Hello from the foothills!
Well, we survived the total solar eclipse and lived to tell the story. I don't have any eclipse day pics to share (so I inserted this tasty Cherry Galette instead ;), but we did see (or rather not see) the sun disappear for a bit yesterday. I didn't bother about getting the approved eclipse glasses so on eclipse day Goodman rounded up a couple of welding helmets and some of those old folks glasses they send you home wearing from cataract surgery, and we were set. Sure, we probably looked like a couple of bobble-head corn nuts standing on the back deck gazing afar in those clunky helmets, but we witnessed the extraordinary event in our own style. ;)
I've been busy making a few herbal preparations for our home apothecary and to give as gifts.
The recipe for this Polysporin-like ointment is over at Joybilee Farm.
It's a wonderful anti-microbial salve to have on hand for cuts, bites and scrapes.
Last week we took the grands to Tic-Toc Ice Cream Parlor in Loudon, Tenn. for a mini birthday celebration for the eldest. The old-fashioned parlor was featured in Southern Living Magazine several years ago.
They serve wonderful homemade ice creams. Their famous Cardiac Arrest has 5 scoops of ice cream and as many toppings plus whipped cream, cherries and nuts. We all considered the Cardiac Arrest but opted for hot fudge sundaes instead. After ice cream we browsed a couple of antique thrift stores. These girls know where to find the good stuff.
A peek at one of the butternut squashes growing on the Hugelkultur mound I made. (Click if you're really sure you want to know, lol.)
The soil is really rich on that mound and should be productive for several years.
We love Chicken Parmesan but had never made it from scratch until I tried this recipe, and I have to say it was DELICIOUS.
I'll leave you with a pic of this Imperial Moth hanging upside-down on the dog lot fence. Yeah, it's a mecca of excitement around here...
Hope your summer is the best. :)
Hello, I am glad you saw the eclipse. We missed the eclipse due to cloudy skies. Your tart and chicken parmesan look delicious. Happy birthday to your granddaughter. The hot fudge sundae would be my favorite. I love the pretty moth, great capture. It is great to have an update post, sounds like everything is well. Happy Wednesday, enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by, Eileen. I'm sorry you missed the eclipse, it was such an eerie feeling as it got dark outside but fun, too. I'll pass along the birthday wishes. :)
DeleteHello, thanks so much for your visit and comment on my blog. I hope you are not having this bad weather from the Storm Irma. Take care. Have a happy day!
DeleteI have no idea what a cherry galette is, but yours looks wonderful. And the chicken parm made my mouth water, just looking at it. The moth is amazing. What a great find...and you had your camera ready! We had to watch the eclipse coverage on television in the waiting room of the eye doctor's office. Doug was getting his pre-op for his second surgery.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, the chicken recipe was really good, but I did substitute mozzarella with the for the provolone on top. It's worth the trouble to make it. Wow, y'all are nearly done with your surgeries. That's great. Thank you for stopping by. :)
DeleteWe only had about 75% of the eclipse up here, but it was still fun to watch, Must have been nice to see the entire thing. That moth is beautiful! I'll have to look into that salve receipt. Been collecting and drying all sorts of herbals here. Hope all is well, Toni!
ReplyDeleteHugs
Jane
Hi Jane! I didn't have frankincense so I just used more of what I had to equal the right amount of oils for the salve, but it smells great and is still antibiotic, anyway. I'm so glad you stopped by today and left a comment. Hope all is well with you, too. :)
DeleteSweet friend, I couldn't help but giggle at what you said about the welding helmets :) My son and I did the same thing since we didn't have any "special" glasses. It was quite the amazing sight.
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a lovely post. Hugs to you!
Hi Stephanie! How fun to hear we were channeling each other with those welding helmets. It's good to know we were in such good company. :) Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteOh, I am just imagining the scene with the welding helmets...LOL! I remember as a little girl, my dad putting his on me so I could view an eclipse. We used to have some homemade salve that one of my hubby's uncles would make...it smelled like oil paints :) We called it "drawing" salve. We had one of those moths on the side of our house a while back...they are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHi Debby! There's a black drawing salve for drawing out splinters, as you probably know, but how fun that you called a smelly one drawing salve. This recipe makes a great smelling salve - we've come a long from from those things we were expose to as kids, eh? Have a great week.
Deleteahh great post-you had me giggling about the eclipse-I watched it too-and really enjoyed it. that is on my to do list to make up some herbal salves etc I just keep putting it off-I had thought of giving some away too for gifts.
ReplyDeletehomemade ice cream is the best!
enjoy your day hugs Kathy
Hi Kathy! I'm glad you got to watch the eclipse, too. It was fun especially as it got so dark in the afternoon. Thank you for stopping by. :)
DeleteVery nice! That chicken parmesan looks delicious !
ReplyDeleteWe loved it. Thank you for stopping by. :)
DeleteHi! Wow! You have been busy! The pie looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI'm glad to know you're having a wonderful summer full of events! We didn't get to see the sun eclipse in Europe this time, just a partial moon one that never showed here because it was cloudy that night —haha, how unlucky is that?
ReplyDeleteYour crops look as healthy as ever and your cooking mouthwatering. It's good to be back home. :-)
Oh no, it's too bad you didn't get to see the eclipse. We never know what local weather will do for us though.
DeleteGlad To hear you're back home. Hope you had a great vacation.
We didn't get to see the total eclipse here either, but it was still neat to watch. Love your cherry galette, it looks so yummy! And what a fun outing to the ice cream parlor, very fun memories to make with your grandkids! I haven't made chicken parmesan in a while, I think I need to get it on my menu, yours looked so good! Always a joy to hear what is happening in your world :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marilyn. I think you'd love the Chicken Parmesan, and I enjoy your posts as well.
DeleteThis is funny. I watched the eclipse through a welding helmet too. lol. I was working in the root cellar at the time. Ran up two or three times to borrow Brian's welding helmet, looked at the sun for a minute or two, then went back to work.
ReplyDeleteYour herbal preparations look interesting. So far this year, I have just been drying a lot of herbs, mostly culinary, in our freeze dryer.
I'm glad you are having a great summer. The cherry galette looks so good. The chicken parmesan looks delicious also.
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