Pictures from the End of Summer

Waiting happily for my friend to arrive for Bible Study.

I love to say it usually doesn't look like this, but it does.  There is always a project, or twenty, going on.  I was going to do a nice post, and I still plan to, on my kitchen remodel, but this is simply the everyday picture of reality.  The pot on the stove is full of wild plums cooking so I can skim the pits out and make fruit leathers.  The crock-pot is full of oil and herbs for a new batch of Healing Balm.  The big baskets on the counter are full of windfall pears, a neighbor's tomatoes, and some early apples.  All the stuff on the island is what I'm working on for gift baskets to sell.  The four pumpkins are ones that were ripe already in the garden.  Two are now on the porch for decoration, one became dinner and some desserts and one is still sitting here next to me.  Between my Seasons~Autumn Board and my Farmhouse Kitchen Cooking Board, I've got lots of uses for the thirty or so pumpkins I've got growing!
Actually, I just looked around and noticed everything is done and the counters are really pretty clean!  Well, there is still a pile of new baskets I washed drying on the counter behind me.  I'm planning on using my late afternoons and evenings to really get cracking on making all my stuff for the sales.

All the kids love to watch and play with the chickens.  Cupcake is a bit to small still to just roam with them, but she's loves to feed them with me.  She and Pumpkin were watching these guys.

The chicks sure have grown!  We're down to four, but they seem to be going strong.

I love tea.  Have I mentioned that before?

Cupcake loves olives, so he sure enjoyed these guys. I was inspired by this pin.

Sometimes we all play with our food.

Even Pumpkin liked the penguins although he doesn't like olives to eat, they were fun to play with.

My zinnias have been a source of delight this summer.  Definitely something to grow every year.

Just a little pretty I've had for years.

After redoing the kitchen, I moved my odds and ends out of the dining room built in, put down vintage shelf paper I bought years ago, and filled the cupboard with my canning and my dried herbs in jars.  I like it.

Now, the cool mornings and lessons make me feel that Autumn has arrived.
It's the best time of year to me.

I took these pictures over the last couple of weeks and just decided to throw together this post while the kiddos are doing chores.  Time to go and get back to the other lessons!

morning light

it all looked so lovely this morning i had to capture it.
i love zinnias and right now they are in full bloom.
we have some gladiolas and a few small sunflowers as well.
the big sunflowers are over eight feet tall and haven't started blooming yet.
i love flowers.
and tea.
but you knew that, didn't you?

Tea Time Luncheon

 

 

Now that the kitchen is so much better, I can get back to doing what I love!
Some pretty cucumber sandwiches sprinkled with fresh herbs and our Herbal Salt, tomato sandwiches and wild plum jelly sandwiches brightened up a grey, rainy day.
Served with a cuppa Ginger Peach Tea to warm our tummies and our hearts.




***

Joining up with Rose Chintz Cottage.
And the sweet Bernideen's Tea Link Up.

Teaish

teacup candle

It Was a Hit!

As were these.  :) 
There were two left which the boys are enjoying as I type.
 
There were about 10 of us that came.  We decided we'll meet every other week for projects and can use the off weeks just to socialize if we want.
The next time we'll work on knitting dishcloths and after that I'll teach everyone how to make an easy skin scrub that works great.  We have a serious gardener, a photographer, a few of us calligraphers, bakers, knitters, and more!  There are oodles of  more new things to learn from one another.

I did cucumber sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, orange cranberry spice scones, plain and lavender shortbread, chocolate chip mini muffins, and these little chocolate mousses (Joanne's recipe)  with whipped cream, blackberries & lemon balm.  They were yummy!

Teacup

I've been packing up tea things for about an hour or so for our Tea and Treasures Mops Meeting tomorrow, so I've been overwhelmed with tea things this afternoon. The boys are napping and I just brewed myself a cup of vanilla tea to enjoy while I write for a few minutes. I grabbed a Ginger Bear Cookie from the jar to go with my tea. Yum.

I've been thinking about Gracious Hospitality's special Tea Time and so I poured my tea into the cup above. I have so many wonderful teacups that I have been blessed with over the years that it is hard to pick a favorite. I like certain ones more at certain times with certain teas. This cup is special though all the time.

I was in my first year of college when my Grandmother, Effie, said that she would like a teacup for Christmas. She wanted one with a large enough handle to hold comfortably and did not want one rimmed with gold. These requests did not sound too difficult, but I sure did look at a lot of cups before I found this treasure. Oddly enough, I found it at Victoria's Secret. This was obviously awhile ago, back when they sold pretty and romantic things, not the...stuff...they sell now. Luckily, she did know what Victoria's Secret was, nor did she ask.

When she passed away, the teacup came back to me where I enjoy using it and displaying it when it is not in use. It only says Victoria's Secret on the bottom, and Fine China Made in England, so I do not know the pattern's name. I've never seen it for sale again. Guess it will just remain a secret. ;)

A Lovely Thing

Here is one of my teacup racks. It is up in the dining room. I switch out the cups and ribbons based on the seasons and my mood. Three of these cups were hand-painted. Wouldn't it be lovely to make something like this?
The one under the bow was painted by a lady I met at the tea shop. She is an older lady and she paints all sorts of porcelain. I purchased a beautiful baby's cup from here before Pumpkin was born with forget-me-nots. It really is lovely.