Monday, July 27, 2015

Summer Blues and a Recipe for Blueberry Crisp


I love the sea, 
so I brought in some beautiful blues
 to remind me of lovely 
summer days spent at the shore. 


Blue and white stripes have 
a wonderful 'beachy' vibe, 
and here I have found some 
woven napkins to add 
to my 'new' vintage wire basket. 

Blue hydrangeas remind 
me of seaside cottage gardens
with weathered picket fences. 

The blue striped crock
 was a gift from my daughter. 


Pillow covers sewn from 
vintage sheets and a softly worn 
 quilt give the daybed 
a summery update. 


Thrift store paintings provide
a 'view'. 

I painted the unattractive brown wood frames. 


I simply 'shopped' my home
to gather all things blue. 


I recently found this pretty paper covered box. 
A thrifty find. 


The 1950's kitchen gadgets
are fun to display. 

The bottle opener comes in handy
on a hot summer day! 


The box holds my garden notebooks where 
I jot down things I want to remember ....


My pathetically empty wine rack
is the perfect place to add some
pretty colored glass. 

The stained glass was a recent thrifty find. 
I think it was $6.00! 
The cobalt bottles were my Mom's. 



The seltzer bottle was a gift from my son. 


The tiny blown glass pitcher and bromo-seltzer 
bottle were also my Mom's. I remember these
from my childhood. She always kept them 
on her kitchen windowsill. 

They frequently held bouquets of wildflowers
brought in by little hands. 
(I was the eldest of 5 daughters)

The marbles were found digging in the garden
in my children's former play area.  


Another recent vintage find - this Anchor Hocking
measuring cup.
It has wonderfully thick, heavy glass
and it adds a little touch of blue. 


A book of inspiration - published in 2001
by the editors of Victoria Magazine. 


A favorite page. 


This is where I always sit. 


Won't you join me for some Blueberry Crisp and tea? 

Here's the recipe:

Blueberry Crisp

Bake in a 9x13 in. buttered baking dish
 @ 350 degrees for 10 min. 
Reduce temperature to 325 degrees
and continue baking 1 hour. 
****
Toss 8 cups blueberries with 
   1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour,
and the juice of 1 lemon. 

Pour into a buttered baking dish. 

Topping:

Mix together
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon

With pastry blender, 
cut in 1 cup cold butter
(2 sticks)
cut into pieces. 

Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over blueberries.

Bake. 

This will keep for several days, 
 loosely covered with plastic wrap,
in the refrigerator. 
This recipe can be halved
and baked in a 9 inch square pan. 

Enjoy! 

xoxo

Friday, July 24, 2015

Summer Days


Walks in the woods....


Puttering at the potting bench.....


Beachy decorating....


Strawberry shortcake.....

(with blueberry corn muffins)

 1 pkg. (8.5 oz) Jiffy corn muffin mix
1/2 cup sour cream (or a little more if dry)
1 egg
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries. 

Mix together lightly

Bake 20 minutes @ 375 degrees. 
Makes 6 muffins



And beautiful sunsets. 

Five things I love about summer! 

What are your favorite things? 

xoxo

Today I am linking with: Love Made My Home - Five on Friday

Won't you join in?

xoxo

Monday, July 20, 2015

Dog Days of Summer


It was extremely hot here
over the weekend, after a 
long week of hot and dry weather. 


This is the temperature gauge
yesterday around 11 a.m. 


I thought it might be wrong, 
so I checked the electronic one
inside! 
There was no mistake.....
it was 104 degrees in the shade! 


Maggie found a cool place in the shade. 

She is my 'senior' pet - 17 years old! 

She is a good mouser, but lately
she has been bringing in frogs! 


Living in the country, we are always
rescuing something.....

This frog found a new home in my planter
on the deck. They like the porch lights
and we find them fat and happy in the morning
after eating all the offerings. 


Our new little dog, Kai, is settling in to life 
in the country quite well. 

He is so full of fun, love, and energy, 
but is also very mischievous! 

Here he is in a rare, quiet moment. 
He missed his former master terribly
for a long time, and every evening
he waited for him to return
by the gate. 

It broke my heart, but time and love
have healed his sorrow
and now he is having the time of his life! 


He has bonded with Whitey Bear and 
the two of them do everything together. 


Here, Whitey Bear leads the way....


You can see how happy they are together! 


Poor Whitey Bear went into depression
after losing his pal, Champ, in January. 

He lost interest in life and gained some weight
from lying around so much. 

It is so gratifying to see him excited about 
life once more, with his new friend
by his side. 


They keep us entertained! 

American Eskimo dogs are also excellent watch dogs! 


