An Award

I am surprised, delighted and honored to say that Dana at the Stone Rabbit has presented me with this award. I'm almost speechless. Almost, but not quite. When I started this blog it was mainly for me; a place to keep track of what was happening in my life, my projects, plans, and ideas. I shared it with my family, but that's about it. Imagine my surprise when total strangers started reading it! And commenting! Now, I feel like I have a whole circle of friends out there. People I can depend on for entertainment, inspiration, and interesting viewpoints. So to all of you who continue to come up with creative blogs every day I say, "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you."

According to Arte y Pico, the originator of the award, these are the rules:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribution to the blogging community, no matter what language.
   


2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog.



3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented him/her with the award.



4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link to "Arte y Pico" so everyone will know the origin of the award.

Now the fun part. I would like to present the award to Ramblings From an English Garden, Gnome Bandits, We Three Ginger Cats, Morning Has Broken, and Chronicles of a Country Girl. Keep up the great work, people! And gnomes!

Thanks so much Dana for giving me this award. Isn't the blogging community fun?

Along the Creek

The other day I went for a walk to the park by the High School. It has a wild little creek running through it which is pretty amazing considering it's in the city. It has a nice sunny stretch, but I gravitated to the shady section because it was already warm at 8:00am.

I was just enjoying the shade when I looked across the creek and thought I saw two bright eyes looking back at me. But then I blinked and they were gone. Do you suppose it was the Rat? Or Mole? Or maybe my eyes playing tricks on me?

I'm sure it was just my imagination, but for a minute there, I felt all Wind-In-The-Willow-ish.

Cobbler Frenzy

I seem to be in a bit of a cobbler frenzy lately. Lots of luscious fruits are in season now and it just seems to be the best solution. Above is a scrummy apricot cobbler I made yesterday with fruit my neighbor gave me. The recipe is from Lee Bailey's Country Desserts. It's really fast and easy.

1 1/2 C flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons shortening
1/4 C butter
5 tablespoons ice water

6 cups fruit
3/4 C sugar

1/4 C butter
sugar for sprinkling

Preheat ove to 425. Have a 9" round or 8" square dish that is at least 2" deep. Cut shortening and butter into flour and salt with a pastry cutter. Sprinkle with the ice water and stir gently. Gather into ball and roll out on a floured surface into a rough 15" circle. Transfer to dish; it should hang way over the edges. Fill with the cleaned, pitted fruit. Sprinkle with sugar. (I don't always use that much-it depends on the sweetness of the fruit.) Dot with butter pieces. Fold crust up and over the fruit. It needn't be perfect. Sprinkle with more sugar and bake for 45 minutes or until crust is brown and filling is bubbling.


Here's the one I made for my Dad on Saturday. He reminded me of all those berry picking days when we were kids. I know, Dad, I already told them about that.

P.S. I walked today/5383 steps.

Finian

I never thought I'd have a gnome in my garden because they're, well, a little dorky. But here's old Finian anyway, smiling amongst the hydrangeas. I'll have to backtrack a bit to tell you the story.....

Several years ago we were out walking our dog around the block. There was an elderly neighbor lady pruning her balls of ivy which she called the "Politicians". We stopped to chat and then she asked us into her back yard to sit a while. She and her husband had built the home 50 years ago and it was quite unique. The property had about 15 mature oak trees and not a blade of grass, just the Politicians, camellias, ferns and such. The home was "California modern" with walls of glass looking out to the garden. The most unique feature though was that it had no front door! Guests had to negotiate a tiny path to a gate, ring a bell, and wait for admittance. That would certainly cut down on nuisance visitors, wouldn't it? And what a quirky garden she had; it was filled with gnomes! Our girls who were maybe 5 and 7 then, were delighted and wandered around peeking under bushes, finding more and more gnomes. The Lord of the Manor and I enjoyed her company and listened to her stories, but soon it was time to go.

Recently she was moved to a care facility and the house is for sale. Teen1 and Teen2 and I went to the open house not long ago. It's all cleared out and the gnomes were gone, but we told the realtor how we'd enjoyed our visit with the owner all those years ago. He was getting ready to close the house up as we found one gnome still hiding under a bush. We laughed and told him about the gnomes and thanked him for allowing us to visit. As we were wandering out the gate, he handed me a plastic bag.

