Thursday, March 4, 2021

Dreaming of Spring with Lemon-Blueberry Tea Cake


The bulbs that I planted last fall are starting to bloom.  

All it took was a couple of days of much-needed sunshine

to coax the bloom. 

Planting bulbs are an act of faith and a tangible hope. 

Something to look forward to during the long, cold winter. 

Old Man Winter has tried very hard to hold on, 

as we've had some late-season snows in the last 

couple of weeks. 


Fortunately it hasn't lasted long! 



I have been staying busy while dreaming of spring.
I'm crocheting a new cardigan in a watery hue. 



Dreaming of wildflowers, singing birds and warm sunshine. 


Tansy is a perennial wildflower/herb that I grow in my gardens. 

The leaves have a pungent scent that is wonderful for moth sachets,

and the yellow, button flowers dry beautifully for arrangements and wreaths. 

They are tall, invasive and rangy, so they need their own bed or a back corner. 


I cut the stalks close to the ground and strip the leaves in early fall, 

as soon as the flowers go to seed, saving the seed-heads for planting in spring. 

I dry the leaves in wicker baskets in a cool, dim room, 

turning them once a day until dry - about 2-3 weeks. 

From there I strip the tiny stalks from the leaves. 

Now the leaves are ready for sachets. 

xx




I found these glass-towels in the paint section 

of the home-goods store. Apparently, they make 

good paint rags! The fabric is perfect for sachets, as 

they have a loose weave. Plus, I love how vintage it looks. 

I made cardboard templates in 3 graduated sizes:

5x6, 5x4, and 4x3, and cut out the doubled fabric and 

sewed around 3 sides. 

I used equal amounts of lavender buds and tansy to fill the sachets. 

Both are wonderful insect repellents and are great 

for pantries and clothing storage. 


They look charming with blanket-stitch edging, 

bundled up with string. 

xx


I cleaned out my pantry
and put down new shelf-paper. 
It's a good feeling to know that
everything is clean and all of the outdated 
items are gone. 


I stenciled the inside of the door years ago. 


We pick up our little grandson from preschool 
on Wednesday's and he loves to bake cupcakes. 


He especially loves frosting them and putting on the sprinkles. 
The 'cupcake' tea towel was a sweet gift from my Sis. 
xx


We decorate paper plates with crayons so he can take 
the cupcakes home on them.
After we each sample one, of course!


Papa signed his. 
xx




I created my own sourdough starter in jam jars at the beginning 
of February and just baked my first loaves. 

I followed the instructions on the Delightful Repast blog.

My loaves were a little dense, but they sure were tasty! 


So good with home-made minestrone soup.


I baked a lemon-blueberry tea cake, too. 







Lemon-Blueberry Tea Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour
a 9x5 inch loaf pan. 
Toss berries with 1 tablespoon flour; set aside. 

Ingredients

1 cup blueberries (frozen is ok)
1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Glaze:

Mix juice of 1 lemon with enough powdered sugar
to make a runny consistency. 

In large bowl, cream butter or margarine. Add sugar and beat 
until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add milk, 
flour, baking powder and salt. Beat just until combined. 
Fold in prepared blueberries and lemon peel. 
Transfer to loaf pan. 
Bake 60 to 70 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center
comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. 
Prick top all over with toothpick and pour glaze over top. 

Yum! 


While the tea-cake cools, let's take a little walk-about. 
xx


The top of the 30 foot holly tree is still covered in berries. 
The birds love these, especially robins and cedar waxwings. 

This tree was only 10 ft. tall when we moved here, growing in the forest. 


A snug little home at the base of an Alder tree. 


Jet trail through cotton-wood in a winter sky.


Old tree stump that's been here since we bought the land
in the early 80's. 


A little friend - female Annas Hummingbird. 
These are year-round residents. 
Rufous Hummingbirds will be returning soon. 


Mossy trees and ferns. 


Kai scouts the surroundings. 


Huge old Douglas fir with mossy trunk. 
My arms outstretched barely reach across this side. 


 Some gatherings for a woodland potpourri.


Silvery skies. 

A cold wind is rising, let's go inside....


A nice time for hot tea and a slice of cake.


It's been a long winter. 
I'm looking forward to spring. 

I know that you are too. 
It's been quite a time for all of us.
Some more than others, and my 
heart goes out to you. 
Life has been so surreal.  
I hope that you are being good to yourself
in as many ways as you can.
xx

We are all in this together. 
Remember that, remember that. 

xx

"Human kindness has never weakened the stamina
or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation
does not have to be cruel to be tough." 
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt -

"Wise sayings often fall on barren ground;
but a kind word is never thrown away."
- Sir Arthur Helps -

"When I was young I admired clever people.
Now that I am old, I admire kind people."
- Abraham Joshua Heschel -

xoxo








14 comments:

  1. Greetings Karen, love all the pictures, gosh I can't believe your bulbs in the pots are already blooming. A squirrel decided to dig all the Tulips out of my pots, I think they were planning on serving them for dinner.

