Can She Make A Cherry Pie....

This past weekend we had to go up north to the house we are still trying to sell to mow the lawn and do a little work.  A couple of years before we moved I had planted a cherry tree.  The tree has grown over the years...we moved seven years ago.

But we never saw any cherries on the little tree.  When we planted the tree I couldn't wait until it would have cherries and I would be able to pick them and make a cherry pie.  I was out in the yard and my DH was mowing the lawn when he came by me and pointed to the cherry tree...this is what I saw to my delight!

 

Little red cherries!  It was so much fun picking the cherries...

I picked every cherry on the tree and had two cups of berries, just enough for my pie recipe. I was very thankful that the Lord allowed me to get cherries from the little tree at least once...then my thought was ok Lord I got my cherries now could the house please sell.

My cherry pie recipe comes from this little book that my mom gave me years ago, I was in high school at the time.  Decorating ideas for my first kitchen when we were married came from the cover of this book.

The little book has only twelve pages...there is a picture on one page and a recipe and poem across the page. Over the years I have made the different recipes and still enjoy reading the poems.  The little book brings back memories of my sweet mom when I am reading or baking from it.

This morning I pitted the cherries and made a pie.

Ready for the oven...today when my DH asks whats to snack...we will have a slice of pie.

Through the Kitchen Door

The lights of home...they bring us

A sense of warmth and peace.

They promise untold loveliness,

Rest, laughter and release.

They are like hands that beckon us,

Like arms that draw us near...

The lights of home! They whisper words

Of comfort and good cheer. 

                                      Author unknown

Blueberry Bulk Foods

This week I got a call from the Amish Bulk Food store that my peaches were in.  I have always enjoyed reading about the Amish, so when we moved to this area I was very excited to find out we have a lot of Amish community's around here.  It has been so fun getting to know some of the families. I have taken a couple of ladies to rummage sales and strawberry picking, one mom and her daughters quilted one of my quilts for me.  So I headed to the Blueberry Bulk Food Store to get my peaches.  The store is only about five miles from our house. Meeting a buggy is something that happens quit a bit on certain roads around here, this is just down the road from the store.

A customer

 The store isn't very big but they have a nice variety of things.

I love all of the hats!

I like to get my spices and other bulk foods from here.  We also have a couple of Amish Green Houses in the area and a big Mennonite bulk food store about twenty miles from us.  It is so nice having access to fresh produce and foods in bulk.  It is a young couple that run this store, when I picked up the peaches she showed me her garden behind the house.  It was beautiful, three little boys were playing in the yard and a little one was sitting on the ground playing by the garden.  Would love to have taken a picture of the garden but a friend was helping her weed and the little boys were in and out of the garden, so no pictures.

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Prov. 31:27

~Cheryl~

A Little Warm

 A little warm here in central Wisconsin today and humid.  Turned the air on this afternoon to get the house down to 79 and bring the humidity down.  Garden will be needing some watering in the morning if no rain moves in to our area.  Yesterday they got a nice rain just ten miles from us, maybe it will be our turn today.

I had been wanting a trellis for between the garage door and the service door into the garage in front of the house.  We looked but couldn't find a tall one so my sweet husband bought some cedar and made the type of trellis I was looking for.

He also made me a Baltimore Oriole feeder yesterday (holds grape jelly) that was a surprise for me.  I love it when he makes things, so much more special than buying it. Hoping some of the Orioles from the neighbor two houses down come to our yard, he has up to 20 at a time.

I have always loved window boxes and this year the one in the front of the house is doing very well. I have finally found the flowers that do the best on this side of our house.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green...   Jeremiah 17:8a

~Cheryl

Sweet Peas Are In Bloom!

This is my first year of growing Sweet Pea Flowers.  They are now one of my new favorite flowers.  I planted them in a barrel on our patio around some geraniums my thought was that they would cascade over the sides of the barrel.  I think they would like to take over the barrel and I have to keep pushing them over the edge.  But I still love them.

I just love all of the different colors.  Next year I will find somewhere else to plant them so they can climb!

When I was a freshman in High School my parents moved to a new farm that had some Wild Rose Bushes, they were so pretty.  When we moved up north the house had a spot with Wild Roses was so happy.  When we moved to this house I transplanted a piece of one of the bushes, this year it is really blooming.  The little buds open up very fast and fall, but the smell is so good.  The bush takes me back to my childhood.

