Stone House Scribblings

I found this recipe in an old farm journal cookbook the other day when I had a few ugly apples to use up. And have been playing with it since, with variations. In the first place, it's supposed to be a cake. But when I use gluten free flour, muffins turn out fabulously muffin-y. And… Continue reading Fall Festival Muffins

To begin somewhere, there has been no frost yet in our neck of the woods. So the flowers are still blooming though the plants themselves are looking tired.When I planted the garden late, I despaired of having blooms for any amount of time. The end of July came and went and we had only a… Continue reading October Scribblings

The funny, flowers-no-vegetables garden is yielding baskets of cuttings for vases. Yes, I'm going to do this again. Only thing, next year there'll be veges and raspberry plant starts from my mom. With frost weeks away, she says hopefully, there ought to be plenty of bouquets to come and then seed saving. Today turned out… Continue reading Bees (Wasps) and Bouquets

The garden, beautifully in flower for bouquets. Cooler weather campfires. Simple homey things like bees on flowers and loons calling overhead as they fly between lakes. The quiet: only traffic, the crickets, the far-away drone of a small plane, and a lawn mower in the distance, today. Yesterday was the Fireman's Picnic, not quiet, next… Continue reading A Quiet Sunday Thankful List

It's when the cutting gardens are finally producing for all the vases/flowers in every room. Well, Lisl's gardens are. My garden has a row of zinnias that may bloom if the rabbit finally gets himself zapped on the electric fence I have carefully prepared for him. There actually are other flowers in the garden here… Continue reading The Time of Zinnia

It's high time for this. For me, anyhow. So I am thankful for the following... Summer. The season of flowers and outdoor living spaces Smoothies, made of Greek and fresh frozen blueberries using an immersion blender. Made thick and creamy. Eaten with a spoon from my pretty coffee mug. Soap, hot water, and a good,… Continue reading A Thankful List

It happens every summer. And every summer it's hard to figure out. Which reunion, camping, wedding, or social event shall we plan to not miss? Each summer it feels like a fresh and painful problem, an important problem, to me. It's easy for Elv. He is not walking down his hall of life with all… Continue reading Summer Choices

It's a home day. A day to home "keep" and "make". Without going into embarrassing details, let me just say that when I went out to mow the funny-looking, dry, straggly lawn, I ran into difficulty. The kind of frustrating glitches for which my husband got down off his machine in the woods and drove… Continue reading Wednesday

Elv and I each spent the weekend to our individual liking. I went to a family gathering with cousins and aunts and uncles while he went to the cabin to begin opening it for summer visits. This method of being at two places at once was mutually satisfying. I love reconnecting with my people. Age… Continue reading A Perfect Day

These early summer days back at the Stone House have been nostalgic for me. I'd forgotten the sounds and sights, the feel, if you will, of the mature deciduous forest here. The trees are tall and massive with spacious understory. Here there has been some better forest management... So much better than massive poplar trees… Continue reading May Sunday