for now ...

i have decided to take a little summer break ... i will see you again in the fall ...

pretty blooms

my flower beds are a hot mess ... i told you that ... right?

yes, i thought so ...

so, while i would sooner try to juggle live snakes than show you a panoramic view of
my "garden" ... i do have some blooms that looked extra pretty to me this morning:

it is a gloriously beautiful day here today ... i hope it is where you are too ...

ps: i have been SO busy the last week, that i had to skim over my google reader
... if i failed to leave a comment with you, i am sorry ... i did read most of the over
350 posts ... whew! ... but i didn't have time to comment to each one ...

cookie treats

today was the last day of school ... and i thought i would make a batch of cookies
as a treat for my boys ... i made my christmas anise cookies ... but i gave them a
more summer like twist ... instead of the anise extract, i used raspberry flavoring
that i bought at "bake it pretty" ... and for the sprinkles on top, i used the super
cool technique showed by Jessica here for turning white jimmies into beautiful
pastel colors ... i made mine a very pale shade of blue ... they look so cute ...

son #1 who doesn't really care for the anise version of these cookies ... pronounced
these "delicious" ... son #2 who loves the anise version pronounced these ... and i
quote ... "nasty" ... well, that is so sad ... i guess i will have to eat his share ... LOL ...

"Anise Cookies"

1/4 C butter, softened
1/4 C crisco
3/4 C granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 1/2 C flour
7 tsp baking powder ... yes seven!
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBS anise extract or 6 drops raspberry flavoring
2/3 C light cream

sift dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside ...
cream butter, crisco, and sugar ... add eggs one at a time
... mix well ... add cream and your flavoring of choice ...
mix well ... add your dry ingredients and mix well ... roll
the dough into 1 inch balls and place on your cookie sheet ...
with the palm of your hand, flatten the balls to a 2 inch circle ...

bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes
remove to rack to cool completely before applying glaze

"Cookie Glaze":

1 TBS butter melted
2 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/4 C warm milk
1 1/2 tsp anise or 6 drops raspberry flavor

mix all in a wide bowl ... dip the top of your cookies into the
glaze ... when the excess glaze is finished dripping off, plunge
your cookie top into a dish of jimmies ... enjoy!

it's all good ...

oh, hi ... i am not maimed or otherwise incapacitated ... thank you if you expressed
concern about how the bike ride had gone ... well, the truth is we never went ... our
memorial day plans were altered by two huge thunderstorms that rolled in ... and
ruined my peonies ... still mad about that ... i haven't been doing much of anything,
that is why i haven't had a new post up ... still doing nothing ... most of my time has
been spent trying to de~weed my flower beds ... the poor things have suffered from
neglect the last two years ... and i am trying like anything to summon the joy i once
felt while playing in my flower beds ... here are a few things blooming here now ...


"dianthus" ideal series ... love the ruffled petal edge ...

"geranium macrorrhizum" ... dirty petals ... how embarrassing ...

another "dianthus" ... the petals look like they are made of velvet ... so pretty ...

sunny, yellow "viola" ...

"dianthus doris" ... these girls smell heavenly ...

and "viola tricolor" ... so sweet ...

thank you for stopping over ... tell me what is blooming for you right now ...