Tag Archives: summer

Jul5

Nostalgia This 4th of July

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Nostalgia This 4th of July

Wow! The 250th Birthday of the United States of America! Communities have had many events planned for months with this 3-day holiday weekend. Dean and I’s wedding anniversary is on the 2nd of July, so we usually plan a few days of celebrating with America’s birthday. This year we had our anniversary dinner out at a quaint St. Louis City neighborhood Irish eatery. On Friday, July 3 late afternoon we made the hour-drive to the small German river town Hermann, Missouri. It is the town Dean and I were married 16 years ago. That evening their 4th of July parade was taking place along the downtown blocks near the riverfront. Lots of cool vintage cars and excited kids waiting for candy to be thrown to them. Thirsty after the July humid heat, we stopped in the local brewery. I had their new seltzer, a lemon-lavender. Very refreshing. Dean had a red ale while relaxing in the air-conditioned brewery. We shared a delicious freshly made thin crust pizza. Afterwards we strolled to the riverfront park where many townies were getting situated for the fireworks display. The sunset brought its own special glow on the Missouri River before the town’s music and fireworks.

I let my hair go, not attempting to straighten the natural curls and frizz. With the humidity above 90% and heat index over 100 degrees, freedom from hairdryers and makeup was commanded, and eventually sweaty undergarments removed matching this freedom celebration. Memories going back into my childhood surfaced these past few days. A bit of nostalgia. I was 16 years old when our nation turned 200. I remember fun times in the pool that summer, making new friends through Teens Encounter Christ (TEC), playing music in the park, walking to softball practice, having evening and Saturday ballgames in old town St. Peters, bike rides in the neighborhoods down the road from our tree farm, and our 3-week summer vacation traveling to visit our family in Washington state and our friends in Minnesota. I even imagined what I might be doing at this 250th birthday year. Thought to be married, busy as a wife, mother, and grandmother. Here now I am very busy as a wife, mother, grandmother, and even a great-grandmother as well as serving the community as a culinary professional and writer of words. A partial retirement has been a good fit for me. Back then, looking forward to the 4th of July in 2026 I expected a celebration of a parade, festive music, and patriotic fireworks.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” ~ Psalm 33:12

Here I am this holiday, my whole weekend has been full. We spent our Friday in Hermann. This Saturday in our hometown, St. Charles where we attended the Main Street parade in the morning meeting up with one son and his family, then the fireworks display at dusk. We set up our lawn chairs in our church’s parking lot situated on a hill just 4 blocks from the Missouri River. We could look downhill towards the river where the barge was set up with the explosives. Fancier fireworks in this town’s display. A bigger town with a bigger budget for such a luxury. The night sky was explosive colors and pops throughout well into the midnight hour. The sights and sounds matched my heart filled with gratitude for the freedoms I continue to have. I am thankful to God for the nation I live in; the freedom to worship my Jesus, the employment opportunities my Dean and I are occupied with, a retirement income, health benefits, nutritious food to eat, a cozy home, peace with our diverse loved ones and neighbors, and hope for our future. On the 4th of July ABC televised Brandi Carlile singing America The Beautiful in NYC. Such a gorgeous rendition, a prayer as the singer described. At church this Sunday, we sang this same anthem. Make these words our own. Here are the lyrics:

America the Beautiful by Katherine Lee Bates
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress,
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country love
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Oh beautiful for halcyon skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress,
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought
By pilgrims foot and knee!
Oh beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife,
When once and twice for man’s avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
Till selfish gain no longer strain
The banner of the free!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

Aug7

Beauty in Early August Blooms

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Beauty in Early August Blooms

How lovely this August started out. Mild 80-degree temperatures for the high! Unreal for the St. Louis area. Later this week it has heated up into the low 90’s with some humidity, but unlike the soupy July days or more like weeks we had. The afternoon scattered showers are welcomed. I hear the katydids and bugs sing their rhythmic tunes late afternoon into the evenings now. Maybe giving a holler about cooler weather coming? I am relishing the remaining summer days this season. And more walks in the upcoming days and weeks.

“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” ~ Lady Bird Johnson 

Loving all the garden art along with the blooms found in our yard, the neighborhood, and online by fellow gardeners. Our surprise lilies were slow coming up this growing season. But during the milder August weather, they sprouted up in our backyard amidst the wild violet and garlic foliage. Be blessed this August Thursday. Thankful it is Friday tomorrow, and looking forward to a three-day weekend for Dean and I.

