Inklings Designs: July 2011

Thursday, July 21, 2011

A Trip to the Blueberry Farm

Have you ever been blueberry pickin? I am blessed to live near a blueberry farm so I had to take advantage of that. Here is the skinny on blueberries... They are just 80 calories per cup. They contain Vitamin C, Fiber, Manganese and they are an antioxidant.

Getting out to the country is always refreshing. As I pulled into the driveway of the farm you could hear the birds singing right away. I got my bucket, that were already lined with plastic bags by the way, and walked out to the field. The bushes were overflowing with the little blue delights. In just a few minutes my bucket was overflowing from just one bush. I don't even know how many I popped into my mouth. They sure were delicious all warm from the sun.

At 75 cents a pound, I got my berries out of the bucket and onto the scales. There was no charge for the ones consumed. On the drive home all I could think about was blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie, blueberry smoothies and just popping them into my mouth for a snack.

In the kitchen, I proceeded to prepare my berries for the freezer. Since you don't wash blueberries before you freeze them there really wasn't a lot of prep work to do. I spread them out on paper towels to absorb any moisture that was in the bag. Then I spread them on a cookie sheet to pop into the freezer. This will freeze your berries individually. After a few minutes I move the berries off the cookie sheet and put into freezer bags for later use. Of course I left some out for a smoothie and to share with my African Grey, Meshack. He gobbled them up so fast. What a pleasure to watch.

At the Farm

Get your bucket

Choose a bush

Big plump berries

It did not take long to pick a full bucket

Weighing the berries

At 75 cents a pound and all you can eat free..well you can't beat that deal

Freezing the berries on a cookie sheet first will freeze them individually so you can get out just what you need and not a whole glob of berries.

My Meshack enjoying his berries. Makes you want some doesn't it?

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A Stop at the Farmer's Market on a Summers Day

There is nothing like going by the local Farmer's Market on a summer morning. It brings back memories of being barefoot in the garden, planting, weeding and harvesting. Of course you have to sample the freshly picked bounty on the spot to fully enjoy the freshness while it is still warm from the sun.

The first thing I notice when I arrive is all the beautiful colors. Then the wonderful aroma hits my nose and I can hardly take it all in. I walk around with my basket wanting a sampling of everything but knowing I need to choose only a few items. I go to the honey shelf and grab a large jar of local honey. Did you know that eating local honey helps with allergies? I use honey almost everyday.

It has been very dry in this part of Florida so I was surprised to see how well the shelves were stocked. I carefully selected my veggies, took one last sniff and went home to do some cooking.

Does that bring back any memories to anyone else? Just makes your mouth water doesn't it?

Summer Nights...Bands on the Beach

In the Summer months, every Tuesday night on Casino Beach, Santa Rosa Island and Cat Country host Bands on the Beach. Bringing their favorite beverage and a boxed dinner or snack, hundreds gather to hear a different band each week and hang out with family and friends or to swim, fish or just visit.

Reunion Band was this weeks gig. They play predominantly rock oldies and R & B from the 60's. I heard several of my favorites that brought back memories from days gone by.

There was a lot of dancing going on

Our beautiful beach. Just sit with your toes in the sand and enjoy the evening.

Margie...between 2 red heads!

What a cutie playing in the sand. A good time was had by all.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Our Beach Wedding

Living on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, I chose to have an intimate beach wedding with no stress. Of course I had my list of things that I wanted but the most important thing on my list was fun.

Although we live in Pensacola, I love Mexico Beach and it holds some sentimental memories for me so that is where I wanted to be married. It is about 3 hrs from P'cola so no biggie. Tom got us rooms at the El Governor on the beach and we had a few friends come over with us. By over, I mean geographical speaking. We went West down the panhandle of Florida to the forgotten coast.

Now let's talk about the other things I had on my wedding wish list.

First of all, "The Dress".

I wanted a long blue sundress that was flattering. Something that I could wear anytime during the summer. I did not want a dress that would just hang in my closet...gotta get some use out of whatever I purchase. I found one on Ebay for less than $40.00. Very comfortable also. I had previously purchased a beautiful cross necklace at the Women's Conference in Pensacola and a friend from Church made me some earrings to match. I was thrilled.

Now being the Southern Gal that I am I wanted to be able to feel the sand between my toes as we said our "I DO's" so although I always "NEED" a new pair of shoes, it was not necessary to purchase a new pair. That was another important thing on my wedding list...barefoot on the beach.

Now to address the flowers. I chose Hydrangeas, for several reasons. I love the blooms and foliage. You can dry them and they keep a long time, They come in Blue. Blue flowers are associated with comfort, peace, serenity, devotion, hope and stability. We went to Home Depot and purchased a couple of Endless Summer Hydrangea bushes that were full of blooms. I planted the bushes in my garden to remember our wedding for years to come and I cut the flowers off the bushes and had enough for bouquet, cake top, table arrangement and my hair.

Next, the Cake. I wanted a very simple cake but it had to taste good! My wonderful neighbor baked the best cake ever. Mint Chocolate with Irish Cream filling...OMG! We froze the top layer as tradition requires until our first anniversary but I doubt if it will make it that long with my sweet tooth.

I wanted the surf and the birds as my music and we chose a 9:30 AM time because it was not only cooler but that allowed more time for the "fun" after the wedding. The birds and surf were perfect pitch and did not disappoint me one bit. One of our special friends married us and I picked up shells on the beach to remember the spot where we were blessed.

Next Adventure: Wedding Cruise.

My husband tells everyone that he took me on a cruise for our honeymoon. It impresses them until they see the pictures. We went kayaking near Apalachicola. We love the outdoors and our wonderful friends made some lunch after the ceremony and off we all went on a 3 hour tour. It was beautiful and we made many memories on that trip which is another story in itself. I am still laughing when I think of that kayaking trip.

My final wish was to have dinner on the beach at sunset. We stopped by a local business that did catering and ordered dinner. We returned from our kayaking adventure just in time to enjoy the beautiful sunset, wonderful dinner and delicious cake! What a wonderful day. Well see for yourself...