~Pamela Susan~

Random Goodness

Hello everyone!  

Okay, so I have a lot of fun randomness to share with you but first I have to report on the Ray LaMontagne concert.  It was AMAZING!  I wish I had my camera to show you pictures (I did take a few with Aaron's iphone but they didn't turn out so great).  I love his music.  LOVE it.  It is definitely folk rock at its best.  Also, it was surprising how shy Ray was.  He kinda had a hard time looking at the audience and the only time he spoke to us was when he thanked everyone for their applause after his singing.  But you know what?  I was totally fine with that.  His shyness almost makes him more endearing.  He has definitely found his niche.  And luckily the weather was perfect because it was an outside concert at McMennamins in Troutdale, Oregon.  The setting was beautiful.  Absolutely beautiful.

The following day I had the extreme pleasure of taking a few pics of one of my best friend's family.  They are adorable.  Take a gander...

 

Told you they were cute.

Here's the lovely couple, Erica and Brad...

and their three adorable children...

(look at those eyes!)

These next two are twins...so cute!

Thank you, Erica, for letting me play "photographer" with your family!

 

We then visited my dad for the day.  Miss C enjoyed decorating him with flowers...

 

He didn't seem to mind.  :)
    
 

We then strolled through his garden to see if we could find a side-dish for dinner.  And look what we discovered... tomatoes!  This was the first harvest of this particular variety.  Beeeautiful.

 We also picked some delicious corn.  Yum, yum, yum.  Oh, how I love my dad's garden.

Here are a few shots I took of the girls...

Here's Miss A after she realized one of her flowers broke...

And here's Miss C sassin' it up...

 

 Okay--on to more randomness--yesterday I tried out a new cupcake recipe for a baby shower that Avey and I hosted for a friend last night.  If you are looking for a nice basic white cake recipe this is for you.  I also made this buttercream frosting.  I tried this new one out because it calls for butter only-no substitutes.  I don't like to consume hydrogenated oils if I don't have to--not good for the body at all. Let me know if you try out the recipes--I think you'll like them!  

 

(I purchased the pearlized pink balls at Michael's--you gotta love that store!  Here's a * printable 50% off coupon *that is good until 9/18--go use it!)

And have you ever made Martha Stewart's tissue "puff balls"?  Actually, I have no idea what she calls them but "puff balls" works for me.  Avey showed me how to make them a little while ago--I couldn't believe how simple they were to make!  And fast, too.  I made a few for the shower--I think they added a nice playful touch to the room.  Let me know if you want a tutorial on how to make them.

 

 

Ooh!  One more thing.  Look what I scored for the baby shower.  A stack of rectangular glass party plates!  Guess how much I got them for.  Nope, guess lower.  Lower.  Even lower.  You got it--I payed ten cents a plate.  TEN CENTS!  Yes, I love me a good bargain.

 

Have any of you found any great deals lately?  Do tell!  

Well, that's it for today... Happy Wednesday!!

 

xo,

Pamela

Hens and Chicks (& eggs, too!)

Yesterday, I just had to get out of the house.  Though I was a bit worried about taking all three girls out by myself for the first time I did it anyway, and Canby, Oregon was our destination.  We drove the 1 1/2 hour drive to my hometown so we could visit my Dad and younger sister, Holly, who is flying back to New York tomorrow.  I'm happy to report the girls did great!  Jane slept the entire way and Avery and Clara watched a video on our portable DVD player.  I used to be against doing that sorta thing but now I'm a fan.

Before heading back home I visited my parents' backyard to gather a few Hens and Chicks to bring back home.  No, not those kinds of hens and chicks but these kind...

  

Succulents!  I would have never thought to care for these plants inside the house until I saw the idea at Anthropologie a couple months ago.  Thank you, Anthropologie...that's just one more reason to love you.

 

And of course while we were there Avery and Clara helped Papa gather the  eggs from real hens. I think they collected five but Dad sent two dozen home with us!