    Hugs Diane

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful photos.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. everything always looks and feels so special here. your plants, and deck...the way everything is arranged is so lovely. i didn't remember that you crochet, the yarn you are working with is so pretty!! you alway bake and cook the best treats, the house looks great!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am frequent visitor of your website as i love to read out the articles posted on your website. At the same time i request to post some great article on Dissecting Microscope Suppliers In India and similar as well.Thanks !!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kindness goes a very long way, doesn't it. Those pots of spring bulbs are a cheery sight and the cardigan you are crocheting us so pretty. Love the view from your window. Such pretty views engulf your lovely home. Oh my goodness your all your baking looks delicious. How fun your and your grandson bake cupcakes every Wednesday. The two of you making precious memories together. Take care, lovely Karen.

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  6. Hi Karen, I see you've been busy with different projects. I like the spring flowers, crochet, the sachets, and the lemon blueberry cake. I enjoyed looking at the pretty photos and I too am looking forward to spring. Thanks for the blog visit Karen. Take care and have a nice weekend.

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  7. Hello, sending my good wishes to you.
    A lovely post, so nice to see all of your photographs.
    Yummy lemon-blueberry tea cake, perfect with a cup of tea :)

    Take care, stay well.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's so good to catch up with you, Karen..I've been so remiss in blogging. Your flowers are beautiful. Nothing blooming here yet but at least the snow stopped and is melting! The yellow flowers look so familiar. I can't remember the name. Let me know if you can. I love the little sachets you made from the tea towels, so cute with that stitch. I just started felting and I'm loving getting back to needle work. My six year old granddaughter saw me sewing by hand (which is all I know how to do), and was soooooo interested. We are going to work on that! I'm also going to make your Blueberry Lemon cake. I've seen more "busy" recipes and they don't interest me. I'll let you know how it turns out--I'm definitely not a baker.

    I don't know if you heard or know that Linda from Woke Up, Got Out Of Bed passed away March 1 from cancer. I'm so devastated, we had become quite close and though I knew she had cancer, it was still a shock and I think of her every day. Blogging really. creates much more than a community, friendships can be built without all the baggage of real life. Every place I travel I try to meet bloggers I follow. Linda and I often talked about that.

    I'll stay in touch. Glad to hear you are plugging along this winter and with this isolating pandemic. My husband and I just received our second vaccine but I think I'm still going to mask up in close quarters.

    I almost forgot---I LOVE your stove. Is it vintage?

    Sending hugs❤️

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  9. Karen, I loved this post. It took me right through all the sounds, smells, and beauty that is your world. Pretty little daffodils are shining and your beautiful and homey kitchen is busy, as are your hands. Love thinking about you with your little guy baking and coloring. Those bring back good memories to me. Your home is always filled with so much love and it shows in everything that you do..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  10. Oh Yes dreaming of spring that is for sure, we are seeing the leaf buds forming now, can't wait for the blooming trees, that's my favorite. Such special memories you are making with your grandson. The blueberry treat looks delicious. I enjoyed the little walk, I love the look of moss on trees!
    take care

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  11. Hi Karen!
    I love the sweet and the cozy in this whole post. As well as the hope in the parts about Spring bulbs shooting up. 🌸 And I am copying that tea cake recipe! yummy 😋 I love our walks through your beautiful woods. Where you live is just so magical. I love how you live your days so simply beautiful. And how fun to get grandkiddo time too. 💕 I recently posted on my blog the past couple weeks about some painful things going on in my world. If you could send prayers for my family it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for sharing your beautiful home and family. We are all in this together and I know the better days are ahead. 🙏

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  12. i always enjoy entering in your mesmerizing cozy world dear Karen :)

    everything looks enchanting ,your shelf and stuff ,inner views and wooden yard area are splendid ,surrounding where you take walk are breathtakingly gorgeous !

    yes a tree that grows before your eyes develops relationship with our soul :) the mountain and mossy trees ,bird everything is captured beautifully ! button flowers are unfamiliar to me though but so pretty
    how sweet of you to make cupcakes for your little grandson ,paper plates are amazing ,your sachets involve quite a hard work :) reminded me my late mom who would collect herbs and plants and seeds and would prepare healthy dishes that were called "medicine dish" by her ,it would take weeks to make one dish
    your blueberry cake looks delicious :)

    sending love and best wishes to you and loved ones my friend!

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  13. Karen, I just love that pillow with the brooch, it's so pretty. The crocheted cardigan will be nice when it's finished. Those yellow flowers are so unusual and lovely. The sachets are very nice, and the lavender is a beautiful scent. They would be so nice as gifts for loved ones. I bet it feels good to have a clean pantry. I've been doing much outside work, and although I'm tired at the end of the day, it's a good feeling to get things done. I like the tea towel your sister gave you. What a sweet gift. The sourdough bread is wonderful with minestrone soup. I have been eating minestrone soup a lot during these cold winter days. The one that I get is store bought, but still good. Oh, how I love the hummingbird. What a blessing it is to see them, isn't it? I always enjoy coming along on your walks in the woods. And now, I have my own woods to explore here in the mountains. My son just saw the beautiful waterfalls nearby. Your lemon blueberry tea cake looks so Yummy, and it would be so nice with my cup of coffee this morning.

    It sounds like you are having good days in March. Spring is March 20, but I think it comes a bit later in the mountains, but I don't mind, as I want to savor each season here while it's all new to me. It's always lovely to visit with you, Karen.

    ~Sheri

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  14. Spring is on the way at last! What fun you have with your grandson, making cakes and decorating plates. These are precious times, I'm so glad that you have been able to continue with them through the pandemic. x

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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