Twenty Years. .It Seems Like Yesterday!

This summer found us celebrating another milestone. .

I guess life is a little like that. .

One milestone after the next!

For as long as I can remember. .

We have both wanted to visit the east coast together to eat. .

and sightseeing was optional!

So in honor of twenty lovely years together. .

We did just that!!

And found ourselves in Boston a few weeks ago!

We loved being near the ocean. .

And the seafood was INCREDIBLE!

Our first outing on arrival Thursday evening was a 5 minute walk to Legal Sea Foods to enjoy steamed lobsters. .

Antennae, eyes, and everything!

Friday we hopped the touring trolleys. .

And rode through the city listening to all the historical and cool facts of Boston. .

We had a great meal at the Barking Crab on the waterfront. .

And enjoyed more seafood of course!!

From the area, we could see the replica ship from the Boston Tea Party. .

After lunch, we hopped back on the trolley. .
and rode up to the farthest point on the historic Freedom Trail. .

The USS Constitution. .

Which was an amazing wood ship with a great story!

Then we wandered up the street to Bunker Hill Monument. .

It was a glorious sunshiny day. .

And we  I was so "high" on vacation excitement. .

That when I overheard the park guide tell some old guy that interested parties could WALK to the top of the monument. .

Some of us couldn't resist!

I left the OLD guy that I live with down below. .

And I huffed. .

And I puffed. .

my way up to the 294th step. .

And of course. .

Wasn't disappointed!

I didn't even feel the growling of my legs until the NEXT day!

I WISH I would have packed a pedometer. .

Because other than the taxi to the hotel. .

And the trolley through the city. .

And the train back to the airport. .

Everything we wanted to see. .

We used our four legs to get to!!

One of the things that intrigued me about Boston. .

were the graveyards!

The headstones were so skinny. .

And falling down. .

And they were SO. OLD!!

There is a lot of interesting history tied into those old burying grounds in Boston. .

If you need a good story, google it!

We also wandered around in the old north side. .

which included Little Italy. .

Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church. .

The church was of an odd format. .

No rows of pews here. .

But instead. .

All these little cubby boxes that have small benches around the little side walls!

Here is that very old steeple again. .

Right in the foreground is a statue of Paul Revere. .

But my lighting was never good enough to get them both correctly exposed in the same picture!

Rather than bore the soup out of you with ALL the details and photos. .

I'll post again in a few days with some more of our adventures. .

Thanks for stopping by!!

Lightening Fast. .

That's what our summer felt like. . 

Lightening Fast!! 

It was a good one!! 

But. .

SO LONG SUMMER. . 

It's time to start our new schedule. .

One that includes a bedtime. .

And some stability!! 

The oldest. .

Can't even BELIEVE. .

That it is the LAST first day of school he will endure around this place!

The look on his face this morning when he surfaced from his room was utter disbelief!! 

Devin will start his first day in junior high as a 6th grader today. .

Cami is no longer at the bottom of the food chain. .

She moves up to FIRST grade!!

Grant. .

His first day as an upperclassman. .a junior. 

This guy was happy for the first day of school too.

Although it means a loooonnnnngggg lonely day in his shop without his hired man to banter and bicker with!! 

The school calendar has been highlighted. .

Senior pictures have been scheduled. .

Mama has had a quiet coffee break and her first good workout in 2 weeks. .

Let's DO this thing!!

Happy Monday people!!

The LAST recipe post!

Wondering. .

Has ANYONE made any of our fair entry recipes yet???

If you have. .

What did you think??

If you haven't. .

WHAT are you waiting for??

This one. .

Took some sketches and food. .

Making plenty of recipes multiple times before everything went the way they should have!!

I forgot to mention that Grant had to remake his bread for the fair after I got home for work because it was so ugly!

Tristan made his dough THREE times that day. .

