Crystal Mountain: A Gondola Ride to the Tip Top

That is Mount Rainier! We drove to Crystal Mountain with a picnic in a cooler and a camera in hopes of seeing this view! Apparently the clouds are finicky and a clear view of Mount Rainier can be hit or miss, but we got it! 

Ate our lunch at a picnic table at the base of the mountain near the resort ticket window. There were many families and people on dates, but I wouldn't say it was crowded We bought 2 round trip tickets ($23/ea) and rode up Crystal Mountain in this beautiful gondola. The trip is slow and relaxing and you can see such spectacular views.

This is a view from the glass-sided gondola. I wasn't sure if the height would bother me, but I loved it. 

On top of the world! The resort has chairs for visitors to sit on - it was very relaxing and I called my mom on Facetime from here! We got a perfectly clear connection and I could show her the sights from my phone - incredible. There is a neat apre-ski restaurant at the top of the mountain that serves food year round. I would love to eat here someday.

Taking the gondola up Crystal Mountain is an absolute must-do activity if you get the chance. 

Oh, and they sell snacks, drinks and ice cream at the little cafe at the base of the mountain too. I enjoyed a scoop of chocolate ice cream while we sat in chairs and relaxed at the bottom of the mountain too. Win-win.

Mattress: King, Queen or Daylily Bed?

There is a romance to this photo that I want to share. This is the bed of day lilies at the cottage and for yet another summer, a family of deer have been sleeping in it every night. 

It starts sometime in July. After a season of growth, one day the plants are healthy and lush, the next morning there are distinct circles where each mother, father and baby deer has slept. The day lilies don't fluff up much during the day and the circles are even more distinct each morning. This lasts the entire summer. I have never seen the deer, but they certainly leave their mark.

Isn't it wonderful to think of them quietly walking into the yard, choosing their place and sinking into the cool leaves. Do leaves have a Sleep Number? Do the individual deer choose the same spot each night?

You may not have realized it, but this really is a BED of day lilies. Sleep tight!

Bottle Bouquet: A Beautiful Way to Blend Natural Colors

Isn't this lovely? Sometimes we need a reminder that the colors and textures of a flower arrangement doesn't always need to relate back to another part of the arrangement.  We took what was blooming and placed a stem or two in each glass bottle. During the course of the week, as a flower faded, we replaced it with another. It was an ever changing touch of color in the kitchen. Visual Vitamins, indeed. 

I believe that this bottle carrier for flowers was found at Pottery Barn years ago. You can order a similar flower arranging item here. I just love how natural it looks. 

S'More Maker: Delightful Date Night with Square Marshmallows

To me, nothing says Summer like S'mores. And you know how I love unreasonable appliances.  I was an early adopter of the electric iced tea maker and the Cocomotion (an electric pitcher that whirls and heats milk and chocolate to make cocoa) and to my surprise and delight, my brother and sister-in-law gave me this S'mores Maker. We normally make s'mores together on the beach at Lake Michigan, so I hadn't actually had a chance to use it until this Memorial Weekend.

We were home, instead of up at the lake, so Dan and I christened my s'more maker on Sunday night - roasting marshmallows and talking on the patio after a long day working on the house and garden.  

I had forgotten how relaxing it is to slowly roast a marshmallow. The s'more maker includes a burner for the fuel (you provide a small sterno can) with a handle and a snuffer to extinguish the flame. It worked like a charm and felt safe and easy. The stand works like a lazy Susan (the base spins), which makes assembling your s'more a piece of cake.  

Another item I must trumpet? Square marshmallows.  Kraft makes Jet Puffed StackerMallows - the same marshmallow recipe we love, just sized to fit perfectly on top of a graham cracker.  I like innovation when it makes sense. 

Do marshmallows need to be flavored? No, not really.  
Do marshmallows need to be the size of a lemon? No, not really. 
Do marshmallows need to be square to give more marshmallow to chocolate coverage in a S'more? Yes - now we're talking!

Refreshing Summer Soup

Okay, so my mint leaf was disproportionately large in relation to the bowl, but other than that, this Summer Soup is perfect!

I combined a 46 oz bottle of Kern's Apricot Nectar with a 15 oz bottle of Naked Mighty Mango juice in a large glass bowl.  Then I added a bag of frozen sliced peaches, still frozen.  As they thaw, they chill the soup - genius, if I do say so myself.  Add a variety of chopped fruits in very small cubes.  This time I chopped up pieces of frozen mango, fresh watermelon and Fuji apple. 

Allow the soup to meld (and the peaches to defrost) and serve with a leaf of fresh mint.  This is a no-fail recipe.  The cold refreshing liquid dotted with crunchy apple and silky mango will delight any audience.

Summer Fruits Make Luscious Jam

The color and arrangement of these Summer fruits called me from across the farmer's market.  I wove my way through the crowd so that I could get a closer look.  Stunning! Do you feel the same way? I picked up a carton of the black raspberries to make a quick batch of jam, reminiscent of the one I'd make with my grandmother's berries each summer.

Do you remember this story of when I met the women staying in the cottage next door to the one that had been my grandmother's?  It still makes me smile.

Today I am mixing the black raspberries with some sugar and a packet of freezer jam pectin.  It will turn breakfast into a sweet walk down memory lane.

Leelanau Peninsula: Go for a beach walk

Everyone can benefit from some time on their own.  The cottage life can be a noisy life and a 30 minute walk on the beach can reset the calm and energize you for the next bit of fun.

