Sharing a Recipe and a Mystery

 

 

Hi All!  Today I’m joining Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.  It’s always an interesting day to see all the recipes that are shared.  Be sure to stop over.

 

Our garden produce is just starting to come in now.  I always have a big smile when Mr. Brown Socks brings in the first cucumbers and squash.  We could make an entire meal on nothing but garden produce in the summertime.

 

 

One of our family favorite summer recipes is Creamy Cucumbers.

 

We start with these purdy gems ~~~~~

 

 

 

Then let’s pick a little dill and snip some chives while we’re out here.

 

Can’t you just smell it?  Fresh dill will always, always remember me of my dear father in law. He always had dill in his garden.  I used to walk out as he would proudly show me how his garden was coming along, and pull off some dill as he was talking.  Dill and summer and my father in law just go hand in hand to me.  LOVE IT and the memories!

 

 

 

 

Now let’s slice up several of these cukes.  We are having a few extra family members for this meal, so I will triple this recipe.  Rarely are there leftovers, but if there ever are, this recipe will keep fine for lunch the next day.

 

 

Now I have all the ingredients sitting out, ready to put the whole thing together.

 

 

Sorry the picture is a little pale, but hopefully you can see the completed, savory bowl of yumminess at it’s best.

 

 

 

 

Creamy Cucumbers

Thinly slice 1 cucumber; sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt; let stand 30 minutes.  Drain.  You may want to rinse a bit too if you don’t like a lot of saltiness.

Combine 1/2 cup sour cream, 4 tsps. vinegar, 2-3 drops (or more to suit your taste) bottled hot pepper sauce, 2 T. snipped chives, 1/2 tsp. dried dillweed or about a tablespoon fresh dill, and dash pepper;  pour over cucumbers.

Chill about 30 minutes.

Makes 3-4 servings.

*Note ~~  I always double or triple this.  It’s that good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m also joining in with Tootsie for Flaunt your Flowers.  While I’m showing a few of my flowers, I want to ask your opinion on what went on up on my deck recently.  Our lot does back up to the woods, but we have a fence between the yard/garden and woods. 

 

I went outside and saw all these buds from my geranium.  At first I didn’t think anything of it, but as I looked around, I noticed more and more and more.  I was so sad because you can see by all the buds, this plant was ready to burst open with color.

 

 

Totally puzzled, I called Mr. Brown Socks to take a look and he couldn’t figure it out either. 

 

See all the stubs?  The leaves were left alone, just the buds were missing…..

 

If it had been a wild critter, he could have chosen anything from the garden, down below, as we have walkout basement floor plan so our deck is really up high.

 

He could have feasted on lettuce, green beans, winter squash greens and numerous other goodies.

 

More flowers down below to choose from…

Even more on the lower level of the patio…

 

But do you think he would really have climbed the steps all the way up to feast on geranium buds??

 

 

Could it have been this big lug of a family member?  We don’t think so, BUT?

 

I don’t suppose we will ever know, but it is a mystery.

 

Be sure to join Tootsie for lots more flowers today.

Those Winged Critters

 

Looking around my house it appears I like things with wings for summertime decorating. 

I just love this little tray I currently have propped up on an easel.

Happy little July vignette……

A Bee in another form

 

 

 

 

Looking dramatic by candlelight

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever seen a cuter bar of soap?

 

But do you know what this winged critter is???  Read on…..

 

 

 

You see ~~  by mid summer, my husband brings in one basket after another of his garden produce….Oh yes, I’m right there with him getting excited over fresh veggies for supper every night.  BUT, with the good comes the bad.

 

 

 

 

Did you figure it out??

 

It’s a fruit fly silly!!!  :) :) :)

 

This one may be cute but I detest those pesky real ones.  In a few more weeks they will really make their presence known.  Right now I’ve only seen a few. 

 

I’ll be ready for them.  You see a couple of years ago I found the best and easiest way to get rid of those little suckers, the ones that aren’t as cute as the one I have under glass.

 

  Here’s my recipe for eliminating fruit flies:

 

Fruit Fly Potion

2 cups warm water

2 T. sugar

2 T. white vinegar

couple drops of liquid dish soap

Combine and place in several narrow necked jars.  It takes a couple of days, but it really does take care of these little pests.

