Summer is half over already!!

I haven't been able to get out and work in my flower beds for quite awhile because
the mosquitoes are so bad here in Michigan if you step outside the door they will
carry you away!! No kidding!

I have been debating and debating and debating with myself over whether to paint the teal
chalkboard boards on my pallet planter black instead of the bright teal. I have decided
that I am going to do it. You can hardly see the chalk on this color of paint so black it is...
WHEN I can get back outside to work.

See all these dry leaves? This happens ever year from this crabapple tree. I love the tree in Spring,
but it is awful this time of year and I can't even begin to keep up on picking up the leaves so
most of them stay put and it looks like FALL already.

Did you see my last two posts about my BFF's garden? She is so precise and not a weed in
sight and I am a MESSY gardener. ha ha! Takes all kinds to make the world go round. 

I purchase Rosemary every year because I love it so much!
I just made some Rosemary lemonade this week and hubby loved it as much as I did.
DELICIOUS!

My basil plant is huge this year. It is my very favorite herb along with Rosemary.

My pallet planter spilleth over. lol

I pray that all of you are having a wonderful summer and making tons of memories
with friends and family. I have always been somewhat of a loner, but I find the older
I get the more I just want to be alone most of the time. Not a bad thing. I do enjoy a good
shopping trip occasionally, but even that is getting old.

What are you doing this summer for fun??

St. Francis of Assisi among the Hydrangeas

I love this time of year when my gorgeous pink hydrangeas
put on a beautiful show!  These are the easiest bushes I have ever grown.

I purchased them at the end of August in 2011 and they have performed for me amazingly
ever single year since then. They have very tiny and delicate florets that make up each flower
so they are definitely different than most hydrangeas.
They are certainly a show stopper!

I paid $5 each for huge bushes at the end of the season and I wish I had purchased
every single one of them. I went on a hunt for more this year and haven't found
any yet.

Don't you just love them in my metal Basil basket? 

I also added a few in this cement piece and it added the perfect punch of color.

St. Francis of Assisi hanging out in the middle of the beauty. I also have another St. Francis statue
that is cement and I love them both.

My daughter gave me this statue as a birthday gift or Mothers Day several years ago.
I don't remember which. lol

I looked up St. Francis of Assisi and here is what I learned. He was the patron Saint of animals.
I am sure you knew that as did I, but I also found out more information some of which
 I didn't know.

"He was a poor little man who astounded and inspired the church by taking the gospel
literally-not in a narrow fundamentalist sense , but in actually following all that Jesus
said and did, joyfully, without limit and without a mite of self-importance"...

"From the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano , Christ told him,
"Francis , go out and build up my house , for it is nearly falling down".
Francis became the totally poor and humble workman."

He was never ordained into the Catholic priesthood, but he is one of the most venerated
religious figures in history.
His father was a prosperous silk merchant and Francis led the high-spirited life of  a
typical wealthy young man even fighting as a soldier for Assisi. While going off to war
in 1204 Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for
worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome he joined the poor in begging at St. Peter's
Basilica. The experience moved him to live in poverty.

Very interesting! I didn't type it all so if you want to read the whole story you can
click here and here or just google St Francis of Assisi.

Have a beautiful Thursday!

Strawberry basil water

I don't know about all of you, but I basically live on water. I used to drink a lot of soda,
 {or pop depending on what part of the country you are from} but it is now a rare day
 that I drink anything but water.  Even when we go out to eat I almost always get
water with lemon.  I figure at my age I do not need those extra calories!

I found this strawberry / basil water on pinterest today and decided to make some.
I have strawberries and I have basil so I was good to go!

All you do is put water in a pitcher , add some sliced strawberries and some basil leaves
{I crushed mine a bit or muddled them so the basil flavor would come through},
put it in the refrigerator for a couple hours and you have a pretty light pink yummy
water to drink.

Perfect for a summer day and I figure I earned it.  I have already stained two 8 foot fence
sections front and back today , cleaned and swept out the car, did the dishes, etc. lol.

I see my deck needs power washed again. Well, that is one thing I did NOT do today. ha!
Now I need someone to drink with!!!!!! :)

I wanted to show this photo to you as well. My bff has the most beautiful home ever and she has
been in the process of a major remodel for weeks, I mean months, oops I guess it has been years
now and it is turning out just beautiful , but then I knew it would. This is her new *old*
breadboard...isn't it amazing!!  I just knew you would love it.
Happy Thursday...I can see the weekend approaching !! :)

Fresh berries and basil cream

Hubby and I just ate a snack that I thought I would share with you.
{recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens}

Fresh berries and basil cream...yumm!
Just cut up some fresh strawberries and throw them in a bowl along with
some blueberries. Then beat 1 cup of cold whipping cream  in a  bowl
until soft peaks form. Beat in 1 teaspoon sugar and add a handful of
chopped basil. {I folded in the basil}.
We loved it, but might not be for you unless you LOVE basil like we do.

