beach night

The youth group had an end of summer bon fire at the beach last night. The Mr. and I took a bike ride along a great beach trail all the way to the pier.A great evening for it. He stayed at the pier to fish while I rode back to hang out around the fire. It was neat to see not just youth members but their families as well. (53 youth & 11 parents)  The ktbunch told me the water was nice too, not even cold.

It was another lovely evening of my life.

queen of the garden

 The Queen of the Garden has bloomed. She is well over six feet tall. Her leaves are the size of large dinner plates. The other sunflowers have also begun to open their faces toward the sun in full bloom and adoration. You can't help but smile when you see them. I notice many passers-by admiring them and giving them their attention.

The sunflower symbolizes the sun itself. That makes sense, doesn't it? Sunflowers convey warmth and happiness, adoration and longevity.

She is quite a lovely sight to see.

happy breakfast

Does your breakfast smile at you too? I really love the freshness of a yogurt parfait. They are simple to make and super yummy. Today I decided to make a few to have with our breakfast.  I used wine glasses (we had a couple sturdy plastic ones). 

I spooned a dollop of yogurt, sprinkled granola, added sliced strawberries and blueberries and then repeated the layers. 

It looks decadent even though it was so easy.

While we were eating, oldest discovered that Birdy's parfait was smiling back at her. 

Everyone should have a Happy Breakfast because a Happy Breakfast is a lovely breakfast indeed.

make your own iced tea latte

I love tea lattes and I loved them iced but I don't love the price. I kept trying to add ice to a regular warm tea latte but it just made it watered down. yuck! I think I've finally perfected my home-made *iced* tea latte recipe.

 

Boil a tea kettle of water with 3 of your favorite tea bags.

Let steep until cool or refrigerate.

Pour a glass 3/4 full of tea.

Add 1/4 (of the glass) with *cold* milk.

add 2 heaping spoons (or to taste) of *powdered* sugar. 

Don't forget to sprinkle some cinnamon & nutmeg on top!

Regular sugar doesn't dissolve well in the cold tea but powdered sugar will be creamy smooth.

You can add ice after this if you like, since the tea is already cold, it won't melt as fast & water it down. I prefer it 'dry'...that way I get more tea in my glass. ;-)

Save your money and diy.

It'll be lovely.

summer sun

Summer Sun

from A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885)

 

Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven with repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy’s inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.

the snowy day

It was a pretty warm day today. I saw this book in the living room and decided it was the perfect book to end the evening with. Especially a warm one. How can you not feel cooler while reading a book about a snowy day, in the middle of summer?

K really liked it. It was just enough to keep his attention. A great ending to an absolutely wonderful day.

Books are lovely to end the day with.