SUNDAY CELEBRATION

AUGUST GARDEN

Welcome to my August

 garden

in progress:

Hopefully rain will arrive today as we are

desperately in need of some.  You will

see that in the photos I am sharing - 

the flowers and lawn would love it.

I spoke to an elderly gentleman on the

 phone from the Home Extension Department 

of the University of Missouri and he said the

infestation of Japanese Beetles in June and July

was the worst he has ever seen here.  

This summer I have grown and continue

 grow many 

plants by seed.  

Now you see that we need rain:

AUGUST ARRIVES for "Tea In The Garden"

The month of August is here!

 I set up a little tea time in the garden!

Please pour yourself some tea and let

me show you a lovely book. 

We have some

 Cream Cheese Brownies 

to go with our tea!

I have been enjoying the book "Mrs Sharp's

Traditions" by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

It is a wonderful book about reviving Victorian

Family Celebrations of comfort and joy.

It is so wonderful to have our own

flowers for various bouquets!

Here is the recipe for these brownies:

You will need:  3 eggs, 6 Tb soft butter, 1 cup of sugar divided 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup - 3 Tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of flour, 1/3 cup cocoa and 6 oz cream cheese softened

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Separate 2 eggs putting each white in a  separate bowl (save yolks for something else).  In a small bow, beat the butter and 3/4 cup of sugar until crumbly.  Beat in the whole egg, one egg white and vanilla until combined well.  Mix flour and cocoa and gradually add to the egg mix until blended.  Pour into an 8 x 8 pan or 7 x 9 which has been sprayed with Pam.  In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1 egg white.  Drop by spoon fulls on top and swirl in with a knife.  Bake 25-30 minutes until edges pull away from the sides of the pan.  After I got the brownies done I wished I had added chopped pecans - maybe 2/3 cup or so.  This recipe was originally from Taste of Home and I have modified it a bit!

WHEN IT'S 95 DEGREES OUTSIDE

It has been plenty hot in Missouri - 

so what do I do when it gets 

too hot to be in the garden?

I was never one to sit on my thumbs, or

watch television in the daytime or

sit around.  So this summer I have

kept busy doing several things

and one of them is something from

the "good ole days" of the 1970's 

and before that - decoupage:

I won't drive you crazy with too many

but here is one I think Beatrix

Potter would approve of:

CELEBRATING BEATRIX POTTER for "Tea In The Garden"

I apologize for being late today!  I had

some ladies over for lunch yesterday and

lost track of time!  Time flies.....

So here I am this morning setting up

a little tribute to Beatrix Potter because

this Friday would be her 151st birthday!

I have brought out some of my collection of
 books regarding Beatrix to share with you.
Please pour yourself some tea and let me
show you some of them!

We are out on the patio next to the pond
and even the little fish want to join us.
It has been very hot lately and August in 
Missouri is always hot - so let's get ready!

As I have shared before, this summer I
have been revisiting the craft of decoupaging
and this clipboard is just one of many I have done:

Beatrix of course was quite a special lady with a
huge imagination, talent and creative ability.

  She loved drawing, gardening and nature.
  I also love to learn about her from the
 many sites online. 
 These should get you started:
One lovely site
Wikipedia - Beatrix Potter
Susan Branch's recent post on Beatrix

I am sure many of you have seen the Movie "Miss Potter" which was ever so charming!  Back in 2009
I did a post about that!  I watch that movie
at least once a year.

Beatrix strikes me as a

 "Brown Betty"

 kind of gal
so I chose this teapot in honor of her!

The little squirrel was begging.  I have
 not fed the birds this summer so the 
squirrels are not happy as
they come to rob the seeds but
the feeder is empty.

It is time to get back in where it is nice and
cool - we can admire the view from in here!