Blackberry Bliss!

I will be the first to admit, I am not a gardener.  I grew up with parents who loved to garden.  I remember picking corn, peas, beans, raspberries - all sorts of fruits and vegetables from our garden as a child, but for some reason, all that stayed with me about that time are fond memories.  I have no garden at my house.  What I DO love about this time of year is the abundance of blackberries all around our property.  I don't have to plant them, weed them or even pick them if I don't want to, but when I want a big bowl of blackberries - I can get as many as I want! 

Recently I saw this article in Country Living Magazine.  It included a recipe for a berry crisp with homemade vanilla ice cream. 

It looked soooo good!  I picked a big bowl of blackberries, modified the recipe a bit, and made some Blackberry Crisp and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream!

Here is MY recipe;

Topping:

1 stick cold butter

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

Cut in butter until crumbly - set aside.

Filling:

Blackberries (I used about 3-4 cups, enough to spread evenly over 9x13 pan)

Strawberries (I had about 1 cup frozen strawberries which I thawed and added to the blackberries.)

1/4 cup honey drizzled over berries

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

Toss together, taste for sweetness.  Spread evenly in 9x13 pan.  Crumble topping over berries. Bake @ 350 for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and starting to brown on top.

Ice Cream

I have one of those Donvier Ice Cream makers and keep the cold cylinder in my freezer at all times for those ice cream emergencies!  Here is a basic vanilla recipe; (best to make this while the crisp is baking)

Vanilla Ice Cream

2 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup milk

2 cups cream

2 tsp vanilla

Beat eggs till thick and cream colored.  Add milk, cream and vanilla.  Mix well and pour into cylinder.  Start cranking ice cream!

Enjoy!

Summer Cardboard Box Forts

If you're like me, kids spending too much un-entertained time together can get dangerous.  The fighting and bickering never seems to end!  I am constantly looking for things to keep them busy, so this week we made a trip to the Appliance Recycle store.  We loaded the back of the pick-up with about 6 giant cardboard boxes and brought them home to make a fort.  I handed my kids packing tape (to put the boxes back together again), spray paint (to paint flowers, write their name, whatever they wanted to design their fort with) and whipped up some curtains for their mansion in the yard.

Everything was going well until it came time to paint.  After a while I looked out back and saw them spray painting EACH OTHER.  Oh, for cryin' out loud. 

I quickly re-directed them and helped cut some windows and doors.  This was a WONDERFUL fort... for about 20 minutes.  Shortly after it was complete, my oldest noticed a small spider in one of the rooms.  Of course, they all ran screaming down to the house, abandoning the fort forever.

It's been 4 days now and the fort is beginning to crumble.  I'm thinking next I will send them out with matches and let them have at it. (Kidding, of course).

What fun things are you doing with your kids this summer?

The Farmer's Market

What a beautiful summer day!  After several hours spent working in the yard, pulling weeds and planting a tree (Here's my bargain of the week... $2.97 Red Maple Tree on sale at Lowes!)

I loaded the bikes in the back of the pick-up and headed down to town to let the girls go on a bike ride.  While they rode on the Centennial Trail, I took the opportunity to do a little shopping in Snohomish.  I love browsing through this little antique capital of Washington.

Thursdays are also the Farmer's Market day.  I picked the girls up after their ride and we hit the market.  Live music entertained us as we got our Kettlecorn, Shaved Ice and the best part...STRAWBERRIES!  These aren't your Costco strawberries.  These gems are like God's little gift in a green pint sized carton. 

 They are to die for.  They absolutely melt in your mouth and SWEET - oh my goodness, you can't eat just one.  THIS is the reason I come to the Farmer's Market.  They were just picked about 2 hours prior to me buying them.  If ever you are at the Snohomish Farmer's Market and you have just $4 to spend on a treat, don't get the Shaved Ice (although it is wonderful...) you must get the strawberries.

Enjoy your summer!!

Impatient for Impatiens!

Happy Spring!!  Here in the Northwest, Spring has arrived with sunshine and mild (50 degree) temperatures.  I am so ready for my flowerbeds to be anything but brown.  I soaked my sweet peas in water last night and planted them under my kitchen window this morning.  I look forward to them peeking up to greet me in the next few months!

I also planted my Impatiens in a starter tray.  They are now sitting in my kitchen window.  I plan to move them to a greenhouse until they are ready to plant.  I just adore impatiens.  They look so pretty along walkways.

I was inspired to plant them because of a former neighbor who had them planted all over her yard.  They looked SO pretty.  Every year, her house looked so nice lined with these sweet little flowers.  Recently, she lost a battle to cancer.  I plant them now to remember her by.  Every time I look at my yard, I think of Lisa.

I hope your yard brings you happiness this summer.  Happy planting!

Hanging a hammock!

I was inspired the other day by my second cousin.  She is a photographer, and in one of her photos she shows a beatiful hammock with pillows, kids giggling, and a candle chandelier overhead.  I remembered a hammock that we had tucked away in storage at our cabin which was never used.  I recently brought it home and was excited to hang it quickly before summer ended.

Here is the hammock - ready to hang!

I drilled a starter hole in the tree

Then I screwed in a hook.  Hindsight, I should have put in an eye, not a hook.  I'm going to have to swap it out as the hook is widening.  Live and learn!

I did the same on both sides and connected it with some chain.

Ta da!!

The hammock is hung!

Here is what you see when you are laying on the hammock!

Ahhhh

I hung it on the same tree as our tire swing.

Not sure if you can see it behind the tree, but it's there.

I love the tire swing and the hammock.  They both just scream summer!

I had a tire swing as a kid and spent MANY hours on that swing.

I'm glad my girls get the same joy out of theirs.

The scent of summer

There's nothing like fresh clean sheets that have been hanging on the line to dry.  I remember when I was a little girl my mom used to hang our sheets out to dry.  I loved how they were so crisp and clean when I climbed into bed and they smelled SO fresh.  It's one of my favorite memories as a child.  I hope to create those same memories for my girls.

To me, fresh sheets off the line is what summer smells like.

I had a little helper join me as I hung the sheets~

This darling humming bird stopped by for a refreshment and a chance to give his little wings a rest.

He was pretty sweet - and didn't seem too afraid of me!

He rested for a minute, then was on his way.

I cherish these last few weeks of summer, while I can take advantage of the sunny fresh air to dry my sheets.

 I love the fall, but fresh sheets off the line are something I look forward to like Christmas!