figgetty do dah

Figs season has arrived. 

 The very first year we moved here we planted a fig tree. It was purchased at the Farmers' Market and planted on the  southwest side of our screened  porch. Since we eat many meals out there on the porch my hope was the tree would act as a lovely shade awning for that corner. And it has  provided  exactly what I hoped it would. 

We literally sit outside while eating our meals and watch our figs grow.  

Today for lunch I used them in a delicious  salad.

The dressing was simple too:

 2 1/2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar,

  3 Tablespoons olive oil,

  2 teaspoons maple syrup,

 salt and pepper.

I did toast pecans and added a few blueberries as well as feta cheese and sliced red onions.

For the evening meal I prepared chicken thighs, bone-in with a sauce of balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, onions, garlic, honey, chicken stock, and thyme. I tossed in halved figs right before putting it into the oven for about 15 -20 minutes. Delicious!

(This is where you can go for the general recipe I used.)

Then of course, I  had to prepare fig bars much like the ones I baked last year. There are still cooling on a rack before cutting and tasting. 

While I was cooking the fig mixture to be spread between the layers, I realized how simple it would be to make fig butter using the same simple ingredients used in this fig bar recipe. Figs, water, lemon juice, (no sugar is needed since the figs are sweet enough). After cooking for ten minutes, the figs will be placed in a food processor, then poured back into the pan to cook slowly until the figs become thick much like the consistency of apple butter.

I can not think of anything I would rather spread on a hot buttermilk biscuit!

I am once more seated under my own vine and fig tree ... and hope to spend the remainder of my days in peaceful retirement, making political pursuits yield to the more rational amusement of cultivating the earth.

~George Washington

bountiful

Bountiful as is the hand of Providence, its gifts are not so bestowed as to seduce us into indolence, but to rouse us to exertion.   ~William Wilberforce

 We earnestly and faithfully pray for His provision of rain and when the Lord graciously sends it we are sincerely thankful, we then respond with appropriate praise and thanksgiving.

No more daily watering which at its best only keeps the plants alive, but not necessarily flourishing. 

Because of this weather system of rain and clouds of late in our area, we do not have to presently water. But boy! We must diligently weed and cut back! We joyfully remain thankful.

I had to cut back this tall sunflower plant that volunteered in my garden with loppers due to the stalk's strength. You can see it was hanging over my prosperous cucumber plant. It immediately bounced straight back up like a spring.

And look at the height of this sunflowers plant.

My gardening buddies, Myrtle and Louie.

 Just let me grab my harvesting basket, open the garden gate and these two companiable  felines are right behind me.

And there is always reading and knitting continuing on in the summer months. When the afternoons are too hot or the rains are too strong, I have an opportunity to read and knit.

The daylight hours are becoming noticeably shorter. Do you see it right before your eyes as I do? The Fourth of July seems to bring it home to me every year, watch for the shortening of daylight hours goes my brain. But I still indulge in the capturing of the sunrise in the old green andiron back chair, that is in sad need of a proper paint job I might add. This morning I was reading over a Bible study I'd been doing with my daughter and her friend on Friday afternoons. These young mothers with their busy schedules can inhibit time for Bible study. That is why I've discovered these 40 minute studies by Kay Arthur can actually work for some and it does encourage and teach the consistent going to the Scripture...what does the Word say?  

The hymn, He Will Hold Me Fast, was first published on a broadsheet in 1907. Here is a bit of fascinating information about the history of this hymn.  I found the words in an old hymnal and I have been singing it throughout my gardening and home tending pursuits.

she gardens in the morning hours

“I love my garden, and I love working in it. To potter with green growing things, watching each day to see the dear, new sprouts come up, is like taking a hand in creation, I think. Just now my garden is like faith - the substance of things hoped for". 

House of Dreams, L.M.Montgomery

Summer days are undeniably magical in essence, and summer days spur potential with more things to do than there are hours  in a day to manage and complete. The light hours on a summer day are longer sometimes tricking my thinking. Do you find this the case too, tricking you into thinking you have more time in a day due to the light? 

