As you can tell I have been hibernating these days.
I have been feeling quiet but our days have been abundant and full of all of the wonderful activities and traditions that bring summer to a close and welcome the beginning of autumn.
A Good Day
Lemon Meringue Pie
the annual harvest fest at the farm took place today.
it was beautiful day and we had a great turnout.
one of the highlights of the event every year is the pie bake off.
hannah and norah both wanted to enter a pie this year.
they wanted to try something totally new and something that would knock the socks off of the judges.
they paged through our martha stewart pies and tarts cookbook and decided on a mile high lemon meringue pie.
after a long day of setting up for the event i admit i was in no mood to bake especially something i had never made before. but the girls kept persisting and so i gave in.
we turned on some music and began to squeeze some lemons.
hannah kept asking me “isn’t this fun mom?”
when we pulled the finished pie out of the broiler with it’s browned peaks of meringue it was a proud moment.
our pie did not win the contest but none of us seemed to mind.
making the pie was a prize in itself.
and it was pretty darn tasty too!
turns out it really was fun, hannah.
A Visit with Nan and Pop
yesterday morning i was in my grandparents neighborhood running errands and as busy as i was i just had to stop by.
nan made me a cup of tea and we sat and the three of us sat and chatted for a bit in the breakfast room.
i left with a few tomatoes from their garden and a pocketful of peppermint patties.
words cannot express how much i love these two and not a day goes by where i don’t appreciate having them around.
at 89 years old the both of them are still going strong.
the rest of my day felt a little brighter as i carried their energy along with me.
i love all of the memories i have spending time together and how so many things remind me of them….
nan
+ a cup of tea
+ peppermint patties
+ rosary beads
+ garage sales
+ st. jude oil
+ butterscotch candies
+ lavender
+ hankies
+ the trolley
+ worry stones
pop
+ sawdust
+ cough drops
+ baseball caps
+ yellow salve
+ hard pretzels
+ plaid buttondowns
+ the blessed mother
+ cherry pie
+ life savers
+ am radio
A Weekend at the Shore-room
this past weekend was our annual september get away to cape may point.
my sister, nephew, my mom and the girls and i all squeezed in to our little shore room.
it was a bit cramped but cozy and most of our time was spent outdoors.
it was a lovely way to ring in autumn with absolutely gorgeous weather.
the air was cool and crisp but the salt water was warm, making for long beach days.
we sustained ourselves with picnics of hard boiled eggs, salmon, fruit and fresh cob oven bread baked just around the corner.
my mom treated us to dinner at the blue pig on friday night and lunch at the red store on saturday.
we made our way in to town for some organic homemade ice cream and a visit to the whales tale a shop that brings back many childhood memories.
the monarch butterflies have begun their migration to new mexico and cape may point is one of their major rest stops. we were able to see the beginnings of this journey.
we spent our last day on the beach romping in the ocean and playing in the sand. when the clock struck we hung our heads and trudged back to pack up camp.
we stopped by the red store for french madeleines and coffee and sang all the way home.
The Great Media Garage Sale
we had a fun time today selling at the great media garage sale.
our street was a wall to wall yard sale and it was great fun meeting new people and seeing old friends as they stopped by to peruse and chat.
we sold a bunch of things and gave lots of tours of our backyard too.
i wasn’t much in the mood this year to look around. but i did buy two sweet hand made appliqued pillows made by my neighbor’s daughter to give to the girls for christmas.
the highlight of my day was meeting a blog reader and her lovely family who stopped by to say hi (and even buy a few things).
it was so nice to meet you tracey. i am so glad your husband said something;)
Fall is in the Air
ahhhh september, my favorite month!
i,m wearing suede loafers and a jean jacket and there is white bean kale soup simmering on the stove.
there is so much i love about summer but fall truly makes me happy.
:: last weekend was full of parties and barbeques and a crab fest. I threw my 100 year old neighbor a birthday party on sunday and served iced tea, lemonade, tea sandwiches, deviled eggs and lots of sweets. can you believe i did not take one photograph!! i’m so mad at myself.
:: the media garage sale day is this coming weekend and we have lots to sell. i also have my eye out for a few things. it’s one of my favorite days of the year. hundreds of garage and yard sales in my town. i get giddy!
:: we are waiting for the floors to go in to hannah’s room and then she will be moving on up. i can’t wait to give you a tour!
:: the girls start up at Open Connections in a few weeks and our schedule will slowly begin to change with extra curricular stuff.
:: i have been invited back to habit for the month of september. come visit me.
the other day the four of us were all sitting around the dinner table.
i asked “if you were living on a deserted island and could only have one thing to eat (and no matter what it was it would keep you healthy and alive) what would you prefer?
hannah- sushi
norah- tofu
papa- pizza
mama- couldn’t decide between garbanzo beans and french fries.
i love playing these sorts of games.
have you seen this?
we have had a bit of an emotional week.
we lost a little baby mouse that had lost it’s mama. we were trying to nurse him and give him a life. his name was pip.
and sadly we also lost our beloved rabbit harley.
although it is hard to lose little critters that we all have become so attached to and sometimes it’s hard to understand why, we are trying to focus on all of the beautiful life that does surround us every day.