I love Kym for a lot of different reasons but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that one of them was that she frequently texts me with interesting and fun Ten On Tuesday topics. As I’m sure you can figure out by this introduction, this week’s topic did indeed come from her and it is 10 Thresholds You Cross Every Day.

1. The one from my bedroom into the front hallway. This is generally the first one I cross every day, stumbling my way to the bathroom. On the way to the bathroom I also cross
2. The one between the living room and dining room. It’s a double doorway so it’s long and it’s hardwood and I mostly don’t trip over it. The next stop from there is
3. The one from the dining room into the bathroom. My eyes are almost opened by this point. And then it’s back across the bathroom one and into the kitchen where there’s just a tiny one so I’m not going to count it. After a few back and forths between the bedroom, the kitchen and the bathroom, it’s time to go to work and then I cross
4. The one from the mudroom out to the deck. I get in my car and I drive to work and I hit
5. The one from the staff door into the back hallway of the library. After this it’s all wall to wall carpet from there to my office, to the staff room (where I make more coffee), to the fiction area where I gather the books for the morning hold report, and back and forth until it’s time to leave the library and head to the COA. That is an old building and there are lots of thresholds. The first one is
6. The one from the front porch into the front entryway. And then there is
7. The one from the front entryway into the receptionist area. And then there is
8. The one from the receptionist area into my office. My office here is wallpapered in dark green plaid. I have a fireplace and beautiful floor to ceiling windows and wide plank floors. It’s charming and completely different from the library. As I wander about this building and visit with the seniors who come here and talk to my staff I also cross
9. The one from the receptionist area into the hallway that leads to the food pantry. The food pantry here is small but heavily used and very important to our community. After a few hours here I head back to the library, crossing the thresholds I mentioned earlier on my way out. My afternoon continues at the library but generally also includes a trip over to Town Hall to turn in bills, receipts and more. At that point I cross
10. The one from the front of the library to the sidewalk and then the one into Town Hall. And that makes 10+!

This was a fun way to think about how I move about during the day and I hope you agree. If you wrote a post for today be sure and click the link below to share it with everyone. And if you’d like to receive the weekly Ten on Tuesday email then please click here.

Today’s Ten on Tuesday topic is one that will be slightly different for everyone – the assignment was to write 10 things about a piece of furniture that you own. I chose to write about my kitchen table and so, here are 10 Things About My Kitchen Table.

1. It first belonged to Dale’s grandparents. I am extremely honored that we are the 3rd generation to have this kitchen table.
2. It has burn marks on it from Dale’s grandmother’s coffee pot. I find this terribly charming.
3. There is supposed to be a drawer but it fell apart years ago and Dale has never gotten around to building a new one. I do wish he would, though.
4. It is the place where we ate dinner with the kids every night when they all lived here with us. I couldn’t even tell you how many times I have set a dish of baked macaroni and cheese on that table. Or a platter of chicken. Or a simple grilled cheese sandwich.
5. When Hannah was little she spilled her milk on this table. Every single night.
6. One night I sat at this table with my good friend Sharon and we drank wine and dyed yarn. We spilled some of the dye on the table and the stains are still there. I love those stains and the memory that goes along with them.
7. It is where I roll out pie crust. I always think of my mother when I do this and then I think of Dale’s grandmother and wonder how many pie crusts she rolled out on this table, too.
8. It is where we put the mail when it’s waiting to be sorted. It’s where Dale leaves the newspaper until he has read it.
9. It has a basket of fruit in the center. Usually there are bananas, often there are limes, and occasionally there are other things like avocados, apples and whatever other fruit is seasonal and on sale.
10. It is scarred and gouged and imperfect and I wouldn’t trade it for a shiny new table for anything.

I hope you all enjoyed this topic – I really loved thinking about my kitchen table and what it means to me and my family. As Ali Edwards said in the post that inspired this topic, the things we own are pieces of our stories.

If you wrote a post for today be sure and click the link below to share it with everyone. And if you’d like to receive the weekly Ten on Tuesday email then please click here.