 

 

Come back to visit me because I have an excellent homemade mosquito repellent recipe I will share with you.

 

Thanks for the visit!  Enjoy this day God has given us!

The Rest of the Story

 

A couple of Mondays back I joined in with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch to show how I am finishing off our lower level family room.  Today I’m participating in Met Monday again to show you more of this level.

 

 

There is still much work to be done, but it is definitely coming along downstairs at this stage. 

 

Here a full shot of the window I recently had draperies made for:

 

Another angle showing the shelves…..

A close up of the window..

 

For this picture below, I stood in front of the red chairs and faced at a different angle.  It’s hard to photograph this room as it’s very open and goes in different directions.  Beyond the chairs and lamps that you see here is a guest room and my silk floral work room.

 

 

Here I am standing behind the red recliners…  Don’t mind the old pine bench.  I tried to part with it, but couldn’t.  Someone special made that for us back in the 80’s.  Don’t you think a coat of black paint and a pretty seat cushion will help?  It’s nice to have extra seating sometimes too.

 

Here is a picture of “Hazel” ~~ the picture….

 

 

From this angle you can see the opposite end where our rec room is.  I have more plans for this open area.  To the left you can see a portion of our bar which I have shown close ups of before here.

 

 

Okay, back to the start.  See this little green chair with a throw over it???  for good reason ;)

 

I would love to find a houndstooth fabric such as this to have it covered in.  Let me know if you have a fabric source for this!

 

Thanks so much Susan for allowing us to share our before and after projects.  I just don’t have many before pictures because this was new construction.

 

I appreciate all of you who have visited today.  It is truly so much fun getting to know so many new bloggers.  Thank you most sincerely for stopping by!

Patriotic Baskets

 

 

Back in the nineties I collected many, many Longaberger baskets.  Suddenly I realized I had plenty and haven’t purchased one in a very long time.

 

Some of my favorites are the Inaugural Baskets.  I was putting this away after our Fourth of July celebration and thought I would share with you.

 

 

Here’s my first.  It is from 1993, from President Bill Clinton.

 

 

 

 

And the second from 1997, President Clinton’s second term.

 

This is from 2001, President George W. Bush

 

 

And probably my favorite basket from 2005, President Bush’s second term.

 

 

A close up of the gorgeous lid.  Isn’t it beautiful?

 

 

All lined up together….

 

Don’t they look important?

 

 

God Bless the USA

 

 

Is your July speeding by?  Summers always seem to fly. 

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to leave a comment so I can say hello!

An early Summer Luncheon

 

What would we do without Susan at Between Naps on the Porch and her fabulous Tablescape Thursday?

 

 

Last week I was the hostess for our small little Bible Study group.  We have been studying a Beth Moore dvd series which concluded with the lesson in my home.  Since it’s summer and several of our members are teachers we had our meeting in the morning and we had a luncheon afterwards.

 

 

 

If you follow my blog, you may recognize these dishes.  The sweet little flower ones I recently found at a garage sale in a Chicago suburb.  I placed them with other garage sale solid brightly colored plates found at a garage sale locally. 

 

I’m sad because there is a reflection on the little mirrored place cards I found while thrifting recently.  Maybe there’s a better picture on down.

 

 

 

I loved these faux geraniums to pull the pink from the dishes.  The little pair of birds under the dome was a recent thrift store find as well. 

 

 

In my opinion, a tray is always the perfect accessory to pull for a centerpiece.  It is the backbone for any of your lovely treasures you like to display and coordinate the colors you are using for any tablescape.

 

 

I’m going to have to keep working on my little mirrored place cards pictures to see if I can get a close up without the reflection.

 

Anyone for dessert?  Oh, here you can see a portion of Cindy’s place card.  They all have different flowers painted on them and the set of eight came with their own little easel. 

 

Yes, it’s blurry, but this Lemonade Pie was summery delicious.

 

 

I’m so pleased you stopped by.  I hope you will have time to visit Susan and see all the other lovely tablescapes!