Summer Snack Basket

Here's a shot of my favorite summer snack. Fresh cherries, crackers, cashews, and a little string cheese. I'd actually rather have this than breakfast or lunch. So simple and the flavors all meld together to make one seriously tasty one-woman party!

The past two summers we've spent time in the northwest corner of the country. Taking planes, autos, boats, and trains we wound our way around the coast of Washington and Oregon, taking full advantage of the cool, crisp air coming off the Pacific. But the one part that sticks in my mind was the "Fruit Loop" around Mt. Hood. We drove around the mountain on a scenic loop that was peppered with hundreds of fresh fruit stands. I think we stopped at nearly every one of them. And out there, their "fruit stands" consist of not only the freshest produce, but baked goods, honey and even art. Just about anything somebody might be in the market for. But, for us, it made for some really great snacking along the way.

And that's when I fell madly in love with fresh cherries. And we even saw them growing on the trees! If it wasn't for those pesky pits to dispose of, cherries would be my favorite food. I lean toward Rainers, but I'll settle for Bing that I can get at my local grocery store...and be darn happy most of the summer. In fact, that's probably my favorite thing about summer is the fresh fruit available and oh is it so tasty...

To dress this snack up so St. Wayne will think it's a meal, I use my little wire produce baskets I've had a hundred years, line them with natural parchment and start filling. To keep consumption of the crackers and nuts at a minimum, I use regular cupcake liners for the crackers and mini liners for the nuts.

Try it, the presentation will convince you it's fun to eat and when you're finished snacking on that fabulous combination of flavors, you're totally satisfied. Light, fun and just a little party in a basket!

Monograms and More...

In February of 2010 my friend Cathie's daughter, Julie, got married. When I designed the wedding invitations, I started with a design of the couple's monogram. From there we printed it onto a tag to embellish the satin ribbon tying the invitation. This is a scan of the finished design.

Now that the happy couple are expecting a daughter in September, Julie's busy nesting. She posted a picture on Facebook several weeks ago of a project she'd finished for their master bedroom. She covered her plain headboard with quilt batting and a drop cloth. They are very inexpensive, have a wonderful nubby texture, and are available for next to nothing in Walmart's paint department. And the bonus is you get a huge piece of fabric to work with. Here's a picture of the headboard with the new covering...



Well, her monogram instantly came to my mind when I saw the headboard. So I suggested she let me cut a long strip of leftover drop cloth I had from an earlier project of my own, hem the sides, and transfer the monogram onto the fabric. She liked that idea so when her mom came to visit a few weeks ago, we got it done. I ended up having to go over it with a black sharpie marker because we wanted it a rich, deep black and the transfer came out with a green tint to it.



The above picture is of her and Dave's finished bedroom and the picture below is a close-up. I think it looks terrific! She just wrapped the monogramed strip around the headboard and pinned it into place. That way, if she ever gets tired of it, she can take it off. Good job, Julie!

Sprng Has Left Me Sprung...

You may have noticed I haven't been around. It's been an emotional Spring as our family has suffered the loss of my sister-in-law, Syd to a massive stroke in April. She left behind two incredible children in their twenties and lots of friends and family who will sorely miss her. Her beautiful send-off was planned by her daughter, son, and daughter-in-law and was such a wonderful tribute to her. She would have been so proud to know the church was packed with friends who had wonderful things to say about her. We all have sweet memories of Syd. She's pictured above with a quilt she made me a couple of years ago that I cherish and keep displayed in my living room.


We have also had lots of houseguests...seven waves of company in a six week period. All glorious visits from people we love, but it's kept me busy cooking and cleaning and running to the grocery store. We really like nothing better than our family and friends coming to visit and always look forward to the next wave. That's what happens when you live this close to the beach!

One really outstandingly happy thing to tell you about...I'VE RETIRED! No more wedding invitations to assemble all night long to meet a deadline, no more page after page of addresses to calligraph onto envelopes, no more sales taxes to file and pay, so many "no more"s! I'm excited to do lunch any time I want to and I'm especially excited about naps! Ah, daytime naps are such luxuries...

I hope you have a wonderful Summer and I hope I'll find it fun and refreshing and full of all kinds of inspiration to piddle with to help fill this new found time. Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted!