I'm canning a lot more fun stuff - pineapple salsa, peach salsa, mango chutney (coming up tonight), etc. I've done some canning in the past but mostly canning diced tomatoes.... which is still coming up. Both a hobby and because I think it'll be a nice treat come winter to open something great.
I've been planning shopping trips a lot more. For a couple years now, I've had an ongoing grocery list on a phone app, but it was only items that I was out of or down to the last of. Now I am actively checking the freezers and pantry to see if I should add a few more items. Yesterday we went to the spice store and got 6 different refill spices so I definitely will not run out of them. Trying to plan ahead too, so knowing that I would want to plant lots of veg seeds come Spring, I went ahead and checked all my existing packets and wrote a list for new items I will want to plant. Not much of a difference, I supposed, but a new mindset about potential future scarcity, and how to avoid rushing to the store for last minute items.
Trying to follow through on making the alterations to the thrift store items I've been collecting - I shortened a dress, unpicked armholes to reset them, bought a variety pack of thread so I can keep working into the winter on new items. Even if the thread doesn't match perfectly, it'll be pretty close without needing to run to the store.
We've always had game nights with friends frequently, but now we have two different ones each week (different friends in each). We invested in some camera equipment and (this is silly) lighting. My partner and I run the "master board" if the game requires it, and it's fun.
I've been doing a LOT of thinking ahead to winter. While this summer has been mostly okay, I've been worried about how to make the winter more enjoyable, and make sure we still see friends. To that end, I talked our friends with the nice backyard into buying a heat lamp so we can continue to hang out later in the season. I emailed the local game store for new game options suitable for our online play with friends, and they sent me a good list. We've picked up two new games so far - we want to make sure we don't all get bored with our current options, and we want to support our local game store, since I'm worried about retail going out of business.
Now I need to think of good ideas for a habitual and SAFE get together with my mom. She's already lonely and isolated living alone, but at least during warm weather we can go for walks. I think it'll be hard for her to do this another 8 months or so in the US...
Oh, and though I REALLY want a bidet, we've decided to hold off in our apartment. I bought a portable thing instead that I'm trying... so far it's great for periods, but not so much for normal daily activity. I guess I need to keep trying.