Three things that say to me summer is here…Fathers Day, farmers markets and school getting out! It has been a rough week and one I was glad to be done with. Walker came down last Sunday with a Norovirus that then spread to Ford, then Kirk and finally me. The baby seemed to buck it pretty well. I really, really hate Noroviruses. I felt so weak and just wiped out, but someone had to keep doing laundry and sterilizing everything. It was a long 5 days before we were all on the mend. I didn’t get a lot done this past week, outside of a steady diet of white rice and bland cereal, so this weekend I was feeling inspired to get back into my kitchen! Then Fathers Day arrived and I was so inspired I got take-out teriyaki 😉 Hah….and local gelato. I feel so lazy, and I am OK with it.
To my husband…I love you ♥ You are a great Daddy to all 3 of our boys. Especially the middle one….who is your shadow.
The yards are popping, the heat and sun are finally getting everything going, especially my new lavender plants. I put in 5 Spanish Lavender plants along the retaining wall in our back yard, in a no-man’s land near the play ground. I avoid growing food there, due to the rail timbers and their gagging creosote fumes. At some point we will be able to remove the timbers, but till then….
With me nearly out of projects to do in the backyard, I am in the front yard, in the process of ripping out much of the grass. I have an idea in my mind. We shall see what happens. I would grow veggies but my fear is they would be stolen. Ah well. I’ll post photos soon, as it takes shape.
Our local Farmers Market opened up on Saturday for the season and I was there right at opening. Early bird gets the worm and all that (or in my case, it means I get the good produce!) Kirk was off doing man-stuff (kayaking!) so I roped Ford into helping me with his younger brothers. This entailed him pushing the stroller and watching bags of produce while I yakked with the ladies 😉 Good kid! Anyhow, our local market is in its 5th year and is held at a local elementary school. It has steadily grown bigger and better every year!
I met a new vendor, The Mason Jar Farm run by the nicest lady – and I love their logo.
A happy Alistaire in his stroller!
Walker got to play spin the wheel and won a “I’m a recycling champ” tattoo from the King County waste dept. I got tons of free compostable bags for my well-used compost bin in my kitchen, so win-win (we are champion recyclers/yard waste bin users!). I love how our local market really gets down to the kid level –
I was so happy to see Annette from Sweet Briar Produce back again. Her and her husband, Mike, are who I get my raw honey from during the summer.
Baby zucchini, big radishes, cucumbers and purple onions….
Sugar Peas…I totally admit I shelled ALL of them and ate every single one myself. In one sitting. Whatever. I deserved it 😉
Living near the Cascade Mountains pays off for cherries. Especially first of the season cherries! Yeah, you pay for it…but oh were they worth it!
Having said that…meet my newest friends: The Mexican Sprite bottle & a bamboo chopstick ~
Take a cherry, put on top of bottle, push chopstick through (gently) and poink…there goes the pit, into the bottle. Yeah, that easy. And since I had sipped Mexican Sprite all week (I only crave it when sick) I had plenty of bottles. PS: Bonus, the Sprite tastes just like it did when we were kids, since it is cane sugar pop. Thank you Costco and local stores for carrying it. And the bottles are really. really pretty 🙂 You can remove the logo and they make great mini vases.
As for school, the oldest has 2 days left. One is field day, the last is a farce of a day – they go and get out like 2 or 3 hours later. Hard to wrap my head around that Ford will be a 10th grader next fall, and he finally enters high school (it is 10-12 here). His mind is already on summer vacation, let’s not kid anyone here…hah!
Back to the grind….lots more grass to rip out!
~Sarah
More beautiful photos. These cherries look soooo good and you are right, those are pretty bottles. That is so funny, I only drink sprite when really sick and nauseated too..it’s helps tremendously!! So glad y’all are better 🙂
I know! Pop isn’t my idea of a “good drink” except for sick times. I am just so glad I can get it without icky sweet HFCS 🙂
You poor things! I’m glad to hear you are on the mend and enjoying the beautiful fruits of late spring – almost summer (whoa!).
My golden raspberries are coming rip, I am so excited!