Summer Evenings at Our Preppy Mountain Farm

It's taken me almost 2 months to get enough evening pictures for a post because of all of the thunderstorms and soaking rains we've been having this summer.  I've left out a few things, but this is a typical smattering of summer evenings on our mountain farm.

Hanging out in the back yard with family and friends.

Our farm friends like to hang with us in the evenings too.

The adults of the house (and guests) having a glass of wine on the front porch.

Roasting marshmallows around a campfire.  Our fancy firepits have come and gone, but this one made with rocks (built by our children) has survived.

Of course, you can't have a campfire without roasting marshmallows, and you can't roast marshmallows without making S'mores.

Then, of course, you can't make S'mores without eating them.  Rarely do we stop at one.

Games of frisbee usually played by the boys.

Probably best of all are the sparklers and fireworks.

At least, our children would say so.

We're about halfway through our summer break, and I'm wishing it never had to end.

It's a Lego Party!

Our 9 year old son is having a birthday this coming week and loves Legos more than any other toy.  Actually, so does his 10 year old brother, but he didn't want me to throw him a Lego party back in May when it was his birthday.  There are so many cool things you can do with Legos, so I was excited to prepare for this party for school-aged boys.

Part of the fun of preparing for this party was that our son got to help with the preparations.  He built the Lego structures to hold the plasticware and the napkins, which were then set on the food table.

One of the activities was guessing how many Legos were in the Mason jar.  I rummaged through the large Lego bin the day before and tried to find a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors and then refused to give any hints as to how many there were.  The prize was a bag of Skittles because I was trying to find something inexpensive that still had Lego primary colors.  It ended up that the birthday boy had the closest guess.

The Lego slime was a huge hit, and everyone got a ziplock bag of their own.

The only ingredients I used were 2 bottles of Elmer's blue glitter glue and half a cup of liquid laundry starch.  The starch was added 1 tablespoon at a time until it was the desired consistency.

Then we added a bunch of little Lego pieces, including Lego people heads and hair and helmets.  I have to admit, it was pretty awesome, and I was the first one to get my hands in there to squish it around.  For more tips on how to make this, go to http://lemonlimeadventures.com/simple-lego-slime/

The food was colorful, but definitely not all healthy.  We had the favorites of our son: pizza rolls, Doritos, fruit and vegetables, and cupcakes.  There was also soda, which I concede to on birthdays.

We placed the carrots, strawberries, canteloupe, and maraschino cherries on my serving tray (handmade by my father) in the shapes of LEGO.  I'd like to say I came up with this idea on my own, but I actually saw it on Pinterest first.

My son requested strawberry cupcakes with white frosting, which was easy to accommodate.  My 13 year old daughter frosted them and added the Lego brick candy and confetti.  She considered stuffing them with more Lego candy, but I decided they would be too crunchy and just kept them on top instead.

The Birthday Boy was being rather stubborn and didn't want me to post any pictures of him on my blog.

We finished off snacking with these Wonka ice cream novelties.  The Poppin' Pops were a hit with the little boys. 

Out of curiosity, I had to try them.  Once you hit the center of each color, they really do pop and crackle in your mouth and throat---which is a rather bizarre feeling, but definitely interesting.

Party favors were little Lego mini figures.  I had no idea what HALO was because we don't play that here, but the boys thought the Lego figures were cool.  The Littlest Pet Shop packets were for the girls.  Our younger boys helped pick these out when we went to Target because they knew what their classmates were into.

This party was so much fun to prepare for and participate in!  The only thing we would do differently is have it a different month of the year because this poor guy always seems to have a birthday party when most of his friends are on vacation or are otherwise disposed. Those of us present, however, had a great time, and for the first Saturday in weeks, the weather was beautiful!