Which is important to me because
Ramblin' Man frequently travels
on business. 


During these hot, dry days I have been spending
all my free time watering to keep things alive. 

Kai loves to play in the spray! 
Whitey - not so much- but every day I hose 
them down to keep them cool. 

Whitey's fur is especially thick. 


Did I tell you that Kai was mischievous? :)


Luckily, we have plenty of space
for hole digging! 

(We have a mole in the yard...)


What? 
A little dirt never hurt anyone! 


All cleaned up and playing with his toys. 

Can you see that mischievous look on his face? 



Sometimes I think he is actually an arctic fox
that somehow got passed off as a dog. Ha ha! 

He has the funniest little growl and 
a hysterical, high pitched bark. 

Just like a wild fox. 


But he has stolen our hearts,
wild or not. 


He gets along fine with everyone,
including the 'cousins', 
Peanut and Weenie Baby.


They are frequent house-guests when 
my daughter needs a pet-sitter. 


Although, Ling-Ling is not quite so sure.....

Here she is hiding in an empty water bottle case
in the closet. 


Birdy Boy stays high above the fray.

My little cockatiel is another senior pet - 16 years -
almost as old as Maggie!



Adopting a new pet always has challenges, 
but the hope was that Whitey Bear would 
accept Kai as a friend. 


We are so happy to say this is true! 

xoxo

Thank you, Dear Friends for your sweet
and caring visits. 

I especially want to thank you for 
your wonderful, sharing comments
on my recent post, ' On Family, Faith and Friends'. 

Caring and sharing is what makes
blogging so wonderful! 
 xoxo

'I wouldn't give much for the boy
'at grows up
With no friendship subsistin'
'tween him an' a pup!' 

- Eugene Field -
  


Thursday, July 16, 2015

A Country Drive with Good Fences


The fields are golden near the foothills
of the Cascade Mountains. 

It is has been very hot and dry 
with no measurable rain
since early May. 

This is very unusual. 




Fire danger is extremely high
and everyone is a little on edge.

With tall, dry timber framing parched 
fields, things can quickly 
get out of control. 



Many small brush fires have 
broken out in the Puget Sound region
(as we are called here on the western side 
of the Cascade mountains of Washington State), 
but thankfully they have been quickly 
extinguished by our brave firefighters. 

We are so grateful for them! 



With moody skies and tawny grasses, 
come along and we'll take a mid-summer's 
drive along the country roads
near my home. 

Here a circular exercise pen
for horses, is neatly 
framed with shrubs and fencing. 


A newly blacktopped stretch of road 
leads through open grassland 
towards the Cascades. 

White rail fencing underlines
the view. 


After the silo, the road 
bends sharply to the right. 

There is a large sign
preventing you from going left. 
It says,  'Absolutely No Trespassing!'
with a high locked gate and many 
stern warnings of consequence. 
I believe it is a natural gas pipeline. 


This beautiful farm sits just beyond 
with miles of white board fencing. 


Further along, a horse farm 
with four rails instead of three. 


The Cascade Mountains come into view 
once again. 
Normally, Mt. Rainier dominates
the skyline, but today it is 
hidden among the clouds. 


This is the route my Mr. takes back 
and forth to the office and 
is also the road to my eldest daughter's home. 

This is the 'back way'. 
Not a soul on the road but me! 

It's beautiful on a warm, summer day, 
but it is quite another story
on a cold, dark, rainy night! 


A few happy cows! 


Pumpkins and cornstalks growing at the local pumpkin patch. 


A patchwork road along the corn fields. 


A big new barn under construction
on this farm. 
Mt. Rainier is the usual view, 
but not today. 


A low, boggy area remains green. 


A pretty little cottage as we drive through town. 
(Sorry for the glare!)


A close-up of a beautiful garden 
back-lit by the late afternoon sunshine. 


Miniature Donkeys as we get closer to home. 


Almost home. 
Farm equipment and cattle in the field. 


All roads are dead ends. 

The main road ends at a rushing glacial river
half a mile ahead. 
This river is protected for salmon. 
Beyond that lies hundreds of miles of wilderness
all the way to Mt. Rainier and beyond. 


We turn right off the 'main' road, 
put my gray Ford Ranger in 
2nd gear, and climb to the top
of my little mountain. 

Large boulders,
 excavated when the road was built, 
 sit to the left. 

This road is impassable in snow
without 4 wheel drive and studded tires. 


Home Sweet Home. 


Thank you for coming along on this ride 
with me, Dear Friends! 


This journey just wouldn't be the same without you! 

xoxo

Today I am linking with:
Run*A*Round Ranch Report - Good Fences

Won't you join in? 
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