Gazpacho....It Doesn't Get Much Better!!!

Well today was a great day.  A planned trip to visit our dear friend Diane Bearden turned into a wonderful worship experience at West End United Methodist Church in Nashville and a stop at the Nashville Farmer's Market.  The worship service was filled with beautiful music and an incredible sermon.  The market was full of every variety of fresh fruit and vegetable imaginable.  I was drooling and coveting all over the place  (good thing I went to church).  I wanted so many things but settled for home grown tomatoes and green peppers.  As I bought the veggies, I already knew what they would become...GAZPACHO...my favorite summer treat. 

We tramped through the rain to the garden shop (it does have a name but it escapes me right now).  Once again, my drooling and coveting took over (still glad I went to church).  Plants and planters of all kinds that needed to come with me but I decided to just walk away.  This is very hard if you have a plant addiction.  I am trying to cut back.....

After the market, we visited with Diane and her new beau (what a great guy) for a couple of hours...all I can say is "Viva Las Vegas."  You will have to ask Diane for the details...

After returning home, I changed clothes and put on my cooking clothes.  I quickly grabbed my food processor, cutting board and my favorite knife and began  throwing things together like a mad scientist.  After a quick trip to the herb bed for some parsley, I chopped up my tomatoes, cucumbers, green pepper, celery and red onion.  I seasoned the gazpacho with sea salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce (glad I only had to spell that word and not say it), fresh lemon juice and voila.....my first batch of the season was done.  Quickly, I put the precious cargo into the "fridge" for cold, cold temperatures makes for a much better product. 

After a small sample (to make sure it tasted just right), I now have a one gallon picture full of summer's bounty. 

The Girl in the Garden

Several years ago, Sandra and I took a trip to Savannah, Georgia.  We were captivated by the history, the beautiful squares, the massive amounts of Spanish moss hanging from the trees, the federal architecture, the food and last but not least Bonaventure Cemetery.  Our trip was part business and part pleasure.  Not long before the trip, I had read the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" by John Berendt.  I was captivated by the statue on the front of the book.  We discovered that the statue at one time had been placed on a grave in Bonaventure but in 1997 had been placed in the Telfair Museum in Savannah.  I think it had been stolen several times from the cemetery.

Over the years, we have returned to Savannah....even taking our children when they were young .  We thought that July 4th in Savannah would be fun.  We had a great trip but sweltered in 100 degree plus temperatures with about the same percentage of humidity.   We hauled the children all over that town and even out to the beach.  They had a great time and still to this day are ready to go back.

I found a cement replica of the Bird Girl statue and hauled the 4 foot solid concrete statue in the back of our old van and placed it in our garden.  She has been with us since we moved into our current home.  She has held pots of flowers in the summer and has been a centerpiece in our garden.  This year, I planted Sunbeam Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata)  around the base of the statue.  Hopefully, these beautiful yellow flowers will return for many years.  I enjoy watching our Bird Girl through every season.  After talking with the family today, I think that a trip to Savannah will be in our future very soon.  I am sure it will include a trip to Tybee Island, the Pirates House Seafood, Paula Deen's restaurant and will probably end with a trip to the Byrd Cookie Company before we leave.  Savannah and the Bird Girl....thanks for being a part of the Gregory family.

Project Complete

I am not a great handyman around the house.  I attempt many projects and after much frustration and several trips to the local home improvement store, I usually finish the project.  Over the years I have learned that the old adage "measure twice and cut once" is a rule that I have to follow.  This has saved me many times and with the tools that I have aquired over the year, I have just enough to be dangerous. 

So, today I decided to replace the light beside our backdoor.  The old fixture was dirty, scratched and had become the home of several dead bugs.  Before this morning, I had never replaced an outside fixture.  But it didn't seem to dangerous, so I decided to give it a try. 

My favorite new tool is watching installation projects on YouTube.  The step by step directions was perfect.  I first found the correct breaker to turn off at the Breaker Box (this step is a MUST).  I removed the old fixture and installed the new one within thirty minutes.  As you can see, the fixture looks great and works perfectly!  On to another project....after the rain is gone!