Sunday Afternoon

 

A gorgeous Sunday afternoon with a little soap and water.

Even big brothers want to play!

To make super bubble solution:

6 cups of water

2 cups of dish soap

1 cup of corn syrup

A segment of yarn or cotton cord tied in a loop

The Creamer Garden ~ 5.26.17 (a.k.a The Sunflower Edition)

Every year since we've moved here,

I've given a kid or two a packet of sunflower seeds 

and told them to plant them.

This year was a little different.

Mary Grace went WILD with the seeds!

It seemed like every time we'd visit the store, 

we'd have to get another packet of seeds.

Mary Grace has obviously been very busy!

Sunflowers are popping up in the most delightful places

and their sunny faces make me so happy.

The bees are loving them,

which means my vegetable garden is loving them, too.

As a matter of fact,

due to Mary Grace's planting enthusiasm,

I've discovered that sunflowers make excellent supports for growing cucumber vines!

And drying sunflower heads make beautiful table decorations.

I want to be like the sunflowers.

Even on the darkest of days,

I will stand tall and find the sunlight!

Wishing you the sunniest of days!

See you next week.

#CreamerGarden

Summer Salad

I make this salad allllllll summer long.  

I usually make one big batch and just keep adding whatever garden vegetables I get to the brine as the jar becomes empty. 

 It's delicious, refreshing, and super healthy....

It's my garden fresh Summer Salad!

For two quarts start with:

About four cucumbers          Four cloves of garlic

         One red onion                       Celery and Mustard Seeds

One bell pepper                     White vinegar

Sea Salt or Kosher Salt

Feel free to adjust this basic recipe to your taste.  

Sometimes I like it more spicy so I'll just add 

red pepper flakes or fresh peppers.

Chop onion and bell pepper into thin strips then crush the garlic with the blade of your knife.  Cut cukes into bite sized pieces.

Put two cloves of garlic into each of your jars

then put a teaspoon each of mustard seed and celery seed 

into the jars.  

Add one heaping teaspoon of salt.

Some variations of this recipe also call for adding sugar.  

I'm trying to cut sugar from my diet so I don't add any.  

Honestly, I don't think it needs it,

but suit it to your taste.

(Someone doesn't like the smell of garlic....She can't be my kid!)

Next, layer the vegetables in the jars.
You can use anything!
Tomatoes, green beans, summer squash, zucchini,
okra, carrots...literally anything!

Pour a cup of white vinegar into each jar and fill with distilled water.  Secure the lid tightly and give a good shake to mix the ingredients and dissolve the salt.  

I leave these on my counter all day (about 12 hours) and shake them often during the day.  

After that, pop them in the fridge and enjoy!

As we eat them down and the jars empty, I just add more cut veggies to the brine.  

Enjoy on hamburgers, sandwiches, grilled meats, 

or just straight out of the jar!

Just enjoy these delicious flavors of summer

while they last.

This week in the garden 5.19.17

The garden is just getting started!

It always seems like I get such a late start planting, 

maybe it's because I've been caught by several late season freezes and had to start all over from scratch.  

But I think we are done with the cool weather for now 

and I am SO ready to get some dirt under my nails!

 I moved my garden back a bit on our property because my raised beds were riddled with weeds.  So I got a fresh start this year with all new soil and two new boxes (the other ones were rotted away).  These boxes are planted to the max with green beans, all sorts of peppers, spaghetti squash, okra, zucchini, and yellow squash.  

The newer boxes contain garlic and a medicinal herb garden as well as some luffa and bird house gourd vines....

I call them my "Hobby Boxes".

This is a little garden on the side of the yard.  

As you can see, the boards on one need to be replaced

(a good project for one of the boys this weekend!).  

They hold tomatillos, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a whole slew of sunflowers.  I had given Mary Grace several packets of sunflower seeds to plant around the yard....they all ended up in MY garden!

It's ok, they're one of my favorite flowers and they attract lots of bees and ladybugs.

Speaking of Miss Mary, she loves spending time in the garden!

She loves nothing better than to pick ripe tomatoes and cucumbers.  Our morning ritual is to check our plants, water, and have a morning chat while watching the hummingbirds at the feeders.

I wouldn't trade this time for anything else in the world,

I know all too soon that it won't be "cool" 

to hang out with mom so much

(or she'll discover the joys of sleeping late!)

With the garden getting underway, I had just enough of a harvest this week for a batch of "green sauce" 

and two quarts of garlic dill pickles.

So much goodness lies in the garden!

My motto this summer is:

MORE gardening,

LESS drama!

I'll meet you back here next week with another 

#CreamerGarden update!

Check out my the hashtag on Instagram

Happy Mother's Day!

So blessed to be their mama!

Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing mothers out there,

especially all the strong women who influenced me 

over my life time.

I'm off to take a NAP....it's all I want for Mother's Day!