happy anniversary baby

I even think he's handsome when covered in mud from head to toe. He almost looks like a statue. Most men probably would not take a flying leap into an enormous mud pit just to delight his children.

That's why I married this one.

the smell of vinegar

I love Easter. I love the eggs and the rabbits and the daffodils and that empty tomb. I love green shoots popping out in various forms and I LOVE the smell of vinegar. Always have. It marks one of the funnest possible events of childhood.....dying eggs. Even now, I am as eager as they are to boil those eggs and drop those little tablets into their vinegar bath. The colors, the choices, the half and half eggs. I would always leave the last batch in overnight to see how dark they would get. They'd get sort of funky, actually, bubbly and splotchy. But I still do it.
Such earnest concentration and diligence.
Happy Easter All! Happy Spring!

Drum roll please....

They're here. It's early, but they're here. I stopped by the farmer's market yesterday afternoon for something fresh and green to go with dinner and there they were. Sitting in those darling baskets that I always wish I could take home. Looking proper and deep red and REAL. I'm speaking of tomatoes, of course. It really is too early for a tomato, in my book, so I questioned the girl behind the counter. Apparently she'd been hearing the same question all day.

"They's the first batch out of Ruskin (FL) and they's pretty good."

So no, they're not organic or heirloom or even local, but she was right, they's pretty good. I peeled and sliced several, because that's how my grandmother did it, added some sea salt and fresh pepper, and we ate a large plate of them with dinner. The kids love them and they seem to make everything else taste a little perkier. And today they made a darn good tomato sandwich.

It feels good to know that my future is filled with fresh tomatoes.