Monday 30 September 2013

On This.......The Last Day of September....One More Garden Walk...

On this dark, wet, gloomy last day of September.... 
I decided to grab my camera...and head outside...to see my garden...

My Geraniums are all ready to come inside...all in fresh pots...

To flower gloriously for a few more months...and then take a long nap...

To share their beauty once again next summer...

My basket of Begonias is still going strong...beautiful as ever...

I think that they deserve to come in for the winter as well...

How can I say no to that face???  :o)

This cutie is on it's third season...happy in a pot with a burgundy spike...will spend another winter beside me and the computer...
Second flush of deep pink Phlox in the front garden...
"See you all next season...I am going to be nice and warm inside!"

                              "Gee....isn't that Linda a wonderful gardener? She takes such loving care of us"
                                                                   tee hee hee.....


                                                                 ************

Off to see the Dr tomorrow...

Get rid of this sore throat...I sounded like Darth Vader today!!

Hope you all had a great day...

Hope to see the sun tomorrow....

Get back into the garden for some colorful shots...

Looking forward to a warm...sunny October....:o)

What did you all do today????

                                                 Cheers!  :o)
                                      linda






Sunday 29 September 2013

Catching Up With Miss V......





 We had a visit last week from our Miss V...

Even tho' she is on medication for tonsillitis...

She was still full of beans!!

Doesn't she look as cute as a button in those Jeans and pretty pink sweater???




She loves to climb the stairs here...

Up....and down.....and up again!

I let her play in my bottom kitchen drawer...

Odd things in there...

Mostly bags!!!

Now...

I have to teach her to put everything back in!! 













We blew up one of my cleaning gloves... and she had a lot of fun with that...


We are still getting used to the fact that she is walking!!!

Where does the time go???

















Hope you are all enjoying your weekend...

We came home yesterday from the cottage....

Still not feeling 100%...and we were very cold in our bed on Friday night!!

Even with the electric blanket...and fresh flannel sheets...BRRRRRR..

                                            ********

On the menu tonight...

       Roasted pork loin with onions ...

               Smashed Potatoes...Carrots and Sliced Beets...
                       Greek salad...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.......

                                        Cheers!  :o)
                                           linda








Thursday 26 September 2013

How To Turn This....Into This!!





Do you all remember this basket of sweet...

Juicy...

Furry...

Aromatic peaches..

That I bought..

Back...

A week or so??

Well...

I finally turned them from this....













                I recycled these 2 pics of the juicy peaches from last year...

Don't they look awesome!!!For full details put peach jam into search box..


Are those apple in the background??? Why...yes...I do believe they are...Guess they will have to be made into an Apple Pie Bread next week....tee hee hee....





Into this!!!!

So easy....

Score the peaches on one end...

Drop into boiling water for 1 minute...

Into a bowl of ice water for 1 minute...

The peel slides right off...

I chopped them in my handy-dandy vintage egg chopper...

Add sugar...

I put some cinnamon in...

Add Freezer Jam mix...

Stir...

And.......VOILA!!! 

JAM!!!

I also added some strawberries to the second batch, to bring the fruit up to 4 cups.... 

Use any old jars that you have...

Pop into the freezer...and...you...are...done!!

Lasts for 1 year in the freezer!!!

And....I am down to my last jar from last year...

Perfect timing!!!

I used one basket of peaches...about 12...and one container of fresh berries...









After I cleaned up that mess...ha!

I got together the fixins' for a Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake...

Also pretty darn easy, once you get everything assembled...

And..

It turned out...

Scrumptuous!!!

I do believe it is the grated lemon rind that gives it unique and zesty flavour...

You can find that recipe by putting the name of the cake in my search box.... 


Hope you are having a great day!

Another beautiful one here...

My boyfriend is feeling better...and now I have  a scratchy throat...:o(

But........you can't keep us down....must...go...to...cottage...

Tomorrow....that is!!!

On the menu tonight...

               We're going to Turtle Jacks for burgers...

               They make an awesome avacado chipotle burger...

                          AND I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!


Enjoy the rest of your day and evening...

                               Cheers!  :o)
                                 linda

Wednesday 25 September 2013

Feast Your Eyes On These Beauties!!!





Every Fall...

I visit a small office complex...

And "Borrow"...

A "Few" Hydrangea blooms...

From their surrounding gardens...

I made my annual trek...

About 2 weeks ago...

They are so beautiful...

I used one of my pics...

For my new header...

I cut enough...

For a lot of decorating...

I fill with water for a couple of weeks...

And then I just let them air-dry..

Still in their receptacles...

This year...

I got them when there were still some Pink ones...

Mixed amongst the green ones...

LOVE THESE!!!

 





















I do believe I see another header or 2 in there!!!

                                    *****************

Hope you are all having a great day...

Finally got my jam made today...will share later..{pics...not the actual jam!!!haha}

I have some chicken marinating in buttermilk...and I have everything ready to slap another blueberry-buttermilk breakfast cake into the oven...

Still some under-the-weather going on...hope I don't get it!


Enjoy the rest of your day....and evening...another gorgeous day!!


                                 Cheers!  :o)
                                     linda
 

Tuesday 24 September 2013

A Flurry of Feathery FInches....

While relaxing on the deck last Friday...

I noticed a lot of activity at one of my Finch feeders...

I had put some fresh Nyger seed in, as I  heard the Finches singing, while setting up the sunporch... 

If you look really closely...

Right beside my initials...

To the left...

They are at the feeder...

SO...

With my handy dandy ZOOM lens..

I went in for a few close-ups!!!

 Aren't they awesome!!!

I have noticed in previous years...that the Finches go really crazy in the Fall..

I feel privileged to be part of their gaiety!!








And now for a cottage update...

Unfortunately we need a whole new roof...:o(

The one we put on...altho' it is supposed to be a 20 year roof...only lasted 16 years...Not bad , I guess....It has endured a lot of hard weather out there...

So...

We wil probably meet with somebody this weekend, to get the job started...

On a brighter note...

There was a lovely surprise waiting for us.......

My favorite Handyman...got the new ceiling in the sunporch finished!!!

It looks amazing!!!

We settled on a pine...with a very light stain and varathane...

WE    JUST   LOVE   IT!!!






Hope you all had a great day....isn't this lovely weather we are having???

Perhaps tomorrow, I can get outside...and have a peek at the garden...

Spent today, cleaning the house...even a few windows...grocery shopping...and dusting!

My boyfriend is not feeling well...and poor wee Miss V is suffering with tonsillitis!!!!

My daughter Lissa and her husband came for dinner...as my SIL was going to help close the pool, but my boyfriend is not well enough!! :o(
It can wait a few days....

Also....."""Happy Birthday""" to my daughter Erika...

34 years young today...my youngest...:o) 

I visited with her yesterday....and she dropped in today with Miss V...


                                                                   *********

On the menu tonight...

Grilled Sea Bass...with Olive oil,S&P,lemon juice and a slice of lemon...

I did them in a foil packet...GLUTEN-FREE of course!!!

                        Home fries and fresh green & yellow beans...



Enjoy the rest of your evening!!


                               Cheers!  :o)
                                  linda