Summertime Wednesday

Like much of the country, we're having our share of warm weather. The tropical storm is slowly going away, leaving us still with some humidity. But it has cooled down some, back to our normal 80 to 90 degree weather. Yesterday, I hung our linen out to dry in the sun..there is nothing, and I mean nothing that compares to the scent of freshly dried sheets on the bed...
Grandpa Alan bought Jaydon a wonderful product that is still on the market. We had one for our son when he was little and now Jaydon has one..he loves it.

This is perfect for a year old and older..Jaydon will be a year old next month. The inner tube is connected with a onesie. We all watch him of course, but he loves to paddle around in the above ground pool. Alan bought it on Amazon...Walmart carries them also but believe it or not, they're more expensive than Amazon. He is almost ready to walk, and can stand on his own. Jaydon can use this innertube  until he's two or so.

I also wanted to share a wonderful website with so many very practical frugal ideas.....
Its called A Mum 'n the Oven... She is also on Facebook by the same name and shares so many handy tips...the one I used this week was something I (at 61) never thought of...
using the lid of a parmesan cheese container on a pint canning jar. I used the one I put together for baking soda..The lid fits perfectly. I usually get the biggest container of soda I can find as I use it not only in the kitchen but in the laundry.

The tip today, which I used also was to put a drop or two of essential oils in the cardboard insert of the toilet paper roll.....your bathroom  and nose will thank you for it....I put the only oil I had which was a holiday cinnamon scent but it works so well, I intend on getting some lemon or lavender which would be better.

Closing for today, I ask for prayer for Nancy Huggins...she is facing some health issues and needs our prayers. She goes in tomorrow for some heart related tests and will probably have some surgery on Friday. Praying for peace, healing and encouragement for her.

Hot, Humid, Ants and Canning

Its hot hot hot here and humid. Just like much of the country, although our summer was rather cool before this last week. Last night we had a thunderstorm with rain. Unusual for Southern California to have a good shower in July, but our garden sure liked it.

We've been enjoying fresh corn on the cob from our garden..this variety has both white and yellow corn on the same ear. So sweet and good just picked. The kids have been putting it on the barbecue in the husk, just like they do at the state fairs. Best year for corn so far! I've also froze some for this winter.

About a week or so ago, we discovered that there were aphids on  the corn stalks and of course, with aphids comes ants. The ants actually encourage the aphids. I sprayed them with a natural spray and then put down ants traps which are wonderful.
In the past, when the weather gets hot like it is now, we would be invaded with ants, not only in the yard but in the house. It really drove me a little nuts frankly.

But thankfully, we found a product that works so well that we no longer have a problem. We see some of the neighbors hiring extermination companies to come in to spray which neither of us like with the grandson and all our pets. So, if you are having trouble with the little critters...we highly recommend this product  (we are not getting compensated in any way..just passing on a good thing.)We're recommended these to others and everyone says they work well. I got this photo off the internet. Terro Liquid Ant traps. Ants love these things and eat it up, they take the bait back to the nest also and it kills the entire nest. I don't recommend them inside but around the areas where the ants come in because they will come back for more.
In the garden, I found that the ants had made a hill, right in the raised bed. So I simply put down two traps by the ant hill. Within a few days, all the ants were gone. We put down 3 traps down at the house, one outside our French doors where they were starting to come in, one outside the front door and one by the garage door as they had started invading at those points. Within a few hours, no ants.These traps are ALOT cheaper than calling in someone.
This works for our common tiny little Argentinian ants and also the larger red ants.

You can find these traps at most big box home improvement stores, both Lowes and Home Depot carry them. You can also get them online at Amazon.

Our tomatoes are starting to ripen also and I've canned, so far, about 6 pints of sauce. The last batch, I added a red pepper to the pot which is giving the sauce a little snap to the taste. This year, I am canning more pints than quarts as its enough for the two of us. Plus its nice to add a pint to a stew or soup. You can see the tiny little red pepper in the photo. This is just a green pepper that is ripe. Not hot or spicy.