Nov19

November’s Remnants

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November’s Remnants

Amidst the earth preparing for winter with its blanket of fallen leaves, summer has left a couple of remnants in our front yard. The ketchup & mustard rose bush has a single bloom in mid-November. Spider plant shoots I planted in a ceramic planter hung in our dogwood tree still have green life lingering even through these cold autumn mornings. Dean and I left these summer remnants behind to drive 11 hours to the mountains in Asheville, North Carolina. Packed in boxes, we toted winter clothes and blankets donated by friends and family to be given to the hurricane survivors in Asheville. The desire to help the Appalachian folks and to see the Great Smokies coincided. It was a fast trip. We saw much devastation as well as heard heart-warming stories of humanity. These people are taking care of each other. Like the mama bear that lives in the woods behind the Airbnb home we stayed at. She takes care of her 2-year cubs who are getting big, closer to her size now. It doesn’t matter, it is instinct to care until the cubs are ready to go on their own. That day will come soon enough.

“And yet there is Someone, whose hands infinitely calm, hold up all this falling.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Dean and I delivered the goods to the folks in Asheville during the 4-day weekend. A staff member from an organization called BeLoved Asheville directed us to the best location for delivery. Our Airbnb host let us know about another organization called Hands On Asheville to get set up for volunteering on Sunday afternoon at an area supplies, water, and food distribution center for hurricane survivors. We took on sorting thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer and children’s books in the garden center of a local grocer in the small community of Black Mountain. Just down the road we witnessed major flood destruction. In Asheville’s River Arts District where much destruction can be seen at the riverfront, there still stands a metal art sign inscribed with these words, “All feet stand under the stars.” It felt good to take care of another’s feet with the warmth of socks, clothes, and blankets. Thank you to those who donated. We all stand together under the stars God has created for each of us, remnants pieced together for purpose.

Autumn by poet, Rainer Maria Rilke … “The leaves are falling, falling as if from far up, as if orchards were dying high in space. Each leaf falls as if it were motioning ‘no’. And tonight the heavy earth is falling away from all the other stars in the loneliness. We’re all falling. This hand here is falling. And look at the other one … It’s in them all. And yet there is Someone, whose hands infinitely calm, hold up all this falling.”

Aug18

August, Summer’s Last Stand

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August, Summer’s Last Stand

This summer has been wonderful. Not too many steaming hot days. The flowers keep blooming. The bright sunflowers keep turning towards the sun. Our hummingbirds and songbirds have been busy at the feeders in the mornings well into the evenings. Dean is making sugar water for the feeders every week or so. Many fledglings have taken their first flights from our yard this season. This week the summer bugs hum their tunes like it’s their last. A noisy August. A summer like this makes it harder to say “goodbye”.

This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realize that it is August: the summer’s last stand.” ~ Sara Baume

A later sunrise each morning and a little earlier sunset comes with the beautifully amber glow evenings. As the month moves along, I sense the transition into early autumn with each day. The autumn colors of yellow, orange, and purple haze peer through the summertime greens. I welcome this changing of the seasons, especially the crisp air and gentle cooling breezes. Autumn decor of fabric gourds and pillows have appeared in our cottage. More metal art of pumpkins and the fall season will come out this week.

“Some days in late August at home are like this, the air thin and eager like this, with something in it sad and nostalgic and familiar.” ~ William Faulkner

A Tasteful Transition

Vivacious summer lettuce greens to virgin olive green oil.

Meadow yellow buttercups to mellower ginger yellow.

Green rind watermelon to melon-tinted gourds.

Bright field poppies to pumpkin oranges.

Bowls with berries of purples and reds to

pies of red delicious and granny smith apples.

Sundaes with chocolate and caramel drizzle to

chai hues of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown sugar.

Ice creams and custards of creamy white to

a teacup of earl greyer vanilla with cream.

Summer’s sweetness to autumn’s hint of spiciness

welcomed in my mouth’s palette.

A tasteful transition.

