Coming Attractions---hopefully soon:) AKA Aimee's 'To Do' List

I decided to move my cyber 'things to do'/coming attraction list to the side where I can change it on an on-going basis more easily. But...I had to leave this photo up because

1) It is from one of my favorite places

2) I think these birds are SO cute:)

Photo: Port Townsend, WA view

A Walk in His Gardens--Northern CA

Keeping another promise (happily)!

Well ... as you can see I am trying hard to be a good girl; all the while I'm being a 'bad' girl by being on the Internet still (and my garden is now a LOT warmer then it was when I started this morning plus the Farmer Boy wants meatloaf tonight). Sigh.

But first things first...
These beautiful photos are from my like-minded kinfolk, who unlike me, their usually cliff avoiding relative, don't mind the 'high places' at all! In fact, having seen some of their really scary hiking photos --- I am sure they're both part mountain goat!

One note here---because it has been awhile since I recieved these, I've forgotten exactly where they were taken. I do believe that they were in northern CA in the mountains there just over the Oregon border (and if I am wrong you'll correct me, right?). A BIG TY for M. Blessings for permission to post these beautiful photos here:)

Aren't the wildflowers beautiful?

Isn't the view gorgeous?

And...

Yea, I know...

mountains and summer just make for an amazing combination!

Other favorite mountain spots for summer wildflowers: Paradise, Mt Rainier; Snowbird, Utah and Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City area.

Photos: this post
© 2009 A. & M. Blessings

(and another BIG TY for all the beautiful photos you've sent me to share M!)

A Note for Baby Love (and Her Family)

Dear Baby Granddaughter,

You know Grandma & Grandpa...

we just DON'T like it when you're not feeling well.

Not at all!

-

Now we understand how it works---for we've walked the Baby Road before with our own children. And we know that on that journey, babies and children get fevers, earaches, runny noses, 'stomach flu' and more.....

BUT we still don't like it

and,

honestly, never have!

-

So how about an early Grandparent's Day gift?

It's all we'll ask for

and it's all we really want anyway...

-

Stay well Baby Granddaughter

(and that goes for your big sibling, mom & dad too!)

OK?

Blessings & Love Always,

Grandma Aimee & Grandpa Farmer Boy

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"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee,

and be gracious unto thee..."

Numbers 6:24,25 KJV

Confessions of Aimee (and A Walk in His Gardens)

I'm being bad. Not about my diet; that's going well and this AM it looked like things are progressing nicely:) No---I am being bad, because instead of being outside working in the gardens, I am on the time-sucking, hours robbing, addictive Internet.
I do, however have good intentions, and one of them is to get caught up with some promised posts so here goes (at least for awhile till I HAVE to answer my garden's call)...

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Earlier this summer--
I should have stayed with family; after all that is an expectation when kin gets together (besides being one of the joys of such occasions). But I couldn't--at least not yet. I could hear them in the distance though, chatting and enjoying each others company. But still something about the gardens, here at my in-law's home, and memories made there called me away and so I walked--alone--and remembered other times.

Now, as I look at these photos today, I still remember. How could one ever forget? For they, who are gone from us now, have left their touch on the gardens of the land their shoes once walked upon, and most importantly in the memories of those they loved and who loved them.

So, this 'Walk' post is dedicated to their memory and the family they loved.

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"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."
Matthew 5:4 KJV
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Blessings to my family,
Aimee
-P-
Photos:
Waterlily.
Flower of the field
and those of the garden.
Birdhouse.
Rooster checking Aimee out.

A Summer Day's Thoughts

Wow! I just opened up a bill and am a bit (actually a lot) overwhelmed at the amount due! It isn't that we don't have the resources to pay for it; we do. But it's the highest one we've ever received and it makes me wonder if we have more problems with this house then we are aware of (and we're aware of a lot), or if it just a case of not using resources wisely (poor conservation), or the abnormal PNW weather (or a combination of some or all of the above). Well the nice thing about it is if it is a matter of weather, we're now on our way to autumn which means cooler weather and a little rain.
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Speaking of the house, still so unsure what to do...I've prayed about it; family and friends have prayed about it. Still don't know which path to take--remodel and repair, remove and replace or do nothing - yet. Sometimes I wonder if I am a bit like the man who prayed to be saved from a flood and God sent several people to rescue him (but he didn't recognize them as answers to prayer and kept waiting for a miracle till he died in the flood)...at times I wonder if the solution is simpler then I am making it out to be (God has already provided the answer) and if it is a sense of fear in the future that is stopping me; of course at other times I wonder if God does indeed want us to wait because he knows there will be a better solution coming if we do. Much to ponder...

