My Mom Will Be Happy

My Mother informed me that I needed to update my blog. I really don't have much to blog about, but "If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy". (If Daddy Ain't happy...Who Cares).I stayed home all weekend - no shopping, no yard sales, no thrift stores. Yesterday The Breadman finally mowed the yard. It has rained on his days off every day for about three weeks and it was getting DEEP out there. We also finally planted our garden - two types of tomatoes, green beans, watermelon and cucumbers. Green beans are the main thing we like to grow. The Bean (not named for his love of green beans, oddly enough) loves green beans, picked straight off the vine and eaten fresh and uncooked. He eats a cereal bowl full every night along with Baby Carrots and Cucumbers. I love fresh tomatoes and simply cannot wait for my first turkey bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich of the year. Slurp.

Spillway at the end of the tunnel.

This afternoon we made it across town for an Aldi's run. I've recently discovered that they have a good selection of produce at good prices. I am a complete produce snob. My Dad was in the Produce business my entire life. Because of this, I learned how to pick a ripe pineapple (the top leaf should pull out easily), the perfect watermelon (no stem and a resounding thump), a ripe avocado (the skin gives when you press it with your thumb)and a good head of lettuce (big, but no heavy). It isn't uncommon for me to get dirty looks from the produce guy when he watches me pick up 20 or 30 tomatoes until I find the perfect tomato. I want the best for my money! The deal of the day was Cucumbers for 49¢ each - each one bigger than the next. Not those mealy smallish ones for 89¢ like we had been buying at the grocery store.

The Bean entering the Tunnel.

Boy, I bet my Mom is sooo glad she told me to update my blog. Produce chat for two complete paragraphs. Zzzzzzzzzz.

A Thistle.

I took these photos last weekend when we went on a walk on the bicycle/walking trail in Fayetteville. They recently connected two parts of the trail that ended on either side of the Interstate. They closed off one of the drainage tunnels under all four lanes of the Interstate and made it into part of the walking trail. We thought it would be cool to walk under the Interstate, so we went to check it out. It was fun about a quarter of a way in, then the bicycle riders would come flying past hollering, "Over" which wasn't rude, it was just their way of saying, "Move over or we will run you over!" So, we moved over. The farther in we went, the darker and, well, kind of scarier it got. It had a few bends and turns in it and I was just waiting for the Boogeyman to pop out and grab us. Shudder. I was relieved when we finally got out, only to realize that I either had to do it all over again to get back to the car. On the way out, we walked very fast. Sprinted, in fact.

At the end of the tunnel there was another trail leading up to the fountain at the hospital where the nurses walk on their breaks. So, we decided to take that trail back to the car. We sat by the waters edge and enjoyed the ducks and the fountain.

We discovered a Labyrinth that we never knew was there. It was a nice place for reflection and meditation for people visiting the hospital. By the time we were done at the labyrinth, it was getting hot and hotter and we were ready to find the car. We walked along the creek leading back to the car.
That's when we discovered our car - can you see it? Waaaay back in the center. On the other side of the creek with absolutely no bridges in sight. We ended up walking forever to a main street, down the street and across a huge parking lot to get to a completely different parking lot where we had left our car. We've lived here our whole lives. You think we would have known where we were. But, noooooo. Lesson learned.