I cannot believe how quickly summer is flying by. Once again, I have still not made it to the farmers market. Not even the lure of a juicy ripe homegrown tomato can lure me out of bed before noon. Will I make it tomorrow? Probably not.
The good news is that for some reason I thought today was Saturday. And it’s only Friday! So it’s like I get to not do all the the Saturday things I should do again tomorrow. YAY!
School starts back next week here. This is important because the school is right next door and it effects when Banjo can go out into the yard. It is utterly ridiculous to start school in August in the south. Every year kids die on the football practice field. EVERY. YEAR. The school year should be September through May like God intended with the entire summer off.
I hope you all have fabulous plans for the last weekend in July! Share them in comments so I can live vicariously through you.
Awwww, you made me think of Rosemary Wells’ “First Tomato” (from the picture book trilogy “Voyage to the Bunny Planet). It goes like this:
“I hear my mother calling
when the summer wind blows,
“Go out in the garden
in your old, old clothes.
Pick me some runner beans
and sugar snap peas.
Find a ripe tomato
and bring it to me, please.”
A ruby red tomato
is hanging on the vine.
If my mother didn’t want it,
the tomato would be mine.
It smells of rain and steamy earth
and hot June sun.
In the whole tomato garden
it’s the only ripe one.
I close my eyes and breathe in
its fat, red smell.
I wish that I could eat it now,
and never, never tell.
But I save it for my mother,
without another look,
I wash the beans and shell the peas
and watch my mother cook.
I hear my mother calling
when the summer winds blow,
“I’ve made you first tomato soup
because I love you so.”
I love that. Thank you for sharing.
that poem is awesome! <3
Made me a bit weepy. I should be better at my gardens. I come from generations of wonderful home gardens that fed my family. I’ve been successful at times but haven’t charged myself in recent years, makes me guilty.
Thank you TT and Dalia Mama! Stay cool and I hope you both have a wonderful tomato, pea and or bean moment this week!
I should add, I came back to work again this am, will be here until next Tuesday. There’s my weekend.
Thank you for posting that poem – such a refreshing change of pace to read something summer-ish. Tamara, I’ve been quite a slacker or hibernator or whatever you call it the summer. I have a farmer’s market less than 2 miles from my place that has the best tomatoes, other veggies, and about 10 varieties of watermelon, as well as fresh eggs, local homemade salsas, sweet corn, home-cased sausages, etc…. I have not gone to the farmer’s market one single time, so thanks to your inspiration, I’m going to try really, really hard to force myself to go this weekend. Mine is open both Sat and Sun, so I usually sleep in on Sat, so going to try to force-drag myself out of this hobbit-apartment and go. I had a super-bad experience with a minor lower back spinal catheter procedure 5 weeks ago which made me more hermit-ish than normally – everything went fine the day of and that night, but woke up the next morning not being able to feel anything in both feet and up into my calves – it lasted until the first part of this week – apparently, after further testing, there was some nerve hit with the catheter which caused the now temporary paralysis – I am thankful beyond words it is not permanent because there’s nothing worse than trying to walk, barefoot or with shoes on, when you cannot feel your feet and lower legs – but, the silver lining was that with the paralysis, I also had zero of the normal issues of hot pins and needles in my feet from diabetic neuropathy for all that time – that’s something, right? š
Right!
This lovely poem reminds me of how profoundly we can appreciate the ālittleā things and gestures. Like it must have been to get an orange in your wooden shoe at Christmas. Good to appreciate the simple things that count.
I am going to go buy peaches tomorrow and purĆ©e them for my daughter. I get weirdly excited about introducing new fruits and vegetables to her. So far she hasnāt hated anything yet!
Talking about dogs… I have four and they all have weird habits. Luckily the schools are across the street so I donāt have to schedule their outside time around thatās BUT one of my dogs loses it whenever I flush the toilet. This isnāt an issue most of the time except for when my daughter is asleep. I have to strategically flush it while he is outside so he doesnāt wake her up with his barking…
Iām exploring options for the weekend. Iād rather sleep.
I have no fun plans. My brother is coming out to visit on 8/10, so I have cleaning to do before he gets here. The only other plan is trying to walk my dog in the morning before it gets too hot, and early enough in the evening that it’s not hellishly hot but it’s still light out. Oh yeah, and trying to avoid the grasshopper infestation that has struck Las Vegas.
I saw that (grasshoppers) on the news today! Gack! It looks really gross! Are you experiencing humidity too?
It’s considered our monsoon season so it’s humid and in the 100’s. I have to keep reminding myself that winters here are so nice that it should make up for the miserable summers.
I get it. I’m in northern AZ. I hate the heat and humidity, but the Monsoons saved our butts here in Flagstaff this past week. We’re having a lot of bugs too this year but not like you guys!
I like four seasons. I’m always ready for the next when the current end is upon us.
Love Flag in the summer, but wonāt be there again till fall. Can’t wait!
Weāre headed to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginny as I type this. Got a place there and it needs some tending.
Just hope the resident black snake has found an outdoor home!
Dalai Mamaās poem was just what I needed this morning. Thank you.
Enjoy the rest of summer, everyone!
