“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label sunshine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sunshine. Show all posts

Thursday, March 13, 2014

It Was Nice





It was nice while it lasted! I had lovely get-away to a much warmer climate!
Some of you wondered where I was.  Well I'm not making it that easy!
Take a look at my photos and let me know where you think I was.

There were palm trees, and lovely orchids, some old friends 
and a few new ones too!







For those of you that have been there, this should give you a really good clue!


OK, you have all fiqured it out by now!









Next time I'll show you a few of the treasures I found at some of the local flea-markets and estate sales I found on my vacation. 

Back home in Minnesota, it is still cold and we still have snow, but it is melting and the temperatures are much warmer.  I think my time away will get me through until spring finally gets here!

Hope you all had a great week! 
See you soon ~~ Diane



Tuesday, May 28, 2013

You Are My Sunshine





Finally after days of gloomy weather and rain last week, we had sunshine, glorious bright, clear and wonderful sunshine. It was a perfect day, in the mid 60's and I took the opportunity to visit our Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Because of our odd spring you see the crab apples, lilacs and tulips are all blooming together which is somewhat unusual.

I captured some sunshine brightened blooms and saved them for a rainy day, which lately seems like every day! Even after a gloomy, cold and rainy weekend we are having another gloomy rainy day! So even though last week I had work to be done with the upcoming weekend and house-guests, I took a break and I'm sure glad I did. Hope you enjoy these photos, feel free to pin them to your pinterest boards if you wish.




















































































































What kind of things could make you play hooky from your other obligations?

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

What I Love Today...

I am loving a couple of things today. First off, the fabulous weather we are having. I do wish we would get a bit of rain though, as it is awfully dry here. That doesn't stop me from thinking how lucky we are to get this bonus week of loveliness!

The beautiful weather has brought us some delicious apples and my first apple pie of the season. I am trying to shop locally and prepare food as it comes into season. Now we are enjoying the abundant harvest of our many orchards in Minnesota. It is officially apple season here and to kick it off, I am starting with a Mile High Apple Pie. I did not inherit my mother's perfect pie crust making skills, so I use Pappy's Pie Crust Dough. I have included a link under the recipe if you would like to check out their site. I highly recommend their dough, it is better than any other I have tried.




Mile High Apple Pie
INGREDIENTS:
Pappy's Pie Crust Dough for 2 layers (I use three rounds, split the third round and add the extra to each of the other two rounds.)
3 pounds tart apples
1 C sugar

3 TBSP flour
dash of salt

2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 TBSP butter


PREPARATION:
Preheat your oven to 400°. Place a pizza pan or cookie sheet in the oven to catch any drips.
Pare apples and slice thin. Mix sugar, flour, salt, spices and apple slices. If apples are not tart, add 1 TBSP lemon juice. Place bottom crust in 9" pie pan, put apples in and press them down slightly, dot with butter. Place top pie crust layer on top and crimp edges. Prick with a knife in several places on top of crust for steam vents. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to
350° and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes or until apples are tender.

Adapted from Pappy's Old Fashioned Apple Pie recipe. 




McIntosh & Honeycrisp Apples and Pappy's Dough


Apples Piled High




Edges Crimped and Pie Bird Added

 There should be another picture here of the pie just out of the oven. Somehow I forgot and almost didn't get this picture of the pie before my family and guests ate it all!

Vanilla Ice Cream on the Side



















Happy Wednesday Everyone! I am linking with... The Charm of Home   and

lollipops

Monday, October 3, 2011

Glorious October


Taken from my back yard, I added Kim Klassen's Autumn Burst texture  to the photo.



Hello October,
We love you! Beautiful sunny days, cool crisp nights. That is what we have in store for us for at least the next week. We are having a warm spell here in southern Minnesota. The highs will be in the 80's and the lows in the 50's. It seems that summer continues, until you look at the trees.

Almost overnight they have turned into warm yellows, fiery orange and red, with just enough green around to really make the other colors stand out. Most of the oaks are starting to turn a warm brown color and some leaves are already falling. We will enjoy this lovely gift from mother nature!






















I ran across this quote the other day, I think it sums up my feelings pretty well.

Autumn truly is what summer pretends to be:     
The Best of all Seasons.
 ...George Eliot




Thursday, April 28, 2011

Just Pretend the Sun is Shining...

Just pretend, 'cause that's all we can do until mother nature is done with the rain and the wind and the sorrow.  Here is a pretty image for you to look at until we see the sun again.

A Walk in the Sun

"I only went out for a walk, 
and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, 
for going out, I found, was really going in."
John Muir (1838-1914) Scotland/USA



A Nice Break from the Clouds

Miss Kitty Washes Clothes


Little Pig Piggy Bank


New Paper Mache Project
 I had to leave the state to find some sunshine. It was a nice break and I found some cute vintage items to add to my shop. I also finally have some embroidered towels ready for sale.  The paper mache project will be an animal of some kind. Come back for more!