Most mornings I garden. The heat and humidity will drive me back into the house for a cold glass of lemon balm tea and a quick cool shower soon enough as the temperatures climb and I find myself glistening like a workhorse. 

One of my most favorite vines is the sweet pea. Sweet peas grow along the roadside and fence lines here where I live. They are what some would call "weeds". But not to this gardener. 

 Three years ago we gathered one small plant outside by the road. This plant blooms all summer enjoying the hot sun, I have  provided a trellis for it to grow on and I control its growth making it a lovely happy plant for my summer garden. 

Lathryus latfolius

Alas, the Japanese beetles love it as much as I do and they do their share of damage to the delicate pink blooms.  But I continue to pick off those pesty beetles throughout the day and cut back the dead blooms. It is hardy.

a daybook entry

 I keep journals. I keep daybooks. Somewhere in betwixt it all there is a blending with piecing my days much like a beautiful, quotidian quilt... one that is much loved and much used.

Since I have enjoyed reading some of your similar posts regarding your days and since I have included a label saying"daybook" on my sidebar, I believe it is proper on this lovely Monday in October to do a daybook entry. 

Outside:

The weather is still pleasant and calming to one's soul, "specially ordered" I am thinking. The luminous full moon shines in the evening's sky alongside the pinky-colored glow of the setting sun. I look forward to beholding it again later today. 

Gardening:

Finally, I planted the little pansy plants into the long planter. I bought these plants several weeks ago, I have watched them grow while watering them, but not until today did I successfully plant them in the intended place. Certainly, they are ready to be cut back at this stage. Also, I am cleaning up the cutting garden, gleaning a few peppers, okra, and herbs. The blackberry bushes are awaiting my pruning , hopefully later this week.

I removed the leaves from the dried oregano stems that were cut back in June.

In the Kitchen:

Canning pears. I declare I believe pears are one of my most favorite fruits, pommes for sure. I ordered 20 pounds from Azure this past month and I have them on my October order too. We eat pears daily and I preserve the rest. 

Menu Planning:

An easy week of meal planning overall. My husband is out of town tonight, then on Wednesday we eat at church. That only leaves three nights with two meals of leftovers already covered in the refrigerator, chicken pie and spaghetti.

Reading:

 Reading biographies are a favorite genre of mine especially those that have the addition of material depicting a particular historical time frame.  I read The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson about two months ago. It is about Winston Churchill and England during the beginning of WWII. I found it quite interesting and informative. From there I decided to read a book about his wife, Clementine (pronounced "Clementeen").  

I am also reading His Word in My Heart By Janet Pope and Spiritual Warfare, The Battle for God's Glory by Jerry Rankin. The later is one my Sunday school class decided to read.

Handiwork:

Continuing on with the embroidery project I have shown in the past, but I am now back to knitting a carry- along project, a simple sock using # 2 double points and Patons Kroy FX yarn. Today, I brought down from my third floor sewing room the quilt I promised my husband last winter. It is ready to be pinned together for the forthcoming hand quilting to begin. I am looking forward to the cooler evenings and the engagement of that peaceful endeavor.

Venturing:

I walked the ridge, but that is not actually getting into the car and driving anywhere, though I will be taking Ivy to Swimming practice around 5:30 today.

Planning:

My high School 50th Reunion is this weekend. The only reason I agreed to go is because my dear childhood friend ask me to go with her so she would not have to go alone. Though it will be nice to walk those halls of my high school memories after so many years.

Bible and Memorization:

We are studying the book of Daniel in Precepts this year. I am continuing with my James study and hope to have it completed by early November. My daily devotional includes Acts and John at the present. I am currently memorizing James 1:1-14.

Around the House:

  An itch I get ever so often...rearranging furniture in certain rooms of my house. 

