Glad Midsummer

 On the day of the summer solstice, Mom and I went out to pick flowers. It was blisteringly hot.

We found a place with amazing cow parsley and absolutely no shade.

We took only a very small amount, leaving plenty for the swallowtail caterpillars. We also saw an oriole while we were gathering the flowers.

We got all sorts of wildflowers: daisies, flea bane, bachelor's buttons, purple clover, yellow sweetclover. At the midsummer party, we set up a flower table where people could make flower wreaths.

 The midsummer party was so much fun this year!

We had frog dancing and a bonfire, but we didn't get any pictures of them.

But the best part was just sitting around talking to our friends.

Even Dharma seemed to have a good time.

This year, I made a sandwich cake with three layers: roasted red pepper cream cheese with cucumbers, herb and garlic cream cheese with tomatoes, and olive cream cheese.

And I made a vegan sandwich cake with three hummus-filled layers: roasted red pepper hummus with cucumbers, pesto hummus with tomatoes, and plain hummus with artichoke hearts.

We had lots of fresh vegetables and berries, which I think are the most summery of all foods.

Mom made a delicious dilled potato salad, and we had all sorts of cheeses, breads, and pickles.

For dessert there was a strawberry cake covered with whipped cream.

And vegan strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream icing.

On the Longest Day

We got to Bloomington in time to celebrate Midsummer, the longest day of the year. We decided to have a Swedish-inspired Midsummer party, because Midsummer is an important holiday in Sweden. First Mom found this meadow of wildflowers.

Then we filled a couple of buckets with daisies, chicory, Queen-Anne's lace, purple vetch, and other flowers.

 I've always wanted to do this!

I love the summer colors of roadside flowers.

We tried to make some traditional Swedish midsummer dishes, like this sandwich cake, which is made of layers of bread, cream cheese, roasted red peppers, chickpea salad, cucumbers, blue cheese, and tomatoes. The fillings aren't traditional at all, but the idea of a giant sandwich that looks like a cake is.

 We had eggs, dilled new potatoes, bread and cheeses, and lots of pickled vegetables.

 I was a little nervous to cut into the sandwich cake.

But it held together really well.

For dessert we had a strawberry cake with lots of whipped cream.

 While we were eating, we made flower crowns.

 Some of us only wore theirs for a few moments, though.

At Swedish Midsummer parties they decorate a pole (like a Maypole) or a cross. We used the pole of the laundry line.

We decorated it with braids of real and fake flowers.

It was so wonderful getting to see my friends at the party. I hadn't seen Ursi for years!

Ursi's children visiting the pond.

Derek, Emilie, and Dharma. Derek took some amazing pictures of the party, several of which I stole for this blog post.

 John, Rowan, and Jennifer.

 Katherine meets Dharma.

And Rowan.

 We did a Swedish dance called the frog dance.

And then Mom and Dad got out this portable bonfire log, which has a wick in the middle and lights with just a couple of matches.

We sat around the fire pit.

And watched as the whole log burned.

And a gorgeous midsummer moon came out.

Bloomingtonians

This is what a trip to Bloomington is like. You keep going out to all of these lovely places and getting amazing things to eat and drink. You sit outside and watch the people go by, admire the flowers blooming everywhere, and spend time with your friends and family.

We didn't get pictures of all of our favorite Bloomington moments and Bloomingtonians, but we did remember to take a few, like this picture of Mimi and Nola taking me to brunch at the Uptown.

This one is for Katy.

We had dinner at Johnson's Meeting House and took lots of pictures of Dharma. Oh, and some of the humans, too.

While we played board games, Dharma took turns sitting in everyone's laps. She seemed to bring luck (or dharma?) wherever she went.

We made Emilie and Derek play our very intense spelling game. David defeated us all.

On our last night in Bloomington, Dad grilled veggie burgers and mushrooms.

And we had this delicious picnic meal.

Bloomingtonians, we miss you!

The Pie Party

The day after Thanksgiving, I went to the annual Pie Party at the Johnsons' Meeting House. As you can see, it involves lots of delicious pie, including my favorite, key lime, and the pie that might tie it for favorite, cherry.

Dharma the dachshund greeted everyone and performed her tricks.The conversation at the party covered zombies, Olmec pottery, the Greek goddess Demeter, and Harry Potter, and at a certain point the reference books got pulled out to answer questions and settle disputes. To me, that's the sign of a good party.