A Lot Going On Around Here! And a Recipe

Now that I've made a good dent in the Yellow House yard work, I have been working super hard in our yard in Rye and the weather has cooperated beautifully.  The azaleas, crabapples, lilacs, forsythia, tulips, phlox and magnolia tree are all in bloom around me as I work (yes, I know some of this blooming is late for this time of year, oh well, it's still glorious and much appreciated), it's been mostly sunny, there's a luscious smelling sea breeze much of the time and the dirt is warm and crumbly.  I've been in heaven even though I have been working this body so hard from morning until night.

Last Sunday was 90 degrees even here at the ocean so I walked down to the beach to sit on the sea wall and read the current Yankee magazine that arrived a few days ago.  This is the issue that tells you the best places to visit, swim, eat, hike, boat, sleep, all over New England all summer.  So I have lots of ideas for day trips getting started on a list.  The past week and a half since my last post I've made some yummy meals, planted 75 dahlias tubers (gosh I can't wait for the late summer/fall show!), 52 gladioli, flats and flats of annuals into borders and into the dozens of huge pots all around the yard that made it just fine over the winter uncovered, planted more perennials too, doubled the width of half of the sunny perennial border and worked with my husband creating a new woodland garden on the northwest pie cornered section of our yard beyond the carriage house/garage. And we've decided we need a few Japanese Maples that turn blood red in the autumn planted on our property so plans are in the works to seek them out this week at some local nurseries.  I have discovered that my local nursery just down the road in our village, Outdoor Pride, has an amazing selection of annuals that used to be hard to find and required that I start them from mail order seed.  No more!  And the Pick of the Planet nursery in Greenland also has a huge selection of hard to find and unusual annuals and perennials too so I have spent a few hours and dollars in both of those lovely places.  Here are a few (many) pictures to show what has been going on around here since I last posted.  And of course there are several other things I did too but they are not as fun to talk about.  I also cried a few times in frustration at people and situations beyond my control but we all do that - it can't be all cookies and cake and flowers dang it!

The African Violet bloomed again - I can't get enough of the continual flushes of delight!

We doubled the sun border in width and then Dan edged it as well as all the other borders.  We bought the tool to do it ourselves last year after we watched landscapers do it and decided we didn't want to pay them to do it for us every year.

The sun border from back to front newly mulched in places.  It might not appear so here but this is a really long border and when we bought this place, this was just a side of the yard with a huge snarl of weeds, wild blackberries, beach roses that suckered like crazy and hundreds of daylilies.  Really ugly and unkempt.  We had quite the time ripping them all out and created a unified border that then became a canvas for a well planned perennial border with a mix of small shrubs and perennials and some annuals tucked in here and there for constant color.  This year I planted the 60 of  the 75 dahlias throughout for gobs of heights and color for late summer.  And tons of bouquets!!

After a hard day's work - baked haddock with fresh watercress butter.  I've used the leftover butter all week on other dishes and veggies.  

Haddock going into the oven.  We ate this with a big salad with greens, carrots, pepitas, and feta.

Here's the woodland area that gets a lot of shade (two pics) so our plan was to edge the border we want, apply grass killer on the grass to be covered with mulch, and then mulch.  We did all that and then Dan spread 8 yards of mulch himself in a couple hours and I planted the beginnings of the woodland and shade tolerant plants.  We plan to put in rhodies, azaleas, hydrangea aborescens, hosta, ferns and astilbes, etc.  

 

The above 5 photos are the woodland garden after the mulching.  I'll plant as much as I can this year but much will be added next year.  It will be so delightful when it is all appears, grows, and matures.  Use your imagination.  

One night I made blueberry baked doughnuts to bring to the Portsmouth Ward Talent Show - I read the recipe on Face Book and immediately set out to make them.  They turned out to be a low fat version and turned out okay but next time I make them I will do the full fat version.  If you're gonna eat doughnuts…. just sayin. 

Decorating for the Talent Show.  Dan and I sang a duet which was fun and Dan also did a super silly magic show which is so hilarious because it's not magic at all and leaves the little kids scratching their heads.

Saturday morning dump run - I just love our trailer that we couldn't live without or our nearby landfill either. 

The first pot of about 40 to be put together - I really wanted a lot of pink here!  I have 7 more pots left to do and then I will post the results - so much glorious color this year!

At the end of one day of yard work I felt the need to sew pillow covers for the change of seasons bedding in the master bedroom.  I'll post eventually the three season looks we have so far.  Below is summer.  The striped pillow is one that I just made.

Summer blue and white against the golden walls; so refreshing and cool!

Saw this poster at my local nursery for the Portsmouth Pocket Gardens Tour in June - anybody want to go along?

Lamb burgers with sauteed mushrooms on homemade sprouted whole wheat flour buns for dinner one night with steamed veggies (dotted with the watercress butter).

We said good bye before Scottie headed to Utah on a three day road trip for my son's internship for the summer.  Oh, and we will miss Heath and Emma too ;)   

Super good sugar cookies I made yesterday for tonight's Church Youth Fireside at our house.  You'll want the recipe below.    They also get to eat brownies and Chunky Lola Cookies (recipe from Flour Bakery).  The recipe for the cookies came from the food blog iambaker.  The woman who has the blog has wonderful recipes and she is so sassy.  Her instagram feed is hilarious too.  The secret to these cookies is almond extract and maraschino cherry juice.

Absolutely Fabulous Frosted and Sprinkled Soft Sugar Cookies

3 sticks of soft unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

2 tsp almond extract

4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Beat the butter and sugar a few minutes until fluffy.  Add the eggs and extracts and beat well.  Sift the dry ingredients in another bowl and then add to the wet mix until it just all comes together - don't over beat.  Cover and chill dough for at least one hour.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll generous balls of dough uniformly and place a couple inches apart on parchment lined cookies sheets.  Dip a flat bottomed glass (you only have to wet it once) into water and then into a bowl of sugar and flatten each ball into a less than half inch disk.  Bake for 9 minutes and don't allow then edges to brown - these should be set but not golden brown.  Cool completely and then frost and sprinkle.  Delish!

Frosting:

1 stick soft butter

3 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice for color and flavor

Beat all together until fluffy and thoroughly blended.  Frost and cover with many sprinkles!