This time of year means good and fresh eating. And I just love it. Despite an incredibly busy day, I was hellbent on making a marvelous dinner tonight, and it was worth the effort (and the come to jesus with the children about how I am not their servant, not least because I'm unpaid; heh; #parentalwinning #seriously) to sit down to this spread.

These are the best baked beans: Five kinds of beans, bacon, onions, molasses...these are a hot, saucy mess of goodness.

All delicious, plenty of leftovers, and seriously, the talk with the kids was very good.

More on that later, but I want to thank you all -those of you who commented here, elsewhere on social media and directly to me- for your thoughtful responses to and in support of my pieces on the massacre in Charleston. Change will take so many of us, and together our voices are stronger and louder.