I LOVE fresh eggs.  Store-bought eggs don't even come close to comparing to them.  We used six of them this morning to make a big batch of pancake mix to use for the rest of the week.  Thanks, Dad! 

 

I love the color and size variation.

 
 
Well, that's it for today!  I hope you are all happy and well.  Until next time...

xo,

Pamela 

 
 

Delicious Sweet Corn, Anyone??

My Dad called earlier this week to tell me that our friends had 2 tons of sweet corn given to them and wanted to know if I was interested in coming down to Canby to pick some up.  My reply was of course, "YES!!". 

 My Aunt Diane and I drove down the following day and loaded a fair amount into the back of my van.  Actually, this is only a portion, because she put some in her car too.

We headed back to her house so we could work on preserving the many, many ears of corn together.  We opted not to can the corn, but to freeze it instead...it's going to taste sooo yummy in the winter!

It was a wonderful family affair...

My cousins shucked the cobs (Thank you Adam, Stephen, Emily, and Avery!):

My Uncle Kevin helped boil them:

Aunt Diane and I cut the kernels off:

We drizzled melted butter over the bowlfuls of corn and sprinkled it with salt:

Quart-sized freezer bags became the new homes to these thousands of kernels:

I think we managed to freeze about 120 quarts altogether, and still had some leftover to give away to friends!  

Yes, I think it is safe to say we are the corniest people around, and are loving it!  hehe

*       *      *

Here's a big thanks to the Domans for the delicious corn!!! 

*       *      *

What am I planning to do with all this corn you're probably asking yourself??  Here's a little list:

1.  add it to chili/soup

2.  add it to cornbread

3.  make salsa with it

4.  eat it just the way it is, with freshly ground black pepper

Do you have any other ideas for me??

I hope everyone has a wonderful and corn-filled weekend themselves!

xoxo,

Pamela, a gal who loves corn very much :)

Mr. Frog

Meet Mr. Frog.

I found him relaxing in my parents' pear tree this past weekend.

Ribbit.

xo,

Pamela, the frog lover

Striped Applesauce, Anyone??

Last week was a treat.

I traveled down to Canby, OR not only to visit my Dad, Lane, and Ashley, but also

to pick blueberries at my friend's blueberry farm.  

Miriam is her name, and she has one smokin' blueberry patch.

We picked and picked, and talked and talked.  It was great seeing her again.

And check out this GIGANTIC blueberry I found! 

 How fun is that?!

So, I stayed the night at my parents' and planned on leaving the next morning to head back home, but before I left I strolled through their little orchard and then it happened.  My eyes spotted an apple tree...with RIPE apples!

I had completely forgotten that this particular variety, Lodi, was an early ripener.  There was no way I was going home that day!  Instead, we picked and picked so we could make applesauce.  

After canning a couple batches the event became a wee bit boring, so I decided to spice things up.

I asked myself, "Why not add some of my freshly picked blueberries to the sauce?  And why not include some boysenberries into the mix while I'm at it??"

And this was born:

But I couldn't stop there, because that got a wee bit boring after a while, too.

So I thought, "Heck--why not make STRIPED applesauce???"

 

And how about 'polka dots' with blueberries??

 

Ladies and gents...it is true.  I have way too much fun canning fruit.

If you are going to make applesauce this year I highly recommend giving this a try!  

You will not regret it!

Oh, and guess what?  I won a blue ribbon over the weekend!  There was a little arts/crafts/baking/canning contest at a picnic our church hosted and my striped applesauce won first place in the canning division!  I was very happy.  :)  I'm now thinking about entering a couple jars at our local fair.

One more thing before I let you go--just this morning I found out about a very cool website from my cousin.  Check it out if you are interested in canning this summer.

Simply Canning

It is a wonderful resource!

Until next time...

xo,

Pamela

p.s.  Tomorrow we find out if our little baby is a boy or girl!  We are very excited.  Stay tuned!

Cherries!

