Farmer's Market Angst and a Tote Bag

Flowers are blooming.  The sun is warm.  Trees are sending out their tentative, baby-green leaves.  And the newspaper is telling us that very soon the open air Farmer's Market will be starting up down town on Saturdays.

So, in expectation of trips to the Farmer's Market this year, I've started knitting, Elisa's Nest Tote, which looks like it was just made to fill with a a bag of radishes, a jar of homemade salsa, and an eggplant or two.

No, that's not me or my pregnant belly.  But it is Elisa's Nest Tote (pattern here).

Last year was the first time I got to go to the Farmer's Market, and I loved it!

The rich, ripe vegetables . . .

. . . mounds of freshly homemade pastas in 13 different delicious varieties . . .

. . . even these gorgeously dyed fleeces.  ::sigh::

Last year I arrived, ready to purchase farm-fresh produce.

And then I found myself inexplicably uncomfortable with this new concept of purchasing from the farmer as he stood right there.  I realized I was wishing for the impersonal bins and bags at the grocery store, instead of looking into the face of the owners of this produce.

I wanted to press the ends of the melons, examine the tomatoes on all sides, smell the radishes---without their nurturer watching over me.  I felt like someone who was critiquing another's loved offspring.

I couldn't do it.  I hid behind my camera lens.

This year, I think I'm ready.  I'll gird up my emotions and boldly take the plunge.

And if all else fails, at least I'll look good with my tote bag!!

Summer Badminton

It's a roasting hot day out on the courts. 

The fans hold their breath as the badminton set moves into action.

The birdie is served.

 

It is gracefully returned.

 

Even with lightning quick reaction time and the flexibility of a ballerina, the birdie slips past.

Team One once again waits for the serve.

And easily flicks it back.

The crowd goes wild!!

At Summer's End

And so . . . summer comes to an end.  The last time I posted was the week before the official beginning of summer and now I am posting the week after the official ending of summer.

And somewhere in there, we had a summer.  

I think.

Fortunately, there are images captured digitally that assure me that despite feelings to the contrary a summer was experienced and enjoyed.

There was lots of time ker-splashing at the pool; books were read; a pool party was hosted; and we spent days toasting ourselves in the sun and breathing in fresh sea breezes.

There was time to take morning walks all summer and enjoy peaceful nooks; Oldest Daughter got launched on her way to a college degree; we cheered for the liftoff of hot air balloons; kids were dropped off and picked up at camp.

Birthdays were celebrated (this one with a Monkey Bread birthday cake); a bit of knitting was accomplished (love the Ball Band pattern!!); late summer scuppernongs were savored (someone in the family ate a gallon in 36 hours . . . not saying who but I might have felt slightly tipsy for a day or two); mom and daughter pedicures were enjoyed (although I will decline any further photography with Oldest Daughter's long and elegant feet/toes next to my very prosaic and functional feet.  ::sigh::

And now I can feel the cool air of fall around the edges of the day and a gray, drizzly rain slides down the windows.  This is my season.  I embrace it!

But it is nice to know that somewhere in the last 3 months . . . we had a summer.

Gardening Creativity

Hydrangeas always catch my attention!!

But on my morning walkabout, there was something a little different that caught my eye . . . a splash of pink right in the middle of the beautiful blues.

What??  Eye-catching!  Sweet!  Unique!  Definitely worth closer inspection.

Closer inspection reveals a clear glass bottle, copper-wired to a branch.

Branch shoved into the ground.

 

Glass bottle filled with pink alstroemeria.  Lovely against the blue and green background.

Is there no end to my neighbors' gardening creativity?  

Shabby chic . . . flea market style . . . in the garden.  

Love!

Summery Table

Wow!  If you take a look at this blog, you would assume that I graduated my Oldest Daughter and then drowned my sorrows in a large crock of pickles and fell off the end of the earth.

Not completely true.  Actually, my brain and body stopped after all the busy-ness of the year and once stopped, refused to be prodded once again to action. 

I do also confess to some emotional breakdowns and a few pickles.

But all seems to once again be moving and alive and straightening out.

I can tell by the state of my dining room table.

Until this weekend, it was covered with a droopy cloth leftover from company use weeks ago.  There were stacks of "to do," "to mail," and "to put away" piles here and there.  Someone had cut up paper and left shreds scattered across the length.  An odd stapler was lying haphazardly on its side.  Several vases stood empty, having weeks ago been emptied of their faded contents.

But no more.

This weekend the table was stripped of its mess.  Polished.  And set to rights.  And I love how everything in the middle of my summer table reminds me of some of my favorite summer things.

Cool crisp cotton in a buttery yellow.

Punched tin lanterns with light glowing through.

IBC Root Beer bottles.

Filmy, fluttery flowers of the crepe myrtle.

Yep, I'm back.  The table is cleared and organized.  And that table is a pretty clear window into the state of my mind.