The view from here : Sept. just before harvest...

 This past summer has been a wonderful and incredibly busy time. People around here laugh when I say I am looking forward to things slowing down. For farmers the fall is anything but slow! But w all the work comes little time to be running all over the country! 

                      This afternoon after church and our usual brunch of bacon and eggs ( made by my hubby). Cinnamon and I went for a short walk. Short is better than none at all. We watched 'my' hawk that perches down the road SOAR up and down, field by field looking for her brunch. Hawks are one of my favorite creatures. I am very pleased to have one who lives nearby.

                                 This is our view , 'Cimmy' and me as we walk down our road..

                                                I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be.. solace.

                      A few tomatoes me and 'Cim' picked this morning before church. Small but tasty..Fresh spaghetti sauce coming up later this week....

Lavender infused syrup, anyone? ( Thanks, Anna!)

It's only fair to give credit where credit is due.. My darling daughter Anna remembered that I said how much I enjoyed my lavender infused latte while on vacation this past summer. I had planned to look this recipe up for lavender syrup but hadn't gotten around to it. She recently sent me the following link! 

http://www.perpetuallychic.com/post/29476335503/in-the-kitchen-lavender-simple-syrup

 I just happened to have a huge bunch of lavender sitting on my table from my garden. Mine was slightly dried.

photo before straining:

    It only took me a few minutes and voila I have lavender syrup and have added it to my coffee latte every morning and afternoon since!!  Not everyones 'cup of tea' but I really enjoy it!!  btw the original recipe calls for two cups of sugar ( OUCH!) , I only used one, but of course it is not as 'syrupy' but the flavor is there. I keep mine in a glass jar in the fridge!  I plan to add it to some bake goods chocolate chip- espresso-lavender cookies!  I'll let you know how that goes!

Eco Friendly Transplant??? :/

   I am embarrassed to say that I have this many styrofoam cups and a few more. I was determined to do something eco friendly w them if that is possible. I have this huge pot and a beautiful hibiscus that was in need of a transplant a while back.. I wanted to put drainage in the bottom and usually use rocks or broken clay pots. One benefit to using my styrofoam cup collection is that it will not add any more weight to my already heavy pot so I can move this hibiscus around. Last year I stored it  in the garage w very little attention or watering and it survived. I plan to store it in the garage again this winter.

 Um, using one of the styrofoam cups to add potting soil did not work out well.. switched to something sturdier.

         Ta da, a plant that has room to breath.. and a very wee little bit less in the landfill...

Spoiled rotten ....and very lazy day....

  Today I do not feel like doing anything!!  HAd a VERY full and happy day yesterday and did not get home until almost midnight!  I tried to call our favorite pizza place to have them deliver lunch and they do not open until 4p :(  ( Circle Pizza, Greentown).
  Steve went out to pick sweet corn for his lunch and he will have that and some left over green beans and melon and be a happy boy.
  I really had my appetite ready for pizza so I decided to make a mozzarella  and tomato 'grilled cheese' sandwich!   Having fresh tomatoes from the garden helps and some fresh mozzarella. Just made a sandwich like you would for grilled cheese and a sprinkle of basil, sadly not fresh. Instead of buttering my sandwich I put a small bit of Olive oil in the pan w a little garlic..simple easy and yummy even for this extremely lazy and spoiled girl.

Tonight's Supper

 Tonight's country supper, Well honestly I did not want to cook I really wanted the hubby to take me to Martie's but he is recuperating after working outside all week in the 90 and above weather so I went to   our all time go to quick supper.
 I buy great breaded chicken tenders at Hulce's market in Greentown. I order them by the case because we have this almost every week( they are much cheaper this way). They are fully cooked white chicken breast so I bake them in the oven. Make a green salad. I was happy to find one little red tomato in my garden. We have plenty of green ones ( I planted them very late), hard boiled egg, cheddar cheese on Steve's.
  On our cruise they served a wonderful Cucumber Mint salad dressing that is very refreshing. I made my own by placing non fat plain yogurt, a bit of cottage cheese, 1/2 peeled chopped cucumber and some fresh mint leaves in the blender. It is yummy.

  15 years ago Pat and I went to Denver and had lunch in a little restaurant that served bread in flower pots ( cute). I had ordered fresh fruit salad and on the cantaloupe and other fruits was just a hint of fresh cilantro!
  It was so delicious it is something I love to do and it always takes me back. :') You could add a squeeze of lemon or lime on your fruit too.
 We are blessed to have fresh sweet corn right out of the yard. Kind of glad we stayed home..

Oh yeah I forgot I also put left over green beans on the table from last night....

Painting, painting, chalk painting..

  At 60 I am learning, learning to blog and learning to paint furniture. Thanks to all you girls who are light years ahead of me and have inspired me.

 Here's a before photo of my first project

It is an old desk of my husbands. I have been admiring the turquoise tables and before I knew about chalk paint I bought a sample jar of this turquoise color at Menards. It is Pittsburg paint, but I will have to find the exact name of the color. Sorry.

 I have to admit It did not adhere to the top as well I as I wanted, ( I forgot I wasn't really using chalk paint) But I am happy w the way it came out. I used Johnson and Johnson paste wax and then added dark furniture stain ( Old English) it toned the color down just a tad. Like I said I am happy w it but from now on it will be CHALK PAINT!

This is my next piece a 'blanket chest" I picked up for a song ( $30.00) at a dear friends auction.`It is a bad photo but it is handmade out of scrap wood, very rough!  I didn't have the paint I wanted and I feel very smart that at this stage in the game I made my own chalk paint w just what I had on hand. 

  I had some creamed colored latex paint, I added a dab of yes that turquoise abuve, I mixed a few tbsps. of plaster of paris w warm water and then added it to my ( around 2-3 cups) of above paint. It came out perfect!!

I gave this baby two coats ( no sanding or prepping last week. I was painting in a dark barn so today when I took it out in daylight I felt it needed another coat. The Inside was dirty and smelly and I want to store blankets in this for my ' Grands' so I sanded the inside and then cleaned w bleach and water and let dry in the noonday sun ( 92 degrees!).

I found this cedar spray at Menard's and sprayed the fresh sanded wood.. I am hoping it will all be good! Voila I am happy w it!

              My hubby loves fresh green beans Sooo much he never minds snapping them for me.
Green beans, sausage and potatoes is not rocket scientist if you come from the country but it is one of the things I had to learn coming from the city.

   Easy? Yes. Delicious? Yes!  #1. Have yur hubby snap a big batch of fresh green beans. I brown a little bit of bacon and add some chopped onion and brown. Add the green beans and cover and heat. Keep a close eye and steam but you will need to add some water so you don't burn them. You are going to simmer them for several hours. ( You could do all of this in a crock pot). After simmering most of the day. ( It's a country thing I like my veggies crisp but hubby wants them like momma makes 'em).

                                            green beans all cooked down

                                          add sausage (I used low fat turkey sausage) and red pototoes

                                       All Done!

                       Now to pick the corn..

                                               and shuck it...

                                      One of the things I will miss most about summer , Melon!

                                      Hey, Phoenix, No it wasn't really 103 but 92was hot enough.

                                           Summer supper ...