I love Woodstock, Vermont. The above terrace is so inviting on a summer day. There are all kinds of outside places like the above in the scenic town of Woodstock.

Gesine Bulloock-Prado has a “Perfect Puff Pastry” class on Blueprint showing how to make the above pastry. It looks like something out of a French Bakery. I have a Blueprint account and can take any class I want. I definitely am going to try this class. I can just imagine having a Bookclub group and serving that pastry.

I like the above inspiration.

My Mom used to make the best Potato Salads. I liked how she used to make them fancy by putting sliced eggs across the top and she would sprinkle fresh herbs over it and paprika.

She always knew how to put a lot of flavor in anything that she made.

Southern women have perfected the making of biscuits. Paula Deen shared her all time favorite biscuit recipes and I pinned the recipes to my Pinterest. I can’t remember if I saved them to my bread board or if I made a Paula Deen Recipes board.

Paula’s Cheese Biscuits sound really good. I definitely want to try the recipe.

Have you ever noticed with baby ducks that they always follow behind the Mama Duck. But there is always a Rebel that likes to be in the last position and will go it’s own pace and explore and then run to catch up. So cute.

S’mores are just plain fun. There are so many options that you can put together to make a S’more. My Grandsons like to take Fudge-round cookies instead of graham crackers and put the fudge side of the cookie in the middle and then the marshmellow that they have roasted.

Two more weeks and it will be September. This summer has gone by fast. Just like every summer.

I made a Zucchini Au Gratin today. The recipe called for one small zucchini and one small summer squash. It started out with putting 2 tablespoons of butter in an ovenproof skillet. Then at medium heat it said to brown 1/2 onion that was thinly sliced for 5 minutes. Then you add 2 cloves of garlic minced for one minute. Then a half cup of cream was added and simmered until bubbly and starts to thicken. Then a 1/4 cup of Parmesan was slowly stirred in. Then the sliced into rounds zucchini and summer squash was added and cooked for an additional 4-5 minutes. Then a cup of smoked Gouda was shredded and sprinkled on top and baked in the 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese was golden brown.

I liked the recipe and will make it again sometime.

I like the above pill organizer. I think it would be great to use for vitamins. Fitbit sent the idea to me.

French recipes always have so much flavor. The above Coq au vin – chicken with wine sounds wonderful to me. I want to try it soon. The recipe is on my Pinterest recipe board under French Recipes. The recipe came from a website called “Damn Delicious”. I have never seen such a collection of flavorful sounding recipes.

My fitbit said that I walked 5,000 steps yesterday. Today I went for a 2 mile walk on the walking trail, did two DVD aerobic walks and went shopping. Soooo………

I got my first sneaker badge and walked the recommended 10,000 steps today. I like the fitbit because it really does inspire you to keep moving. The reward badges are actually motivating.

My little feet are not used to so much walking so I had to do a pain relief stretch workout yesterday. Then I soaked in the tub with a lavender-epsom salts bubble bath which helped a lot. I usually do the posture stretch workout, but the pain-relief workout really came in handy.

But the fitbit is really a fun fitness tool to have. I knew that it would be neat, but I had no idea on how much it would inspire me.

Tonight an alert came on the TV saying a bad storm with 60 mile an hour winds and flooding was headed to the area where I live. There was a very loud alarm sound and they said to go to the lowest level of your house for safety. Then it said trees were apt to be falling and roads flooding. I have never seen an alert like that ever and it scared me awful. And all it was was a very short thunderstorm. Unreal. These weather alerts are sometimes a little much. 🙂

Anyways, wishing you all fun weekend adventures.

Green Smoothies are supposed to be good for you, so I tried a few recipes that I came across. Then I just took a few ideas and made one to my own taste. I started with a cup of water in the bottom of the blender and then added baby spinach and pulsed it. Then I added some chopped kale without the stems and pulsed it until it was a smooth liquid. Then I squeezed in some lemon juice and added a chopped banana, some frozen chopped mango and a couple of ice cubes. I liked the results. I also like the idea of making up freezer bags with your favorite smoothie ingredients and keeping them in the freezer.

I like the idea of a kitchen island and saw the above idea. What a handy spot for the kitchen that doesn’t take up a lot of room. You can chop veggies or roll out a pie crust. Then the storage space underneath is a plus. Then the thick chopping block is just beautiful.

It’s not soup weather, but I like to make up a soup anyways. One of my favorites is Northern Bean Soup.

I love the baby carrots, onions, white beans, chicken broth, kale and Italian seasoning that is in the Northern Bean Soup. The above Pioneer woman soup mug is perfect to store leftovers in as it has a cover that goes on it for storing in the fridge.

The above salad is so simple and yet flavorful.

I love my Instant Pot so much. It is such a fun kitchen tool to have. The above cook book is a must have.

