August topically

Since 2012, I have had to make an obligatory post explaining how I used to hate August but I don't anymore. So here are some of the Augusty things I had going on this week.

Produce

There is so much abundance from the garden in August. We have a bumper crop of plums this year, so I made plum crisp

and plum cobbler. And there's still a lot of plums in the fridge for more baking.

We also had a yellow squash that I needed to use, so I used it to make pancakes, inspired by zucchini bread.

Outdoors

I suppose it made more sense for me to hate August when I lived a sedentary, indoorsy lifestyle. And August doesn't have the wildflowers of April–June or the leaves of September–October. But it's still nice to spend time outside. This week I finally got to see the burn scars next to the radio towers above Ensign Peak. But I didn't have time to get close to them. (That trail has little shade, so it's not great in August.)

On Wednesday, as I headed up to run on the Wild Rose Trail, I saw some kids on the sidewalk. On my way back, I saw their artistic representation of "Your Mom" made with plant matter.

I got some other good runs in this week, even if I had to take my headlamp so I could go once it cooled down.

Speaking of running, I had a physical this week, since it's been five years, and I'm in good health, as expected (though I haven't heard the results of the blood test yet). It's a good thing I'm healthy, since my only major allergies are to medicine.

Summerween

I have reviewed two new Halloween candies this month, and it's typical for me to do so this early. If I don't, someone will beat me to the punch. Halloween haters will say it's too early for Halloween, and I agree. For one thing, if we have Halloween stuff early, it will be less special when it's actually the designated time.

I've seen news reports this year saying that Halloween stuff is going on sale earlier than ever, and they're calling it Summerween, perhaps inspired by an episode of Gravity Falls. (How else are you going to have a Halloween episode in a series that takes place in the summer? That episode shows Summerween in June, however.) I actually don't really mind holiday stuff for sale early (regardless of the holiday), but I don't like people putting it up at their homes early.

But the thing is, since I structure my life around holidays, I'm always eager for the next one. And since we don't have a major one after the July holidays, it means I'm always thinking about Halloween in late summer, ever since I was a kid. For example:

• When I was ten, I decorated my bedroom with Halloween decorations on July 5. (That was before I canonized Pioneer Day.) I think I also put up my Fourth of July decorations in April.
• When I was nine, a Cub Scout badge said you could make holiday decorations, so I made Halloween decorations. This was in July or August, when I had a broken leg. 
• When I was six, I set up a lending library of my Halloween picture books in August. I made play money with monsters instead of presidents, but I lent it to my friend and his mom threw it away. And I wasn't going to count a Berenstain Bears book as a Halloween book, because it didn't mention the holiday, but he said it was because of the pumpkin on the cover.
  
• When I was five, my mom bought a set of battery-powered Christmas lights in August. (The lights required two D-cells for ten lights. Christmas light technology has come a long way.) The packaging had pictures of Christmas decorations and a jack-o'-lantern, so I cut them off the packaging and kept them. I guess it was my equivalent of baseball cards or Pokemon cards.

Sorry, that was a tangent!

I guess it's time to close with this week's dreams. 

The woman at the ice cream shop gets orders wrong because she says taffy instead of toffee

Mark wants to get a dog-print swimsuit to make announcements at the 2028 summer games

Elder Melville gives a Book of Mormon to a homeless woman and bookmarks Alma 34

Jen says she doesn't like the Impossible Whopper because she likes chili burgers

Mark parks his car near the lake, where there is an inch of water in the parking lot

a boat stops in water where people dump trash, and children are swimming, with the girls wearing dresses

Sue goes on a far-right tantrum, so Mark throws a penny at her

Mark keeps getting interrupted when he's trying to make a casserole

Jenny tells Callie to eat leftovers instead of cooking

Mark performs an impromptu skit with some women, and one of them has a bee on her dress

a woman brings Mark some short running shorts from an adjoining store

Mark moves to New York City for work for a year

Mark goes to the Mormon History Association conference, and he suspects he will be asked to offer a dedicatory prayer

a milky, pink substance collects on bodies of water and makes everything bright and happy

Reid calls out to Mark in a church building and asks him personal questions

Mark drives home and sees a neighborhood has their Halloween decorations up in August

on Black Friday, a church building hosts a Peeps market