“Because a life without anything good is bad.”

-Taken from a Van Leeuwen Limited Edition French Ice Cream container – Walmart Clearance Yes indeed, that summer peach crisp ice cream was very, very good. And well it should be, as it was 300 calories for the 2/3 cup serving size. Did you know that often you can tell just how rich and creamy an ice cream product can be by looking at the calorie count per serving? A lot of the ice creams come in at about 175 calories or so per serving but the 300 calories is getting to the top of being the richest. The churned ice cream has lots of air put in it so that naturally will show a lower calorie count per serving. You can also look at the ingredients listing and see what are the first several ingredients. The first item listed is what the product has the most of. A lot of ice creams do not even have cream in them. There is a lot of decisions to be made if you are shopping for an ice cream beyond the kind you usually get. You could spend a good part of your shopping trip just going through that section of the freezer department. Does anyone ever eat just the serving size listed? After all, 2/3 of a cup can be just a few big bites! With the weather heating up, we need to be sure we have enough on hand to cool down. Okay, I know water will also work, but ice cream just seems like more fun.

Daughter Nissa was home for a week and we did trips to S.R. Harris Fabrics and Stitchville USA for necessary supplies. I could probably still be at S.R. Harris looking at what must be millions of yards of fabric and supplies. We did join the vacation crowd and went “north” to a place called BugBee Hive Resort by Paynesville, MN to spend 3 days. My family had their annual vacation there and since they have been doing this type of vacation for years, they had all the bases well covered. (At first I thought they were joking when I heard the name but it turned out it was for real and there were bees all over the place.)This year it was six females and one male human and one girl dog in attendance. Niece Danielle was the driver of the truck pulling the pontoon and then also became its operator once it was put in the water. Let's just say that the tying up of the pontoon to the dock was very creative but it did the job of keeping it there. It's possible new knots were created. We totally did not go hungry! The vehicles and pontoon were packed with supplies to last well beyond the week (Nissa and I did 3 days) that was spent on site.

The town of Paynesville was just a few miles away and several supply trips were made (one does need to support local) and I made a few purchases at a local antique shop. My main treasure was a very large chandelier that was once in a Brainerd movie house. It was hanging from the ceiling so I was kind enough to say I would come back in 2 days to pick it up. I was lucky enough that it was probably the only thing in the whole store that was 50 percent off and I really did not want to see how they were going to get it down. I am hoping that Neighbor Tony will help me get it working and installed in the barn's party area.

The local Farm Market has opened and will continue to be open on all Saturdays and Tuesdays until the end of October. It's just off Highway 55 at the Westview Shopping area. Rhubarb is probably the king of this time period so be sure to stop by early to get some. Having friends who have extra rhubarb is also a very good thing at this time of year. (June, I know you will let others have your share.)

A lot of the spring magazines have rhubarb recipes if you are not real sure what to do with it or just want to try something new. Google recipes for nut topped strawberry rhubarb muffins, rhubarb scones, creamy rhubarb potato salad, and rhubarb custard bars. Also remember you can freeze rhubarb and make some of these goodies at a later date. Happy baking and eating!