Yep, that's my garden discovery of the season. I've never planted it before; I've always heard that it makes a good substitute for spinach in the hot months, after spinach bolts. As it turns out, not only is it a good substitute - I think I might even like it better. Which is just a darned good thing, because I planted a lot of it. (Does anybody know if you can freeze it? Does it have to be blanched first?)

And this weekend I bought more chard. We made a whirlwind trip to Youngstown to say hi and to get some furniture out of the house . . . while we were there, we got Aunt Betty some flowers to plant (begonias and impatiens). In past years she's had a full, tended flower bed, but this year, she said, she really didn't feel up to it. But I had a feeling that if we showed up with the plants, she'd get excited about planting them . . . and she was. Plus, the flowers were half off, as were the vegetables . . . which is how it happened that I picked up a little more chard.

It was nice to see Aunt Betty. I always figure we have a lot in common, both being in-laws in this interesting family . . . I think our presence cheered her up, too. I don't think she's seriously depressed or anything - she has interests that she pursues, and she sees her friends - but I think she has frequent bursts of sadness. (Uncle Carl, on the other hand, seems to be thriving. For the first time in his 80+ years, there's no older brother telling him what to do . . . and he's pretty much doing exactly what he wants.)

In addition to seeing the relatives, we got several interesting and potentially useful items from the house. Emil got some very nice stereo speakers out of the attic, as well as a really good receiver, and - wait for it - an 8-track player. (We've been looking on ebay and there are all kinds of 8-track tapes out there. We're really excited.) Oh, yeah, and a Betamax and a Betamax camera. (We can't wait to see the tapes we brought back - the grandkids circa 1991, and Jackie Shoveling Snow, a companion tape to Jackie Raking Leaves, which, alas, seems to have gone missing . . . ) (And more computer stuff than we needed, if you want my opinion.) But then, I brought home yet more yarn, myself . . . and some very useful storage bins. And a bread maker. (I'm crossing my fingers that it works. I don't really want to use it to make bread; I want it to knead the dough, and then I'll bake it in regular pans. I just don't have the knack of kneading dough, and I'm hoping to learn from observing the dough that the bread machine produces, if that makes sense.) And we brought back a dresser.

Then today was another perfect day. The weather was gorgeous. This morning we unloaded the van, and then, in between bouts of housecleaning and organizing, I watched my garden grow. I have hit that stretch of the summer where I am well and truly relaxed, and I can't even tell you how rejuvenating it feels. I'll get ready to go back to teaching when it's time, but right now, that time's still wa-aaay over the horizon . . .