Summer vibes.

Keeping with the fruit theme for August, this week I made a little sketch of a very cool pineapple. Pineapples are my favorite fruit, and I especially love a good pineapple sundae. 

Since I've taken on many other hobbies, embroidery has fallen by the wayside, but lately I've been thinking of getting back to it. I could maybe sketch a drawing or brush letter on fabric instead of on paper and then embroider it. However, I know I should avoid taking on too big of a project because I'll likely lose interest and not finish it. 

I had a little free time this week, and when I saw these cute little embroidered succulents in Mollie Makes magazine, I knew that they were just the right project to get me back in the embroidering groove. I added magnets on the back, so they're practical too. They'll match my gray fabric covered office perfectly, and I won't even have to water them - lol. 

A fairly good time.

Earlier this week, we took a trip to the Lawrence County Fair.
Typically we go to the Westmoreland County Fair (which actually starts this week as well), but I thought it would fun to check out a different one for a change. Plus, I just love to see all of the animals and displays. Oh, and then there is the unmistakable smell of greasy fried food intermingled with eau d'barn that is unique to a county fair. That's good too.



Like at Zoar, they had a display of antique tractors, although instead of about ten tractors, they had at least a hundred of them. There were literally rows and rows of vintage John Deer's!



You can always find some unique souvenirs at every county fair. This vendor obviously believes in truth in advertising.



In general, there seemed to be a lot more livestock on display at this fair. There were at least 5 stables worth of cows alone.



I wanted to take a photo of the actual milking parlor, but a cow was being milked at the time. I didn't want to invade her privacy.



The equestrian clubs had many horses on display as well.

Just a few cute faces vying for membership in my white pet club. Sorry kids - not open to new members at the moment.

On the day that we visited, everyone was getting their sheep ready for show. It's always funny to see them wearing their spandex sox in multiple colors and patterns. The spandex keeps them clean, but a little tummy control doesn't hurt either.



All the livestock have their stalls decorated and their names displayed. Bo and Luke the sheep reminded me of the Dukes of Hazzard phase that I went through when I was eight. At first I was on Team Bo, but I later defected to Team Luke.




My favorite part of any county fair are the marquees on the refreshment stands and the rides!







While the Lawrence County Fair offered a lot for a fair goer, there was one important omission. Chickens! For some reason, there were no poultry displays. So just on that criteria alone (Okay, that and the fact that it was the location of one of our first dates), the Westmoreland County Fair still stands as my favorite.

Fun with blueberries.

Had we not chosen to celebrate International Cat Day, this would have been yesterday's post. I've been meaning to try this recipe for  Zucchini Cake with Lemon Buttercream, and I finally gathered all the ingredients to make it this past weekend. In my opinion, any time you make a cake from scratch and don't screw it up is a cause for celebration. Actually, not only did I not screw it up, it turned out pretty good. I don't know if I'd call it "amazing," but I do find it amazing how the zucchini virtually leaves no trace in the cake. I mean, I didn't even peel the zucchini, so where did all that green stuff go? And the seeds too? I tried to search for the science behind this, but I came up empty. Chalk it up to another of the universe's mysteries.

Also, don't let the fact that this cake contains both fruit and vegetables deceive you. This is one hell of an unhealthy cake. The cake contains full cup of oil, 3 eggs, and over 2 cups of sugar, while the icing contains 2 sticks of butter and 4 more cups of sugar. I feel so guilty when I think about, but then I just keep eating it anyway.

Since I had blueberries on my mind, I was inspired to make a little blueberry sketch in my journal. I needed a quote to go with it, but I didn't want to go with the obvious Fats Domino reference. Quotes about blueberries are few and far between, and I was about to give up until I found this perfect bit from Willy Wonka. Aside from the girl turning into a giant blueberry, that scene will always be the most memorable to me because I've always wondered what it would be like to chew gum flavored like a roast beef and baked potato dinner!

Happy International Cat Day from Kitty Coconut!

This isn't what I had planned to write about, but when I found out at around 7:00 P.M. that today is International Cat Day, I had to take some photos of Kitty Coconut. This was going to be a challenge because it was already too dark inside the house, and Kitty Coco is an indoor cat.

Kitty Coco will do anything for treats, so I thought I could lure her into looking out an open window. She was very actively trying to get the treat on the windowsill, so this is the closest I could get to the shot I wanted. The focus is a little softer than I like, but oh well.



Most of my shots were like this one. That look of intensity is priceless! Of course, this shot is in sharp focus. That's the way it usually goes.

By the way, *National* Cat Day is sometime in October (I looked it up.).

In completely unrelated news, I had to retire my beloved eggplant shaped cutting board because there seemed to be something mysterious growing on it that wouldn't come off, and I didn't want to take any chances. It was several years old and had seen lots of use. I was sad as I tossed it in the trash because I had used it to prepare so many everyday and holiday meals! I'm going to replace it with a new one, and maybe get a tomato or a chili pepper so it has a friend.

The zillionth visit to Zoar.

Okay, so I may be exaggerating that this was our zillionth visit to the Zoar, Ohio Harvest Festival, but I know we've been going for the last seven years. I'm not sure we've gone every year though. The last time I posted photos of our visit was in 2013. I'm pretty certain we went last year. If I recall correctly, we neglected to check the weather forecast in Ohio, and it poured the whole time we were there. In any case, every time we visit, things are the same and yet they change. Like this year, they moved the parking area to a completely different location, so this was the first time I'd seen this barn and its hex star.



All of the historic homes in Zoar are labeled and numbered. If you recall, a few years ago Zoar was endangered of becoming extinct due to a leaky levee, but some lobbyists came to the rescue saved the town.

The reason we go to Zoar each year is because of it's antique show, but homes throughout the village get into the act too and sell antiques and vintage items in their yards.



