My Week

 

The heat and humidity of summer have definitely hit our area.  The first half of the week was highs of 93 with a feels like temperature of 102.  That had me watering every morning and evening since all of the predictions of rain were false.  We could really use rain.

Tuesday, I stopped by the farmers market for a few things.  So many people say their market is so expensive, but I have to say I believe ours has very fair prices.  I picked up 4 tomatoes, 2 zucchinis, a quart of blueberries, a quart of strawberries, a huge bunch of purple spring onions and a head of butter lettuce larger than my own head for $18.00.  I never could have gotten that at our local store and if I did, the quality would not be as good.

Saturday, we went downtown to Market Days and Paw Fest.  They had the cutest calico kitten that was just as feisty and playful as Binx when he was that age.  He had very little interest in everyone and was just focused on playing.  I hope all of the dogs and cats that were out there found a forever home.  After we walked around for an hour or two, we decided to stop for lunch.

We didn't watch much this week but did see Song Sung Blue this morning and we both really enjoyed it. Kate Hudson was great and I was surprised to see Michael Imperioli from The Sopranos in it.  I hadn't realized it was based on a true story.  I highly recommend it.

What we ate:

Chicken soup with a garlic baguet

Pepper jack stuffed beef cheeseburger with zucchini 'fries'.  The first zucchini of the year and it was delicious.  

BLT with 'fries' The first BLT of the year also delicious.

I never buy store bought tomatoes or zucchini, so they have been missed.

Penne pasta with veggies and pesto sauce with a salad

BIG salad with garlic bread

Veggie naan 'pizza' with a salad

Tonight we're having salmon and rice with another side tbd.  I'm also going to make a blueberry coffee cake.     Culinary Adventures with Lori: 52 New Recipes in 52 Weeks #2 Sour Cream and Blueberry Coffee Cake  I have two bags from last summer in the freezer that I want to use up so that I can restock with fresh.

We don't have much planned for this week which is kind of a nice change.  I hope everyone is doing well and has a lovely week ahead.

Here is a smile for you. Binx started really watching TV a year or two ago.  Now he has decided he also enjoys videos on the phone.  I'm not sure exactly how I feel about that.  

My Weekly W's

What's top of my mind:  The first week of June was pretty peaceful and uneventful which I completely love and needed.  May had a lot of ups and downs and I'm happy to see it go.

Where I've been:  We went to Newell's and found a new chair for the living room, and it was delivered Tuesday.  We both love it and it mixes perfectly with everything else in the room plus it is very comfortable.  The recliner we had was only about seven years old, but it was really uncomfortable so now we are good to go.

We went out for lunch Saturday to Twisted Twins and enjoyed smash burgers and shared an order of jalapeno mac and cheese bites.  SO good! The weather was perfect for an outside lunch.

We've gotten back to walking every afternoon when I get off of work.  Sometimes we walk around the neighborhood and other times we meet at the hospital to walk around the track there.  

Where I'm going:  Friday I want to stop by the farmers market and Saturday we have an outside concert to go to if the weather is good.  I also need to pick a few things up one day this week. I plan to spend a lot of time outside reading if the rain holds off too.

What I'm watching:  We finished the first season of The Buroughs yesterday that we started a couple of weeks ago and we both really enjoyed it. We also watched Senior Year on Netflix which was a pretty cute movie that we both enjoyed.  I also watched the second season of Four Seasons and enjoyed. All on Netflix

What I'm reading:  I'm almost finished with Into The Magic Shop by James R. Doty, MD.  It's funny when I started reading it I remembered very vividly my 4th grade teacher going over a lot of these techniques in gym class.  We would do it once or twice a week in the winter on our mats in the gym when we couldn't go outside. This week I started meditating again because I really want to be able to calm myself a bit easier than it's been lately.  Thank you so much for recommending this one Judee!!

What I'm eating:

BIG salad with pan fried chicken thighs

Applewood chicken sausage with pesto mac and cheese and corn

Salmon, rice and asparagus

Spaghetti with beef and veggies and a salad with garlic bread

Beef pho with garlic bread 

I picked up a number of beef bones from the farm I go to and made an amazing bone broth full of bone marrow.  I put rice noodles, sliced radishes, carrots, snap peas in a bowl and covered with some broth and it was amazing.

Wings and jacket potatoes cooked on the grill, deviled eggs and jalapeno popper egg rolls.  

Tonight I am grilling a spatch cocked chicken, potatoes and we'll have asparagus with it.  

What is making me smile:  Ann from Ann's Snap Edit Scrap always sends me the nicest cards and is the sweetest friend.  All of her cards are so creative. This is the card she sent for June and I just love it.  Thank you, Ann!!

All of the garden and flowers growing brings a smile too.  I've had this planter for right at a month now and I can't believe how much it has grown.  It is just gorgeous.

I just want to send a virtual hug to everyone that visits here.  Life is hard sometimes and we have to remind ourselves to find every little ounce of joy we can through the day.  All of my blog buddies are super special to me.  Have a great week and enjoy every moment!!

Happy Gotcha Day

I can't believe it's been 4 years since we brought Binx into our family.   

He was found at around 4 weeks old, 2.5 pounds roaming around the county by himself and someone picked him up and took him to one of the shelters.  They kept him in the front office in a large 6x6 foot cage away from all of the other animals because he was too small to get any vaccinations.  

A friend of ours was volunteering at the shelter and called us when he was ready to find a home to see if we wanted him.  We had just lost our last cat 6 months earlier and I really wasn't interested.  But then TBG sent me a video of him playing in his cage and I just had to meet him and the rest is history.

The first thing I noticed about him on the ride home was that he doesn't meow very much at all and still doesn't.  To say this little 3.5 pound ball of fur hit the ground running when we got home is an understatement.  I think he was so happy to be out of the cage and able to run.  Four years later and he still loves to fly through the house only now he's up to 11.6 pounds and even louder.

He is smart, curious, brave and strong.  He's been doing pull ups on the counters and window ledges since he was probably six months old.  He has his own relationship with both of us.  I am his play buddy, the one he hangs out with and the one he snuggles up to at night.  TBG is his person though and he sticks by his side like glue when he's home.  Binx is a true joy to have in our lives.

Happy June