The Long HOT summer!!

A lot has been going on here since I last posted.  Time has flown by, and we've been busy.

We've had a University graduation this spring,

with a little trip thrown in before starting her summer job

That trip was followed by another vacation,

and a few stay-cations,

 We had some fun visitors stop by the Homestead.

and unfortunately a very small accident involving two of our cars and the neighboring construction crew with a big truck pulling a backhoe on a trailer.

Some knitting has happened.

It's been too hot here to do much else.  We had the hottest June ever on record in our state.
Thank goodness for cooler evenings.

Every little bit of respite helps.
I hope to get back here to post more soon.

How's your summer going?

Rain....glorious rain!

I tuned in to local TV news on this morning and the announcer said.....

"It's a sad, wet commute today.  Rainy and wet, and a bit colder."

Huh....sad?????? Not a chance!  We are the 2nd driest state in the USA folks.  Our high temperatures have been in the 90's and the low has been in the 70's and 80's for the last few weeks.  That's Farenheit folks! It's been HOT, HOT, HOT.  The grass is dry, the garden is dry, and the rain is a blessing. I wish it would rain for days and days. It's lovely outside. The air smells fresh and clean and I have all of the windows open wide in spite of a few errant drops coming through. The air is a bit crisper and it's not at all cold.  It's in the 70's. Its delightful and not in any way sad.

Hopefully, the rain will help the firefighters with containment of the many wildfires throughout the state.

As alarming as the smoke plume across the valley and over the mountain from The Homestead was, the orange sky and sunset glow made for a beautiful photo of the granary last weekend.

The rainy mist outside today reminds me of the weather we had in San Francisco last week.  The view from the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park is lovely.  Can you see the Golden Gate Bridge peeking through the trees?  In my opinion this art museum is one of the loveliest places in the city. It overlooks the ocean and the Presidio.  And this is just the parking lot of the museum.  The art collection is amazing.

I must be off.  I've been taking a little break from cleaning out the freezer.  There's a lot to catch up on here.  I may have to get back to wall paper steaming today too.

Have a good week.

Fun in the Sun....

I've not been here at the blog for a while.  We've been busy.

 

There's been beekeeping, berry picking (and eating of course), jamming, some really good summertime menus, a bit of vacationing which included yarn and knitting of course,  there was some reading on the veranda.

It was hard to concentrate on anything but the Pacific view, but we managed to tough it out and sit on the veranda quite a bit, morning, evening, and through one slightly foggy afternoon.

There was some wallpaper stripping going on (and a lot more of it that has to happen, unfortunately).

There was even a summer birthday, which is new for our family.  It's fun to add son-in-laws and some new summertime celebrations.
I hope your summer is going as well as ours.  I'll be back.  I'm off for a bit again.

We took a weekend trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia.

The Market in the Historic Reading Terminal was huge and so interesting.  We had some great food there for lunch.

 Look at all of the different varieties of pickled eggs.

                                                                                                          Beautiful preserves.

 The Produce was amazing beautiful.  Too bad I couldn't bring it home in my suitcase.

This meat case was full of all kinds of Beef Jerky.  It was unbelievable.  Schmucker's Amish Meats are a bit of a legend in Reading Market.

Can you guess the weight of this gigantic pumpkin?

I'm Back.

I bet you didn't know I was away.  But I was...visiting our oldest daughter in our nation's capital.  It was a great week.  Erin likes these little mice.

So  I knit a few up and we hid them in her room to find after we'd left.  If you're interested in making some of your own, you can find the pattern in this book, by Susan B. Anderson.

We had a great time museum hopping, eating at favorite restaurants, visiting a favorite sister-in-law, and even found time to take a side trip to Pennsylvania.
Now it's back to the routine.

There are leaves to rake and some Christmas knitting to start on.
It's good to be home.

San Francisco Deli Salad

Years ago we were in downtown San Francisco with the girls.  It was lunchtime and we stopped in at a little little take-out deli (wish I could remember the name).  One bite of this salad and we were all in love.  The flavors of sun-dried tomatoes, tuna, pasta and capers all covered in tangy balsamic dressing were a winner. Poor Erin, she shared most of her lunch.  We all wished we had picked her salad.  As soon as we got home, I recreated it.  

It's not the most beautiful salad I've ever made but it's one of the most flavorful.  With just 5 or 6 ingredients it might be the simplest but don't let the easy preparation and number of ingredients fool you.  It's so good you'll want to make it again and again (we do).

It easily packs in a lunch bag or box and it only gets better after a day in the refrigerator.  Best of all, you probably have all of the ingredients already in your pantry and fridge.

I give you the San Francisco Deli Salad...by way of City Home/Country Home.  One of the best things we ever brought home from a vacation.

San Francisco Financial District Deli Salad

            Inspired by a take-out salad eaten while on vacation

1 pound of pasta, like rottini or penne

½ cup of  capers , drained, rinsed, and chopped

½ cup of  black olives, chopped (optional)

1 can of water packed albacore tuna, drained

¾ cup of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (if using oil marinated tomatoes, drain well)

1 recipe (or bottle) of balsamic vinegar salad dressing

Cook pasta and drain.  Toss the pasta in a salad bowl with the next four ingredients.  Pour dressing over the salad and toss to coat.  Use as much dressing as you need to flavor the pasta.  Let it marinate for several hours or overnight before serving.

Serve cold.