Monthly Delights: Cultivating Joy, Nourishing Body & Mind, and Savoring Stories

Welcome to our monthly curated collection of wonderful things to see, buy, read, and watch. Each month, we gather a list of items and experiences that have brought a little extra joy or utility into our lives, hoping they might do the same for yours.

Please note that some links within this article are affiliate links. This means if you click on them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help support the work we do here.

As the days begin to shorten and a crispness enters the air, there’s an undeniable shift in the season. Summer, with its long, sunny mornings and consistently warm days, gracefully starts its retreat. For the past few days, our usual 80s and 90s Fahrenheit temperatures have given way to cooler 70s, with nights dipping into the brisk 40s. The forecast hints at more of these below-average temperatures, signaling a transition that, while beautiful, always feels a little premature for those of us who adore the warmth of summer.

I’m not entirely ready to bid farewell to summer’s embrace just yet, holding onto the hope for a few more warm days before autumn officially makes its calendar debut. In the interim, I’m fully immersing myself in the glorious bounty of late-season produce available in our region. This abundance inspires countless delicious creations in our kitchen, making this a truly special time of year for culinary exploration and preservation.

Seasonal Delights: From Garden to Table

Harvesting the Abundance

Our kitchen island currently serves as a vibrant testament to the season’s generosity. It’s adorned with bowls overflowing with freshly picked apples, many sourced from generous friends’ orchards and even a few wild trees. Adjacent to these are ripening red and chocolate peppers, plucked straight from my own garden, their glossy skins promising rich flavor. And, of course, there are loads of tomatoes – an array of reds, yellows, and oranges, each one a jewel. While not pictured, we were also incredibly fortunate to gather a significant haul of Italian plums last weekend, which are now diligently drying in our dehydrator, transforming into sweet, chewy treats. If you’re curious about preserving this delicious fruit, you can learn all about drying plums here, a truly rewarding process.

The beauty of such a harvest lies not just in its immediate enjoyment but also in the potential for preserving these flavors for months to come. Turning fresh produce into pantry staples or freezer-ready meals is a fulfilling practice, connecting us to traditional foodways and ensuring we can savor the taste of summer and early fall long after the growing season has passed. Here are just a few of the many wonderful things we’re making with our current bounty:

• Canned Roasted Red Peppers in Wine: A gourmet treat that elevates any dish, perfect for antipasto platters or adding depth to sauces.
• 3 Unique Recipes for Canning Apples (Including A Marmalade and A Chutney): Move beyond simple applesauce with these creative and flavorful preservation methods.
• Slow Cooker Maple Sweetened Apple Butter: A delightful spread, effortlessly made in a slow cooker, filling your home with a comforting aroma.
• Crumb Topped Apple Pie – Bake Now or Freeze for Later: Imagine the joy of having a homemade holiday pie already prepared and waiting in your freezer! This recipe allows for both immediate enjoyment and future convenience.
• Canning Diced Tomatoes – Easy Fire Roasted Water Bath Method: A foundational pantry staple, easy to make and incredibly versatile for countless recipes.
• Garden Harvest Roasted Tomato Sauce – Fresh or Freeze: Capture the intense flavor of sun-ripened tomatoes in a rich sauce, perfect for pasta or as a base for other dishes.
• Home Canned Pizza Sauce from frozen or fresh tomatoes: Elevate your homemade pizzas with a flavorful sauce made from your own harvest.

For more inspiration on transforming your garden’s yield into delicious, long-lasting provisions, be sure to explore the extensive Canning & Preserving archive here. It’s a treasure trove of recipes and techniques to help you make the most of every harvest.

Embracing the Fall Garden

Living in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon offers a distinct advantage for gardeners: our typically mild fall and winter temperatures. This climate allows for an extended growing season, making it ideal for planting additional vegetables in July, August, and September with the exciting prospect of fresh harvests throughout the cooler months. It’s a fantastic way to stretch the gardening season and enjoy homegrown produce even as the rest of the world bundles up.

The first photo in the collage above, on the left, showcases a couple of our current garden beds, bustling with pole beans, cucumbers, and tomatillos. These vigorous plants will continue to produce abundantly, offering their delicious yields right up until our first significant frost arrives, which can often be quite late in our region. This extended harvest is a true gift, providing fresh ingredients for many late-season meals.