The weather continues to be beautiful, with the smallest but most definite hints of autumn,, and I am constantly filled with a sense of wonder at the smallest things around me...God is good! Never before have I been this much in tune with the world He created and I find it nourishing to my heart, body and mind. Creation certainly does point to the Creator who makes all things beautiful!
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It must be time to go--a song just came on and I find myself singing along with this prayer with tears falling down my cheeks as I do so. I'm so thankful that God is patient and loving with His children! I have so much to learn...
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Blessings this summer day from Aimee's Place to yours,

Aimee

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways..…Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:5-8, 17 KJV

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Photos:

What else? Yep, crocosmia -- again:)

Lichen amidst the stone of a dry creek creek/fall

Waterdrops on spiderweb

--

The Song Prayer (I was listening to)

'Stone by Stone', Michael John Poirier

A Walk in His Gardens: More at Aimee's Place

My weight loss journey is headed in the right direction--down (each week's progress will be on the right side under This Week at Aimee's Place...). I have been careful to watch the amount of calories I am eating but still need to be more consistent on the exercise part). So...how about another walk at my place since I had to be down today nursing a very sore foot? In a weird way I am hoping that doing a cyber walk will almost (NOT) make up for a real one!

Oh well, let's get started anyhow. We'll start in the Woodland-Bird Garden -- because we recently made some changes there.



This is a New Guinea Impatiens (wrong! a begonia). I find this color irresistible! It is just SO perfect a pink and looks so delicate, so pretty, so pink!
 

Reflections in the bird bath.

AND I'm happy to report we've been honored with visits from the feathered ones here!
 

 

A new addition to our gardens is this Dicentra, Bleeding Heart. This one is 'Spring Magic'. The sun rays hit the blossoms just right and made it look rather magical, don't you think?

Although they are not pictured, we added some PNW natives here in this garden bed: more salal, kinnikkinnik, an evergreen huckleberry (love them!) and winterberries. I would like to use a lot of native plants here.
 

Near the ponds I caught (on film that is) these beautiful leaf shadows on the rocks there. They remind me of plant fossils, which of course reminds me that soon---not too long from now--the mountain roads of Colorado and Utah will be transformed into a photographer's delight of gold and red. Sigh! I love, love, love Aspen in the autumn!
 

And our own version of autumn is starting here with the laceleaf Japanese maples -- a little at a time.
 

Pieris in sunlight. This amazing plant does something each season!
 
 

Another photo of crocosmia and cosmos. Hopefully you won't tire too much of seeing them before the season ends:)
 

 

And what does every cosmos have? Well a mascot bee of course. And yes, I was RIGHT there---I have lost my fear of bees for the most part (and that was after years of getting stung every summer. Of course there are bees, and then there are yellow jackets; since the yellow jackets were my annual summer nightmare as a child, I still don't like them too much!)
 

I include here the lowly dandelion (seed) -- now I know these little guys are pests which I too mow down. But after a long winter, the bright cheery yellow of these 'weeds' in flower is welcome, albeit for a short time:)

I think they are rather pretty though, don't you?
 

My best friend was helping me transplant two of our less tamed herbs and when she picked it up, it reminded me of a bouquet---a bouquet of orange mint! Yum:)
 

I must include the native blackberry here. Although a much hated weed of the PNW, it does--like the dandelion--have its benefits. However, I must confess, these beauties weren't from our gardens. Nope! Here those little stubborn, thorny vines are ripped out before they can produce a single blackberry. Although today I did-for a moment or two-consider trying to tame one of these vines in a raised bed to get some berries.

But thankfully this moment of insanity passed quickly...

BTW-it was almost painful to post this photo here.

Anyone have an idea why that would be?



And last, but not least, is a recent visitor to our raspberry here. In fact, she was right there as I was picking and munching down on a few of the golden, juicy ones.

That stopped when I saw her...praying mantises and bare fingers didn't seem like too good of a match!

And now...since it is about 1:30 AM, I bid you goodnight/morning!

Blessings, Aimee

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"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." Numbers 6:24 KJV

A Walk in His Gardens--Aimee's Place

I've been getting up early and this morning, before the heat of the day, I spent hours wandering through our gardens....

past fruits of the tree and those of the bush,

(oops! forgetting my tour guide/hostess manners here)

OK-the first photo is our new water lily.

It's a hardy one;

that's because we live in the NORTHwest and tropical doesn't work here:)

And the second photo is our Asian Pear. I can't bear to show you the many now lying on the ground. NOPE!

And because I am really into Scandinavian food,

and because lingonberries go great with so many of them,

we planted more this year (to replace the ones lost) and they already have ripe or near ripe berries with more to come.

