Around Town...

This edition of Around Town is about our little local strawberry stand. It's been here for as long as I can remember. Each year it draws a bigger crowd and they become busier. The best strawberries around are found right here. Whenever we have out-of-town guests, we buy them these strawberries, or if we're going to visit friends or family, we take along a 3-pack. It's expected of us now. I hate to think what would happen if we showed up without them during strawberry season!

Each January I see the owners giving this little stand a fresh coat of paint and it makes me happy to think that these delicious strawberries will once again be available. You can pick your own berries or buy the ones already picked and ready to go. There are also tomatoes, green beans and corn available, equally yummy. They even provide a large water-filled container with a spigot so you can eat the strawberries right then and there. Very smart.

Happy Independence Day...

We had a wonderful 4th of July. I hope you did too. We stayed home and relaxed and had a lovely barbecue. The weather was perfect.

Fortunately, we can see the local fireworks at a semi-secret location. Just up the hill, and only the folks in our neighborhood go there. So it's quiet, low traffic and just right. Except for the mosquitoes (I always make sure to spray all of us with deet before we head up the hill). The fireworks were magnificent and exciting, coming into the sky in an array of shapes and colors. They were a poem!

Independence Day is extra special. It celebrates our great nation and the freedom so many have fought for, and are still fighting for. I always think of the heroes who have fallen for our freedom. We are so fortunate to be in this great country. We have had a flag flying at our home every single day since September 11, 2001.

Every Girl Needs One...or Two...

I didn't realize I needed one until I saw it on the front page of Etsy. Delightful hollow book safes by pommesfrites. Yes indeed, every girl should have a few hollow book safes in her library.

You never know if/when that trustworthy lover will empty out your bank account and leave town. Never fear with the hollow cookbook safe as your true stash of cash.

Annoying co-workers, unruly teenage child, unexpected letter from the IRS, or perhaps just a spectacularly bad day? This is when you need that secret flask hollow book.

And finally, the gun-toting hollow book. One can only hope there's never a need for this, but it doesn't hurt to be on the "safe" side, now does it?

With books like these, you should perhaps think of carrying a canvas book tote. Have hollow book safe, will travel.

Good ole Irish Whiskey will serve it's purpose here.

I suggest you mix in some small bills with the big ones. For practical purposes.

What every pistol-packin' mama wants for Christmas.

~P.S. All of the above scenarios are purely fictional. Although these situations may seem realistic, they are not part of my personal life story. No matter what you may have heard. I was being facetious, really I was.

One Big Ole Chip...

This potato chip was so big that I had to take a photo of it. Silly, I know. It's also shaped very much like the sole of a shoe. We all arm-wrestled to determine who would get to eat it. Our son won. He claimed it was absolutely delicious and didn't taste at all like the sole of a shoe.

Level 11 Exists...

My dear friend, Shana of cookoorikoo, got me hooked on a computer game called Amagurumi Farm. Whenever I have a few minutes to spare on the computer I play this addictive little game. She once said she wasn't sure it went past Level 10 so this post is for you, Shana. Level 11! I took a screenshot as proof...Woohoo!