The Adventures of Julie and Bella 2025

Today was another low-key kind of day—and honestly, just what I needed. I started the morning with a much-needed 🚿 shower and was finally able to remove the surgical bandages. I swapped them out for an XL Bandaid, but oof—those bandages had been providing some serious cushion. A Bandaid? Not so much. 😣 I’m definitely feeling sore today, but taking it slow and steady.

Despite that, I couldn’t resist heading to one of my favorite places… the blueberry farm! 🫐💙 Today was their opening day, and even though I had to take it easy, I still managed to pick 6.5 pounds of juicy berries! It took me over an hour and a half (with plenty of breaks!), but it was totally worth it. I can’t wait to bake, snack, and maybe freeze a few for later. Fresh blueberries are my favorite little summer gems. 🥧🍽️

After the blueberry adventure, Nurse Bella 🐶 made sure I got some exercise. We went on our afternoon walk—well, she picked the route, and I just followed her lead. 🚶‍♀️🐾 We took it slow, and she was such a good walking buddy.

The rest of the day was restful: 📖 reading, 😌 relaxing, and just enjoying the peace and quiet. But before winding down, I headed out to check on the 🌱 garden. I’m SO glad I did—several of my tomato 🍅 plants were showing early signs of blight 😞. It hurt to bend for too long, but I trimmed off every affected branch I could find. Fingers crossed 🤞 I caught it in time. Looks like I’ll be making a Walmart run tomorrow morning for some plant “medicine” 🧪🪴.

On a brighter note ✨, while I was out there (thanks, Mother Nature, for the gentle rain 🌧️ while I worked!), I harvested my very first 🫑 pepper and 🥒 zucchini of the season! 🎉 Plus a handful of fresh green beans! There’s just something magical about picking food you grew yourself—it never gets old. 🌼🌽💚

We ended the evening enjoying some time on the patio 🌅. I fired up the grill 🔥 and cooked up some chicken marinated in Greek seasonings 🍗🇬🇷, along with brussels sprouts—which I grilled for the very first time! 🥬💥 Let me just say: game changer. I’ll definitely be doing that again! Everything was so flavorful and fresh, and it felt so good to sit outside with Bella and just soak it all in. 🥰🌸

Now it’s time to truly relax for the night—blanket, book, Bella, and probably a handful of blueberries too. 💜📘🐾🫐