August favorites….

 As the month of August moves along, there are two favorites that appear….red, ripe, juicy tomatoes and fresh okra!  We definitely make room to enjoy both!

While it’s possible to choose fried okra in many restaurants, our favorite way to serve it is a light dredging with cornmeal prior to pan frying.

Those red, ripe, juicy tomatoes are delicious with that classic BLT!

With that fried okra served as a side, this is a perfect late-August meal in my house! 

As I compose this post, rain is falling here, remnants of Hurricane Ida.  The prediction has been that we may receive up to three inches of rain before this system moves elsewhere.  While there has been some flooding reported in areas of our county, we are not experiencing any where we are.  

I continue to send along my thoughts to you for good health and safety!  The Delta variant is on the upswing here!  We are grateful for the vaccine and anticipate being eligible for the booster in early October!  Take care of yourselves!  Trust science!

No holidays….

 I will confess, first of all, that my blogging motivation is greatly lacking.  I didn’t need to tell you that, did I? LOL

In a month of no holidays, The Husband and I chose the date of our marriage, the 16th of August, giving us a reason for celebrating something in this month.  It has been 52 years since that wedding day!

Why is it that all the pictures I took from our time away to celebrate are food-related?  I keep telling myself that there are other photo-worthy opportunities, then wind up not remembering to take a picture at all!

It looks like I’m going to have to rely on words rather than pictures this morning, as this system isn’t cooperating with my efforts to post pictures!

For a number of years, our anniversary was the only celebration in August….until 15 years ago when Munchkin #2 was born!  She came along on the 14th, and has brought joy and sunshine to all of us ever since!  It’s always fun to put together a birthday surprise for her.

We headed out on a short trip to Abingdon, VA to celebrate our anniversary.  This has been a favorite destination for a long time.  I lived in Abingdon for two years in the sixties, and there are still friends there.  It was really good to be able to visit on this trip, thanks to the vaccine!

The Barter Theater in Abingdon has been able to make arrangements to use the Moonlite Drive-In facilities for outdoor performances during the pandemic.  Unfortunately, lightning/thunder/rain interfered, and the show was called.  We’ll try for one again another time.  It is hoped that performances will be able to resume in the theater. 

Well, I gave it one more try and was successful, though the pictures have appeared here in a different order than I directed.  

Chips and salsa….great appetizer at The Old Mill in Damascus, VA, eating outdoors on the patio next to the water.  Spaghetti and meatballs, The Husband’s favorite, at Mama Mia’s in Abingdon, and the Greek salad, always a favorite of mine.  On this occasion we were seated outdoors when a sudden storm appeared!  Out waitress ran out to help move us back inside with only a few raindrops being blown about us! 

The current upsurge in COVID cases in our area, plus the “breakthrough” cases, have us following precautions once again, at least until we qualify for our booster vaccine.  

Take care, and be safe!

Completed!

 Finally!! Fewer than 30 minutes ago, I placed the final piece in this puzzle!

It was a month ago that I began working on this one.  Of course, there have been a few other things to be done in addition to working this puzzle; however, it has taken much longer than any other jigsaw puzzle I have done.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I often seal and frame some of the puzzles.  This one, however, will not have that experience.  Planning to leave it out for a few days, however, then….time to begin another one!

What do you think of this one?  It has about half the number of pieces as the other, yet I am able to see that there will be a number of the same color, which is always a challenge.

Taking some time off for puzzles….thinking I’ll do a bit more reading instead. 

August has begun a little cooler here.  It’s a short-lived break, though.  Warmer temps will arrive just as the students in our county begin their next school year!  

Though we are vaccinated, we have continued to wear our mask when in public indoor spaces.  How about you?  

Be safe!  Stay cool!