Simple, Summer Salad

My dad has a garden and he shared these green, banana and black(?) peppers with us soon after we returned from vacation. He also gave us a couple ripe tomatoes. (I am a TOMATO FREAK, just so you know.) I have been in love with tomatoes for as long as I can remember. When I was a teenager, I can remember taking the salt shaker out to my grandpa's garden. I would find a nice ripe one, carefully twist it off the vine, wipe it on my shirt, take a small bite (just to get to the fleshy part), then I'd sprinkle salt on it and eat it up. It was heavenly.

Fresh ones, stewed ones, canned ones. If it's a tomato, it's a friend of mine. Unless, of course, it's a rotten one. Then....well...that's a whole different story.

Fresh vegetables from Dad's garden.

A very, simple salad. Chopped veggies and some Vidalia Onion dressing from Tastefully Simple. If you've never tried it, you certainly should. They have some great products.

Summertime on Nantucket

The hydrangeas were in full force and I took lots of pictures of them. My wife and I have been on the island several times during the summer months, but I don't remember this many hydrangeas. I remember roses.

More vacation pictures will be posted soon.

And ... we're back!

The vacation was wonderful. There were a few 'bumps' along the way, but all is well. No one got sick. No one got hurt. We laughed. We cried. We had some very quality family time. I'm happy about that.

It's taking some time to get back to normal. What is normal? I'm not sure I know. Anyhow...I took lots of pictures and will share some of them with you as soon as I get them downloaded.

Going on vacation is always a treat. But coming home is nice too.

Stay tuned for "Cape Cod - 2007" coming to a blog site near you.

Head East Young Man, Head East

Vacation Destination: Cape Cod Massachusetts

... and take your family with you.

Yep, heading out tonight on our summer vacation. Cape Cod here we come.

I pray for a safe trip, a good time, good weather, memory-making stuff, and a safe trip home.

See you later!

Wow! What a Week it Was ...

Some of us had to work on the 5th and 6th, so with the Fourth of July being stuck in the middle of the week, it was like having two Mondays (ugg!) and two Fridays (woo hoo!). My wife was able to take some extra time off so she and the boys (and the dog) spent the entire week at the lake.

I stayed home and puttered around the yard -- cut grass, trimmed some overgrown bushes, watered flowers, and other fun stuff. I love the fact that it stays light outside until after 9:00 p.m. It gives me time to get so much done. I hate the fact that we've crossed over into the part of summer where the days have already started to get a tad bit shorter. And once we pass the 4th of July holiday, it seems that summer zooms by and the kids are back in school before you know it.

But let's not get all depressed about that, okay? We had a ton of fun this week. And here are some photos to document that fact.

The hazy sky over the Shipshewana flea market on the 4th. It looked like it could rain any minute ... but it never did. It was perfect 'walking around' and shopping weather.


Some patriotic posies at the campsite.



Flags, flip-flops and crocs. Three summertime staples.
The boys got all decked out for the golf cart parade and
"best decorated cart" contest on Saturday afternoon.


The bike decorating contestants. The kids did a great job!

Sometimes you feel like a nut.
(The walnut tree at the entrance of the campground is FULL of these beauties.)


Or...sometimes you feel like a chocolate cupcake with tons of frosting.
(Thank you Grandma Cook for the scrumptious treats!!)


Have yarn. Will travel.
Crafty Dad crocheting a cotton dishcloth during a spare moment.


The crochet tote. With the two WIPs.
Yes, the tote needs some handles. It came home with us this weekend and is in the 'to do' pile now.

Making good progress on the dishcloth.


Hershey Girl keeping cool in the park model. It hit 96 degrees on Sunday. A scorcher for sure!

I hope you had a great holiday week!

We're busy getting ready for the road trip to the East Coast. Blog posts may be few and far between (and what is different about that?) LOL!

Happy Independence Day!

I've been a bad blogger. Every day I say to myself, "You have just GOT to take some time to write a post. People are gonna think you're a slacker." (Yeah, sometimes I am a slacker.) It just seems like there is so much to do. (Yeah, what else is new?) The grass needs cut, the bushes around the patio are freakin' OUT OF CONTROL. There are piles of fabric that need to made into something. There's stuff to do to get ready for our camping trip to Cape Cod next week.

Yes...we're off the the East Coast for some fun and sun. We love that area of the country! So...we're packing up the travel trailer and heading East. We're planning to visit Boston, the Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower II. I think the boys will have a great time seeing some historical sites. So much better than those damned video game screens they stare at for hours on end. I swear I'm going to get rid of them all somedays. (Okay...I'm off the soapbox now.)

I'll try to do better. Much better. With the blog posts that is.

Tomorrow, we'll be spending the day at the lake. It's supposed to rain for part of the day. We'll make the most of it. There will be food and books and magazines and satellite TV. Who could ask for anything more?

Have a fun and safe Fourth of July holiday. Let freedom ring! But keep your fingers away from the firecrackers, okay? :-)