Bike to a brewery or bottle shop - done in June
• Kayak or SUP in a new lake
• Paint and picnic (bring my watercolors to a park and paint, and also bring snacks along!)
• Crochet in a park - I did this for a second time at Lake Jordan!
• Hike somewhere new - done in June
• Go to an outdoor movie
• Go to an outdoor concert - In July I went to visit friends in Cleveland and we went to Put in Bay for a day and went to a few concerts at outdoor bars- I love live music so this was an amazing day!
• Visit a winery - On the same trip as above we went to three different wineries! One was actually at the site of the largest geode cave in the world which was really cool.
• Bike the entire Tobacco Trail (it's about 22 miles so it's definitely doable!) 
• Go to a baseball game - When my family was in town we went to the Durham Bulls field and watched the Savannah Bananas play (we didn't have tickets but were able to watch from a restaurant that overlooks the park!) It was SO much fun! I also have another baseball game with my run club coming up in September.
• Play frisbee golf
• Go camping - done in June
• Dine al fresco at a restaurant (bonus points if it's rooftop!) - no rootop but an amazing al fresco meal at one of the wineries in Cleveland (that also had live music happening).