Essentials

Corn Stalks in Lattimore Garden

Abel and Jay Shucking, Silking and Solving World Problems

Corn Ready to Blanche

"Lattimore's Holy Grail of Garden Bounty"

66 Years together and still smiling

Canning Beans in Lattimore

Devin, Jay, David and KC at Will and Alexa's Wedding

David, Turner, Jay and Rhett at Will and Alexa's Wedding

David IV, Sally, David III, and KC at Mimosa Grill

Lt Gov Walter Dalton, Jay and John McDevitt



Happy Fourth of July!

June blasted on by with a frenzy of typical June activities. 

Silver Queen Corn and Little White Half Runner green beans started pouring out of the Lattimore garden.

Several of us helped Mom and Dad with canning green beans.  This is not my favorite summer task because that pressure cooker part scares me to death.  This year, on the second day of canning, Mom stayed with us until the very last jars were ready to can and then needed to go to an appointment.  Libby, Dad and I bravely declared that we could finish the last jars without her help.  Not.  Something went askew with the pressure cooker lid and the steamy jiggle thing did not jiggle like it was supposed to.  I spent 20 horrible minutes worrying that the pressure cooker was going to blow up.  Needless to say this did not help my fear of pressure cookers or my desire to can beans alone.

Corn is a different story.  As my old pal, Gardner puts it Silver Queen Corn is the holy grail of Lattimore garden bounty.  We are only half way through the corn season but Abel, Jay and I managed to get 15 pints into the freezor one day and there is sure to be more to come.  For all the specifics on how Mom and Dad have taught detailed corn freezing techniques see my July 9, 2010 blogpost.  It's a real process and when its time to do corn arrangements have to be made.

June is always full of weddings and anniversaries too.  David and I celebrated our 25th this year several ways and it really does feel like a blessing - and an accomplishment.  I'm hoping for another 25+.   Mom and Dad have set the bar pretty high because they celebrated their 66th this year.  It's an inspiration and a joy to watch them navigate life together.

We watched another wedding recently that was super sweet.  One of the first of the boys close pals, Will, tied the knot with Alexa in a beautiful setting and a fun celebration.   We felt like it was one of our own because we  have watched this group of little boys from playing in the backyard through elementary, middle, high school and college.  We were honored to be at the wedding and I loved it when David IV pulled me out to the dance floor for the Cupid Shuffle and then the Wobble.  Is there anything more fun than line dancing with your sons?

There was another sweet dance at Will and Alexa's wedding when the DJ asked all married couples to come share a slow dance.  As the music played he asked everyone except the newlyweds who had been married less than five years to take a seat.  Then 10 years or less to take a seat.  David said, "we might be close to the top of this one with 25 years".  About that time the DJ said 30 years or less so we laughed and took our seat.  By the end of the dance there were two couples on the dance floor - the newlyweds and a very sweet couple who have been married over 50 years.  That was a poignant moment and another inspiration for us.

There was another very poignant moment last weekend when my sweet cousin, John's, wife died very unexpectedly.  Just last January she had written down her funeral wishes and as John said everyone should consider this because it gave him such peace to know that he was doing what she desired.  I think it gave peace to all of us at the service because she had written of how proud she was of her children and how much she loved John and that she wanted to encourage everyone to live a life of adventure.  What a beautiful gift to everyone in a time of shock and sadness. 

There was another beautiful gift from Ann and John as they included in the service a White Dove release.  This was something I had never seen in person and it was amazing.  John released one White Dove which represented Ann's spirit and then three other White Doves representing the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit were released.  We watched as they flew in different directions out of sight and then were astounded when they all four came back together and circled overhead for a bit and then flew away together.  It was a  powerful moment to say goodbye to Ann with a feeling that her spirit was peacefully escorted home.

I was so amazed by the White Dove Release that I googled to learn more and found that Doves fall in love and mate for a lifetime.  They share the responsibility of caring for their young.  And they have such a keen sense of home that no matter where they are released they will fly for miles to return to their mate and their home.  Another wonderful inspiration in the month of weddings and anniversaries.

The week of our anniversary we enjoyed helping our friend Walter Dalton on the campaign trail.  Walter is running for Governor and he is so well prepared for the job.  Politics is a very tough world and I am grateful that Walter and Lucille are willing to use their time and energy to work for the common good.  They inspire us in many ways and recently had mentioned a church that they like to visit when they are near Lake Lure.   Fairfield Mountains Chapel is a church that we had been to several years ago when Will and Anna were married but we had not visited since then.

David and I slipped off to Lake Lure to celebrate our anniversary and Sunday morning we decided to go to the church that Walter and Lucille had mentioned.  It is a mulit-denominational Christian Church dedicated to serving tourist, permanent and occasional residents of the area.   On this particular Sunday the service was "A Service to God and Country".  They recognized everyone who had served in the military and then they recognized those who were serving or who had served in government.  The music was patriotic and moving and I appreciated the loving environment that didn't use religion OR patriotism as a wedge between people.

The program explained the church mission, "We are a multi-denominational congregation, and our family of faith is made up of persons from many different denominations and expressions...To guide our relationships with each other, we would borrow the credo of the Moravians:

"In Essentials, Unity; In Non-Essentials, Liberty: But in All Things, Charity."

June was just full of inspiration.