Bakin, Cookin, Sewin...

Hey there Chickadees ~ how has everybody been!  Hope you've been keeping cool, getting enough rain and enjoying the simple down home pleasures of summertime.  So here we are ~ the eve before August 1st!  It seems the days fly by like lightening, or is it that I'm just getting slower every day!  Anyone else feel the same?  It's been very dry and hot here ~  not good for the garden, or trees, or grass, or flowers, or much of anything.  We need lots of rain in NY, not a strong monstrous storm that comes and goes quickly, but a cool gentle drizzly 3 day kind of rain, the kind that makes you wanna curl up and snooze the day away... 

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Bloggin ~ Soooo, it's happened ~ my blog has reached 200 followers and then some!  I humbly thank each of you!  To those of you who've become bosom buds ~ wish the miles didn't separate us.  To my new followers ~ hope you enjoy your visits, please feel free to comment now and again.  See my new template?  I spent some time and learned a few new techie things.

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Bakin and Cookin ~ With the weather so darn blistering hot day after day, I've caved into temptation and turned on the A/C.  Did some bakin, which I've loved since elementary school.  Have a bad day?  Go home and bake somethin special is what I do, I find it so relaxing!

So one Sunday mornin the Hubs said let's go down to the barn and do some pickin, came home with these...

 ... just enough to become a super yummy blackberry cobbler, gotta love livin off the land, even if it's only hit or miss where the wild berries prosper!

I had to try the below coffeecake made with white cake mix that was going around recently, great recipe, it's a keeper.  And of course a few loaves of banana bread all prettied up to take along to a picnic.  As a guest, it would be a very rare occasion for me to show up empty handed, it's just the polite thing to do.  The one certain thing about entertaining is ~ if you put it out, it'll get eaten!

Sadly, so far the quality of fresh fruit here is subpar this summer, so I'd just rather leave it behind.  I found a recipe using store bought canned peaches and decided the recipe deserves 2 cans.  I'll make this again and again, it's a nice smaller size and pretty tasty for coming from canned fruit.

 

The recipe called Christmas Dills was posted over at the 123MB last Christmas ~ they're definitely not just for Christmas.  They start with a jar of store bought pickles ~ they're really good, they get crispity crunchity, sing in your mouth, get your hand outta my pickles good!  Sadly we're now Christmas Dill addicts, happened very soon after the first batch.  'Twas only last summers' pickle season that Peggy Lee of Kentucky Sampler and I, well... we bonded, over... pickles.  I'm slowly starting to think I'm gonna be in desperate need of a good loooong rest in Pickle Rehab! 

 

 

  The lettuces here aren't lookin good ~ so we improvise, the basil is from my *first time ever* herb plant ~ yay!   Who says ya can't serve tomatoes in a pie plate!  Now I ask ya ~ ain't she pretty?  I almost had to tackle my brother Jeff before dinner to keep him from runnin off with her:)  

 

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Sewin ~ Another great way to avoid heat exhaustion is to find an indoor project, with A/C on full arctic blast, thank you.  Perusing my thread stash I noticed this spool.  It's from my sewing box when I was 12 or so and that my friends, was a good many years ago.  If you look closely you'll notice it's almost empty, I'd say it was money well spent.  I'm so very relieved as I've been assured by Barbara over at To Stitch or Not to Stitch that no one will hold it against me if go out and purchase another spool of white thread:)   

 

I've seen these tissue covers at craft shows and always wanted to try one.  There's an easy tutorial over at Karen's *Sew Much 2 Luv*  HERE .  Sometimes I like things mind numbingly simple, these were just that, and obviously fun, since I wasn't able to control myself, oh the torture of being a *first born*.  The seams are finished with zig zagged love as I'm still stalking CraigsList for a serger, wish me luck?

I picked out three pretty ones below, and am giving them away to my followers to celebrate 200 followers!

It's easy, no fancy stuff ~ if you want to enter and I hope you do, comment on this post only telling me which one of the three you fancy, before Noon, Wed., Aug. 3rd, NY time.  I'll make three piles, pick three winners and post them quickly.  This is open to all my followers everywhere, no anonymous entries please.  If I don't hear back from the winners with their snail mail by Noon, Fri., Aug. 5th, NY time, I'll pick again for a runner up winner.  If no one is interested, I'll just go out to the garden and eat dirt, seein as how there's nothin growing there.  Why the long pretty feather?  Hubs brings them home quite often, he's like that, loves nature, and it was within one reach of the camera. 

Your choices...

The Grass Is Always Greener...

Red Hot Flowers...

Burnt Garden Dots...

Thanks for stopping by, Happy August and good luck to all!

Tootles for now...


Sue