Anna Marie Gall ~ August 18, 2024

Jul28

What The Heart Knows As The Summer Blooms

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What The Heart Knows As The Summer Blooms

Summer can bring a frenzy of activity like the hummingbirds with their multiple flights to the sugar-water feeders. Dean is filling those feeders with his homemade recipe every 7 – 8 days. The finches and sparrows are the same with the suet blocks we put out. Fattening up, those birds of song. Summer blooms and songs all around. I read about blackberries, bees, and honey. I sit, observing from our cottage’s windows, taking it all in this week while recovering from COVID. This morning, I am feeling well enough to walk outside in the midst of the sights and sounds. Sunday’s sermon will be given courtesy of Mother’s Nature. The biscuit & gravy chef made a plate for me this morning. My last day of quarantine will be a beautiful one. How blessed I am.

While the rains water and the sun warm the earth, this is what the heart knows as the summer blooms: it is good to sit awhile to reflect and pray. I pray for my children and grandchildren. My disabled daughter who lost their house in a fire 1-1/2 years ago is living in a huge travel trailer on her husband’s family farm. Not quite the 3-bedroom house they were accustomed to. A final insurance settlement is almost completed. “Please God not another day of delay for them and give them wisdom on the best ways to spend these provisions.” My other daughter who fought and beat breast cancer in her early 30’s still struggles with brain fog after treatments. “Please God, clear her thoughts to see the next steps to take and the fortitude to walk those steps.” My son, who struggles with mental health challenges, like so many of us do. “Please God bring clarity and assurance of Your love for him. and each of us”

Take a walk in your neighborhood gardens and snap some green beans with your grandma today. I guarantee you will feel better.

Sweet Berry Kisses

Off to the blueberry bushes and blackberry brambles I am sent,

into the strawberry patch squishing overripe berries between my toes.

A painter’s palette smeared like rouge onto my cheeks

and all phalanges match my berry-stained face, lips, and tongue.

These delicious delectables satisfy my tummy’s rumbles

while the morning’s sun seals the sweet berry kisses to my lips.

Picking berries, berries, and more berries is my morning chore,

so, most make their way into Auntie’s heavy handled shiny bucket.

Pies, crisps, cobblers, buckles, and biscuits smothered with berry jams,

these Auntie anticipations as she twiddles her thumbs awaiting.

Down the garden path Auntie comes with a rabbit behind and bees a buzzing,

to lend a hand at picking plump berries into her long-handled metal pan.

Before noon into her kitchen baking oozing, finger-licking berry hand pies;

Oh, these juicy jewels create the sweetest berry kisses to my lips.

Anna Gall

May 4, 2024

Jun19

Before The Summer Solstice

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Before The Summer Solstice

The travels this late spring have been beautiful. We took several trips back to the Kansas City side of the state to get Dean’s parent’s house emptied before putting the house on the real estate market. The sunrises on Lake Wood as well as the sunsets were magnificent while on the road. The barns’ silhouettes and contrasting green landscapes vivid. Walks in our hometown of St. Charles and also while in the state of Tennessee for a partial week gave Dean and I admiring glimpses of gardens and art. A creative world we live in, cause to ponder a bit between the busy activities. Author Julie Cameron calls these types of walks “artist dates”. According to her, we should take these once a week for at least an hour or two. What sort of artist dates do you take?

May flew by, and June is proving similar. Cleaning and yard projects at the cottage as well as at Dean’s parents’ home took all of May. In June a sales contract written with a closing date before the end of the month, attending the Clarksville Writers’ Conference in Tennessee where I made a handmade book, an afternoon of Nashville music at the Ryman, the airshow at Spirit of St. Louis Airport with some excitable grandsons, the engagement party of my oldest granddaughter Hannah and her fiancé Jay, a week with my sister and visiting other family members and friends while she is in town, all this before the summer solstice. Wonder what the summer season will bring? I know a few more projects, but maybe some rest, relaxation, and healing for my body while we stay home for a few weeks. Home. I love the sound of that word.

On top of the busy activities, I have had medical appointments, tests, and now physical therapy. My world has literally been spinning since April. I woke up the morning of April 30 with a case of vertigo. Dizziness, nausea, migraines, and confusion comes and goes since then. Last week’s MRI shows a benign cyst on my right maxillary sinus, probably what caused those sinus infections from February through April, and the migraines since May. Vestibular physical therapy started yesterday. No fun, but hopeful this PT will help. Waiting to hear from the doctor about treatment for the sinus cyst. Hanging my worries out to dry. Please come Lord Jesus and take care of all of them.

May31

Weather Be Nice!

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Weather Be Nice!

