Sunday Chit Chat

 The day started out cloudy and 15C but soon the sun broke through and we're getting nearer to 30 .
 I went out to water a few of the flowers that really can't bear to be dry ( like Astilbes). I'm about to go out with that bed sheet and cover the Hydrangea that is mostly in the sunshine. 
On our morning walk we noticed that some of the shrubs are turning yellow from the drought. We had a few sprinkles of rain but it didn't amount to much.

 

 I made some Blueberry jam and purposely kept it on the thinner side so it also doubles as a sauce. Then I made a simple cheesecake using a recipe that my sister gave me.  4 ingredients....a block of cream cheese ( softened) a cup of milk, a pkg of instant vanilla pudding and a generous tsp of vanilla. I used the food processor to mix it up and poured it over a graham wafer crust.  
It was such a success that next time I think I'll try a different flavour of instant pudding. I love simple and easy recipes.

Something I'm thinking of doing:

I try to visit the blogs of those who leave comments but there are those who don't have a blog and that I'd like to reply to. So I'll try posting a reply right in my comments, (I hope that makes sense).

Thanks for coming by.

 

 

 

Blueberries

 

 A cloudy and cooler morning and very welcome it is. Yesterday the temperature fell quickly in the afternoon and by suppertime we had thunder and lightning, even a bit of rain. I wish it had been more but I'm sure my flowers appreciated the coolness.  We don't often get thunderstorms  here but having grown up on the prairies where storms are so very severe yesterday's was not impressive to DH and myself. However, M and his Dad were watching the light show while it lasted.

We ordered more Blueberries and they were delivered last evening. Each box contains 5 lbs.  Various members of the family want some and we'll freeze the rest.

 Because it was cool yesterday I made a big pot of Beef Stew.  We had it for supper and there's lots left. Don't you just love it when there are leftovers and  you don't have to figure out what to make?  I should make a nice dessert though. One that uses Blueberries!!

On the subject of desserts  #2 son ( the one who likes to bake in his spare time) made a Walnut Bundt cake and shared  some.  Normally I'm not much of a fan of walnuts but this cake was so good.
I have such a sweet tooth and find any and all sweets delicious!

 

That's about all for today. I hope you have a good day. Thanks for coming by.

 

 

Sweet Peas

 It's 30C again but amazingly I haven't even had to turn on any A/C. Must be because the humidity is so low ( 31%)  With the hot weather I think the Sweet Peas will soon be on the way out.  I picked a bunch, mixed perennial and annual. The perennial have no scent but are so robust. There;s a light pink one that escaped and is growing horizontally over the whole back garden. You can spot it in the bouquet.  The ones I sowed from seed in Spring are a mix of dark navy and also navy/white streaked.  After a slow start they flourished.

 

 The Morning Glories which grow on the North side of the arbour that they share with Sweet Peas are being ever so poky. I may have to give them some fertilizer but I'm afraid that then they'll just grow leaves and it's blooms I'm wanting.

I know many say that hot summer days are not soup days but around here we like soup all year around. I made a Vegetable soup and added a can of black beans. There's enough for 2 suppers. It's always a relief to have supper made .We'll have it with the last of the peach pie ( and ice cream). 
What are you having tonight?

 

Thanks for dropping by.

 

 

 

Blueberries and a Peach Pie

 

 

Did you notice that Blueberries are one of the items to notice in July?  It's definitely the season for them here in our area where there are a great number of blueberry farms. We ordered 40 lbs and they were delivered right to our house. Although we didn't know it at the time these berries were picked by the grandchildren of  the owners of one of those many farms.The children pick and sell the berries and get to keep the money they earn.  Incidentally, not all the berries were for us.  They were shared with other family members. Next week we'll order some more. 

All washed and ready for the freezer.

I baked a Peach Pie.  I don't often bother with pie crust preferring to make the Impossible pies that make their own crust but since I did go to that bother I thought I'd take pictures as visible proof that I actually did it. 

We prefer a crumb (streusel) topping.

The finished product!!

Next week we're in for some very warm days and no baking will be done. Nice to take advantage of a cool day to use the oven.

Thanks for coming by.

An Ordinary Day

 Mostly cloudy this morning. Perfect temperature for puttering outside.  I was cutting down some flowers that had finished blooming and also pulling out some that had spread too aggressively. Namely Love-in-a-Mist ( Nigella). Of course I left some but pulled lots out and was on my way to the green bin ( I won't take the chance of putting them in our compost because of all the seeds!) when I saw how pretty a bunch they were. So in they came!

 

 Took some pictures while I walked around the garden. There are 3 Clematis growing against the porch all are shades of purple.  Hollyhocks grow on the left and also on the right of them.

 

 On the left,behind the tall Daisies, you can just get a glimpse of the white Clematis. 

 

 We had to go to Walmart yesterday and I saw that they  had marked all their outdoor plants 90% off.  I had to be quick. ( DH was already in the store waiting for me) so I grabbed 3 pots, one of which was this pretty little yellow Lantana which will look much better after it gets used to its new spot. I could only carry the 3 (gallon) pots or I would have taken more!!  

 That is my day so far. I plan on getting some inside work done then look at old magazines on the porch. Thanks for coming by.

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Tuesday Chit Chat

 My project for this another very warm day was to organize the kitchen drawer where all the plastic containers from small to large are kept. No matter how I store them they get in a big mess so from time to time it's best to take them all out and start again. Which I did. 

 

Then I came back to my ongoing cleaning of my teacups and other collections on the bakers rack in the sun room.  I got help with taking down the two on the top shelf and again putting them back once I cleaned them.  The third shelf has also been done now. Just the bottom one is left. 

 

In spite of the warm temperatures I used the oven to make scones. I used the recipe that  I put the candied fruit in.  

I started on the peaches. I scalded them briefly in order to peel them but they didn't peel very easily.  My Mom canned quarts and quarts of peaches that looked perfect;  mine were sort of ragged looking. Oh well, they'll taste the same. I don't can any more so these will go into the freezer for winter use.

Today is youngest Grandson M's 17th birthday.  That wee baby that had to spend the first weeks of his life in the Neonatal Unit is now almost as tall as his Dad.  I looked for a picture where his face was not visible. The picture I found is a better picture of Bracken than M. Those 2 were buddies.

14 years ago

So that's how my day has gone so far. Now that I'm done what I set out to do I'll see if the porch is not too warm and I'll sit and put my feet up.  How's your day going?

Thanks for coming by. 

Rain, Heat, and Peaches

 The rain we had last week has not been kind to my Annabelle Hydrangeas.  Their large flowers fell over once they got soaking wet. It doesn't look like they be able to pick them up again.

 
Likewise the lavender  fell gently over.  The heat we had before the rain "ripened" the lavender and the white 'snow' on the ground are the dry flowers.

On a cheerier note we had a fun time playing Dominoes this afternoon. Lots of laughter which makes a Mom's/ Gran's heart happy.  GD Kate was back from a camping trip that was near the fruit growing part of B.C. and she brought us a 20 lb box of beautiful peaches. They need a day or so until they reach perfection then I foresee some delicious peach desserts.
 

 That's it for today. The coming week will be very warm as no doubt it will be for many of you. 
 Keep cool if you can. I'm sure eating ice cream helps.

 

Thanks for visiting