Eating the Seasons

 With all kinds of food being widely available in grocery stories at all times of the year, eating what's in season is less necessary now than it has ever been in the history of the world.

Regardless, even though life doesn't demand it, it is still especially pleasant (and often, cheaper) to choose the foods that are in season.

And so, we have been savoring some of the most scrumptious tastes of summer: crisp cucumber slices, juicy tomatoes full of flavor, basil freshly picked, and sweet cherries that are better than any candy.

And when they're garden-grown, even better!

Simple Pleasures

A cloudy, refreshingly-cooler-than-it-has-been-recently Sunday brought a fun walk around the block with my youngest (and halfway around the block, my oldest caught up to us and joined the fun!)...

...and later, Moriah joined us for another trip around the block, but I didn't take any pictures that time.

As we returned from our walk, I noticed the vibrancy and beauty of the flowers that have popped up in our front flower bed.

I'm not even sure how they got there!

But I am grateful for them--and for all of the simple pleasures this day (and all of life) bring.

No More Candyland?

It felt like the end of an era.

On July 26, a Sunday evening, I had some free time and asked my two youngest children if they would like to play a game--"maybe Candyland?", I suggested.

In the past, this would have been met with enthusiasm, and the ancient Candyland game (the one I had played when I was a very young child) would have been carried up cheerfully from the game closet downstairs.  But on this particular evening, Moriah and Benjamin said, "We don't want to play Candyland. Could we play Skip Bo instead?"

Well, yes.  We could, and we did.  I enjoy a good game of Skip Bo, to be sure!  But my heart seized up a little.

When did my littlest guy get big enough to actually play a game like Skip Bo?  Have we outgrown our Candyland years?