Posted by Elizabeth

It’s Labor Day, an occasion to honor hard-working Americans from sea to shining sea.  I haven’t engaged in any paid work this year, but I’ve been a busy bee.  Since today marks the official end of summer, I thought it would be fun to share some images capturing the “fruits of my labors” from a particularly memorable summer.  And since it’s Labor Day, I’m taking a break.  Enjoy the day!

I baked Maikael a Grasshopper Pie, a mint-green confection of chocolate and crème de menthe, for his 32^nd birthday in June.  It’s his favorite.

After hours of digging in packed clay soil, I started a home garden, bearing a bounty of ruby-red tomatoes, amethyst peppers, hooked green chiles, bowling balls of watermelons, and fronds of lettuce.

Anne and I baked a strawberry tart when I visited her in Oregon in June.  It was delicious.

I helped The Jobe’s to make grape juice.

We also canned pears and applesauce.

I was rewarded tenfold with a full belly and a full spirit.

I volunteered at a local organic farm.  I learned more about tending to human dynamics than plants, but  I enjoyed working the land.

I crafted a chocolate cream pie for the angel who was sent to repair my leaky roof.  It wasn’t my labor, but I was eternally grateful.

My Little Sister, having been matched as a volunteer through Big Brothers Big Sisters, and I made patriotic spritz cookies for the 4^th of July.

We also saw Broadway star Patti Cohenour, a New Mexico native, when she have a free concert at the University of New Mexico.

It was a very good summer.