I really need to learn how to cook. I’m 31 and can’t cook for shit.
Given my extreme laziness and zero abilities I think an Instant Pot works best for me.
I actually bought one about three years ago, it’s still in the box…unopened. It’s time to put it to good use, I’ve been browsing some websites for quick and easy recipes.
I have one and look at recipes all the time. Once I see more than 3 ingredients or 5 steps, I peace out.
Instapot is the best. Don’t fret. Read instructions, do the test they tell you to. Tgen make the recipes that are in the booklet. I don’t want to get in trouble with TT so I won’t mention commerce. BUT an older Canadian gal (Ruth Rootitoot) has a free website that will almost hold your hand and walk you through really really good Instapot meals. Solid and nutritionally dense and easy. It changed my cooking game, and I am a decent old school cook.
There are a few excellent books teaching kids to cook that donāt talk down. The steps are clear and concise. I would recommend starting there for the foundation. After that, you will have confidence. Maybe a new passion.
My mom and I are taking my kids on the short drive to Tennessee for tax free weekend shopping. It is only a 20 minute drive for us. There is no sales tax there this weekend so everyone loads up on back to school supplies and clothes. Pray for us battling traffic and the crowds!
TT, I do the day mix-up song & dance more than I’d like to admit. Nice to know I’m not the only one! I’ve had an uneventful and quite boring summer, but I desperately needed some calm so I’m more than grateful. Thank you for being you!
Sad it is the last July week. This upcoming time is fraught with emotion. This weekend will include the Alton Farmer Market and a gawk at the flooded areas as we go. Get some peaches, eggs, homemade salsa. Then planting some late beans, the blueberry bush we bought in Michigan. Let the young chickens have a good long roll in the dirt. And…packing up, storing all my art supplies at a storage place. My daughter got her dream job. She is teaching animation at the college level. And she needs to move in with me while her spouse sells The Indiana House. My childhood home they inherited.
I’m continuing one my quest for delicious food while I visit socal and taking my pups to the dog park. My weekend will be chill along with catching up on TV I missed. I grew up here, so I’ve done the tourist crap when family visited.
Have to go to Walmart š
Shoot where I in the sticks now, going to Walmart is the big city trip, lol!!! Lots of fun people watching at leastš
Iām going to a knitting shop that is part of the Chgo yarn crawl and getting some yarn!! (As if I need more…) For us knitters who use expensive yarn the discounts help. And making apple muffins. And the usual stuff too… replacing litter in 4 catboxes, washing cat beds and all that cat stuff us fur parents do cuz we love them…. TT, Iām with you on school starting so damn early. Itās insanity. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth when I was in school we started after Labor Day and were done around Memorial Day.
Amen! Why does school start so early and end so late now? Kids and parents alike ALL HATE IT! Then they get all these weird days off during the year and half day every week! I’m so glad my youngest is a senior this year!
I LOVE yarn! Often buy it as gifts–just picked up a decorative bird cage for 70% off + 10% military discount that I plan to fill with yarn for one of the great-granddaughters (not sure which one yet) either for birthday or Christmas. Although I love yarn for my own knitting, it is even more fun to buy for someone else who will love it, too. Actually, Fly Boy keeps me so busy that I don’t have time for needlework any more. My 2nd best ever holiday gift was a spinning wheel weekend class/retreat with my elder granddaughter. I gave her my spinning wheel when I made the move from my house to Fly Boy’s (he had a new whole-house generator & hot tub, a swimming pool, shooting range, 2 cleaning ladies & a Sleep Number bed).
Thatās an excellent trade off, mizGrandma! When can we visit?? š
For some reason, I thought you and Flyboy were HS sweethearts. Finding love later in life makes it just as sweet in another way. As if upi didnāt have enough hoards, I got into knitting ā and yarn ā a couple of years ago. I could not believe the wonderful evolution of yarn since my acrylic decades before.
Go to a fiber fest. Buy a fleece. Have it spun. Instant freakout joy.
We hit the Estes Fiber Fest this year and I snagged a shetland fleece for $15 and visited with the family who raised the sheep. Handed fleece to the mill guy who had a booth there.
Yesterday he sent pics of my dk weight skeins.
I love yarn. But goodness, the feeling when you look into the face of the animal who gave the yarn.
Nanette, no we met at the request of one of the younger great-granddaughters who thought I’d been widowed long enough (7 years before we married). I’ve sort of kept in touch with that high school boyfriend, though. We were biology lab partners in 1957. He’s retired now, of course, a Professor Emeritus in Medieval Latin Literature, & a leader in his (narrow) field. Not too long ago I read a glowing review of one of his books on Amazon, & last I heard he was working on his magnus opus with the assistance of his current wife, also a prof. My first husband was his college roommate. Yup, that was interesting.
In the dark of some nights Fly Boy & I have wondered what life would have been like if we had met when young. I once concocted a fantasy I shared, in which we had met when I was 15-1/2 & he was in college. We had danced one sultry summer night without exchanging names, & though he didn’t kiss me, he did give me my first dip. Somehow that semi-satisfied potential regrets about years not shared, & our focus is primarily on our future.
