~As July Comes To A Close~

Good day to you. It is such a beautiful morning here in Vermont. There is just a hint of coolness in the air, a gentle reminder that fall is not far off. The birds are flittering about..enjoying the bread I've started placing in the flat feeder for them.

Yesterday I picked the first Zucchini from our garden. Now that things have started to rippen...they will come so quickly I will barely be able to keep up and I will soon have baskets full of delicious organic veggies to share with family & friends. We freeze all that we can but there is always enough to share. I also plan on trying my hand at canning a few things..although we will see if I end up having time for that......

July has been such a wonderful month full of fun summer activities and fantastic memories....

(from left to right...Mom, Cristen, Me, Darlene & Jenna)

These photo's are from this past weekend at the New England BBQ Championships at Harpoon Brewery in Windsor VT...OH my goodness we all had such a great time!

Jenna & Ben met us there..and mom & dad...my nephew Shawn...My sister Darlene, brother in law Donny, niece Cristen and Mark & I met Kurt there......Kurt has been working this event for the past 3 years as one of his friends is a bbq vendor......this is the first year Kurt has been of age at this event......SOOOO.....they made a big deal of it..and a good time was had by all ;)

(from left to right...Kurt, Cristen & Shawn)

(Mark & I standing in front of the Simon Pierce Glass factory)......which is on the grounds where the bbq championships were...we went inside & watched them blowing glass..it was so neat!

If you are on Facebook & would like to view the entire album...click here.....

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And now we will be moving on to August........

~New Offerings..Pears & Pillows & Herbs~

Good morning everyone. We have a beautiful & sunny morning here in Vermont..I am hoping we have a repeat of yesterday..which was absolutely PERFECT!

I wanted to share my new offerings with you......first...a set of painted & crackled pears.....

inside a mache box covered with a aged copy of actual antique wallpaper...Don't you just love the pattern! The box also has an aged copy of a receipt (recipe) for Preserved Pears from The Young Housekeepers Friend published in 1871. These are available exclusively on The Primitive Gathering..won't you stop by & have a look.

Now on to my website offerings.....

~Early Hornbook Gathering~

I am experimenting with pillows. A shoppe owner who carries my work has asked me to create pillows for her and these small little pillows are the samples that I made :) They feature copies of Antique Catch Penny images and are stuffed with either sawdust or dried grass & have lavender or dried pine for scent :) The gatherings also contain blackened beeswax ornaments and dried herbs from my garden :)

~Early Summer Gathering~

There are two available..the Hornbook Gathering and an Early Summer Gathering.

And..last but not least I now have Vintage Cotton Batting for sale. I was SO EXCITED when I came across some at an Estate sale recently...this batting is especially PERFECT for giving your folk art an early, primitive & olde world charm. Click on the photo to be taken to my website for further details. I have a limited amount of this.. and have already sold several ounces this morning....so if you are interested...Hurry on over.

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This will be it for my summer online offerings, I will not be having any new online offerings until September. I am taking the month of August to concentrate on show preparations, shoppe orders & custom orders.

Now I am off to finish picking up the house and then I have orders to pack and ship...this afternoon..I am going kayaking with my son!

Have a wonderful day everyone
:)D

In a summer haze...............

Good day. I hope you are all well and had a festive & safe 4th of July! Our's was great...we celebrated my birthday & jenna's graduation on Saturday with a lovely summer picnic here at our house..it was so fun!

We had 22 people here for a sit down dinner .....we rented tables and chairs..I did lovely floral place settings....decorated the tables with potted flowers and served Grilled Salmon, Chicken, baked potatoes, Spring Salad. For dessert... Cake & Lemon Sorbet..it was so lovely.
However, the next time I have a party or gathering..I'm going to give my camera to someone else....then perhaps I'll be able have pictures of the actual party and not just "before pictures"...It seems that once everyone arrives and the party starts... I'm so busy visiting and "doing" the party that taking pictures is the last thing on my mind..of course, afterwords I'm so disappointed....not having any photo's to remember it by!!!

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We were oh so lucky with the weather..it was hot..but gorgeous..unlike today....as it is SO hot and humid that it is absolutely unbearable to be outdoors..inside is cool & pleasant so that is where I am...forcing myself to work on orders that need to be finished and shipped out this afternoon. Then MY PLAN IS TO move on to new creations.....this years CatchPenny Homes need to be started as well as new dolls..bears and other wee folk.

...THIS IS THE PLAN...... however, I must admit.... I am finding it nearly impossible to drag myself into the studio...I want to be outdoos in my gardens, kayaking..reading by the lake...or sitting in the shade writing, sketching or reading...

I am in a summer haze and I'm finding it difficult to drag myself out of it!!! OF COURSE..then bed time comes along and I lay awake going over in my head the orders I need to get out..the show inventory I need to get busy with and the numerous new creations I want to bring to life...and of course..it's nearly impossible to fall asleep..I feel like I need to jump out of bed and bolt into the studio and not come out for days....which at the rate I'm going now..is going to be exactly what I end up having to do if I do not get myself in gear..and GET TO WORK...

.....BUT..before I go...here is the recipe for the lemon sorbet I made for the party this past weekend...goodness it was delicious..and so refreshing. I made two batches..one in the Ice Cream maker & one simply by place the mixture in a metal loaf pan in the freezer and I actually liked the loaf pan method better.

Lemon Sorbet

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Water

1 Cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 or 4 lemon)

1 tsp fine lemon zest

In a small saucpan on medium high heat, make a simple syrup by heating the sugar and water until all the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear. Remove from the heat and let cool. Mix in the lemon juice and zest. Chill, either in the refrigerator or by placing in a metal bowl over an ice bath.

Once the mixture has thoroughly cooled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufactures directions or pour the mixture into a metal loaf pan & freeze until solid. Once the mixture is the right consistency (it should be like an icy sherbert) place in an airtight container until you are ready to serve.

Scoop out with a melon baller, garnish with mint..ENJOY!

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Have a wonderful day everyone :)Doreen