Beyond these summer holdovers, I’ve also diligently prepared and planted three additional beds, filled with a mix of seedlings I started indoors and seeds sown directly into the soil. These fall-friendly crops include robust cabbage, nutritious broccoli, leafy spinach, earthy carrots, vibrant beets, and a wide assortment of crisp lettuces. These plants thrive in the cooler temperatures, often developing a sweeter flavor profile after a touch of frost. While I admit to being a couple of weeks behind schedule – a minor setback occurred when I accidentally let the first batch of seedlings dry out (a common, albeit frustrating, gardening mishap that reminds us even experienced gardeners aren’t immune to mistakes!) – the recent shift to cooler weather has provided these new “babies” with a perfect start. I’m optimistic they’ll have ample time to mature and produce a steady supply of fresh vegetables over the coming months.

Cultivating a fall garden is incredibly rewarding, allowing us to continue enjoying fresh, organic produce long after the summer crops have faded. It extends the joy of gardening and provides healthy food right from our backyard. For more in-depth advice and tips on making the most of your cool-season planting, you can find more on fall gardening here.

Optimizing Nutrition: Pure Protein Powder Options

As Brian and I continue our journey towards optimal health, a significant focus has been on increasing our daily protein intake. It’s widely understood that as we age, our bodies require more protein to support muscle growth and maintenance, especially when incorporating strength training into our routines 3-4 times a week. Protein is essential not only for muscle repair and building but also for satiety, hormone production, and overall cellular function. We’ve learned that many foods traditionally thought of as high in protein, such as eggs and nuts, often contain less protein than commonly believed, particularly when trying to limit fat intake. For instance, a single egg provides only about 6 grams of protein, and a quarter-cup serving of nuts offers roughly 5 grams – valuable, but not sufficient to meet higher daily targets on their own.

Our primary goal is to ensure the majority of our protein comes from whole, real food sources like lean meats, poultry, diverse legumes, and nutrient-dense whole grains. However, to consistently hit the higher protein targets necessary for our active lifestyles, supplementing with clean protein powders has proven to be an excellent strategy, particularly to kickstart the day. This is where the challenge began: a deep dive into the labels of countless protein powders on the market revealed a shocking amount of unnecessary additives. It was truly surprising to discover how many products, marketed for health and wellness, contained artificial sweeteners, synthetic flavors, preservatives, and other questionable ingredients. It became clear that if you want a genuinely pure protein powder, free from these fillers, you almost exclusively have to look online.

After extensive research and experimentation, I’ve identified three brands offering truly pure protein powders that I now regularly purchase and highly recommend. Two are whey-based, and the third is peanut-based. I’m sharing our findings and how we incorporate them into our routines, hoping this information proves valuable if you’re also searching for clean protein options to enhance your dietary habits.

1. PBfit 100% Peanut Powder: This exceptional product is incredibly versatile. It’s effortless to blend into smoothies for a creamy, protein-packed boost, and it works wonderfully in baking recipes to subtly increase the protein content without altering flavors dramatically. Our favorite application, however, is incorporating it into our breakfast granola. We add 1-2 tablespoons of PBfit and thoroughly mix it into my favorite homemade granola before topping it with fresh berries, chia seeds, and flax seeds. This simple addition contributes an extra 9 grams of protein to a meal that already provides around 15 grams, significantly enhancing its nutritional value and keeping us fuller for longer. A crucial note: always read the label carefully, as some PBfit varieties contain added sugars or artificial sweeteners, which we prefer to avoid.
2. Naked Whey Grass Fed Whey Protein Powder: Discovering this brand was a massive relief after navigating aisles of complicated labels. Naked Whey stands out for its remarkable simplicity: it contains only one ingredient – pure whey protein. There are no added flavors, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Its unflavored nature makes it incredibly adaptable, blending seamlessly into smoothies, hot beverages like coffee, and various baking creations without imparting any discernible taste. The primary drawbacks are its higher price point compared to some alternatives and its occasional difficulty in sourcing due to demand. We’ve found a consistent routine of adding a scoop to our morning coffee, which provides an easy and efficient way to get an additional 12.5 grams of clean protein to start the day.
3. Bulk Supplements Whey Protein Concentrate Powder, Unflavored: When Naked Whey is unavailable or when we’re looking for a more budget-friendly option, Bulk Supplements offers an excellent alternative that maintains a high standard of purity. This product contains whey protein concentrate along with a minimal amount of sunflower lecithin, a natural emulsifier that aids in solubility. Despite the added lecithin, it remains remarkably clean and free from artificial ingredients. What’s even better is that it’s typically about half the price of Naked Whey. It dissolves just as effortlessly in both hot and cold liquids, leaving no detectable flavor in our coffee or baked goods. Each scoop delivers a substantial 11.5 grams of protein, making it a fantastic and economical choice for daily supplementation.

