Around the house

Four years ago, just shy of a month before we were married, there was a thunderstorm. It was after 9:00 PM. The storm was over top of us. The thunder and lightning were intense. I was walking by the living room window when out of nowhere, a blinding flash of light and the loudest noise I have ever heard in my life nearly stopped my heart - figuratively, of course. My heart didn't stop, but I'm certain it skipped a few beats. Three of our mature trees had been struck by lightning.

We had those trees removed yesterday. They were part of the tree line on the edge of our property, so it was easy to let them go for several years, dead as they obviously were. But they've been dropping branches like crazy lately. Another had split and was threatening to drop into the neighbor's yard. We couldn't ignore them anymore.

The space where they were looks bare now. I'd like to plant another tree there - we have some walnut trees and maples sprouting in the front and side gardens - but DH has other plans. He'd like to place a bench there and create a seating area to relax or sit down and read a book. He bribed me into agreeing with the promise of a mature lilac bush. I can plant a few pots with colorful annuals and place them around the bench to assuage my green thumb needs.

Gardening helps. We planted a shared veggie garden with our neighbors again this year. It's growing well. The rain we had early on helped it establish quickly. We have tomatoes - what's a garden without tomatoes? - sweet peppers, hot peppers, squash, cucumbers, and beans. I also have a two crops of tomatoes thriving in the gardens on either side of the house, all from the drop offs of last year's plants. They reseeded themselves. It's awesome.

We'll be swimming in tomatoes this year. I'll need to fry some up like my grandmother used to do: dredged in flour, sautéed, and sprinkled with sugar. What a treat! They're wonderful stewed, too. I can do that. And grilled. They're absolutely stupendous grilled. Mm, and cherry tomatoes, halved, sprinkled with olive oil and garlic, and roasted for eight hours in a 200 degree oven. I cannot begin to tell you how heavenly those are. They're incredible. Once you eat one, you're all but obligated to finish the rest, they're that irresistible.

I need to get my mind off food. I'm hungry now.

Kindle. I recently discovered Kindle. DH and I braved a sales pitch for a time share in the Poconos. We had no intention of purchasing the time share. We only went because DH wanted the free golf clubs to replace his starter set. They were also offering a free Kindle, I suppose to woo the wives into coming, too. I wasn't much interested. I'm quite happy with my paper books. I don't need to worry about the battery dying, I can flip easily through the pages to reread my favorite passages, and I don't need an instruction manual to use them.

Then I discovered the free downloads. Did you know you can download material whose copyright has expired for free? Jane Austen. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Bronte sisters. Mary Roberts Rinehart. Agatha Christie. I've downloaded over 40 books already. I've even downloaded old children's stories like the Bobbsey Twins and Grimm's Fairy Tales for Kathleen. The Secret Garden! I got the Secret Garden, too! It's incredible. All of these classics for free!

Yes, yes, I know my frugal side is showing. But I love to read. I am perfectly content to reread my favorites - and believe me, Jane Austen is a favorite - over and over and over again. I never tire of them. They're my fall back books, books I always have with me in case I need something to keep me occupied. And they're all on the Kindle. I never realized how exciting it could be.

Even better, I have my mom covered for Christmas. She loves the old works just as much as I do. And maybe my brother, too. I'm not sure if he has a Kindle yet. I can preload them with a few good books. Jane Austen for mom, definitely, and maybe the Thomas Covenant stories for my brother. This is just wonderful.