July so far

To paraphrase Gretchen Rubin (the author of The Happiness Project), the days are long, but the summer is short.

It's July 12th.  Already.  Really.  

July highlights, so far, in mostly chronological order:

• Stepler was on a field trip in Scotland from June 30th - July 4th
• I took and passed my Norwegian driving test
• Rory and I planted a sunflower
• I found okra at the Asian grocery store downtown! 
• We've been to the wonderful new coffee shop downtown twice
• Rory and I had dinner at Stepler's co-worker's and Rory loved playing with his dogs and running around the garden (British for yard)
• I (with a little help from Rory) made a cake with strawberries for the 4th of July party we attended
• We went to friends' for a 4th of July party, Stepler got home just in time for the last 30 minutes or so
• I made Thai noodles that Rory and I loved, Stepler not so much
• Rory and I took Janice and Shiner (beagle belonging to other friends who moved to Jakarta) to the airport for their journey to Jakarta, Indonesia -- they both survived
• We made homemade guitar-shaped popsicles
• Rory got a haircut
• Rory and I picnicked on the beach with friends and Rory even got in the really cold water
• Rory and I tried a new bread recipe
• We made ribs for the first time in Norway, they were rather tasty
• We had a family picnic and playtime at the beach, but it was extremely windy, so windy that the blowing sand hurt
• We have enjoyed lots and lots of Norway's delicious strawberries

There are pictures of much of this, but due to computer issues, they'll have to wait.  Stepler has promised to write the post about his Marathon.