Sponge Cake

 

 I have no intention of minimizing the impact of all the wildfires. The loss of homes and businesses as well as all the forests is heart-breaking. But when I saw this silly cartoon posted I had to chuckle. 

I did bake yesterday....first the cheese buns then I made a sponge cake. I found a great recipe for one on British Chef's Table. It's called  Mary Berry Sponge cake with oil.  I reduced the sugar from 1 cup to 3/4 and I may try reducing it even more next time.  I like that the recipe calls for only 1/2 cup oil whereas other sponge cake recipes called for 1 cup oil or 1/2 butter.

My bush beans are ready for picking and I'm going to make Green Bean Soup for supper. A vital ingredient is Summer Savory. Are you familiar with this delightful little plant?  The seeds are hard to find so I depend on mine self-seeding. One year I must have hoed out the tiny volunteers in spring. Luckily my sister had seeds and shared them. I do grow Winter Savory and that is a perennial but it's flavor is much milder.

It blooms with the sweetest little flowers.

I think I'll go sit on the porch now and read before starting that soup. What are you having today?  With the time zones being what they are you probably already had your evening meal. In that case, how was it?

Cooler weather & Flowers

It feels so good to be wearing a light cardigan after the weeks of hot weather.  No surprise to anyone but I'm baking today,.  Grandson M loves the cheese buns I make and of course we were out of those last week already. So the breadmaker is on and later I'll make those.

The old PG Hydrangea is enormous and almost covers the front arbour. At this point no one can sit on the bench.  I do cut off the branches that poke into the walkway but other than that no pruning is done.

 

When we walked yesterday morning the sun shone on the fountain in the lake and caused a rainbow effect.
There's a boat on the water in the distance.  You can see it better in the next picture.

I have PG Hydrangeas, and regular Mopheads, but I don't have a lace cap so Eldest Daughter brought me a bouquet of those. I put it on the picnic table outside ( next to the freezer).

Another bouquet, this one for the diningroom table.  This one was courtesy of Middle Son.

I'm off to look through my recipes to see what else I should bake. 

Thanks for visiting 🌼🌼🌼

 

Monday Chit Chat

 

Monday again and for me at least it means the usual laundry.  I'm so happy that it's cooler today. One feels much more energized than when it's so hot. Who knows, I may even make a supper that involves turning on the oven!!

 The first nasturtiums are opening.....

 ...and the first morning glories

 Did you remember to look out for the full moon yesterday? Sadly we had cloudy skies. It was the Full Buck Moon. The internet has this to say  "In late spring male deer start to grow new antlers, and these new antlers, coated with velvety fur, can be fully visible by July."

 

 

I hope your week is off to a good start. 

Thanks for coming by

Pillowcases

  

Do you ever have a problem coming up with ideas for a post?  That's my problem today. SO... I've been browsing Pinterest again and I thought I'd show some of the pretty pillowcases I've been looking at. 

#4

I like them all but some are not practical for sleeping on  but the last one #7 and also #8 would be my choices for being pretty but also practical.  Do you have a favourite ?

Thanks for coming by

Lily pads and Vegetables

 For days there has been a machine similar to this one on the lake clearing at least some of the lily pads that can totally cover the surface. I kept forgetting to get a picture until today when I got one of dealing with the pile of leaves that had been dumped at the edge of the lake.

 Today was also grocery shopping day. I prefer to buy my vegetables at a smaller market. I got a lovely assortment all for $12. Hot weather or not there will be soup on tomorrow's menu.

 The weather continues to be sunny and hot. Hopefully we'll get a break one of these days.

Thanks for visiting

 

 

Pineapple Jam

 Another warm week begins. I have finished dealing with the laundry. DH brought home a box of 8 large, very ripe pineapples from Gleaners. They were given several hundred lbs of pineapples which they couldn't use. After all, it's dried soup mix they make and pineapple just doesn't work for soup. In cases like that the volunteers are encouraged to take and use what otherwise will be compost. So we made jam. We used equal amounts of pineapple and rhubarb and it's surprisingly tasty.
(Our grown children were happy to take a pineapple home too).

 Gleaners also got 60,000 lbs of potatoes of which 5000 lbs were beyond hope and were put in the compost but the rest will make a great addition to soup mix. It's always interesting for me when DH comes home after working there all morning with tales of what the latest  produce that was donated and in what astounding quantities.  In the case of the potatoes it seems that the warehouses have to make room for this year's crop so are getting rid of last year's.

Thank you for coming by,  GM

More Flowers and an Apron

 One of my Amaryllis decided to bloom. Her blooms are so heavy that I've had to prop up the stalk that holds them.  Now I noticed that another Amaryllis has a flower stalk ( scape) emerging.

