WHY?

My dear cousin in England shared sad news last night.

Her sweet, brave, daughter has struggled with MS for many years.

Confined to a wheelchair, but always with a bright smile and a positive

 attitude, she has now been diagnosed with breast cancer and will soon

 be undergoing surgery followed by radiation treatment.

Please say a little prayer, or think a kind and positive

 thought for Denise, and our family, and send it across the pond.

Thank you so much.

Singing the blues and purples . . . . . .

Each day the clouds build and thunderheads appear late in the afternoons.

Huge drops of rain plop heavily on the back deck, and I run outside to toss the 

cushions into the gazebo. Lightning illuminates the darkening sky, thunder

 cracks sharply directly overhead making me jump and the neighbors' dogs

 bark, or booms in muffled rumbles off in the distance.

Thunderheads (cumulonimbus) are the most dramatic looking clouds with their

tall and imposing shape. They grow vertically instead of horizontally, forming

into dense towers that can reach 20,000 feet, sometimes even more.

Late Summer sky over Raleigh while driving home from the State Farmers' Market downtown on Sunday. 

Sunday, we took a drive to the market for fresh farm eggs and tomatoes, and

ended up also buying a few pretty purple eggplants - they come in all shades, 
shapes and sizes now.

Despite garden conditions being disappointing this Summer due to a

 crazy weather pattern, I was shocked when Bob pointed to "a purple thing in

 the back garden on the arbor." Looking closer I found not one but two

 'purple things' dangling from the arbor. . . . . . . very late blooming wisteria

racemes! None bloomed in Spring but it's lovely to see them now.

While singing the blues, I have to show you this beautiful piece of handmade glass

 from Colorado. It was a gift from my neighbor. His kitty is Ms. Nala whom I've

 shared with you often. . . . . and this Summer I did take care of her for several
 weeks. The blue vase is sitting on the lovely mosaic tray made some years ago
 by my dear friend Penny in the North Carolina mountains. 
You can find her here at Enjoying the Simple Things.

September arrives and an early market visit. . . . . . . .

"Best I love September's yellow,

Morns of dew-strung gossamer,

Thoughtful days without a stir,

Rooky clamours, brazen leaves,

Stubble dotted o'er with sheaves -

More than Spring's bright uncontrol

Suit the Autumn of my soul."

                                ~ Alex. Smith ~

Thoughts of Autumnal days have filled my head this week.

The garden looks sad and will soon need attention - especially tree and

 shrub pruning. It's still too hot to work outside, highs in the 90's plus

 steamy humidity of 95% make the heat index around 102F.

Bob did mow yesterday and came in drenched and 2 lbs. lighter!

How come that happens to guys - we work hard too but losing weight

is always so difficult.

 The garden at least looks a bit neater for the holiday weekend.

 I've spent time in the cool of the kitchen with the rolling pin and fresh fruits.

Made this galette using fresh peaches from the farmers' market 

and blueberries from the store.

I made the pie crust last weekend for the deep dish spinach quiche (below)

and had enough remaining for this dessert.

Gina shared her dough recipe when we made a similar quiche during

 my recent visit to the farm in Utah. It was so good I couldn't wait to try my

 own. Really good, but I missed dining al fresco with such lovely friends,
 the sun setting over the pond, geese honking their 'goodnights', and mountains
 in the background!

Cooking outdoors over this holiday weekend may not be enjoyable in such heat. 

Salads sound perfect - juicy slicing tomatoes  - cheese with good bread or

 crackers - a chilled bowl of ice cream - a fresh peach dripping down the chin.

Life is what we make it - eating doesn't have to be complicated - especially 

in hot weather.

We just popped across to the neighborhood farmers' market for tomatoes and 
corn. Already steamy hot, quite busy with people and some lovely dogs - all
behaving well on a sunny Saturday morning.

Welcome to September.

Enjoy your Labor Day Holiday wherever you are, whatever you do.