The first time he called me like at 10:00 am and told me he was throwing it out cause it looked "funny." The next batch had a huge crack on the side of both loaves like he had put the seam on the side (which he ASSURED me. .I DIDN'T MOM!) The third batch netted two aweome looking loaves of Buttermilk Honey bread. .and a state fair blue (purple)ribbon.

This cake though. .

He made by himself. .

And took home 1st place in his level of competition. .

And 2nd place over all the food entries in the 4-H division.

Which meant. .

That he got to look all studly. .

selling it at the livestock auction for many bucks!!!

And because he kept having issues as he baked it again for the auction. .

Uncle Nick got to have a thick slab of that Blueberry Angel Food cake that looked ugly.

He agreed that it was great!

So. .

it seems that three boys will be working hard some Thursday evening in September. .

preparing food to go on for judging at the State Fair. .

Now. .

If we can just make it through record books!

Have a great day!

 

Blueberry Angel Food Cake

 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 cup sifted cake flour

12 large egg whites (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

2 tbsp sifted cake flour

1 tbsp grated lemon rind

 

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 Tbsp lemon juice

 

Sift together 1/2 cup sugar and 1 cup flour. In a large bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form. Add 1 cup sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.  Sift flour mixture over egg white mixture, 1/4 cup at a time. Fold in. Fold in vanilla and blueberries. combine 2 tbsp flour and lemon rind and toss to coat. sprinkle over egg white mixture and fold in. Spoon batter into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through the batter with a knife. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan and cool completely. Loosen the cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula or butter knife. Invert cake onto plate.

Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in small bowl; drizzle over the cooled cake.

Serve with a smile!

Cupcakes. .They are NOT just for girls. .

This is what we were all feeling like by the end of the day set aside for fair baking. .

A little CRAZY!

I always like for the boys to take two items. .

I don't know why. .

I just do.

They were both going to make yeast breads. .

So the second recipe I wanted them to do was allowably (by me) simpler.

And MY new love. .

Is homemade cupcakes with real butter cream.

I also happened to have many recipes pinned on Pinterest.

He got the equivalent of a purple ribbon on both his Oatmeal Wheat Bread and these Cherry Almond Vanilla cupcakes. .

Grant also took some photos and horticulture exhibits.

I'd be glad to share the bread recipe with anyone who might like it. .

But I knew that these cupcakes were different. .

And easy enough for anyone to fix. .

We got the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.

Look out though. .

As awesome as he felt he did decorating these. .

He'll be up on Cupcake Wars reality show soon!

Enjoy!

 

Cherry Almond Vanilla Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter

4 egg whites

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk

1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

12 maraschino cherries, halved

1 recipe Cherry-Almond Butter Frosting

Maraschino cherries with stems (optional)

Directions

1. Allow butter and egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line twenty-four 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups (or coat with cooking spray). In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a 2-cup glass measuring cup combine buttermilk and cherry juice; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, vanilla, and almond extract; beat until combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.
3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Use the back of a spoon to smooth out batter in cups. Press a cherry half into batter in each cup.
4. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from tins. Cool completely on wire racks.
5. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, Pipe frosting over the cupcakes. If desired, top with cherries. Makes 24 (2-1/2-inch) cupcakes.

Cherry-Almond Butter Frosting

Ingredients

1/2 cup of butter, softened

4 cups of powdered sugar

3 tablespoons of maraschino cherry juice or milk

1/2 teaspoon of almond extract

 Milk

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in maraschino cherry juice and almond extract. Gradually beat in additional powdered sugar. If necessary, beat in additional juice or milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until frosting reaches spreading consistency.

Just like little rosebuds!!

The first batch we made. .

We popped a cherry on the top. .

But Grant HAD to draw the line there. .

No cherries for the fair exhibits. .

They weren't manly enough!!

We Interrupt the Recipe Posts. .For Life!

Who is up for a little mish mash post??

Yeah. .

Me too!

We had about a week of regular scheduling after vacation and the fair. .

