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Lazy Summer Days

If it wasn’t for the fact that the temperatures were hot, I would be thinking we were living on the West coast.  Now, I am not one to complain about any summer weather, but can I at least say enough of the rain already!?  Where rainy days were previously reserved for indoor play we are now starting to adapt to living with rain and going out in it.  We now have the ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ mentality.

Sunday saw us take a trip over the river to a friends house.  Hubby just loves going to her place because it is surrounded by woods and farming fields and all you hear is nature and kids playing.  If I agreed to it he would pack us up in an instant.  Some days I wonder why we live in suburbia, but others I understand completely.  It is all about convenience, mostly mine.  For fun we decided to take the ferry.  J was so excited but, sadly I think he was a bit disappointed.  The ferry ride was all of five maybe ten minutes.  It seemed so much longer 15 years ago when I took it all the time to visit a girlfriend of mine.  But it was a boat ride none the less.

 The boys had a blast playing in the sprinkler, blowing bubbles, going on a nature walk through the woods, playing in the tree fort.  While us ladies hung out in the kitchen or on the porch.  Oh the porch is to die for.  I didn’t take any photos of the house, silly me.  Most of it is covered (where hubby sat in the rain and listened to the rain pelt the tin roof).  But, part of it is not and it is a great place to sit in the sun and get the shade for supper time.  When they built their house (and I mean THEY built their house, no builders here) they really planned well for the orientation. And her kitchen!  To die for.  Nice and big and a very welcome room.  They thought about how everyone hangs out in the kitchen and planned to make sure it was comfortable enough to do just that.

And then, there is her garden… ahh… how could you not have a fabulous day when this is greeting you outside your door?  Behind it is her kitchen garden and with all the rain this year the flowers and the veggies are all growing well.  As we were leaving they made sure to tell us to come back any time… well, Hubby may be packing his bags and heading up there every weekend for the rest of the summer.  He was one happy man after spending the day at the Creek.

Categories: Family, Kids, Playdates, Summer
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Another thing we sort of brought home from vacation is this marshmallow shooter. I say sort of because rather than pay $5 for one at the Riverfest, like my cousins did, we paid $5 and got two full ones with pipe left over for another one.

I am not sure what kind of shooter it really is, I guess you can shoot anything, but marshmallows seem to be the best for a few reasons.

They don’t get stuck.

They only slightly hurt if you get shot by one.

The dog will clean up if you miss one on the carpet.

And last of all, marshmallows are yummy!

My cousins tried grapes, lemon-heads and skittles, but marshmallows really do work best. We have been having tons of fun with ours here and yes, there are a few rules of engagement that have to be applied, one of which is that safety glasses must be worn.

Enjoy! And let me know if you make one yourself.

Categories: Fun Stuff to do with Kids, Kids, Playing with kids
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Strawberry Jam

To perfection.

I could ask for my Aunt’s Strawberry Jam recipe, but it wouldn’t matter.  This jam is made from Strawberries grown in my Uncles garden in Delaware.  I remember when he decided to plant strawberries and had them in pots, now there are enough for jam! I could attempt to make her jam using fresh strawberries from the farm here, but ours aren’t as sweet.  And there is no way I could get it so that the strawberries weren’t complete mush.

 

So for now, I will savor the remaining jar and a half I have left.  I have had English muffins for breakfast, something I usually save for holidays, for the past week.  I have also mixed the jam into my bowl of Cream of Wheat, and boy that was heaven.  I am afraid to buy some vanilla ice cream for fear there would be no jam left.  I can only imagine how delicious it would be drizzling down the sides of the ice cream.

It’s a good thing she didn’t send me home with her peach pie!!! Oh man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Categories: Food, The Beach
8 comments