Summer! Well, kind of...

Summer has finally arrived in Copenhagen! Well, kind of, sort of... Though June was the coldest June in the last 20 or 30 years, July started out promising. The sun was shining, the temperature was a perfect 25 C/75 F, and it seemed as though the entire city was outdoors, enjoying the tardy summer days. Copenhagen is a lovely place in the summer; everything is so green, like our courtyard.

We enjoyed the warm days eating outside, playing ping pong and backgammon in the courtyard, and attending some of the local jazz concerts. It's hard to beat sitting with a glass of cold chardonnay, enjoying a free jazz concert just feet away from our home.

Summer weather, of course, calls for summer food! Grilled meats, grilled vegetables, and cool dips and the things summers are made of. We enjoyed this Middle Eastern feast: pita was dipped into baba ganoush, tzatziki, hummus, and feta and artichoke dip, while the grilled mititei (spicy, garlicky home-made sausages) were accompanied by fresh salad and red wine.

But, Denmark will do as Denmark does, and the lovely summer days didn't last before the skies darkened and the rain fell. Now we have cooler temperatures and random rain showers, but we at least get some sunshine every now and then. In the meantime, Bobby and I continue to make improvements to the apartment. We recently painted the entrance/hallway. It used to be the yellow color that the entire apartment was originally painted.

And now it's this nice, crisp white. The white has a lot of green and blue in it, so it seems to change color with the time of day/weather conditions. I rather like it. It's nice and clean.

And here is my newest baby, a beautiful oval Le Creuset cast-iron Dutch oven. I am trying to collect all the colors! I can add this light green beauty to my dark green circular Dutch oven, the dark blue bouillabaisse pot, deep red grill pan, blue stock pot, brown mugs, yellow butter dish, and numerous serving dishes in yellow, red, and cream. Now you know what to get me for Christmas!