Fall Air and Fall Color

The fall air is making the late afternoons and early mornings wonderfully cool.

With the daylight going so much earlier, I have been spending my late afternoons sitting out and enjoying the colorful autumn sky as I listen to the mixture of calls from the coyote and cattle that surround me.

The grain field next to us has already dressed itself in amber and green.

Even the critters are matching the fall coloring scheme.

The barnyard gang is dropping their feathers and getting their new fall plumage ready.

The young chicks in the group are practicing their egg laying skills......these little eggs look like jelly beans laying in the hen house nests.......just a little more time......

All of the flowers are showing off their fall colors as well.

The Bougainvillea by the back door is displaying it brilliant pink and orange crepe paper like petals. I just love this plant!

The zinnia garden is in full bloom....

even it boasts it's fall colored blossoms.

The candle gives off a warm autumn glow as I burn the midnight oil on my stitching...

and this......Mountain Dew....no...it's not something I drink....however, it is something I buy occasionally for a wonderful fall recipe. To find out come visit my country cooking blog http://countrykitchenkat.blogspot.com.

Now are any of you making special fall treats like pop corn balls, caramel apples.....? Have you pulled out your sweater for a late afternoon outside? I would love to hear!

All The Seeds Came From The Same Package

I'm still stressing over that green pumpkin, sitting out among all of my orange ones.....

It is quite beautiful, however, why is it green?? What did I do wrong????

I planted the best quality seeds......it came from the same package as the orange ones....And as I was outside, pondering on this.....it hit me that raising this pumpkin is so much like raising children.....at least for me and something I experienced a little while back with one of my children. My children all came from the best quality seeds, and I prepared their foundation and growing space with the utmost care. Watching over every little aspect of their growing cycles.......and then, one of them turned......

different......

turning so different than the others, that it broke my heart and made me cry out to God......why????.. I did my best.... I planted all the seeds from the same package...ORANGE ...not green.....I don't understand Lord.....why???

Of course, as we all know, the good Lord works in ways that we can't possibly understand until a bit of time has passed.....

And He says......"wait......I am not finished with this one yet.".....
and as I turned the pumpkin over....I discovered that it is turning orange.....in it's own time....for whatever reason.....

and so I will watch over this different pumpkin and care for it just like the orange ones..... I won't cut it off or toss it out of my garden........in it's own way....it is unique....
And just like in raising children....I don't know what the whole outcome will be......I do know I tried to do my best in raising them......but God has His finger prints on them and His plan all laid out for them.....even if it isn't the way I planned it. And as for my one that turned, God has worked miracles and I say "now I see!...it was their destiny and God's plan!" And that difference.....made all of the difference in the world and for what they are now doing.



Just when my hope died, God turned it around.....in His timing....
in His way.
If you find yourself struggling.....with a green pumpkin....just know that the good Lord knows it's green and He knows the reason... and in His way....He will turn it around for the good.

Sophie's Walk

Sophie would like to thank you all for your support in getting me to take her for a walk......

She enjoyed it very much! We stopped to smell the flowers...
and as always, we met some very interesting creatures along the way. This bug looks like it is wearing a cowhide coat..doesn't it?

This beautiful creature visited for a quick instant and then it was gone to where butterflies go....

but I tried to capture it....... this way..........you can learn more by visiting my embroidery blog

http://yesteryearembroideries.blogspot.com

We visited the garden...where among the golden orange pumpkins......I have a GREEN one growing! I cannot believe it I have researched and only found a little about them, but still not sure how, out of the pumpkin seeds I planted, this one has turned this color. Have any of you seen or experienced this before?? I would love the hear.

We also picked peas and squash to go with supper...

and had a sweet juicy cantaloupe fresh from the garden for dessert.

Do any of you have any weird "quirks"?? I have many.....one of them I talk about on my cooking blog....http://countrykitchenkat.blogspot.com

Also there is a wonderful recipe waiting to go along with one of your Mexican dishes!

Speaking of quirks.......what is one of yours???? I would love to hear!

Let's Go For A Walk......PLEASE???

For the longest time....the unforgiving West Texas heat has been pushing the temperature up past 100 degrees....

my leash and collar have been hanging in the hallway by the back door....
while Kathleen stitches and tells me it is just too hot for my little feet to go for a walk...so she just sits and stitches on embroidered buttons....you can take a look at these on her embroidery blog Yesteryear Embroideries http://yesteryearembroideries.blogspot.com

while I sit and stare at her with my most sad and pleading look......

Come on Kathleen......I hear cows outside...

and I smell....

rain......and a hint of Autumn in the air...

which means.....it is cooler outside!!!!

Wait....I know.......

Now I have your attention!! Let's go for a walk...

please??.......

Come on.........the cat is starting to snicker at me...

Don't make me beg!!!

Bloom and Shine!

When it comes to the question....

"If you could live anywhere you wanted....where would you live?"

I have to honestly say it would be hard to choose my country life I now have or living on the beach. There is just something about the roar of the ocean and the call of the gulls, that lures me away. Which brings up my love for sea shells. ...I have always loved sea shells long before I ever visited the beach. I have quite a few boxes and baskets filled with shells of all kinds of beauty.....

and I have to say...this is one of my favorites.......because of what it says to me.....

about....

life.

