Rainy Days and Spicy Rhubarb

Welcome to my afternoon and some of the quirky things that happen at Grandma's Place. This week I'm taking a garden break from planting and letting mother nature take care of her plan for watering Anne's Land.

I'm excited to share that the Guardian came out to grandma's and did a write up and a video (over and over) but we gott'r done finally.  I can't share with you the quirky things you say behind a camera when it is turned on and I can only hope that Mary is a great editor and takes out all of my flubbers. It is scheduled for this Saturday's paper and I'll be sure to post a link to the on line version this weekend.

The Lilacs are in bloom about the Island and a short drive to Cavendish was a showy one for sure. You will have to imagine the colour that surrounds our little Island as I forgot my camera at home. 

The house smelled of spicy rhubarb this week after I made rhubarb chutney. 

Doesn't it look yummy?

We ventured over to Victoria's and had our Father's Day celebration with the four Fathers in our lives, Dewar Victoria's cowboy, his dad - Aubrey farmer papa smurf, my seaglassing French Gardener Guy, and our son saran wrap Matthew.  Each of the men got a gift bag with a bottle of spiced rhubarb and a little bit of their personality. Dewar got a maze puzzle that can't be completed, Aubrey got papa smurf, Guy got seaglass cuff-links and Matthew got a bottle of my new coffee meat rub. I baked a cake and the four men got to cut themselves a piece of cake first. I put money in the cake and it was fantastic to see Victoria and Matthew light up like they were a kid again. 

Well I'm to the bottom of the cup again.

Time to get back at it.

I hope to see you next week for tea on Tuesday.

Bye for now,

Cindy

This week I'm skipping over and having tea with the following parties, will you join me for tea?

Sandi ~ Rose Chintz Cottage

Martha ~ Martha's Favourites

Bernideen's ~ Tea Time Blog

Ruth ~ Antique's And Tea Cups

~00~ Grandma (aka Cindy)

Summer Garden Tea

Welcome to my June summer garden tea. I've been waiting for this month all year, it is simply my favourite time of the year.  The month of June not only brings about wonderful smells from all the Lily of the Valley but it is also the name of my mom and the month I was born in.

In the garden

A table for tea

A hat for you

and a hat for me,

Its late in the day,

so I'll choose the tea,
Clementine Clove,
perfect cup for you and me!

Today I'm having a garden tea with the following parties

Sandi ~ Rose Chintz Cottage

Martha ~ Martha's Favourites

Bernideen's ~ Tea Time Blog

Ruth ~ Antiques and Tea Cups

*note: I will make my way around to each and everyone who visits. Give me "time" I'll be there.
Cindy

~00~ Grandma (aka Cindy)

Our Red Red Robin

The French Gardener and I have been busy this past week taking care of a few garden details

Building more bird feeders and spots for the Robins to nest

Interesting enough the Robins will go hungry rather than eat seeds

So we took strawberries, cranberries, nuts, dried fruit, prunes and raisins and made the Robins a smorgasbord

We used some of our firewood to build their shelters

We bagged up a little feed and sent it over to Victoria's (daughter) so her Robins get feed

Oh I almost forgot to mention the water has been warming up in the pond by one degree a day and soon we will start to feed the Gold Fish and Coi. The temp is 45 degrees and you shouldn't start feeding with a low protein fish food until the water temp reaches 50 for two weeks. Then we will go to normal feeding high protein when the water temp reaches 65. 

The gardens are looking so abandon right now, yes the snow is almost gone but we have had rain and yucky weather so I've not got a chance to get out there and putter around yet. I have plenty to do with this head cold that I've been nursing for a week now and I've been under the weather.  I'm hoping by the time the sun shines I'll be back in the saddle and ready to get at the gardening clean up.

For now - Tylenol and throat soothing lozenges

Cindy 

~00~ Grandma (aka Cindy)

Warmer Days

Warmer Days ~ Sunlit Sunday

The RV has landed.... North Carolina.

We pulled into the driveway at 10:30 pm

Jennifer came bouncing out into the carport excited that we arrived finally.

She had been sending emails all day telling us to hold up,

not to come as there were touch down Tornados all around.

We didn't get the message because we were too busy at the largest Antique Warehouse wehave ever seen.  I guess we missed all the comotion.

The sun was so hot and warm on my face I went for a long deserved walk in the woods and then down another road.

I stood at the side of the road and watch rushing water coming down from the mountains just listening to the sound of the running water reminded me of home. The sun was so warm on my back, and you can see a faint shadow of me in the bottom right. 

