Vegetables ...

I would love to have a garden

I've tried planting tomatoe plants but the squirrels love tomatoes

so they are always taking bites out of the ones on the vine

so I just gave up

I tried all of the tricks but nothing worked

those dang squirrels in my yard are a hardy bunch!!

and I just don't have a good area that gets 6+ hours of sun

so I buy my vegetables from produce stands in our area

but I also have wonderful friends who have gardens and love to

share their bounty with us!

yumm, one of the best things about summer, fresh veggies!!

later...

Banana Pudding ...

There are so many recipes out there for banana pudding

but I like mine.....because it's easy, fast and oh so good!!

first layer, vanilla wafers

next, banana pudding (I use the instant)

next, sliced up banana's

another layer of vanilla wafers

then a layer of vanilla creme pudding, also the instant pudding

more sliced up banana's

and now the final layer, cool whip

and as a finishing touch, very lightly sprinkle cinnamon on top

this is such an easy recipe and as good as any other out there!!

later...



Table and chairs ....

I can't remember if I posted the new table and chairs for the kitchen

but I'm posting again!!

I went to so many furniture stores looking for what I wanted

I wanted a black table, one that would go 3 different sizes

and I wanted solid wood

Well, after searching everywhere I found out that furniture stores

don't carry much solid wood furniture

So I decided to go to the unfinished furniture store and I was

very happy to find out their furniture IS solid wood

and not only that, I could pretty much design my own furniture

we picked out our table top, the table legs

the backs to the chairs and the legs

and then picked out the finish

because it is custom made and has a factory finish on it

it was going to take about 6 weeks to get it in

but that was fine with me......

and this table goes 4 lengths

60", 82", 102" and 120"

more than enough for all of us!!!

and yes, that's plastic still on the chair cushions! haha

I have now bought the scotchguard, I just need to find the time to apply it

I couldn't be happier with this set. And knew that I wanted to get the

bar stools from the same store but in red. Then the other day I received

a card in the mail that they are going out of business so I'm not sure I can

still order those. I'm going to stop by there sometime soon and find out.

and that's too bad about them going out of business...they have great

furniture, good prices and are nice people to deal with.

later.........



Crab cakes ...

Johnny and I are down at the beach for a week

ahhh, such a wonderful time!

and while at the beach

we like to eat out some but also like to stay in on some nights

So on Tuesday we headed over to Austin's fish market to pick up

some crab meat for crab cakes

I normally make crab cakes with bread crumbs, old bay and a little mayo

but at the market I bought a packet called

Old Bay Crab Cake Classic 

the recipe on the back calls for mayo but I didn't have any and didn't

feel like going to the store.....

so I just mixed the crab meat with an egg and the old bay packet

they formed up great with no bread crumbs

then I go to cook them in the frying pan and the oil in the cabinet

had expired in 2011...haha! And it smelled old too

Again, to avoid going to the store, I just used butter

which was a little tricky as I wanted to make sure I didn't brown the butter

and wow.......these were the best crab cakes I've ever made!!

I don't know if it was cooking them in butter or using the "crab classic" pack

or maybe a combo of both but they sure were good

I will def be making them just like this in the future

later.....

Ziggy ....

Here's Ziggy

he's Jacquelyn and Bucky's little baby

and he's the sweetest dog I think God ever made.....

and he loves to pose for pictures.....

later.....

Summer drinks ....

I love making this drink in the summer

I fill up the dispenser with lots of ice

add some sugar

then lemons, limes and a couple of oranges

then add some spring water.....mmmmm

so refreshing!

I know you've probably seen this before but like I said

my life is on replay.....

later......



Cutting grass ...

While you are reading this, I am relaxing on the beach....ahhhh

I love that I can sit down and write up a bunch of blog post and then

schedule them to post!! so all this week while I'm on vacation

you'll still be getting blogpost from me!

Pippa Lou walks behind Johnny the entire time he cuts the

grass in the backyard. That's why she always has green paws

that evening.....

she's kind of beside him in the pic below, I was having a hard time

getting a pic of her behind him

later......



Hydrangeas ...

Yes, it's another post about flowers but I just love my

hydrangeas. They are my favorite flower along with peonies!

I know I've posted before about how one of my hydrangea bushes is

half blue, half pink and some purple. I guess it's some crazy mixed

up soil there. Here are some of my beautiful flowers....

I love cutting big bouquets for vases in the house

and I especially love cutting big bouquets for my daughters to take home!

later......



