This and That

We continue to flit here and there through this busy-as-a-bee summer! No big things...just lots and lots of little things. Dental appointments, doctor appointments, haircuts. Outings with grandchildren, outings with the girls, outings with my mom and sister. Household tasks. The seemingly endless moving of furniture...in the house, out of the house, up to the attic, down from the attic, up to the bedroom. We have probably moved more furniture in the past six months than we have in the past ten years! What in the world?

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One of the pieces of furniture is this new chest of drawers.

We had put aside some money to use for our bedroom. I had seen this piece several weeks ago, but assumed that it was way out of my price range. Ron insisted that I should at least inquire about it, so I did. Lo and behold, it had been reduced...to the exact amount that we had saved! (Okay, we had five dollars left over, but that's pretty exact.)

I promised to show pics of our cows! I am sure that you had no doubt about who in our house was willing to be a cow for free food. Were you right?

Bekah even had the shoes. :)

Our limelight hydrangea is blooming like gangbusters this year! We love it so much that we decided that we should plant another.

Pinky "helped." 

Hide and seek. Do you see the little fellow peering in our back door?

Here is Kati's photo of the little guy. Amazing photography, I think!

Photo by Kati

I must run! I have five grands with me today and one of them wants to use the computer to play games on PBS Kids!

July Photo-a-Day Challenge {Week 2}

Another week's worth of daily photos...

day 8: drink

What do you know? I was at Starbucks on the day that their new cold brew coffee was debuted!

Of course, I had to try it.

It was fantabulous!!

day 9: calm

Pinky always makes her way up to Bekah's room when she goes to bed.

Here they are, hunkered down for the night.

day 10: busy

As busy as a bee.

This garden sculpture keeps vigil over the four o'clocks.

He once watched over the herb garden, but our grandson Ben was terrified of him,

so we moved him (the bee, not Ben) away from the back door. 

Ben is no longer afraid of the bee, but he (the bee) seems happy among the four o'clocks.

day 11: fruit/vegetable

Cantaloupe, ready for slicing.

Just wondering...do you sprinkle yours with sugar, or with salt and pepper, or do you eat it plain? 

day 12: soft

This is Shaun, our new-ish wool duster.

Bekah named him for the sheep in the British television show Shaun the Sheep.

All three of us want to use Shaun when we dust, so I plan to purchase a couple more, who will be named Shirley and Timmy (other characters on the show).

day 13: shadow

As I was on the go a good bit of Monday,

evening came and I thought that I had missed my opportunity to take a shadow pic.

Silly me. Lamplight also casts shadows, so here we are.

day 14: on the floor

My Aunt Robin painted this brick door stop, a diminutive replica of our house.  

This week we have bought a chest of drawers for the bedroom, made blueberry butter, and gotten free food by dressing as cows for Chick-fil-A's "Cow Appreciation Day." (Some of us dressed as cows; some of us would not dress as cows unless Chick-fil-A was offering a million dollars!) 

What  has been happening in your world this week? 

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Click ~ here ~ to see how others are meeting the photo-a-day challenge!

Chillin' With No-Churn Ice Cream

In last year's Savoring Summer recipe series, I shared a recipe for no-churn ice cream. We all enjoyed it as a yummy, cold indulgence on a hot summer night! It was a bit rich for my taste (not for everyone else's), but super creamy and quite good in small amounts. 

On one of our visits to our son Ryan's house, our daughter-in-law Sarah served us some no-churn ice cream, but she had made it even better! She offered coffee ice cream or raspberry chocolate chip! Oh my. How to choose? 

I chose raspberry chocolate chip, but I may or may not have sampled someone's coffee ice cream. And I decided that add-ins was the way to go with this ice cream. 

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For the July meeting of our Keepers at Home club, I couldn't think of a better theme than ice cream! I printed out the recipe, and I had collected a variety of add-ins* so that the girls could invent their own flavors. 

After we sampled the Chocolate-Chocolate Chip (cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips) ice cream that I had made for us to try, I set them free in the kitchen to make their creations! They ended up with two batches of Espresso Chip (espresso powder and mini chocolate chips) and one batch of Chocolate Mint Chip (cocoa powder and Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips).

Enjoying some Espresso Chip ice cream on a summer's evening.

