Maple Tree Showing Off

~ Click to enlarge ~

it really is worth it!

Our maple tree decided to

"show off"  it's colors!

~ click this link to see it a week ago ~

first-day-of-fall-sept-22-2010

Aunt G is 80 years young 

and oh what a gem.

She jumped on that machine

and took off like a rocket!

I could barely keep up with her

let alone take the lead every once in a while.

We sat around the campfire on

her son's property and had

pizza and meatball sandwiches

delivered right to the pond.

"Just turn right and keep on driving

between the corn fields, you'll find us."

 Seriously!!

Here she is relaxing just to catch her second wind.

She stayed awake to help us clean mushrooms

until 1:00 a.m. although we told her

it wasn't necessary - she still insisted.

She's just that kind of gal.

and who wouldn't love a gal like that?!

Fantastic Weekend!

We just returned from a FANTASTIC WEEKEND!  We went to an amazing WWII re-enactment, we visited with a lot of family we haven't seen in some time and we had some friends from Iowa drive up to meet with us for an afternoon of "catching up." We went fishing, four wheeling, sat around a campfire, learned a bit about picking mushrooms, drank a little wine, drank a few brewskies, watched the Packer-Bear game (in Bear territory) smiled and laughed a lot.  Pics and stories coming soon; but for now - the weekend is catching up to me so - Goodnight!

Today: I BAKED

Today: I baked ~ it's a wonderful way to warm up the house and soul on a cold, rainy day. To utilize some ot the zucchini we harvested, I made three loafs of Orange Zinn Bread and two Chocolate Zucchini Cakes.  Yes folks, three loaves and two cakes all out of just ONE zucchini. It was either bake or carve a canoe out of it!  I also made rye rolls and a pan of cinnamon rolls.

Now I have something to take along on our trip to see family in Illinois.

First Day of Fall - Sept 22, 2010

~ Fall begins September 22, 2010 ~

Our Maple tree will be brilliant

in another couple of weeks.

I'll post picture then!

Farewell to Flowers

We've been blessed with the beauty of flowers

 but it's time to say farewell until spring.

Harvest Time

When I checked the weather forecast yesterday morning it said "FREEZE WARNING" and around here we take that word FREEZE very seriously.  I'm glad I checked because it gave us a chance to get some more tomatoes out of the garden. We also picked more zucchini squash and pulled the onions. 

Somehow I knew as we were picking them that Thom would want a meal of "fried green tomatoes" for supper. Sure enough I was right. I must admit they are also one of my favorite seasonal foods - you just can't find green tomatoes in the middle of winter when you live 'Up North.'

Plans for the zucchinis include making different types of zucchini breads, lasagna, chocolate zucchini cake and stir fry to name a few.

And I'm so glad we were able to cut another bouquet of gladiolas before the freeze hit and we were were able to cover the hibiscus and the remaining tomato plants to rescue them.  Fall is definately in the air. 



The Teddy Bear Room

  It still amazes me that when my husband I moved down from Alaska and bought a home in the lower 48, we combined furniture from our two former lives and it all went together so well.  It was as if we had shopped together for years.
  You see, we had both lost our spouses to cancer and having been high school classmates we ended up sharing our stories and the grieving process and after a spell we fell in love.  Well one thing lead to another, phone calls - my visiting him in Alaska - collecting some of my personal things - getting married and living 'way up north' and then moving south to be closer to family and friends.
  When we bought our home it amazed us at how everything fit so perfectly. It was as if our furniture were made for this house.  This brings me to the Teddy Bear Room - also known as the guest room.  The teddy bear wallpaper border was there when we moved in and without even realizing it, throughout the years I had accumulated several teddy bear items.  So although I thought we might change the room, we've come to love it and the teddy bears have settled into their permanent home.  
  Sometimes things work out without even planning it.  I just call it 'another one of God's little gifts.'

I just love how the light plays throughout the day.

To see more 'cottage Monday' sites click the House in the Roses button on the right side of this blog. 

Winter Feasts

When the snow is deep and air takes your breath away, nothing is more comforting than food. 

 Come on admit it, we all have our winter favorites when it comes to food. 

Homemade soups, roast and potatoes, fresh baked bread and carrots.  

With that in mind ...

 I'm ready for when my carrot craving arrives,
 as I know it will. 

 I can hardly wait to crack open a jar of
 home canned carrots. 

It soothes the soul when you recall the seeding
 and weeding and

with that first bite you realize it was all worth it.

This pic was taken just as they came out of

 the canner so you can still

see the water spots on top of the jars. 

There are still some more waiting in the

 garden to be dug up and processed. 

Did I mention how much I love carrots? 

Flower Power

'Flower Power ' is such an old catch phrase but back in the late 60's it was all the rage and then some. It even carried into the 70's. You can check it out at this link if you feel the need. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_power

But Today's Flowers holds the real meaning of 'Flower Power' for me.  What a wonderful site for sharing your flowers with the world.  Their actual address is http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

This week I'm sharing pictures of my Hardy Hibiscus', all three of my plants are just loaded with buds so I'm praying it won't freeze before they all have a chance to open.  I planted them late last summer and cut them back to 6" for the winter then covered it with maple leaves for mulch.  One of the plants is about 10 feet tall and easily 6 feet wide.  Yes I'm very pleased seeing how we live in Upper Michigan and I felt I was taking a chance growing them here. 

Seasonal Transitions

I absolutlely love living in an area where the 'four seasons' are so vividly displayed.  We are now entering another season of transition.  Summer has pulled down it's shade and what seems like an instant fall is upon us. The trees are beginning to change color and the air has a bite to it; especially in the early morning.

We spent the day pulling the last of the corn stalks, beans and peas out of the ground. We also got another picking of Swiss Chard blanched and frozen.  Ten quarts this time around  ~ it sure brings back summer in the middle of winter. 

And tommorow ~ CARROTS are on the agenda.

Brr... Soup's On!

Cool weather and soup go together, at least in this house they do.  Today was another damp cool day that had set these old bones of mine into a constant ache.  Lucky for me that yesterday my sister Mel had shared a recipe for Mama's Italian Wedding Soup (marriage is optional) and I had all the ingredients needed.  It was so good that we had leftovers tonight with a fresh pan of cornbread. 

You can find the recipe at http://allrecipes.com/

While the cornbread was baking, I cubed up some bread and seasoned it with herbs and garlic, then drizzled melted butter over it, stuck it in the oven on low to make homemade croutons.  Another family favorite for topping soups, salads or using as base for dressing or stuffing. 

So not only does it smell good in here; with all that baking it also warmed up the room and  took some of the dampness out of the house.   Cook on my friends, cook on!

Sometimes pictures say it all:

We had such a fun weekend

Grandkid time is precious!

All photos are personal property of

Cher Shots

and not to be copied.

Candid Camera??

As we are driving down the highway, we both look at each other and start to laugh!  We simultaneously noticed that the car ahead of us had no driver.  The closer we got the more apparent it was that we were following an oversized remote control car, or were we?!  Could we be on Candid Camera?
Of course this experience expanded to a conversation about  The Twilight Zone, Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman, weird dreams etc.  Enough said, check it out for yourself ~

And rest assured we did not 'tailgate.'  I just used the zoom on my camera.

Photos property of Cher Shots

Do not copy without permission