Celebrating The 4th.

Hello Friends~ ~ ~

We are planning to celebrate with a few friends this weekend. I set the newly painted table in the screened porch with a cloth I made from just 2 yards of fabric. It is loosly woven so I just threw it in the washer and dryer and it frayed around the edges very nicely. Very casual look. If you remember this is the table that I was given. It was in terrible shape so I gave it a coat of white paint or 3 after the coat of KILZ and here it is!

The china is Onida purchased years ago and I just love the french scripting and the olives.

We seldom drink anything but filtered water in our house so I would love to share with you my recipe to Kick It Up a bit. This recipe gives the water a wonderful taste AND you are doing something very good for your body if you use Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils in the recipe. To purchase these Essential Oils go to my website, in the margin at the right, and contact me. I would be happy to send them right out to you.

Please Use Only GLASS Bottles to mix up these flavored waters. The essential oils will dissolve petro chemicals in the plastic just like they do in your body. That's why these oils are so great for you. They assist your body to move out the petro chemicals that have accumulated in your cells and on the receptor sites. These essential oils clean up the body so that it can again come to balance and work in perfection. Sorry, but I am a teacher at heart and have been for many years. I love helping people to understand the power of these essential oils and how they can take back their health. It's absolutely wonderful to have a business that I love where I can help people too. Off my soap box. Here is the recipe I use.

Fill a 1 liter glass bottle with pure filtered water.

(I use my empty NingXia Red Energy Juice bottles because they are glass)

Leave room in the neck of the bottle to shake.

Add 6 drops of Young Living Citrus Fresh essential oil.

Shake the bottle for 1 minute to totally emulsify the oil and water.

Pour over ice and enjoy. Garnish with fresh fruit.

Here are some more recipes we like.

3 drops each of Orange Essential oil and Grapefruit Essential oil

3 drops of Lemon and 3 drops of Orange

3 drops of Tangerine and 3 drops of Lemon

1 drop of Young Living Peppermint Essential oil.

Our Peppermint oil is so pure that all you need is 1 drop.

Mix up a few different bottles and put them out for folks to drink. We love them and hope you do too.

I, along with many others, am participating in Tablescape Thursday today. Our host is the lovely Susan at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ AND

Because I am sharing a recipe I am participating in Foodie Friday at http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/ hosted by the lovely & talented Michael Lee, author. You may have seen her books featured at Barnes & Noble, I did.

How is this for a 4th. of July Apron? It is red & white and it's the one I will be wearing. I sewed it from a pattern I designed and am semi pleased with the results. I will be making adjustments to the design.

Have a Happy 4th.

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

A French Country Lunch

Happy Summer to Everyone~ ~ ~ I would like to share a tablescape and a recipe with you today. The dishes were found this weekend while flea marketing.

I had the good luck to find these sweet little dishes with a violet garland. I claimed all 4 for only $10! No way was I going to let them get away. I have been looking for a covered butter dish and this one was perfect. On the front and back are a chicken and rooster in pink.

The sugar peas and flowers are from our garden.

This is the simple recipe I used to prepare the sugar peas.

Peel and cut into large chunks a few red potatoes, cook in water till tender.

Drain and set aside.

In a large saute pan put a lump of butter (3-4 T) to melt and add your sugar peas.

Tossing constantly for 3-4 minutes over med. high till done.

Add Thyme, Chervil, Salt & Paper to taste.

Add the potato chunks to the sugar peas and toss, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.

I serve this simple with crusty bread and butter.

Many Thanks to Susan @

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

and Gollum @

http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

for hosting these wonderful events. To find the links to everyone who participated this week visit these lovely ladies at their homes above.

Enjoy the weekend~ ~ ~Ahrisha

A Helping Hand

Greetings Friends~ ~ ~

I am so glad the rain has stopped so that we can get into the garden and pick the bounty there. Right now we are picking hull peas and sugar peas. In another 2 days I will be picking string beans. The first two rows on the left are hull peas then sugar peas.

I planted 5 different types of lettuce this year plus spinach and we have been eating some wonderful salads. I planted a lettuce called "mascara" and as you can see here it is almost gone. We liked it very much. We had a week of weather in the 90's a few weeks ago so the radishes went to seed and we got nothing but seeds for next year.

Isn't it amazing how a seed can go from this~ ~ ~

~ ~to this!

I am very glad for these helping hands of my Mothers to clean all the peas. We sit outside at the picnic table and chat while we clean peas. I think it's an Amish saying that goes like this. . .Many hands make light work. Enjoy your day~ ~ ~Ahrisha

Love Love Pies

Good Morning Folks~ ~ ~

Pies are one of my favorite foods. How about you?

Today I am sharing one of my favorite recipes. I usually have the ingredents in the kitchen so I don't have to make a special trip to the store when the sweet tooth strikes! Unlike banana bread please use firm yellow bananas for this pie.

I also have to share with you the great find I came across last weekend at a local flea market.

See the lovely pink plates in the picture? These are only 3 of the 5 I purchased for $1.50 for all!

Can you believe it, I almost jumped up and down right there in front of her. Love a bargain.

How about you?
BANANA PECAN CREAM PIE

Crust:

1 C. Flour

1/2 C Softened Butter

1 C. finely chopped Pecans

Mix together and pat into a 10" Deep Dish Pie Plate.

