Dazzling Summer Days!

Rainbows & rainstorms, heat & humidity, flowers and fruit…welcome July! So far summer has brought us abundant rain, incredible heat, and formidable wind gusts. We tied down everything that might blow away, slipped on raincoats and boots to unclog gutters before dawn, and tried to beat the heat with homemade ice cream and root beer floats. 

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  1. Ladybugloveslilacs says:

    Growing up in the northeast, “knee high by the 4th of July was an important saying for our corn crops. With a shorter growing season we had to get it planted as soon as was safe to be able get the corn to that growth on time. Hoping the weather cooperated.

    I too have collected many aprons over the years. It seems as though I always wear the same select few. I like the idea of turning the towels into aprons. I wear mine full so would probably change the idea up a little to make it that way. So many possibilities. Thanks for the inspiration!
    I have grandma’s recipes and my mom’s. I have used them to make all sorts of pickled items including bread and butters. Love them. It’s such a blessing to carry on the traditions!

    • Nicole Lendel says:

      I agree with you as I wear a full apron daily too. I love the above ideas but think it wouldn’t be too difficult to add a second towel for the top and two ribbons to tie behind the neck. Now I just need to find some towels! I may check out some antique shops to look for some cute vintage patterned ones. Cooking, cleaning, gardening… I wear my aprons for it all and would feel bare without one!

      • Mary Murray says:

        Me too, Nicole…inside, outside, holidays – a must-wear! Let me know if you find some towels and make one…would love to hear!

    • Mary Murray says:

      Oh what a terrific idea, another tea towel at the top or two stitched together to give it a little more fullness…let me know if you whip up your own version! Aren’t those old recipes treasures? I agree…carrying on the old traditions keeps all those sweet memories for the next generation.

  2. cathy says:

    I usually make zucchini relish I just opened my last jar just in time for the new batch to be made.
    My gardens are happy and healthy and for a minute weed free.
    I have different aprons for different times. One for one rug hooking one for cooking one for gardening.
    Great post! and boy you will have corn early.

    • Mary Murray says:

      Oh Cathy, weed-free is a dream here! It’s been nearly impossible to keep up with them. Zucchini relish is so good…like you, I just opened the last jar of hot-pepper jam. Soon it’ll be time to make more! And you’re right…this morning I could smell the sweetness of the corn in the air as it’s all just begun to tassel. Time flies!

  3. TheCrankyCrow says:

    Ahhh…Pickling!! It is a memory permanently etched in my head. My family loved pickles…of any kind (but mostly the dill sliced or whole variety). I did NOT like pickling season as my job was to help pick the cucumbers and then clean the the cucumbers. I would sit on the step of an old cement foundation that held the topper to my father’s old pick-up truck (which he didn’t use in the summer because he needed it to haul things (i.e., hay, etc.) with a bucket of water, a bucket of cucumbers, and scrub all the “nubbies” off. I think maybe that is why I decided I didn’t like pickles LOL. Everyone in my family LOVED pickles…and it is a trait that must be embedded in the family’s genetic code somewhere as my son would prefer them to candy any day growing up…and my grand is the same way. And while my mother wasn’t a big apron-wearer (she was a full-fledged partner in the farm duties), she certainly had 1001 “old sayings.” I could write not just a novel, but a series of novels. 😉

    • Mary Murray says:

      Robin, what absolutely wonderful memories…jot them all in a memory book to pass down! Oh those nubbies…that makes me laugh, I understand completely. Yes, please…write those novels! Your sweet farm memories are too precious not to be put to paper. I’ll need an autographed copy, please!

  4. daisy says:

    What wonderful memories. I bet they just fill you up! Your apron is darling. I love how you repurposed a simple tea towel into something even more functional. Enjoy the rain. Here in the Piedmont of NC, we are as dry as a bone. Continued blessings…

    • Mary Murray says:

      Hi Daisy, thanks…those early days had an impact on me, I feel like I’m following in my grandmother’s footsteps. Hope you’ve had some rain by now…would love to send you some, we’re about to float away! (And don’t get me started on the humidity that rain brings!)

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