Sprucing Up Outdoor Furniture: Summer Project #2

One of the projects on our to-do list this summer was to treat and paint our outdoor furniture.  For the wood pieces, I used Thompson's WaterSeal wood protector in clear.  The metal furniture got several cans of Rust-Oleum spray paint or Krylon Fusion spray paint.  We also used the Rust-Oleum Specialty Plastic on the resin chairs (not pictured here.)

First up was my brand new picnic table which I have wanted for years.  This one was purchased unfinished from Home Depot for me for Mother's Day this May.

I had help from my six year old adding the second coat of sealant several weeks after I applied the first one.  We have had so much rain here this summer that finding a day with no storms forecasted was a real challenge.

I'm not sure I'm satisfied with this.  The wood looks much darker than when it was unsealed, and it is starting to look like there are dark mildew patches on it even though I can see the rainwater bead up on the surface.  I may paint it a hunter green color to match the doors on our farmhouse.

Next, we tackled this small metal table on our front porch.  I couldn't find a way to easily remove the glass top, so I covered it in newspaper and tape.  We then used just one coat of the Rust-Oleum spray paint in a satin hunter green.  The clothespin flower pot and impatiens were a handmade Mother's Day gift from my 10 year old son.

I am very pleased with how this turned out, and it matches our front door.

I received this large unfinished porch swing years ago for a Mother's Day gift, and I never sealed it.

So both my daughters used the Thompson's Water Seal to protect it from any further weathering.

I purchased a pair of outdoor pillows on clearance from our local Kmart, and I bring them inside when we aren't using them to prevent the cats from taking them for their own beds.

This metal table and chairs belonged to my husband when we met, so I don't even know how old they are.  They're still in great shape but were beginning to rust, plus there were spots on the table where our older girls had spilled nail polish and Wite-Out many years ago.

With the help of my 13 year old daughter, we sprayed 2 coats of paint on the table and chairs.  Unfortunately, we ran out of paint and couldn't find an exact duplicate at the local hardware store.

We ended up having to cover all of it with a final coat of the Krylon Fusion in black satin.  I am very pleased with the results, and we realized that we love to spray paint!

I found the umbrella at Ollie's Bargain Outlet, and it has withstood our numerous storms this summer.

At our cabin, we discovered two resin chairs, but they had gray mildew stains that would not come out with bleach.

We started out using the rest of the can of hunter green spray paint, but we didn't have enough to even cover one chair thoroughly.  I definitely underestimate the amount of paint needed.

When I returned to the store to buy more, they were sold out of all colors of spray paint except dark brown and black.  The cabin has a dark brown wood exterior, and I would have preferred a color that would stand out a bit, but both chairs were only partially painted and we are expecting company this weekend, so I settled for the brown. This spray paint is made to fuse with plastic in one coat.  Hopefully, it will hold up well.  My teen daughter and her friend painted them for me yesterday, and I think they look pretty good; although, I may change the color again later.

My Grandfather and the CCC at Poe Valley State Park

Nestled within Bald Eagle State Forest in central Pennsylvania lies a natural, historic gem: Poe Valley State Park.  Our family decided to spend the day there this Independence Day weekend, and once the sun finally came out and it warmed up into the seventies, we had a great time.

This park is one of several state parks in Pennsylvania that was built or greatly improved through the efforts of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, otherwise known as the CCC.  This park has special significance to me since my grandfather was one of those young men who built the dam at this park when he was 22 years old.

The man-made lake and beach area were nearly vacant when we arrived shortly before noon, but it did fill up by the time we left later in the day.  The Poe Valley Dam can be seen off in the distance.

We couldn't find our beach buckets and had to make do with the plastic cups we brought, but the children had a great time trying to build sandcastles around the 25-acre Poe Lake.

I thought the water was freezing, but our younger ones didn't seem to mind.  The beach area has a new bath house and concession stand that served plenty of hot foods to warm us up as well as ice cream and other cold foods for the sunny late afternoon.

As I watched my children play and have a great time today, I wondered what it was like for my grandfather here in 1935 as he worked to build the dam, create roads, and plant pine trees.  The photographs I have seen show a young, attractive man looking proud and happy with his accomplishments.