Quote:

"In the rush and n rise of life, as you have intervals, be still. Wait  upon God and feel His presence; this will carry you evenly through your day's business."     -William Penn

visits, burgers, and limelights

Charlotte and Issac are in that season of life that invites changes and sometimes those opportunities and changes can happen quickly. But then we have been praying for the Lord to lead and guide, and for His will  to be done in their lives. In the middle of some major changes they were able to visit for a few days.

I found the most remarkable burger recipe and if you like burgers, and I mean big burgers, then you might want to try this recipe. My husband purchased a
gas grill this summer so he has enjoyed grilling despite the heat and threats of thunder storms. This burger will be memorable and especially popular with the men, young and old! Women  like it too but might only be able to eat one-half of this whopper burger. I actually made my buns too.

The recipe is on Youtube, not her blog. You can go and watch all the little details regarding the recipe, but I will give an ingredient list and the simple process to see if you might like to go and listen to the video.

Hamburger meat, salted, peppered with dash of Worcestershire Sauce

Flatten 1/3 cup of raw meat between parchment paper and fill one patty side with onions and cheese, or whatever you might like. We had some that wanted onions and cheese and some only wanted cheese.

Gently scoop up the other patty and place on top of the filled part, pinch to close.

Take the burger and put on top of two pieces of criss-crossed bacon, tooth picking the bacon together.

Grill until done. 

And today I wanted to say a few words about my Limelight Hydrangeas. First of all I must declare I do love hydrangeas, any variety. Yet limelights are unequivocally my all time favorite at the present.  These bushes around my patio are three years old. I prune them late winter using the 1/3 or 2/3 cutting back ratio, I pruned mine 2/3 this past year. One produces more blooms, yet smaller, the other encourage larger blooms but less of them. I hit the jack pot and had the best of both on my bushes. A bounteous display of large blooms.

 I  am able to adorn my dining room table with these flowers  for weeks. Their fragrance has become even sweeter with the humid heat.

It is a gardener's joy to have flowers to cut and bring inside all summer long. 

a sunflower tale, part 2

Remembering my woeful sunflower tale back in June, I could not wait to share my sunflowers that bloom along the back vegetable garden fence.

Sunflowers in sunlight.

"Ah sunflower, weary of time

Who countest the steps of the sun

Seeking after that sweet golden clime

Where the travellers journey is done”

– Ah! Sunflower, a sunflower poem by William Blake

bountiful living comes in many ways

"A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world". -        -Wendell Berry

Monday morning and the garden has yielded baskets of fresh produce. It is happening all over again, the same rewarding story every summer. Back in the spring we sowed  all those little seeds into the soil anticipating a harvest. The harvest is just getting strong. 

 The final harvest for the lettuce and beets. I pulled all the lettuce because it becomes too bitter in the mid summer's heat and  all the beets just needed to be pulled out of the ground for storage. They will store in the refrigerator for quite some time.

Tomatoes are coming in strong now, we even had our first BLT this weekend. The little cherry ones are ripening too.

Potatoes, most of them dug; they did so much better in the raised beds on the side of the house this year. What a satisfying chore is digging potatoes if done early enough in the day!

Peppers, though the heat will affect them for a spell, I have been trying to pull the large ones.

And the blackberries... are as jewels on the vine, our first year!

This past Saturday, my daughter stopped by for afternoon tea. She called saying that is what she wanted to do. I was honored. I brewed a pitcher of hibiscus tea, added mint syrup and a slice of lime, served iced. Very Refreshing.I had whipped up a batch of banana chocolate-chip muffins to serve alongside pieces of fresh cut-up peach.

“As far as her mom was concerned, tea fixed everything. Have a cold? Have some tea. Broken bones? There's a tea for that too. Somewhere in her mother's pantry, Laurel suspected, was a box of tea that said, 'In case of Armageddon, steep three to five minutes'.” 
― Aprilynne Pike, Illusions

Meet Knox, her dog.

And we had a front row seat to observe the hummingbirds.

while the peaches preserve...

