Here we are at another Friday, time to pause with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to stop and count our blessing.
1. Gifts from the garden. Our neighbors have a sizeable garden and bring us some of their excess throughout the summer. They just gave us some fresh zucchini last week.
2. Independence Day. We’re thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country that so many fought so hard for. We had grilled burgers and hot dogs for dinner along with several sides and a banana cream pie that Mittu made. Jim had bought some small fireworks and Jason had bought sparklers and “pop-its” that you throw on the ground to make a popping sound. From our lawn chairs in the front yard, we could see over the trees a bit of larger fireworks displays in other areas. It was a fun day!
3. Lunch out together Sunday. Jason, Mittu, and Timothy had joined us for church Sunday. Afterward, we proposed going to eat somewhere. After a lot of looking at apps to see what was nearby, we ended up at a Mexican food place near our house. Jim had not been terribly impressed with it the last time we ate there together, but he enjoyed the meal Sunday. So maybe we can go back some time. 🙂 As it stood, I would sometimes get takeout from there when Jim was away. I grew up in southern TX, where Mexican food was a staple!
On a side note, the restaurant had several TV screens on around the room. They were showing, of all things, a hot dog eating contest. It was pretty disgusting to watch.
4. Hours of reading. After coming home Sunday and taking a nap, I spent most of the evening reading. I fit most of my reading in here and there, so reading for hours felt so luxurious and restful.
5. Not getting thunderstorms. My weather app showed the possibility of thunderstorms for several days this week. I don’t think we got any, though we did get some rain here and there. Thunderstorms always include the possibility of losing power, so I am thankful we didn’t have to deal with any of that this week.
How was your week? Good, I hope.
Stray Thoughts 
The week we were away, NY (at least our area on the eastern edge) had TONS of rain and pop up thunderstorms. This past week has been mostly dry but horrible high heat and humidity. I’m thankful it doesn’t last long here in upstate NY…..just a few days usually. I could never live in the south and not enjoy the outdoors with all that humidity!
Oh that banana cream pie sounds yummy! Your DiL makes the best desserts!!
We also enjoyed fireworks from the front yard!
I love to read and spend most of my evenings doing that.
HAPPY WEEKEND, Barbara!
We enjoyed a nice cookout on July 4th. Wonderful family time. There were a few strong storms, but we were safe. Have a blessed weekend! 🙂
Love sharing home-grown produce! Sounds like your Independence Day with family was terrific. Glad Jim’s experience with the local restaurant was better. And I completely agree with you — eating contests are just grotesque.
Those hours of reading is luxurious indeed. A good relaxed finish to the day.
We’ve had some thunderstorms bypass us too. Love the sound of thunder. Thankful you didn’t have to deal with any of the aftereffects of a thunderstorm. How sweet of your neighbor to share their produce. I’ve had that with one of my dayhome parents this year and it’s a wonderful blessing. Glad Jim gave the Mexican restaurant another chance and had a better experience this time. Your 4th of July sounds fun.
Your hours of reading sound delicious!! Yay on the zucchini, too. I tried planting some from seeds without success, so I finally bought a 4-pack of the plants. They are doing fine and I’m hoping for zucchini in a few weeks. We love zucchini bread, especially. In an hour or so two of the girls and I are headed to an elderly friend’s to do a “tea party” for her birthday. It should be fun and I’m glad they wanted to do it 🙂
Sounds like a good week, especially spending time with family. I’d heard about that hotdog eating competition – sounds disgusting. Have a good weekend.
I am sitting here looking out my window and wondering if that dark and cloudy sky is going to bring us thunderstorms (they are predicted). If so, maybe I will follow your example and spend some hours reading.
Your 4th of July sounds like so much fun, and of course Mittu’s dessert are always a fave.
Have a good weekend!