That allowed us a little fun time. .

And a chance to photograph the gardens!

My friend Tif owns her own art studio. .

I am NOT artistic especially. .

But I have discovered that I LOVE painting on canvas!!

I have painted a collection of different sized cross canvases. .

as well as a three canvas rainbow tree.

My last adventure. .

included birds. .

And I have gotten them hung up over our bed.

The window was from my great-grandparent's homestead place. .

My friend Missy drank some wine with me while we used her Cricket to cut out the letters.

I LOVE the way the whole conglomeration turned out!!

Granny got a little older last week. .

And we celebrated with a party!

Cami was glad to help her open all the gifts!

Everyone was back into work schedules. .

Cami had a dentist appointment way out of town that allowed us some water park and shopping time too. .

we are hoping that those 2 front teeth will show up by the next appointment in 6 months!

Kids are now enrolled for school which starts in about 11 days. .

Senior pictures have been scheduled. .

Some of us have celebrated a BIG anniversary. .

You'll have to stop back by to see what we did!

We had some dates with our beloved preacher and wife before they moved to their next mission field.

And we felt our first earthquake. .

Ya know. .

just routine things!!

Needless to say. .

the garden has been a little neglected. .

Praise GOD for the cooler temperatures and abundant rain he has provided!!

Aren't the yellow/purple daylilies LUSCIOUS?!?

Daylilies are my new big plan around here!! Hoping to plant a few more varieties!

I have loved these tremendously!!

There are plenty of weeds with the plenty of water. .

Seems to go hand in hand!

The Karly Rose grass that has been transplanted twice has taken off. .

I think that I will divide it this fall.

Also loving the black jack sedum in the front of it.

Another shot of the same grass. .

The tiger eye sumac is in the front and the yellow daylily can be seen in the far back with a cluster of morning glories. .

This little garden is taking off too.

I am liking the small seed heads on the tall grass in the back. .

Though I can't remember what it is called.

Also my salvia and goldenrod are doing well!

Wish I could get that salvia to spread like it did at its original home on Sherlock Street!

Just couldn't resist another photo of the coneflowers!

They look especially nice with the numerous Swallowtail butterflies that are humming around here!

Speaking of coneflower. .

Here is a double white one hiding among the moonflower foliage!

And a double purple. .

Razzmatazz variety I think!

My 99 cent canna bulbs are coming up. I LOVE this orange Mexican zinnia. .

I need to collect these seeds for sure!! Also the blue fescue is growing well. .

And it should make a reappearance next year!

I have joked since we moved here 16 years ago. .

That SOME day. .

I would have a huge fence to block the dead vehicle view. .

The dead car lot spells EYESORE. .

or SALARY. .

depending on WHOSE eyes you look through!

I have since decided that a living fence would be the way to go. .

You can see. .

That when I move from the back door down to reclining chairs on the patio. .

That I can almost NOT see all the non-functional cars and trucks!

And when I sink a little lower. .

It won't be long until it is all hidden from sight!!

Woo hoo!

The potatoes were all dug out of this nearest bed a few weeks ago..

They are YUMMY!!

The chickens are ravishing the rest of the beds!!

I think we will get to eat the tomatoes that are too high for them to reach. .

But the melons and spaghetti squash are hot items for the beaked creatures. .

And they are even picking off bell peppers and gnawing little holes in them too!!

They are gonna get left in the pens for a few days. .

In hopes that we can come up with a temporary fencing option that will keep them OUT!

Grr. .

Chicken soup. .Chicken dumplings. .FRIED chicken. .

Call ahead for the menu of the day :-)

So. .that is about it. .

All the family and garden news I have. .

We had over 2 inches of rain here over the last 24 hours. .

And the weather station promises UNBELIEVABLE temperatures in the 80's around here. .

We'll take that for the beginning of August!!

Hope you all have a FANTASTIC weekend!!

Be back soon!