"What's this?" I asked.
"Oh, just some old thing. You can discard it, if you don't want it" he said with a gleam in his eye.
Then I opened the bag, and there was Finian grinning back at me.

And that's how I came to have a dorky gnome in my garden. And I love it.

P.S. I walked today but forgot my pedometer. Same route as yesterday though.

A Walk

I went on two walks yesterday. The one for exercise like Tara suggested. And the one to hunt black berries. We had found them in the past along a certain walk path around a chi-chi neighborhood. So that's where we started. First we walked along the backwaters of the sailing club and then along the riverbank path.

We saw the Lord of the Manor's national flower.

We saw this odd globe shaped flower on a large shrub. Does anyone know what it's called?

We saw wild roses.
We saw our state flower, the California Poppy.

We saw our state bird, the California Quail.

But we didn't find any berries there so we ended up at the Sailing Club where there were lots of vines. I had a nice second walk and it's a good thing too, because I ate this for dessert!

P.S. haven't walked yet today unless walking to the kitchen for more pie counts.

P.P.S. I felt so guilty about the pie for breakfast that I went for a walk; 6398 steps.

Berry Time

We have a unique 4th of July tradition in my family; blackberry picking. When I was a kid, my dad used to take us along the riverbanks in our boat. We would pick dishpans full of them for my mom to make jam. I think we kids ate as many as we put in the pans, but there were always plenty anyway. We'd get back home stained, sticky, and scratched, but happy nonetheless.

When the Lord of the Manor and I lived on a sailboat, I used to take the dinghy over along the banks and pick only a large bowlful because there were just the two of us. I usually made a pie and it disappeared pretty quickly for only two people.

Teen1 asked today if we could go berry picking. She must have really wanted to because she helped with lots of chores this morning without being asked! So around noon we drove over to the sailing club where lots of berries grow wild.

Although the berries are still blooming, the biggest and best berries are perfectly ripe right now. The trick is to lift the bunch without getting poked and get the ripest ones hiding below.

We came home, stained, sticky, and scratched as usual. But we had lots of beautiful berries. And look what's in the oven right this very minute.

The timer just rang! Now look what's cooling by the window. Yum!

P.S. I walked today; 60 minutes/8047 steps

Ellipse Tutorial

See that guy on the far right? He's going to do a tutorial on making an ellipse. He taught me how to make one many years ago and I feel the need to pass on the knowledge. It's almost quicker to make than it is to describe, but here goes:


You will need a board, a piece of paper, a pencil, three pushpins, and some string. You must decide how tall and how wide you want the ellipse. I made this one 12" tall x 18" long.

Draw a horizontal line 18" long and mark the center point. Then draw a perpendicular vertical line 12" long at the center point of the 18" line. Now here's the important part. Take half the length (9") and measure that same distance from the top point of the vertical line down at an angle to the horizontal line. Mark two points, one on the left half, one on the right half.

Now stick the pushpins in the top point and the two points along the horizontal line. Tie the string tightly around the three pushpins. This string triangle should not reach the ends of the horizontal line.

Now remove the top pushpin, insert your pencil where it was and forcing out gently on the string, drag it around the ellipse. It's like magic! It creates a geometrically perfect ellipse. The string sometimes stretches a bit, but it's amazing how well it works.

Here is my completed ellipse. You could use this technique to make any size oval. For an oval lawn or pond, just use stakes and a rope. You could also use this technique to make a mat for a picture or a central design on a quilt, or a table top, or even a panel for a sign. A great thing to know, don't you think?

P.S. I walked today: 45 minutes/5292 steps

Delightful Tablecloth

Will you look at this beautiful table cloth my MIL got for me? Does she know me or what? Well, actually, she gave me a gift card for my birthday and this is what I chose, but I'll remember it as the tablecloth she gave me. Anyway, I luuuuuuvvv the colors and the flowers. It looks like it could come from Cath Kidston, but of course we don't have her shops out here in the sticks of California. I'm sure no one in California even know who she is, or understands her style. Everyone here is into the Italian/Mediterranean thing right now. Or maybe the Pottery Barn look. Certainly not the English cottage look. But I digress.

