It is the eve of our nation's birthday. The stars and stripes are displayed beside our front door. We will be grilling later. Tomorrow our town holds a big parade, a carnival, and a fireworks show. We'll spend the afternoon with friends around their bonfire.
For now, I just need to catch up with this here blog.
Every Thursday there is a farmers market here in town. It isn't big but I make the best of it. A couple weeks ago I bought these golden beets, some sugar snap peas, and radishes. The beets are lovely. The radishes are a bit too hot. The snap peas were gone almost immediately.
On a Saturday morning not too long ago, Aaron and I went to the beach for a little stroll. The weather was perfect, the sun just right and I captured a picture of these delicate flowers. I love the way the light falls on the driftwood in the background.
Our little town has a beautiful waterfront park. On any given evening there are handfuls of people there, walking their dogs, jogging, playing basketball. We took our Charlie one evening and came across this large tree trunk that had drifted in on a high tide. We walked out to the end of it, the water underneath is only maybe 3 feet deep.
We had to travel to the nearest "big town" to go to the Cash & Carry to get all the things for our church picnic. It wasn't a chore so much as a good reason to go to Five Guys for lunch. And who wouldn't want to get a coffee from a coffee shop that has a wall of plants?
A wall.
Of plants.
Thank you Whidbey Coffee for being beautiful.
Last farmers market day I walked there from home (it's only about a mile). Stopped at Starbucks for an iced Americano and sat in the sun and soaked up some summer. I cut these old jeans and was immediately transported back to the early 90's. Cut-offs are every summer of my teenaged life.
The bounty from that market didn't disappoint. Organic golden raspberries, strawberry jam, sweet carrots, fresh arugula, cheese rolls, and warm kettle corn (warm!). So here's the thing, fresh arugula sounds really great but it is so peppery that I wouldn't recommend just popping a leaf into your mouth to try the freshness. Why is it so peppery?!
Here's how I manage to eat my fresh arugula:
- Chop up a fresh beet and fry in a little butter till softened.
- Add a little chopped bell pepper.
- Crack two fresh eggs over the beets and bell pepper. Let cook for a couple minutes.
- Put a large handful of arugula on top of eggs, toss in a handful of cherry tomatoes, and flip the whole mess over so the arugula and tomatoes are now on the bottom.
- Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and cook till arugula is wilted and eggs are to desired doneness.
This is my go-to for a warm breakfast or easy lunch.
Another evening, another walk with Aaron and the dog. We found ourselves in a field with some pretty purple thistle and the setting sun.
Same evening. Same sun. Different location.
My Charlie dog thinks that I practice yoga just for him. I give him his own blanket or rug to sit on but he almost always finds his way onto my mat.
Downward dog becomes a time for him to rub his wet nose on my chin. Savasana becomes the best time for him to lay next to my head or to nose my relaxed hand.
I don't take any of it too seriously. If my dog wants some attention I incorporate it into the motions. Yoga is accepting each moment, recognizing it, being fully present in it.
Even if your dog sneezes on your mat.
The Independence Day picnic that our church held went really well. Some of the ladies that are good at decorating had the pavilion looking very patriotic. We welcomed some visitors, listened to some great preaching, ate burgers, sang patriotic songs, and enjoyed a sunny day.
Just today I spent most of the morning in the back yard. The cherries are just ripening (two weeks later than last year!) so I picked a bowlful to make ice cream.
The lilies that someone before us planted are blooming. This is the only yellow one.
The rest are orange.
Mintie was curious what I was doing. My presence usually means there are treats nearby. (P.S. Look how brown our grass is while the dandelions continue to thrive.)
Big, beautiful pink poppy in the garden. Their petals are like crepe paper.
A rare photo of the photographer in her natural habitat.
Squash blossom.
Itty bitty baby summer squash.
Viola growing in the garden. I didn't plant this but I'm glad it's there!
Green bean blossom.
Today's harvest: sweet peas and cherries.
I ate all the sweet peas immediately. The cherries were turned into Cherry Garcia ice cream.
In other news,
Blake got his first real job. He begins training at a local supermarket this week. Of course, as most 16 year olds, he's saving for a car. This kid impresses me with his energy and motivation.
I'm working on starting up a freelance photography business. That's all I'm going to say about it for now. I'm in the baby stages, the business planning stage, but I'll share more as I have more to share.
One month from today we celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. He's planning something. I can't dig details out of him. If it's like our first date we'll head over to Burger King. What can I say, we know romance (wink, wink).
Time to close. We're grilling ribs and chicken this evening to go alongside leftover potato salad and baked beans from the church picnic.
Happy birthday to this great country. Here's to celebrating freedom! Here's to celebrating liberty! Here's to independence!
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