Next to the swimming area are kayak, canoe, and paddle boat rentals.

Our 14 year old son enjoyed his first kayaking experience, especially after he came back for his fishing gear.

According to him, (and he is our family fisherman) the lake was full of bass, muskies, and perch.  I'll take his word for it because I didn't see any fish at all.

Next to the beach and small boat dock, there is a terrific playground and climbing wall.

This was definitely a treat since we were cooped up all day yesterday due to more heavy rain and temps only in the sixties---for a second Saturday in a row!

Of course, there are also plenty of hiking trails, which we didn't get to today.  There are also campgrounds with a few available cabins that have electricity and heat, but no running water.  My girls and I are not camping kinds of girls, so we didn't do that either.

There are also numerous picnic tables, pavilions, and grills, but these fill up quickly during holiday weekends, especially near the beach area.  We lucked out because when we arrived at 11:30 AM, it was cloudy and still only 65 degrees, so we practically had the park to ourselves.  When we left at 4, however, most of the good spots were spoken for.

When I was growing up, most families I knew had annual reunions at state parks such as this.  I don't see that as much anymore, which makes me feel a bit sad.  Funding has been cut for many of these parks, and swimming pools, concessions stands, and other amenities have been closed while lifeguards and other personnel have been let go.  It did my heart good to spend this Independence Day weekend with my family continuing this tradition on a smaller scale, especially knowing that we would not be able to enjoy this beautiful place without the hard work of my grandfather and the other 199 CCC boys who were here 80 years ago.

Anniversary Surprises

It isn't easy to plan a surprise away from home for my husband with a house full of children and no grandparents nearby to babysit on short notice.  This was the first year since we've been married that I had the opportunity to plan something special for our wedding anniversary away from the house but not at a restaurant, and it was so much fun.

I started by placing a London Broil flank steak in the crockpot with a can of creamy tomato soup, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and a package of dry onion soup mix sprinkled over the top.  I let this cook on low heat for about 9 hours.

Next, I partially thawed a 1.5 quart container of French vanilla ice cream and a can of frozen pink lemonade concentrate.  Then I mixed the two together in a big bowl and poured into 2 prepared graham cracker pie crusts, so there would be one pie for us and another for the children.  As it turns out, the kids found it too tart for their taste, but I think it's great for a summer dessert.  These went into the freezer to re-freeze.

In the afternoon, I sent my older son into the garden to pick fresh kale, beets, onions, and radishes for a tossed salad.  I also added some sliced mushrooms.  I cheated and used a bottle of raspberry walnut vinaigrette instead of making my own salad dressing, but I love this in the summer.  Into the refrigerator it went.

As it neared the time for my husband to return home from work, I left a note on our front screen door to meet me up at our cabin.  I had helpers carry items up, including some linen spray to mask the closed-up cabin smell, old tapered candles (the only ones I could find other than from our Advent wreath) and inexpensive candlestick holders, hand-painted wine glasses since there are none at the cabin (must change that,) and a bottle of red wine from a local winery.

The final dish I prepared at the cabin since it needed to be cooked at the last minute.  I made a pot of Jasmati brown rice and added some sauteed peas from our gardens and sliced mushrooms, and then sprinkled in some cumin.

As I've mentioned before, this cabin was just recently purchased and had been a hunting camp for decades, so it is rather rustic and needs some work.  However, it was fully equipped with everything I needed to make a dinner for two (except for the wine glasses and matching water glasses.)  Best of all, my husband was quite surprised, and we had a leisurely, quiet, uninterrupted anniversary dinner without having to go out to do so.  We were less than a quarter of a mile away from our farmhouse and the children, yet it felt like we were on a vacation retreat in the mountains.  We even got in a game of air hockey, but I won't say who won.

This is me feeling a bit proud of myself---at successfully pulling off a surprise dinner, or about the air hockey game---I'll let you decide.