Chicken potholders

Now here they are, lying on the counter in the morning sun and hanging on their hook next to the similar coloured (wich gave me the idea they would "fit" into our white/brown/apricot coloured kitchen) oven gloves.

As mentioned before I got the idea to crochet them from The Seaview Cottage. Thank you so much Miss Holly for letting me have such fun making these!
Anyone else preferring funny handmade potholders over storebought?

Thanks for coming over!

Tina

Another green sunday walk

This was a weird week weatherwise: hot days with temperatures up to 35°C, with thunderstorms and following cool temperatures at night. Saturday then cool, 15°C in the a.m., around 20°C in the afternoon. Heavy rain now and then.

Today started cool, too, but dry and the sun came round from behind heavy clouds. Great weather for another noon walk with the dogs: This is the partly muddy path between the fields (carrots, potatoes, beets) that we came along,the view to the left and the path we continued walking on so it wasn't hard to end up looking like this if someone had to make sure that that mouse had definitely disappeared :-) It looks like Myrtille's nose wasn't straight and her ears were heavy with mud, too...This is the biggest "hill" right here , the view is even better from there than in the plain and with good weather you can see the skyline of Frankfurt from there. Didn't make it up there today, it is too far to walk for Dingo right now when it is still warm. Look at all those different greens! The blue-green is a field of leek, in the front beets.More leek and the "hill" closer. It isn't far away from this point but to get there you have to walk a big loop across the fields to the right and get to it from the back side. Just too much today. On my way back (and to get there) I crossed a little creek looking quite wild to one side of the bridgebut more channel like to the other side, it is an old side arm or loop of the Rhine.Nearby is a little meadowAnd here, nearly home now, a corn field in full blossom in front of the little wood in which a flock of parakeets have their colony.Just having hooked on the leashes on the gang for the last few meters.Getting home after nearly two hours I was hungry and tired, opened the back door and see who wasn't exhausted at all: Hope you are having a great weekend and thanks for coming over!

Tina

Rice Krispie Treats

Here's another great treat I found on the web: Rice Krispie heaps, made with a bar of dark chocolate and a few spoons of nutella. They are so good. Perfect with a nice cup of coffee in the afternoon. I saw the idea on A Trifle Rushed and checked my supermarket for the right cereals :-) The result is absolutely worth the effort. Am thinking of trying white chocolate next time, mixed with some vanilla cream instead of the nougat cream.


I had made something similar already, with cornflakes, and dried fruit, but never had the idea of adding nutella...


And as I was taking their picture in that pretty tin that once was home to yummy amarettini bisquits I saw the dog bisquit tin standing next to it and I thought I could show it to you too. Once Danish cookies came in it and it is the perfect size for a package of dog cookies and pretty enough to be kept on the counter...

Do you recycle pretty packages, too?


Thanks for coming over!

Tina

Chicken pot holder

It was love at first sight when I saw these on Miss Holly's blog "Seaview"! Thought I could figure out from the pictures how to make them and here you go:

Just love this little gal and now she needs a friend! So I need to get a new ball of white cotton... or I could make her a creme or brown companion - I'll see!

Thank you, Miss Holly , for sharing the pictures!

Thanks for coming over!

Tina

Edit: I had written the post earlier and came back now to add the picture and in the meantime the second chicken is growing, in cream :-) just couldn't wait!

Outside the front door

Thanks for coming over!Tina

Bisou news

Do you remember all the blog posts back in winter after we had brought home Bisou? In short: she had broken her leg in her foster home, and after we got her we found out she had healed without boney conjunction at a weird angle and needed surgery to implant a metal plate (after rebraking the bones of course) and two pins, healing of the wound took long, she needed surgery again in late march to take the plate out...
The links to my original posts: the introduction, healing update, second surgery needed, second surgery, stitches are out, first prove.
Long story with happy ending: she had her final check-up last Monday at the vet-clinic with x-ray and EVERYTHING IS FINE! Surely not as if nothing had happened but great for the circumstances. She is allowed to do everything! Even agility training is possible! We are so happy!
We haven't restricted her from anything since the second surgery and she is doing so great, running at full speed along the field paths, playing roughly with Myrtille without finding some ending, hunting for and catching mice, running up and down the stairs, and I would have been shocked if the x-ray would have showed something to worry!
Here she is asking Myrtille to continue playing, p l e e e a a a s e:
Thanks for coming over!
Tina

Lemon pasta

I just had the most yummy lunch that I've had for ages! It is variation of Victoria's Super Lemony Pasta.
I had whole wheat penne and my sauce was made with cream, butter, feta cheese, black pepper, freshly pressed lemon juice of course (no greated rind as the lemons we just have are not biologically grown) and as I don't have any parsley this year (don't know what went wrong as all plants grew like weed last year) I sprinkeled it with a handfull of chopped chives/lemon melisse/mint.
It was too yummy to be real!!! I regretted not having made enough for a second plate - but it is very filling so it was enough.
Definitely worth a try if you like lemon and white creamy pasta sauces and definitly a keeper for me!

Thanks for coming over!
Tina

Veggie gardener's pride

These are some pictures from the veggie garden taken this morning. Sorry for the crap quality of some of them, me or the camera must have been still sleeping somewhat...

First the tomato patch, so far we've only had a few single ripe ones, but I hope for some more from now on. This year we have cherry tomatoes, bush t., olive t., all homegrown from seed on the bathroom then craftroom window sills, mexican honey t. bought as baby plants at a garden fair (not tasted yet), and some red currant t. that selfseeded from last year's plants.

Then there is the aubergine, a bought plant, that now finally has some fruit after many fallen down blossoms.

Next this tiny chilli pepper plant with a fully grown single fruit more than half the size of the plant. Ready for harvest.

And finally we have managed to have an artichoke that makes us happy! We had some plants before but all of them failed. Usually the artichoke plant is bi-annual, blooms in the second year. Problem here was the winter, even under some textile cover they froze. This year we made one last attempt, bought a tiny plant and put it in a pot so that it could hibernate in the basement. But look, there is a little artichoke on it already, about the size of a golf ball. Imagine the joy when I first saw it!!!

And here is the small pear tree with these big pears on it, nine in total. They are still hard and green but that is the way Sweetheart loves them, and he sais they taste great - I prefer them tender, yellow and dripping with juices when you have a bite...

Thanks for coming over and have a lovely weekend!

Tina

Dreaming

I think Faery might dream of a nice real summer though she seems to be nice between the calla leaves :-)

She sits on a globe with star shaped holes that is illuminated at night. A little solar panel soaks up the sun and passes the energy on to a led to add some magic to the night garden. Sweetheart found her and brought her home for our anniversary in may. Lovely!

Thanks for coming over!

Tina

August garden

This picture is from sunday, July 31. when the sky was grey and it was cool. It has been cool and rainy the last few weeks, and just for the first two days of august we had some sun from morning to sunset again. For today rain is predicted again...Thanks for coming over!

Tina