Blessings~

My favorite pizza...on the grill!

                    My favorite pizza...on the grill!!! Yumm!!

Frozen bread dough thawed and shaped with hands on a plate or cookie sheet (I separate each loaf into three pieces for this step). We then grill each pizza crust until partially done and then add our goodies to it and finish grilling.

Mine has a tiny bit of tomato sauce {just enough to moisten the dough}, drizzle of olive oil, campari tomatoes(sliced and seeded), chopped green peppers, shredded cheese and BASIL!!!

Best EVER Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

Have I ever shared this recipe with you before? If I have...sorry, but it is too good not to share again.

You can find the recipe by clicking here and that way

I don't have to type it all up or even copy and paste. If you love chicken and basil...I pinky promise you will

love this recipe!!

It calls for cubed chicken and you most certainly can do

that, but I just use chicken breast because that is me.

I always use chicken breast for everything that calls

for chicken. lol.

I found these pictures that I had taken probably a couple

years ago and it makes me sooo hungry for some right

now. I may need to make it this weekend. As blustery as

it is here in Michigan it would be wonderful!

{I just noticed that the sodium is very high in this recipe.

I think next time I will try low sodium chicken broth...

worth a try anyways.}

ENJOY~

Herb cloche and my contribution

I am so proud of myself! I actually grew some basil from seed indoors.

This is the finished product before I transplanted

it outside where it continues to grow larger

each and every day.

I found this basil kit at TJ Maxx several

weeks ago when we visited my daughter

and her family. It included everything I

needed (seeds, soil etc.) along with the glass cloche

and the cute dish it sets on.

As you can see, it is just starting to grow in the

photo above. These were little hard pellets of soil

and I had to add water , watch them expand

and sprinkle on the seeds...

cover with the glass cloche and watch it grow!

There was fine netting around the pellets

so I had to tear it a little, fluff the soil and

then sprinkle on the seeds.

growing taller by the day...

Ready to plant in larger pots and then in the ground.

I planted the seeds on May 31 and this picture

was taken June 23 so it didn't even take a full month

for them to grow this large. Now I also have another cute cloche to add

to my collection.

P.S. I had a great week with my sister visiting, but

it was dampened a bit, by my having to contribute

a nice chunk of money to a local goverment that

I was not planning on doing...get my drift?

But we had fun anyways!!!

{yes, it was a speeding ticket, but I can explain...

it was not done intentionally. Was heading

out of town...and my gas pedal got up to 50 mph before

it was supposed to or else I was talking too much!

I will be paying better attention from now on...

I haven't gotten a ticket in yearsssss...

*sniff*sniff* }

Blessings~

Favorite Herb...Basil ~

Do you have a favorite herb? I do ~

Mine is *Basil*

I saw a recipe awhile ago for Basil Lemonade

and I shared it on my blog,

but I had never made it myself...

fast forward to yesterday.

I was cleaning out my refrigerator and had

a package of lemons and 2 limes that

I needed to use up.

So I juiced them all and put them in a pitcher

along with some sugar and water.

It was so

good and refreshing. But, then I remembered...ah ha...

*BASIL*

I put a few leaves in my glass {hubby wouldn't drink basil lemonade if he had to}

I took a wooden spoon and kinda smooshed them against the

side of the glass to release some of the basil oils.

It was

WONDERFUL !

I am enjoying it today also ~ Blessings~

Summer Grillin' ~

I love summer if for no other reason than for GRILLING ~

Opps...somehow this one snuck in here and it is

NOT

grilled...but I do love it~

One of my favorite summer go to meals...

Linguini (can use thin spaghetti also), onions, garlic,

tomatoes, basil, parmesean cheese and olive oil

LOVE IT~

Now can I say that my husband is the

BEST GRILLER ever~

He made this wonderful chicken on the grill

(he laid a tinfoil covered brick on top of it to flatten it)

and it was the best I have ever had. So juicy and just perfect~

Summer squash...another fabulous item for grilling. I was never a fan , but I could eat it about every day now... Well maybe not quite , but almost~ Delicious potatoes... My son-in-law made these huge steaks for hubby and himself when we were at their house a few weeks ago . Hubby thought he died and went to heaven! This was my meal at my daughters. Grilled corn on the cob, chicken and cheesy potatoes... So good!

Do you grill out in the summer? Do you have any favorite things you love to grill? Who does the grilling? My husband has always done the grilling here. I have not even attempted it since he has perfected it !

Blessings~