This and That...

Hello everyone! I'm back with "before" and "after" pictures of two of my organizing projects. Here is a reminder of what the cupboard in the schoolroom looked like...


All cleaned up! It's not a huge change, but it's nice to be able to find things again! Did you know that ribbon, staples, glue and thumbtacks shouldn't be in the same drawer? ;0)


Here is the small table in Phillip's office that held our science supplies...


Now it's a little painting/drawing corner. I put up a few art pictures too...


We mostly use watercolor paints and watercolor pencils. The girls and Benjamin are good about not getting paint everywhere so they are usually working on their "masterpieces" every afternoon.


More supplies in a basket...


Hopefully I'll get to the bookshelves later this week. For now I wanted to talk about "Show and Tell Friday" for a minute.


When I first came up with the idea back on April 15, 07, I never imagined that it would be so much fun and that so many of you would join in! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your special things with us and also for visiting the other participants and leaving such nice comments. Show and Tell Friday wouldn't be what it is without you, so consider this a long overdue *thank you* for making it so much fun!

Also, in the past I have put Mr. Linky up at 12:00am Central time. Starting this coming Friday, I'm going to put it up at 12:00am Eastern time. That way I can go to bed a little earlier. :0)


One more thing! I wanted to tell you about a Homeschool Open House that my friend Tiany at Less Of Me and More Of Him is having starting August 1st.


I haven't shared much about how we homeschool, so I thought this would be a perfect way to give you a peek into our days. Tiany has all the details about how to join in (there are lots of door prizes too!) so be sure to visit her. You can get all the details about joining in HERE.

Ok, that's all from me, I've jabbered on long enough. ;0) Hope you all are having a great week so far!

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Hello everyone! I have been doing some cleaning and organizing this weekend. The big cupboard and file cabinet in our schoolroom needs some work. As you can see, there is just too much stuff!


The bookshelves need organized too. We will be getting our new school books next month and need a place to put them.


For the past few months this small table in Phillip's office has been the spot for our science supplies. We haven't been using them as much as I thought we would so I'm going to move all of our art supples in here instead and free up the table in the school room.


I'm not sure when I'll get the "after" pictures up. A short while ago my helper decided she was done for the day. I don't know who she thinks she is!

"Show and Tell Friday"

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!" Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!

I have a special friend that I met through blogging many months ago. Her name is Kelly and she lives in Minnesota with her family. We email each other almost daily and yesterday she sent me a wonderful surprise in the mail.

Four of the prettiest little doll dresses, that she crocheted. I put a quarter in the picture so you can see just how small they are.


Each one has a little ribbon or....


...tiny button.


She made a red one for Grace, pink for Emily and a yellow and blue one for me. All of our favorite colors!


Here is the best part...they are actually bookmarks!!

To use, just open the skirt part, carefully slip it over the top corner of the page you want to mark, and slide it until the corner of the page comes through the neck opening of the dress.


I think they are the cutest things and I am very thankful for such a generous and thoughtful friend! Thank you, Kelly!


Kelly also shared the free pattern link with me so if you know how to crochet and would like to make some of your own, here is where you should go...
Crochet Pattern Central
Dress Corner Bookmark

Thank you for looking at my show and tell!

If you would like to join in for Show and Tell, here are the guidelines:

***Post your "Show and Tell" on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Please do not use Mr. Linky unless you have a Show and Tell or the link will be deleted.

***Link back here so that others can share and read through all the links. If you don't know how to do this, email me and I will send you the link code.

***Please do not host your own "Show and Tell Friday" at your blog. I'd appreciate it if you keep There's No Place Like Home as the only home of Show and Tell Friday.

~Scenes From Our Day~

Thank you so much for sharing your special summer memories and your favorite ways to spend a summer evening with me. I enjoyed reading all of your comments! With at least another month of hot days ahead, it's a good idea to remind ourselves of the nice things about summer!

Today, I want to share with you some scenes from our day...

After several weeks of vacation we are getting back to our school work. We try to keep up with writing, reading and math during the summer.


Some coloring time too, or course! It looks like we need to work on that "clean as we go" thing!


