There are still a few temperature issues that we need to work out but all in all, I would consider it a success. We were able to use several tomatoes from the garden (we have tons) and we used quite a few herbs. We have tons of fresh herbs as well. I never thought I would tell my wife to just throw the leftover basil and oregano in the compost bin but we can get so much more out of the garden. The pizza came out great.
I have spent another week doing nothing on the house. I am studying to take the LEED AP exam on Monday so I have been a hermit. The more I study, the less confident I feel about passing. Nice feeling. I have a couple of days and hopefully it will turn around. Studying, I've spent a lot of time in my dining room. This has compounded my angst as I am surrounded by pealing paint, broken plaster and poorly finished wood - all that I need to fix some day.It has been raining in Chicago for a week straight. Serious rain. Inches of rain. Our garden may appear happy but it isn't. Everything is pretty much falling over. I spent a day staking up the sunflowers and other plants. The clematis is blooming again - though the plant looks a little anemic. Maybe these are supposed to be miniature??? The plants are all filling in and have taken over. I have given up on trying to control things for the time being.
We do have one pleasant surprise that seemed to come with the rain. Down the alley (about 6 houses), our neighbor has the nicest morning glories - massive leaves and stems and deep violet flowers. Very cool looking plants. The other day when I walked by my back fence, to my surprise, I have the exact same morning glories blooming there. These were not here last year and my wife and mother in law cleaned out the entire fence area on the alley this spring. It was once covered with choke cherry, baby ash, and raspberries. Now we have morning glories. 
