the freshest peach pie...

Excuse the less than stellar photograph. I had to get this in the frig so it would be ready for dinner. This is WB's favorite summer pie. He deserves it a lot more than I ever get around to making it.

4 cups fresh peaches(should be ripe, juicy and yummy), peeled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 1/4 cups orange juice (apple juice may be substituted but orange is best)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup blueberries
1 pie crust (best with homemade crust or Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts)

In a saucepan, combine sugar, gelatin and orange juice. Heat and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Stir in lemon juice and butter. Fold in peaches and then blueberries. Turn mixture into pastry shell. Chill until firm. (hint: I prefer to put the fruit in with a slotted spoon and then pour remaining liquid on top. Otherwise sometimes it spills over.)

It is so good and easy too! Let me know if you try it.

a picnic on our anniversary...

Cool temperatures, delicious food and the love of my life. What more could I ask for?

a little photography inspiration for the table...

I have messed around way too long with this table and it still doesn’t feel right to me. The dandelion plates are made with an actual photograph. That inspired me to use some of my vintage cameras on the table, placed on my grandmother’s silver tray (forgive me, Grandma, for not polishing but I truly love it tarnished).


First I used the green flowers I already had as a centerpiece but that wasn’t quite right.
The green seemed too much with the black, white and red so I used some white crepe myrtle in my grandmother’s coffee pot, also unpolished. I didn’t care for that either.






Finally I tried a photo holder with some vintage family photos. Luckily, both of my parents' families took photos. I treasure them all.



This is one of my absolute favorite photos. The little guy riding on his uncle's shoulders is my father.


This table appeals to the photographer in me but is too much for the “I like things simple and uncluttered” me.
I hope I am not still playing around with this one for the next Tablescape Thursday.

Please join Susan and all the other tablescapes at Tablescape Thursday.

there is nothing better than the smell of rain in the desert...

except maybe watching and listening to the storm rolling in...

a little blue and white for summer...

18 good things about summer

{a necessary list for me - every…single…summer}

1. Blooming bougainvillea.
2. Peaches.
3. Tortoises wandering around in their prehistoric style.
4. The night skies are gorgeous and most of the time it is cool enough to enjoy them.
5. Tackling indoor projects.
6. Blooming crepe myrtle.



7. School supplies.
8. Kids in the pool.
9. Blooming hibiscus.
10. Popsicles.
11. Air conditioning.
12. Linen.
13. Watermelon.
14. Cannonballs off the diving board.
15. Squirt animals.
16. Blooming blue plumbago.
17. Monstrous thunderstorms.
18. Our anniversary. (I am such a lucky girl!)








But the very best thing about summer is knowing that the next season will be autumn…


Please join Susan and the other tablescapers at Tablescape Thursday.

apparently on vacation, lounging by the pool...

This is an older image but one that makes me smile. We're still hoping we'll see babies this summer but no sightings yet.

finding a bit of autumn...

I will sigh loudly if the Christmas catalogs start arriving in September. I will complain if the Christmas store displays are out in October. Christmas music piped into department stores before Halloween? Unacceptable.




{Disclaimer: I have been known to play Christmas music any time of the year. I just don’t want the stores to play it too early. I cannot defend my position.}
But fall at the end of July? Apparently, I change my tune. The muggy, those-clouds-are-not-raining-at-my-house grumbles disappeared when I stepped into Pottery Barn. There it was...autumn.
The air felt cooler (do they turn it down to add to the ambiance?). There were rusts and golds and a lovely green. There were Manzanita branches hanging over the tables. Copper vessels, wooden bowls, olive plates and autumn quilts.




I could feel the cool. I could feel the calm. I could almost smell the leaves. I wanted to make soup and build a fire. If there had been a way to make everyone else leave, I would have settled into the cream sofa covered with autumn pillows and spent the afternoon reading.

All I could do was soak it up, knowing I would have to leave eventually. I bought the napkins I will use on my Thanksgiving table and came home, inspired by autumn in July. It is 97° right now. I may need to go to Pottery Barn a lot between now and October.
Please join Susan and the other tablescapers at Tablescape Thursday.