The Scarlet Runner Beans are in blossom, very excited to see how they do.  The red blooms are so pretty.

Has anyone tried to use one of the upside down tomato growers.  Fleet Farm had them on sale this spring for $1.00 so thought I would give it a try.  The one I got you could grow the tomato on the bottom and herbs out the sides.  Mine is not doing well at all, I have been keeping it watered and have even used fertilizer which I normally don't do for my vegetables.  The picture shows the outcome!

We are still enjoying lettuce from the garden, with our cool spring was able to plant later.  Just transplanted some starts in between some tomatoes and peppers where they get a little shade.  This time of year is so fun with the garden starting to produce, so nice having fresh items from the garden.  So far we have had lettuce, radishes, onions, zucchini, and herbs (parsley, basil, dill, thyme, sage)  for cooking with.

We are having some hot and humid weather this week, hoping for a little rain.

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork

Psalm 19:1

Enjoy your evening. ~Cheryl~



 

Whats to snack?

When my sweet husband gets home from work he always asks "whats to snack".

There is generally something to snack on, it may be muffins, cookies, or in a pinch graham crackers with frosting.  Today it is hot and muggy so I thought a nice cool dessert would be nice.  Saw this on the back of a graham cracker box in the store, I don't remember what it is called, but it looked cool and refreshing. 

The ingredients

The puddings are the small boxes of instant pudding.

  I poured out my milk then realize I was short a cup (needed 3 cups) and all out of milk.  Thanks to a good friend and neighbor (thanks Linda) I was still able to make the dessert.

Mix up both instant puddings in a separate bowl with 1 1/2 cups milk each.  Then add 1 cup cool whip to each bowl.

Stir the cool whip into both puddings.

In the bottom of a 9x13 cake pan lay your graham crackers.

Spread the vanilla pudding over the crackers.

Add another layer of graham crackers.

Spread the chocolate pudding on top.

Take a couple of graham crackers, crush and sprinkle on top.  Put in the refrigerator for 4 hours to set.

WAITING....................

The dessert was done in time for "Whats to snack"!

Have a great evening, it has cooled off here a little we had a rain shower late this afternoon.

~Cheryl~

Finally Back

Spring is missing no more! In fact summer has arrived!

Spring this year was rather wet and cold, but it has warmed up nicely.

I have been enjoying my time off from school, have my list of all the projects that I would

like to get done this summer.  Feels nice checking things of the list.  Today it rained so had a chance to do some sewing this morning.  I have wanted to make a Tag Blanket and today was the day. (the little one it's for is now two months old) 

The blanket is 19"x20" getting ready to sew on the ribbons first.

Finished project, it's so soft and was a lot of fun to make.

My sweet husband helped me do a make over of the garden.  We have clay soil and it is always so muddy after it rains, the kind of mud that sticks to your shoes in clumps.  So we took the rest of the garden and sectioned it off in raised bed sizes and mounded up the dirt, then he put down landscape fabric and wood chips.  It has made a huge difference and I really like the way it turned out.

The garden is a little behind schedule because of the weather but it is doing well.

This little fellow has been hanging around our yard.

He comes right up to the patio window and sits, thought he was cute until he started

chewing off the blossoms on these flowers.

Been trying to catch him in a live trap, so far not working!

Last night we had our first salad from the garden.  Been waiting a long time!

Happy Summer!

~Cheryl~

Missing

We have been missing something around here this year.

SPRING!

This picture was taken this morning.  About when we think the snow may actually all get a chance to melt this happens again.  Our temps for the last couple of months have averaged 15 to 20 degrees below average.

On the bright side my husband and I celebrated our 38th anniversary a week ago.  I am so blessed with the man that God gave to me.

We also celebrated Easter.  On Easter Sunday we attended the church our grandchildren go to.  They helped their dad with the Temple project that the church was doing for Easter.  All of the kids did such a great job.

One grandson ushered people in.

The alter that the grandsons help build.

Showing grandma some of the displays.

A couple pictures of displays that the kids from church made.

It was a very nice display.

Hoping that maybe this week our temps will get up into the upper 40's.  Keep looking at my garden, wondering when I will be able to get into it!!   Working on being patient!   Hope you are having nicer weather in your area.  Spring has to be somewhere, it's just having a little trouble finding its way to Central Wisconsin.

~Cheryl~