Porch Sale on Saturday...

 For those in the area - I'm doing a vintage goods Porch Sale on Sat.... 

in Mount Gretna!

Great prices - most things $1.  

For a map and the Craig's List listing - click here.

Zucchini Recipes - Casserole and Cookies...

In this season of zucchini overload - allow me to share two recipes with you.

 First up - a main dish that I often make using broccoli.  

But the recipe actually calls for zucchini.  We love it!

 (No oven required.)

Sausage Supper

 

1 lb. bulk sausage

1 c. chopped onion

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I make my own - gluten free)

1 c. chicken broth

1 t. garlic salt 

 4-5 c. sliced or cubed zucchini

3 c. cooked rice

1-2 c. grated cheese

Brown sausage w/ onion.  Drain fat.  Stir in soup, broth, salt, & zucchini.  

Cover & simmer approx. 10 min. till vegetables tender.  

Gently stir in rice and top w/ rice.  

Cover and cook on low till rice hot and cheese melted.

 

Next - how about some cookies?  With lemon and zucchini?...

Lemon Zucchini Drops

 

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 c. shredded zucchini

1 t. grated lemon peel

2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (opt.)

 

Lemon Glaze 

(combine till thin and spreadable)

2 c. conf. sugar

2-3 T. lemon juice

 

Cream butter, sugar till fluffy. Add egg, zucchini & lemon peel.

Combine dry ingredients and gradually add to creamed mixture.

  Stir in raisins and walnuts.

Drop by spoonfuls on lightly greased (opt.) baking sheet.

Bake 350 degrees 8-10 min.

When cool - drizzle w/ lemon glaze.

 

 

Hope you enjoy them!  Let me know...

Local Garden and Produce Sightings...

 I took a cycle ride (motorcycle) with My Love today.   

We meandered local back country roads.

I'm sharing just a few shots from our quick journey.

At one point we drove near my brother's house... so we stopped in. 

Yep - they live in a genuine restored log cabin...

My sister-in-law has quite the green thumb and
 always has beautiful garden scapes...

She puts me to shame!

We also passed this cute farm stand that I never knew was there...

Their prices were right - I may revisit them on occasion!

 

They even have their own honey...

We weren't able to get pictures - but this farm actually raises deer.  

Check out all their fawn and deer pictures here.

So not a lot to offer today - 

just some local sites that were part of my afternoon.

Art Show, Window Boxes, Moss, and Lost Photos...

It's a sad day when you lose all the photos off your camera - 

and that's exactly what happened to me.  

My techy hubby was able to recover a few - but a very few.  

So without further adieu - let me show you a glimpse from my 

weekend when we attended an Art Show in Mt. Gretna, PA.

This sweet gal's booth, who paints everything you see here, 

 gets the 'best of show' vote in my opinion...

And this dear lady had the best looking patchwork tote bag.  

I asked the couple to pose for me - and they did!  

But sadly - that picture is one of the 'lost'.

Mt. Gretna, PA - as I've often mentioned before,

is home to many, many old summer cottages from around 1900.  

This cottage owner knows how to do a window box... or 2 or 3...

Yep - a dorky shot of us.  We do NOT know how to do selfies!

This lovely moss wall was behind one of the cottages. 

Moss abounds in Mt. Gretna due to all the tree cover...

And this guy gave quite a show to the passers by...

And that is extent of the photos that were saved.

  Most of these would not have made it to a post, 

but since so few were rescued - I had to include every one.

  

Have you ever lost your camera pictures?

Fall Vignettes At the Thrift Shop...

  These were some of my displays from this week at the thrift shop.  

I'm trying to work with Fall colors at this point.

We get jars with dried beans donated fairly regularly.  

I guess people are 'over' them in their home decor.

They seem to look good in vignettes whether 'current' or not.  

Tip: add vintage items and a grouping will always be 'in style'.


To soften vignettes so they don't look like a bunch of plopped objects - 

I like to use fabric or flowers.  In these first 2 groupings - I

 incorporated some ladies' scarves in fall coloring.
(Yes - that tangled mess of threads above is actually a scarf.)

While sifting through the 'book room' in my search for inspiration, 

I came upon this vintage children's book.  

I thought the colors and art on the

 cover were perfectly 'fall' - so I went with it.


A Fall necktie helps ground this attempt at a manly vignette.  

The dog was the right color so even though he may

 have 'child appeal' - I used him.  Man's best friend right?

I must say - I'm not quite in the mood for Fall yet.  

Life goes way too fast!

Porches and Preaching - In the Middle of the Week!...

 This morning I joined a friend at a local campmeeting.  

What is campmeeting you ask?  Little 'camps' founded and built in the 

late 1800's where dedicated Christians gathered for a week or two 

for life-changing Bible-centered preaching and teaching and family time. 

