JUMP IN!

Our neighbors, the Retzer's had a birthday party this Saturday for their girls. They warned all the neighbors that they would be having a "jump house" set up.
Yeah, they did! It looks bigger when it's in your street!

What lucky kids. It had a water slide which is a good thing on a 100 degree day!

They invited lots of kids...about 50-60 all together. They played from about noon to 8pm. Sure beats the clown, magician & pony-ride style birthday party from the "olden days"!

DON'T FORGET TO PHLOX

Obviously Isabella doesn't care about phloxing...she hangs out in the studio on hot summer days in her/my chair.

Phlox is an old fashioned perennial that takes no effort except a bit of staking as it grows to 7' in height with heads about 1' across.
I favour white in the summer garden...so nice and cooling.
I just use old pantyhose for easy & stretchy plant ties to keep them from flopping over.

The flower heads give off a slight honey aroma. They're good cut flowers and really fill in well.

JUST GET OVER IT WITH NUT BROWN ALE!

After the sordid affair on Tuesday at the Senior Dance Club, we decided that we needed a day OUT! So we made a quick trip to Ashland for a bit of quick shopping (comics and pot scrubbers were on our list...) but decided that we'd let the tourists pay the high restaurant prices there and made our way back to Medford to enjoy a late lunch at Wild River Brewery. Some how by the time I got the camera out, this glass of Wild River Nut Brown Ale was half gone! Don't know how that happened. But we did experience a brightening of mood.

We are about to split a BBQ Bacon Burger with Fries...our one weakness, don't you know!
We did notice the lessening of our state of advanced ill humor shortly thereafter.

A FIRST FOR US!

We've been dancing for 10 years...that's allot of dances at allot of places...some good and some not so much. But yesterday we experienced A FIRST at our local Senior Dance Club.
Jack got up at the break and reminded folks about the direction of dance and that those with food or wishing to talk to friends should observe dance etiquette for safety reasons by staying off the active dance floor. Seems like a no brainer and those are "rules" observed by all good dancers but sometimes folks forget.
When dancing resumed, we were purposely cut off while dancing by 2-couples who stopped on the dance floor mid-dance to "talk." We asked them to move off the floor and the one old guy "showed us his dukes" and wanted to fight Jack right there, right then ON THE DANCE FLOOR!. Jack cooled his ardor by saying, "Well, just get started then, boy!" We walked off the floor.
Seems not only did we dare to mention "rules" but we also took "their" seats at "their" table. AND to top it off, we had offered to give three short dance workshops this fall before the dance for those who were interested(A WELL RECEIVED IDEA BY THE CLUB, WE MIGHT ADD).These folks took exception to dance lessons. We had, it seemed, committed A SEVERE BREACH of "We've never done that before and you can't make us do it now!"
GOOD TIMES, INDEED!
So we got a call last night from the President who said that she guessed we wouldn't be "allowed" to do the dance workshops after all. We said, "Okay, less work for us!" Seems some couples had complained about certain new members wanting to make "changes." OOOOOHHHHH!
We called the President of the club this morning, explained what had happened on the dance floor, etc. and told her that to avoid further unpleasantness we'd just not be coming for awhile. so those who were threatened would cool off. Too bad...it's a nice floor (even if the music is dated) and most folks are happy to see us each week.

BEANSATIONAL

Yeah, I'm back on the ladder again...beans grow fast once they make up their minds.


Sometimes they get ahead of me so I make "Sunday Beans." I shell the gnarly ones for their "shellies" and throw those in with the "big boys" that are too mature to freeze.

These are Kentucky Wonder and Rattlesnake (a Cascade Giant var.).
Add Walla Walla Sweet onion, thick sliced bacon, carrots or baby potatoes. Throw in some leek soup mix (about 1/2 packet) and a cup or so of water.

Put them in the crock pot and let 'em go for a few hours while you play.


Here's the finished product...ummm! Great as a main dish with cornbread or as a side dish with chicken. (You can freeze the leftover broth to use for soup in the fall).

Good stuff, Maynard!

LATE BREAKING BEANS...

"Stepping up" to pick beans this year! They put on allot of growth before they started beaning! It's a well known fact (by gardeners, at least) that tomatoes and beans like each other's company. So much so that they tend to grow together and grow larger...even when originally confined in wire cages.

It's "bean" a very slow garden season due to a very rainy & cold spring but the beans finally decided to get with it. Tomatoes are still playing onesies, twosies, but nothing stops the low flying zucchini from growing oversized!

Good eating ahead...
.

REPRESSED

Ever since Mr. A reclaimed his shop, he's been missing his big drill press...that was part of the equipment that went with the sale of the business. He figured that it would cost big bucks to replace it.

Yes. he found this baby the "old fashioned" way...reading the classifieds in the Mail Tribune. Wonder of wonders, he was able to call the guy, drive over to his place and dicker on the price. So he got this heavy duty honey for $125, hardly if ever used and originally a $400 price tag. Good work, Jack. And, it has more features and is in better condition than his old one! AND it has 16 speeds...15 of which he'll probably never use, but it's good to be ready! Did I mention it took 2-grown & grunting men to move it from the truck to the bench?