I bought the above fitbit and it’s just a fun fitness tool. It’s called Inspire HR and it was a todays special on QVC. It even tells your heart rate, calories burned, footsteps and tells you when you have a phone call. You set it up by getting the fitbit app on Google Play on your cell phone. To me it was not easy to set up, but I managed to do it. It has a battery charger and a charge lasts for about 5 days. When it’s 100% charged there is a smile that comes on the moniter. It also tells the time like a watch.

The above is a view of my favorite Mt Ascutney. That is the view that you see if you go for a walk across the dam which I do whenever I can.

I love a fire pit and the idea of having one near a lake is just the ultimate. So relaxing and ideal for friends and family.

And those are a few things that I find to be simple pleasures.

A picnic at the beach is always fun. Watching the sun set and enjoying wine and cheese with your hubby is very relaxing. At Sunapee there is no charge to get into the beach after like 6:00 PM or so.

I like Cabot Vermont Extra Sharp Cracker Coldcuts to pack up with uncured salami slices.

One of my favorite wines currently is the Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc.

Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire is one of my favorite beaches ever since childhood. My parents loved to go there and I loved taking my kids there. My little sons used to make sand castles and enjoy playing with their little boats and swimming. We used to pack up a picnic and spend the day enjoying the sun. I had a little Volkswagon bug and a bumper sticker that said “Follow the Sun to Sunapee”. I would pack some sandwiches and stop at a bakery and get some brownies and have a cooler filled with ice for bottled water.

That picnic table that has a little shade from the tree and yet some sun is where my parents always liked to spend a day. So beautiful there. That was their favorite spot.

I love the above cooler on wheels idea. If you have ever tried carrying a heavy cooler filled with ice. This one has a separate compartment for sandwiches and stuff.

I like a nice chicken salad sandwich on a croissant. I have that recipe on my sandwich ideas board on my Pinterest.

My favorite Big Mac Salad in a mason jar is always a fun idea.

Or a Pesto Bowtie pasta salad in a mason jar is a fun idea.

I like to pack up some brownies as they always are nice to have on a picnic.

These are some ideas to have on sunny days this time of year. Yesterday I went for a walk across the Dam that is near where I live. There is an airport near the dam and it was so fun seeing gliders being pulled up by another plane and then gliding across the sky and landing back on the runway that you can see from the dam. There is also a beautiful view of Mt Ascutney. I saw a jet take off and also a cub plane while I was walking along. I went for the walk around 4:00 PM and there was a nice little breeze and soft sunlight. One of the best summer walks ever.

I have been looking for some Zineas and found a beautiful bouquet of them yesterday. I just love them. There are some other flowers mixed in with them, but they just remind me of summers back in the day.

I went for a nice walk through garden paths and Greenhouses at one of my favorite farm-stands. So refreshing and fun.

You can see mountain views through some of the Greenhouses side windows. There are colorful hanging plants everywhere.

There are stone walls along some of the garden paths.

So many pretty plants. I would buy them all if I could.

Such a fun place to visit.

So many different plants. I just love that place and it always lifts my spirits to go there.

They have all kinds of veggies that you can buy and they have the above dried herb package with a dip recipe in it. You just add sour cream and manyonaise together with the dried herbs. It is really good.

I made some Dip from the dried herbs and put it in the fridge. So fun to have on hand, and I have some Late July multigrain Tortilla Chips that have Chia, Flax, Millet, Quinoa and Amaranth in them. They go good with the Herb Dip.

I also went to the Food Co-op and got some bulk organic walnuts and organic pumpkin seeds. I like my Pioneer Woman storage jars that fit good for storing bulk purchases from the Food Co-op and fit perfectly in my pantry.

I like “Taste of Home” recipes and pinned the recipes for August on my Pinterest boards.

Today was my sister Carolyn’s birthday and I made a really neat card from an Anna Griffin kit a few days ago and sent it. The kit comes in a beautiful designer box with all kinds of flowers, butterflies, sentiments and you can make all kinds of cards. I even found a butterfly postage stamp at the Post Office. I enjoyed making it and it came out really nice.

Love the seasonal food that is available in abundance right now.

I also like the idea of having a snack tray in the fridge with healthy snacks. I found a new string cheese that is Wisconsin Cheddar with Parmesan notes. OMG, it tastes like Gruyere cheese to me. I just love it. I don’t like Peanut Butter, but have Almond Butter. And I like Greek yogurt that is plain without sugar. I have several recipes for humus and it is so easy to make. I like the beet humus and the pine nut humus.

