Summer Surge

Dear sisters,

Summers surge heaves us into a raging sea of activity that must be squeezed in before the first day of school arrives. If you homeschool then you get a pass from traditional time constraints, but, even so we want to ride the wave of summer until it comes crashing down, hurling us into fall nesting mode. I’m already feeling the pull of Fall, are you? By the school calendar summer has peaked like a rolling wave and is on the way back out to sea carrying with it fond memories of cookouts, camp-outs, and glamp-outs, family reunions, world travels and beach vacations. Good times ( #summer2018)  have been shared and stored away in our memory bank ( or on I cloud ) for future reference. We did our best to fit in some much needed family time with those near and from a-far, as well as plenty of gardening and our annual beach respite at the cottage as well. Here’s a splash of our summer surge!

Let’s see. Where did we leave off in July? Oh yeah! We were on our way to the cottage for our annual vacation. I didn’t take any photos except this sunset on our last night there. We really tried to just UN plug and let the week unfold. It was just my hubby and I for the first few days and our son joined in the last part of the week. We celebrated my handsome Yankee’s birthday ( he turned 29, again… 😉 ) with a homemade pizza party. We got him a PizzaQue Outdoor Pizza Oven and made homemade pizza’s for ourselves and friends. He loved it! We ALL did! This little thing runs on propane so it’s perfect for any outdoor activity where friends and family gather. It requires a bit of practice to get the pizzas rolled out and various toppings added to keep a steady stream of pizzas coming out for guests, but the learning curve isn’t too steep. The stone heats up as high as 900 degrees so the pizza’s cook fast in under 8 minutes per pie.

Our son, Zach and I took care of the food preparations inside and my hubby did all the cooking outside. We’re bringing it to the cottage for Labor Day weekend and I promise to take photos this time. I’ll post some of our favorite recipes in my next blog, too!

My Aunt Karen ( Nan ) and Uncle Ray

The following week, we had company from home for a visit. Our other home. Reno, Nevada. When you move away from your where your grew your first roots amongst loving family and familiar landscapes it can take a very long time to feel at home in your new digs so when family and friends from home come for a visit we always feel like they bring a little piece of home for us to hold in our hearts until we meet again.

I’ve always had a close relationship with my Aunt Karen. We are November girls. She and my mom share the same birthday, four years apart on November, 18th. Her daughters is November 16th and mine is November 17th.

She used to babysit my brothers and I when we were little and she’s just been the best for keeping in touch through the miles since our move East 17 years ago. We are blessed they love us ( and Plymouth) so much!

They are the cutest. Always laughing and kidding with each other.

They celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary while they were here. Do you enjoy a good love story? Theirs is a neat one.  After spending time with them together it’s easy to see that it was meant to be. Both of them had previous long marriages and lost their spouses to illness fairly close to one another. My aunt and Ray worked together for many years and the two couples were friends.

Their strong friendship got them through some tough times and now they are living a happy life and making the most of each day together. The grand-kids and great-grands keep them hopping between Nevada and California.

When they’re here they always stay at this quaint BnB on the Historic Plymouth Waterfront. It’s called By the Sea and it’s just adorable. The owners are lovely, the views are 5 star and the Inn itself is perfection. Decorated to a T in quaint New England cottage style. We highly recommend!

Our daughter posing with Plymouth Harbor in the background.

Rather than go to restaurants every evening we chose to spend our time on the deck enjoying wine, reminiscing and making new memories. We so love their visits!

It’s nearly impossible for me to get through a blog post without talking flowers but if you’ve been with me a while you know this! Thank you for indulging me, one more time.

I am wedded to my little suburban flower farm and garden. It feeds my soul like nothing else can. I guess you could say it’s my ” out there ” place. It might as well be a thousand acres because when I’m outside planting, watering, feeding, even just sitting that’s when my mind and heart are at peace and my best daydreams happen.

Flower Recipe: Two kinds of Hydrangea, 3 kinds of dahlia, sedum, nine bark and white cosmos.

I think August is my favorite time in the garden. The summer blooming perennials are at their peak, the ornamental grasses are lush and full and the cutting garden is coming into it’s own. There is so much to choose from for designing and I love to play with different kinds of arrangements for fun!

This season I planted a basket of sweet potato vine and angel face to hang on the chicken coop.

I hung a window box of the back of my flower cart just for fun. It’s gotten a bit wild!

These are cut and come again zinnias that I direct sowed the first week of July.

I love zinnias and they are so easy to grow from seed. Just wait until the last frost date for your zone has passed and sow them directly in a sunny patch. Keep them moist until they pop through the soil then back off to every other day until they get going. Zinnias will go all summer long if you deadhead them often.

I love finding random shapes in the nooks and crannies of garden. This morning-glory vine has crept into the frame of the shed. It might be the only thing holding it together at this point. ( smile )

My handsome Yankee and I are squeezing in as many boat rides as we can before we take it out for the season. Don’t let Max fool you…He looks happy in this photo but he is NOT a boat dog. He barks non-stop when my hubby casts his line, or jumps off the boat for a swim. The herding instinct is strong with this one but, we couldn’t love him more! I can’t believe he turns 10 next month.

Ball jar arraignment from a July wedding I did.

I planted sunflower seeds today in hopes of having blooms for mid October. This is the latest I’ve ever done it so I’ll keep you posted on how that works out. I’m hopeful, but aren’t all Farmgirls who play in the dirt?

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful summer. The ropes have slackened ( a little ) and soon we’ll be sailing into Fall. Are you ready?

Until our next shoreline visit~ Stay cool and enjoy these salad days of summer.

Beach Blessings and Much Love,

Deb #1199