Over the River and Through the Woods

Over the river...



...and through the woods...



...We weren't going to grandma's house. We were going home.
We took the scenic route for a while down the Blue Ridge Parkway.
It was pretty, but more for retirees than a car full of are-we-there-yetters.
Be sure you get on with a full tank of gas and an empty bladder.
The song that goes "Long and Winding Road" pretty much sums it up.


That's the last vacation picture.
I promise.

DC Visit...We Didn't Catch a Glimpse of Compromise

A few pictures from our day in Washington.

Riley took this of the Washington Monument.


Checking at the fossils at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum.

Now those are some big Jaws. How would you like to go fishing and catch that?

Up close and personal. Meredith takes a look at some nature photography on display.

A Ride in the Country

These are some of the pictures I took as we travelled the back roads

of Pennsylvania in Amish country.

My dream house!




A heron wading in a stream.

This is a farm across from an Amish store I like to go to on our trips.

And here's one in Maryland. The Brick Meeting House in Calvert, Maryland.

Blueberry Picking

While on riding around one day on vacation we spied a sign for u-pick blueberries.

Blueberries are Meredith's favorite food.

It was a gorgeous farm with rolling land full of blueberries, a lane that led to a beautiful old farmhouse with a pond full of geese and then on to a peach orchard. It was a dream spot.


This is looking up the hill at one of the old barns.



She's in blueberry heaven.

One of her favorite books is even 'Blueberries for Sal'.

Even her brothers, who aren't the greatest fans of blueberries, decided they liked them.

Be sure to check out the recipe pages on the blog to find my Blueberry Breakfast Bake recipe!

Old Window Panes, Eldreth, and Yard Sales...Oh My

I feel like it's been show and tell this week. I've got a few more from you from my visit with my friend Jen. I did take a tour of her garden, but got so busy talking, I didn't get a lot of flower pictures. Sorry about that. I did, however, get some nice pictures of a few things she has and of some places we spotted along our way.

Her cute little Eldreth cat in the flower bed. Eldreth Pottery is something we all love to collect. I visited the store while in Pennsylvania. I have a lot of the tradional, but all their new stuff is making it hard for me to stick to just what I've been doing.














This is definitely on my wish list. The ever talented Ken Krauss makes them from old window panes. If only it could survive a trip in the car with three kids...And below is another cat enjoying the warm summer day, except this one's real. I wish I could nap in the roses, don't you?

I almost forgot to give y'all the recipe for the French Dip. It came from my Fix It & Forget It cookbook. It's all recipes that you can make in the crockpot. I highly recommend it. It's so helpful to be able to go to that book when you know it's going to be a busy day.




French Dip

3 lb. roast
2 c. water
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. parsley
4 whole peppercorns

Place roast in slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients. Cover. Cook on high 5-6 hours. Remove; shred beef. Strain broth and serve with meat. Serves 8.









These are a couple of places we spotted on our yard sale adventures. Also, I took that cow picture I showed you earlier in the week then. The cows were right next to the road. I did find a few things. I couldn't get much, I knew I had to have somewhere to sit on the ride home. I did buy a couple of books (one to read and one to use in projects), a couple of cd's for the boys,and a really nice old drawer that I'm going to use for display. Jen was the yard sale winner that day with her Eldreth santa and her Brighton belt. We had a great time.


Wouldn't you love to drive past sights like that everyday!?!

More Photos...More Thankful...and Some Buttermilk Banter

Another day and another batch of pictures. These are a few more of the things I love--old barns, little streams, farm land. Tomorrow I'll have pictures from the home of another sweet friend, Jen. We started a couple weeks ago having Thankful Thursday. I thought I'd continue the tradition today.

1. I'm thankful that I'm getting my house back in order. It's so nice to have the piles of things put away after a trip.

2. I'm thankful for another day, for me, for my family. We always seem to forget what a tremendous gift it is simply to be.

3. I'm thankful that Jack is loving tennis camp. What a delight it is to watch your child discover something that they love.

4. I'm thankful for encouragement from friends--notes that brighten your day, phone calls at the exact minute you need them, just knowing that they're there.

5. I'm thankful for a garden that I can watch grow. It is always a delight to me to check on my vegetables. I know, I'm easy to please.


Now for supper tonight. It's breakfast for supper, a fun thing we love to do. I didn't figure you all needed a recipe for pancakes. You can holler if you do, I'll be happy to share. I did, however, want to share a tip for making them better. Buttermilk pancakes are better, fluffier. The key to great buttermilk pancakes is quality buttermilk. I'm usually all for what's cheapest, most of the time the store brand's the same. This is one instance where you want to splurge. Buy the more expensive brand, whatever it may be for your area.

Travellin' Tuesday

As promised, here are a few of the pictures I took on my travels in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Below that is my recipe for meatballs. You bake them in the oven instead of frying them. I always make a mess when I do them that way, so I was glad to finally find a way to make meatballs easier. I did get all my corn done last night. I think I can develop a new exercise routine after the workout all that shucking and scraping gave my biceps. Maybe we could call it the Farm Girl Workout, there could be putting up vegetables for strength training, chasing after chickens for cardio, bending to plant for pilates. Y'all don't want me to keep going...
See that giant teapot? It's made from pansies!






Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1/3 c. bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. parmesan
1 tsp. garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine ingredients. Shape into balls. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes.

Moovalous Monday

You all know I love cows. Apparently these love me back. Can you see the white hearts on their heads? I thought we could all use a little extra love since it's Monday.

I had a wonderful week visiting family in Maryland and going down just about every back road in Lancaster county, all that farm land restores my soul. I've got lots of pictures to share this week. I'll start sharing them tomorrow. For now we'll just have to be satisfied with menus. After all, I've still got a lot of unpacking to do. And, my mom's on her way with a couple of bushels of corn for me to put in the freezer. Y'all have a moovalous day!

Monday--grilled sausage, corn on the cob, tomato dumplings, watermelon
Tuesday--spaghetti with meatballs, french bread
Wednesday--All-American Chicken & Vegetables, bread, applesauce
Thursday--buttermilk pancakes, bacon, blueberries
Friday--French Dip, kaiser rolls, home fries, carrot sticks
Saturday--homemade pizza
Sunday--leftovers

Tomato Dumplings
Now this isn't my aunt Jean's tomato dumplings, I've still got to wrangle that recipe from her, but it is a yummy second. If you've never had this, it deserves a try. It's a little on the spicy side. It'd also be a great accompaniment for a cajun dish as well.

1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped bell pepper
1/4 c. chopped celery
1 bay leaf
1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. basil
1 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. butter, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp. parsley

Melt the 1/4 c. butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, pepper, celery and bay leaf; saute 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and basil. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, simmer 3 minutes. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add egg, milk, and parsley, stirring until moist. Drop dough by tablespoons into tomatoes. Cover and cook over medium-low for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf. 4-6 servings