summer sauce

Every August, I look forward to what I refer to as a taste of pure sunshine. The anticipation of that first taste as the aroma fills the house while the tomatoes are cooking. But there is so much more than that. There were the first chilly months of March and April, when I tucked those tomato seeds into a small peat pot of soil and cared for them in my warm home. I diligently watered those baby tomato sprouts until they were ready to be planted in my garden, that I had lovingly prepared for months.

The first few flowers start to bloom on the tomato plants in about June, and I know there are still many weeks until the tomatoes will be ready for picking. Every day when I water them, it's a constant reminder of all that I've put in, and all that I will surely enjoy.

When those tomatoes start to turn yellow, then orange, and finally red I grab the closest basket, bucket, apron (or dress), and gently twist the tomatoes off of the vine and gather all of the ripe ones. Most recently, 18 ripe ones. My first batch of summer sauce, of the year.

Preparing, planting, watering, picking, chopping, cooking. The brief time line of the journey... all the while dreaming of this very moment. The first bite, of summer.

While all of my other tomatoes hang out in the garden and ripen, I can only imagine how they'll end up.... salsa, sandwiches, bruchetta .... and my mouth waters with anticipation.

<- what was left over after dinner! Head over to my cooking blog to get the recipe.

Opportunity, and escape while you can

Someone once said something about acting when opportunity strikes. Well, our family has been offered a great opportunity. One that we had been wanting last year. It's tough because now I'm in a position where I am in love with our house, community, neighborhood, and basically everything about living here. We've just gotten to the point where we have done a lot with our house and met a lot of great families in the area, and now we're probably going to move.

Let me back up. About a year ago, we were REALLY frustrated with NY taxes (not that we aren't anymore) and we were looking for a way out. We pay almost 7k a year in taxes for our house. Brian said to me "Essex (the company he works for, Superior Essex) has a headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And the cost of living is pretty low there" So, I started looking into it. We then discovered that we could buy our dream house for around $200,000, which is what our current house is worth here in NY. If we bought our dream house here in NY it would cost well over $450,000. And this is what started it all. Brian started finding out ways to move there and in the tight job market he knew that he would have to keep his eyes open for a position with his company, but at their Fort Wayne site.

Six months went by, and nothing was really coming together with finding a position that was available in Indiana. We kind of gave up on the idea, and continued settling into our house here. People started getting laid off gradually at Essex, Clifton Park NY where Brian works. About a month ago everyone at Brian's work was told that the plant was closing in January. It was clear that they wanted to keep Brian and...... guess what? They want him to work for them in Fort Wayne. Just what we had wanted! Then why does it feel so sad? I know it is a wonderful opportunity for all of us. There are so many reasons to love Fort Wayne (I've done SO much research)

With getting promoted, and living in an area where the cost of living is low, we would really be able to save a lot for retirement and that would be awesome. Buying our dream house in our mid twenties- also great. Moving away from friends and family is what makes it bittersweet. We'll probably be going out there soon to check out the area, so maybe this won't feel so wrong.

When my mom told my grandfather about Fort Wayne, he said, "They should.... escape [from NY] while they can"

Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.