Most of my earlier life has been spent in self criticism and disappointment on how I look on the ...

outside. I never had to wait for anyone to point out what was wrong with the way I looked....

I ran that check list every morning as I scowled at myself in the mirror. Magazines and commercials let me know I didn't add up.

But as the years rolled by and I realized more about life and what really matters in the "scope of living".... I realized how I really was on the inside. And through the years....a few have seen my light and shine.....and some , no matter how hard I try, see only the dull outside. The only thing I can do is to shine the best I can, and not worry if everyone sees it. God knows what's inside....


when it comes to my country life....I feel the same way about the flowers and blooms that blossom around me. Each petal and plant is entirely different....even if it is of the same family.

I have learned to bloom where I am planted......
How about you? Have you struggled with issues like these? And just for the fun of it.....
"Where would you live if you had the choice of anywhere you wanted?" I would love to hear!




One of my blogging friends asked if I had a good pizza dough recipe. This recipe I have used for over the past 10 years. It is so good! Stop by my cooking blog to get the recipe for a wonderful melt in your mouth flatbread at My Country Kitchen blog! http://countrykitchenkat.blogspot.com/

And then stop by my embroidery blog to see how the stitches have added up! http://yesteryearembroideries.blogspot.com/

I just love hearing from all of you!

And remember......bloom and shine the way you know how!

The hours, the days, the weeks,.....the rewards

I can't even begin to add up all of the time I have spent this growing season,......outside......in the garden, in the heat, in the weeds, in the biting insects......all I know is I start out in the early morning....work until almost noon, ....come back out in the afternoon and work till dark.

However......when I look at the crisp rows of blooming peas.....


the large leaves of the watermelon....

the large cantaloupes on every vine....

the squash that seems to be growing everywhere...

the miniature pumpkins blooming and forming their round balls....

and the large pumpkins taking over the whole area....

promising their golden rewards by October......I know it is so

well worth the work!

When I go out to the greenhouse, the giant wall of morning glory

is smiling and showing off its petals in the early morning coolness...

what announces that Summer is in full swing and full heat, than the brilliant sunflower with it's hosts of bees?






And then I am immediately reminded of rewards

that a little digging, weeding, and watering will do. My zinnia garden is now in full bloom!

Every vibrant color one can imagine is blooming in this garden!

It just takes a small walk out into the day to get a good dose of....

cheer!










When I'm not out working, I am just as busy inside. There is always something needing to be scrubbed and cleaned......

and fed.

and then there are wonderful new recipes to try.....like this shown above.

Come visit my cooking blog, My Country Kitchen, http://countrykitchenkat.blogspot.com/

for this quick and tasty treat! It goes great on nights when you have Italian food!

Once again, proving to me that my inside work is well worth the effort.












When the day slows down , I turn to ..."my work"......

embroidery!

I finally finished the little quilt I had started over a year ago. It is so cheery and I am so glad to have it done. The hundreds of stitches....late night hours.....turned out to be the best reward ever. You can get a better look at it on my embroidery blog, Yesteryear Embroideries http://yesteryearembroideries.blogspot.com/

Now......

what do you find takes your time away more? Cooking, cleaning perhaps?

Do you spend more time outside or inside? Do you have a hobby or a project in the making? I would love to hear.

As I Promised.....Here Is The Recipe!

There is just something.......

about fresh lemons......
and a pie crust.........

that makes me throw all thoughts of weight and health issues out the window.

............PIE........

I love pie....any kind, any crust, any place, any time! And judging from all of your wonderful comments about the recipe on my last post......I think you might feel the same....maybe not as overboard as I, however. {:

And I am going to post the recipe right here instead of making you hop back and forth from this blog to my cooking blog. After all...country living is also about country cooking...

am I right?

This is such a easy and creamy pie. I made this with a meringue topping, but if you want it easier, you can just use cool whip.....but I must say......the meringue topping is so worth the extra work...it makes the taste of the pie....so here you go, everyone......

Creamy Lemon Meringue Pie

Preheat oven to 400.F

Filling

4 large lemons(used for zest and juice)

1 Tbs. lemon zest

1 /2 cup of lemon juice from fresh lemons

2 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue topping)

1 14oz can of sweetend condensed milk

1 graham cracker crust

Mix lemon zest, lemon juice and egg yolks in mixing bowl. Add condensed milk and mix on high until well blended and thick. Pour mix into crust.

Topping

2 egg whites at room temperature

1/4 tsp. cream of tarter

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg whites and cream of tarter until foamy. Beat in sugar, one tablespoon at a time, continue beating until stiff and glossy. Beat in vanilla. Do not under beat

Spoon topping onto pie, making sure edges are covered and sealed. Bake in oven until delicate brown for about 10 minutes. Cool away from draft. Enjoy!

And as I also mentioned......I embroidered this.....

and combined it with this.......curious as to what it is??

Visit my embroidery blog to find out about it.

Just click here http://yesteryearembroideries.blogspot.com

Now back to pie......what is your favorite kind?? What kind of crust do you like best? I would love to hear!