Red, white, and blue...berry!

In honor of July 4th I am featuring red, white, and blue things around my house.

This cup and saucer has "*Liberty Blue* Historic Colonial Scenes, Old North Church, Made in England" stamped on the bottom.

Here are some red flowers in bloom inside & outside.

Red seems to be one of my favorite colors outside at this time.

I must work on getting or making a patriotic wreath for my door!

This blueberry biscuit recipe was featured in a magazine recently and I thought it would be a good treat to have with tea today.

I like the way the blueberries oozed out all over. They were the biggest blueberries I've seen. I got them at Boa Vista Farm up the road.

The weather is nice so I'll sit outside.

While we sit here sharing tea, I'd like to share something from my heart.

      I just found out yesterday that one of my sons will be deployed to Afghanistan in 2013 with the National Guard's 115th RSG. This is a sober reminder to me that our freedom is not free...there is a high cost, and some pay the cost of freedom for us with their lives....from the first 4th of July until the present day. Let's cherish our freedom and not take it for granted, and hold the men and women who fight for us in our prayers until each one is safely back home.

In God we trust,

Charlotte

Tea on the deck...

      Today I'm having tea outside on the back deck. It's so nice to be outside again. I love the warm days. I don't get to "sit" outside as much as I used to now that I'm watching two of my grandchildren. Now I am "running" when outside...after a two year old! But still, it's good to be outside!

One of my favorite things about summer is the fresh fruit available where I live.

      With my tea I'm having some fresh peaches and nectarines with blackberries.

      I pulled all the snapdragons out of my wine barrels today, they were looking spent. I had just enough flowers to enjoy them with tea and I added a couple of my blooming hydrangeas.

      The teacup I'm using has gold trim and bright pink, yellow, and white flowers. It says

"Bone China Made in England"

on the bottom. I don't know who the manufacturer is. I chose it for its bright colors, they fit my mood today and the colors go with the flowers in my tea kettle vase.

I am also enjoying one of Karla Dornacher's books,

"Savor This Moment"

      Each of her books is a collection of her art work and each page is hand written. She has a country, with a bit of Victorian, flair. You can get them on Amazon, (see side bar) new or used. I have picked up several "used" and they are always in excellent condition...for just a few cents, plus shipping.

I like sitting outside with a cup of tea and going through one of her books...a visual delight!

Here is one of her poems from the book ~

An attitude of gratitude

will chase the blues away.

Consider all God's given you

and let Him hear you say ~

Thank you, Father, for this moment,

open my eyes that I may see,

forgive me for all I take for granted ~

your love and blessings

that flow free.

Thank you for joining me for tea on the deck!

Charlotte

A Trip to the Cherry Farm

      My sister-in-law and I went to a farm in our town recently and picked cherries. Last year I went with a friend and forgot to take my camera, so this year I made sure I had it. We actually ended up picking more berries than cherries, but we went there with the intention of picking cherries.
It was a hot day, but berries like it hot, more than people do. I felt like I was melting!

This was the front of the farm house...lovely!

The orchard and vines are framed by pine trees growing around the perimeter.

      We were a little early in the season as you can see the berries weren't completely ripe. but we found enough to fill our buckets.

The cherries were red and delicious!

      I was being "cheap" and picked my cherries without the stems, just to find out when I paid for them that the stems help them last longer. This didn't end up being a problem since my boys picked the bowl clean in a matter of a couple hours. So all I can tell you is that cherries without stems last at least a couple of hours!

      This is the back of the house. I wish I could have taken a picture of the porch to the right. It had a round table with a huge bouquet of red roses...a perfect spot for afternoon tea! But sadly, we were not invited.

      This pond is full of koi fish and I think it would be a lovely place to sit on the swing and read a good book.

As soon as I got home from the farm, I washed the berries.

There were so many varieties of berries to choose from, I just threw them all in together as I picked them. My favorite were the raspberries.

I found a recipe for berry cobbler  on allrecipes.com and thought I would try it.

Oh my, was it delicious!

      I like nothing more than eating fresh foods I pick myself...except eating them with family and friends. 

      Thank you for stopping by and visiting for awhile. I hope you're finding time to enjoy the special things that come with summer...like cherries & berries, or sitting in the shade of a tree reading a book, splashing in a lake or digging in the garden. We are so blessed to have this season of sunshine.

Life is good,

Charlotte