You’ll notice that, apart from the peanut powder, our preferred options are animal-based. This aligns with our omnivorous diet, so it’s not a concern for us. During my research, I found that many plant-based protein powders, particularly those using pea protein, often have a distinct flavor that can be challenging to mask. Furthermore, they frequently include a longer list of ingredients. However, if you require a vegetarian or vegan option, I strongly advise seeking out brands with the absolute fewest additives, such as this Naked brand of pea protein, which prioritizes purity.

A quick note on collagen: It’s important to understand that while powdered collagen offers numerous health benefits – supporting bone density, skin elasticity, hair growth, and gut health – it is not considered a complete protein in the same way as whey or pea protein. This means it doesn’t contribute fully to your daily protein macro count for muscle synthesis and repair. There can be some confusion online, with several articles suggesting it *can* be counted as a complete protein. However, based on information from various nutrition experts and strength training groups, I lean towards the understanding presented in this insightful article. So, while I continue to incorporate collagen into my diet for its fantastic benefits to bones, skin, and joints, I do not count it towards my total daily protein intake for muscle building.

Escaping into Stories: August Reads

August proved to be a fantastic month for diving into a variety of compelling narratives, from cozy mysteries to poignant literary fiction and laugh-out-loud classics. There’s nothing quite like losing yourself in a good book, and this past month offered ample opportunities for both escape and reflection. Here’s a glimpse into the titles that captured my attention:

The Art Fiasco (Poppy Denby Investigates 5), Fiona Veitch Smith. This installment in the Poppy Denby series was a particularly enjoyable one, offering a deeper dive into our protagonist’s background. Poppy returns to her hometown to celebrate her father’s birthday, which allows us to meet her parents and gain more insight into her roots. The central mystery revolves around an artist with a surprising connection to Poppy’s mother from her youth. This intricate storyline kept me completely engrossed throughout the book. The resolution to the mystery was both satisfying in its cleverness and tinged with a touch of sadness, leaving a lasting impression. I believe there’s only one book left in this delightful series, and while my library doesn’t have it yet, I might just have to purchase it. The ending included a tantalizing cliffhanger concerning Poppy’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, making the wait for the next book almost unbearable!

The Lonely Hearts Book Club, Lucy Gilmore. The premise of this book instantly appealed to me: a bookish librarian embarks on a mission to befriend a notoriously crusty old man. The narrative beautifully unfolds as she gradually (and I mean *very* gradually) wins him over, slowly filling his solitary life with warmth, connection, and a sense of belonging. The other characters in the story are equally endearing, each harboring their own quiet loneliness. Watching them stumble into this unconventional book club and witnessing how it transforms into something far more profound than just a literary gathering was incredibly sweet and heartwarming. While it wasn’t an outstanding masterpiece, I genuinely enjoyed the journey, though I found the ending a bit abrupt, leaving several narrative threads feeling unresolved.

Hello Beautiful, Ann Napolitano. I had been seeing this book garnering significant buzz across social media for months, so I was thrilled when my library hold finally came through. This is not a novel to be rushed; it’s a slow, deliberate, and deeply introspective family saga that spans many years, filled with numerous twists and turns. Some moments are incredibly challenging and heartbreaking, while others are so tender and sweet they will undoubtedly tug at your heartstrings. The narrative skillfully explores profound themes: how individuals cope with tragedy, the indelible ways our family histories and dynamics shape who we become, and the complex, enduring bonds of siblinghood. It’s often labeled a tearjerker, and while it certainly contains sad elements, I didn’t find myself crying. Perhaps this was because I didn’t feel a singular, deep connection to any one character; rather, each played a vital, intricate role in the overarching story. Nevertheless, the themes and the powerful narrative truly stick with you long after you’ve finished reading, and the hopeful undertones of the ending certainly elevated the experience for me. This book will very likely earn a spot on my “Best of the Year” book list.

The Blandings Collection: Vol.2, PG Wodehouse (narrated by Stephen Fry). This is an epic 45-hour collection of Wodehouse’s comedic genius! Brian and I listened to the first two books of the five included – *Summer Lightning* and *Heavy Weather* (we’ll save the others for another time). We started this after finishing the intense and often grim *The Stand*, and we desperately needed something light and utterly hilarious. This collection delivered in spades! We’re long-time fans of Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster stories, having listened to them countless times, but we hadn’t spent much time with the eccentric Blandings characters before. This collection is brimming with all of Wodehouse’s trademark wit, his keen satire of the British class system, and the delightfully absurd situations his characters inevitably stumble into. We found ourselves laughing out loud repeatedly. It’s truly a classic for a reason! And, of course, Stephen Fry’s narration is simply unparalleled; he masterfully brings each character to vibrant, hilarious life.