Speaking of cleaning, after hearing so many wonderful things about the Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products I picked up some dish soap, window cleaner and counter spray. I got the Geranium scent and I *love* it! There is also a little rose and clove added. Here is what the bottle says....

Geraniums, so pleasing to the eye on a summer day, are said to uplift and soothe the mind with their refreshing floral scent. Peace of mind while you clean.


Out in the garden things are growing well...

After waiting several years, I'm finally getting some lavender flowers!


Emily's Sugar Snap Peas...


Morning Glories climbing up the fence.


For dinner tonight, Grace made Momma Roar's Ham and Cheese Pie.


It was delicious, thank you for the recipe, Leigh Ann! There aren't any leftovers for lunch so we'll be making this again!


Jennifer shared a recipe for Strawberry Banana Smoothies and I made them for dessert tonight. I didn't have any bananas so I used 1 1/2 cups of strawberries. They were so good!! Emily asked if I could make them again for breakfast tomorrow. :0)


Thank you for looking at the scenes from our day!

Bed in Summer

~Bed in Summer~

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

-by Robert Louis Stevenson


Pictures from www.art.com

The part of the evening when the sun is just beginning to set is my favorite time of day...twilight...dusk...gloaming...owl-light (I love this phrase!).

Inside, dinner is over and the dishes have been washed and put away. Outside, a cool breeze has arrived, the Mourning Doves have stopped by for a quick birdseed snack, and in just a few minutes Mr. Toad will poke his head out from under the ivy and go for his evening walk.

It seems that bedtime is getting later and later around here. Of course, everyone is on their best behavior because they are sure I'm going to announce "time for bed!" any minute. :0)
I can hear them now..."it's still light out...one more chapter, please!"

I am reminded of a fun summer evening back when I was around 8 or 9 years old. My friend that lived near us was over and we were playing the game Trouble (with the pop-up dice roller). The darker it got, the closer we moved to the back porch light. I remember being surprised that I hadn't been called in for bed yet. We soon grew tired of the game, but we kept on playing, even braving the mosquitoes for the rare late bedtime!

What is your favorite way to spend a summer evening? Do you have a special memory to share?

Sunday, July 22, 2007

My bakeathon is over and I have the dirty dishes to prove it! Apparently I don't always follow my own "clean as you go" advice. ;0)



I'm off to wash the last few mixing bowls and the kitchen floor.

I have posted a few more recipes, right below my "bakeathon" post. Let me know if you try them!

Weekend Bakeathon!!

Good Morning! I normally like to sleep in a little on Saturday mornings, but today I have plans for a "cook/bakeathon!" There are at least five new recipes that I want to share with you, (three of which can be frozen for later) and I thought I would post pictures and recipes throughout the day. I'm going to put on a pot of coffee and get started, but first I have some "bakeathon" tips...


Tip #1

~Make sure you have all the recipe ingredients before you start. I'm hoping for no surprise trips to the grocery store this weekend!


Kitchen Tip #2

~Clean as you go. I usually fill up a sink of hot soapy water so dishes can soak.


Kitchen Tip #3

~Scrub your kitchen floor after your bakeathon, not before. Ooops!


Kitchen Tip #4

~Recruit all the help you can get! :0)


I'll be back soon!

Homemade Basil Pesto

Have you ever had Basil Pesto? It is a simple Italian sauce that brings summery flavor to all sorts of dishes.

For the main ingredient, I headed out to the vegetable garden.


As you can see my basil plants went a little crazy this summer!





Fresh Basil Pesto

1 cup walnuts or pine nuts
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, (4 ounces)
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

In a food processor, combine nuts, basil, and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Process until nuts are finely chopped. With machine running, pour oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Use immediately.


You can also buy already-made pesto at the grocery store and here are a couple of ways to use it up...

I got this first recipe from my Father-in-law. Take slices of toasted sourdough bread, spread with butter or even better, some roasted garlic.


Spread with pesto and sprinkle with feta cheese. This was *really* good!


Another way to eat pesto is over spaghetti noodles. Grace says it's her very favorite food, she has called it "green spaghetti" since she was three. :0)


Sprinkle with more parmesan cheese and enjoy!


