t-shirt re-do

finally had a rainy day over the weekend, so i took the opportunity to work on some sewing projects.  i feel compelled to write ‘love’ on everything lately, so i appliqued the word ‘love’ on the back itwas fun picking out the colors.  i decided never mind about hemming the edges, just stitch the heck out of it and let the edges unravel over time.  i just cut the neck hole how i wanted it, then stitched a long strip of peach calico onto the edge of the t-shirt. it will unravel slowly, too, adding charm (hopefully).  anyway, people smile when they see it, and that’s good.

bees!

we always stop at farmers markets when we see them.  we were driving through houschton GA and met this beekeeper who showed us the process of getting honey and beekeeping.  he inspired us to ponder the thought of getting our own hive.....maybe soon!  visit

here

to find out more about bee keeping.

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this book

is  a good one too!

a sweet quilt

i recently saw this hanging in a farm stand barn and loved it.

late summer beauty

all summer long,  i have worked in,worried about,and watered my new flower garden.  it has been high 90’s since the end of may, and long periods with no rain.my soil is just tilled up red clay and my site is sunny and very windy from the west.  all summer i’ve been fighting against the odds and hoping for the best.  now, finally, the garden is starting to take on a life of its own.  even the dahlias (which i learned don’t like hot, dry weather) are starting to have a few flowers.  as the weather starts to cool, i look forward to the flowers finally feeling comfortable enough to create a colorful show. i’ll show their progress here...

barn piglets

the other day we were on a country drive and stopped at one of my favorite farm stands.  we were pleasantly surprised to see these two little piglets, apparently there are 21 more.  i really could have stayed all day long to watch them play.

their caretaker, millie made a little mud bath for them to lay in- they were in hog heaven.

roasted eggplant spread

we are at the point in the summer where many of our plants are taking a break.  we still have a lot of peppers and eggplant though.  i love to make this spread for potlucks and we went to one on saturday evening.  you can serve it with crackers, crostini, or even on a pizza.

recipe follows

ingredients

2 Tbsp of olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

3 small eggplant

2 red or yellow peppers

a dash of salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper if you want some spice

directions

-pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

-toss the whole eggplant, whole peppers, garlic cloves (with skins) with olive oil and put in a roasting pan

-roast for 20-30 minutes

-let cool

-remove the skins from eggplant, garlic, and peppers.  remove the seeds from the peppers too

-pulse in food processor (or use an immersion blender) a few times.  you want to keep some texture in the spread

-season to taste.  you can serve it hot or cold.  i love it cool for the summertime

the maypops

our daughter's name is maypop and nearly everyday, i get asked "where did you come up with that?"

so here it goes:

while i was expecting....my husband josh and rebecca were off on a little hike though her woods.  rebecca showed him an area where the maypops grow.  having never heard of this lovely southern bloom, it inspired him.  josh excitedly called me up and told me, it's maypop!  we both imediately loved it.  and thankfully we birthed a girl, one who beautifully wears her sweet name, maypop.  i can't imagine her called any other name....well maybe pops.

we have made a tradition to head to our friends pond that is lined with maypops and watch the sun go down.

night time fishing

some friends of ours have a little pond that we love to go fishing at.  we love to go at night and watch the sun go down and the water mirrors its' surroundings.