Abundance

Saturday around the house ...

While there is always much to be done around the house, today will be especially busy.  There is a need to reorganize and straighten out the guest room (also sewing/craft room), since I always seem to be in the midst of several projects at one time, for company tonight and, as well, because our beautiful seven-year-old niece will be coming up (next Saturday!) to stay with us for two weeks.  In addition, I need to make a fresh sweet pea salad for dinner tonight.  The boys (DH and DS) are out this morning for a round of golf and will be picking up a real treat for dinner:  steak!  We don't eat a lot of red meat simply because we prefer fish and poultry so having grilled steak is definitely a summertime treat for us.  The menu for dinner is grilled steak and potatoes (baked on the grill) with some sautéed mushrooms and onions, fresh sweet pea salad and a fresh-picked garden salad (both red and green romaine, some curly seeded Simpson and fresh baby spinach, along with some radishes).  I'm also baking today; some bread (three two-pound loaves and a dozen rolls) and Horsewoman's apricot muffins.  Thanks GP!  I love fresh apricots but can't seem to get them all eaten before they turn on me … Horsewoman's solution was sheer perfection!  When we went to the farm market last night, we picked up 12 pounds of local apricots (some for muffins; some for jam; and a few just for eatin') and 10 pounds of strawberries (for dessert tonight -- we like our strawberries topped with some homemade yogurt and still-warm-from-the-oven granola -- and some for jam).  It's wonderful to be able to pick up reasonably priced, fresh, in season fruit.  Hopefully we'll one day have enough room for our own fruits and not just veggies. 

Since it's supposed to be a really hot and muggy weekend, I got an early start in the kitchen today and, tomorrow, I can just throw some pork in the Crockpot for pulled pork sandwiches for dinner tomorrow night, leaving me time both before and after church for more relaxing and restful pursuits (and far cooler than cooking in a hot kitchen).  Back to the kitchen for me!  Have a wonderful weekend and stay cool!

E