I love summer time it is by far my favorite time of the year. Most would think I’m out of my mind as the temperature in Texas soars to record numbers. I still love summer. I love the heat, sun, cooling rain when it happens and I love the pool. I can’t get in the pool just yet until Dr. A gives the go ahead. Summer refuel’s me from the school year and the winter. I don’t like cool or cold weather. It is depressing to me. I’m just a summer girl who is happy when she feels the sun beaming down on her face.
One reason I like summer is because of fresh veggies growing right outside my door. Funny I call it MY patio garden but the truth is Greg puts it together for me every year. We always go together to the farm store in down town Garland. We pick the veggies we want then bring them home. This year we did sweet peppers, purple bell peppers, tabasco peppers, jalapeño, yellow pear drop tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. With in a few hours after being home Greg comes in the back door and announces your veggies are planted. We both take care of them but this summer Greg has had to do most of it because I’m on recovery. I do take a morning walk around the pool to gather up any goodies that are ripe to pick.
One of my favorite things to make is what we call junk salad. You cut it all up and junk it all together in a bowl. I’m not one for spicy peppers so those are left out of this salad.
- sweet peppers
- cherry tomatoes
- yellow pear drop tomatoes
- purple bell pepper
- cucumber
- Italian dressing
You can add onions if you want but if you are married to Greg onions are out. He says they talk back to him later in the night. I put just a little Italian dressing to give it flavor and season. I put it in the frig for at least 2 hours before I serve it to make it cold and crispy. I always put out the dressing so if someone wants extra they can do it up themselves. You will notice cucumber on the list but we don’t grow those. We have a little monster that will destroy the vines. Cooper thinks we grow them for him to have a back yard play toy.
One of my favorite parts to all this patio garden is how Greg likes to share it with our friends. He is always offering peppers to anyone and everyone. I think it’s really sweet when he does it. The patio garden is something we do together but it’s like our marriage in some ways. Sometimes you give and sometimes you take when taking care of it. Our patio is a place we love to be and it’s full of things we love. We have had so many good times sitting in our out-door living space. Lots of laughter and fun in the summer heat. The pool isn’t to far away so when it’s to hot we just jump in. Summer is a time to refill my creative soul for what is ahead in the school year to come. I love summer it makes me really Blue Happy.