 I have just 2 Dahlias, both are in pots on the porch.

 I don't sew but if I did I'd try making this pretty apron that I saw on Pinterest.

 Thanks for visiting,  

         Have a pleasant weekend

                    Granny M

Flowers

 

 

Good Morning!  It's going to be very very warm again today. When I'm done here I should go and shut all the windows, especially on the south side. 

 

Flowers on the table, gifted from Eldest Daughter

 Perennial Sweet Peas just coming into bloom. So far just 2 shades of pink. They don't last long in the heat.

Just for fun......

Thanks for visiting,  Stay cool.

Monday Flowers and Berries

 

 We walked at Willband yesterday before the day became too hot  Like most of North America we're experiencing very hot weather.  ( The photo was taken by S.G., a fellow walker).  This morning we were back to walking closer to home.  I spent an hour watering my gardens when we got back. Everything is doing fine...as long as I keep watering.

The Annabelle Hydrangeas are doing great. The one in the foreground is Strawberry Sundae but her flowers haven't developed the pink tinges yet. I can't remember how soon they turned colour last year.

Lavender loves the sunshine!!

On our way back from Willband yesterday we stopped at a blueberry farm where a man was putting up
a Blueberries for Sale sign. We turned in and became their first customers not only of the day but the season. They had just opened for business. We bought 3 boxes which will be shared with various members of the family.  No doubt we'll go back for more next week because we're all big fans of those big blue berries.

I better get back to doing my laundry.

Have a lovely day.

A bit of Bad News ( but not too serious)

 

 Let's have the bad news first and get that over with. I was so sure I had done away with all the affected buds of my Daylilies last year so I had high hopes of escaping them this year. Unfortunately I must have missed one or two and now I'm finding buds that are distorted and full of awful grubs.

from the internet.....

 Hemerocallis gall midge has one generation a year. Adult midges emerge in May-June and lay eggs on the developing flower buds of daylilies. The larvae feed inside the buds causing them to develop in an abnormally. Instead of being long and slender, infested flower buds are shortened and have an enlarged conical shape.

The way I understand it the grubs develop then fall to the ground where they spend the winter only to emerge the next year and the cycle starts all over again.

Aside from that problem everything is growing and looking good. We're currently having hot weather
( 30C and over) so there's a lot of watering being done.

Knowing that hot weather was coming I used my oven to make sure we wouldn't run out of desserts.
I baked a cheesecake and also a Mixed fruit "Impossible Pie".  You know how fond I am of those Bisquick recipes.  (And, NO, I don't know why I am suddenly writing in italics.)

On our walk this morning we saw this car which may or may not have been a Bentley with right hand drive.  The chauffeur was sitting in it waiting in front of a nearby house. He was still sitting there when we came back so I got my camera and took a picture. I would have liked to get a better angle but I felt very obvious with him just sitting there looking bored but not friendly.

That's it for today. Thank you for visiting.

A Goldfinch and Some Cherries

 

I'm finally sitting down and will attempt a post. It seems the days go by too quickly and I don't get everything done. Actually, whoever does get everything done?
Our weather has been fairly pleasant but with our sandy soil I've had to water quite a bit. Higher temperatures are predicted starting tomorrow so I'll be out there with the water hose (or getting DH to carry heavy pails of water from our rain barrels.

This little goldfinch visited one of our feeders this week.  I wasn't quick enough to get my camera so the picture is from the internet.  Did you know that Goldfinches are said to carry spiritual messages, encouraging resilience and the need to embrace changes gracefully.  Hmmm. I can definitely use such a message.

We bought some delicious  B.C. cherries. Mostly we just ate our fill  but I did make some Rhubarb & Cherry jam. It turned out fine but it tastes much more like rhubarb than cherry.

We had a lovely family BBQ for Canada Day.  The weather was perfect, not too warm and with a light breeze.  Youngest Son manned the BBQ and everyone enjoyed the food. 

Tomorrow is grocery shopping day so I need to figure out a list since going shopping without one is not a good idea.  Do you shop with a list too? Or maybe just walk the aisles and look for inspiration?

Thanks for coming by.

Happy July 4th to all my American followers

Saturday

 

 

 We had a beautiful mostly sunny day which was a surprise because once again it was not forecast.
 Our walk was pleasant and we saw several duck families on the water. None were close enough for a good picture.

 Later we visited a farm market that we hadn't gone to for years. It's a little out of the way and since there are closer ones we just shop at those. We found the prices high so we won't be going back.

 Right next to that market an enormous house is being built. I took a quick picture. Because it's out in the country I suppose any size house is allowed.

 I hope you had a lovely day.  Thanks for visiting.