There are old fashioned dining halls, a big open air tabernacle and cottages...

Oh the cottages... rows and rows of them in pristine white!

And streets where children can play safely without fear or concern...

I meandered up and down just taking it all in.

To my delight - 

this little cottage was all dolled up in shabby vintage charm.

 Love!!!!

I'm thinking the whole grove would want to stop by

 this porch for a drink and a chat...

More on my tour... I found old white door charm...

... and new white door charm.

  

This cottage was just rebuilt after being damaged by a fallen tree in a storm.

 Front porch flowers & plantings were plentiful...

...and creative...

Camp groves need to have a creek for the kiddos to

 splash in - it's required. (or should be.)

 

And sure enough - there it was...

 What fun!  And the 10 AM service was just what I needed.  

I tucked away a few notes right in my bible to help me remember.

Pretty porches, vintage charm and inspiring preaching - yes please!

  

Now have I convinced you?  Head to Campmeeting!

Blooming...

Photo compliments of My Love - please don't use without permission.

 And God saw every thing that he had made, 

and behold, it was very good.  

Genesis 1:31

I love that someone took time to plant these beautiful flowers 

on this otherwise gray and boring old barn.  

There was literally nothing but an empty field in this scape - 

but how the row of flowers stands out!  You and I are similar - 

persons of beauty made in the image of God. 

Let's bloom where ever we happen to be planted in this old world.  

Share the light, share the love, share Jesus!  

And do it with grace and a smile.

(If you don't know Jesus - I invite you to learn of Him.)

Bloom beautifully today ~ Joyce

Zucchini Things....

Tis the season for lots and lots of zucchini.  I let mine get too big - 

so I have even more 'lots and lots of zucchini'.

At any rate - today was 'do it up' day.  I shredded and shredded 

(thanks for my Kitchen Aid mixer attachment - this was a breeze)... 

then bagged it all up in 2 c. and 1 c. portions.  

It all went in the freezer and I'll pull it out as needed.

Tip - if you have 'big' zucchinis - that means seeds in the center.  

I simply cut mine out similar to how you would pumpkin.  No problem!

I made some chocolate chip zucchini brownies for a picnic tomorrow night.  

And some will be used in a pasta sauce for tomorrow's lunch after church.  

I'm also excited about making lemon zucchini bread for my neighbor's 

Christmas gifts this year.  I've been inspired by this picture 

that kept floating around on my Facebook feed...  

It's now nicely pinned to my board for safe keeping.

Doesn't it look delish?  

So what have you been doing with zucchini?

Wedding Bouquets In the Making...

 I stopped by my niece's home this morning and she was smack dab 

in the middle of assembling a bridal bouquet order she has for tomorrow.   

What a delight! 

Her cutting flower garden is immense and immaculately kept...
(She and God together have this thing down!)

The bride is wanting purple and coral - so those were the colors of the hour...

The bride's bouquet...

...and my favorite part - her cute wooden wagon work station...

This will be a beautiful wedding.  Goodbye sweet cutting garden - 

I'll visit again...

Thrifting Finds...

It's an 'out with the old - in with the new' kind of time for me. 

Last week's impromptu thrift stop yielded some wonderful plates.  

With an awesome look and just 50 cents and 20 cents each...

they came right home with me.

 I'm not at all caring that they aren't a complete set... 

just 12 odd salad and dinner plates.  

Mixing and matching works for me. 

I've introduced these lovelies to my old cupboard and I'm 

saying good bye to some of my blue and white 'fine' china.  

(China is barely visible in the bottom shelf shown on a platter in the back.)

I feel like a new person!  Amazing what one little thrift stop will do.

Hostess Gift Idea...

We are blessed to be invited to a friend's home tonight for a light supper.   

I love to take hostess gifts... but sometimes struggle to know 

what to give when I don't know the hostess very well. 

 I scoured my 'gift drawer'... but just wasn't seeing anything 

I thought may be appreciated except possibly some sweet note paper. 

 So I'm opting for fresh flowers & grasses from my garden.

A pickle jar with the label removed makes a nice

 Mason jar look-alike vase.  

Brown craft paper and a sunflower tag wrap up that note paper.

Looking forward to a wonderful evening of getting to know 

someone better and no cooking!

Saturday Sightings....

Went past a house locally - smack in the middle of the day - 

and did a double -take...

 There were 2 special animals in the front yard. 

 (These shots are after I turned my car around - they were closer to the road before.)

 Yep - 2 fawns!  It's times like these I wish I had a better camera... 

or knew how to adjust color better in my photo editing software. 

Maybe Pic Monkey would have been easier.  Anybody have any tips?  

(I'm terrible at learning 'puter stuff.)