Well, our summer is underway and I'm already tired.  It might just be the heat.  Today it's 33 degrees Celsius.  Thankful the pool is warm as I've been swimming a bit.  I'm not complaining that's for sure because we get enough rain and cold in the winter so this is awesome weather we are having right now.

My favourite fruit is in season right now and we are enjoying an abundance of "raspberries". Yum.  I have made raspberry cheesecake...raspberry viniagrette...raspberries and cream...just plain raspberries...raspberry shortcake...you get the picture.  Plus, I put 40 pounds in the freezer to make raspberry jelly later. I am not doing much this summer...I am still working on this "tennis elbow" thing and so any amount of work causes pain...and trying to use my left hand for everything is also difficult....so I am taking it easy this summer and just sitting around doing only what absolutely needs doing...and with five kids still home, that's busy enough.

We took the kids to the ocean and for ice-cream...and now Anika says she has touched her feet in the North Atlantic Ocan and now the Pacific Ocean..it was exciting, not to mention we all had our favourite ice-cream...mine is "tiger"...delicious!  The tide was out so we were able to walk quite a ways out.

Dh and I also made our first "beer can chicken"...or others call it, "beer up the butt" chicken.  It turned out amazing.  Next time though we will leave in on the barbeque 1/2 hour longer..but the flavour was unbelievable.  I went on the internet to look up recipes and there were hundreds of them, so dh and I just came up with our own rub and everyone loved it.

The boys got the go-kart out from the garage and pumped up the tires washed it and even got it started on their own.  Last year they couldn't really touch the peddles very easily but this year well.....my boys are growing up too quickly for "this mama"....but it was fun watching them tearing around the grapes and through the long grass.  They had a blast....so did dad!!!!

We are reading Daniel Boone right now...and because the weather was so great today we took our blankets and I read to the kids under the big tree in the back yard...I sat in our wonderful Muskoka chair and the kids laid on the blankets...it was fun.  I finally got a sore throat from reading so we all laid on the blankets while the kids  talked about all kinds of things...we all told story after story until I got a whopper of a headache...so Anika decided to massage my head so I wouldn't go inside...she loves listening to my stories...she even braided my hair.  It was a fun afternoon.  Of course every once in a while the wind would blow a certain way and it was "chicken poo smell" everywhere....then thankfully the wind would shift and it was beautiful trees and grass smell.  Oh the joys of living in the country.  God is so good!

Our cherry tree is producing lots of fruit this year...but unfortunately the birds are getting more than we are. Any ideas how to keep the crows away? 

Well, that about sums up our past week....looking forward to the weekend. 

Happy "4th of July to all my US blogging friends

and

Happy Birthday to my sister!

My Mom sends me some cute e-mails.  I love these one and had to share with you all.

Who is walking who?

I look like you or is it you look like me?

Ah, can I keep him?  (the dog is asking):

Um mom, why am I wearing clothes and his is not??

Look Mom at what I learned :

Just one little bite that's all:

Are you sure they taste like chicken??

Are you sure they are in here???

That's all for now, Blessings,Mj

I would like to wish you all a happy 4th and for those that will have bbq and have family and friends over have a great day of fellowship.

And for those that will be home have a happy day...

Have a happy weekend for those on the road drive careful.. There are a lot of folks on the road this weekend..

Have a weekend everyone..

My plans I'm having my brother and family and my parents? we are having a bbq with lots of outside games with prizes.It will be a good day  with fellowship..

Blessings Sister Brenda

Good morning from another rainy day in Maine the start of July isn't so good.. Just about he whole month of June it rained. Farmers are having a hard time with crops . The fields are filled with water tractors can't get on its a mess. We have such a short growing season too begin with. The hay crop some don't even have first crop in yet do to rain.

Here at the farm My garden not doing so good have replanted cucumbers again. Also have pumpkins -squash-cukes started over in the greenhouse.. I have to grow them enough so the rain and beetles do destroy them.

Ray has put new fencing up for the goats Mike and Blarney are doing just fine. Mike just got banded a few days ago he is doing fine. And Blarney lost his band a few days ago and he is doing great.

Ive been keeping myself busy trying to mow and garden and yard work between rain .. I've also doing some craft work.

Today I have a busy day we are having my brother and family and maybe my parents over for a bbq tomorrow. I have baking and cleaning  to do. I have my first load of laundry in the washer and the dishwasher is humming away.

I would like to wish every one a Happy 4th and drive safely if your on the road and enjoy the week with family and friends all that fellowship is good..

Blessings Sister Brenda

Kristi was board earlier today and decided to play wii.  She played monopoly with Hope!  Hope is our soon to be 10 year old golden medical alert service dog.  We train the dog to all kinds of stuff some funny and silly but this is too much!

Titus is doing great in his service dog training.  We took him out for the first time to go shopping and he was wonderful.  If we stopped and looked or spoke to someone he would lay down with out being told to.  I thought it was odd, so I kept testing him.  I would walk and stop not look at him he would just lay down .  That is amazing for a six month old puppy to do on his first outing in stores.  I wonder if Kristi is going to teach Titus to play monopoly??

