Fast, Easy, and Good!

Yippee! I can now add photos to my blog.
Did nothing...just had to wait it out.

We had a birthday celebration this week.

Besides choosing what to eat for dinner, the birthday person always chooses their dessert.

The birthday guy always chooses cheesecake. Every year. Cheesecake.

But this year was different. He wanted my 'famous blackberry crisp' with homemade ice cream on top.

I call it my 'famous blackberry crisp' because it is fast, easy, and tastes amazingly good.
That makes it famous, doesn't it?

I also have a recipe for my famous pickles, but that's another story.

Famous Blackberry Crisp

2 1/2 cups Blackberries (or you can use raspberries)
1 Heaping Tablespoon Cornstarch
2/3 Cups Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Oats
Dash of Salt
1 Stick of Butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven  to 350 degrees. Combine first four ingredients and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the rest of ingredients. Cut with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add berry mixture to a 2 quart baking dish (that is sprayed with oil). Sprinkle topping mixture on top of berries. Bake 30 minutes and enjoy!
(This recipe is my version of the one by The Pioneer Woman)

What is really great about this dessert is that the blackberries are straight out of my garden.
And my homemade ice cream...can't get any better than that!

Joining in on the fun over at...

A Little Ticked Off!

I'm annoyed right now.

For two days I've been trying to post to Blogger.

With pictures.

Blogger won't let me add any pictures.

Really?

What's a blog without pictures?

I've been on the hunt for the answer.

Ha! That's a joke.

I've tried all the advice out there.

Nothing works.

So here is a blog post without any photos.

Isn't it special!?! (sarcasm here)

Yes, I'm a little ticked. Sigh.

Added To The Shop

Good Monday Morning!!!

I added a few items to the shop last week.

Large Farm Pitchfork

Vess Billion Bubble Beverages Soda Pop Crate

Old Rustic Iron Steel Well Pulley

Many more pickin' cool finds coming soon!

Fall

There's a change in the air.

The garden is slowing down.

Acorns are beginning to drop.

And the geese on the lake are beginning their fall ritual.

Every year it's like clockwork.

Between 6:30 and 7:00 pm, they take flight. 

They leave the lake in three separate groups.

And return in the morning.

This goes on every fall...every day...like clockwork. 

What Is It?

Do you know what this is? 

I picked it up at the flea market.

Hubby had to enlighten me on what this is.

It's a heavy piece weighing 11 lbs.

Here's a closeup of the top.

The glass is really thick and pretty.

So do you know what it is, yet?

It's an insulator! The biggest one I've ever come across.

So...did you know?

No Cucumbers For You

There were no cucumbers...

at the grocery store this morning. I need some for a recipe.

And  there are no cucumbers...

in my garden this year. They just did not produce like previous years.

Don't know what happened. Everything else has done really well.

So...no cucumbers for me!

How about you? Do you have cucumbers?

Tuckered Out

I'm tired. Plain tuckered out.

Been hoppin' from state to state.

Family obligations and celebrations.

Traveling by highway and sky way.

Trying to get back into a routine again,

but...

will only have a couple of weeks before the next trip.

Yawn...

Hope to visit y'all soon!

Love in 1896

Letters from 1896.

Love letters.

Nelson loves Susie.

He writes...'I am certainly very proud of you - your beautiful bravery and courage with absolutely no surrender about you.'

And Susie loves Nelson.

She writes...'I shall miss you dreadfully. I never have missed you so.'

Nelson is an attorney and writes of his cases.

He signs his letters...'Your Nelson'.

Susie writes of visitors and commitments within the community.

She signs her letters...'I am your Susie'.

Love in 1896.

Barefootin'

Went out to the garden first thing this morning.

My broken toe is feeling much better, but it was hard to walk in my flip flops.

So I kicked them off and went barefoot in the garden.

It felt wonderful. The grass and pathways were heavily drenched in dew. 

Ahhh...so refreshing.

I've read that it is healthy to go barefoot. I don't know about that, but I sure felt better.

This is some of my spearmint that I planted beside my bench. 

I can easily lean over and run my hands through it to catch its fragrance.

As I munch on a spearmint leaf, I feel such appreciation for all the simple pleasures my garden provides.  

It's All Different Now

How can I explain it to them...

How do I make them understand...

It's all different now.

I recently had two separate friends from my past contact me.

They each want to catch up after more than 3 years.

The thing is...my life is different now.

I have the heart of a farm gal and seek simplicity in all I do.

I look back at how much I've changed and I've really morphed into a new person.

I pick. I garden. I cook. I craft. I blog. I'm happy.
I'm sure you get it. I'm sure you understand.

I just want to say thank you for coming by.
I appreciate each and every one of you.
And I truly enjoy your friendship cause you 'get me'!

Now That's What I'm Talkin' About

Good Monday morning y'all!

As you probably know, this past weekend was the Route 127 yard sale through 5 states.

We had to be on the road, but it was for a bridal shower that was out of state.

Then I realized that if we made a short detour, we could hit some of the sale for an hour or so.

Look at this stop...now this is what I'm talkin' about!

Stuff. Lots of stuff.

This was our best and most favorite stop. 

We scored! Just look at our loot!

Crates r us!

Pickin' rules!

And here's some more goodies!

Bluebird of happiness!

I think we did pretty good. Oh, and I broke my toe the night before.

So I hobbled around and picked at the same time. Ya can't keep a picker down.

(I apologize about not staying in touch with y'all. Not trying to be rude. I was ill for a few days last week, then got so behind in everything.)