Last week of July~

Lots of heaven..compared to winter..bounty..

Echinacea

Perennial Spinach

Max and Oli came for a playdate..I follow m.k.pickle54 on Ig and she was making ice cream.
I am not proud to say I have not used my lovely Cuisinart Ice Cream machine in years.
I took it out and made a basic vanilla  ice cream..w/ vanilla bean paste added..
It was so good!

Made them little sundaes and they were so appreciative~

I also made oatcakes and ohmygosh my kind of munchie..I love oatmeal bars..oatmeal cookies but had never made oatcakes..for some reason I had to fiddle with it..I halved it but it shouldn't have changed anything..so you may have to fiddle..a bit..I can tell now w/ baking and cookies..if it will work or not..I had to add some oatmeal and flour.

I think I had better let you find your own..mine originated from Cape Breton .I LOVE them.

Try oatcakes:)

When we had the boys..2 of them over..it was hot and sunny out and seeing them..I had a flashback of my girls..

Probably because they were sitting on a chair beside me..
I had taken a few ..like the one above..different angles..I think they were 5 and 3 here..♥
I asked the boys if they would try and get their pic taken like their mom had..and here you have the difference between boys and girls..I got   my foldable beach hats.Which Oli liked to wear this way or as a dog collar.

Lol..finally

These boys..make me smile.:) Great sports to let me actually take pics of them with hats♥

Went to my market  Saturday..I wanted to give 2 vintage hats..not the ones above lol.. to a vendor who had given me this..the week before..I grew up learning how to write in these..what memories it brought back!

There were designated Catholic schools back then..and we could not eat meat on Fridays..we had to fast 3 hrs before communion..and had to go to church every Sunday.I went with my mom..

We had Catechism..to learn by heart..and we learned cursive writing from the get go..
The exercise book to the left..the one he gave me..and my primary school report cards on the rght.I am so thrilled to have these.

At the back of the écriture practice books ..there were math tables.

This was grade 5.I loved that teacher.I was at a different school board then.

My mom was so happy w/ my notes..90's.It was important to her.

She was brilliant and cutivated.

Me..not so much but I loved primary school.I wanted to play school  after school..lol.

I remember scents from back then.I remember loving my teachers..even my ugly pleated tunic.You dont pit top to bottom box pleats w/ a belt on a chubby girl.My English catholic friends had V~ neck a line tunics.And gold blouses.. mine were white.

How neat to have found one of the little books and that the vendor said: "Take one or two".

And while there..my favoritest artist was there w/ her hats..and quilts and paintings and signs..You know..

those signs I love so much..

Above..an IPad photo..I just cannot take a good pic w/ an Ipad:)
THis is part of her set up there..she also has tables and such w/ her other things..

One of her signs in my garden.

Have a lovely weekend and week..as always~

As I  finish typing this..the skies are falling..a long lavish rain..♥

Mid July~

The lilies are blooming albeit not as in full force as usual w/ the drought..

The colors are glorious..there's just one I am not over the moon w/..kind of peach w/ a deep mauve edge..peach and mauve?:(

Speaking of peachy colors..I found apricots at Adonis..had to buy a few to try painting and to eat..found a delightful recipe..I halved it..and it made 3 small ind.desserts.

I found it here..however I modified it...I used a baking yeast I have that has vanilla in it:) I adjusted the amount because my envelopes are suitable for 500 grams of flour.And I added grated Tonka.The apricots are macerated in Cognac:)Just while you prep the mix.I pressed my halved aricots into the batter.


I made Josée's sweet relish again..it's our fave for burgers..I do like a spicy mayo that has pickle juice in it..or Sweet Baby Ray's..but this relish is a keeper.

I seem to be lucky every yr w/ my garlic..but Debbie at Mountain Breaths kindly sent me a link to a great video..about when to harvest your garlic..here it is..He husband Joe is a garlic grower too!

I love this miniature white rose that I have (2) forms a large bush..and the flowers are so similar to The pink Fairy..could be a white Fairy:)

Did a bit of painting..the apricots..may champagne glasses thanks to Carol's tutelage..those champagne bottles..and glasses..:)

And I have to tell you some photographers are so inspirational on IG..
One I follow ..actually 2..I think they are husband and wife..
Jackie Greaney  and JPHavel  have remarkably beautiful photos of New England..Travel around the world..recently they were in Nova Scotia and their photos inspired me.

I was also inspired by a photo one of my daughter's took of Lucas..her son..in her convertible antique of a car:) Sipping an iced something w/ his hair in the wind..he will be 13 August 6th..this is the card I made for him totally inspired by her photo.For this one I used my Ipad as a lightbox..and transferred the outline..then I painted it.

This was the photo..

I can't wait to give it to him.Of course I am more excited than he will be..lol♥

In August we celebrate..Lucas..Mylène,Giuliana and Adamo:)

13,43,17 and 19.

Have a lovely weekend..as always.

A La Mauve~♥

Look who's checking out the lay of her land;)♥

I am ready to do a rain dance.

The grass is like straw and turning brown..the gardens..are weak.

We have had years like this but I was so pumped about the gardens.
Watering ban..by had only..pots are doable but not the beds day in and day out.The water doesn't seep in..it slides and forms rivulets to nowhere needed.
Things are literally toppling..so dry.
C'est la vie.

