It took its sweet time…but strawberry season finally managed to make its grand entrance. We were ready and waiting. Being down a picker now that Garyn is in school during the optimal picking hours, we had to work a tiny bit harder. Barry’s Strawberries, our favorite patch, had just opened and we were the first ones out working. The girls were motivated by “you can eat one more after you fill your basket” so we got a good haul in no time. After five seasons, they are professionals.

The weather was perfect…just a tiny bit chillier than room temperature. Granted, anything below 70 requires a snow jacket in Layna’s book. I love the beautiful perfect ones almost as much as the weird ones (this one got named “The High Five”).

When we get home from picking it’s a berry eating free for all. This is serious business. Especially when Layna employees the princess finger technique.

Ever since I heard of home freeze dryers (many, many years ago) I’ve wanted to try this. You take freeze dried strawberries (top picture) and blend them into a powder. Then you can mix that powder into anything like whipped cream or frosting for a kick of strawberry flavor without messing up the consistency. I finally got to do it! And I’m very happy to report that it did not dissapoint. Freeze dried strawberries are yummy on their own, and in whipped cream? Fuggetaboutit. Next up: vanilla swiss meringue buttercream frosting with the strawberry treatment. I’ll report back as soon as that magic happens.

Strawberries happened on Tuesday. Yesterday, this guy and I hit 16 years of marriage. Usually anniversaries inspire some reflection on where you’ve been, where you are, and where you are going. I think it’s pretty profound that I would not change a single thing about any of the above. I love the life we are building and if we suddenly were given a million dollars, I might start eating salmon more often. Otherwise we’d just have bigger bank accounts and our day to day existence wouldn’t be impacted. I’m grateful everyday that my husband provides me with my perfect life. Funny thing is that he seems to feel the same way so we’ll just keep on like this for the next 16 and beyond.

He took me to a divey, local hole-in-the-woods joint that recieved fabulous reviews on all the websites. More indicative of its quality, however, was the fact that we were the first to be seated around 5:00 pm…and by the time we left at 6:00 there were no tables left empty. It’s called “Jeff and Lisa’s Brickhouse Grill” and they are famous for their prime rib and burgers. I had the prime rib and Neil had the burger. We will happily go back for either or both. I also know where I’m taking out of town guests from now on.