Staycation

Gerry and I have been on a modified vacation this week. Yes, it's true we worked all day, but the vacation started on Saturday and has continued every day at about 5:30 pm. On the weekend I stocked up and prepared all kinds of salads, cold cuts, cheeses, fruits and vegetables so we would be ready.
We've been enjoying a record-breaking heat wave here in the Pacific Northwest. While many have been complaining about the heat, we are enjoying it to the fullest. We do have air conditioning in our home and I am profoundly thankful for it, but truth be told, we've really only been in the house to sleep.
We spent most of the weekend and every evening outside in our back yard in holiday mode. We moved our chairs and my lawn swing to the shady area of the grass, stocked up with books (in my case Kindle), snacks, cold drinks, magazines and we have just taken some down time.
Once in a while we've hopped into the hot tub (which isn't so hot at this time of year) to get wet and then dried off in the sunshine. It's been one of the most relaxing weeks I can remember.
I realized how little it takes to make me content. Good books, good conversation with my husband, my little dogs, homemade potato salad, a cool breeze, blue sky, a glass of cold Chardonnay, the sound of children playing in the distance, I could go on and on. As we head into the weekend I hope to keep the holiday mode going for as long as we can.
By the way, as I looked at the picture I posted here I was thinking about the taste of a tomato freshly picked and still warm from the sun. Oh my goodness....is there anything that tastes so good?! That first bite, when the flavor explodes in your mouth fills me with the taste of summers gone past. I'm reminded of tomato sandwiches, summer holidays, and gardens I tended long ago. So much nostalgia packed into a little red tomato.
Happy Friday all!