I'm not so good at creating my own DIY, crafty ideas, but I can be really good at picking out other people's projects I'd like to try.

Thank goodness for the Internet and the DIY, craft and interior-design blogs I read. They've given me several ideas recently, which have the added benefit of using things that can be hard to recycle.

Nothing says summer like fresh melon. All three local Schnucks stores are hosting a produce workshop June 26 that will teach you all about "exotic melon varieties." The price is hard to beat - it's free. Sounds refreshing to me. Here's the information from the press release the produce company sent me:

I love summer and believe in celebrating the longest day of the year. I like to do so by hosting a barbeque right around the summer solstice.

I wrote about Asilah Patterson for Sunday's paper.

She's a 17-year-old from Champaign who's focused on breaking her family's cycle of drug addiction. She's focused on succeeding - and she's had help.

This Sunday, The News-Gazette will run an article I've written about a Champaign teenager named Asilah Patterson.

When winter first started thawing to spring, I felt a pit of dread in my stomach.

I couldn't stomach the thought of drinking coffee this morning, so I whipped up a smoothie instead.

I used six ice cubes, strawberries from my mom's garden, fresh pineapple (I stuck both in the freezer last night to add extra iciness) and a dollop of non-fat plain yogurt. Pretty simple, and deliciously refreshing this morning.

Sunday will be my three-year anniversary of working at The News-Gazette. I've written before about how instrumental late Features Editor Rebecca Mabry was to my hire and career as a journalist.

I tried a new slow cooker recipe yesterday - a shredded pork BBQ to be served on the butter rolls I made the other night.

Last night, I tried my bread machine's dough recipe for baking butter rolls. They're for company this evening, so I needed to finish them last night.

The result? Gorgeous rolls that are light and delicious, a lingering home-baked bread smell in my kitchen and the satisfaction of making something from scratch, with ingredients I can pronounce.