Lunch and a Last Hurrah

Oh my, but it's been a summer of fun! Lots of running coast to coast and all over New England with and without guests. Since Colette has Mondays off, today we made a trip down to explore Concord, Massachusetts. We did a bit of antiquing, some picture taking, some house gawking. And then we wound up here, at The Colonial Inn (c. 1715), for lunch. This was one last hurrah before I must seriously turn my thoughts to shopkeeping and sewing, sewing, and more sewing!

The historic inn was a munitions storehouse when the cry went out that "the redcoats are coming". 

We shared a delicious sandwich of chicken, pesto, sundried tomato, mozzarella, and arugula.  Yum!

It was a fun time with my girl!

And now nose to the grindstone!

First Big Harvest

Thus far, this has been a fabulous year for gardening! Here's a photo I snapped with my phone of our garden a few weeks ago, probably at its peak of prettiness...before any of the squash leaves started to get a bit yellow, or the tomato plant leaves started to wither.  Every year we change the pattern of the kitchen garden around a bit.  And this year, Colette set about making some wattle fencing to define the beds, and that makes all the difference!  And the layout is just really working for me...easy to reach everything in every bed, easy to wrangle the house around, paths are roomy without consuming too much space, etc.

So far, all my harvesting has been just a few things at a time...three zucchini, a handful of tomatoes.  The day before yesterday, I picked another modest amount of everything that was ripe.  And then today?...THIS! Whew!  It has really taken off!

I'm going to be one busy lady in the kitchen!  Salsa, zucchini bread, and pesto are all going to be whipped up and take their spots in the freezer. The green beans and eggplant are part of tomorrow night's dinner. Some of the tomatoes became a caprese salad for our picnic dinner tonight. It's the happy eating time of year!

Revolutionary War Battle Reenactment

I took so many photos the day of the Revolutionary Reenactment at Old Sturbridge Village, it's really difficult to weed through to choose the best to share with you.  But I think I've finally done it.  I love the long rows of tidy, carefully labeled camp tents. I love the simplicity of everything.  And yet I love the details. Here are my favorite photos of the preparations before the battle, during the battle, and immediately after.

And, in case you're curious, the Redcoats won the battle that day.  The British tourist standing behind me during the battle was glorying in this.  I couldn't resist turning around with a smile and saying with a wink, "I'm sorry to tell you, but ultimately...it doesn't end well for you." He laughed.