ā„ļø ā„ļø ā„ļø
So ever since I finished grad school in May I’ve got a life again and knitting has made it back on my to do list. Forgot how much I love creating texture from stitches.
If it didnāt exist when you last were knitting, check out Ravelry dot com. Mind blowing wonderfulness.
The Ravelry administration has banned Trump enthusiasts & Trumpian knitting patterns, “We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy.” No, this is not an invitation to political discussion, just an FYI.
It’s amazing the old people can’t call a racist a racist a racist or a bigot a bigot or a piece of shit a piece of shit, OR AT LEAST KEEP ASSHOLES OUT OF POLITICS AT THIS TIME WHEN WE HAVE A TOTAL PIECE OF SHIT IN THE OVAL OFFICE WITH ALL THAT IS GOING ON TODAY
If you are an older person who has very dated views on everything, I TOO CANNOT PROVIDE A PLACE FOR WHITE SUPREMACY OPEN OR COVERT JUST AN FYI, And the yarn sellers or whatever they are do not have to either.
WE ARE LITERALLY TO THE POINT WHERE WE CAN’T TALK ABOUT YARN IN THIS COUNTRY.
Does that not worry anyone?????????????
Hmmm, did I somehow mistakenly convey something other than support for Ravelry’s position? If so, let me be clear, I applaud Ravelry & anyone else who stands against fascism, racism & homophobia. I really just wanted folks to know it was a good safe place for those who love yarn. Perhaps I need to get out my knitting needles from storage & download the Ravelry pattern to knit Tamara one of the scarves that shows “innocuous stripes from the front, but says F*** TRUMP when viewed from an angle.” On second thought, perhaps being polite about hatred is inappropriate, & the time for subtlety is long over.
Sorry MizGrandma. I’m just over every single day having the person that represents the country I love spouting hatred. And the political party I voted with more often than not as an Independent being disgusting pieces of shit, I’m tired of the mass shootings. I’m tired of not being able to afford healthcare, I’m tired or the NRA and Big Pharm fucking this country up. I am just TIRED. I am TIRED OF IT ALL. It’s not you, It’s me. I don’t feel safe in my own counrtry. Everything has gone to shit, And people are just waddling around going, Hey the economy if fine!
Iāve been jonesing for tomato pie.
Going to Siesta Key Beach next weekend with the fam. Otherwise we arenāt doing anything until Paris in two months.
This is the first weekend all summer I haven’t made plans to do something fun & summery. My friend is going to Maine for the entire week so I plan on reading, napping & being a general lay a bout while pretending to enjoy being solo for the week. # loves labor lost
Aww, if you get truly lonely, we’re here for you boo! Xxoo
Kipper that is the sweetest & nicest thing I have had anyone say to me all year ! Thanks so much, made me smile Have a wonderful weekend ! š
Fall is definitely my favorite season, so iām looking forward to the remaining dog days of summer until Labor Day weekend! I love football, colorful leaves, and sweater weather. IĀ“m going to have some time off this year to enjoy it while I look for a new job.
Hanging at the cottage and packing the kids up for summer camp. Iāll miss them!
I read an article about white supremacists running farmers markets. Spent 15minutes trying to guess which vendor had the least racist tomatoes. Not certain I made the right choice. But that Amish bread tho…..
Enjoyed Chattanooga yesterday, got back very late. Had some great food and drinks! I enjoyed the art scene and the zoo. Also went to the Aquarium. I had not been in 15 years. It was lots of fun.
I tried to do everything I had to do in the wild yesterday because it is predicted to be 105 today and tomorrow, then āall the way down to 91ā Monday. But I had to wait for today to get pain meds atWalmart.
My āsummer setā tomatoes are going great. Still babying the other plants. Bought a cobra mister for the chickens. They donāt realize they like it ā they stay out of the spray but love the damp dirt. The dogs and I would die without AC. Never had it before. I feel bad for the people who planned to attend the last days of the State Fair.
going to watch a friend play the accordion in a Basque festival at high noon!
Had the day off yesterday, didnt get much of anything done except a shower, trip to the grocery store for essentials for a backyard movie at my friends’ house! Around here (PNW) it feels as if our summer is just beginning. Weather has been coolish at times, but I’m not complaining because we have not had the forest fire smoke accumulation that just tortured me the last two summers.
This weekend I hope to clean out my fridge and get my kitchen more organized so I can do meal planning and cook more in my quest to drop some serious weight. Oh, and to make room in the freezer for berries – I think I might have missed the marionberries and blackberries though, and they are some of my favorites!
Have been gone awhile and have been catching up on all of TTās posts. I forgot how much I loved these kinds of posts… getting to read about what everyone else is doing. Loved the poem up top, too. Iām almost caught up reading posts and getting all the scoop. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. Itās so hot and humid in Houston itās a chore to even leave the house. They keep telling us that rain and cool front coming…still waiting! Lol
Saturday I threw a 10th birthday party for my oldest grand daughter and come Wed the 31st the summer birthdays will be over and our family gets a break until the end of September when he have another 7 straight weeks of birthdays! Being 49 and having a 10 year old grand girlie is a trip!