It seems through the blooming months I have prevalent colors..from blue to pink to mostly whites to mauve.

It's mauve about now.

I made a delish tart w/ Dorie Greenspans sweet dough pastry..and her pastry cream..both from Baking From My Home to Yours..recipes abound on the net.And THAT book? One of my favorites.

So easy so good.

Some may remember my heart shaped footbalms a few yrs back..I put them in different molds this time..cute as buttons..same mix of ings..yet these are so hard.:( Could be my beeswax batch was older..not sure..or because I had stipulated less olive oil next time..and followed my advice..lol..

And this happened.. part 1 of my garlic harvest..

LOL nothing pretty in the garage...snow blower..tractor..corded wood..leaf blowers..bicycles..shop vacs..and extra garden paraphenalia..shelves..ok ..the curtains are ok;)♥Yes I put curtains in garage windows..

So..I guess I harvested about 40..maybe more.. from the Peter Rabbit raised hexagonal bed..where spinach and herbs and some borage remain..some self-seeded Dancing With Smurfs tomato plants..

I think this bed grows the largest bulbs....no sand in this bed just earth and manure..Bécassine:)
The other 2 areas..are old earth or mostly sand.I have to amend them..still..I will get small and medium sized bulbs..ap 60 more.
This first harvest I hung in the garage..the others will go in the potting shed.
Will do soon as these seemed fine and dandy.

It will last 1 yr and one yr only.I ALMOST had to buy some:)

LOL but I had made 2 decorative wreaths w/ 6..I took them off the wall;)

Garlic is my fave edible to grow..no pests..easy..plant in fall..first to sprout in Spring..collect in July..hang to dry..snip..brush off..store.
Enjoy♥.
Next harvest I'll try and make it cuter;)

So hot!!
And now it seems Japanes Beetles have come to my little town.
Luckily nothing loves garlic..so far..except us.

Have a nice weekend~

Heat Wave~Watercolors~Recipes~Links~

As you have probably heard..QC is having a heat wave~ Many other places too I am told..yet BC had summer snow flurries..:(:(

I am loving the sun and blue skies.

I find this hot weather has given me a vacation at home.

You just cannot garden in the 90's and 100's.

You water your pots..make sure your chicken has plenty of water..and.. well you spend time inside...
This is the first home we have owned that has AC..perfect as we are older now..;)
My daughter did invite us to swim in her pool..but we were just right inside:)

It's cherry time so I made my fave cherry cake from here..I have been making it since I found it.. as it is AMAZING..almond and cherries are a perfect match.

So here's le scoop..

I always used a single cherry pitter as I mentioned..I think..lol..
 but now I use this fab 6 cherry pitter..Bridget mentioned hers.I found one at Amazon Canada and went for it.It's a keeper.
Mine is Starfrit.
Have you ever seen a cherry growing with another cherry together? This was my first..a perfect little ♥ growing conjoined with a large normal cherry.


The other keeper is this 9 inch Norpro Springform type pan.I forget where I read about it..but mine are old and rusting in spots..this one has  a glass bottom..the cake came out perfectly..I didn't even flip it as I always have...and I added more slivered almonds on top.

Those muffins were pretty grand too..recipe is here..To me coffee and a muffin are  a sin come true.

We bought figs..disappointing.I love them pink and juicy..oh well I baked some up w/ riotta..honey..pistachios..edible.

But I want the juicy ones.
That top treat is from Marie..You can find her angel cake recipe here.I had fun making a naked cake out of it♥
Thank you Marie~
I bake when it's really hot and when it's really cold..and in between all that;)

So what do I do apart from checking Varage Sale..;)and doing le stricte minimum in my gardens during une canicule?

I decided to try a few color mixing charts..
Scratchmade Journal was my link to how to do one that I could understand..
Here is a link..well above..;)

So ..I still don't get them.

I love that you see what mixing one color w/ another does..it's a form of education and gosh they are pretty.

But don't mess up.

In my Sennelier 12+6..I omitted a green..added it later.It throws everything off.

I still don't even know how to do different method color charts.

And even though my memory can be quite good thank you God..

Paints are like crochet to me.I have to refresh my memory every time if I am not doing it all the time:(

That's why remotes are scary and foreign to me.

If I use a remote twice a yr..how should I remember which of J's 10 remotes do what.How?

I have loved sitting inside in the cool..painting charts and then painting something w/ those paints..different papers etc.
I find I do love Hot Press too.
Fluid.
I love Hahnemuhle..Legion..Strathmore..Arches..St-Armand..
Even Yupo.
I love paints and papers like I love plants and gardening and baking and baking tools..

Nothing compares to my Littles of course;)

We will be havingNoah's Bday lunch and shop date;) 10.
Double Digits.
One of his gifts was a hamster.Chocolate.

The hampster's house is perfect for Noah.:):)Enough architectural wings to keep him interested..The hampster..;)Varage Sale is AMAZING.

I've done more color charts and will keep talking about them:)

I do want to say that a lovely surprise while doing the charts..is that..Prima Tropicals..rock.
Above you see the Classics..I prefer the Tropicals.....
and Raphael travel....I did not like at all.They are not above either.



Bon weekend!!