I saw the above Farmers Market display idea. What a neat idea. 🙂

I love French recipes and the above Coq au Vin caught my eye. It has chicken thighs and drumsticks, smoked bacon, baby carrots, pearl onions, mushrooms, shallots, garlic, burgundy wine, broth and fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, tarragon and chervil. The French just have a flair for flavor. I pinned the recipe on my French Recipes board on my Pinterest.

I like the idea of the above wine and cheese spread. It just looks like fun.

I like Farmers Markets where they have colorful veggies and sunflowers.

And that’s my blog for today. Over and out.

Shepherds Pie is so delicious and an easy supper. I have the recipe for the above Shepherds Pie on my Pinterest Casseroles board. My Mom used to just brown some hamburg and put it in a Casserole dish and then put a can of creamed corn over it. On top of that she would put the mashed potato and dot it with butter that melted. It was really good.

My Mom used to also make Scallop Potatoes the old fashioned way like the above recipe. It was really good.

Taco Casserole sounds really good. I pinned the recipe on my Pinterest Casseroles board.

A Pizza Casserole sounds easy to make and really kind of good. That recipe had a 5 star rating and I pinned the recipe on my Pinterest Casserole Board.

I have a set of the Le Creuset mini coquettes like above. Creme Brulee is really good and blood oranges added to it sounds healthy and tasty.

You can also use those little pots for individual servings of almost any casserole. I got the 15 oz ones and they are quite small. I don’t know how small the 8 oz coquettes must be.

I also found a recipe for the French Cherry dessert above that they call Clafoutis. Perfect for those little Le Creuset pots.

The Pioneer Woman has some cute casserole dishes at the Walmart. I love the colors, the ruffled edges and the flower print.

There are all kinds of recipes for chicken, broccoli and rice casserole. Everyone has their favorite.

Chicken cordon bleu lasagna sounds kind of good.

Everyone has a favorite Mac N Cheese and I guess the Keto recipe uses cauliflower instead of pasta noodles.

And that’s a few ideas that I have come across.

Pretty dishes are so fun to collect. It’s old fashioned to have a China Cabinet, but I always wanted one to show off dish patterns. One of my Grandma’s was total British and the above type patterns were always my favorites.

I love open shelves, also. The Jadeite pattern is vintage and beautiful.

One of my Grandmothers was total Irish and whenever I see a dish pattern like above, I think of her. She was always cooking and baking.

Then I have a Grandpapa that was total French. I am attracted to French style dishes like the Pistoulet pattern.

I like tablescape ideas and the above tablescape is one of my favorites.

Tea ideas are always a favorite of mine. I have a board on Pinterest full of tea ideas with recipes.

Jadeite tablescapes are so old fashioned and I love that dish pattern.

Mason jars are neat to put flowers in for the table.

I also love Bistro type tables to dine outside in the summer.

Twinkling string lights in the kitchen over the kitchen sink is such a fun idea.

I collect Le Creuset and my color is Carabean blue. But I have a few Solei or the yellow sun color also.

I love cottage ideas with winding garden paths and picket fences.

Cute little bird houses here and there is so whimsicle.

Then a Koi Pond with Waterlillies. So artistic and colorful.

I like open beams and cathedral ceilings. Can you even imagine having a kitchen like the Barefoot Contessa has?

I love the above idea for a table setting on the porch. I love the blue accented with yellow. Then the candles. I saved that idea to my tablescape board on my Pinterest.

I love Snapdragons. They are so old fashioned and pretty.

I found the above bouquet of Snapdragons at my favorite farm-stand a few days ago. They were only $5.00 which is so worth it because they make me smile.

And that is my thoughts for this first Monday in August.

There are so many ideas for salads. The above salad was in Vermont Life Magazine. It has charred onions, seasoned Ricotta and poached eggs over micro greens.

A Cobb Salad is always good. I pinned the recipe for this salad and all the salads on my Salad recipe board on my Pinterest.

A Broccoli Salad is very healthy as are most all salads.

A Tropical Fruit Salad is so refreshing. I love how they use the Pineapple as a dish for the salad. And then the Coconut Dip. Yum!

One of my favorite salads is the Cheeseburger Salad with Mac Dressing.

Salads are just fun to put together with whatever you have on hand.

My favorite dressing for salads is the above Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing. I just make it in a small mason jar and shake it up.

Another favorite salad is the Greek Salad with feta cheese.

A Grilled Salmon Salad is a neat idea.

I love a Potato Salad. It’s always a classic and goes with everything.

A layered salad in a see-through bowl is always nice.

A Chicken Salad is always nice.

The above Antipasto Salad Kabobs are a neat idea.

The above is a Jamie Oliver idea for a portable salad. I pinned the recipe on my Pinterest salad board.

Green Goddess Salad sounds really good.

I like a Taco Salad.

There are so many ideas for salads. So I just thought of a few that are good for this time of year when you really don’t feel like heating the stove up too much.