Peach Pie and Vanilla Ice Cream!!!!

I love this time of year in the Carolinas because it means peaches, peaches, peaches!! I had bought a huge basket of peaches, which I posted a picture of some of those luscious peaches in a previous post. I have been eating fresh peaches ever since and so has John. They are so good! Today I woke up and decided to make a fresh peach pie. There is just nothing like it with vanilla ice cream! Tomorrow night Megan and Ken are coming over for dinner but I don't think we can wait to cut that pie. There will be some left for tomorrow night for them though :)!

Fresh Peach Pie (this recipe is from the Betty Crocker Cookbook)

Pastry for 9 inch two crust pie
5 cups sliced fresh peaches
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 c all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp margarine or butter

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pastry. Mix peaches and lemon juice. Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon, sir into peaches. Turn into pastry lined pie plate, dot with margarine or butter. Cover with top crust that has slits in it, seal and flute. Cover edge with 2 to 3 inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 mins. of baking.

Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, 35 to 45 minutes. Enjoy!!

Roses and Picket Fences

I have always loved roses and picket fences, so the two together has always made me smile. I don't have a picket fence but I do have roses at this house. I used to live in a victorian in NJ and I did have picket fences and roses dripping over them-they were gorgeous. I would love to have picket fences again and I know I will sometime again. I decided to go online to google.com and I found some really beautiful roses on picket fences so I thought I would share them with you:

Owen, Sunflowers and Peaches

I had a wonderful birthday yesterday! Jenny, Kevin, Megan, Ken made me a great dinner. I got to hold Owen alot and he even woke up so we all could see his eyes open. Today John and I just chilled out. I read, did some knitting, took a nap and just plain relaxed! Life is good! The other day I bought some peaches that were just picked that morning and I have got to say they are wonderful! I have been eating one or two a day-they are awesome. I was watering the plants in my garden and containers and I noticed the sunflower that grew from our birdseed was flowering. It brought a smile to my face! Sunflowers are such a happy flower. I thought I would share some photos of Owen, the sunflower and those wonderful peaches with you:

Owen is like a sleeping angel.

Smiling Owen

My friend saw this picture and said Owen was trying to say his name! He actually wanted his bottle, but he is extremely intelligent already so maybe he was trying to say his name-LOL!!!

Here is the sunflower that grew from the birdseed in our feeder. Doesn't it just make you smile!

Peaches, peaches everywhere! These peaches are huge, sweet and wonderful!!

Here are the luscious things right before I ate them-yummy!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 52nd birthday! I will be having breakfast with John at a little place we like to go called Skillets. I will be chillin' around the house doing what I like to do-read,knit and catch up with my friends on the computer. Then we go and pick up Megan and drive to Jenny, Kevin and Owen's house for a nice BBQ! My sisters and Mom and Dad will call and I'll talk with them for a bit. This may not sound like a really exciting birthday to most but this is just the way I like it family, friends and of course, grandbaby Owen!!!

My Nephew on the Zip Line!

My sister, Sue, her husband and nephew, Troy came for a visit on Saturday (7/16) through Wednesday morning very early. The day before they were going to leave my husband, John took my nephew and brother-in-law, Chuck to the U.S. Whitewater Rafting Center. They have just added a zip line there that goes out over the water were everyone is rafting or kayaking! Troy had a blast as you can see!

Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

I read this book a few weeks ago and I loved it!!! What a great summer or beach read. Mary Kay Andrews books never fail to entertain me. Here is the amazon review:

Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she's made over the past decade of her life. Julia—whose caustic wit covers up her wounds--has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can't hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life. And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world…though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.

Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he's hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he's ever cared about.

Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs?

Five people questioning everything they ever thought they knew about life. Five people on a journey that will uncover their secrets and point them on the path to forgiveness. Five people who each need a sea change, and one month in a summer rental that might just give it to them.

If you are looking for a great beach read, this is the book!

Today was a wonderful day for me!!!!

Today I spend the whole day with Owen and Jenny! Jenny and I took Owen to his pediatrician appt. He gained weight and is doing really well. Jenny took a nap and I got to take care of Owen! It was just wonderful feeding him his bottles, changing him and just holding him while he slept! He is a cuddler too, which was wonderful! I just love being a grandmother. There is nothing like it in the world! Jenny is an awesome Mom. I also made dinner for Jenny and Kevin. I didn't want Kevin to have to come home from work and have to cook something. I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for them.

The visit with my sister, Sue, her husband, Chuck and her son my nephew Troy is going really well too. Tomorrow Sue and I are heading out by ourselves to go to a Gallery, a new yarn shop and have lunch out. Then around 2:30 we will head up to Jenny's and help her pack up Owen for his first visit to the yarn shop. All the ladies want to meet Owen. Sue and I will stay there and knit with our friends.

Life is good!

Mini Vakay for me!

Most people wouldn't consider this a mini vakay, but I am. At 4:30 today I will be on vacation from work until next Wed.!! My sister, Sue and her family are coming into town and I will be visiting with grand baby, Owen some of the time too!! Monday I will be taking care of Owen all day and letting Jenny get some rest. Everyone have a great weekend!!

