The Vegetarian Summer

We are enjoying a (mostly) vegetarian summer.

Our kids are home from school for the next few

months and one of our kids is a strict vegetarian

so to make it easier and healthier all around we

have all joined the bandwagon and are eating

mainly veggies.  We are pouring through cook

books and checking out recipes on Pinterest.

We have had some delightful meals and a few

clunkers...  I generally fill up a big grocery cart

each week before I even get out of the produce

area.  I think all these fruits and veggies are

making our bodies feel better.  I must admit,

when the vegetarian is not going to be home for

dinner we do take out an order of ribs or throw

a few kabobs on the grill.  Honestly, I could

really get used to this style of eating.



On Work & Play

We are all working so hard at our house

that it is hard to keep a balance between

work and play.   Yesterday Mr. Wonderful

did some repairs on our bikes and last

night we took a long ride through our little

town as the sun was going down.

It is often after 8pm by the time everyone

gets home but we still try to have dinner

together every night.

And every evening at 10pm we meet in

the gazebo for a bit of relaxation and

to throw off the worries of the day.

Building the Empire: Photo Shoots

The other day I had to leave Me Time

early because I had to take pictures

for some new covers.  Someone asked,

"how long can it take to take some pictures?"

I am now into day 3...

Ask most small business owners and they

will tell you they do it all.  My product is

(good or bad) all me.  I design it, I make it,

I write the pattern, I input it all into the

publishing program, it take all the pictures,

I do all the illustrations and I sell it.

The only thing someone else handles is the

printing, I just don't have room for those

machines.  This is not true for every pattern

designer,  there are some who send a sketch

to a pattern writing company and have

photographers and graphic designers.

This would not work for my Type C

(as in control) personality...

This is my little photo shoot set-up.

Various backgrounds which are just

scrapbooking paper, fake berries and

greenery that I pulled from arrangements

in my house, prop pieces that are decor

in my house.  It is quick and easy to

set up, and I can move it around to get

the best natural light.  You can use pieces

of white foam core board as bounce cards,

position them outside of the photo to

bounce the light around and eliminate

 shadows ~ they work great.

And now, back to work.

Hydrangeas

Years ago I planted this hygrangea plant.  It

never really took off, then it had to be moved

because we were putting in a new air conditioning

unit.  After moving, it never produced blooms.

It would leaf out but nothing else.

And this year, blooms!  I'm so happy!

Over at my Mum's house, this plant has

gone wild this year.

It is blooming in purples and pinks...

and even some yellow.

I love to take photographs of them

in the soft, early morning light.

We always had a hydrangea in the corner

of the backyard of my childhood home. 

That is probably why I love them so, I can

remember putting them in vases in my

bedroom.  Maybe that's why blue is my

favorite color ~ especially in the hydrangeas,

they have that sweet, heavenly blue...

Happy Father's Day, Mr. Wonderful!

I'm lucky because I can remember the exact

moment I fell in love with my husband.  It

wasn't because he was he was the big man

on campus or the life of the party kind of guy.

It was because he was nice and kind and fair

and I knew he would be a great father.

And he was cute...

This year will mark 30 years that we have

been together (!!!!).  We have enjoyed the

highs and lows and ups and downs of a

marriage and parenthood together.  We can

bask in the glow of having raised 2 beautiful,

smart, talented kids.  This morning we sat in

our gazebo looking back at the house we

completely transformed, the gardens we dug

and tended for all these years and we're happy.

We also flipped through the pages of the World

Atlas, making plans for travels for the coming

year.  I am grateful for being wise enough in my

youth to recognize that kindness, fairness and

being nice are great traits in a spouse.  And

he is a great Father.

I love you with all my heart, Mr. Wonderful!

Elle's Kitchen: Adana Kebab

We were in Istanbul recently and bought

some lovely metal kebab skewers ~ this

is one of the ways we use them.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pound ground meat ~ I

used pork this time ~ this would

not be used in Turkey.

1 onion, diced

1 tbls. dried pepper flakes ~ the

Turkish kind

1/2 tbsp. ground coriander

1/2 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. butter, diced

1 tbsp. red pepper paste

olive oil

salt & pepper

Add butter & onion to meat and mix.

Add pepper flakes, coriander, cumin, pepper

paste amd salt & pepper, mix.

Divide and place on skewers.  Coat with

olive oil.  Grill until cooked through.

It is extra nice if you can dine al fresco.

Enjoy!

Lavender Harvest

It's time to harvest the lovely, fragrant

lavender in my garden.  These trusty

plants have been producing for over 15

years.  I will dry them and soon they will

be in a sachet in my pillow and sweetening

my dreams...