I hope you are enjoying all the goings and comings of summer. There are too many activities for me to even put on our calendar this summer. Local bands are playing for the first time in over two years in our small villages. It's good to be out again, and we recently attended the annual Sidewalk Art Show at our local museum. They also had the Norman Rockwell Exhibit so we enjoyed that as well. Here we are sitting at the makeshift counter "Special Today". I should have put my bag on the floor near my chair to mimic the illustration below.
On Wednesdays I play Pickleball with the gals. The four of us play at a private pickbleball court (thankfully no one can see us LOL). This week I brought a salad and one of my friends brought pizza. We keep the menu very easy. Oh, and we had fresh picked raspberries with pound cake and whipped cream.
This is the first year I have pretty pink currants, and I am enjoying them. Very sweet and tasty and the seeds get stuck between my teeth :-) I think I need to make jelly with them so I can strain the seeds out.
The MacKenzie Child's online barn sale is being held July 27-31. Every year I say I don't need anything, but truth be told, I always find something to add to my collection. Maybe another mug.
The July birth flowers are the larkspur (delphinium) and the water lily. The larkspur signifies love and joy, and the water lily signify rebirth and renewal. Happy Birthday all July babies...🥰
Before you leave, I'm sharing one of the most popular recipes on my blog. Years ago, I posted the recipe and it's a yummy meal all year round. Here is my recipe. Recipe for Chicken Riggies
If you go anywhere outside of UpstateNew York and mention "Riggies" - people are bound to look at you like you have seven heads. It's a staple for us! Whether you make them yourself, or dine out at your favorite restaurant, Riggies are everywhere!
The definition of Riggies, according to Wikipedia: an Italian-American pasta dish native to the Utica-Rome area of New York State. Although many variations exist, it is a pasta-based dish typically consisting of chicken, rigatoni, and hot or sweet peppers in a spicy cream and tomato sauce
xo
Debbie
I love seeing you make the utmost of your retirement!
ReplyDeleteDeb, this is the cutest review of recent outings. I adore your Norman Rockwell photo op. Clever! And the vacation photo is on the mark! Especially with a family traveling in a car. Brings back a few childhood memories. Every summer, my parents would load us up and we would drive to Colorado to escape the heat. No AC in cars then, so often just a water cooled fan in the window. Mom would pack picnics and we ate at roadside parks. Travel was pretty simple and straight forward in the 50s. We often spent time at Yellowstone in the cabins provided in park camp grounds along streams. Lots of bears roaming at night, so everything had to be locked tight. Funny how that image has sparked a flood of memories of those trips. Just like the photo, we were a family of four children, and our grandmother lived with us so was often on the trips.
ReplyDeleteI've printed out the Riggies recipe and will make it this week. Now that I'm doing the cooking again, I need to keep adding new dishes. I'm out of practice!
I haven't played pickleball, but it is popular here in Austin. Your week'y girls game sounds like fun. I do play mah jongg with girlfriends each week. Fun to have a girls activity each week! Your photos of the Barn Sale bring back such fun memories of summer 2018. How I would love to recreate that visit again. I don't even need a Barn Sale! Relaxing lakeside at EB Morgan sounds like heaven! Like you, I have nothing I need, nor anything on my list, but I never say never. Perhaps a "wild thing" mug will be in my future!
What a cute Norman Rockwell- like photo of you and Joe. I love his art work of simpler times. You’re making the most of your first summer of retirement! How fun for you, my friend. I must make your chicken riggies. You know that I have that same heart Le Crueset pot. ❤️
ReplyDeleteOh I bet the Rockwell exhibit was so much fun! I know you are happy to be out and about normally, and doing so many fun things. Your Chicken Riggies sound delish!
ReplyDeleteJenna
Love the Norman Rockwell photo and recreation, the exhibit would be fun for me. We have a huge Rockwell coffee table book and I always enjoy looking through it from time to time. Sure stirs the memories as Sarah says! Your summer sounds like a lot of fun so far. Wish I could say the same, it's just too darn hot to be outside. Your Chicken Riggies recipe sounds really good. I make a pasta casserole for a no meat day but I will have to try this with the chicken. Looking forward to the Barn Sale, I hope there is nothing in it I want, where would I put another thing! Best to you and Joe, Jim says hello......
ReplyDeleteYou and Joe are so cute. Love your photo. So happy to see you enjoying retirement. You two are always on the go. Enjoy.
ReplyDelete