Here's Mark sitting on Main Street. Lauren was sitting next to him, but she ran for it as soon as she noticed that I was taking a photo. That's how it goes these days.



Every year they have a display of antique tractors. Its location seems to move around the town, but I think the tractors are the same.

The buildings also have displays with items from the period when Zoar was founded. Next year, they'll be celebrating their bicentennial!



One of the best parts of Zoar is the gardens and garden house. The hibiscuses are huge!

Some day soon, I'll post photos from our vacation to Williamsburg. Mark described Williamsburg as bigger version of Zoar, so consider this a preview!

A visit with Mr. Pancakes.

Considering he's hasn't made an appearance here in awhile, I thought it was about time that we checked in with Mr. Pancakes. It's hard to get good photos of Mr. P. because a.) He's nocturnal and wakes up around the time that we're going to bed and b.) He's super quick.



Recently, Mr. P. faced a bit of a strange health challenge. Almost overnight, a rather ugly, large growth formed, to put it delicately, on the underside of his hind end. I thought for sure that he was a goner, but he kept eating and going about his business normally. Then about a week ago, the growth just disappeared. Well, I guess it must have fell off because there was just a small sore left in place. So we just keep monitoring his condition and hope that he'll make a full recovery.



I forgot to add that another reason why he's difficult to photo. Actually, there are three more reasons named Marcus, Cookie and Kitty Coconut. They were all very interested in getting to know Mr. Pancakes as I was trying to take his photo (I think those white blurs in the background are Coco and Cookie). No wonder he's hiding - he being mobbed by his fans!

Happy National Watermelon Day!

Isn't it funny how there is a national day for everything now, especially food? I think National Ice Cream Day was last week, and I remember there being a National Hamburger Day back in June. National Donut Day is probably the most recognized since it gets heavily promoted by Dunkin' Donuts.

Anyway, in honor of National Watermelon Day, I made this little drawing in my sketchbook. I also ate some watermelon today too. I wonder if the Great Melon will rise out of the watermelon patch and bring toys to good children? Since she doesn't believe in the Great Melon, I told Lauren that we were going to place our Watermelon Day presents by the refrigerator (per tradition) and sing Watermelon Day carols, but she wasn't buying it.

I help with editing.

I can't believe today is the last day of July. In less than a month, Lauren will already be back to school, and my nice commute to work free of school related traffic will be over.

After I got up to take a break from editing photos, Mark caught Cookie  standing up on my desk chair. The funny thing is that once she gets up on a chair like this she can't figure out how to get down. She'll just stand there and whimper and whine until someone comes to get her.



And just for the record, here is the photo that Cookie and I were working on. Trying to get those back to school themes up for sale before it's too late!

Flowers for Friday.

It's Friday! This weekend I'm going to...

...eat lots of food that's bad for me like pizza and ice cream
...get my hair done
...watch lots of baseball
...work in my sketchbook journal



Here's my little flower picking partner. She likes going bare-pawed in the grass.


I

I had to keep shooing mosquitos away from her. If you look closely, you can see one feeding off of her ear.



Looks like Cookie's plans for the weekend involve a whole lotta nothin'.

(Side note:  I fixed the settings so now I can post larger sized photos. So your eyes are not deceiving you - they are bigger!).

Sometimes it's good to try new things.

For the last few weeks, it's been very hot and humid, which poses a challenge when trying to come up with a dinner menu that :

a.) Doesn't involve using the oven.
b.) Consists of something that all three of us will eat.
c.) Consists of something that all three of us will eat, and none of us ate that something for lunch that day.
d.) Consists of something that all three of us will eat that's not the same something that we had for dinner within the past three days.

Needless to say, the options are limited. Since we usually have an over abundance of eggs, quiche is a good way to use them up, but I haven't been able to make one because of the heat. So it occurred to me that there must be a way to make it on the stovetop.

And sure enough, skillet quiche is a thing!

In order to make this quiche, I had to overcome my fear of using our Lodge cast iron skillet. Many years ago, probably before we were even married, Mark's late Uncle John bestowed upon us a brand new Lodge cast iron skillet that he got for free by turning in UPC codes from his cigarette packs. At the time, I was committed to the non-stick wonder known as T-Fal, so the whole cast iron concept was foreign to me. Not to mention it was so heavy that I could barely hold the pan without getting an arm cramp. Somehow, the cast iron skillet survived a couple of moves as well as a few garage sales, and remained unused in our basement. It wasn't until last year when we were planning our Girl Scout troop camping trip that I decided to remove the Lodge label and cure it. It had accumulated a little bit of rust from sitting in a damp basement for years, but it wasn't anything that a Brillo pad couldn't handle. However as fate would have it, it rained the weekend that we went camping, so I didn't get to use it after all. Since then, it's been sitting in our basement packed away with our camping equipment.

So today I gave it a try-out, and I can say, hide no more Lodge cast iron skillet, for you have now earned a spot in among my other pots and pans!

Now I realize that my my quiche doesn't look anything like the one in the recipe. I used too much spinach (a whole package of frozen) and no bacon. I also should have used more eggs than the recipe specified. Our chickens' eggs are closer to medium sized, while I think most recipes expect you to use large or even extra large. I also felt that the hash browns could have used more seasoning, and they were a little soggy because I obsessively keeping the heat low so that the crust wouldn't burn.



I also decided that it was time to break out my new mini waffle iron that I got on clearance at Crate and Barrel a few months ago. It makes four inch waffles - so cute, and just as tasty as the ones that are as big as your plate.



Another lesson that I learned today is that I am not cut out to be a food blogger. I was literally sweating just trying to make sure that I didn't burn the waffles and the quiche, well enough trying stage these photos properly with fancy accessories!