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Whew it has been so hot, hot, hot here!! Every time I open the door to go outside I feel like I am melting! I am so glad we have A/C at home and work. I was thinking back to when I was a child living in NJ and we didn't have A/C. The summers weren't as hot as they are now by any means but I do remember those dog days of Summer! I remember ice pops were our main staple, eating cooler meals like chicken salad, macaroni salad and cucumber salad. We did have a swimming pool growing up and I remember spending most days in that pool cooling off. I did hear on the news yesterday next week this heat wave will break a little, but in the mean time we will just have to put up with it!! I guess John and I will be having some chicken salad, macaroni salad, cukes and watermelon to stay cool!

Cuddle Time with the little man today!!

I had some really great cuddle time with Owen today! Here are some new pictures of the little cutie:

Here is Owen sleeping today.

Nana having her cuddle time with the little cutie pie!

Auntie Megan having her cuddle time with Owen.

Owen decided he needed to stretch! Right after that he wanted his blankie back though. Jenny said he doesn't like to be uncovered for very long. He especially doesn't like his little toes uncovered.

Jenny was a little more tired today, which is definitely understandable. She is doing great though. Tomorrow night she may be coming home. If she doesn't come home tomorrow night they will definitely let them come home on Thursday morning. I will be back at work tomorrow, so I won't get to have cuddle time with Owen. I will probably see him Thursday or Friday night. It is so hard not to want to be with him all the time!!

There is a new man in my life, Baby Owen!!

There is definitely a new little man in my life, Baby Owen!! He finally arrived after giving his Mom some trouble. Jenny was in labor for about 15 hrs. and Owen just wasn't budging. She had a C-section and he was born at 7:59 p.m. 7-11-11. He weighs 8 lbs. 5 ozs. and is 21 1/2 inches long. He is a cutie! Mama, Dad and Baby are doing just great! I am taking tomorrow off and spending some time with Mama, Dad and Baby. I just love holding him! Here are some more pictures:

Me (Nana)holding Owen with John. I am in heaven!!

John holding Owen, or I guess I should say Papa holding Owen.

Jenny and Baby, Owen. I am so proud of her!!

Off to bed for me it was a very long day! I'm glad everyone is safe, healthy and doing great!!

New Sparklies in my Shop!!

I was in a creative mood today and I now have 5 new items in my etsy shop. If you see anything you just have to have, go to my etsy sidebar on the right side of my blog and check it out!

Beach Star Necklace

Beloved Necklace

Keep Calm and Carry On Necklace

Keep Calm and Dream On Necklace

Keep Calm and Have Faith Necklace

I love a Beautiful Straw Chapeau!

I have always loved straw hats-Beach Hats, fashion hats, glamorous hats really any kind of straw hat! There is something about a beautifully, crafted straw hat that is just so exciting!! I decided to look on google and I found some really wonderful straw hats.

I would love to wear this gorgeous hat with such a gorgeous blue ribbon to the Beach

This group of straw hats are great beach hats! I love the pastel colored ribbons.

Elizabeth Taylor looked stunning in this huge straw hat!

Scarlett O'Hara wore this to the BBQ to win over Ashley.

This stunning black and white picture of Marilyn Monroe in the oversized white straw hat is really gorgeous!

Audrey Hepburn looks really beautiful in this straw hat.

Kate Winslet strikes a stunning pose in this hat. They don't make hats like this anymore.

Kiera Knightly wore this lovely hat in The Duchess. Just beautiful!

Here are a few more beautiful straw hats to savor:

Vintage Table Linens

The other day I was moving some things around in my dining room hutch and I came across a tablecloth that had been my grandmothers. She used to do crewel embroidery on tablecloths and pillow cases. I still have the pillow case she did for me-it has little deer and flowers on it. I'll have to post that at a later date. That got me thinking about tablecloths from the era when women carefully stitched these beauties for their families and friends. I went to google and found these beauties to share with you:

I just love this tablecloth! Doesn't it just conjure up visions of grandmoms!

This tablecloth is actually stenciled not embroidered. I think it is still really pretty!

I have always loved dogwoods so this one called to me. So much loving work went into this tablecloth.

I really love this alphabet flax cross-stitch tablecloth. I wouldn't mind putting one of those on my table. It would be so fun to play alphabet games with your grandkids while sitting around the table!

Flowers

Flowers, flowers everywhere! As everyone knows I love flowers. I thought I would share some of mine with you.

John gave me flowers last week because of all the hoopla going on at work.

The flowers John gave me came in this lovely tote bag! I can't wait to use it.

I won this Maggie Rose. It is so pretty and looks great by my garden angel.

These phlox are blooming in my garden. I love these flowers, they always brighten up my summer garden.

When we moved my Bird of Paradise plant took a beating. There was a new leaf unfurling and it got bent and we had to cut it off. Now this new leaf decided to come out. I guess it likes it here!

My coneflower has just started to bloom.

Hope you enjoyed all my blossoms!