I hate to wish any season away and I do enjoy so much about summer, but it's been so hot here lately that we're all just over it and ready to move on to fall. Every day we're looking for any sign of autumn's arrival. I've loved having this tree out my front window this week. But don't let the fall colors fool you; it was in the upper 90s when I took this pic. My husband had a business meeting in Atlanta one day, so my son and I rode with him because my grain store is just outside of Atlanta, and I needed to restock. It was a hot day, but a pretty ride and I had just received a new issue of Southern Lady, so I took that with me to read in the car. It's full of beautiful photos and ... Read more
Summer Garden Recap: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
As far as gardening goes, I've never had anything more than what I call a little "kitchen garden"--some herbs and a few veggies and melons, at most. So, I'm still very much a beginner. I haven't even had a garden for the last few years (other than herbs), and I was ready to get back to it, but I also remembered how my gardens usually play out. The season always seems to start out strong and lovely and makes me feel like I really have a green thumb, ha, and then it starts going downhill about mid-summer with the onset of heat, bugs, and disease. So, here it is-- the good, the bad, and the ugly of this year's summer garden! The Good! Late spring and the first half of summer were a ... Read more
Snapshot Saturday: Odds and Ends
Hello there! It's Saturday so I have some snapshots from the week, just odds and ends really. Summer evenings will be coming to an end in a few more weeks but the summer garden already came to an end last Saturday when I pulled up everything except my herb bed and tea bed. It was such a mess! Next week I'll post a summer garden recap. While I worked in the garden, the guys worked on a different project. Earlier in the summer, my son and his friends built a raft to ride down the widest and deepest part of the creek which only worked for about an hour, but they were so excited. The experience inspired the idea to build a small boat which the guys have been working on the last few ... Read more
Prepping the Kitchen for Fall Cooking and Baking ’24
Summertime brings a huge cleanout for me each year. This summer, I reorganized a lot of areas of my house, but definitely spent the most time in the kitchen! My cabinets and drawers had really gotten bad. We do a LOT in there. It's more than just a kitchen, really. It's also our school, our science lab, art studio, gift wrap station, and much more. One of the benefits a of good kitchen cleanout is that everything I do in there now works a lot smoother than before and I'm already looking ahead and seeing how much more enjoyable it will be for fall cooking and baking. Last August '23 I posted 3 things I had done that month to prepare my kitchen for fall. You can read that post here. Today ... Read more
Little Neighbors are Big Blessings
My sister, Katie, was the baby of the family and she was such a cute little girl! The neighbors thought she was pretty cute too. One day the lady next door called my mom to tell her how much she enjoyed hearing Katie sing "Jesus Loves Me" at the top of her lungs while swinging in our back yard! So sweet. I think about that story now as I have my own little neighbors to enjoy, and they are just so precious. There are a lot of children on our street, and they sing and play and ride their bikes all around the neighborhood. Here a couple of the sweet ways they've blessed us lately. Sunflower Day! Our sunflowers have consistently stayed turned towards our neighbors' yard all summer. My ... Read more
Squash Casserole
There's a saying down here in the South during summertime that goes.... “Better not leave your car unlocked at church on Sundays--not because of crime but because a church member might leave a bag of squash in your front seat!” So funny! But let me just say I've never turned away squash--I love it! When I set out to start a garden this year, I decided to keep it small, and it's been the perfect starter size--just enough for our family to eat. Considering I'm the only one in the family who really likes squash (my husband thinks it's vile), I've been happy to eat it all up myself! My 2 squash plants began yielding in late May and I've been getting 2 or 3 squash a week and that's ... Read more
Lady Liberty!
Happy Independence Day from Lady Liberty! Well, not that Lady Liberty...... ....this Lady Liberty! Isn't she cute! My daughter got her exactly two years ago this week, the day before the 4th of July, so she named her Liberty. For the last several weeks she's been away at "good girl school" (the dog, not my daughter, haha) and we are so happy she's finally home! She came home so grown up and nicely disciplined, my daughter and I decided she deserves the title of Lady. My son helped me get the front porch cleaned up and a few patriotic touches added. I wasn't going to put out the fanned buntings this year because they're getting old. My son was disappointed and said it would ... Read more
May Teatime: Hummingbird Scones
Good morning, friends! I have a recipe for you today! I've mentioned before that my daughter and I get together with our friends, Missy and her daughter, about once a month (or every other month) just to experiment with some tea and scone recipes. We take turns meeting in each other's homes and making a new recipe. It's kept pretty simple with usually just a scone and maybe one other small store-bought treat. But the main point is to get/give feedback on the scone and brainstorm how we might tweak the ingredients to make a better scone. My daughter and I hosted in May. We've pretty much gone to just putting everything out on our coffee tables instead of doing a formal dining setup. It ... Read more
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