pretty + simple

busy as a bee on a hot July day

   
 

{ this past week buzzed right by }

there were blue skies and a boat ride on a beautiful summer day

blueberries :: 10 pounds to be exact and frozen for mid-winter snacking

banana chocolate chip muffins for breakfast, lunch and in between

a breezy front porch :: perfect for a very sleepy cat

bubble gum (aka leftover parade candy) and back door views

and just like that...

a new week begins again

{ enjoy it all! }

P.S.  thanks friends for your thoughtful and kind words about my last post -

there are so many good hearted people in this world... thanks for being one of them!
 

4.30.10

Ah, the last day of April.  It's been a perfectly beautiful month.  We haven't seen one like this in years.  One with no snow.  I'm grateful for such a wonderful start to spring.

It rained off and on all day today.  In between showers I ran outside to snip a few flowers to fill the ever present vases this time of the year.  If you have a flower garden, I hope you do the same.  I once heard a story about a gal who had beautiful flowers gardens but refused to snip any off because she thought that would ruin the "look" of the flower bed.  Yikes.  Please ... snip away.  Flowers are to be enjoyed both in and out.  Most of my bouquets are small.  I have loads of small old bottles... mismatched salt & pepper shakers, glass medicine bottles from years ago, teacups, old perfume bottles - you name it.  Pretty much anything that can hold water is a candidate by me.  The bachelor button bloom (above right) is the first one of the season and on the other side of that photo are the loofah seedlings.  Hanging out in the sun and wanting to be transplanted into their own planters soon.

I also snapped a photo of a few of the chickens in the backyard today (I know, you're thinking... doesn't she take a picture of them every day.  Close but not quite. :)  to remind myself how green everything was on April 30th.  As I walked outside I could smell spring.  Do you know that smell?  It's not the neighbor's fabric softener coming from their dryer vent either.  It's sweet, a bit earthy, and a tiny bit floral.  And obvioiusly way too hard for me to explain.  Can you smell it?  Tell me I'm not the only one!

And last but not least, I'm leaving you with a recipe to try this weekend.  See the photo on the right?  It's called French Country Salad and it is fan-flipping-tastic!  I just recently came across Cara's blog but I have no idea how I found it.  It's new and a gem of a find!  I added boiled eggs to the salad (compliments to the fine-feathered ladies) and the beets I had in the crisper in the frig from last fall.  Can you believe that?!  They were great.  So there you have it.  You can keep beets in your frig forever and this salad is going to knock your socks off!  So expect to be eating salad ... barefoot.

{ enjoy your weekend :: happy may day too! }

  

what's to love about a Monday in February?

Yep.  A good ol' fashioned snow day with loads of soft, fluffy snow.  The kind of snowstorm where it's coming down so thick that you feel like you're in the middle of a snow cloud.  It's deep out there!

And. There's more on the way! 
 
 

merry days

Over Christmas we had over a foot of snow arrive in our little neck of the woods.  It felt like a scene out of a storybook.  Ever falling snow, lights glowing, families gathered, church services attended, comfort food that magically appeared each and every day, and then more snow fell.  Beautiful seems like such a small word for something so perfectly timed.

 

At our house we usually leave the Christmas tree up until the beginning of January.  There's so much rushing around before the holidays that I want to savor it after Christmas and soak it all in.  Why rush to put it all up and then rush to take it all down?  I love these days after Christmas as the holiday dust settles down, the breathing returns to a much more relaxed pace, and the lights are still glowing.  Waiting ever so patiently for me to enjoy.  Maybe I need to leave those lights on all winter...  :)

snowfall

when I write

It was just a short time ago that I was spouting off about the mild summer weather we've been having this year. Well, that's all it took because we spent the majority of last week in true August fashion.  Hot, sweaty, sticky, and constantly wiping the sweat dripping from the forehead.  I'm like a sweating machine complete with a red face and there's no turning it off either.  The photo above shows just about 90, I think.  That was the cool day it just got hotter after that until the thunderstorms arrived late last night.  It was the kind of storm that brings cracks of thunder that I'm certain were located directly above our house.  The kind that nearly tosses you out of bed!  It was quite a show.  In and out.  :)  That storm left us with over 5 inches of rain and a world that was freshly washed this morning along with a much cooler, breezy day.  Thank you very much.

Remember too, when I wished that the chickens would hang out in the back yard?  Well, they must have read my blog (or my mind) because it appears that this is their new hangout during the day.  It happened pretty much the same day that I typed that post.  They haven't bothered anything in the garden yet.  I think there are too many weeds in their way so that could be a good thing afterall.

 

And tonight just before supper there was a knock at the back door.  When I went to the door I found this little brown feathered friend:

  

He said, "you can call me "Late" but don't call me "Late for supper!"

So indeed Mr. Late enjoyed a few bits of sweet corn as well.

{ please excuse that dirty window }

And when I opened my eyes... it was July!

Well hello there.  How have you been?  I hope well.  We are home again and slowly getting back into the swing of everyday life. It's not easy. Vacation is where I could live. For a long time. I love vacation. So many things to see, so many thing to do, so many adventures just waiting to be explored.  I have all kinds of great photos and stories except I'm having some troubles with my computer so for the time being I'm using this ol' Bessie, Dial-Up. She's real slow and makes me want to take a nap while I'm patiently (?) waiting for her.  So until I get this back on track, I wanted to peek in and say hello!  

• { Here's wishing you a happy, fun and safe 4th of July weekend! }

the back porch news

This is where I like to start my day.  In the back porch.  With the weather warming up we spend more and more time out here each day.  Breakfast, dinner and sometimes lunch.  In the morning, I love the sun coming up over the hill and peaking through the trees.  I catch up on the latest news and weather report for the day, check emails, and enjoy that first cup of coffee before its time for a quick breakfast and I head out for the day.  It doesn't happen every day but when it does I know I'm off to a good start.