Around Here

Miss Posy and I made lots of freezer jam.

She is an expert at mashing strawberries, and I am so grateful for her help!

Hornet paper.

My parents had a huge nest in the eaves of their house,

 and brought part of it over for us to examine.

Amazing

Last Thursday we left for a weekend trip to pick up Big Brother from his summer camp in Wisconsin.  He was so excited to find these great big cucumbers in the garden when we got home.

 His "patch" has been doing well!

The weather has been so gorgeous! Sunny,

 breezy, and a slight nip in the air.

I am trying to get everything all organized for the beginning of school in a few weeks.

~And trying not to feel too overwhelmed by it all....

This summer has just gone by much too quickly!

Happy Things.....

The view out my kitchen window, now that the old barn is gone.

Jars of ruby~red crab~apple jelly.

Big pots of soup, simmering away on the stove.

A fire screen for our fireplace. 

(~Now I can relax about keeping the little ones from getting burned on the stove! And I think it really adds an elegant touch to the area as well. I love it.)

Napping little people, snuggled up under quilts.

Boys who love to read.

Girls who "work together" to press leaves between sheets of wax paper

(~something I have fond memories of doing as a child),

......and then use them to decorate up the dining room table for their mother.

So very pretty!

Doings....

Hello Autumn!

The weather has been so beautiful, and our big old maple has already started turning.

We had a little bonfire last night out under the stars, with the children, Titus (he is growing up to be such a good dog) and two crazy cats ( Alfred the Great and Bunter the Magnificent ~they can be such a riot!;) It was such a perfect night. So crisply~chilly.

So we have been bringing out the warm fuzzy sweaters.....

and the cute hats......

Sometimes a combination of both works best of all;)

And I must decide what to do with all the beautiful apples and grapes my parents generously dropped by the house today.

I do love this season!

Where Has the Summer Gone???!

So much had happened this past month, I don't even know where to begin!!!

We got new siding and windows put on the house! That means I can open the windows in every room now! Heaven!!!!! And the weather has been absolutely glorious, so I have been doing just that! (No matter that they all still need to be trimmed out on the inside.....I'll get around to posting pictures one of these days...)

I made two blueberry pies within a week of each other. Couldn't help myself....the blueberries were only 99cents a pint!!!! (I froze a bunch too!)  I decided blueberry pie is my favorite pie ever.

We are finally getting tomatoes! Tons of them! We are in heaven!

Oh......I also made a strawberry-rhubarb pie. It is my Knight's favorite.....and was also very tasty. 

We  have been getting lots of green peppers! ~I caught my Knight eating one like an apple the other day. He is planning to even put out more pepper plants next year.

In early August, we spent two lovely weeks out in Wyoming with my Knight's wonderful family. And one of the things we did was play a little baseball. Such happy times! It is always so hard to leave!

On the long drive out I finished up that quilt I posted about a while back. Can you see the ant crawling across the top? That is Nancy. I embroidered her there for my dad........who used to lay on my bed and tell me stories about her (and her friend Sally the housefly) when I was little. He made them all up himself of course, and I loved them! So now he has been telling them to the grandchildren.....and I thought "hiding" Nancy somewhere on my quilt would be just perfect. ( I have to make one for Sally next!;)

We are back at school........I am teaching three this year, so things are much much busier. That is why you may very well not hear quite as much from me as formerly. So don't worry, all is well, just very very busy! Hope you all enjoy these last few weeks of summer! I, for one, am very ready for autumn to begin!

Mulberries......