A Georgia peach is never too sweet....

This afternoon, Kelli, a friend from childhood stopped by The Homestead to visit. We had a great time catching up and remembering (or more accurately, Kelli reminding me) stories from when we grew up together. Kelli's youngest was daughter born and raised in Georgia so it came as little surprise to me that she was totally unimpressed with the non-sweet tea I made. Good thing I held onto some Splenda when I gave it up cold turkey this spring!

Beachin' it

I returned to the Jersey shore today to see my friends Becky and Dan. When I met Becky in Kentucky more than ten years ago, she was wearing an LBI t-shirt and said it was her family's annual vacation spot - and it remains the same to this day. Their daughter, though raised in the midwest, is right at home in the sand and the surf. She, her dad, and her granddad had a blast building a sandcastle and making sure the moat was in proper working order.

Hauling up the water defenses

Making sure it goes right where it belongs

Queen of all she surveys!

It's a Jersey thing....

When you live in New Jersey, you don't pump gas. Instead you meet guys like Carlos who kindly take your order, operate the pump and carry a fistful of dollars before sending you on your merry way. It's just the way we roll......

Run Happy

My new sneakers are here! I got the call mid afternoon, hopped in the car, drove down to Pennington and had my orthopedic inserts fitted to the cushioned insole of the running shoe so I can start wearing them out. They feel great and it's a good thing, because ever since I ordered them last week I have found my former pair to be less than ideal and a great excuse to ease up on the training for the 5K till the new ones arrived. Well, no excuses now, because according to the Brooks advertising slogan I am now able to "run happy". I find that idea humorous because I am usually happy when I am done running. I truly wish I liked running better than I do - and I am hoping that in training for the 5K I will have a breakthrough of sorts and discover a better attitude about running - but it never occurred to me to "run happy"! Here's hoping "run happy" is like Peter Boehler admonishing John Wesley to "Preach faith till you have it; and then because you have it, you will preach faith."

See - run happy - does that come with a money back guarantee?

Flower in the crannied wall

FLOWER in the crannied wall,

I pluck you out of the crannies; -
Hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower - but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Totally Terrific Tomato Pie

This is one of my all-time favorite dinners. I got the recipe when I used to frequent the Lexington Farmer's Market back in seminary. The market had vendors with an incredible array of tomatoes ranging in color from red to orange, yellow, purple, and black. While I pretty much stick with the garden variety red tomatoes these days, I would jump at the chance to make it with the exotic varieties again.

Recipe:

Bake a pre-made pie crust according to directions. If you are using your own homemade crust you'll know how long it needs to bake. (A major reason I don't make mine is b/c I don't trust the weather to cooperate with my pie crust plans)

Chunk tomatoes and place in strainer for a few hours
to drain if they are a juicy variety -
you can seed them as well at your discretion.

Place chunked tomatoes in pie shell and cover
with a handful of diced onion (maybe a 1/2 cup)

Cover pie with a layer or two of fresh basil leaves.

Mix together 1/2 - 3/4C of mayonnaise with
1 C of shredded cheddar cheese.
Spread over pie to edges.

Bake in hot oven at 375 degrees for

30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
Let set before serving.

There are several varieties to the recipe out there - use mozzarella, feta or whatever cheese your little heart desires or you have on hand. Mix up the fresh herbs if you want as well. I am partial to the sharp cheddar and the basil leaves left whole. The pie is also good served the next day for breakfast or lunch - take your pick!

Necessary Paperwork

Stormy rainy Sunday afternoons are great times for naps - and the possibility for catching up on paperwork. I don't have any pressing need for a passport at the moment, but mine expired last month. When I applied for it originally I needed it expedited - so might as well get it done now. I picked up the application for renewal last week and filled it out today. Just gotta go get the photos taken. Too bad I didn't think of this last month before the State Dept. raised their fees!

Was there really any ever question?

The dog days of summer have arrived. Even Jake knows the best way to beat the heat is to laze on the couch in the air conditioning.

Sweets and Eats

I went to dinner this evening with Grandma and Aunt Nancy. True to form, Grandma ordered a root beer float when the waitress took drink orders - and she was very happy with it as an appetizer, a side dish with her shrimp and fries, and even as a desert.....

right down to the very last sip!

After dropping them back home to the Farm, as I drove down the lane, a very obstinate bunny sat in the gravel. She wouldn't move for love nor money. So I got out out of the car and photographed her. When I tried getting more of a profile shot, she finally hopped off into the fields to join her friends.

Several bunnies were getting their greens.

This rabbit enjoyed the front meadow that had just been cut

while the bunny in the drive took refuge in a pathway that had not seen a mower in awhile.

For many years, Grandma and Grandpop trained beagle dogs for field trials, so having bunnies on the Farm was very important. Whenever you drove down the lane and walked into the house, one of the first questions Grandpop would have asked was "How many rabbits did you see?" He never saw a rabbit he didn't like, and he especially loved the chocolate variety that arrived at Easter time. Funny thing is, he didn't share them with the beagles he kenneled and trained. He also would have been very proud of Grandma's selection of dinner beverage - the two of them enjoyed going to Sweets and Eats to enjoy a rootbeer float.

AM & PM

AM: I know the blog is advertised to feature happenings around the 5PM hour, but yesterday I officially registered for a 5K as a 'runner' and I need a little help. I've been doing a combo run/walk workout for several years now, but sustaining a single run for any distance more than a mile is something I just haven't done. The event isn't until the middle of September, so I need to get my game face on and keep myself moving if I hope to run the whole way. Curious how the act of registering was also motivating. I thought a little extra bit of discipline that comes with advertising my goals here on the blog won't hurt either. (By the way, I haven't put sweetener in my tea - hot or cold - since the beginning of May!) The picture above is the sight that greeted me during the 5AM hour when I stepped outside for this morning's workout before the sunrise brought too much heat with it.

