happy august friends!
we are headed up to the lake tonight for a long weekend. i will be back on monday with some photos of our adventures.
hop on over to tend tomorrow for my garden post!
have a lovely weekend! xo
our neighbors are away this week and have asked us to house sit.
you know the usual. take in the mail, water the plants, feed the cats and oh yeah, pick and eat as many figs off of their tree as we like!
oh yes!
they are so beautiful and so delicious fresh off of the tree.
i have been revolving our weekly menus around figs.
tonight i made a simple dessert by cutting the figs in half, coating them in sugar and caramelizing them in a skillet.
after they cooled down a bit i then added a huge dollop of greek yogurt on top.
so delish!!!
if my living room could talk it might say…
i am counting down the days until autumn, when you will all come back to me.
i miss you.
i am a bit envious of the back porch and patio.
but i know soon it will wish to be me when it is covered in leaves and then snow.
i do appreciate your little visits as you pass through, water a plant, pull a game from a drawer, dust the mantle, choose a book from the shelf and vacuum the rug.
as my windows reflect a different kind of light and the night air turns crisp i know that soon you will be back to play games and make music, to drink tea and hot chocolate by the fire.
i miss your laughter, your conversation and your books and papers scattered on the floor.
yes i am counting down the days.
you will be here soon.
chris took a forging class this summer and has been having fun creating with steel and wood.
he came up with these beautiful bottle openers this week.
the fish one is for his dad, an avid fisherman.
some of these will be part of a collection that he is working on.
stay tuned!
a little tour of the garden over at tend.
we’ve developed a new summer olympic sport.
cherry tomato catapult.
shoot tomato directly into team member’s mouth.
the team who consumes the most wins!
i got that canner for my 23rd birthday.
during my farming apprenticeship years i had learned how to put up food.
i remember how excited i was to have my very own canner.
one year i canned salsa in a water bath before i had received the pressure canner.
that winter i opened up a jar to taste with my mom.
i had used garlic in the salsa and had read that it could cause botulism in goods that were improperly canned.
so of course that was in the back of my mind as we were eating it.
after a few bites, my mom and i looked at each other and at the same time asked “do you feel funny?”
we started panicking and swore we were to drop over dead.
i frantically looked up botulism in the encyclopedia (we didn’t even have a computer back then!!)
every symptom we read, we had!!
my dad walked in and just rolled his eyes and said we were creating the symptoms and that it was all in our heads.
he was right.
my mom and i still laugh about it.
it didn’t keep me from canning. though i did ask for a pressure canner for my birthday that year.
that canner has sealed many jars since.
i haven’t used it in a few years but have planned a canning party for thursday with a few friends.
i unearthed all the supplies and am ready to go.
tomatoes and pickles here we come!
today i even scored a huge wooden shelf in someone’s trash for storing all of our goods in the basement.
and while on vacation at the lake i found that ironstone fruit jar funnel at an antique store.
working on a new banner
last night chris and norah headed to the beach for a few days.
hannah and i stayed home due to a birthday party.
today my girl and i had the morning together.
we slept in and then headed to our local arboretum.
we picked (and ate) loads of cherry tomatoes at the farm.
we went out for a bite to eat and then finished up at the shoe store for a new pair of chuck taylors.
i love every minute i get spend with her.
if i was 10 years old again i would want her as my best friend.
she kept thanking me for a great day.
i just watched her run off in her new chucks to a crabfest with friends.
sometimes i get sad when i think there may come a time soon where she may not want to spend time together like we did today.
it’s all good i know.
but for now i’ll soak up whatever i can get.
yep, i’m back into the swing of things.
i feel like myself again and have pushed through the vacation fog.
i’m focused and ready for the next season.
sometimes the onset of fall feels like a whole new year is ahead.
i feel like writing a new list of resolutions.
like back to school.
a new pencil case, new erasers, a backpack, new classes and teachers.
i’m ready for some new things in my life.