Along with some grilled chicken, this was our Sunday dinner.


Recipe from www.marthastewart.com

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

I heard about these muffins from my friend, Jodi. I made a test batch last night and I'm making another batch this morning for the freezer.


Lemon Blueberry Muffins

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup light cream (or milk)
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. lemon extract (this gave the muffins a wonderful lemon flavor)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients; stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Spoon into 18 greased or lined muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 1 1/2 dozen.

I filled my muffin tins up to the top and got 1 dozen.


Lightly golden and very moist inside.




A nice summertime breakfast!


Recipe found at Mountain Musings and reprinted with permission.

Zucchini Chocolate Muffins

What happens when you take shredded zucchini...


...and combine it with chocolate?


You get these Chocolate Zucchini Muffins!


My friend, Deb at Homespun Living recently shared the recipe and I have already made them several times!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
(adapted from a recipe in British Country Living magazine)

6 oz dark chocolate (70%) ( I used 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped (I substituted chocolate chips)
1 cup finely grated zucchini
2 medium eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Melt chocolate in double boiler~keep warm. Whisk together eggs and oil; blend in the melted chocolate; add the grated zucchini. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; add the sugar and the dried cherries. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour into 12 prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 - 30 minutes, until risen and skewer comes out clean.

The zucchini seems to melt away and all is left is a rich, moist, brownie like muffin.


Thank you for the wonderful recipe, Deb!

Recipe reprinted with permission.

Sausage Zucchini Boats

When my friend, Tracy posted this Sausage Zucchini Boats recipe I new I had to try it. It was very quick and easy to put together and delicious! Tracy has lots of wonderful recipes in her blog sidebar so be sure to visit her!



Sausage Zucchini Boats

3 medium zucchini
1 pound bulk sausage (I didn't have sausage on hand so I cooked some ground turkey and added taco seasoning to it.)
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp. mustard
Bread crumbs

Brown sausage. Drain grease. Run cooked sausage through the food processor to crumble finely. Place in a bowl. Add eggs, cheddar cheese, and mustard. Mix well.

Slice the zucchini, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Try not to break your zucchini in half like I did. :0)


Spoon sausage mixture into the zucchini boats. Place the boats in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.


Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes, until zucchini is tender. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top, and bake 5 minutes more.


Thank you for the recipe, Tracy! I will definitely be making them again!

Recipe reprinted with permission.

Iced Coffee

My kitchen is starting to heat up so I made some Iced Coffee to help cool things down.



Here is the recipe....



Iced Coffee

2 teaspoon Nescafe instant coffee
2 teaspoons sugar (more if you like it sweet)
3 tablespoons warm water
8 ice cubes
3/4 cup milk

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and frothy. Pour into a tall glass, over ice, if desired.

Enjoy!

"Show and Tell Friday"

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!" Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!

My show and tell this week is my new "Candle Chandelier" out on my back patio. I got the idea from the most recent issue of Martha Stewart magazine.

I attached two grapevine wreaths to the ceiling with big hooks, then with smaller hooks and thin chains I hung up jars holding votive candles.


It was a three hour long project but I think if I had a proper chain cutter it would be been much quicker. Instead, I used pliers and a hammer. Did I mention it took three hours? ;0)


I used quilted jam jars and added some crystal beads to the bottom wire.


All lit up at night!


The jars are attached to the chains with "s" hooks so they are easy to take off and light.


Here is a look at the entire patio, along with our electric lanterns lit up too. We are having such a mild summer we are still able to sit out and enjoy the evenings.


Thank you for looking at my show and tell!
Instructions can be found at www.marthastewart.com
Instructions for Patio umbrella variation


If you would like to join in for Show and Tell, here are the guidelines:

***Post your "Show and Tell" on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Please do not use Mr. Linky unless you have a Show and Tell or the link will be deleted.

***Link back here so that others can share and read through all the links. If you don't know how to do this, email me and I will send you the link code.

***Please do not host your own "Show and Tell Friday" at your blog. I'd appreciate it if you keep There's No Place Like Home as the only home of Show and Tell Friday.

Once Upon a Time...