PM: I could be seen dining at Avelino's with Mom Estelle, Lorraine's mother. She treated me to a dinner of pizza and a salad before I had to dash off to teach class this evening. Good meal, good company and tomorrow I am hoping to keep the routine going (well, maybe I'll have something else for dinner!)

Rained Out

It's a Wednesday night in Middlesex Boro and it's the last home swim meet of the season for the Water Wrats! Despite having the lane lines out, the flags up, and the starting blocks put into place, the weather played havoc with the coaches minds for the better part of an hour.

If you're a Wrat from old school days and remember when the facility was called the Roy K. Harkness, its likely this awning for the official's table is a new feature. I don't know exactly when it was added, but it was here when I coached the team from 94-98.

Eventually the skies opened up and the pouring rain joined the rumbling thunder and occasional lightening bolt. The front office is the best place to watch a really good storm come in - but this one was only mildly decent. The coaching team comes to check and see what the radar was forecasting. Yep, that young lady in the middle was once an 8 and under swimmer that Diane and I coached once upon a time. Water Wrats have a way of growing up and coming back to coach the team generation after generation.

It was decided that a 10 minute warmup might start 20 minutes after the last rumble when the rain cleared - but the rumbling never stopped. The meet is postponed till next week. Hope it works out. I remember trying to reschedule a meet against the Gran Centurions in Clark three different times before it finally occurred. Those were the good ol' days, my friend - and I confess I am not sure that I totally miss them!

Appy Appetizer!

My own homemade salsa recipe - with home grown tomatoes I laboriously seeded and chopped, jalapenos I did the same to, plus some cilantro, onion, garlic, and olive oil. I even picked up blue corn chips as a special treat. I am rather impressed that I stopped and bothered to take a picture b/c I am really excited to enjoy it.

Dinner Delimma

I could get all intricate with recipes and whatnot to make a delicious dinner - or I could just cook the ear of corn, slice the tomatoes and cucumbers, have a few green beans on the side with a hunk of cheese. Maybe I'll venture out when the sun goes below the tree line and see if how the last of the blueberries are to have with the peaches and fresh yogurt for desert - yeah, that's the plan. I LOVE summer dinners!

Beating the heat

by hanging out indoors and playing the toy sax - life is good!

The bee and the butterfly

Dropped by to spy on the garden - or at least get what they could from the sunflower

It's a jungle in the garden these days! Tomato plants with some fruit beginning to turn from green to yellowish orange to the promised red.

Squash plants - zucchini and yellow summer squash are already producing plenty. It's almost a fulltime job to keep them from getting the size of baseball bats! Breads and casseroles are being made by the double batches.

Cruise Night in Somerville

For 20 years, every Friday night between Memorial Day and Labor Day, downtown Somerville is host to Cruise Night for classic cars. I haven't been there in years, but Jeff and Tracey took the Bronco down and I was able to join them.

Ladies, don't ask this guy for a ride, he's likely to kick you to the curb!

Unless of course, you are his sister or another woman in his family!

To take pictures of all the different cars there would have kept me from visiting and chatting with friends and passers by. Unfortunately, several of the ones I did take, didn't come out as well as I hoped. But this old time farm truck was classy looking and came out rather well.

"Hey, look is that a Jaguar?"

Even bicycles with twisted frames were there

Happy tattoo-faced dancing man just couldn't stop having fun with and for the crowd.

Questions from the arboritum

I saw the Black-Eyed Susans, but did she/they see me?
Why are they Susan's flowers? and how did she get the black-eye?

Simple Summer Supper

For just over ten years, one of my favorite summer suppers is a cucumber and tomato sandwich. I had my first one in London, England ten years ago during a layover on my way to Estonia. Up till then, I'd had a lifetime of lettuce and tomato sandwiches (with and without the bacon) but tomato and cucumber had eluded me till that trip. Tomato and cucumber sandwiches were everywhere I went in England. Since I've spent a grand total of 40 hours in England- all on the front and back end of that mission trip - I don't know if it was just a seasonal sandwich or what. Regardless, to me the sandwich is quintessentially English and by extension, Estonian (because the summer solstice occurred while in Estonia during that trip and I always use my Estonian butter knives to make the sandwich) as well as completely associated with summer for me when cucumbers and tomatoes are fresh from the garden. It's become quite the summer supper staple for me. I could literally eat variations of it 4 or 5 nights of the week during the summertime and maybe once or twice for lunch! Usually I make mine on a roll or a French baguette - but tonight's sandwich is made on a toasted Wolferman's English Muffin and is heavily sprinkled with cracked pepper served with slices of cheddar cheese. Yum!

Happy Tuesday!

We had measurable rain overnight, but the rain gauge was emptied before I got a snapshot of it. It's a hot, muggy summer day with the sun playing peekaboo through overcast and low clouds - but this zinnia and I got along fine for a few moments to take this picture for today's blog entry. I am content to go back into the air conditioned coolness and read for the evening. Hope all is well in your corner of the world!

Being Jersey about it......

When my nephew asked me if I was going to the beach today, I told him I was going down the shore. His poor little self was all confused and he said, "But Mommy said that you were going to go to the beach with us today!" So, we explained to him that people from Jersey always say they are going down the shore - and when we are standing on the sand with the surf pounding in our ears we say we are "down the shore".

When we got down the shore we went to Seven Presidents Beach, a Monmouth County Park and very family friendly place where Luke likes to plant flags in the sand. Attending to flags is a big deal and takes a good deal of time - more important than building sandcastles for him.

Sarah and Daddy enjoying the surf.

Big sis shows little bro how to play in the surf.

If you think you've seen this pose before on the blog, you are right. Just a different season and different kind of water!