sweet...

my sweet gardening neighbor,

leona,

gifted me with this

perennial sweet pea plant

last summer.

~~~

this summer

leona's sweet pea

is gifting me

with it's first blooms!

~~~

i love it!

~~~

the sweet pea

is accomplishing what

my nurturing instruction

quietly suggests~

it is

growing, growing growing!

~~~

morning glories

are growing

and sharing

the vintage garden gate

along with the sweet pea.

~~~

both flowers will

vine and climb and

then fill the gate

with their sweet

bright pink blooms!

~~~

how sweet is that?

~~~

sweeeeeet!

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you a sweet summer day!

peggy

knee high...

by the 4th...

(or 5th)

of july!

~~~

that's what the farmers say!

~~~

they want their corn to be

knee high

by the 4th of july!

~~~

i am a farm girl

and i wanted

my corn to be

knee high

by the 4th of july!

~~~

and i am very happy

to report that,

indeed,

my very first crop

of indian corn

was knee high

by the 4th of july!

~~~

life is good

for the farm girl!

~~~~~

~~~

~

may your life and your farming be good!

peggy

raspberry picking...

my raspberries are ripening!

~~~

i'm soo excited!

i had enough ripe ones

to pick some!

~~~

i have been picking a few

every day

for the last few days

and popping them

rite into my mouth
but this morning

there were enough to

pick!

this is my first raspberry picking!

ever!

last summer i had

enough

just to pop a few

in my mouth!

~~~

last fall

i transplanted

some of the suckers

from my raspberry plants

into new rows.

~~~

this summer

they are

growing, growing, growing!

~~~

next year

i'll have more raspberries

for the picking!

~~~

here is my first picking!

~~~

just enough

to make

some

raspberry muffins!
~~~

yum, yum, yum!

~~~

i know these raspberries

will be extra tasty

because they've

come from my very own

raspberry patch

and they are

the very first

picking

of the raspberry season!

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you tasty picking!

peggy

thoughtful thursday...

there is more

to life

than

increasing its speed.

~~~

mahatma gandhi

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you less speed...

peggy

red and flowers...

a new bag!

~~~

i have

been wanting to sew

some grocery/shopping bags

this summer.

~~~

i sewed this one up

in no time!

~~~

using fabric bags

means using less plastic

and repurposing

some of my fabric stash~

2 reasons that make this project

a very good thing!
~~~

this bag is made from

a vintage tablecloth.

~~~

i love vintage tablecloths!

i especially love the red

and the flowers

on this fabric!

red and flowers~

2 of my favorite things!

~~~

the tablecloth was big enough

to make a bag...

~~~

and 2 runners

for our kitchen island.

~~~

i still have

a small piece left

of this vintage tablecloth.

~~~

i know i'll think

of something to do with it!

~~~

another project
for another day...
~~~~~
~~~
~
wishing you a day
filled with some of your favorite things!
peggy

tasty tuesday...

my june-bearing

"fragaria"

strawberries

have been good to me

this summer!

~~~

i wanted to

pick enough strawberries

to make jam.

i have been blessed

with enough to make a batch

of jam

and enough to freeze

for a few more batches!

~~~

i made strawberry jam

with my first

big picking

of strawberries!

~~~

strawberry jam

~~~

4c strawberries

4 c sugar

1 pkg pectin

1 t butter

~~~

combine the strawberries and sugar

in a large saucepan.

bring to a rolling boil,

stirring frequently.

add pectin and again,

bring to a rolling boil.

boil for 5 minutes

and remove from heat.

add butter

and stir.

(the butter eliminates much

of the foam

on the top of the jam.)

pour into jars.

~~~

this is the taste of summer...

strawberry jam

on no-knead toasted bread!

~~~

yum, yum, yum!

~~~

summer tastes good!

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you a tasty summer!

peggy

happy feet...

i love to be barefoot!

inside and out!

~~~

when i'm working outside

in the yard

and garden,

i'm barefoot

or in flip-flops.

~~~

needless to say,

my feet are not very pretty

and not very happy!

~~~

i mixed up this homemade footscrub

in hopes that i could make

my feet a little prettier

and a little happier!

~~~

homemade

and simple ingredients,

that makes me happy!

~~~

as it turns out,

the footscrub

makes my feet happy too!

~~~

we're all happy!

~~~

of course,

once it was mixed up,

to make me even happier,

i had to pretty up a jar

for my happy homemade footscrub!

~~~

i wrote the recipe

on some pretty paper

and glued it

inside the lid.

~~~

the recipe will be

rite where i need it

when i'm ready to

mix it up again!

~~~

homemade footscrub

~~~

1/4 c oatmeal

1/4 c cornmeal

1/4 c kosher salt

1/4 c unscented lotion

2 T aloe vera gel

~~~

i covered the lid

by gluing on

a piece of an old lace tablecloth

on top of a piece of muslin.

~~~

a pretty jar...

and happy feet!

~~~~~

~~~

~

make your feet happy!

peggy

rainy morning...

it's a rainy morning here...

~~~

the rain barrel is

full to over-flowing.

~~~

the rain is falling...

ever so gently.

~~~

the rain is

making puddles,

greening the grass,

refreshing the earth,

and clearing the air.

~~~

the rain is

a blessing,

to be sure.

~~~

i love what the rain does

for everything outside.

~~~

and i love that

it gives me

the chance to be inside

and catch up

on all those things

that tend to get neglected

on a sunny day!

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you sunshine and rain!

peggy

summer blooms...

it's the first

day of summer!

~~~

summer is here!

~~~

hooray!

~~~

and i'm loving

every minute of it!

~~~

lovin' it!
~~~

the flowers know it's summer

and they're putting on

their summer show!

~~~

the sky blue delphiniums...

~~~

the raspberry parfait dianthus...
~~~

the strawberry parfait dianthus...

~~~

the sweet william...

~~~

and the floxglove

are all

loving this very first

day of summer
as much as i am!

~~~

and i'm loving

this very first
day of summer

thanx to the

sunshine

and

my summer blooms!
~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you many summer blooms!

peggy

mornings...

i love mornings!

~~~

i love to wake up

to sunshine streaming into

my bedroom windows

along with a cool summer breeze

and

to the birds singing me their

morning song.

~~~

this morning was one of

those mornings i absolutely love!

~~~

i love that

i can have my coffee and toast

and enjoy some quiet time

all to myself.

~~~

i love breakfast!

~~~

i love toast with jam

and coffee.

~~~

my homemade bread...

my homemade jam...

and the first-cup-of-the-pot coffee!

~~~

it doesn't get any better than this...

~~~~~

~~~

~

wishing you a good morning!

peggy