Things have been hopping around here!  In early June, Ray decided that my car (a 2002 Acura MDX) was too much of a gas hog, so he listed it for sale.  It was bought by an older couple for a young woman who is single-handedly raising 5 children.  The car is perfect for them, as it has the third row seat.  I feel good knowing that someone will have it who will appreciate it.  So then we had to buy another!  We quickly found a 2007 Subaru Forester in great shape!

My new car!

Forester

Unfortunately, the air conditioner was not working correctly, so to make a long story short, we spent the first week and a half running it back and forth to the shop to get fixed, but finally, it is cool in the car!  Yay!  Loving the car, and getting good mileage!

The garden is growing right along.  Here are our first tomatoes:

First tomatoes!

The potatoes are still growing, though they are starting to wilt, as I expect them to do. When they are all wilted, it will be time to harvest. Ray felt around in the buckets last evening, and didn’t find any potatoes, so this may be an experiment that failed!  Oh, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Potatoes in a bucket!

Summer’s bounty! Love the asparagus, peaches, corn and tomatoes!  So wonderful to have such good food!  We shop locally and as organically as much as we can, and grow what we are able! These items are all local and organic.  We are happy to have a farmstand nearby that is on an organic farm and we visit and buy once or twice a week.

Yum!

We also have done a bit of traveling – short hops.  Our dear friend, Stuart, got married to Francie on top of Signal Mountain!  We enjoyed the outdoor wedding immensely!  They are a wonderful couple, and we wish them all the best!  This blog would not exist if not for Stuart!  He got me up and running and I so appreciate it!  Quick trip there and back!

Stuart and Francie

Then, there was my grandson, Connor’s, Eagle Court of Honor.  What an accomplishment!  Both of my grandsons in that family are now Eagle Scouts!  Congratulations Connor!

Connor’s Court of Honor

The other day, one of my TNFP besties, Meera, invited Marilyn, Caren and me to come to her home for an authentic Indian lunch.  What a wonderful time we had, and such good food! I wish I could remember the names of everything, but I’ll just have to describe them.  There was a chickpea dish that was wonderful, a cauliflower dish that was to die for, rice with shrimp (how can that go wrong?), potatoes in a baked crust, Naan with cilantro in it and several wonderful sauces that graced everything.  Then, for dessert, something she called kir (sounds like the alcoholic drink, but not sure how it is spelled in this usage).  This was something like rice pudding, but made with vermicelli, heavy cream, cardamom, raisins, sliced almonds, etc. So good!

Lunch!

We had a great time!  Thanks, Meera!

O.k., that’s enough for now!  Have I told you about making my own personal care products (facial moisturizer, body wash, etc), cleaning products (laundry soap, dishwasher soap, all-purpose cleaners) and other healthcare products?  No?  Well, then next time I will!  Stay tuned!

See you soon!