Notes from Steve

And a good time was had by all.*

People have been telling me their tomatoes are going crazy and that they are going to be overwhelmed. (I told them - I'll always take leftover tomatoes …) In February, you will never regret the massive bounty. Chili, soup, stews … no canned or winter tomatoes from the store ever come close to raising your own. Mom used to work with Grandma in Grandma's garden at my grandparents' farm in Lawton, Iowa. They'd raise and harvest a ton of vegetables and can everything. Lots of work, yes, but so worth it. 

It feels strange that this summer is going by so fast, but for me, these are the salad days of my life**. Is everything perfect? Of course not - but I want my perspective to always be one of gratitude and thanksgiving. Have you ever looked at old pics and thought, "wow, those were the days," and then you think, "why wasn't I satisfied?" Could have been I wasn't happy with how I looked or my job or whatever, but looking back … it was probably good, if not great. Some of my happiest times were with my friends when I had no money, and my car was a rust-pile junker (1974 Dodge Dart - biggest piece of crap ever made).  

It's easy to complain. Gratitude and kindness take work, but in the end, I want to be able to look back on pictures and memories and think, "life was sometimes tough, but always great."

*My backyard party - I think I've done over 20 of them. "I" meaning a lot of people - a lot … Thanks to everyone who helped make this the best party ever.~
~ My friend Tami used to tell me to go to the "Beaujolais Nouveau Festival" (new wine festival) in France in November. No matter how the wine tastes - it is labeled (according to Tami) as the "best ever!" I like to think this is my motto in life.  
**Salad days" is an idiom that means a carefree, innocent time of youth, vitality, and inexperience. Today, it can also refer to a person's heyday or peak period of success and productivity, even later in life.