This type is Balsgard.

(I am only saying that because I love writing Nordic names.

I think that besides being a lingonberry, Balsgard is the name of a place)

And then we will walk by some ornamental plants and trees,
like this beautiful Brunnera & honeysuckle vine.

I LOVE the honeysuckle flowers and sometimes in the evening when the breeze is blowing just right their beautiful fragrance can be smelled all the way up on the deck. Imagine that?

Nearby is our crabapple;

I think its fruit is quite pretty especially after a morning shower

(nope, not as in rain shower. Silly me! I used to think it rained all the time in the NW too)

And our dogwood which has apparently forgotten that dogwoods don't have colorful bracts at this time of the year.

You gotta love it though;

it is doing its part to 'Color My World'.
Ah, Chicago (as in music group not the city)!

Although it might be colorful too.

And here is a neighbor's hydrangea...

ours must be 'on strike' --

I think she is protesting the amount of light she doesn't get;

we'll try to meet her legitimate demands this autumn when things cool down..

And then, several times, past our miniature rose garden-in-progress.

Not exactly the correct name as it has been a miniature rose garden for a long, long time. But now we are adding other plants to the mix--so to speak. Last week we added 4 lavender plants and now we're thinking of adding some Lady's Mantle around the edges--I so want to cover up the wood supports! Got any ideas fellow Green Thumb People?

Then past my little (as in dwarf) sunflower.

I love sunflowers---they're one of my favorite parts of this season.
Another is sweet, white corn

and peaches! YUM!

Of course, I also had to make an official tour of our herbs--

because if you know Aimee, you know I love herbs.

Not only do they smell and taste good,

but their blossoms are so...

BEAUTIFUL!

And these mint blossoms (specifically spearmint blossoms) glowing in the early morning sunlight----SO amazing!

Makes me want to reach out and touch them:)

One doesn't easily tire of sights like these...

and believe me, we have a lot of them.

Now on to the our newbie this year..

the chervil--fringed with a reddish tint now on its edges. Maybe I will add some to tomorrow's omelet; I was too lazy to add it this morning after all that walking:) It is supposed to have a anise-type flavor if I remember correctly

and I also think that it is part of the Fines Herbes.

Oh boy, hope that is right.

After all my High School French teacher might accidently stumble on my blog one day.

NOPE probably not:)

And last but certainly not least,

I leave you with (and in) peace.

Blessings this Wednesday (nope, Thursday morning now)

Aimee

Photos: as listed above.

And now off to bed so I can get up early again

and exercise!

Thank you God!

“My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name…His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation.” Luke 1:46b, 49-50 KJV


“O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: because His mercy endureth for ever.” Psalms 118:1 KJV


The first few verses are from a section of Scripture known as the Magnificat, but it is also the song of my heart today!


Thank you God for answered prayers & Your peace that passeth all understanding! Thank you family AND friends for your prayers & kindnesses to me:)
Blessings,
Aimee

Photos:
Cosmos & crocosmia--the latter being one of my new favorite flowers!

Time for a Reevaluation

This weekend, I came to the realization that we're only about 20 weeks away from saying so long to the 'book' that is 2009. And I realized, after a Saturday of feasting on Scandinavian goodies, that my weight has crept up more then at ANYTIME in my life--except when I was pregnant. Horrors!

Alas--my current shape brings back memories...of a sweet, innocent, little girl in the Clinic I was working at then, thinking I was 'with child'. I wish it had been so, but alas, alas it was just being overweight. You know the saying 'out of the mouths of babes'...

Well to make a long story short--after changing jobs, I was able to lose down to my ideal weight and stayed that way for quite a long time till I visited a Norwegian B & B ( Nordic treats are my downfall; those and chocolate, sushi and root beer floats) Up a few pounds to a new plateau.

Now, if I had used more discipline and self-control, I could have lost those few pounds and would not be making this post here---but no - no; I gave in to the chocolates, cookies and million other treats they always seemed to have at work and by the time I left my weight had creeped up a few more pounds. I was definitely into denial about a few things.

The last 2 years, away from the stress and frequent goody temptations of my last job, didn't help either--I alternated between being disciplined and giving into an excessive amount of edible temptations with the end result you can see above (about 20 pounds over my ideal weight)

The sad thing is, I am NOT one bit happy about that fact! Oh and my back isn't either nor are my favorite jeans and nice work clothes which I can no longer wear unless I wish to---well it isn't a pretty picture. And come colder, wetter weather (does the PNW have that kind anymore?) my knees will start to ache. Oh, and the osteopinnea thing too.
AND

the whole resolution issue thing

I am just NOT willing to end this year in this condition--if I have the power to change it and I do; if I lose the weight by year's end, it means I have successfully kept the resolution--albeit for a far shorter time then I would have liked.