  "Come to the summer, to the summer we will come"

                                                                 ~John Clare

A storm is brewing, and I am here on a  semi-dark storm infused afternoon with one ear listening to the hot water bath canner, jars of peaches I am preserving for the pantry. Quarts...25 minutes.

It has begun raining hard now, the raindrops splattering my windows creating designs on the glass. I hear it falling despite the steady sound of the canner. A summer's day storm...it will pass as quickly as it has arrived.

My Potager:

The garlic harvest was successful this year. I love the names of the hard-necked garlic I grew as much anything...Majestic, Music, and Burgundy. 

Two years ago I visited a local lavender farm and brought home two white lavender plants known as "Edelweiss". This year they have become a beautiful addition to the back garden.

The English Lavender continues to thrive by the back steps and I always hesitate to cut the full blooming wands. The bees love it so and it is gorgeous and a joy to brush against,  but the pruning only gives more blooms and helps the plant to continue to put more energy into being a healthy plant.

There are huge magnolia trees on this property, and I mean huge! Some of the blooms are way up high in the air on those trees, but there are so many reachable blooms on many of the trees that are regularly cut and carefully placed into a vase of water where they will open and exude one of the sweetest smells of summer.

A  Sunflower Garden Disappointment

"Who knows what may lie around the next corner? There may be a window somewhere ahead. It may look out on a field of sunflowers.”
– Joe Hill

Or Not!

 Still remembering the morning in late April that I sowed the seeds dreaming big of a small field of sunflowers I hoped to enjoy this year, as I have in previous years. The first photo is the deer's first visit, the second their next visit and it has continued to nary a thriving sunflower left now. I was not to be daunted I replanted between the rows...we will see. Not hopeful at the moment. Yet, we do have some tall straight reaching to the sky sunflowers planted around the vegetable fence...

The peaches are out of the canner now. The storm stopped taking with it the humidity, the sun came out bright, now it is raining steadily. I am on the back porch watching the hummingbird...

I realize most of this post is about parts of my flower garden. I will report more on the vegetable garden another time. It is loving the recent rains! But we are now having to be vigilant about the Japanese beetles that my husband literally saw fly in this past Saturday.

I will briefly state I finished reading Christy, by Catherine Marshall. Back in my high school days I read this book and I remember it making an impact on my young life. It is still a very good read. Highly recommend. My husband enjoyed me telling him some of the happenings in this book.

Thank you all for reading and commenting when you are able!  Blessings!

the spirit of youth

"April has put a spirit of youth in everything.

                                                      ~William Shakespeare

 And with this "spirit of youth" birthing in my heart, my sixty plus bones longed to get outside to delve into the inviting soil as I planted lettuce, beet, pea, and bunching onion seeds as well as gathering the ordinary mop, vacuum, and old clean rags to begin the room by room spring cleaning inside.

But there is also the continual habit of observing, listening, smelling, and feeling the change of the season...new beginnings.

The celebration of His Resurrection is rousing in my heart too. The daily devotional readings, the vivid images imparted in my mind from the famous paintings of artists I've studied over the years, and the familiar hymns I find myself singing throughout the day.

And I've also completed a winter project, this pair of socks  began in 2019. But finally by sheer force of will I am happy to report they are finished! I did not appreciate knitting with the wool, though it is a lovely yarn with pleasing colors, nor did I like the *Signature needles that I used for knitting them. These two things evidently made it easy for me to slip them into a basket until I happened upon them this winter and realized I must, yes must, finish them. I am inserting a photo of the heel, each sock heel was knitted differently. I did the one on the left and maybe I was not wearing my reading glasses or I did not read the directions closely enough, whatever, by the time I got to the other sock I realized I was supposed to do the heel with ribbing. It is intended to be more "wear-worthy". Rather than redo the first one I decided no one will notice and I did actually want to knit the heel with the ribbing. That is my sock knitting mismatch tale. But they are finished and very comfortably wearable.

 One of the books I am currently reading along.

Embroidering is the current gentle art that is stirring my spirit. My sewing group met at my home Saturday before last and I was able to begin a new project from this book, my third creation.