Hello everyone!  I'm sorry it has taken me sooooooo long to post pictures

of my cherry adventure from a few weeks ago.  Each time I visit my parents' place it seems there is a different fruit or vegetable that is ripe and ready to be harvested.  This particular visit presented a wonderful gift:

PIE CHERRIES!  

If you aren't familiar with this type of cherry I should tell you that they are NOT SWEET, but quite tart.  They are perfect for pies!  Do you have to add much sugar when making the pie filling you might be asking yourself??  Yes, but it is worth it!

Avery helped me pit them...she did a fantastic job!  I'm always surprised at her eagerness in helping me whenever I'm working with fruit.  She is a great little helper.

 

Isn't this little pitter (cherry stoner) the niftiest thing you've ever seen??  The only problem it presented was that it wasted a lot of juice, as you can see in the bowl.  I couldn't let it go to waste so I used it to make the most delectable treat.  Can you guess what it was???

 

Tart cherry syrup over vanilla ice cream and brownies!

  Let me tell you--if I owned a restaurant this little treat would be at the top of the dessert list!  If you have your own pie cherries and you want to try your hand at this, all you have to do is bring the juice to a boil and add sugar.  It's that simple! 

 And ohhhhhhhh so good!

Is it already Wednesday?!?  Yay!  We're half way to the weekend.  I hope everyone is enjoying their week so far!

Many xoxo's...

:) Pamela

Winter Really Is Over

There are many signs around me that summer is here: 

blossoming flowers, bees buzzing about, daily trips to the park with the girls.

But do you want to know what the real sign that winter is over in our household??

Empty canning bottles.

  

Yup, it's true.  In our home, empty canning bottles is a telltale sign that winter is really over.

The Pacific Northwest summers offer a plethora of fruits and vegetables and I just can't help but to can them for the winter.  The empty jars in the above picture were once home to peaches, pears, applesauce, merlot grape juice, jellies and jams, and tomato soup.  Now they're just waiting for me to fill 'em back up this summer!

Sure, I could run to the store and load our pantry up with these yummy fruits and veggies but I just can't do that.  

I love canning too much. 

There is something just so satisfying about it.  

Perhaps the satisfaction comes from knowing I'm carrying on a tradition that my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother did for their family.

Maybe it's because I love being a part of the whole preserving process--I know exactly where my food is coming from...or maybe it's because ya just can't beat the taste of hand-picked fruits and veggies.

Here are a few pictures of the peaches I canned last year.  

I can't wait to can more in a couple months!!

a

Ahhh, yeah...I cannot wait.

If you're interested in taking up the art of preserving your own food this year, there are many online sources to help get you started like here or here.

Is it easy?  Yes.  But make sure you follow the instructions precisely.

Also, if you want to save a few bucks, visit your local thrift store to find supplies such as a canner and canning bottles.  

(please note:  if you do purchase bottles from a second-hand store make sure the tops of the bottles do not have any cracks or chips, as this will prevent the lid from creating a seal...now, that wouldn't be good, would it?!?)

Here's to yummy home-canned fruit...

xo,

Pamela

Luscious Garden

That's right.  My parents backyard is one luscious garden, and oh, how I love it!

I feel like my Mom is everywhere back there, after all, she is the one that designed the layout of it, and Dad helped make it happen.  She was definitely a woman who overflowed with creativity.

The building shown below is her pottery studio.

I fear that climbing hydrangea is going to take over the entire structure if we don't trim it back soon.

To the left of the studio hangs the most relaxing hammock in the world.  Napping in it is a true treat.

This little area is the home to not only different varieties of succulents, but also to many of the defected little items that we've made over the years; sunfaces with broken rays, frogs with dribbled glaze, broken dishes, etc. (A great way to recycle art!)

 It's one of my favorite locations in the backyard.

It's also the home to many little sunfaces made by a local Portland artist.  

Moving on...

Meet St. Isidore, the Patron Saint of Gardeners.  Mom sculpted him years ago.