Here is a story for my four year old nephew, Jacob...

Once upon a time, (5 years and 4 months ago to be exact!) there was the beginning of a small garden.


Two overturned flower pots were placed near a saucer of water, in hopes that a toad would come by and say, "Look, a house just for me!"


The years went by, the garden grew and grew and soon you couldn't even see the toad house.


The saucer of water also disappeared and now there was a small pond, with lily pads, goldfish and a little girl, who never gave up hope of having a toad friend.


One day, her wish came true, for nestled in among the ivy, ferns and garden shoes were...


...two friendly eyes looking out at her! They seemed to be saying, "Look, a house just for me!" He was given the name Todd and he made himself right at home!


The garden shoes were converted into a bathtub and Todd loved to have an afternoon soak in the cool water!


But his favorite time of day was when the sun went down.


It was the perfect time for a evening swim with his friends, the goldfish!


And everyone lived happily ever after!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The daily rain has stopped and things are starting to heat up here in Texas! I want to share a new Old Fashioned Lemonade recipe with you today, but first, some pictures of our new summertime dresses.

It is very hard to find decent and inexpensive dresses in the stores nowadays. I was looking in Goodwill for a few canning jars and came across these "new to us" dresses...

This bright yellow dress has a red smocked waist and is made by Copper Key. The Bonnie Jean pale green dress is made of linen and has a sheer overlay.


It also comes with this sheer "jacket" with tiny purple flowers sewn on the inside.


A blue and white gingham dress with yellow and white daisies and this red floral Cornelloki (April Cornell) dress might be my favorite!


I love the smocked bodice!


Grace was the most excited about this blue and white sailor dress. She has been watching for one for several years now! This one is made of light corduroy and will be nice in the fall too.
The last dress we found is another Cornelloki. It is made of very thin cotton that has embroidered flower clusters all over it.


There is a slip underneath with ruffled trim.

A few of these dresses will fit Grace for two summers and then on to Emily for a few more. The best part though is that each dress was just $2.99!!

Ok, on to the lemonade! The recipe comes from the Gooseberry Patch "Simple Country Pleasures."


Old-Fashioned Lemonade

4 lemons
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups cold water

Cut lemons into thin slices, remove seeds. Place slices in a large non metal bowl; sprinkle with sugar and let stand 10 minutes. Press lemons with the back of a spoon to extract juice.

I actually got out my potato masher and gave them all a good squeeze. I got way more juice that I usually do just squeezing lemons into a pitcher.


Transfer mixture to a pitcher and add water. Stir and then remove lemons. (I left in a few slices.) Serve over ice.


I hope you all are staying cool on this hot July day!

Happiness in the Garden

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for your sweet comments about the baby bird. We are all feeling much better. Several of you mentioned the Bible verse that says not a sparrow falls from thy sky without God knowing about it, and reminding Emily of that this weekend was comforting to her.


Today, I thought I would share some happy things that are going on in our garden. Phillip took these pictures this past week, be sure to click on them for a closer view!

I am sharing my dill plant with a few Swallowtail caterpillars.


They aren't very good at sharing though, they stripped this plant bare in no time at all!


Once a butterfly, they still like to visit my dill plant.


This variety is called a Pipevine Swallowtail.


A busy bees spots a Superbell flower...


Slowly climbs up...


and finally gets a taste of nectar!


Does anyone know the species of this orange and black butterfly?


Click on the picture for a great view of this spider web...


The happiest news of all is that I may finally have a toad living in my garden. I have waited years for this to happen!!

We saw this little guy Saturday night and again on Sunday. The lighting is weird because I took them in the dark with a flash. Isn't he cute?!


Off he goes through the Creeping Jenny. I hope he sticks around!


Thank you for looking at my garden pictures!! After three busy weeks, we are going to be getting back to normal (whatever that is!) around here. I hope you all have a great start to your week!

Sadness in the Garden

On Friday afternoon, while getting the mail, Emily found a baby bird in the middle of the street. It didn't seem to have any injuries but it's eyes were closed and it didn't move. I called Phillip and he said he had seen it early that morning on his way to work, but hadn't realized it was a baby.