So here's my plan: Aimee's Personal 20 Weeks-To-Go Resolution & Plan for Aimee (yea I know--terrible grammar)

• Treadmill 40 minutes--minimum 4 days weekly
• Lift hand weights or equivalent work 3 days weekly
• 1200 calories daily (not a recommendation; just what I plan to do. Come to think of it none of this is a recommendation...)
• Eat frequent, smaller, lower calorie but well-balanced meals (a must because I get even more hypoglycemic when losing weight; I'm not diabetic but since childhood I've been this way.)

• Treat the weekdays more like workdays without becoming 'driven'. Being disciplined but not obsessively so; motivated by the tangible rewards of better health and more that come with weight loss.
• Plan grocery shopping around new plan taking into account that the Farmer Boy will not be joining me in this resolution. Sigh.
• Water, water, water--no more sports drinks...8 glasses daily minimum
• Start my days early; no TV--yes even politics--till Farmer Boy is home. And maybe no Internet either till then. Move, move, move will be my new motto.
• Posting updates; it will keep me accountable. And heaven knows I need accountability and discipline to be successful:) In this same vein--I am keeping a daily notebook for foods eaten, exersize and tasks done.

Note:
The above are my plans and IMO; they're not to be construed as medical advice (can you tell I am really into disclaimers?) Now I think this is where they say--please check with your Health Care Provider before engaging in a physical fitness and/or weight loss program. Sounds like a good idea!
Comments:
My ideal weight, to be really transparent here, is 135-138#. For my height and bone structure this works best for me. Lower and I look anorexic or so one of my all time fav nurses told me and she was one of the best nurses I've ever known!
Photos:
Current BAD news.
Finnish funnel cake with berries; this was the first time for this goodie. The next will have to wait until I am at my ideal weight and then only part of one. However, I can still partake of aebleskivers--a few--and a small lefse on occasion. And there's always nova lox:)
This morning's breakfast--dill & parmesan cheese omelet. Good!
Somewhat related posts:
http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2009/03/am-i-resolute-about-my-resolutions.html
http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/search/label/New%20Year
http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2008/11/friday-means-fitness-day-yea-well-not_14.html

Baby Dear. Baby Granddaughter

When my oldest grandchildren were babies and toddlers, I was working pretty close to full-time in some very stressful work settings and was often too tired +/or stressed out to do a lot with them during any free time I had. This was much to their loss, and to my own, as I believe the relationship between grandchildren and grandparents to be quite important to all generations! In fact I believe that this was part of God’s design for families.
Now time has passed, circumstances have changed and I am relatively free to spend time with the youngest of my five grandchildren and I am loving it needless to say! It is fun to watch her as she explores her world and expresses her unique personality--

• How she does not like the feeling of grass or my big white dog but still reaches for them anyway.
• Her many smiles, her pensive looks and even her crying ...
• Her cute little baby talk!
• How she curls up in her grandpa's lap and how he interacts with her--bringing her a flower to smell, giving her a drink of water, getting down on the floor to play with her and more!
• How she reacts with one of my other blessings--her older sibling (and how her older sibling is SO kind and thoughtful of her!)
• How she likes veggies even more than fruit! Shocking!!

Yep, just everything she is and all that she does captivates us--her blessed grandpatents. So here in her AOTM blog debut is my baby granddaughter (we'll call her Baby G--for Baby Granddaughter!)

May you always see life as a blessing little one for you are one of the greatest blessings in ours!

Love always,
Aimee

Farewell Old Friend (On Felling a Tree)

“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” Psalms 34:7 KJV

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Yesterday this is the verse which came to my mind as I was praying for the safety of our property and most importantly -- our family -- as we fell a 35 ft pine tree.

Even though we have felled several trees since moving here, this would be the largest one yet, and the fall path would have to be precise in order to not endanger life, buildings or our gardens. Needless to say, I called my parents and best friend to keep us in prayer during this time.

A little after noon, the pine tree, precisely cut and perhaps guided by an angel’s hands too, came to rest exactly in the only area where no harm would be done from its trunk or large branches!

My exclamation as I saw the tree land SO perfectly and safely ..."Yes, Lord, thank you!”