I walked on, enjoying the hint of hickory in the air, the sound of a hound well off in the distance anxious for a hunt. I also paid attention to the gun shots I could hear off in the distance, listening making sure they didn't get closer. As I walked I could hear the laces from my running shoe clicking as it hit the side of my shoe.

What a feeling you get from warmer days.

I think we have come through 3 seasons to get here.  But we are here, without the snow with plenty of gradchildren instead.  I grabbed the youngest up off the floor when I arrived and just figured he would know his grandma, he started to cry. Jennifer looked at me and said he'll stop don't put him down, you've waited a long time to hold him. 

I'm joining today with Karen and her meme on Sunlit Sundays. Where we are searching for the sun during these long Winter days.

~oo~ grandma

Oh Christmas Tree "O Christmas Tree"

With white fluffy snow covering the ground everywhere it isn't hard to have thoughts of Christmas, decorating, baking, and memories of the past.

I put some garland around my tree today

Tradition:  As a kid growing up in a bedroom community and both parents working there wasn't a lot to go around.  But come Christmas time we always got to open a new pair of pajamas the night before Christmas and wear our new P'J's  to bed.

Christmas Song:  I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.  Through the years often we didn't have snow on Christmas day or it waited until Christmas day to Snow.  I remember mom singing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas."

Baking:  My Grandma showed me how I could do anything I set my mind to.  I was nine when she passed away but I remember us both wearing aprons in the kitchen.  She had a flour drawer that was shaped like a piece of cheese when you pulled it out and it had a big scoop inside it always ready to bake.

Memories:  We always had a real tree, sort of a tradition I guess.  We would go to the farm as dad called it, with the skidoos on top of the trailer.  Then head out on the coldest day to cut down a Christmas Tree.  Dad would sit around and drink with his brother then we would head home from Stittsville to Ottawa where we lived.

Christmas Wish:  Happiness, I wish to meet more people this coming season who are happy to be living, happy to be on vacation, happy to just be.  Imagine if we surrounded ourselves with happy, positive, yes people in our lives how much better that would be. I can't hang a sign at the front door of the Bed and Breakfast that says, "only come in if you are a happy person with nothing to complain about."  Ha ha ha, maybe I can.

xoxo Grandma ~00~

Fresh Cranberry Roasted Almond Scones

Hello Friends! I can only hope your weekend has started off on the right food so far, and if not -  Let me try and help by sharing this scrumptious recipe and get you off on the right foot again, easy peasy sweetness in these fresh cranberry roasted almond scones. A perfect colour combination for this time of year and the flavours will tantalize every perfect bite. I use buttermilk in my pastry and sometimes cream to make a light and fluffy, stuffed with fresh Nova Scotia, dark red, ripe and juicy cranberries.  This is a perfect recipe to share with friends for the holidays.  They look so wonderful I took extra pictures of them just because of their vibrant colour. 

The taste of these scones really drives it home, all the way to walking in the back door of Grandma's when she has just taken hot butter biscuits from the oven and the smell is dancing around you so inviting. These scones taste amazing and like every scone they taste best the day they are baked. So don't fret, make these up ahead of time, cut them and freeze the unbaked scones on cookie sheets, then wrap them and freeze until the day you want to bake them fresh.

Lets get started, shall we?

Fresh Cranberry Roasted Almond Scones
2 c flour
1 TBS baking powder
3 TBS butter
1 c fresh cranberries
1 tsp almond extract
1 c butter milk, or cream
1/4 tsp salt

3 TBS sugar

Directions

Add flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, butter/margarine together in a bowl and cut in with a pastry blender.

Wash and rinse your cranberries and drain.

cutting the cranberries in half if they are large ones.

Don't they look festive? 

mix in the 1 cup of butter milk or cream & extract.

turn out onto a floured surface and kneed the dough.

roll out into a rectangle, put cranberries in the centre then fold over and put cranberries on top.

pour yourself some slivered almonds, brush the tops of your scones with milk.

sprinkle with almonds and a little sprinkling of sugar.

cut scones evenly.

place apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 400 F for 18 to 20 minutes.

Batch makes 8 scones, so invite over 4 people.

Take out the China and put on the tea.

let everyone choose their favourite cup

Serve up the scones nice and hot.

And be sure to copy and share the recipe of the one you just got.

I've been busy changing my colour scheme from Orange Pumpkin to Red Cranberry and I've put my tree up today over at "The Trails of Hats'N Hospitalitea"  so be sure to come by and have a look, I put it up but will take the next 25 days to decorate.

Grandma ~oo~