Catching up on my pictures

Back in May, Honey and I were spending some quality time in the living room. I had my IPad and find it works better up on the arm of the sofa since she often lands in my lap. When we first got her I was very adamant that she not be on the chairs or sofa. That didn't last very long! I cover the sofa with a sheet and have accepted doggie tracks on the two leather chairs by the front windows that she bounds into to see outside. The sofa still looks OK but it's hairy as she really sheds!

 We got a kiddie pool since our first lab loved to splash in the water. It's up on the deck that runs around the house and with the gates, that is an area that she can run around in. Well, she is interested in the water but looks upon the pool as a VERY large water bowl. Here I am trying to encourage her to "come on in".....

 This is as far as we got... and she still doesn't go in the water!! Thought labs were water dogs???

Maybe some day.

 My day lilies continue to look good. I took a lot of pictures because this is the first year they have done well. Really pretty.

 And it's not all fun and games around here, either!

I did a beer can chicken on the grill last night that turned out very good! Since it was a large 6 pound Purdue chicken it took about 2 hours but was worth the wait. I made potato salad that was exemplary, if I do say so. Along with that fresh green beans that B purchased the other day when he stopped off at the store for me. And he also purchased Kirby pickles so I could make another batch of Ma's pickles.  This time I purchased some dill at the store since my dill is not doing well. I also cut up 3 green peppers and put the vinegar/water mix on them as well. And, to fill up the final jar I added some sweet onions. Never did onions before with this recipe so it remains to be seen how that will taste. The pickles sit out for several hours and then into the refrigerator. Much easier than canning and very good! I think of B's mom and what good things she made whenever I make one of her dishes.

Chicken on the grill

Well, Mr. chicken has been cooking for about two hours and is about done. Beer can chicken with a 6 pound chicken took a tad ??? Longer than I thought. Looks good. Potato salad in the refrig and fresh green beans also just about done. Honey was a big help...B supervised.

The Day Lilies are Blooming!!

When we first moved up here full time, I wanted to plant some flowers and was limited in where. I had planted daffodils and thought that since day lilies appeared to flourish up here they might also be deer resistant. The deer tend to eat just about anything including the lilac bush I planted (another story) So, I ordered a variety of bulbs and planted - and waited. They grew but after only one day the flower was eaten!! Perhaps the deer liked the color of the flowers as the ones that grow along the side of the road are orange.

This year is different - we have Honey who barks at the deer. And we have noticed less deer around the house and the deer we do see (and Honey sees them too) tend to stay back in the woods. So, this year I have flowers - lovely flowers. I've been going out to take pictures in case the deer do start eating but here we are about a week after they started to bloom and as you can see, they are still going strong! And they are quite pretty, if I do say so!!

I enjoy taking pictures of them. I hope you like them too!

Rain and Ice Cream

When we got up this morning it was muggy but the sun was out. The forecast said rain in the afternoon and they were right!

After breakfast out, I had French toast, we came home and while I was busy, I think – what did I do? Well, I got a load of laundry done, washed the master bath floor and cleaned the shower, cleaned up around the house, emptied the dishwasher and made sure the kitchen was clean. I also read a book – now I mean I speed read it. I didn't like it and after the first chapter I just hit several pages every so often and in a rather short time, finished it. And having finished I'm glad I speed read it – dumb book. I also spent time with B as we put together the weekly email we send out to the members of the community we are in. And then it was 11 and then we looked at The View. We really do enjoy that. Then lunch and a trip to the library to prepare for the book sale tomorrow. Touched base with several people at the library and shelved books and cleaned up the area. When I came up (the book sale area is on the lower level) it was raining – HARD. So I decided not to go to the Farmers Market in town and went home. And it was almost 3 so that meant time to feed Honey. After doing some more stuff around the house, I read the mail and got ready for dinner. And here I am at 7:00.

Honey was funny today. She is not fond of the rain. She enjoyed playing in the snow but for some reason she does not like water. So, she needed to go out and the rain was really heavy. Thunder and such but that doesn't bother her – but she really didn't want to go out. However she clearly needed to go out... and so we attempted to entice her out and she looked at us like “you have to be kidding”. Well, during a lull in the rain, she did head out and yep, she really needed to!!! Then we all relaxed.

Tonight we are having ice cream for dessert. I ran out of ice cream several days ago and refuse to pay nearly $5 for a container of ice cream that at one time was half a gallon but is now less. I did make a blueberry coffee cake that was good but we both wanted ice cream. I remember home made ice cream when I was a kid. Mom would make the base cooking it on the stove. We would put it in the churner with ice and salt and crank away. The best part of it was when Daddy would remove the paddle which I got to lick. Soft serve on a paddle. Then it would go in the freezer to “cure” and later be eaten. Well, we don't make our own but we are partial to Turkey Hill. The local store had it on special this week (finally) and it was $2.00. So I got a vanilla bean and a mint chocolate chip. Then this morning we got 2 vanilla bean on the way home from breakfast. Guess what we are having for dessert??? YUM...

Another beautiful day!

What a beautiful day! This morning we went out for breakfast - french toast for me and bacon and eggs for B. YUM....  I went to our local kitchen store as they were having a moving sale and did some shopping. I picked up several items at a good price. Then on to the library to process donated books. I only found one that can be sold on Amazon while we will sell the rest at the library for $1  This afternoon I did laundry and other stuff around the house.

Tomorrow I'm planing on making blueberry cake or muffins. We got a 2 pound container of blueberries last week that we have almost finished and I got a pint at the store a few days ago. Both are from South Jersey where the blueberries are so good!! I do miss the Jersey veggies - nothing like a Jersey tomato.

July already!

Good Grief, how did it get to be July already????

This past week the weather was really lovely. While Sunday it rained off and on rather heavily, for the most part the weather has been warm in the day and cool at night. Just great NEPA weather.

I was using the grill over the past several days - and used the pressure cooker to make a blueberry cake.

Honey improves every day! She has more or less calmed down and while she has here crazy times, she has stopped the biting she was doing. She is also jumping up less. We try to praise her often when she is doing what she should and ignore her when she is bad. In this picture she is relaxing on the sofa in the living room which I keep covered with a sheet. She just came down to "ask" to go out so I'd better take her.