It All Started With A Craving For Butter Tarts

... and I remembered my friend Vee had a great recipe on her blog a while back.  I made 2 doz.

I used some pie crust I had in the freezer... it's thawing out here.

... had to test run my new oven... I have not had a working oven since January.

my choice... I was willing to wait to find the one I wanted... I kept holding out.. and finally... I can put the toaster oven on holiday.

 

Yumm, they turned out good....

and yes, that is the Teapot we were drawing with the crooked knob on top. My friend Rachel made the plate.

Since I was in the mood I made a couple loaves of bread, they raised a little faster than usual as it was such a warm day but they were ok just the same.

There were a few bananas that had reached their limit of sitting on the counter and they weren't going to go to waste.... so as long as i was testing out the oven... Banana Bread came next.

 really simple and good.

well since I now had some fresh warm baked bread   I took out some frozen strawberries and stewed them up.. I like this much better than jam.

In the cook book that I found the Banana Bread recipe in, this little quote was at the bottom of the page

 Have you ever noticed that? sort of like when you hit your thumb with a hammer and you blame the hammer.

While the bread was raising I was working on earrings up in the studio. This is just the beginning phase of the little Scissors

 that go with the Thread.  

At the same time this little guy was climbing up the corner board of the house outside my work window... he is about 15' feet up.  Max took this pic.

 Tobi and Tabitha saw him... they didn't get him... but they wanted too..

 

 he ran up and hid in the Virginia Creeper.

which is just now beginning to have these lovely little bud type clusters popping out all over.

 

 He soon escaped and scooted under the picnic table and was gone into the rose bushes..

...oh there is Max down there... and Tabitha

 These are some favourite little beach combings collected over the last few times at the shore... I love the wishing rocks with the rings around them.

 There are Daylilies blooming everywhere.

 Early in the morning going down the driveway,

 bright yellow flowers were blooming behind the neighboring garage

 Then I noticed that the field across the road from our wild apple trees, looked different... the farmer had cut his hay. It was a perfect hot drying day for it.

This is later about supper time and now he has it half baled ... I love the rhythm and pattern it makes... looks so neat and clean.

here's a closer look.  He always tends his field with care.

 This is why we were going down the driveway at suppertime.. to cool off and relax by the Bay of Fundy. It is only a couple minutes away.  Even when hot weather comes, it usually cools off at night so you have a relaxing sleep... no need for air conditioners here.

The tide was high and it was a hot day with a gentle breeze

 The dogs were hot so John tossed each of them in to cool off

Is that the look of relief?  

 Tobi helped her dry off... or maybe he was just thirsty.

...don't know how quenched he would have been after licking off salt water.  Tabitha didn't care one little bit.

 On the way back home the farmer had finished the whole field.  He usually cuts a second crop later in the summer.   It looked beautiful!