Summer Blues and a Recipe for Blueberry Crisp

I love the sea, 

so I brought in some beautiful blues

 to remind me of lovely 

summer days spent at the shore. 

Blue and white stripes have 

a wonderful 'beachy' vibe, 

and here I have found some 

woven napkins to add 

to my 'new' vintage wire basket. 

Blue hydrangeas remind 

me of seaside cottage gardens

with weathered picket fences. 

The blue striped crock

 was a gift from my daughter. 

Pillow covers sewn from 

vintage sheets and a softly worn 

 quilt give the daybed 

a summery update. 

Thrift store paintings provide

a 'view'. 

I painted the unattractive brown wood frames. 

I simply 'shopped' my home

to gather all things blue. 

I recently found this pretty paper covered box. 

A thrifty find. 

The 1950's kitchen gadgets

are fun to display. 

The bottle opener comes in handy

on a hot summer day! 

The box holds my garden notebooks where 

I jot down things I want to remember ....

My pathetically empty wine rack

is the perfect place to add some

pretty colored glass. 

The stained glass was a recent thrifty find. 

I think it was $6.00! 

The cobalt bottles were my Mom's. 

The seltzer bottle was a gift from my son. 

The tiny blown glass pitcher and bromo-seltzer 

bottle were also my Mom's. I remember these

from my childhood. She always kept them 

on her kitchen windowsill. 

They frequently held bouquets of wildflowers

brought in by little hands. 

(I was the eldest of 5 daughters)

The marbles were found digging in the garden

in my children's former play area.  

Another recent vintage find - this Anchor Hocking

measuring cup.

It has wonderfully thick, heavy glass

and it adds a little touch of blue. 

A book of inspiration - published in 2001

by the editors of Victoria Magazine. 

A favorite page. 

This is where I always sit. 

Won't you join me for some Blueberry Crisp and tea? 

Here's the recipe:

Blueberry Crisp

Bake in a 9x13 in. buttered baking dish

 @ 350 degrees for 10 min. 

Reduce temperature to 325 degrees

and continue baking 1 hour. 

****

Toss 8 cups blueberries with 

   1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour,

and the juice of 1 lemon. 

Pour into a buttered baking dish. 

Topping:

Mix together

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon

With pastry blender, 

cut in 1 cup cold butter

(2 sticks)

cut into pieces. 

Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over blueberries.

Bake. 

This will keep for several days, 

 loosely covered with plastic wrap,
in the refrigerator. 

This recipe can be halved

and baked in a 9 inch square pan. 

Enjoy! 

xoxo

Today I am linking with:

The Enchanting Rose - Roses of Inspiration
and
Cooking and Crafting with J&J

Summer Days

Walks in the woods....

Puttering at the potting bench.....

Beachy decorating....

Strawberry shortcake.....

(with blueberry corn muffins)

 1 pkg. (8.5 oz) Jiffy corn muffin mix

1/2 cup sour cream (or a little more if dry)

1 egg

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries. 

Mix together lightly

Bake 20 minutes @ 375 degrees. 

Makes 6 muffins

And beautiful sunsets. 

Five things I love about summer! 

What are your favorite things? 

xoxo

Today I am linking with: Love Made My Home - Five on Friday

Won't you join in?

xoxo

Dog Days of Summer

It was extremely hot here

over the weekend, after a 

long week of hot and dry weather. 

This is the temperature gauge

yesterday around 11 a.m. 

I thought it might be wrong, 

so I checked the electronic one

inside! 

There was no mistake.....

it was 104 degrees in the shade! 

Maggie found a cool place in the shade. 

She is my 'senior' pet - 17 years old! 

She is a good mouser, but lately

she has been bringing in frogs! 

Living in the country, we are always

rescuing something.....

This frog found a new home in my planter

on the deck. They like the porch lights

and we find them fat and happy in the morning

after eating all the offerings. 

Our new little dog, Kai, is settling in to life 

in the country quite well. 

He is so full of fun, love, and energy, 

but is also very mischievous! 

Here he is in a rare, quiet moment. 

He missed his former master terribly

for a long time, and every evening

he waited for him to return

by the gate. 

It broke my heart, but time and love

have healed his sorrow

and now he is having the time of his life! 

He has bonded with Whitey Bear and 

the two of them do everything together. 

Here, Whitey Bear leads the way....

You can see how happy they are together! 

Poor Whitey Bear went into depression

after losing his pal, Champ, in January. 

He lost interest in life and gained some weight

from lying around so much. 

It is so gratifying to see him excited about 

life once more, with his new friend

by his side. 

They keep us entertained! 

American Eskimo dogs are also excellent watch dogs! 

