Beautiful Weather, Good Food, and the End of the Summer

I cannot even begin to describe how beautiful it is outside today!  The weather is simply glorious.  The sun is shining, the sky is a perfect shade of blue, peppered with big, white, fluffy clouds, and the breeze is just glorious.  I wish every day of summer could be just like this one.

Summer is almost over, and while I'm excited to start back at school is just over a week, I'm also somewhat sad.  Going back to school means the end of so many things here....like riding my bike, hanging out with my wonderful friends from home (although, I'll be able to see more friends from school), and, perhaps surprisingly, shopping for fruits and vegetables at the local roadside stands.

There's one stand in particular where we always make it appoint to go at least once a week, all summer (and sometimes, into the fall).  There is something wonderful about stocking up on fresh fruits and veggies that could very easily have been picked that day.  Peppers, eggplant, okra, peaches, tomatoes, blueberries, potatoes, zucchini, watermelon, even fresh-cut flowers.  Going there is always a treat, and one which I will certainly miss.

We had a tomato salad today; all heirloom tomatoes-- six different sizes and varieties.  I've found that heirloom tomatoes tend to be avoided because of their strange shapes and colors, but I thought they were delicious.  We just chopped up the tomatoes and mixed them up with some sweet Italian dressing.  It was a delightful treat.

Sometimes, I wish summer would last forever.  It means spending quality time with my family and always trying new things.  And I love both of those things very much.