a little of this & that…

 93

It was 93 one day this past week - and while I am certainly not wanting to wish away time, I have had it with this hot, humid, muggy, awful summer weather. To paraphrase a movie title:  it’s been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad summer!

A photo taken at 7:00 AM   - doesn’t the morning just look like it’s going to be a scorcher? (No filters, I promise.)

While I sat in the milkhouse yesterday, waiting for customers, I tried to keep the baked goods looking as fresh as possible with the door open and fans blowing air…warm air, but still air was moving.

I brought in a few flowers hoping they would make the surroundings a bit cheerier as I slowly melted in my rocking chair.

A quick trip to the farmers’ market and I found some of the best, sweetest, absolutely perfect in every way corn. They had it packed in ice, which I thought was a terrific idea! Here's my secret to cooking what I think is perfect corn every time, and it's quick & easy. Let water come to a boil in a stockpot, add ears of cleaned corn, when the water returns to a boil: turn off the heat, cover the stockpot, and wait 5 minutes. (Slather with butter, salt & pepper...but that's just how I like it!)

I love an enamel-topped table - and when I saw this one was FREE, well, my daughter and I were off to rescue it. (I had just seen a very similar one in an antique shop for $100!)

She had some rusty spots, which came off with a little elbow grease and several coatings of Bar Keepers Friend cleanser. The wood was also very dry, I’m not sure where she’s been stored (outside maybe?), so I gently dusted her off, washed her down, then gave her a coating of wax to help protect the wood. She was perfect outside the milk house for displaying oodles of cookbooks I’m selling...the deep clean continues. If you're a lover of Gooseberry Patch books, let me know...I was generously given a copy of each book I helped to write and I have stacks/loads/heaps of them...I'm happy to send you all you'd like!

And this picture has no significance other than it made us laugh! We thought it was so funny that for a bag not marked "limited edition" or special in any other way, these M&M's missed out on all the other colors we usually find!

We’ve turned basil into pesto,

dahlias are blooming, 

and my giant cupboard is ready to pick up! I can’t wait to get her here - I’m thankful to the gal who found her in a dusty corner and saw she needed some TLC. And for her to have some old hinges and a keyhole cover from this old house makes my heart happy. An antique knob was added as well - now - to make the trip and carefully load her, bring her home, up 4 steps, and finally through the double doors - fingers crossed! 

Sending you good wishes for the rest of the weekend, and for the week to come - may it be cooler!

August MJF post is up!

 

Just a note to let you know that the August post for MaryJane’s Farm is up - it’s all about Sunday drives and a little something called Barn-heart!

Here’s the link:

Rural Farmgirl

happy friendship day!

 

To all of you who take the time to visit and share your corner of the world...

a heart-felt thank you.  

I learn from you,
I am inspired by you,
and I'm truly grateful 
to have discovered
so many kindred spirits across the miles.

20 degrees cooler!

Happy dance! Today it is 20 degrees cooler than it has been in weeks. There’s a brisk breeze from the north and for at least a few days, relief from the horrid heat and humidity that usher in these “dog days” of summer. 

The haze of the days has made it difficult to tell sunrise,

from sunset. 

The goal is to start early, then when it becomes unbearable, wait until evening to wrap up any outside work that needs doing. I tell you friends, I will not complain one jot or tittle about winter’s cold!

The volunteer pumpkin patch has pumpkins already…I had to give it quite a trim - it was taking over the rest of the garden and some of the yard!

Spent hay is being used to mulch the tomato plants - still patiently waiting for the first ones. To me, sun-warmed tomatoes and fresh sweet corn are the best parts of summer!  

This sign at the Farmers’ Market made me smile!

We had a visitor the other morning-seeing deer this close to the house is rare. 

Lately, I’ve been looking for a new cupboard to hold all of my scrapbooks…for years they’ve been tucked inside an old pie safe, and it was bursting at the seams. Nothing I came across had shelves deep enough (they need to be at least 14 inches.) 

A couple of weeks ago I spied one online, so I took a chance, hopped in the car and made the 1-1/2 hour trip to check it out (talk about over the river and through the woods!) 

It had a bad paint job (I know it looks like a great prim mustard, trust me it wasn’t) and it needed some TLC, but the price was just too good. It’s bigger than I wanted, but it will hold all my scrapbooks, future scrapbooks, and supplies!

Neither the seller nor I wanted to strip the paint off-it was just too big of a project to tackle right now (I know, I know) so it was coated in chalk paint. 

Off came the modern, heavy-duty hinges which will be replaced by these:

original hinges from 1864 which came off of the farmhouse’s front doors.

And I found this keyhole cover in the barn – dated 1887 - it will go on the cupboard door. 

I’m thrilled that I could add some pieces of this old house to the cupboard which will make it really special - I can hardly wait until it’s finished!

And yes, I’ll need to rent a U-Haul to get it home and I’ll be looking for some extra muscle to get it up the front steps and in place…I’ll share pictures once that adventure is over!

Hard to believe it’s August – time flies. Halloween items are already showing up in the stores - yikes!

Wherever you are, I hope you enjoy your weekend. 

July MJF post is up!