I enjoyed listening to this podcast one evening as I was cleaning up the supper dishes. Hannah Anderson was the guest sharing one of her books, Turning of Days: Lessons from Nature, Season and Spirit. It is on my list of books to read.

How has the "spirit of youth" engaged you?

be my guest

"I am excessively fond of a cottage; there is always so much comfort, so much elegance about them".   ~ Jane Austen

"The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it."

 ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

"Please come in to Good Drop Cottage and make yourself right at home," this she spoke with as much warmth and grace in her voice as she genuinely felt. ~Me 

Because the living room is longer than it is wide, I wanted to  provide a division of sorts. I call this space the "Reading Nook".  It still could have a small bookcase in the corner which I hope to add when I find the perfect one. It is a sunny spot to sit, read, sip a cup of tea, and dream. There is also a turntable record player with some old albums. One guest reported she and her husband put on a record of the Carpenters and danced. Isn't that lovely?

"There is room in the smallest cottage for a happy loving pair".    ~Friedrich Schiller

The Grandfather clock was in my childhood home. My brother wanted it when my parents passed away and then when he died back in the summer of 2023, my sister-in-law gave it to me. This is a Ridgeway Clock  which was originally manufactured very close to where I now live. These clocks were popular in their day.  

See the little mouse?

 

"Hickory Dickory Dock, the mouse ran up the clock..."

When we got the clock home we decided to put it in the cottage and we hired our clock keeper friend to get it working again. When Ridgeway Clocks were being sold as a small USA business locally, they would give their customers a little mouse to sit on the weights. Our friend was happy to have received a supply when they sold out to  a company in Michigan, that was in 2004. He gifted us with this little fellow! Herman rides the weights down daily, then we make sure he "holds on tight" as he rides up when winding the clock.

 

This is the "Queen's Room" named so because it has a queen-sized mattress on the bed.  No magic in that. The names of the rooms are not significant other than what we initially called them as we were furnishing the rooms. This southwest bedroom is full of sunshine.

My son lived for a couple of months in the other bedroom. He was nicknamed "the Professor" by my late father-in-law years ago. That name has stuck, since he stayed there the "Professor's Room" seemed to stick. I hope to stitch up the names of the rooms, frame them and  attach to the bedroom doors one day.

I even embroidered a set of pillowcases in the "Professors's Room".  My plan is to stitch Good Drop Cottage in the blank spaces, but the spacing is tricky and I just need to sit down with my needle and embroidery threads and do it.

If you forget anything we try to have a simple supply of items on the bathroom shelf.

When we were ripping out the kitchen, I convinced my husband to take the ceiling clear to the beaded board and please at least one wall I begged? I would have loved to have had the entire kitchen with the original beaded board, but I am thankful for what I did get!

"I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage, with my books, my family, and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post which any human power can give." ~ Thomas Jefferson

The kitchen is completely supplied with anything you would need for cooking and baking. Though I am still on the look out for pretty casserole dishes to add to the cupboard.

My grandchildren go into the dining room and the first thing they observe is the candy on the buffet, "Grandma, why is there candy on the table?" They know they are not allowed candy so I try to remember to put it up high when I know we will be over there. Their father helps with with certain things that need to be done at the cottage when he comes.  But my other guests are always welcome to enjoy as much sweet candy as they like.

There are still things that need to be added to the cottage, it is an ongoing process, but hopefully our guests can come here and always feel comfortable and welcomed.

For now it is only for friends and family...or if friends or family know someone that need a getaway. It is our pleasure to be able provide this cottage.

And do not forget to sign the Guestbook!

There are plans in the making to create an inviting and enjoyable place outside too. I am presently planting a flower garden and establishing garden beds, the roofed open area above will be a lighted arbor to dine under during mild days and evenings.

The view from the front porch and the arbor.

For the Christ-child that comes is the Master of all; No palace too great no cottage too small.  ~Phillips Brooks