Which is important to me because

Ramblin' Man frequently travels

on business. 

During these hot, dry days I have been spending

all my free time watering to keep things alive. 

Kai loves to play in the spray! 

Whitey - not so much- but every day I hose 

them down to keep them cool. 

Whitey's fur is especially thick. 

Did I tell you that Kai was mischievous? :)

Luckily, we have plenty of space

for hole digging! 

(We have a mole in the yard...)

What? 

A little dirt never hurt anyone! 

All cleaned up and playing with his toys. 

Can you see that mischievous look on his face? 

Sometimes I think he is actually an arctic fox

that somehow got passed off as a dog. Ha ha! 

He has the funniest little growl and 

a hysterical, high pitched bark. 

Just like a wild fox. 

But he has stolen our hearts,

wild or not. 

He gets along fine with everyone,

including the 'cousins', 

Peanut and Weenie Baby.

They are frequent house-guests when 

my daughter needs a pet-sitter. 

Although, Ling-Ling is not quite so sure.....

Here she is hiding in an empty water bottle case

in the closet. 

Birdy Boy stays high above the fray.

My little cockatiel is another senior pet - 16 years -

almost as old as Maggie!

Adopting a new pet always has challenges, 

but the hope was that Whitey Bear would 

accept Kai as a friend. 

We are so happy to say this is true! 

xoxo

Thank you, Dear Friends for your sweet

and caring visits. 

I especially want to thank you for 

your wonderful, sharing comments

on my recent post, ' On Family, Faith and Friends'. 

Caring and sharing is what makes
blogging so wonderful! 

 xoxo

'I wouldn't give much for the boy

'at grows up

With no friendship subsistin'

'tween him an' a pup!' 

- Eugene Field -

  

A Country Drive with Good Fences

The fields are golden near the foothills

of the Cascade Mountains. 

It is has been very hot and dry 

with no measurable rain

since early May. 

This is very unusual. 

Fire danger is extremely high

and everyone is a little on edge.

With tall, dry timber framing parched 

fields, things can quickly 

get out of control. 

Many small brush fires have 

broken out in the Puget Sound region

(as we are called here on the western side 

of the Cascade mountains of Washington State), 

but thankfully they have been quickly 

extinguished by our brave firefighters. 

We are so grateful for them! 

With moody skies and tawny grasses, 

come along and we'll take a mid-summer's 

drive along the country roads

near my home. 

Here a circular exercise pen

for horses, is neatly 

framed with shrubs and fencing. 

A newly blacktopped stretch of road 

leads through open grassland 

towards the Cascades. 

White rail fencing underlines

the view. 

After the silo, the road 

bends sharply to the right. 

There is a large sign

preventing you from going left. 

It says,  'Absolutely No Trespassing!'

with a high locked gate and many 

stern warnings of consequence. 

I believe it is a natural gas pipeline. 

This beautiful farm sits just beyond 

with miles of white board fencing. 

Further along, a horse farm 

with four rails instead of three. 

The Cascade Mountains come into view 

once again. 

Normally, Mt. Rainier dominates

the skyline, but today it is 

hidden among the clouds. 

This is the route my Mr. takes back 

and forth to the office and 

is also the road to my eldest daughter's home. 

This is the 'back way'. 

Not a soul on the road but me! 

It's beautiful on a warm, summer day, 

but it is quite another story

on a cold, dark, rainy night! 

A few happy cows! 

Pumpkins and cornstalks growing at the local pumpkin patch. 

A patchwork road along the corn fields. 

A big new barn under construction

on this farm. 

Mt. Rainier is the usual view, 

but not today. 

A low, boggy area remains green. 

A pretty little cottage as we drive through town. 

(Sorry for the glare!)

A close-up of a beautiful garden 

back-lit by the late afternoon sunshine. 

Miniature Donkeys as we get closer to home. 

Almost home. 

Farm equipment and cattle in the field. 

All roads are dead ends. 

The main road ends at a rushing glacial river

half a mile ahead. 

This river is protected for salmon. 

Beyond that lies hundreds of miles of wilderness

all the way to Mt. Rainier and beyond. 

We turn right off the 'main' road, 

put my gray Ford Ranger in 

2nd gear, and climb to the top

of my little mountain. 

Large boulders,

 excavated when the road was built, 

 sit to the left. 

This road is impassable in snow

without 4 wheel drive and studded tires. 

Home Sweet Home. 

Thank you for coming along on this ride 

with me, Dear Friends! 

This journey just wouldn't be the same without you! 

xoxo

Today I am linking with:
Run*A*Round Ranch Report - Good Fences

Won't you join in?