Simplicity

Before moving to Missouri from Utah I felt a great desire to simplify life.  We are really slowing down and enjoying life together here.  We have been ejoying a beautiful spring and are quickly welcoming summer.  I am truly grateful for the green trees, rainy days, warm afternoons, chirping birds, blooming honeysuckle.  I missed so many of these things living in the west.  Utah was beautiful in its own way but I missed much of what spring and summer always brought to me growing up in the Deep South.  I love the hum of the bugs, green everywhere and yes, even humidity.  You may think I'm crazy but I have lived without and I prefer moist skin to dry.  I can remember many summer evenings spent on the front porch hammock swing reading and enjoying sweet smells, warmth, and the constant hum of the bugs.  I miss that!  Missouri is not quite the Deep South that is dear to my heart but it is much more like Alabama than Utah.

We are currently growing lots of tomatoes.  I always think about the movie Steel Magnolias when I think about growing tomatoes.  Shirley MacLaine playing Ouiser Bordreaux is asked why she grows tomatoes if she hates them so much.  In response she says something to the effect of that is what old southern women do.  We have already enjoyed a few cherry tomatoes and they were tasty!

our container garden of tomatoes

yummy cherry tomatoes

We have also been enjoying fresh strawberries.  A family in our ward lives down the highway from us and have been sharing the bounty from their patch.  I have really enjoyed picking strawberries with David.  We made Homemade Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream and we have been able to freeze some of them as well.

the taste of summer: fresh-picked strawberries

Here's to a summer full of lush green growth, cool rivers, warm nights, fresh fruits and vegetables, lightning bugs and wildflowers.