Me Weekend

It's been a busy week, at work as well as at home.  SM's brother Ron and his wife Connie came down from Columbus and visited with us the past few days.  Every other year their extended family, children and grandchildren, rent a house along the beach somewhere on the east coast or Florida.  This year they're heading to Surfside Beach which is just south of Myrtle Beach.  Of course they invited us to come along for a night or two this weekend.

We usually try to do the beach weekend thing once or twice a year. I personally like to go in May or September when the rates are cut and the kids are back in school.  Less crowded.  With the economy the way it's been SM and I haven't been to the beach in a few years.

I hemmed and hawed all week on whether or not I wanted to go.  Who doesn't want to go to the beach?  Am I nuts?  (Not really.) 

The garden is coming in full tilt this week.  The lima beans and summer squashes I'd replanted about a month ago are blooming.

I have given away more tomatoes than I care to simply because I haven't been able to muster up the interest to process them and can at night after work.  I told SM that this farming thing is a full time job.  (Is there such a thing as a weekend farmer?)

So when the "chips" were down this morning and I had to decide if I was going or not, I went with not.

I wanted a "me" weekend.  (You know what I mean.) 

No responsibilities to anyone other than yourself.  I can do what I want to do.  Or I can do nothing at all.  Peaceful, quiet..."me" time.  It's been a long time since I've had "me" time.  The dogs, the house and the garden all need attention, but that's all a part of the "me" time.  I can concentrate on what needs doing this weekend.  (And I have a list.)

So while everyone was having coffee, showers and packing up this morning, I went out and picked through the garden again.  Abundant tomatoes.  Enough to share another round with our grateful neighbors who don't garden. 

Summer squash is starting to come in again, so I made up a travel basket loaded with enough baby squash, cukes and tomatoes for the 14 people at the beach house.  Connie says that they haven't been able to harvest anything yet from their gardens in Ohio so the fresh veggies are very welcome. 

I didn't part with any of my green and yellow beans though.  I'm a bit of a bean hog.  I love me some snap beans and since the beans in the raised bed failed, I've been harvesting out of a little 6 foot (in-ground) patch I'd planted.  Oh Yum!  We've been fresh eating them for the past month.  This morning I thought they looked done so I pulled up the plants this morning and re-seeded the patch again.  (It's a little late but I thought "what the heck".  It'd be nice to get one more batch in before the first frost.)  I had enough picked fresh this week to freeze up a gallon bag of beans.  I also went ahead and made some spaghetti sauce with the ripe tomatoes I had left. 

I think I'll work on peaches tomorrow...(maybe).  And later this week Salsa!