Monthly Archives: May 2016

Tart and Tasty Raspberry Rhubarb Crisp

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Dear sisters,

Where did the month of May go? Spring is like that isn’t it? We wait and wait for the weather to turn warm and all of a sudden it’s Memorial Day. If you’re like me ( and every other American ) you are looking forward to a long weekend of R and R with some time set aside for remembering loved ones who have left this earthy world and those who have served and continue to serve our country so we can live free. No doubt you’ll be firing up the grill and dishing up some of your favorite cook-out side dishes and desserts too. I just happen to have some freshly harvested rhubarb I need to use up. Today I’m sharing my Raspberry Rhubarb Crisp recipe. It’s easy, tarty and tasty! Come on in for a bite.

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A Trip to the Woods

FullSizeRender (5)It took me awhile to jump on the bandwagon, but I finally did. Glamping.

I pulled out my Glamping with MaryJane book and studied every page. Again.

MaryJane’s Glamping book is THE book. A classic! It is full of great advice and lots of inspiration.

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Country Girl in the City

Hello Farmgirls!

I hope this finds you well as we all continue to dive deeper into the green of spring and heat of summer.  I am in the second half of a whirlwind visit to the Midwest with my family and have been enjoying watching the bright new greens transform into their slightly more permanent, deeper hues.  The trip started with beautiful blossoms on the apple, cherry, plum and lilac trees and is finishing with some of the most lusciously green and huge-leaved maples and oaks I’ve seen in a very long time!  When we get back to Alaska, we’ll get to experience it all again.  How lucky are we?

Country road, take me home...(driveway to my mom's farm in MN)

Country road, take me home…(driveway to my mom’s farm in MN)

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My Daily Life In Pictures {and a winner!}

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As a writer, there are times when the words just aren’t there.  And sometimes when life has painful experiences and struggles, it is especially hard to find the words.  Because I am a “talker”, usually I’m never at a loss for words (and often regret the ones I do say) but today, with this blog post due, I feel like I have nothing to share.  No stories to tell. No funny experiences.  No project tutorials.  No recipes.  No words.

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Chalkboard Paint,101

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“French country”, “shabby chic”, “vintage” – my kitchen has a theme with two favorite things: chickens and cherries. I adore the bright, happy red of cherry-themed items. Much of the decor is antique and vintage, but it was a chalkboard with hand-painted cherries that I ordered from a charming catalog over a decade ago that made me smitten with a cherry-themed decor. As a kid in the seventies, we had a bright red rotary phone on the wall in the kitchen; next to it was a chalkboard. Mom would write phone messages on it, and the family grocery list. (Remember the Brady Bunch? Catch re-runs and take a peek at Carol Brady’s kitchen…there’s a blackboard in her kitchen, too). Through the years, my little cherries chalkboard has been the place we scrawl quick notes, to-do lists, doodles, and of course, the family grocery list. However, after over a decade of use, it no longer was writable. The surface wore out, and chalk no longer would make a mark. Before letting my cute little board go, I wondered if there was a way to bring its writing surface back to life. Could it be revived? Hence, my new love affair with Chalkboard Paint.

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