So easy to make the sauce. I  just put the tomatoes, after washing them, and cutting out the stem area, in a pot, cook them down well, put the result through the food mill, cook the sauce down a bit until I get it thick. Then put into the hot jars, with a 1/2 t. of vinegar or lemon juice and process in the water bath canner for about 20 minutes or so.I've got everything set up so I can do this easily whenever we find enough ripe tomatoes. As its been so humid and hot, I did this at night after supper. I'm planning on  canning tomato soup as soon as I get enough for that project.

Zucchini Bread

I've been busy baking zucchini bread and muffins...these are sugar free and very good indeed..I added some crushed pineapple to the recipe. With the zucchini and the pineapple, these are very moist and yummy. Of course, they also have chopped walnuts.

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 c. flour

1 12 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cup Splenda

1/3 c. canola oil

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1/4 c. drained crushed pineapple

1 t. vanilla

1 cup shredded zucchini

1/2 c. walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with your choice of cooking spray.

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

Beat eggs and Splenda. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer for 5 minutes. Add oil, applesauce, pineapple and vanilla, beat at medium speed for a minute or two to mix well. Add flour mixture, beat at low speed just until blended. Stir in zucchini and walnuts.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. I put a walnut half on the bread and muffins just for fun.

Bake 40 minutes or until tested done. Cool about 10 minutes before taking of pan and cool on wire rack.

I doubled the recipe and made muffins too..baking time was 5 minutes longer for the muffins.

I've also been busy stitching some special orders. Plus doing  needed housework..with 7 in the house, there is always something that needs to be done! as well as taking care of 3 cats and 2 dogs. 

As you may know, I collect vintage cooky cutters...but am getting too many so I have a few in my Etsy shop for sale....

There are more photos..these are from the 60s, I believe. My shop is Inspiration Memories

 I never could figure out why some of the cutters were shaped like spades, diamonds, hearts and clubs, Mom told me it was because card parties were very popular back in the day. My grandmother played bridge and hosted games, serving dainty frosted sugar cookies. 

Monday, plants, baseball and baking

I can't believe its been over a week since I last posted...time just goes by too too fast....the above photo is of the lantanas we planted..we put some rocks around them so the dogs won't bother the new plants....they'll look nice when they get larger and should fill up most of the space eventually. Butterflies really like them.

These are called Joey's Paws and are native to Australia....hummingbirds love them and they will spread out also with  time....

Saturday, our son took us out to the ball game....we went to Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore which is the AAA team of the Padres, the Storm. It was a fun evening, there were about 7,000 people but it didn't seem too crowded.

The Storms mascot is a big green dog called Thunder...there he is, being catcher before the game....
what I especially like about AAA teams as the players seem to have alot of fun and play for the love of the game...they haven't "arrived" yet.
It started out slow, they played against a team from Lancaster, Ca called the Jethawks. They are a good team also so it made for an exciting game, the last few innings the Storm was tied with them until the last when they (at the last minute) got the winning run.
The crowd got fired up when this character came onto the field waving a huge Storm flag..I don't know what his name was...but he got the crowd really going..we managed to one photo of him as he strode across the dugout roof...waving the flag....and encouraging the crowd.

As you can see, he's dressed in a military style uniform and has a booming voice.....
We all had a very good time...and think we'll go again as it isn't more money than going to the movies.
I've always liked baseball, and we both used to go to Padre games often. Both the boys were in Little League, Alan was a coach and our older son was a referee. Those were sweet times and I hope the boys remember them for years to come.

Our weather has been rather warm, its definitely summer. Most days are in the high 80s and mid 90s. Not my favorite time of year but it hasn't been bad so far. Only one day did it get hotter. When we first moved here, most summer days were in the low to mid 100s so it has cooled down somewhat.
I've been baking zucchini bread early in the morning as we have been harvesting loads of squash. Both regular and sugar free. Today I found two HUGE zucchini's so will be baking again tomorrow morning. It will be nice to have loaves in the freezer this fall. Finding big zucchini's is always a surprise as I thought we were pretty good about checking the plant every day..I do and so does my DIL.....she was as surprised as I was to find them. I'll share a photo of them tomorrow.

and remember....

