August in Manassas

Ball-Mason aqua-blue jar 

heirloom tomatoes

mom's colorful deck 

clouds of lavender crape myrtle's 

ready for marketing

manassas water tower, caboose and gazebo

manassas train station

farmers market stand

This past week we have had very nice weather in the Washington DC region with unusually dry cool air for August. This unseasonable air continues to make being outside and having the windows open all day and night pleasant. Last week, visiting my mother in Manassas, we took some excursions which were fun in this unusual summer weather. The Farmer's market and antique shops in Manassas topped our list. The downtown Manassas  farmers market is held two days a week and it is now under a very large pavilion.  Last time we visited this market it was under the hot sun on a black asphalt next to the train station.  Now the market is in the beautiful pavilion shaded from the sun and full of fresh farm produce on the other side of the train tracks. We came home with some pretty tomatoes. I love the sweet and tart taste of the zebra green striped tomatoes which is almost citrus. Later that afternoon when we were antiquing at White Horse Antiques, I found a Ball-Mason aqua blue canning jar. It holds half a gallon and has a glass lined zinc lid which used to have a red rubber ring seal These jars always remind me of my grandmother's basement shelves. Those shelves were usually full of canned goods but only a few of those had the same aqua color in this extra large size. Those stood out in my childhood memory because they were so colorful and rare. Grandma didn't use them anymore because she couldn't get the red rings to seal them up safely.  Last week I had been dreaming about those blue canning jars and thinking I might like to have one to store walnuts for my cereal before I spotted this one. Knowing the ones in my grandmother's basement might be hard to get, or worse yet gone completely, I was delighted to buy one of my own that I brought home to use straight away.

When I visit Manassas, in good weather, I sit on the deck first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee. There I write my daily morning pages, a type of artists journal I have been keeping for many years. Growing on the deck this year mom has showy red and white caladiums and reliable orange-red begonias in flower pots and boxes.  A moon flower vine and a couple red Rothschild lilies grow in one pot; we are waiting to see if they bloom. Not far away from the deck, in a massive cloud of blooms, are the tall lavender crepe myrtles that were planted back in the 1960's. The deck is a nice place to have a quiet moment outdoors, away from the street and the hot sun, where birds sing and big trees shade the seating.