After looking online, I was pretty sure it was a baby male cardinal (my favorite kind of bird). Can you see the slight redness on his feathers? I didn't want him to get run over and there was a rain storm coming so...


...I put him in a basket planter in the backyard. He was quickly given the name "Jack," by Grace.


We put an umbrella over him to protect him from the storm.


Soon, Jack stood up on the edge of the basket and started chirping for his mama.


We have had a male and female cardinal in our neighborhood for a few years so I put some sunflower seeds in this feeder and right by the basket in hopes that they would find their baby.


He continued to chirp and soon his mama found him! That afternoon she came near him many times, but wouldn't feed him.


Saturday morning, I was in touch with the local wildlife bird rescue and they seemed to think that he would be fine since his mom knew where he was, but to bring him in if she hadn't fed him by the late afternoon.

By 1:00pm Jack had taken a turn for the worst. He was no longer standing up or chirping. I called bird rescue again and they said to fill a sock with rice, microwave until warm, put the bird near it, inside a box, and bring him right in.


We all got into the van and before we even pulled out of the driveway, Jack took his last breath.

We are all very sad, but especially Emily since she found him in the first place. There were lots of tears and Jack is now sleeping in our garden, beneath the Bleeding Heart and Fern.

"Show and Tell Friday"

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!" Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!


There was one more curbside find this week, but I wanted to wait until Friday to show you! Beside the rescued radio flyer wagon was this very heavy, black iron shelving unit. The girls and Benjamin thought I was crazy for bringing it home. ;0)


I washed it off with the hose and thought long and hard about painting it. Then, I remembered how much I dislike painting so I tucked it into a corner of my back patio and hoped it looked ok.


I already had the candles, baskets and other knick-knacks. The only new things are these pink impatiens that I put in one of the baskets and...


...a pot of tiny yellow daisies.


It's very cozy with all the candles lighted.




Thank you for looking at my show and tell!

If you would like to join in for Show and Tell, here are the guidelines:

***Post your "Show and Tell" on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Please do not use Mr. Linky unless you have a Show and Tell or the link will be deleted.

***Link back here so that others can share and read through all the links. If you don't know how to do this, email me and I will send you the link code.

***Please do not host your own "Show and Tell Friday" at your blog. I'd appreciate it if you keep There's No Place Like Home as the only home of Show and Tell Friday.

Maple Muffins

Hello everyone!! If you have been reading my blog for very long you'll know that I'm not a morning person. But, I think I may have found a reason for getting up in the mornings. ;0)

My friend, Heather shared this delicious maple muffin recipe and I couldn't wait to try them!


There are made with real maple syrup and old fashioned oats. A drizzle of maple syrup glaze makes them extra special!


Put on a pot of coffee and try to eat just one. :0)


Thank you, for the great recipe, Heather!

Wagon Fun

Hello everyone! I'm going to start this post off with a not so nice picture. Isn't our new wagon great?! ;0)

We were at a yard sale recently and they were selling a very similar ( a little cleaner) wagon for $25.00. My mouth must have dropped open because then they suggested $20.00. I passed them up on the offer.

There is a house for sale near ours, and the owners left this dirty wagon out on their curb for garbage pickup this morning. I quickly got out of the van and put it in the trunk.


It's not perfect but a good cleaning went a long way. The wheels and handle are all on tight.


Benjamin took it for a quick test spin and then we took it to the front yard for a snack...


Sliced watermelon and lemonade. The girls had a friend over for the afternoon and we all enjoyed the cool breeze under our tree.


They each brought a doll to the mini picnic. They are waiting patiently for a wagon ride!


Off they go!


The wagon also came in handy for holding some flowers that somehow jumped into my cart at the garden center. ;0)


Thank you for looking at our new FREE wagon!!

Good Morning!

I have decided not to buy anymore cold cereal. What started out as a weekend treat slowly spread into Monday, Tuesday etc. and we've been having it every morning for 6 months straight. It's so easy to pick up a box of Cheerios or Life (my favorite!), but by 9:30am everyone is hungry again.

I tried a few new breakfast recipes this weekend and thought I would share them with you.