Bake @350* for 25-30 minutes~ ~Cool

Filling:

1 pkg. softened cream cheese (8oz.)

1 C Confectioners suger

2 8 0z. tubs Cool Whip~ ~USE ONLY 1/2 of 1 tub now.

Mix these 3 and spread into crust.

Layer on 4 ripe bananas, Sliced.

Mix Together:

1 small pkg. instant Vanilla or Coconut pudding

1 1/3 C. Milk

Let stand for 1 minute to thicken in bowl then pour over bananas.

Be sure to cover them so they do not brown.

Pile on remaining Cool Whip.

Enjoy!

Be Sure to stop by for a visit at Gollum's House to see the links for everyone who participated in this weeks Foodie Friday.

and Thanks to Dear Gollum for hosting Foodie Friday.

http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

Have a Wonderful Fathers Day Weekend

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Guests For Breakfast

Good Morning~ ~ ~

I would like to introduce you to my guests this morning. Actually they visit every morning and I never get tired of their company. In fact I look forward to their visit.

Across the street from your home is a pasture and each morning after feeding and milking "The Girls" stop by for a visit. I usually grab a cup of coffee and go our front and have a chat with them. They are a quiet sort but very observant, see how the one on the far right lifts her head when she hears the front door open.

As I was standing in the front yard another neighbor passed by. We waved and they were on their way. I love living here!

Have a wonderful spring weekend~ ~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Aprons Are IN

Hello Friends~ ~ ~

I have a different sort of Metamorphosis to share this Monday. This is a collection of vintage linens I got for a steal a few weeks ago at Shupps Grove Antique Market.

In this collection is an old torn apron that I loved for the style. It's the blue apron with red flowers. Great old fabric isn't it? I used this old apron as a pattern and transformed it into this.

Don't you just love the fabric? It was designed by Diane Knotts for Clothworks Fabrics. She is a wiz at fabric design and has just released a new line for fall. You can see it here on her blog.

http://dianeknottsmusings.blogspot.com

The neckline has little cut-out loops that I lined with brown binding as I did all around the apron. I changed the pocket and made it deeper so I could keep my phone in it.

What I really loved about this apron is the back. There is a large panel with loops to run the ties through and it keeps it nicely in place so it doesn't shift around on you. I have been sewing all my life and I am finding that I love making and wearing aprons. They seem to be Hot right now too.

Be sure to stop by at Susans Beautiful Blog http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ to see all the gals who joined in for the fun this Monday.

Thanks for stopping by~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

It Was A Cool and Rainy Day. . .

So I baked Cookies and decided to participate in "Foodie Friday" Hosted by http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com/ Skip on over and see who else has been cooking and baking.

The cookies are Martha's recipe for Oatmeal Raisin. The change I made to the recipe was to soak the rasins in a little Brandy and hot water to soften them up. Yummy. Whenever I use raisins in a recipe I soak them in Brandy. Try it sometime.

The sweet pale pink roses are called "Celciana" an old fashioned rose. Some don't like the fact that this rose is rather small 3" or so. I love that the center is yellow and shows and the rose looks a little bit shaggy. This little rose has an amazing personality. One blossom will perfume a whole room. Three cheers for Celciana! Here have a closer look.

Aren't they lovely?

More flowers from the garden for your viewing pleasure. I love having flowers around the house.Have a wonderful weekend~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Metamorphosis Monday Table Redo

Greetings Friends~ ~ ~

I've got a table redo to share with you today so I am participating in "Metamorphosis Monday" over at Susan's blog http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ Susan hosts this event every Monday so be sure to pop in for a visit and see all the wonderful blogs who are joining in for the fun.

Remember this table that I was given? Here is how it looked when I received it a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure where I was going to use it but I knew that it had to be painted because it is in such bad shape. The veneer on the top edges was pulling up and rippled. It looked like it had been out in the rain and gotten really soaked. I used wood glue to paste the edges down and weighed them with books to get them to lay flat. Then I sanded and put on 2 coats of Kilz and 2 coats of Cottage White from Behr paints. This shade is my favorite white, it's actually a creamy white if you look at it next to white chips and works great in my home.

This is the transformation in it's new home, our screened porch. The table now has a new life as our picnic table. I love the way it looks here but now I need a few chairs to go with it. I stopped at a few yard sales this weekend and found a nice wooden chair already painted white for just $7. I have a chair that I've got to paint so 2 chairs down and at least 4 more to go. I've been talking to the chair fairies and they promised to have more on the way to me this week!

Our neighbors had this cute little table sitting on their front porch for a few weeks. It was during the rainy spell we had and I kept looking at it and wondering why they left it out in the rain. I mentioned to them that if they were planning to dispose of it that I would take it off their hands so it's mine now. I'm planning to sand and paint it this week. It will look great in the sunroom. Don't you love a bargain?. . .and free is the best!

Above is the table in the screened porch. I have got some serious work to do to get this room into shape. It's a little cool here today so this might be a good day. Hum, Should I sand the table or clean up the screened porch? So much to do. Would you like to stop by and help?

I've got to post pictures of the chest and buffet in the screened porch soon. You can see the drawers in the photo above. These 2 pieces were part of my Mom & Dads bedroom suite when they got married back in 1950. I really need some ideas of how to transform them also. Subject for another Metamorphsis Monday.

Thanks for stopping by. I would love to hear your comments. See you all then~ ~Ahrisha~ ~