Lia's Birthday in Rochester

 Frank thought it would be a good idea to celebrate Lia's birthday with the Stanton family while up in Rochester.  I made her a desert she LOVES: Lemon Curd Marbled Cheesecake.

 High 10 on the good job girl!

Frank, who is so at ease and at home in the water, taking a dip after dinner.

Rochester

Here is Ruth, Frank's mom with Frank at Whitney's rehearsal dinner. 

And here we are!

Our second night in Rochester and we went out to dinner with Ruth (pictured in the right lower corner) and all of Frank's siblings and Jan, Whitney & Mariah.  It was a fun restaurant right on the water with lots of boats around.  They had a live band, and Lia and I were up dancing.

 After dinner we went to the Carousel!!!

Lia with her Daddy! 

 Here's Jan, Mariah and Lia on a ride!

Rochester Blueberries!

 We're in Rochester visiting The Stanton family and to attend Whitney's wedding.  I was driving and saw a sign for picking blueberries and decided it would be something fun for Lia and I to do while Frank worked on his projects.  We had a great time!  Lia was a trouper.  Here she is taking a rest right next to the bushes! 

 We picked a decent amount, enough to bring home 3 lbs of frozen berries.  We love blueberries also so we definitely ate some fresh!!!

It's pretty hard work, especially for a 3 year old.  And the blueberries were fairly small.   I was really proud of how Lia did, altho there for a while she was definitely eating more than she was collecting.   

Ault Park music night

Frank joined me and Lia for our Mommy get together at Ault Park tonight.  I didn't get any other phots besides mostly Lia attempting to climb a tree....

don't know where she got the idea.  But like it that she did!  :) 

July bounty & cooking

 Kale & chard, 2 of my favorite greens!  And some gladiolas!

Lia helping to make (and eat) Dill Hummus!!!

Turner Organic Farm Tour

Lia and I went to Turner Farm tonight for a fun tour of the farm.

 One thing tonight they talked about and taught us was about their use of sheep's wool to surround the plants and the benefits of this.  You can see that there is a difference between the rows of sweet potatoes in the foreground vs the background in growth, it seems the wool is very helpful.  It is also a deterrant for the deer.

Here they are showing how they plow the fields.

 Their pigs and a dog Lia was chasing and whistling after...

Tim, their horse man, who  manned our wagon.  What a great night.  These folks work so hard.  We love supporting them by buying some produce and eggs!

Peach Pie a favorite!!!

This is the first time EVER that I made a peach pie that is NOT  a lattice work pie!  Thanks Debo for the awesome Georgia peaches!!!!   

We LOVE peach pies...especailly home made.   It is hands down MY favorite pie (so far)...

Frank's favorites also include pecan and apple.

Yeay July!

A beautiful, perfect cucumer that I grew....why have I not grown cucumbers in the last 12 or 14 years of gardening?  I have no idea but glad I finally did!  Yummers!  Lia loves them also! 

 Beautiful, gorgeous, delicious gardening!!!!!  My kinda day!

Lia eating our FIRST cucumber with some home made dill hummus!  YUM!

St. Rita's School for the Deaf Festival

 Lia had a ball!  It was SUPER HOT  but we managed to ride rides,

see a parrot, and enjoy ice cream!

Beans & cupcakes

Gorgeous delicious beans! 

Lia with her banana nut cupcake at Vicki's house!  We cooked dinner spent the night with her.  :)  A fun girls night out.

My first attempt at picking and pickling my very own grape leaves!

June 2011

I had 2 friends offer me to come visit and pick grape leaves from their vines.  This year, I did it!  I can't wait to stuff these leaves with my delicious recipe of dolmates!

 Stacking & preparing for grouping them for freezing!

 Look at these beautiful groups of leaves, above, before blanching, below, after...

and ready to be frozen.

Fourth of July at Ault Park!

There were tons of people here to see the fireworks!

Lia signing "more" for MORE fireworks!

Budweiser Party

We didn't get many photos from this party but here are the ones we got!

Elissa, Johnny, Ellie & Katherine

Lia got to play with Jaxon!

Thanks Tony for being our grill master!

Noah & Elena's kids all crashed out before the end of the night.  :)

Everyone brought a dish to share!  So much good food!