Drivin' 55

Summer brings many exciting experiences but none other are as anticipated than our weekly visit to the Farmer's Market in Roswell, Georgia. As much as the market has grown with many new vendors, the customers have grown, too, causing the city to move the venue from the Riverside Park along the Chattahoochee to the municipal center. Yeah, not very exciting location, but I fully understand the need for more parking! Moss Hill Farm offers the freshest squash, zucchini and eggplant as most is either picked the night before or early early in the morning. I didn't purchase any honey, but I loved the yellow on yellow format of this cheery vendor's booth. The beloved butterfly bush! It is the closest to the native lilac bush from the Midwest. This trip, we were sans grandchild so no free flowers for me! This is one of my favorite booths at the market if you are in need of some fresh herbs or perennials for your garden. Shade or sunny location, they have just the right plant for...

Beach memory, June 2010, Marco Island. Gorgeous sunset. A man with a destiny with his water. Having lived in the South for more than half my life, summer vacations were always spent along the Gulf Shoreline. Panama City Beach, Destin, Clearwater, Naples, Marco Island just to name a few places. My fondest memories of the white sandy beaches were spending time with my family and friends. We went so far as to purchase a time share at Landmark Holiday Beach Resort just to insure we would always have a fun place to vacation. In all the years we owned there, we were only evacuated once for an impending hurricane. This year being the one we took our in laws alone, it was quite an experience for them. Granted, the hurricane was hundreds of miles away, so we took our time to get one last dip in the Gulf before even packing. However, my in laws, God Bless Them, were packed and ready to go, waiting for us in the lobby for a good 2 hours! Imagine how shocked they were when we finally did...

I cannot recall when I have had so many headaches. Seriously, it is insane. My expert opinion clearly blames the oppressive heat and humidity as we have now achieved 16 straight days of over 90 degrees. Today, trying to eat healthy, I prepared tuna fish salad over a bed of arugula and accompanied this dish with a fresh red apple. Sounds great right? Well, be advised never, I repeat never to chase your vitamins with a glass of iced tea post lunch. Not a very pretty sight. Where is my Moose Track ice cream? To hell with healthy eating. The wedding invitations are almost finished. OMG! I am so very pleased with this project. Little Jack is running a fever and feeling under the weather. He is supposed to sleep over at Mimi's house tomorrow night. I promised him popcorn and the movie Cars. Waffles for a Saturday breakfast. Hope you are better little guy! Now where is the dock?

Yesterday's blog mentioned the horrid heat, a dry Mother Earth and Banana Popsicles. Let me tell you what occurred last night between 9:00 P.M. and God Knows When... Sitting quietly at home, minding my own business, enjoying the banana popsicle I found in the fridge, I first heard it. Yes, could that really be thunder? Just to convince me, Mother Nature bombarded me with multiple evidence of thunder. Soon a gentle rain began falling. Soon the electricity began to flicker. Those having Directv know that even the slightest interruption of power causes every receiver in the house to reset itself. Annoying. Very annoying. Just as everything seemed to settle down and I was about to watch the evening news, boom, darkness! And do I mean darkness. No lights. No TV. NO AIR! Gah! So this morning, I got to thinking that perhaps if I blog it, "it" will come. Today being Wednesday (there is absolutely nothing wordless going on here), I will reference the Power Ball dra...

We could use a little rain and cooler temps! Picture a summer thunderstorm. The kind that brings cooling relief and the fresh smell of nature all around. Remember sitting on the front porch, eating banana popsicles? Swinging your feet back and forth as though you were pumping on a swing? Catching lightening bugs and punching holes in an old mayonnaise jar. Until then, let's all try to catch a breeze and rock a little. I think much can be accomplished if you just rock your troubles away. See you tomorrow!

...so good to me I realize that this is a sunset, but gosh, darn, ain't it pretty!

...to my honey, my baby, my man!

It was so worth the wait!

Need I say more?

The day I snapped this photo of a turtle nest in which the mommy turtle had recently returned to the spot she was born last season to lay her very own eggs, I wondered what would transpire over the next few months. An environmentalist quickly place this alert around the nest for people like me not to step on the babies and crush them. People of the beach become quite reverent around these nesting sights. It is what we do to protect this turtles rights to live. We even go so far as to draw the drapes in our condos at 9:00 sharp so that the turtle community is not distracted from the mortar and steel and electricity blaring at them when it is their time to nest. It is true! The American beach going community try to do everything in our power not to detract from somethings this species has been doing for hundreds of years. Then one cost cutting incident by the largest oil producing company in the world, BP, comes along and without any reverence to nature manages to cut this ritual with on...

Why am I always either a day early or a day late?

Too many summers to count, we have enjoyed this beach. So many memories of family fun spent on this beach. What will become of this magical place where sea shells are gathered and lotion is slathered? BP...do you promise that I can return to this beach next summer to find it in the condition I left it? BP...do you promise that the sea life will have a home next month? BP...what the hell are you going to do once a hurricane hits the Gulf? BP...I shall never ever put one drop of your oil into anything I own again. I am so angry at you, BP.

I'm feeling a bit stiff and sore. How about you? Yes, I fell hard with the suggestion of new backgrounds offered by Blogger. New background just might breed new inspiration. And I have lots to blog about now. Happy Sunday, Ya'll!

What is blond, round and red all over? Anyone?

I plan on taking the summer months off from blogging. Enjoy the warm weather, my friends. Let's hope the pristine beaches of Florida and the Gulf coast remain as such.