–A personal note on P.G. Wodehouse: When I was first assigned to read him in college, I confess I wasn’t particularly fond of reading humor and had never truly appreciated slapstick comedy – a sentiment that largely holds true even today. However, Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster books completely shattered my bias. Reading his first Bertie Wooster novel found me genuinely laughing out loud multiple times, a rare occurrence for me with comedic writing. If you haven’t yet discovered the joy of his books, I wholeheartedly recommend giving them a try – you might just surprise yourself!

The Jewels of Halstead Manor (Ladies of Devon Book 1), Kasey Stockton – plus the other four books in the series. This charming series introduces us to four close friends in Devon, England, set in the elegant Regency era. All are in their mid-twenties, teetering on the edge of being considered “on the shelf” (unmarried at a certain age), and the series delightfuly chronicles their individual journeys to finding love. A shorter fifth book concludes the series a decade later, focusing on the story of a younger sister. I was fortunate enough to access these books one after the other through the Hoopla app with no waiting, making them the perfect companion for my gardening, harvesting, and preserving endeavors.

I found the first book to be the most engaging, as it offered a rich tapestry of events, including a intriguing mystery, unanswered questions about the heroine’s father and her casual attachment to a man, and the heartwarming task of softening a crusty uncle with kindness (a trope I dearly love!). Following that, the fourth book was another favorite, featuring a reclusive duke who is reluctantly drawn back into society by a spunky and determined heroine. The other books in the series were pleasant but didn’t quite reach the same heights. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the authentic Regency settings, the interconnected storylines, the satisfyingly happy endings, and the “closed door” romances, which are a refreshing change of pace in historical fiction.

Honey, Baby, Mine, Laura Dern & Diane Ladd. I had initially heard about this book and was captivated by its premise: a mother and daughter begin walking together after a medical diagnosis for Ms. Ladd, and through these walks, they not only deepen their understanding of each other but also witness how the physical activity aids in Ms. Ladd’s recovery. Honestly, the book proved to be just so-so for me. The conversational format, presented as literal dialogues (e.g., Laura: blah, blah; Diane: blah, blah, blah), became quite tedious after a while, and much of the content simply wasn’t as interesting as I had hoped. I found myself skimming the latter part of the book. It felt a bit like naval-gazing to me, lacking the compelling narrative structure I typically seek in memoirs.

Captivating Screens: August’s Cinematic Adventures

Our August viewing schedule was quite varied, taking us from the vibrant pink world of Barbie to the intense, historical drama of Oppenheimer. Both films certainly sparked conversation and offered unique cinematic experiences:

Barbie – It seems I joined half the world in seeing this much-anticipated film! It was undeniably a fun outing at the theater and, for the most part, a cute and clever movie. The vibrant production design, the sharp humor, and the exploration of themes like identity and societal expectations were genuinely engaging. However, I must confess to feeling a touch of disappointment with the ending. It seemed to lean into a certain ambiguity or perhaps a different message than I was anticipating, though my daughter assures me this is simply “me” and my tendency to seek clear-cut resolutions!

Oppenheimer– We were thoroughly engrossed by the compelling story and the masterful filmmaking of this significant period in history. Christopher Nolan’s direction, the powerful performances, and the intricate narrative structure brought the complex life of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb to life in a gripping way. The film excelled in its historical portrayal and dramatic tension. However, our enjoyment was significantly diminished by the inclusion of gratuitous nudity and explicit sex scenes – there were three instances that felt entirely unnecessary and out of place. This was particularly frustrating because, otherwise, the movie would have been an exceptional historical drama suitable for a wider audience, including older children and families interested in learning about this pivotal moment. The inclusion of these scenes felt like a missed opportunity to create a truly impactful and universally accessible cinematic achievement without compromising its artistic integrity.

And that concludes another edition of our Good Things List!

If you’re keen to explore more of the things I’m currently enjoying and recommending, you can delve into all the previous Good Things Lists here. We’d absolutely love to hear your thoughts – whether you’ve tried any of these recommendations yourself, or if you have your own discoveries and favorites to share. Please leave a comment below with your insights and suggestions!

Disclosure: Affiliate links featured in this article may generate a commission based on sales, but rest assured, this does not affect the price you pay. For a comprehensive understanding of my disclosure policies, please click here to read my full disclaimer and advertising disclosure.