Blessings,

Aimee

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Disclaimer & Important Warning: Felling trees is a dangerous task; we never take this kind of thing lightly and wouldn’t suggest it to anyone who doesn’t have a LOT of experience and knowledge on how to do cut a tree safely. So many things can go wrong and, in our case, as I have said, any other fall pattern would have meant damage to property. Although 35 feet is small compared to a lot of our PNW giants, it is still no easy feat to bring a tree this size down. Even with the experience and knowledge my Farmer Boy has, I would have hired a professional should he had felt that was best.

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Note: And now, should you be wondering, why did we fell the tree in the first place? The answer is simple--for the last two years or so the tree’s needles had been browning and dying. With the latest high temperatures, we were extremely worried about the fire hazard posed by her being in such a condition so close to a building too. Having said this and knowing it was necessary, I deeply feel the loss of this tree whom for so many years had served our family and the birds of our area with beauty and quiet majesty. I am not ashamed to say I shed a few tears about this and that our yard, despite its extensive landscaping, looks naked without her.

Photos:

White cosmos against pine tree & sky (yes this was her)

After she came to rest safely and before her tree top was cut off.

The reason for the felling -- brown & very DRY dead needles

Another view after the tree top was cut off; she fell in a perfect line alnng a path by one of our buildings! Given her branch size and her length it could not have been better:)

Harvest Time--Figs

Our Desert King fig tree. Great shade, huge tropical looking leaves.

Silly me-when will I learn to look up? SO often I miss blossoms, bird nests and fruit because I just insist, for some reason unbeknowest to me, to look upwards or I look up but not all the way UP!

Example at hand: I knew we had ripe figs; a handful of them at the most--maybe 1/2 dozen? All within fairly easy reach.

Enter my best friend---you know the one who has learned to look up in the garden (she also sees the slithery ones which I miss). All of a sudden, because she looked UP, what was a manageable harvest has turned a little less manageable and my time table has changed too. You see instead of 1/2 dozen figs, now I will have 5 or 6 LARGE bowls of ripe figs. Ripe enough for our birds to be feasting on them right now. Ripe enough that if I don't do something within the next 2 days we will have a sticky, sweet, gooey mess on our hands---and the bees are out too.

So what is this girl to do? Well the good news is that I have a freezer (although there is not much room left in it), a supply of freezer bags and ... directions for freezing figs. Thank goodness for the Internet.

The first bowl. They are soft and some seemed very soft. I washed them, sliced them in half--well most of the time--and then scooped out the insides and put them plus sugar and ascorbic acid in a bowl and then after mixing this mixture, into a freezer bag leaving some headspace. My advice to you who might want to freeze figs is heed the advice of the 'fig experts' on the link that follows.

And now--time for a quick snack and then to the first bowl of figs.

Some of our figs. Being the complete fig novice that I am, I was a little shocked to learn that figs aren't brown--you know like the interior of those little cookies. I also--shockingly--was not in a hurry to taste these; maybe tomorrow though. I am getting braver-I actually took three photos of a slithery one today.

(I know you are very impressed by that news!)

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Did I say that in another month we will have even more ripe figs? A LOT of them. Family and friends...I know a source where you can get absolutely 100% totally FREE, spray-free, ripe, sweet figs! (They are right across the yard from the absolutely 100% totally FREE, spray-fee, ripe, sweet plums).

Harvest Blessings,
Aimee

Links:
Michigan Extension: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/mod01/01600465.html
Figs & health: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_fig#Figs_and_health

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Note: For those with lactose intolerance, like me, you might be interested that figs are a good source of calcium. I just learned that from a free magazine I picked up when grocery shopping this week. The link above tells a little about the benefits of figs, With our more then bountiful crop, I am going to try to incorporate them into some baked goods.

Comments/FYI: Well the first bowl of figs have been processed and are currently laying in the frozen environment of my freezer. Learned several things from this--my first adventure attempting to preserve figs.

First and most important, having a Farmer Boy for a DH is an invaluable resource -- really he is better then an encylopedia or gardening book.

Second, if the stem is exuding a milky white liquid, the fig is not ripe. Unfortunately, that info came too late--there was one in the batch and since I didn't know better, it was processed with the others. I am SO hoping the sugar/honey I used will help all be OK.

Third, the skin of the figs was very fragile and in places no longer intact. The figs are really soft too. I did not like the slight odor from the figs but - and this is kind of wierd my skin seemed to like it. Hum, interesting.

Last, as usual, I changed the directions given and just used a spoon to scoop out the reddish pulp/seed interior and then mixed this with the sugar as called for in the link above. I also used some ascorbic acid as per directions on the bottle but remember I am NOT an expert and only time (and a little defrosting and then baking) will tell whether this first fig experiment was a success.

Anyone have a good recipe for a fig cookie, cake or quick bread?