A Basket of Trouble!

About six weeks ago, on our way to a day with extended family, we found George. Well, Georgia, to be exact~but we call her George.

She was scrunched down in the middle of a usually busy highway intersection. It was 7:30 in the morning, so at least it wasn't in the heat of the day. She looked to be in good condition and was very happy to see us, so we picked up a free box for her at Wal Mart and continued on our way. All the nieces and nephews had a fun time playing with her and she slept most of the 2 1/2 hour trip back home.

It didn't take long for her to wiggle her way into our hearts, and now she is a cherished member of our fur baby family. She is a high-energy girl. So far, she has broken one pair of glasses, knocked over numerous glasses of tea, shredded paper towels, and I'm sure she's just getting started!

The rest of the cats are appalled, of course. They don't see any need for her to live here, LOL! Our house cat is especially upset and is only now venturing out of the bedroom closet for any length of time. The outdoor cats enjoy spitting at her when she goes out to play, but they will all adjust and get a long with her once she has moved outdoors with the rest of them.

Jackie, our shepherd mix, would love to play with her, but Jackie has learned about those little sharp things at the ends of cat's paws, so she is being cautious.

We also have a couple of new Bantam chicks and hopefully, more on the way.

That's about it for the animal news around the cabin. What about you~do you have any new pets at your house?

Country Living

For five years, I let my Country Living Magazine subscription lapse. The magazine was so full of advertisements that there wasn't much room left for actual content. Despite that, I missed my subscription. So when I saw a great deal for a subscription on Amazon, I snapped it up. I'm loving this magazine! It has a new look from the old one, which bothered me at first~but now I like it better!

One of my favorite articles was in the February 2009 issue. It is titled For The Love of Color. The interview was with shop owner, Jutta Verde Rosa. She described her shop and her own decorating style. I loved her advice of 'buy only what you love'.

If you buy only what you love, you'll always find a place for it, whether it is new, vintage, or salvaged. I also like to re-use, or re-purpose items I have that seem to have lost their original usefulness. Don't get me wrong, my house is small and I do consider what I might do with an object before I purchase it. But I've found that even if it's something a little bit 'different', it usually blends right in with our own 'family style' here at the cabin.

Do you save most of your magazines? I keep almost all of mine~and I really need to 'weed' through some of them as I don't really have the room. I generally keep all of my Country Living, Country Sampler, Victoria, and Martha Stewart~which adds up to a lot of magazines. I'd be interested to hear any storage solutions from those of you that can't bear to part with your collection.

Cooling Down The Summer

There's no doubt about it~I love to bake. But in the summertime, having the oven on for long periods tends to heat the house up. So, I do my best to find some 'cooler' desserts for summer. The Key Lime Pie recipe below is one of our favorites.

Easy Key Lime Pie

1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
7 tablespoons of melted butter
1 cup sour cream
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup of Key Lime Juice
1 cup of whipped cream (optional)

Measure 1 1/2 cups of crumbs for your crust. You may buy a bag of Graham Cracker crumbs, or you may crush your own from a packet of Graham Crackers. Mix the crumbs with the melted butter and press into the bottom and up the sides of a nine inch glass or metal pie pan. Bake the crust for approximately ten minutes at 350 degrees. Watch closely the last minute or two, so crust does not burn. Allow crust to cool completely before using.

When crust is completely cooled, mix one cup of sour cream, one can of sweetened condensed milk, and one half cup of Key Lime juice together, using a hand mixer. Beat until thoroughly mixed, approximately one minute. You may also beat by hand, making sure that all ingredients are well combined.

Pour mixture into Graham Cracker crust. Cover with cling wrap and Refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.If you wish, before serving the pie, beat one cup of heavy whipping cream until thickened. Spread on top of pie. Do not add any sugar to the whipped cream.

Enjoy on a hot summer evening!

Good Morning!!

Hooray~it's Saturday! I hope all of you are looking forward to a wonderful weekend. I've been wishing I could have all of you over for breakfast and coffee, but since that isn't possible, I thought I'd share my Blueberry Buttermilk Muffin recipe with you~a Saturday favorite around the cabin.

Two cups of Gold Medal All-Purpose flour
Two and one half teaspoons of Clabber Girl baking powder
One half teaspoon of Arm and Hammer baking soda
One teaspoon of salt
One stick of butter--softened
One large egg
One cup plus one tablespoon of buttermilk
Three quarters of a cup of fresh blueberries, washed and stemmed
Muffin pan--greased

In a large mixing bowl, mix two cups of flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix thoroughly before the next step.

Add the egg, softened butter, and buttermilk to the dry mixture, stirring just until mixed.

Add blueberries with just a stir or two to distribute them into the batter.

Fill twelve regular sized muffin cups with batter distributed evenly among them. Approximately one heaping tablespoon per muffin cup. Bake at 400 degrees until lightly browned. Serve hot with butter or cold. Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or beverage of your choice!!