There's Something About Living in a Small Village ...

When Audrey and I bought our house over 25 years ago, we were really looking forward to raising a family in a small community. Now we're not quite in a neighborhood, we have to walk through two neighbors' backyards to get into the Village, but nor are we in a big development. We live in a village that has it's beginnings back before the Revolution when it was on one of the major routes between New York and Philadelphia. Up until two years ago it had it's own butcher shop [really more of a small general store, without the cracker barrels, in order to be economically possible in the modern world].

The heart beat of this kind of village is the volunteer first aid squad, the volunteer fire company and the ladies auxiliary that supports them both. We also have our very own Post Office which, since the closing of Chester's Market, has become our social center, if you will. That's where you meet your fellow villagers and where you hear about all the goings on about town. It's really not about gossip [although there is some of that], it's the place you go to connect with everyone; who is dealing with health issues [and more importantly if they're in the hospital and need a visit!], who's a new grandparent, whose kids are back from college, who's in need of "care" packages, etc.

It's also the kind of place where you share your bountiful garden harvest, even if you don't have the chance to drop off the produce at someone's house! ;-)

Ya gotta love it!

Nat

Summer is REALLY here ...

When I was in elementary school, I knew that it was REALLY summer right after school closed for the summer and my mom would let me stay up late on a weekday night and I could have Cheerios with blueberries as a late night snack. I mean cereal at NIGHT! With fresh blueberries!

In those days I was drinking multiple glasses of whole milk every day [I was a growing boy after all] and I just loved pouring the milk over the "bluebs" and Cheerios and then covering everything with sugar [what we, in our household, now call "white death"]. The absolute best part of that was saving the last "blueb" to have with lots of sweetened milk at the bottom of the bowl.

Well, now it's Rice Dream instead of whole milk [Which I now think tastes much better] and there's no sugar on top and it's a bitch to save one blueberry to have at the end with just the milk.

But I do now know that it's SUMMER!! I finally had the chance to go out and pick some of our berries yesterday and had my first bowl of Cheerios with "bluebs" last night! AAAaaahhh, the simple pleasures of life!

I think we're going to have an unbelievable crop of berries this year; the rainy month of June and now the hot [FINALLY] summer days to plump 'em up! Anyone interested in buying more shares of General Mills?

Nat