Yay - We can gripe about prices, and find sales and plant gardens, etc., etc.

Like you , I'm sure, I spent the weekend, reading about the Fourth of July, the parades, the fireworks, the Heroes, History, picnics and all the stuff that the Fourth is made of.

On the actual day of the Fourth I spent most of the day digging out and pulling weeds, trying to resurrect what is supposed to resemble a vegetable garden. I don't know about you, but even if the work is hard (and it is) I like the smell of the dirt, and I love to see the squash blossoms, and it pleases me to see tiny plants poking their heads through the dirt. My plants were having a hard time breathing when they poked their heads through the dirt, because those dang weeds were determined to win. HA, I was determined they weren't going to.

In the process of the war on weeds and planting the few remaining bedding plants I had a lot of time to think and be thankful.

I was grateful for the weeds. I was thankful that I have a tiny plot in which I can plant the vegetables of my choice. I am thankful that I could muse and fume at the rising cost of groceries in the store - and be able to do a few things that would help my budget. I reflected on the fact that I was thankful that I had a neighbor whose dog was barking and that they had the freedom to not only have one dog, but two.

I'm the kind of person that gets teary eyed when the flag goes by in a parade. I love to see those HUGE flags flying over the stores and car lots. We have a son on active duty right now and I fly that little flag in our front yard that shows this family has a family member in the armed services. He is state side for now ... but you never know.

Today's blog is just Barbara's ramblings about being grateful for bottles of tomatoes on a shelf, and then being grateful for the shelf to put them on. I went out and hugged my baby peach tree that will have its first "crop" this year. And I'm thankful for neighbors who will share their over-abundance of zucchini - even though I have ten tons of my own to share.

So this week my thoughts continue to be patriotic and grateful for the land in which we live, even our tiny corner of the world ... and my heart goes out to those whose corner of the world is in terrible turmoil.