Jury Duty and 11 Eggs !!!!

looks like i will be gone for a while....jury duty

duck update: Pete is a GIRL !!! she layed 11 eggs...

i don't know how long i will be gone

i'll miss you, my friends

GOOD NEWS !!!!

we FOUND PETE !!!! he flew over the fence next door..we are off to rescue him !!!!!

UPDATE: i walked outside to the garden shed to microwave a tortilla...that's where the micro is around here .....and heard.... peep peep peep .... i looked over the the neighbors fence and on the firewood stack....... there he was !!!!! JOHN !!!! i FOUND PETE !!!! he literally flew the coop last night...but he is back home next door...swimming in his pond... Pete is HAPPY...and so are we !!!! welcome back home, my little friend !!!

Missing Duck !!!

teddy's friend, Pete the duck...he went missing last night. we are walking the neighborhood looking for a duck. please send good thoughts our way for his recovery...we love that duck !!!

Farmhouse Kitchen Gets A New Teapot !

my sister-in-law and i hit a couple of stores on saturday...Tuesday Morning was one of them...and i got this great cast iron teapot from France...plus i found the cute calico pot holder filled with dried herbs to put it on... love this greeting me in the morning....

there is my little FARMHOUSE KITCHEN...

my little old Wedgewood stove...that oven makes the BEST pizza...ever !!!

on the top of my stove...

on the wall behind my stove...this stays up year round...it was a gift from my dear friend julie whitmore...and i ADORE it !!!!

more from julie.... up year round as well....

on my kitchen windowsill...gifts from octoberfarm...am i LUCKY or what ??? i have to tell you...i have met my kindred spirits here in this blogland....

a gift from octoberfarm...a redware dish that i LOVE...it sits behind my kitchen sink so i can always see it....

it is really cool out here in california for the end of august...so i will be baking some bread...and making some JAM !!!

i know it is still august...but there are only 69 days left till Halloween...that's not too long...i can never get enough of it ...and it's just me and Teddy in here... do you see the ghost...? this is for a special someone....i think you know who you are !

Look Who's Back !

out here in california this is one of the FIRST SIGNS OF FALL.... when these spiders start to come out...they are all over my garden right now.... my friend julie calls them PUMPKIN SEED spiders...and i can see why.... click to see him close up...it's worth a look...i just love him....

all of my sweet peas have gone to seed now...

that's the amish broom corn that i planted this year...i have never planted if before and it was really easy to grow... it is as tall as the roof of the cottage next door...i am planning on tying this to my lampost real soon....

i picked this up at my local Farm Supply the other day and have it hanging here by my kitchen door...if you LOVE flowers..click for a close-up. these flowers are so pretty...

this hangs by my kitchen door too...it was a gift from my dear friend joyce of http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/ along with a BIG BOX of all things Fall !!! thanks joyce !!!

there is little teddy...he just loves laying on the gravel paths...those rocks are so nice and warm...

the morning glory on the fence by my kitchen window...

i love that blue flower...

the little chair in the garden where i sit with teddy... the vines growing up the fence are my zinfandel grapes..we just let them run wild this year...the grapes are ready to be picked..we picked them last night...

we got this fountain in June and have enjoyed it all summer...and the mockingbirds LOVE IT !!! they visit every day...

what's going on in here ? are you calling me, mom? you see...right under the fence is a duck next door named pete...and teddy and pete have become BEST FRIENDS this summer...

and i just can't help myself...i have been hitting michaels daily...and i got ANOTHER scarecrow...it's kind of embarrassing pushing these around in a cart in the parking lot in 90 degree heat in mid august...i go as fast as i can...get him in the trunk...slam it shut and head for home. and he just makes me HAPPY !!!!

It's Time

i can't wait any longer...i have to put out my SQUIRREL and OWL hooked rug...don't ya think ?
( click for a closer look )

Hey...Any Ideas Out There In The Blogiverse ?

i went to our Sunday Farmers Market today on the off chance there MIGHT be a pumpkin...no luck just yet...but i asked the farmer and he said 2 weeks...then i glanced around the table and what do i see ? these baby artichokes. these are REALLY small...like the size of a shallot.... i couldn't pass them up even though i have NO IDEA what i am going to do with them....besides frying them like eggplant in breadcrumbs or putting them is pasta...i am not sure what to do with them...hey you guys out there....what can i do with them ? all ideas are WELCOME...

i have also noticed alot of you are making pickles...refridgerator pickles..pickles in a pickle pot...canning pickles...so i got some cucumbers...got to give it a try...what would the middle of august be without some pickling and preserving going on in the kitchen ?

the days are really getting shorter...i have noticed i have to turn on my lights in the kitchen now when i am making supper....so i got out my Halloween Haunted House Nightlight... click for a close-up of him !

o.k. here is the REALLY BIG TREASURE of the day...joyce at http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/ told me about this...she said get over to Michaels a.s.a.p. !!!! they have a really cute Halloween light... i got in the car with my pajamas still on and headed over...only 3 left. i got there just in the nick of time.... i can't wait till it gets dark tonight !

my kitchen window this afternoon...with red warren pears...an old variety local to our area...that were at the farmers market today...

Apple Pie

this is my scarecrow in my dried out corn patch... all my corn and sunflowers are about gone...but i can't let them go...i love to hear them rustling in the late afternoon wind...i have had the scarecrow for years and just can't bear to part with him even though he is looking kind of worn out...

we took a ride out to an old FARMSTAND with Teddy yesterday...

our apples are already starting to come in...

so i knew i had to make an APPLE PIE....

i made a quick crust...

i love my old pasrty wheel...

if i have time i always like making a lattice crust for the top...

weave it together...

and bake...tonight is the first PRESEASON football game..we're all set over here at FARMHOUSE KITCHEN.... are you ?

I Love You To Pieces...Literally

i went to get out my SILVER PALATE Cookbooks last night... they are literally in pieces...the cover is worn right off on this one...

that is just the cover itself...

it is so WELL LOVED it is in pieces... just broken apart...

this one is pretty broken up too...when these SILVER PALATE cookbooks first came out..i fell head over heels IN LUV !!!

i was looking for something to make with my basil and tomatoes and fresh mozarella...

this one is in pieces too...

the pages are completely loose and tattered...

most of the pages have just worn right off...

i made the SUMMER PASTA with just pasta, tomatoes, fresh mozarella, basil and olive oil...
simple and summery...

and you KNOW why i bought this yesterday at the market...well...who could pass up THAT BOX !!!!