We took it on our picnic Sunday. I thought it was cute even in the back of the car!

But it really set the stage there under the mulberry tree. We felt so sophisticated and British with our pretty new tablecloth. Does anyone else have a new favorite tablecloth?

P.S. I walked again today: 40 minutes/2.5 miles

Picnic in the Hidden Bower

We visited Lavender Hollow Farm again Sunday afternoon. We lucked out and got the hidden bower for our picnic. An old mulberry tree has created a secret glen under its drooping branches and the owners of the farm have placed some chairs there for visitors. We were serenaded by Teen2 and her ocarina.

For lunch we had smoked salmon and cucumber tidbits, scotch eggs, deviled eggs, quiche, spinach salad, muffins, and strawberries and cream.

And after lunch we cut bunches of lavender, and listened to the drone of the bees.

Bunches of fresh lavender decorated our table. We sat and talked amongst the shade of the ancient tree. It was a wonderful day out.

P.S. Check out Tara's blog about fiscal and physical responsibility. I walked this morning, did you? Maybe July's challenge should be to exercise every day.

White Flower Challenge - Final Day

Citrus, lemon


Lemon tree very pretty with the lemon flower so sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat....

Actually the fruit of the lemon is valued in many cuisines. We especially like to use them for roasting meats, desserts, and lemon sauce for chicken paillards. But our favorite use for lemons is lemoncello. I looked through my old posts and can't find the recipe. I'm so sorry I haven't posted it yet! Here it is, from my dear neighbor Emil:

Lemoncello

15 thick skinned lemons, not Meyer

2 bottles 100 proof Vodka (750 Ml each)

4 1/2 cups sugar

5 cups water

Wash lemons in hot water. Remove peel with a vegetable peeler. Don't get any of the white part. Put peels in a 4 quart glass jar. Add one bottle of vodka and stir. Cover and label with date. Put to rest in a dark cabinet at room temperature for 40 days. I know this sounds like forever, but trust me - IT'S WORTH IT!

After 40 days boil the sugar and water in a sauce pan for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 15 minutes, then add to lemon/vodka mixture. Also add the second bottle of vodka. Label with date and put back in dark cabinet for another 40 days.

At the end of that 40 days, remove and discard lemon peels, strain into clean bottles, store in dark cabinet. Put one bottle in the freezer for use.

To serve; pour semi-frozen lemoncello into a straight sided tiny glass and serve after a meal. It's like a little taste of summer. Cent'anni!

WFC - Day 29

Centranthus ruber 'albus'

Valerian, Jupiter's Beard

This plant grows like a weed here in my garden. The seeds are fluffy dandelion-like

things that float all around and sprout easily. Thankfully the seedlings are recognizable and can be pulled out before they get too big. It comes in shades of pink too. A great plant for any cottage garden.

WFC - Day 28

Campanula medium

Canterbury Bell

I bet you thought I'd forgotten about my White Flower Challenge. No such luck. I have only three more days, and I'm gonna go the distance!

This is Canterbury Bells, I think. Please someone who knows, let me know if I'm right. I got three tiny little plants at the nursery a few years ago. I planted them and kind of forgot about them, then the next spring they really took off. They grew to be 5' tall with huge stalks of purple, lavender, and white bells. They keep self sowing so I never know where they'll be next. The big black bees just love them and get completely lost in the large blossoms. They always make me laugh when I see them emerge covered in pollen.

As everyone knows, California has hundreds of wild fires burning right now. Consequently, our skies have been a dirty gray for over a week. The rising sun yesterday looked like a pink marshmallow. And the temperatures seem cooler. I know I shouldn't be happy about this, but it's making my flowers really happy, so I'm kind of happy too. Usually by this time of year, my garden is suffering from the dry heat, but right now everything is looking pretty good. Hopefully the skies will clear soon and we'll be back to normal. I just hope the cool temperatures remain.