Obviously, we are a group of chocoholics ~grin~, but the sky's the limit with flavor choices! Here are some other ideas:

Pina Colada: Stir in coconut and well-drained crushed pineapple.
Chunky Monkey: Pieces of banana and chocolate chunks.
Butter Pecan: Saute pecans in a little butter and a pinch of salt.
Strawberry Basil: Some mashed strawberries and chopped fresh basil.
Cookies and Cream: Crushed Oreo cookies.

Want even more flavor ideas? Click ~here~.

* NOTE: If you're adding extracts, liquids, or powders that need to be dissolved, stir them thoroughly into the sweetened condensed milk mixture (before folding in whipped cream). Chunky items (fruit, chips, cookie crumbles, etc) can be folded in along with the whipped cream.


Have you ever made no-churn ice cream? What flavor would you make?

The Lowly Life

What is it about the human condition that causes us to aspire to greatness, to fame, or to do some big thing?

"Only a few things are really important, and for those we have the promise of divine help: sitting in silence with the Master in order to hear His word and obey it in the ordinary life of duty -- for example, in being a good husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, or spiritual father or mother to those nearby who need protection and care -- humble work which is never on the world's list because it leads to nothing impressive on one's resume. As Washington Gladden wrote in 1879, 'O Master, let me walk with Thee/In lowly paths of service free...'"

Elisabeth Elliot in Keep a Quiet Heart

It would serve me well to ask myself, "Am I working for the Master, or am I working on my resume?" The answer to that question will determine how I live. 

The Good Life

While sorting through (gazundles of) stuff in my bedroom, I came across a card with this message...

"Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,

we should live soberly, righteously, and godly

in the present age." 

Titus 2:12

July Photo-a-Day Challenge {Week 1}

I am joining Kati's month-long photo-a-day challenge for July. I have been taking daily photos, but I will be posting my challenge photos weekly. Here is my first week's worth.

day 1: outdoors

We took our art outside on this lovely afternoon.

day 2: flower

Rain fell most of the day, so I took this shot through the screen of the back porch.

I love the golden yarrow that borders the porch and adds such fullness and color. Unfortunately, it is short-lived (in full color only a month or so), but I enjoy it while it lasts.

day 3: food

It was a full week and I hadn't had a chance to grocery shop until Friday.

That's right. Friday...on the 4th of July weekend! What was I thinking?!

No cooking for me after all that crazy. So I grabbed frozen pizza and this yummy salad mix.

day 4: sparkle

Bekah wore these sparkly shoes to our family reunion.

day 5: grass

In the back yard. No fancy-schmancy grass at our place.

day 6: white

Okay, so I cheated just a little. 

But there IS a white picket fence behind those cheerful day lilies!

day 7: words

On the bookshelf.

Since this challenge began, we have returned the faraway grands to their parents, sold our bedroom set, and now we are up to our ears in the reorganizing of the bedroom. 

What's been going on in your world? 

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Click ~ here ~ to see how others are meeting the photo-a-day challenge!

Memory-Making Moments {Part 2}

Continued from Memory-Making Moments {Part 1}

Their parents left for home, and Papa, Gran, Aunt Kati, and Aunt Bekah set about to fill these special days with fun, with happy moments, and with love. Could we pack seven years' worth of memories into several days? Maybe not, but we did our best! 

Roasting hot dogs on the patio

A day at the beach...with the cousins!!

Eve, Aunt Bekah, and Nora wearing the butterfly tees that my mom gave them all last summer.
The next day, all of them (including Maddie) wore them to a program at the library, but Gran forgot her camera.

Snow Cones!!

My beautiful breakfast mates

One evening, Peter walked out of the bathroom like this.

I had a major flashback! 

His daddy used to do the same thing when he was Peter's age and we called him the "little green man."

Papa cooked waffles for supper, per request.

Do all children love breakfast-for-dinner?

Aunt Kati took the kids out for ice cream.

Of course, she took them to Chick-fil-A to show them off to her coworkers. :)

Photo by Kati

We read lots of books!

Reading with Gran...

...reading with Aunt Bekah...

...and bedtime stories with Aunt Kati.

S'mores for dessert.

It was raining that evening, so we made them in the microwave.

Drawing nature

Big moments and little moments for the making of memories with the faraway grands...who aren't so far away anymore!