Memorial Day weekend golf ball-size hail dropped from the dark thunder clouds above causing some major damage. We were on the other side of the state emptying Dean’s parent’s house getting it ready to be put on the market. Kansas City had some strong winds and damage, too. At home green leaves were knocked down by the hail and they were scattered all over the lawn and rooftops. It looked like autumn except the leaves were green instead of red, orange, and yellow. Our elephant ear plant looks like a palm tree now with its split leaves. My potted annuals lost a lot of blooms and leaves. One of our kitchen windows has a crack in it. One of the bird feeder domes was fractured and had a big hole in it. I am sure a few critters were knocked unconscious if not killed from those ice balls. That kind of hail could kill a person if hit in the head hard enough. Fortunately, we put our vehicle under the carport. But many auto dealer lots are having hail damage sales with their inventory. More weather is coming tonight and hope that it is not severe. Ready to take shelter. Weather, be nice to our plant life and critters, please!

“All I really need is a song in my heart, food in my belly, and love in my family.” ~ Raffi

Summertime pleasures such as a cup of cherry tea, a bowl of delectable dark cherries, Peter Rabbit brick garden art, an ice cream cone, and a new friend to get to know are wonderful distractions from the storms and the dumpster full of 50-years’ worth of papers, rusty tools, and broken furniture pieces. It took several weekends before this Memorial Day weekend as well as 10 adults working for the 3-day weekend to empty most of the home’s contents. I promise my children and grandchildren I will not leave this much “stuff” behind when I leave this world. Repurpose, throw away, and/or giveaway the excess now. The family gathering did give us an opportunity to look at old photos and reminisce. This summer I hope to finish my memoir, a collection of poems, short stories, and recipes that tell my life’s story. I cannot believe I have almost 100 recipes, most my own culinary creations that have been favorites amongst my family, friends, and students over the years.

What will you leave behind? What do you want to be remembered for?

Jul23

July’s Gifts

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July’s Gifts

Steaming hot July weather has kept me inside most days and evenings. The AC units are getting a workout this summer. This month’s humid days have also brought some much-needed rain. My potted perennials, flowers, and herbs are drinking up the natural water and growing like gangbusters. The gigantic lemon basil plant provided adequately for my lemon-herb tea bread presented at The Essence of Lemon, Herbs, & Writing workshop held this weekend at Long Row Lavender Farm. For these I am thankful for, the summer warmth and rain.

The workshop had two components. First, I taught the guests how to maximize flavor for a lemon-herb tea bread using three ingredients: the zest of a lemon, the juice, and lemony-type herb such as lemon basil, lemon thyme, or lemon balm. Second, I taught how to write a black-out or block-out poem using a recipe, magazine article, or page from a book. The example I shared was the prize-winning Valentine poem I wrote to my Dean using words from the lemon-herb tea bread recipe. Poems’ words are concise, and the guests learned the process of picking out descriptive words from their selected article or recipe. One guest shared her poem eloquently written in honor of a young man who was recently killed an motorcycle accident. The words chosen came from a magazine article on different types of lavender. The words seemed appointed for her to write. It was a beautiful experience for her, the rest of the workshop guests, and me.

I am also thankful for the time given on a few afternoons this month to craft button journals made for the workshop guests, with one afternoon spent watching our 7-year-old granddaughter design her personal button journal. While she visited for a week, we made a special trip to Lincoln Land in Springfield, IL so Elise could learn more about her favorite president. She found a top hat like Lincoln’s, some special stickers to accessorize her journal as well as helped me find a jar of vintage buttons at the antique store. We made some fun visits with other family members while Elise was in town, but also spent time at our homey cottage watching and listening to the hummingbirds and songbirds, gathering withered leaves along our walks (and there were a lot due to the drought in June), and Papa Dean learned how to play Memory Match. Times with loved ones are treasured in our hearts. So thankful!

May26

Ready For A New Season

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Ready For A New Season

Celestially speaking, the Summer Solstice happens on June 21. But for many families, Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of the summer season. All I know is the days are getting longer, enough to enjoy sunlight early morning and after dinnertime. Most of this May’s days have been mild enough to get a walk in the middle of the day. Those hotter days, it is better to get those steps in or piddle around in the yard early morning or in the evening. The sun on my skin is warm and the blowing late spring air cools. I think they refer these days as “resort days.” I am sleeping wonderfully sound every night when a good walk or gardening chores have been a part of my day. Stocked my beverage tray with some new herbal teas. A couple of weekend getaways early summer and a late summer trip to the Appalachians is planned with family. I want to keep my writing skills sharpened, so a 2-day writing conference in Tennessee takes place in June.

