Note to self....

Next year.....plant more zinnias :)

Dusting off the canner

It's that time of year when my trusty Ball Blue Books and hardworking pressure canner make an appearance.

Notice the bookmarked pages

On the agenda this week..... green beans (thanks to my local farmer's market).

2nd round of green beans on the stove

Chicken soup...hmmm....and maybe a round of taco soup. (Thanks to my Facebook canning group)

I'll make extra for the college boy to enjoy at his apartment. To help break up the monotony of ramen noodles...

And to finish up the week, our favorite applesauce. A little taste of summer on a cold winter's day is all the encouragement I need to break out the canner and get to work.

Desoto Falls

Cooler temperatures visited us this weekend. For three days, we turned off the air conditioner and opened the windows.

A sweet and rare gift in the middle of July.

We took advantage of the weather and visited Desoto Falls.

It was a beautiful afternoon.

Making a difference or a point?

Sunday morning I listened to a message by Andy Stanley. The title of the message was The Separation of Church and Hate.

Pastor Stanley asks the question....

Am I making a difference or am I making a point?

My question to myself...

Have I deceived myself into believing the "differences" I am making are really just "points"?

Pastor Andy challenges a lot of stuff this Southern-Baptist gal grew up believing and for the past several years... has questioned.

Do I make a difference?

If I don't...

then...

what's the point?

Grow Baby Grow

Last year's garden was a complete failure. I had a few spindly tomato plants and a handful of green beans. Literally...a handful. There wasn't enough for one meal. I fed them to the chickens.

This year we built raised beds and filled them with soil conditioner. One load even had a horseshoe in it.

What a difference! These tomato plants are around 6 ft tall. It's a veritable jungle inside the fence.

This is ONE watermelon plant. It has spread all over the place and is now climbing the fence.

I have two melons that are this size and a ton of blooms. If they all mature before the first frost, I'll have enough melons to supply the entire neighborhood.

I did not take a picture of my green beans. For some reason, they will not grow in this garden. Just my luck....the one green vegetable that everyone in my family will actually eat and I can't grow it.

I guess the green beans are keeping me humble this year....

Celebrate!

This is how we celebrated 25 years together......

I don't think the pictures require any words...the smiles on our faces say it all.

Looking forward to the next 25 years.

Happy 4th of July

Celebrate!

Enjoy the day.