RC Tractor Pull

Another Saturday, another tractor pull. This one was the local redneck/country gathering and mom and I volunteered to help with ticket sales at the entrance. We were able to watch Bryan and the guys pull his farm tractor early on in the day before showing up for our shift during the truck pull part. 

This was the day before the pull looking down at the track from up on the hill where we were taking tickets.

During the pull you can see the crowd of vehicles that came in.

The lights were on and the pull continued well into the night.

Bryan pulling his tractor (rare-usually others drive it and he watches).

Bryan's tractor (easy to spot because of the missing headlight--he is into function, not decoration).

Panorama of the guys smoothing out the track after a pull: they do this after each go at it since the tires of the tractor/truck tend to dig into the dirt towards the end of the pull.

A storm blew around us. We got a lot of wind and a few drops of water for a little while but nothing major.

Sporting my cooling towel (a true lifesaver!) during the windy afternoon.

Mom & I working on our flip flop tans while we manned the entrance.

The sky and subsequent sunset that evening was spectacular! My phone was not able to capture the true beauty.

Examples of other types of tractors and trucks that participate. Bryan's is considered a "farm" tractor, while there are other classes that are obviously souped-up tractors not used to do actual dirty work. Some trucks look like this pretty fuchsia one, but others look like the ones you see on the road: normal but jacked up. 

Bryan came in 1st in all 4 weights his tractor pulled in :)

Little Free Library

I've mentioned seeing Little Free Libraries around New Orleans when I lived there and even said I was going to put some books in one but that never happened and I never actually stopped to look inside one of the book houses. Shame on me! So when I noticed one in Lexington I made a point to check it out. 

This guy is located in the Lime Kiln Bridge Park near Woods Creek. I didn't find any titles that caught my eye but now I know where to check every so often and I can drop some books off there too!!

A variety of genres including children's books, mysteries, text books, and romance novels were available for the taking.

Whole Foods...I've Missed You

It has been over three months since I last stepped foot inside a Whole Foods Market. Before living in New Orleans I had never visited the upscale grocery chain but it quickly became a staple in my life with three locations within easy driving distance of my Uptown house. Little ol' Lexington doesn't have a Whole Foods so when mom and I went to Charlottesville on Saturday we made a point to stop in so I could grab some of my favorites!

This particular store had a pasta bar (none of the NOLA ones have this option) that looked amazing!!

This HUGE Jack Fruit in the produce section caught my eye right off the bat! I have never seen one before, nor tried it. 

I spotted some familiar product in the chocolate section...

While they did not have my turkey loaf (meat loaf made with turkey instead of beef...yum!) or some of the other prepared foods I used to buy, I stocked up on a few items before heading out. Charlottesville is definitely on my radar of places to consider for my next move...

Homemade Ice Cream

Before our bunch of ripe bananas turned to the point of no return we smashed them up and made ice cream out of them on Sunday! Twas an adventure indeed. Choosing to live on the wild side, we concocted the mix without a true recipe. After watching the machine spin and churn the mix into a semi-frozen state we sampled our sweet treat. Unfortunately it was lacking on the "sweet" part a bit... so I hand stirred some additional sugar and vanilla extract in making it more palatable. Dad gave his bowl a drizzle of caramel sauce and I crushed up an oatmeal cookie into mine. It isn't terrible, but I wouldn't attempt to make this again without a recipe that has been vouched for!

I think I'm going to make some coconut streusel to mix in to give it some extra oomph! At least we have the cutest little bowls to eat the ice cream out of :)

Parts Runner

As the gopher for Bryan's business I have been zipping up and down the interstate a decent amount recently. Roanoke/Troutville, Harrisonburg/Dayton. To pass the time as I travel north and south I listen to podcasts, NPR, recent tunes on my phone, and I broke out my CD collection for nostalgia's sake. 

A mixed disc created by Brie. 

I've found lots of gems I had forgotten about through listening to my mixed CDs!

Kiwi Twist, Redbull's summer flavor, wasn't half bad though I think I'll stick with the sugar free variety.

While stopped in a traffic jam I spotted this colorful trailer on I-81. 

I could never be a full-time trucker (I get too antsy for all of that sitting), but an hour or two in the car isn't terrible.

Full Rainbow

Caught a full rainbow in Fairfield yesterday!

Another, more faint one can be seen to the left.

Red Sky At Night...

Just an awesome sunset after the rain Monday night...