observations, ideas and inspiration... from my pennsylvania home, garden, kitchen, and studio

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Garden Tour for a Cure Today

Sometimes I just love to sit on the porch swing late at night and think. It's when I do my best thinking...I don't believe Dino even knows I'm out there. Last night was the perfect thinking night. The honeysuckle and the creek smell like a blessing from heaven. It reminds me of being a little girl with hot long summers were we would play outside late into the evening and sometimes sleep on the porch. I grew up on a farm although my parents are not farmers. My Mom fell in love with this little patch of land while my Dad was at work. I believe it was an ancient ash tree that actually sealed the deal. When he came home from work she told him "I bought a house". My Dad has always been a "laid back whatever makes you happy" kind of guy but I really wonder what he was thinking as she drove him up this steep winding red dog dirt road that looked like it was going to no mans land. That was in 1976. I was 8 and my sister was 4. We thought it was great. We had a barn, a tree house and acres of woods to roam around and make-believe in. Now that we are grown up and moved away, my mom has taken a few acres of those woods and made it a wonderful secret garden. It's just as magical now as it was when we were little. Yesterday morning I walked around those woods with my Mom and took some photos of all her hard work. So many special memories I have here.

This tour benefits the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research. Please take a moment to donate a few dollars by clicking here: http://cms.komen.org/komen/Donations/WaystoDonate/index.htm?ssSourceNodeId=101&ssSourceSiteId=Komen.

Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy visiting my Mom's woodland garden and the rest of the Garden Tour for a Cure. You can click here for more information http://deenasstory.blogspot.com/2008/05/garden-tour-event.html

Have a sunny day!























Saturday, June 14, 2008

June Garden Tour Reminder & Primitive Gatherings

Don't forget the "Tour for a Cure" Garden Walk that Deena is having begins tomorrow June, 15th and will benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. You can click here for more information http://deenasstory.blogspot.com/2008/05/garden-tour-event.html

Below are additional photos of my offerings for the Primitive Gatherings this month. And this is the link to their website http://theprimitivegathering.com/




















These photos are brighter than in real life. It was very sunny...someday I will really learn how to take good pictures! If you'd like to see more or have any questions, please email me at jenn@rabbithillprimtives.com

Thanks and happy day always to you!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Summers here...for the kids anyways

Good Morning! It's another beautiful sunny morning here. Just a quick little note to let you know that I had to postponed the update on my Rabbit Hill website. The new date will be Monday, June 16, 2008.

Today is Lydia's last day of school and she was so sad this morning. She's already missing her friends and teachers. Remember when Summer seemed like forever?? Now with all the planning we do I feel like August will be here in the blink of an eye. I just want to slow life down a bit.

I don't know if any of you out there are coupon clippers. I love to save money anyway I can...especially with the gas prices. My friend Jessica got me hooked on this CVS Extra Care Bucks program. It's wonderful and it's legit....I double checked on their website. You have to plan your shopping trips but in the end you save lots of cash and end up with lots of free stuff. I started looking into it more and found similar programs at Rite Aide and Walgreens. Here is a great link explaining it better than I ever could: http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

Have fun and have a happy day!
Jenn

Monday, June 2, 2008

June Mornings....I love them! Plus Sweet Peach Muffins


Happy June! Today is the perfect June morning with honeysuckle and wild roses perfuming the air. Blue skies and sunshine...I could just eat it all up! This is our pea gravel patio with Nuno's peach tree in the middle.

Nine years ago Dino's grandfather gave us a little sprig of a peach tree. He kept one for himself also. His was always kept pruned, fed and watered like a peach tree should. Ours was planted and left to its own survival...I did water it that first summer. He passed away in 2001 and that tree (plus we have lots of Nuno's grapes) are so very special to us. Since he's passed that little tree has produced thousands of peaches. You would think he was gardening from heaven. This is what it looked like this morning...
Well you probably wonder "What in the world does she do with all those peaches?" I do give lots away but usually I make peach pie, peach bisquits, peach preserves, peach pancakes, peach muffins, peach scones, peach smoothies...really if you can put a peach in it I do! By the end of July everyone has just plum had it with peaches hee hee!

Following is a recipe I created for peach muffins if this has you hankering for something peach now!


Sweet Peach Muffins
1/2 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/3 Cup Oil ~ I use canola
1 egg
1/3 Cup Buttermilk (or place 1/3 tsp vinegar in 1/3 measuring cup and add milk to top ~ let sit few minutes)
1 Cup peeled and sliced fresh peaches (to peel easy boil a pot of water, add peaches for a minute or two, then strain and run cold water over them, the skin should just come right off)

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or use liners. Combined flour, sugar, salt & baking powder. Place oil into 1 cup measuring cup, add egg and enough buttermilk to fill cup, whisk. Mix this with the flour mixture and fold in peaches. Fill cups to the top and sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake 20 - 25 minutes for regular size muffins; 10 - 12 minutes for mini muffins. Makes 8 biggies or 24 mini's (I always do those)

Crumb Topping: 1/2 Cup Sugar, 1/3 Cup Flour, 1/4 Cup Butter ~ Mix together with a fork.

Lastly I'm planning an update for the website next week ~ hoping I'll be ready by June 11th but I'll keep you posted.

Oh wait ~ Lastly lastly ~ Deena from Sweet Annie's is having a "Tour for the Cure" Garden Tour. You can click on the link to the left or visit her at http://www.deenasstory.blogspot.com/ for more info. Its a great idea for a great cause. Cancer touches each and everyone of us and we should try and do whatever we can to help researchers find a cure. And who doesn't like to neb (aka pittsburghese for being nosey) in other peoples gardens!

Have a happy day today! Jenn

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