I had some blueberries and strawberries left over from the 4th of July so I made some fruit cream cheese spread for bagels.


I took about 1/2 cup of fruit and chopped it up in the food processor. You could also just mash the fruit with a fork. I added some powdered sugar to taste (around 1-2 tablespoons), 8 oz. cream cheese and mixed it all together. I made a batch on Friday morning and today (Monday) it still tastes great.




The next thing I made was some Peach Sauce using the peaches I got at the Farmer's Market.


Peach Sauce

1/2 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cup chopped fresh peaches
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring water, sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg and cinnamon to a boil. Boil for 1 minute then add the chopped peaches. Boil for 1 to 2 minutes and mash slightly with fork or potato masher. Remove from heat and stir in extract. You can add more spices and extract depending on how you like it. Serve warm.



We had ours over waffles, but would also be good on pancakes, stirred into yogurt or even over vanilla ice cream. Probably not for breakfast though. ;0)


So, what did you have for breakfast today?

Five Senses Weekend

Hello everyone! This morning, after a cup of hot coffee, we headed out to the Farmer's Market and a few yard sales. Here are some scenes from our day...

Hear: I have an update about the baby Mourning Dove that fell out of the nest. As you can see, it's back up, safe and sound.

I never got a call back from the wild bird agency and when I went out to see how the baby was doing, I noticed it was shivering. A bad rain storm was on the way (it ended up raining for hours!) so I put on my gardening gloves and gently lifted it back up into the nest. That's when the trouble started...

The baby bird still in the nest got spooked when it saw my hand and jumped down, which caused the bird I was rescuing to jump down too. Now I had two baby birds out of the nest and I kept saying, "what have I done, what have I done!" I found the one bird out in the back yard and managed to get it back up in the nest. I held my hands over it, not touching the bird, just blocking its way out again until it was calm. Then, I went looking for the other one. I finally found it on the patio and again, I covered up the baby bird that was already in the nest with my hand before attempting to add the other one. Did I mention it was raining by now?! I left my hands up there until all was quiet and then quickly came in the house.

A few minutes later the mom came back, fed both of them and then I assume she gave them a good talking to about not leaving the nest again. ;0) Soon, I started breathing again and an hour later my hands stopped shaking! Ok, whoever just read all of that and understood it deserves a prize!

Smell: These interesting flowers are growing next to my Lamb's Ear and are enjoying all the rain.


They make me think of Victorian fans for some reason.


Taste: We bought fresh corn on the cob, tomatoes and peaches at the Farmer's Market.


Mmm...I see a tomato sandwich in my future!


Touch: Sweet fuzzy peaches...


See: We didn't find much at the yard sales but we did get a couple of books. "The English Gentleman" and "The English Gentleman's Wife" both look interesting. Has anyone read them?


This Gooseberry Patch book called "Simple Country Pleasures" priced at $1.00 was my good find for the day!


Thank you for looking at the scenes from our Saturday. I hope you all are having a great weekend!

"Show and Tell Friday"

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!" Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!

My show and tell is an apron that I made this week, for my sister, Amy. She asked for something fun, so I found this polka dot and cherry fabric.


I added red rickrack to the top and bottom of the apron and also on the pocket.


My sister has a 14 month old little girl so I made her a matching apron from the leftover fabric. Grace's doll, Molly was nice enough to model it for us. :0) See how tiny it is?! You are never too young or old to learn how to cook!


Thank you for looking at my show and tell!

If you would like to join in for Show and Tell, here are the guidelines:

***Post your "Show and Tell" on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Please do not use Mr. Linky unless you have a Show and Tell or the link will be deleted.

***Link back here so that others can share and read through all the links. If you don't know how to do this, email me and I will send you the link code.

***Please do not host your own "Show and Tell Friday" at your blog. I'd appreciate it if you keep There's No Place Like Home as the only home of Show and Tell Friday.