We start training them as soon as they are born.  Also having good parents helps too.  It took me two years to find his parents, to find the lines I was looking for.  Now we need one more female golden.  We might get one from Alex's breeder.

Blessings, Mj

When Ike was so sick with pneumonia I brought him and Mike in the basement we put down carpet and hay and clean it twice a day it didn't smell bad..But now it smells terrible.. The floor is concrete and there was some boards where we fenced them in..

I have bleached with a bush and I've also used pine sol and it still smells..Today I've opened up the windows.. I have put baking soda down on the floor and left it now for many days..

We have had rain for many days and its damp.. could that bring the smell out??? I'm lost..

Help I don't know what to do..

Thanks Blessings Sister Brenda

Okay, Janet is in trouble she let Kristi and Mya run free on the mountain.  Worse yet with a camera .  Here are some pictures of the adventure.

1. Is Kristi finding out there are more than one of her:

2. Mya discover pine cones, do pine nuts come from pine cones??:

3. Is Kristi playing cars (she is the car)

4. Maybe I will be a better car sitting down??

5. Better yet I will play speed bump!! Did I send Kristi with her insuance card???

6. Mya discovers a cow and gives it a kiss !!

7. Milk comes from here ???? I know the poor thing , will she ever get over the shock???

8. Then they made friends with the locals:

JANET!!!!, we do not let the girls play speed bump in the middle of the Road!!! /.    We need to let the girls out of the house once in a while.  Poor Mya was so lost as to where milk comes from!! And did not know what a pine cone was!!!   Poor Kristi she thought there was more than one of her!!  Look at the locals nails on that local, see how long they are?? They could hurt the girls!!

Sorry but I had to write and show the pictures , they are so cute.  I will show more latter.

Blessings Mj

Due to some Flickr problems I wasn't able to upload some photos ealier, but now I can.  Hmmm.

These are pics of my sweet Itty Bitty enjoying Father's Day with her great-grandpa

These are the big kids while we were camping.  Itty Bitty was off playing somewhere and not interested in having her picture taken

Tomatoes are starting to show up in the garden.  I'm excited to start canning!

My cucumber vines are over four feet tall now, and have dozens of baby cukes all over them.  I use my great-grandmother's dill pickle recipe.  It is the best!

Itty Bitty loves being in the garden as much as we do!

The white boxes that I have my squash planted in are old bee hive boxes. 

Happy Trails!

"The Homesteading Mindset Anywhere" is my guest Blog for 'The Dollar Stretcher'.  Today's topic is a pictorial tutorial about reusing what might look like 'trash'....I think y'all will like it for your homesteading ideas.

You can follow my blog here: http://community.stretcher.com/blogs/homesteadmindset/default.aspx

If you are not familiar with The Dollar Stretcher - I'd suggest you go check it out. The tips range from directly fiscal repair all the way to saving on weekly menu items. It's wonderful! They even have a newsletter with helpful articles, Just click on the Dollar Strecher's Logo when you go to my blog, for direct links to whata ll else they have to offer.

Happy Homesteading!

Donna

now this has to be the cutest cupcake I've ever seen with so much detail.. I wish I didn't have dial up..

If anyone makes these please let me know and post a picture.

No BBQ is complete without hot dogs and burgers. No grilling necessary!


Watch a step-by-step video demonstration of this recipe.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
	Hamburger Cupcakes
	2 vanilla wafer cookies
	1 Keebler Grasshopper cookie
	Yellow and red icing in tubes
	Green tinted coconut
	Slices of green gumdrop (optional)
	Orange juice or lemonade concentrate
	Sesame seeds
	1 baked cupcake
	White icing
	Multicolored nonpareils
	Hot Dog Cupcakes
	1 circus peanut
	1 caramel square
	Yellow icing in a tube
	Green tinted coconut
	Cut-up green gumdrop (optional)
	Orange juice or lemonade concentrate
	1 baked cupcake
	White icing

1. For Hamburger: To build the hamburger, start with an upside-down vanilla wafer. Add a dab of icing to attach the Grasshopper cookie, then a squirt of yellow icing, a squirt of red icing, a sprinkle of tinted coconut, and 2 thin slices of a green gumdrop for pickles (optional).

2. Top with the second vanilla wafer cookie, right side up (glue on with icing if needed). Rub the top "bun" with juice concentrate, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Frost the cupcake with white icing, place the "burger" on top, and sprinkle on nonpareils.

3. For Hotdog: For the bun, cut a wedge in the circus peanut. If the caramel is soft, roll it into a hot dog shape. If it's hard, first soften it in your hand or in a microwave for a few seconds.

4. Caution: the caramel can get hot! Place the "hot dog" in the bun and squirt on a squiggly line of yellow icing.

5. Garnish with green gumdrop "relish," if you wish. Frost the cupcake with white icing, place the hot dog on top, and sprinkle on nonpareils.