Welcome Summer!

first beach rose

Hi! Hear that sound? That's Mother Nature and the Weather Bug laughing hysterically....

One of my favorite artist/ writers Susan Branch just did a very charming Summertime post on her blog... All about Island Time/ Beach Time, and how Memorial Day weekend is the first weekend of summer to those of us at the beach.here

For the past couple weeks I've been busily preparing for summer...

I dug out the beach totes. And the hastily stored beach towels. Used them last to mop up H. Sandy flood....

I bought a new beach chair! New flip flops, new sneakers...a few new tank tops and linen capris...J Jill "All You Need for Summer"

Been redoing the house in its summertime blues...

 

 

 

Remember the thrift shop flag sham?

 

 

Set up the deck, put out the tikis and Ladybug. [The pots have daylilies until later in June when I plant annuals]....

Here's my seeds started. Herbs, morning glories, sunflowers....

Oh and I put out my flag! My dad made this for me, years ago...

I bought hotdogs and beer! And the beach is ready....

See the lifeguard stands?

But what's wrong with this picture and why is Nature laughing at me?

 Note the black clouds and steely grey waves. It is 46 degrees and a 40 mph gale is blowing.

Rain is spitting nastily, with intermittent drenching downpours. I've seen balmier New Years Days! It is freakin' freezing cold! Dug out the sweaters and wellies. Went for a walk.
Just me and my shorebirds.
Glad for one more day, or even two! of solitude...

love

lizzy

................gone to the beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Fog Beach

Wednesday is now Farmers Market Day...but my pockets were empty and my head was as foggy as the sodden sullen sand.

That didn't stop me from thinking, "Oh I'll just stop in and LOOK!" at the market.

Who knows, maybe I'll win the Lotto [oh it's all gone? too bad.] and be able to buy lots of these gorgeous spring/ summer flowers?

A girl can dream..and plan.

Because, really. I can't plant summer flowers til perhaps mid-June when the weather clears and the earth and ocean are warming.

The market wasn't very busy! Grey skies and high prices are worrisome to many. This is my favorite booth: fresh herbs, potted or snipped into bunches; lilacs! [sigh]; asparagus as thick as your thumb....

So no lovely produce to share this week. Instead a delicious and possibly healthy chicken salad recipe that is perfect for the fridge and busy schedules.

This is really also a great winter recipe, because it uses staples and year round produce like apples and avocado.

Best served with warm multiseed/grain croissants [BJs or Costco?] on a bed of baby butter lettuce. Could be deconstructed for a box lunch if you figure out how to keep the apples pretty, not brown....

 

                                     Chicken Salad Recipe

serves  3 or 4

2 whole boneless chicken breasts, poached/ shredded/ diced

1 pink-cheeked Yellow apple [Gala, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady etc] -- diced. Not peeled.

1/4C. chopped walnuts

1/4 C. mixed dried fruit [Trader Joe's Golden Berry Mix: Golden raisins, reg raisins, cherries, blueberries, cranberries]

1/4 to 1/3 C. crumbled bleu cheese

1peeled, ripe avocado

.......

 dressing:

2 parts mayo to 1 part low fat sour cream

splash of raspberry balsamic vinegar

1 T olive oil

2 t. sugar or splenda

lemon pepper to taste

 *I do not add salt.*

Do NOT use Granny Smith/ green apples, too sour. Do not use low fat mayo, it slides off and is watery, ick.

........

 

Cape Cod variation: chicken or turkey;  whole walnut pieces; red Delicious apples; celery. Omit sour cream.

Citrus Variation: chicken or turkey; sliced peeled navel oranges  [disks,  halved] or mandarin orange segments, canned; bleu cheese; toasted slivered almonds [matchsticks not the flat kind] --on top. Celery optional. 2t. horseradish mayo optional. Sub lemon juice for raspberry vinegar optional.

This is also lovely stuffed into halved whole wheat pitas!

love

           lizzy

gone to the beach.....

 

Foggy with a Hint of Thunderstorm...

 

Hi! Dire warnings of dense fog and thunderstorms have limited my beach walking recently. Yes I know, at least it is not a tornado, like some of you may be having....

Photos taken in dense fog are often not very pretty....

And I definitely did not want to be a few miles down the beach when---if!--- the thunder began to rumble.

Instead I wandered through my little neighborhood, admiring the flowers and trees that survived H. Sandy. The fiddle headed ferns are so magical, like in a storybook!

I can see where the floodline was because many plantings, even the salt air tolerant kinds, cannot withstand even a little saltwater submerging.

Many hedges have sadly brown and nasty bottoms, three to four feet up for the ground, with just a crewcut of green on their tops. These are some beautiful survivors, planted in a lucky high spot!

When the rain really poured down I worked on my medallion panel for Lori's quiltalong. here 

I am underwhelmed by the results.

The workmanship [mine] is not the best. I think I felt pressured by the fast schedule of the project. My ''just get it done'' mentality was not a positive way to approach the job. I'd rather be slow and have the seams pretty and the points meet?
But I guess I forgot...

 

 

It actually looks cuter in the photos. Maybe it will grow on me? Start over? Set aside, or toss?

Dilemmas, but in the general scheme of things, not ...you know...huge.

Hope everyone is safe and busy getting ready for [gasp!] summer this weekend?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....