Here's a chubby little cherub basking in the sun.  Dad welded the wings onto her back.

This little sunface is puckering up for a kiss (a Valentine's Day gift for my Daddy-O from Mom).  

Too cute.

One of her many garden totems.  

A cool little lady chillin' among some mint.

Here's the right-hand side of their backyard, where Aaron and I had our wedding reception almost 6 years ago!  It's also where Aaron proposed to me, and where we first kissed!  (That sounds a little funny--don't worry, we kissed long before he proposed to me. he he)  How scandalous...

I'll show pictures of this portion of the yard sometime in the future.

My little girls just woke up and it's time for us to go outside in our own backyard for reading time.

I hope you all are doing well!  

Here's to a happy Monday!!  

xo,

Pamela

Memorial Day Weekend

What a weekend!  

We just spent three fabulous days with my family in Canby, Oregon. I would have posted this earlier, but I think I'm still recuperating from our many activities.  My brother, Lane, and his wife, Ashley, are living with my Dad for the summer before they head back to school in the fall...We are thrilled to have them closer to us!

To kick the weekend off Avery rode Papa's mule around the pasture a few times:

Then it was Clara's turn!  Her first time on a saddle!

She loved every minute of it, which was very surprising to me.  I thought for sure she'd start crying the moment she got on him.

(Don't worry--my Dad is holding her from the side.  Sheesh!  What kind of parent do you think I am??)  :)

We then treated ourselves to the first ripe strawberries from the garden.  I can't believe how yummy they were.  

That evening we took the girls on their very first fishing trip.  Notice Avery's pink princess fishing pole?  Lucky girl.

Unfortunately, we didn't experience much luck in our boat, but Lane was catching the darn fish left and right!  Avery yelled across the pond to him, "Uncle Lane, why are you catching all the fish?  Leave some for us!"  We decided it would be best for her to hop into their boat in hopes she'd be able to catch a fish before the night ended.

And she did!

In the picture below Uncle Lane is helping her reel in her first fish...(small picture of them, I know, but at least I captured it!)

That large-mouth bass was quite the catch!

 

Before the weekend ended Avery, Clara, and I planted squash in Dad's garden.

Check out the darling strawberry dress Avery's wearing.  Don't you wish your little girl had one?  You can find them here.  It even has a little apron sewed to it.  Lillian from 3 lil muses offers the best quality handmade dresses and skirts in the cutest prints!

Here are a couple different angles of the garden:

The row of large plants on the right are raspberries, and the boxed plants on the left are strawberries.  Apple, plum, and pear trees are in the back.

Here's a picture of Ashley and Clara in my parents' backyard.  I'll show more pictures of it in the next post.

 

I feel so blessed to have spent this special 3-day weekend with such wonderful and loving family.  I enjoyed getting to know my new sis-in-law better...she's a perfect addition to our family!  

Lane sure is lucky!

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable weekend, too.

 I feel grateful to live in this great nation, and would like to express my gratitude to all those who have served our country and to all the families who have lost loved ones fighting for it.

May God bless America...

xo,

Pamela

Springtime Swap

My blogger friend, Dionne, recently hosted a Springtime Swap for all her blogging pals.  I was lucky enough to get paired up with Anna, from Sweden. :)  It has been a joy getting to know her through our many correspondences...Look what I received from her!

(I love stamps from other countries!)

Everything was wrapped so beautifully.

Pretty cool card, huh?!

Check it out--She chose a Spring Garden theme since she knows I love to garden...fun apple coasters, colorful boxes to plant vegetable starts, a magnet, and the neatest gift of all...

A "matchstick garden" of vegetable seeds!

This just might be the coolest thing my eyes have seen!

Thank you, Anna!!  I love my gifts, and most of all, I have enjoyed getting to know you--I feel like I can now say I have a friend in Sweden!  

Many xoxo's,

Pamela

p.s.  In a couple months Dionne will be hosting a Summer Swap that I can't wait for...yahoo!