I kind of can’t believe we haven’t already done this week’s topic. I searched, though, and it didn’t come up so I’m going ahead with it. And if we have done it and I’ve forgotten, well, don’t burst my bubble and tell me because I’m so excited to share my 10 Favorite Summer Side Dishes with you. And here they are:

1. Potato salad. The old-fashioned kind with onion, celery and hard boiled eggs.
2. Macaroni Salad. I like mine best with tuna, celery and black olives.
3. Red White & Blueberry Salad. I made this last weekend and it was delicious!
4. Grilled Summer Squash. Truly my favorite way to have it, much to Dale’s disappointment since he likes it boiled until it’s a soggy, yellow mess.
5. Three Bean Salad. Follow that there link for the recipe I use.
6. Corn on the Cob. Only, only, only when it’s native, though.
7. Sliced Cucumbers with vinegar and cracked black pepper. This is a perfect summer treat.
8. Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos. You know the ones I mean, right? Pioneer Woman makes them and they are so good!
9. Layered Salad. I haven’t made this in ages but there was a time, back in the late 80s, when I made it for every summer event we attended. All I can remember now is that it had peas and cheese and hardboiled eggs.
10. Greek salad. I love a big ole bowl of lettuce with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and lots of feta cheese.

How about you? What do you like to serve as side dishes in the summer? If you wrote a post for today be sure and click the link below to share it with everyone. And if you’d like to receive the weekly Ten on Tuesday email then please click here.

We’ve got a major holiday coming at the end of this week – Independence Day aka The 4th of July. I love what this day represents and I’m looking forward to it, not just as a day off from work, but as a day to celebrate America. Here are my 10 Ideas for the 4th of July:

1. Wear red, white & blue. I have a great hat that work for this purpose.
2. Decorate for the holiday – pinwheels and American flags and buntings and more! I love patriotic decor.
3. Watch the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest. This is a tradition for me – sure hope Joey Chestnut holds on to that Mustard Belt.
4. Watch a parade. Dale’s band always participates in the parade in Plymouth – America’s Hometown and that’s perfect for this particular holiday.
5. Make this cake.
6. Go to a cook out. Hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and – if you’re lucky and it’s ready early enough – native corn.
7. Light sparklers. Take photos of your friends swirling them through the air.
8. Oooh and aaaaaa over the fireworks. This one is mandatory.
9. Make a blueberry pie and use stars for the top crust.
10. Think about what it means to be an American. The politics of late are crap but still, I consider myself fortunate to live in this country and I will celebrate our Independence Day accordingly.

I hope you all have a great 4th of July! Click on the link below to share your list and click here to subscribe to the weekly Ten on Tuesday emails.

Birthdays are a wonderful thing, aren’t they? As we get older, though, they can be a reminder of our own mortality and other not-so-pleasant things. I’m all for focusing on the positive, however, and having more birthdays is better than the alternative, if you know what I mean. The months of June and July are crazy with birthdays are my house and it’s always fun to find new ways to celebrate and that’s why this week’s Ten on Tuesday topic is 10 Ways to Wish Someone a Happy Birthday.

1. Let’s do the obvious one first: say it and give them a kiss. This is my most favorite way to extend birthday wishes.
2. If they are too far away for a kiss then a text is nice. It’s also nice to take the time to make the text extra special like this: * H*A*P*P*Y* *B*I*R*T*H*D*A*Y*
3. Bake a cake. Find out their favorite flavor first (mine is vanilla in case you want to know) and if they aren’t into cake then I strongly believe in birthday pie as well.
4. Put post-it notes in places where they will find them throughout the day. On the medicine cabinet, in their coffee cup, on their steering wheel, in the book they are reading and on and on.
5. Write birthday wishes on their Facebook wall. I love getting all those messages from friends on my birthday and I think it’s a great public declaration of birthday love.
6. If you want to go really public then put an ad in the local newspaper. This is especially appropriate for those big birthday years.
7. Create a photo album of the birthday person over the years.
8. Create a playlist of their favorite songs and secretly load it on their iPhone or MP3 player.
9. Get a big bouquet of birthday balloons. I love balloons, they are so festive and cheery. I have terrible luck getting them home, however, so this isn’t something I would probably do.
10. Learn to say happy birthday in a foreign language – maybe even the language of their heritage. Happy Birthday in Swedish is : grattis på födelsedagen!

However you say it, make sure you do because birthdays are special and they should be recognized! If you wrote a post for today please include your link below and if you’d like to receive the weekly Ten on Tuesday email then please click here.