Antlers ...

My dogs chew up everything...esepcially Pippa Lou

you cannot leave anything out or you know it will get chewed up

and I won't buy rawhide bones for them because I just don't believe

they are good for their stomachs. I've just had too many dogs

get sick eating them and it's hard to find the ones made in the USA.

My spoiled dogs don't get anything that is made in other countries

it's just bad for them

Then a friend at work told me about antlers and she brought 2 for

for me to give to them

and OMG.....they loved them

So I went to the store to get more and wow, they are expensive

So I asked Jacquelyn's in-laws who live out in the country to be

on the lookout for antlers. they found some, dried them out

and then Johnny cut the sharp ends off

and now they fight over them, trade them, and hide them

and they sure love them!!!

here's a pic of Bella Boo enjoying one of the antlers and

Pippa Lou just waiting for the right opportunity to take

it away from her!!

later.....



Bella and the wind ....

Bella Boo loves the wind

and when it's real windy, she'll sit out on the deck

head up high and all squinty eyed

I think she's smiling

later......

Flowers ...

When I go through old blog post I realize that

my life just runs on replay

In the winter I post about snow and making soup

in the spring, it's my flowers, beautiful sky and maybe a trip to the beach

in the summer beach, river, more flowers, dogs, recipes

in the fall, leaves and cooking

and then my favorite......Christmas

yep, my life just runs on replay but that's ok

I love it!

So for summer 2012, here's some of my flowers....

later....



I love this dog ...

he was in a restaurant where we had dinner

it was an old firestation that had been converted

very cool

later.......

Neat pictures .....

Just some pictures I took that I like.....

later....



Crabs ...

We love setting the crab pots when we're down on the Chespeake Bay

I think that's the easy kind of "fishing"....haha

we bait the pots with raw chicken

look.....there's one trying to get out!



and if you have ever wondered why they are called Chesapeake Bay blue crabs, take a look at those claws!

later.....



The Pool ...

Tommy and Joanne had a pool put in last year

and it is wonderful

it's a salt water pool so you don't have that nasty chlorine feel to your skin

and the water is just crystal clear

they also really did it up right by putting a heater and a cooler on it

so when the temps were 100 degrees, the pool still felt wonderful

When down there, we spend a lot of our time in the pool

just hanging out, throwing the football, floating and lots of

laughing!!

They have named their little piece of heaven on the bay as

"This is it"

One of their good friends had this neon sign made to put in

their pool house......so cool

you know Johnny's having fun if he's smiling for the camera....haha!

and goodness......here's a rare photo of me

here's looking across the pool to their house.......



later.....



Fishing ...

Johnny fished once or twice out on the dock by himself

but just caught some little fish......nothing worth keeping

but once Gene, Timmy and Susan arrived, they all decided to get up

early and head out in the small boat

they didn't catch much either but I know they had a really good time

below is Johnny fishing by himself at the end of the dock

here they are coming back......

this was the largest fish they caught......and Tommy fried it

up with our breakfast!



later......



Sadie ...

I'm warning ya.....I still have about 4 more post

from our vacation on the Chesapeake Bay!

Sadie is Joanne's baby dog

I'm not sure of her age.......maybe around 8

and she is such a sweet doggie...and very good!

Sadie loves the swimming pool. I swear I think this dog sulks like a

child if Joanne doesn't let her go swimming. And she will swim

forever......they have to make her get out of the pool so she will rest.

and here she is after a swim....worn out! But if Joanne said ... "c'mon Sadie" she would jump right up and go again!

later.......



Houses along the bay ....

yes, another post about the bay!!

I just have so many pictures that I want to put up

I took a few pictures of house along the bay....some are just so

beautiful and look like such a wonderful place to visit in the summer

or even live there year round

check out this one below.....has a nice swimming pool beside it

the pic below is the house above....the garage and boat house are

as beautiful as the house!



look at this one....you would have your own osprey nest!



here's one for sale....you can check it out on zillow!



 this one is crazy.......it looks like some kind of modern day castle

and the long glass enclosure is their swimming pool. Joanne told me that

the roof retracts.......cool

later.....



Boat riding ...

 I just love boat riding

but out there on the bay, I sure would get lost if I was in charge

of driving!

I guess you have to learn the channel markers and how to read

your maps and compasses.....it sure is beautiful out

there on the water

aww, who's that cute guy! haha....

can ya hear me now........



later......