When you are on the shore of Lake Michigan in the Leelanau peninsula, your walk might take you past a few petoskey stones, if you're lucky.  The petoskey stone is a rock composed of fossilized coral and it can only be found in the upper peninsula and certain areas of the northwestern lower peninsula of Michigan.  The stone has tiny circular lines of coral that are most apparent when wet.  There is a even a Petoskey Stone Festival that is now in its eighth year - I bet you could find a lot of jewelry in the artist booths there.

Petoskey stones are beautiful when polished and many local artisans polish and drill them to create jewelry, a bit like a regional flag.  If you recognize this as a petoskey stone (Michigan's State Stone), then you know where I come from.  As a child, we rubbed petoskey stones with Vaseline to make the pattern appear and the sheen would keep the pattern visible for days.

So keep your eyes out on your beach walk.  You never know when you'll find a little piece of Michigan's history.

Best Strawberry Freezer Jam

When life gives you strawberries...make freezer jam!  Ball has made it easy with a no-fail instant pectin that requires only sugar, strawberries and love.  

I wash my jars, lids and screw caps in the dishwasher.  I washed and hulled strawberries and put them in my food processor. I used short bursts of power to "mash" the fruit into jam consistency.  I mix 1 envelope or equivalent from a jar of freezer jam instant pectin (note that this jar has a purple accented label) with 1 1/2 cups of sugar.  Stir in 4 cups of smashed fruit.  Stir for 3 minutes.  Ladle into clean jars.  Leave the filled jars at room temperature for 30 minutes, then place in refrigerator for consumption within a few days or in freezer for up to 3 months. 

My parents and I worked in an assembly line and made 5 batches of strawberry jam with 6 quarts of strawberries in about an hour.  We have been having toast and jam every morning ever since. Yum yum yum yum yum.

Labor Day

It's Labor Day and we are winding down Summer with a gorgeous weekend at the cottage.  These towels looked so pretty, I had to show you.  

Towels drying on the line is a quintessential summer scene, reminding me of the beautiful days in the movie, On Golden Pond.  It's a movie full of emotion and I could be just as happy watching the scenes without the characters, just panning the sparkling lake and quiet wildlife.

I hope that you had a beautiful summer to remember.

Sunset Swim in Lake Michigan

I took this photo many years ago during the "Summer Camp" my parents and I created for their grandchildren, who are my nieces and nephews.  Year after year, we had one week at the lake with just the girls and then one week with the three boys.  I was Head Counselor and it was so much fun.  We did crafts, baked cakes, hiked, painted landscapes, took them golfing, swimming and ended each night feeling that we had squeezed the best out of the day. 

On this particular night, the girls decided to go for a "Sunset Swim" and I am so happy that I had my camera with me at the beach.  I've frozen this moment in time.

For these girls, a moment of delight is floating in a pink inner tube with your cousins.  

Homemade Popsicles

We tried our hand at making layered popsicles and they turned out super cute AND delicious!  Our masterpiece started to melt before my niece and I managed to find a camera, but you can get the idea from this picture.

The top layer is pureed watermelon, then we added a layer of strawberry ice cream, then we mixed fresh sliced strawberries with homemade strawberry jam and ending with a base of vanilla orange pudding.  They were delicious! And the mix of flavors and textures complimented each other very well.  We were happy that our very cool popsicle mold has a straw in the base so we could slurp out whatever had melted.

Making homemade popsicles is fun, but creating ones with layers is even better.  We decided that we felt like a sweet genius.

Saving Summer

First of all, how can they expect me to let go of Summer and embrace Fall when I am still making bouquets like this?! Unimaginable.

I am making and photographing arrangements like this every day and it makes my heart sing. A photograph like this is my little attempt at saving Summer.

So although Labor Day is upon us, you might see me wearing white, carrying a Summer purse and talking about S'mores.
I just can't let Summer go, not when my garden looks like this!

I love school supplies, plaid and harvest dinners as much as the next girl, but I need more time! Thank you.

Melon

I romanticize Summer nights. Every year, beautiful brightly-colored yarns hypnotize me and convince me that I can wear them "at a beach fire" or "on the boat" on a chilly night.

This gorgeous scarf in shades of melon (Lion Brand "Monterrey Lime" and a pretty "Strawberry" in Caron's Simply Soft collection) has yet to see the stars. We have had a particularly humid Summer and I haven't even worn my jean jacket, let alone a scarf!

So wish me a few cool nights before September, okay? I want to wear this with a coral sweater and I'm running out of time!

Perfect Plans Are No Plans At All

In January/February/March, I always make grand plans in my mind for "Summer." New restaurants I want to try, adventures to have out on the peninsula etc.

But in the end, on a perfect July night like this, I never want to go anywhere. Watching the sun go down with a cup of coffee is what I "want to do" every time.

This photo was taken at 7:26 pm. The sun was still warm, the water was perfectly calm and I just wanted to sit and talk over the day.

As you are organizing your Summer, remember that sometimes the perfect plan is no plan at all.

Iris Farm

My bio ends with the line:

"I knit, sew, glue, tape, plant, bake, buy, try, think, feel, and live like I am starring in my own movie."


Well, what could be a better scene in a movie than walking through an iris field cutting stalks for a bouquet?

There are so many fun ways to fill your 90 days of Summer - what about attending a local festival? This link has every possible event by state. Personally, I am hoping to attend a Mint Festival in August...