Peach Cobbler

Peach Cobbler

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1 (29 ounce) can sliced canned peaches, drained
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Pour milk into dry ingredients and then stir in melted margarine. Mix thoroughly.
Pour mixture into a 9x13 inch baking pan. Arrange peaches on top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Note: I changed a few things after reading the reviews of this recipe. I doubled the fruit and then sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top before baking. Don't forget to serve it with vanilla ice cream!
Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

2 bunches spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
4 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

In a large bowl, toss together the spinach and strawberries.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, paprika, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Pour over the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat.
Note: This is a sweet dressing and perfect with the strawberries. If you make it ahead of time be sure to stir it again.
Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Dill Potato Salad

Dill Potato Salad

7 cups chopped new potatoes
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill weed
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, peel and chill.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine sour cream, dill, parsley, Dijon, salt and pepper.
Pour dressing over potatoes and toss gently. Chill before serving.
Note: I also added a couple tablespoons of ranch dressing to give it a bit more zing.
Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Our 4th of July

Hello everyone! I have to tell you that this post will be short on "people" pictures. Most of the pictures are group pictures of our friends and I wouldn't want to post them without permission. You will just have to imagine our full house! :0)

We got a sprinkling of rain in the morning instead of the several inches predicted so that was wonderful!


The morning started off with a little bird trouble. Do you remember the Mourning Dove parents that built a nest near our back patio? Well, the two babies hatched and are growing up but....


...one of them fell out of the nest and it's too little to fly back up.


Here it is resting among the plants. This morning (the 5th) one of the parents came down to feed it and I have left a message for a wild bird protection agency so we'll have to see what they suggest doing.


Anyways, back to the party. Phillip grilled up some hot dogs, cheeseburgers and chicken which was delicious.


Peach Cobbler...


A friend of ours made some homemade strawberry ice cream which was the perfect 4th of July treat!


The tradition flag cake. It has a layer of raspberry jam inside and cream cheese frosting.


We had a great time visiting, lots of talking and laughing. Around 9:30pm everyone went up the road a little to a parking lot. For the past several years the view of all the area fireworks has been pretty good but this year they were too far away. According to Benjamin they were still "awesome!"

Today will be spent tidying up and I will post a few recipes later. Thank you for looking at our 4th of July pictures!

Happy 4th of July!

Hello everyone! We are busy getting ready for the 4th of July. We went grocery shopping this morning and managed to beat most of the crowds. It looks like almost everyone we invited will be coming over tomorrow afternoon...around 20 people (including children). It has been raining every day for over a week so it will probably be an indoor party. That's fine with me since my back patio carpet smells like a wet dog!!


Picture from Art.com

Here is a look at my menu for tomorrow...

Hamburgers
Hot dogs
Grilled chicken

Potato Salad
Baked Beans

Spinach and Strawberry salad
Big Mama's Green Sauce and tortilla chips

Watermelon
Peach Cobbler and vanilla ice cream
Flag Cake

I need to tidy up the house, make room in the pantry for the food still in grocery bags and do some food prep. This is procrastination at its finest! Who here thinks that blogging is more fun than making potato salad?! ;0)



I will be back on Thursday with pictures from our day. May you have a wonderful 4th of July with your friends and family!

4th of July Decorations~Part 2

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. On Saturday morning I put out the rest of my 4th of July decorations...

Flags went into the Geranium pots out front.




The rest of my decorations were inspired by one of my favorite books, "Sentimental Living from the Front Porch" by Alda Ellis.

I found this door hanger awhile back for a $1.00 but it had a Christmas picture on the front of it. I covered it with blue with white stars scrapbook paper and added a red bow, greenery, daisies and mini flags.


For the back porch table, I bought 1 1/2 yards of this patriotic fabric and cut out a square. Well, almost a square, my rotary cutter wasn't cooperating. ;0) Instead of sewing up the hems, I used my pinking shears all along the edges.


The centerpiece is two jars filled with white navy beans, a ribbon tied around the jar and firecrackers shooting out.


The firecrackers are actually drinking straws!


Lastly, I made a table runner made from the leftover fabric...


I got out my pinking shears again for the edges and hot glued red pom-pom trim on the ends.


Asparagus Fern, mini flags and more firecrackers in a vase.


Thank you for looking at my decorations! Now all we need are the hamburgers and hotdogs!

July 1, 2007

Happy Canada Day to all of my Canadian friends!!! Have a great day celebrating!