Saturday, August 09, 2014

Good, simple things...


 Sage Grouse grazing in the flower gardens.


 A pop-up afternoon thunderstorm brought us a good rain, a half inch.
There was a lightning strike and another fire north of us, 
but it was short lived and rained out.



 Just before the storm, I ran out and picked a big head of lettuce.
This is a Butterhead.

 My new Birkenstocks.  
Hippie Flower.

Playing in the kiddie pool with the grands.

 Sunflowers blooming inside and outside the fence.



The subtitle of this blog post was going to be "Oh Poop!"  Can you guess why?  The septic backed up.  Joe Dirt (that's his business name) came and pumped the septic tank but there was digging that needed to be done to fix the problem.  Thanks be to God for good men who know how to do this kind of work.  Our men rented a backhoe from town and had the problem fixed in an afternoon.  Gotta love 'em!  The backyard's a little messy for now, the bathroom still stinks, but I can flush and wash up the dishes!   You know what Erma Bombeck said, "The grass is always greener over the septic tank."  It was, and it will be again!

We had a nice family gathering yesterday with twenty of us here.  I made Indian Tacos and all the womenfolk brought things to help out with the meal.    The littles had fun in the spa (pool) while the grown-ups talked and while observing all the splashing and screaming.  I made that really delicious Basil Lemonade,  and everyone enjoyed it.  JJo wondered if we could do something with all the lemon & lime leftovers, and I remembered citrus-infused vinegar.  I had an extra gallon so we scooped all that goodness into a mason jar and poured white vinegar over it.  It already smells good and will be nice for homemade cleaning products.  Ever tried it?

Addendum on Lemonade:
If you don't have sweetened condensed milk, you can add another 1/4 cup of sugar (or to your taste) to the simple syrup and proceed with the instructions.  I have also used a combination of lemons & limes for a different twist.  The limes definitely give it a really fun flavor.

12 comments:

  1. I love it! What fun. I would be in heaven if our ruffed grouse wandered around my flower beds. I will have to try the basil lemonade, although I'm diluting a bad batch of wine in my lemonade. A great way to get rid of bad wine. My toenails are orange also. Glad you had fun with the family. My cousin is coming out next week with their little ones. I am excited. Thanks for the inspirations. Gotta love summer.

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  2. It looks so beautiful. I love flower gardens. We have some digging to do too but I am not looking forward to it but will be happy when it is done. Dianntha

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  3. Is this what is called High Summer? It's all lovely - your pool play, the hay bales behind the sunflowers, the summer storm that put out a summer fire...and your flower garden!
    I will have to remember about the citrus vinegar - I've been using vinegar more in cleaning.

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  4. Great picture of the sage grouse. Darling toes. Beautiful flowers.

    I keep thinking I'll try making the Basil Lemonade drink, but then what do you do with the rest of that can of sweetened condensed milk?

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  5. Here's what I did about the sweetened condensed milk: I skipped it and just added 1/4 cup of sugar to the simple syrup. Tasted wonderful.

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  6. What a wonderful day and what wonderful pictures. I am so glad you got to spend some time in the spa with the grands. :)
    What a fun day.
    I have wanted to make that cleaning product by the way, blog how it turns out.

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  7. So much to be impressed with here in this post but I have to say the thing that strikes me the most is that YOU CAN FIT in that kiddie pool with the grands! You are a fit little lady. Love it....

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  8. Love the photos. What a beautiful weekend you had!

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  9. Sounds like the perfect weekend Jody! I love the cute shot of you with the grands in the spa. And I'm glad your "problem' has been taken care of -- that's a no-fun situation. Ooooh, and I LOVE those new birkenstocks -- I had no idea they made such fun shoes!

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  10. What a lovely summery post! And don't you look cute in that pool with a little girly who got your pretty curls. What are Indian tacos? Sounds like a fun time.

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  11. Glad your septic issues are getting worked out! Phew! And thanks for that yummy-sounding limeade with the basil -- we must try that. I like the addition of the milk to it. Sounds "yummers" as we used to say. Enjoy your summer days!

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  12. I love your Birks! SO CUTE! So YOU!
    Yay for the simple pleasures and us keeping our ear to the ground so we don't miss the grace-filled gifts!

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