Friday

We went to Carlsbad, Ca today to re key a foreclosed condo..beautiful view of the Carlsbad lagoon

when we came home, I was happily surprised by a package from Nancy Huggins....I had ordered some cat mats for their dishes and are they nice? yes they are....

Nancy, thank you, you always do such beautiful work and Bandit, Tommy and Tuppence thank you too.

Our garden is doing quite well....

Looks a little like a jungle! we are getting a mess of yellow wax beans about every day. I've given away beans and summer squash..and the corn is tasseling. No tomatoes yet but the plants are loaded with green ones.

                                         I am totally sold on raised beds!

I'm back!

We've been rather busy so I haven't posted much in the last few days. I also haven't been doing any crafting. Its just too hard right now with our grandson into everything. Our house isn't that large and with 7 of us here, not any room for crafting or embroidery.

However, I have opened up my Etsy shop for vintage items. Its called Inspiration Memories but its going to be changed as I'm not making memory jars anymore. Any suggestions?
Today I went to some estate sales and didn't find much, but this lovely RS Prussian transferware porcelain plate....

I also dipped into our own treasures and pulled out a few things, listed a few and have alot more to go....

This lovely turkey came from my step fathers estate, its trimmed in gold. I've got so many goodies in boxes to go through plus doing our regular business, it takes time. So, please take a look and keep checking back. for now its Inspiration Memories...I think I might just shorten it to Inspiration, what do you think?

Nina Conti...

This has been going around FB and thought I'd share it here...really funny....

Wanted Poster

I ran into this darling program, Wanted Poster Generator and wanted to share it with you...its easy and fun to do, just click on the link to find out for yourself!

A Happy Accident, Jayden report, and Losing a Friend

A happy accident...we planted this lantana plant several years ago, and thought it had died....put some large rocks with the solar light, when low and behold! It made its way around the rocks and is doing quite well as you can see.....These are in our front planting area.

our tortoise seems to like it...he is as big as a Galapagos tortoise..and quite heavy.....this year I was able to get some succulent starts so they are in pots here and there, all doing well.

We are fast coming into summer....and been harvesting green beans, zucchini and yellow crookneck squash.....I've been steaming the beans and putting them into our green salads...also harvested the last of the leaf lettuce as it was almost at the bolting stage and needed to be finished off for the summer.....yummy salads and we are still waiting for the ripening of the tomatoes....I will miss the lettuce but will plant more towards the fall as it cools off.
Jayden is very active and is eating more solid food...

he had just finished munching on some Cherrios, a favorite treat. He chatters constantly and can say Mama and Da Da now.....so cute..won't be long until he's walking. He will be a year old on August 15th....a  year for our grandson! can hardly believe it.

I wanted to mention that a wonderful husband and a man of God, Skip Buhl has passed on .....Linda Sue Buhl has the blog,  Buhl-a-land..he had been suffering for some time and the Lord took him home this morning. Please pray for Linda and the family. They requested no flowers but any donations to Samaritans Purse to help children in Asia...it was Skips request.

Clearance Sale

I'm having a clearance sale in my Etsy shop...all items are all half price.....50% off with the coupon code of 63012...half price on towels, tags, and everything else....this will be through the end of June....
here's the link....Sweet Home Stitchery

Our summer weather is here, and its been in the 90s this week....of course the tomatoes love the warmer temps and are going bonkers....no ripe tomatoes yet but it will be any day now and I, for one can hardly wait.....lots of summer squash and we haven't got tired of squash yet...
our favorite way to have it is scrambled with eggs....a easy dish, which is good for any time of day, especially when its hot outside. I just cook the sliced squash until its brown and tender, then whip up some eggs and pour over the squash, moving the mixture around the pan until the eggs are done. Sometimes I will add a little grated cheese on top and some sliced tomatoes. Good with a salad and tasty. You can use any kind of summer squash. 

.I'm thinking of planting some winter squash when it plays out....personally, I like acorn squash...a smaller size and yummy...and we can grow squash until after the holidays here.