creating space for beauty & simplicity
is it really friday already?
wow that week flew by.
i bought this today and am over the moon excited about it!
i wrote a little post about rooting plants in water today over at TEND.
i made a peach/plum/raspberry crumble to bring to a neighbor’s tonight.
we have a swim party tomorrow.
and a barbeque on sunday.
what are your weekend plans?
some things that make me smile….
::earl came to my bedroom window for the first time yesterday morning. i guess i need to keep a jar of nuts by my bedside. he has been bringing a lady friend around lately. we named her pearl. i think chris and i may be grandparents soon:)
::we are headed to the lake on thursday to visit friends for a long weekend and then we will head back up in a few weeks for a week long stay.
::tomatoes are coming in strong from the farm and i find myself eating something tomato-y at every meal.
::harry has found many new friends in our neighborhood and has doggy playdates almost every day. yesterday he spent the morning in a neighbor’s backyard playing with his buddy burt, a standard poodle. he came home pooped.
::swim team is over as well as camp and we now have the rest of the summer to just be before the busy fall schedule arrives.
::the heat has broken (for now) and i am a much happier camper. the forecast is sunny and 70s with no humidity for the next week and i am doing a jig!
::the attic project is close to complete. it is beautiful and bright and gets the best light in the house. i sit up there every morning and take it all in before it will soon be hannah’s space and i will have to step back a bit.
::norah and i have been dreaming up some plans for her room re-do.
it’s been hot and humid which makes me grumpy.
i wish i had more tolerance for the heat.
you would think that i would have accepted by now that summer is just hot around these parts.
i have not been out in the garden much, although it is looking happy thanks to all of the rain we have had.
we have been eating lots of tomato sandwiches, smoothies, homemade popsicles, watermelon and snack bar food at swim meets. i don’t think i have turned the stove on in almost a week. thank goodness for the food processor.
we have been going for either a late night swim or taking an ice cold shower just before bed each night to cool down.
but aside from all of that, summer has been good to us. really good.
:: chris makes a few jars of sun tea every other day in old pickle jars.
:: harry is adjusting beautifully and goes where ever we go. his breed is known for adapting well to an active family. he plays hard and sleeps hard like all of us.
:: earl still continues to stop by for a few nuts. i saw him playing with two other squirrels this morning, circling the big maple tree in my neighbor’s yard.
:: today we make pickles from an overabundant crop of cucumbers. i harvested loads of dill flowers from the farm last night to top each jar.
:: i miss the cicadas. i have hardly heard their song this summer.
:: i am counting down the days until we head to the lake. it’s my reward for getting through the dog days of summer.
meet harry!
a white dog with black spots like this fellow.
we are smitten.
he’s a coton de tulear.
and a lovebug.
he’s a 4 month old pup and a perfect mix of playful, friendly and mellow.
the girls have been begging us for a year now for a dog.
i always just said no with excuses like our house is too small. norah and i have allergies. too much time. too much money.
but luckily their persistence got me thinking more about it and we started to do some research on breeds and what kind of pup might fit well with our family.
well we found him and i can’t even believe just how perfect he fits in.
it’s like he has always been here.
my new favorite way to enjoy summer fruits (other than just eating them fresh from the fields) is filling hand pies with them.
i love the simplicity of this recipe and the ease of bringing them along to a picnic or party without worrying about plates and forks.
and they make the perfect breakfast. a homemade pop tart!
summer fruit hand pies
makes about 15 pies
dough
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
filling
your favorite summer fruits cut up or whole mixed with sugar and lemon zest
whisk together flour, soda and powder. with electric mixer beat butter and sugar til fluffy. add egg cream cheese and vanilla until well combined. add flour mixture and beat until smooth. form dough into ball and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
pull out dough. on lightly floured board roll into 4 1/2 inch rounds and about 1/8 inch thick. transfer rounds on parchment lined baking sheet to freezer for 30 minutes.
pull out dough rounds and let stand at room temperature for a few minutes. spoon a tablespoon of filling onto one half of round and brush edges with water. fold round in half and fork around edge to seal. repeat with rest of rounds and transfer pies to freezer for 30 minutes.
preheat oven to 375 degrees. pull out pies and sprinkle evenly with sugar. bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. cool on wire rack.
serve warm or at room temperature.
enjoy!
i know i’ve told you before but i just love my neighborhood.
many traditions have been formed here over the years that we hold near and dear to our hearts.
i love thinking of my girls carrying them all with them wherever they may go.
one of our favorites is our neighborhood fourth of july party.
our neighbor travels to new hampshire to buy an amazing selection of fireworks each year.
we host a big potluck and then at dark the show begins.
people from all over town come out to see the festivities.
good hometown fun.
nothing is more entertaining than watching my hens take a bath. a dust bath that is, the ultimate spa treatment for a chicken
they dig a shallow hole, loosen up the dirt and toss it up letting it fall in between their feathers and skin.
this little ritual helps keep them clean of lice and parasites.
it also seems to be a social and relaxing event.
once one starts a bath the others soon follow till they are all dirty and happy.
when they are finished they all hop up shake off the dirt and begin preening and cleaning their feathers.
i read that fireplace ash makes for good bath dust. now i can save my winter ashes for my roses AND my hens.
call me weird but i just love to sit and watch their quirky little ways.
it’s better than tv!
it’s been very rainy here. there has been a thunderstorm almost every day for the last two weeks.
but there are little respites here and there to weed, go for a walk and we even got to romp on the beach for an entire day on saturday.
we are hoping there will be a break on thursday for some fireworks, friday for some berry picking and then on saturday for a pond party.
i don’t seem to mind the rain and clouds all that much. must be my irish roots.
i do appreciate not having to water the garden. things are really happy out there.
my houseplants even got to enjoy as they went on a little summer vaca the past few days to drink up the rains.
you can’t really see our living room floor as it’s covered in board games.
and we’re going to the movies tomorrow.
life has been busy.
our new project is almost complete on the outside but still has a bit of interior work to be done.
our gardens are lush and jungle like from the extremely rainy spring we have had.
the weather has been gorgeous as of late with no humidity and crisp cool nights.
earl the squirrel continues to visit us daily for nuts.
the other day the contractors had the back door propped open. i came down to find earl in the kitchen to say good morning.
he’s part of the family now.
p.s. many of you have mentioned or written that you can no longer read or make comments. because things have shifted a bit here and are still in transition you may not have noticed that you just need to click on the title (which is now the date at the top of each post) and it will then lead you to the individual post where you can comment at the bottom.
don’t be shy!!!
