The Beauty Around Home

Recently I have had the opportunity to appreciate and photograph beauty right around my area of northeastern Washington. Above is my niece Zoe taking in the beauty at Lake Ellen.

 The picture above is at French Rock on Lake Roosevelt.

On a trip to Lake Ellen I took advantage of the beauty of a  milkweed plant.

Scenic Lake Ellen is about twenty minutes from my house. It is beautiful all year round.

Evergreens and filtered light make for a lovely contrast.

Here is my niece Zoe again. She is looking for photo ops at Lake Ellen.

Joy of Gardening

"If you've never experienced the joy of accomplishing more

than you can imagine, plant a garden. " ~Robert Brault

The Flowers of August

 I do have a love hate relationship with August.

The heat brings lots of vegetables to maturity. The heat also fries some of the flowers I love dearly. I will not show the uglies today... just the beauties.

We don't have much humidity so leaves and vines get burned pretty easily when the weather is over ninety degrees for more than a week.Fortunately sunflowers love heat.

I do have some other beauties that thrive on heat. Lilies love heat!My husband's care of watering of the plants while I was gone made a big difference also.
 Enjoy the flowers of August.

And Here We Have Idaho

Last week my sister, brother, and me did our first sibling trip since we have all been married. We decided to explore a part of Idaho each of us had only driven through. What a scenic trip we had. 

We started the trip from Montana and Lolo Pass and then drove along the Lochsa River.

We stayed along the river for two nights enjoying the quiet beauty of central Idaho.

Next we explored the Selway River which joins the Lochsa to make the Clearwater.

Taking pictures is a big part of what we love to do when we get together. There was never a lack of photo opportunities.Here is my brother at the Old Lochsa Forest Service Station.

Here is my sister at the Selway River. It was a relaxing trip and it gave us time to laugh, talk, share concerns, figure out things that needed figuring out, time to eat good meals, have good drinks, and sit around and start the day on the deck of the cabin drinking coffee. Not bad at all.

Road Trip Food: Monster Cookies

About fifteen years ago our family set up the Oregon coast as a central gathering place for a family vacation. Any time we travel we have good meals and lots of treats. That trip I made Monster Cookies. A parent of a student had shared this recipe about twenty years ago. My friend Gigi at Rose Lake made them for band bake sales for her children at University High School. I loved to make them, but I can't remember the last time I did.

That has all changed. I am preparing for a sibling road trip on Monday that will take us from northern Idaho, through Missoula and Lolo Montana, then down Highway 12 to Three Rivers Resort. I couldn't think of a better road food than Monster Cookies. I can also leave some home for Everett, take some to my mom, and leave some with my sister's family.

Monster cookies were first called these because people made them really big for bake sales. Sometimes they are called Kitchen Sink Cookies because you can add whatever you want for the add-ins. Most of the recipes have the same basic dough. You can do a search and see lots of variations. This one at
Just a Taste  was the closest to what I made.

I used regular sized M&Ms and chips. Other add in ideas:
white chocolate chips
raisins
pecans
peanut butter chips
rice krispies
peanut M&Ms
and the list is a bit different in seaching other recipes.

They are really worth a try and they freeze well. Enjoy!

The Science of Canning

I really enjoy canning and preserving food. It is such a sense of accomplishment to take food and prepare it and put it in jars and can it. I used to think there was a science to all of it. I heard horror stories about botulism and other poisoning from my mother and Mrs. Macri, my junior high home-ec teacher, if it wasn't done right.

I follow recipes by the book. I give my jars a water bath or put them in the pressure cooker. So far... no deaths.

Whether it is pickling beans, making jam, or trying my own recipe for salsa, it is always rewarding. There is also something about canning jars that make good photos also.