 

Dropping in to let you know that July’s post for MaryJane’s Farm is up if you’d like to swing by and read it - just a whole lotta chit-chat about this & that!

Just click here:

Rural Farmgirl Post

a peek at the week

Summer is in full swing, and I don’t know where the days go! Well, with the exception of yesterday morning, it went to cleaning out the basement refrigerator -  evidently at some point during the week it quit cooling and freezing -  let’s not talk about that: yuck. 

Bailey celebrated her birthday! There were treats of birthday dog cookies, birthday dog cake, and a dog bone with sprinkles. Nothing is too much for the once frightened dog found hiding in a barn…she is the sweetest soul ever (and a good sport about the birthday hat!)

A snapshot of goodies from the farmers’ market: 

Dahlias in bloom.

A trip to a new antique shop and I spied pink enamelwear with a blue/purple trim - I’ve  never seen this color.

There’s a volunteer pumpkin plant threatening to take over the garden!

Barnum still visits, but he’s just too shy to let us get close. He doesn’t mind posing for a picture though.

And that’s the latest from here - it’s time I was off to bake pies for the little farmers’ market in town. Hoping summer is going well for you - here it’s heat, humidity, rain, repeat!

the sweet and simple things…

This last week flew by, and while both kids were home, the days were filled with simple things…just for fun things. Here’s a quick peek at what we did:

A quick day-trip to (so they say)The World’s Only Mothman Museum - who is Mothman? A legendary creature with wings and glowing red eyes - probably hanging out with Big Foot, Chupacabra, and the Loch Ness Monster! 

The museum was in a sweet little Mayberry-like  town…

with a great antique shop - the most Fiestaware I’ve seen in one place!

I’m searching high and low for a new cupboard to hold scrapbooks (oh-so many scrapbooks) - this one’s caught my eye. Needs a little love, but a good price. Maybe…a little sanding out of the rough spots and a new coat of paint?? I’m still thinking it over. 

Here’s one I fell in love with, found a picture online, saying it came from an 1867 barn - swoon!  It listed a town but no other contact information, so now I’m doing some sleuthing, hoping I can narrow down where it might be-ugh, chances are slim. 

Friday my daughter had a terrific idea - we should celebrate the summer solstice! 

IKEA always has a big celebration and somehow, each year we seem to miss it - so we decided to have our own Swedish Firande! We hopped in the car and headed to the nearest IKEA - if you’ve not eaten in an IKEA restaurant, the meatballs are legendary. And as silly as that may sound, I say it with all seriousness. So we wandered through the little food section of IKEA and brought home goodies for our dinner. I found some Swedish folk music to play in the background and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! 

The evening light was perfectly gorgeous on the longest day of the year - this was taken at 9 PM.

There’s something magical about the summer solstice…dancing fireflies, golden light, such vivid colors. A simple joy on a beautifully long day. 

 

I know for many of us extremely high temperatures are coming this week; take care of yourselves, keep as cool as possible, and stay safe. Catch up with you soon. 

  

not enough hours in the day!

How can it be the middle of June? As the saying goes, “Back the truck up!” Let’s reverse the calendar a little bit shall we? The days are flying by.

I just finished getting the garden in (a month later than usual-we’ve had so much rain). I’m cleaning out the milkhouse for summer cottage food sales, wrangling weeds, and staring down a long to-do list.  

Just like all of your days, don't we seem to find they're filled from beginning to end? But I'm reminded of this quote by one of my favorite authors/artists, Susan Branch:

"Sometimes I think we get caught up in the hectic happenings of the weeks and months and we forget to take time out to relax."

She's spot on...sure, there are important things that need doing, but it's also so important to slow down. We need to take time to unwind, relax, and enjoy these days.

And with that said, here's a look at some of the things I've spied with my little eyes as I tried to take time to slow down…

Tinkerbell finding the herb garden is quite comfy. 

Fuji apples are plentiful this year - yay!

Russian Sage in my little (and I do mean little)
Weavers Garden,

along with some Yarrow. 

Spotted this clever Lightning McQueen car while I was out and about
- wow! Well done!

I took a weaving class at a nearby historical village…
ta-da - my finished rug! 

  The Master Weaver was wonderful!  I was her only student for the day,
so it was perfect for me as a beginner - I’ll definitely be doing this again. 

So pretty, a balloon festival in a town not far away. 

Mama raccoon at the cat feeder...
she visits every spring and is always so polite. 

Peonies are blooming,

along with this finicky rose. Some years it’s covered in blooms,
then other years absolutely nothing. Can anyone tell me what variety it
might be and any tips for growing?

Iris greeting the birds as they settle in for a sip
or a little spruce-up at the birdbath. 

A friend shared her fresh milk with me,
and I tried my hand at making yogurt!

.

And this crock caught my eye - I never see one with a lid.  
I wonder if it needs a new home?! (It didn’t have a price tag,
so I’m guessing it's out of my price range,
but I'll check next time I'm there.)

Well, that’s it for today. My son will be here tonight as he’s off this week from his college job - perfect timing because my daughter leaves Saturday for 6 weeks as an RA at a ballet company. I’m thinking maybe we squeeze in a day trip and lots of home cooking! 

Have a wonderful week friends...let's take time to enjoy the simple things.

(Image courtesy of Google)