pickin' black raspberries.

In our part of Kansas, besides for the high humidity, it is the season for black raspberries. Unlike "normal" raspberries, black raspberries turn a deep purple when they are ready (the color of a blackberry), however when you pull them off the vine, the core stays attached to the plant, not the berry. (Photo of that maybe tomorrow).  Our plants grow wild, they seem to like to mix with the honeysuckle and poison oak. The honey suckle is lovely, however the poison oak causes us to wear blue jeans, and wash ourselves and clothes as soon as we trek back to the house. The berries are well worth it though. 

This morning after cleaning up, I made a batch of sugared raspberries from "How to Eat Supper" to enjoy later on.

Not black raspberries, but here is some of the lavender blooming in the garden right now. 

some sewing.

Most of my sewing projects get spread out to last days and sometimes weeks. I may cut out a pattern one day (sometimes more) and then cut out the pattern pieces from fabric another, and then store them in a giant zip lock bag until I can get to sewing them together. 

This dress for Alli only took about a week. I had the pattern cut out from before (from one of my Japanese craft books) and so all I had to do was iron the fabric (I had washed that before hand-the fabric was originally for a skirt).  And after looking at in it's bag for several days, I made some time to finish it up.

This morning, no time for sewing, we made our first trip out back to pick black raspberries...

good morning!

Have I mentioned that the summer issue of Small Magazine is online? 

today.

Today... struggling with restlessness, catching chicks, late as usual,  forgot about the scheduled oil change, piano practice a bit easier, surveying damage from the winds and rain, a trip to the pond, scared by a brown snake with a stripe down its body, a bit of sewing, time spent playing in a stream, and finally-almost bedtime.

So, I found a new favorite spot...

Farm to Market Cafe. And the brownies convinced the kids of the same thing. 

If you know me very well, you would know that I go to great lengths to cook with fresh and local products and from scratch so I know what is in what I'm eating. You would also know that I enjoy dessert more then any part of a meal, well except for a really great loaf of bread fresh out of the oven... So, when I find a place that serves fresh and local food and makes dessert? Well, whenever I can fit in a visit to this adorable spot, I will be. 

summer is...

VBS is finished, still catching up all over the place, but echoes,  is doing a "summer is" project. Since I tend to skip from one project to another, one thought to another... (like the rest of my days being Mom), why not try this one for a bit?

slowly.

unpacking, catching up on laundry, making bread, caring for the chicks again... get back to reality after an incredible week. More words and photos to hopefully come soon.