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One of my favorite  pleasures in life is the simple act of porch sitting, especially on a rainy day like today. It’s as if the porch beckons you to just sit for a while, stop the whirlwind that is life, and just observe, breathe, be still.   How often do we give ourselves permission to do so. 

 We had a little porch with a slate floor at the front of my childhood home. I fondly remember sitting on the porch with a coloring book and crayons or cookies and milk, watching the rain come down.  In the early years, the smell of my dad’s tobacco pipe, my mother’s music…usually Kris Krisofferson and Rita Coolidge, or Peter, Paul & Mary… Simon & Garfunkel.. playing inside on the record player. Those songs stay with me today… Who’s to Bless and Who’s to blame…. Silver Tongued Devil and I…  Homeward bound… Bridge over troubled water.. 

 Sometimes we’d have no choice but to watch the neighbors across the way as they sat on their porch… arguing… Joe and Virginia… an old Italian couple who kept a very tidy little house and garden.  They couldn’t stand each other but oh, could they grow a mean tomato.

    So while we’re sitting on my porch, let’s talk.  Thank you all for your very conscientious and insightful  comments left on my blog regarding goods made in the USA.  We’re in a real predicament, we Americans.  I truly believe this is one way we can answer our own problems. The government  and big corporations arent’  going to do it for us, we need to take our own stand, send the message ourselves. Buy American whenever possible, buy local produce, frequent mom & pop shops and restaurants and forgo the chains… let’s just do it. I went to Bob’s yesterday to look for sneakers for my son.  I saw lots of tops I’d like to buy for myself, all MADE IN CHINA.  *sigh*   It’s not going to be easy, but we can do it more often than not. It starts with just one simple act.

  Plans for the next Dog Days Adoption Event at Parmelee Farm are under way. Three weeks to go, lots of funds to raise, plans to make, and things to bake for our Bid, Barter and Bake sale.  The last one held in Essex was a big success.. $2,000 raised in one day, all paid for the Mystic Valley event last weekend, where ALL dogs were adopted. Amen.  Thank you to my blog friends who donated to the cause. You rock! … For those of you who are local and reading my blog, if you’re a baker, or if you have a household item we can add to our Bid Barter Bake sale on August 20th,  contact me at karenthisoldhouse@hotmail.com  and I’ll be more than happy to pick up the baked item or household item the day before the sale. (August 19th).

 I hope you’re all getting some respite from the heat and dry spells across the country… we’re seeing steady rain since last night around midnight and it is so refreshing, even for the horses.

             This is what my kitchen looks like since the farm stand can’t open due to the weather.