Mr. C and Pickles

I have some wonderful neighbors. I know many people can not say that. But I have been blessed with friends all around me. 

One of my neighbors is Mr. C. He lives about six houses up the road on the same street as I. His wife has lived here a lot longer than I have. We have lived here for about 17 years and she has been living here for at least 30. I have known her all my life as I we still go to the same church together and I played with her daughter when I was younger. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she remarried Mr. C. whom I have known just as long because he too went to the same church and was once married to my moms cousin. She passed away after a losing a battle to cancer, and well, a new love story began with this widow and widower. 

Mr. C loves to tend a garden. He has always had one. Now that he lives here in my neighborhood with his new wife, He has a garden in his back yard where there used to be a swimming pool. 

When we go on our walks we will often throw up our hands and wave. The other day, while passing by, he motioned for us to come see his garden and take some of those cucumber and squash off his hands. He said he gardens just for the fun of it and loves giving his produce away. We stayed a while as he told us some interesting stories of his past. I could have stayed all night listening to him but it was getting late.

I was amazed at how big and plentiful his garden was. He had cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, beans, peas, cantaloupe, watermelon and corn. It looked great! Needless to say, we left with a large bag of cucumbers that I also shared with my brother and brother in law. The next week he gave us a few more cucumbers and some sweet corn. 

My friend neighbor has been getting some of the same veggies from him too so we have been sharing some recipes. One is for Dill Pickles. She had made these refrigerator pickles. I have heard of them before but now I was convinced to give it a try. 

They were so easy to make that a kid could do it! You can find the recipe I used HERE.

I love how pretty they look sitting in the jars and they turned out delicious! I made three jars and I am sure they will be gone soon.

There is just something about the taste of fresh homemade pickles verses the store bought kind.

So go ahead and give it a try. Impress yourself like I did.

Great Day For A Bike Ride

I own an old vintage bike. It happened one morning when my late father in law was having a yard sale and I saw the little charm sitting in his yard. I simply said, “I want that bike!” Without a flinch, he replied “It’s yours now, take it”. With a big smile on my face, I jumped on and rode off into the sunrise. 

It has been in storage along with two other vintage bikes my husband refinished for him and my daughter. While he made two old rusted beach cruisers look brand new again, I decided that I did not want anything done to mine. I liked the original blue color and the patina look. However, I did add a new set of white wall tires and a basket. I also added some of my talent and crocheted a cute little granny square seat cover to hide the dingy white seat. 

I fell in love with it all over again. 

It has been almost ten years since I rode my bike. Nick just never felt like digging it out from the storage building and I never had a desire to ride it after my daughter moved out on her own. 

BUT, the other day I noticed my neighbor friend had an old vintage cruiser bike too and was riding it up and down the road. This made me want to dust the cob webs off of mine. Nick agreed to get my bike out and made sure the brakes were still good and oiled the chain. Then he put a little air in the tires and I rode up the road to meet her.

We had a good time riding around the neighborhood while we caught up on all our stories. We rode for about an hour talking and giggling. For a little while we were back to being seven year olds again without a worry in the world. We enjoyed it so much that we have made plans to meet once a week for a ride together. 

I had forgotten how fun riding a bike can be and also just how sore you can make your muscles afterwards. It has been a great workout for me as I try to ride a couple times a week now. There is nothing like putting music in your ears and letting the breeze blow your hair.