A welcomed new season is coming for a few folks. They have rounded a corner and are rising above. My oldest daughter and her family lost their house in a fire on Christmas Day. There have been so many prayers, tears, trials, and days of confrontations with their insurance company to get to this place today. They purchased a semi-permanent housing solution, a very large fifth-wheel RV and have it placed on my son’s-in-law family’s farm a few miles from their original home site. The hopes are more insurance settlement funds will allow them to build. No more motel living for them. They became instant minimalists and are essentially rebuilding their lives from the ground up. Most of their personal belongings were destroyed. Collectables such books and special houseplants are no longer, but an attempt will be made to replace them. Some selected few items were spared. The baby books were melded into a single mass, but my daughter was able to retrieve some relics on the inside of this mass. A heirloom rock collection from my parents were intact. Somehow the fire skipped over a box of photos. What was left of their house has been bulldozed down and hauled away. The lot is empty and will be sold. My daughter and son-in-law did not want to rebuild there, but desire to start anew near the same community due to relationships they have made over the past 12 years.

Next week I too am starting a new season in my life. I have been semi-retired for 2 years now. I have been employed with per diem part-time jobs but struggled with obtaining dependable hours. I even attempted to go back to full-time employment just so I could get some stability in hours, but it became too much on me. This new opportunity recently came across my online networks. I have been offered and accepted a part-time position for a non-profit group that provides meals and other services to seniors in the quad-county region. I love to cook from scratch and have the opportunity to use my culinary skills to serve the senior community. I will work weekday mornings only, and very close to home. The pay works for me, and it will help supplement for my disabled daughter’s medical care. I will continue teaching per diem culinary classes at the local community college at least one evening each month during the fall and spring semesters.

What does your Summer include? I hope some R & R, time with family and friends, a meandering road trip or two, nurturing a beautiful blooming plant or two or ten, a healthy dose of sunrays, a book to read, and an ice-cold beverage of choice each day.

Sep12

September’s Shift

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September’s Shift

Summer has been long and August lollygag gelled around until finally September has appeared. September’s shift is focused on seasonal changes. Cooler breezes, the air crispier, green leaves beginning to yellow, frantically feeding hummingbirds almost ready for migration, and squirrels burying nutty treasures before the frozen months. Welcome to the prelude of autumn. School children busy about their studies, football games, band practice, parents carpooling, traffic lines longer, and work schedules tightening after a lazier summer season.

This week my regular cooking classes start up again with 5 adults’, 4 children’s, and 1 adult/child class ahead of me. I am teaching this semester with the community college’s continuing education program plus 2 Saturday classes offered at a new venue, a local lavender farm. See more about these classes and where to sign up on my culinary class page. This weekend I worked on a recipe for photos for my crockpot apple cobbler. My Dean surely doesn’t mind being a taste tester. After that all-time record 10″ rain one night in late July, we realized our gutters needed new facia put in. So, Dean finished up the gutter project this weekend, replacing old facia boards that should have been done when a crew was hired last year for a new roof and gutters. That took 4 full days over the past few weekends to secure our cottage from these pop-up storms we have been experiencing.

Autumn is showing up in our neighborhood homes and shops, too. A prompting to shift my decor this week, an autumn wreath placed on the door, a leafy-print runner, amber lights, and pumpkins gracing the buffet. The perennials thickened up over the growing season. A trimming is needed before they come indoors early October, another project for this week. I plan to give away a few pots of houseplants as we have more than plenty. If you live in the metro St. Louis area and need greenery to warm up your home this winter, please let me know if you’d like a green houseplant such as a Boston fern, asparagus fern, spider plant, or philodendron. Each are in showy ceramic or terra cotta pots.

Summer Taking A Curtsy

Lazy daisy, dandelion days of summer are taking a curtsy,

Making way for golden rod, crispy air, and blowing winds.

Soon a final goodbye to the hummingbirds, butterflies so flirty.

With nectar-filled blooms giving a bow and then final bends,

Flowerheads wither, seeds scatter, food for the birdies.

An autumn canvas with yellow, orange, and red blends

Come after September’s rains and sunny days with certainty.

Anna Marie Gall September 4, 2022