Traveling across the country...

Freshly picked strawberries from my sister, Susanna, to start our trip!

 

Wisconsin...we got some cheese, of course.  Did you know they also have a lot of cranberry bogs?

North Dakota's landscape is much like that of South Dakota (since we drove through there 2 years ago when we went to Yellowstone, we decided to take a different route to see more of America)!  Those must be a kind of lilac, not like the ones we have in Ohio, but so very pretty.

No GMO Wheat Montana...awesome place to get fresh baked goods!  Giant pecan cinnamon rolls from there for brekkie this morning.  We'd been buying their wheat berries to give the chickens and grind into flour in Ohio. 

Not yet summer...

We have had some hot and humid days here in Ohio.  It's still spring, but we are ready for popsicles, sorbet and ice cream.  Last year, I made some salted caramel ice cream from this book by Jeni of Columbus, Ohio:

 And I'm hoping to get my hands on a copy of this one: 

We just celebrated Olivia's 10th birthday...

I ♥ her expression!  The local public pool opened...and we've been spending lots of time outside.

Visitors from out of town, trying to relax in the hammock. 

Peonies and ants...

I've been picking peonies in full bloom and buds this week, trying to shake the ants off, bringing the bouquet inside and still getting ants in the house.  
I don't care.  I ♥ fresh flowers. (picture from http://bluebirdnotes.blogspot.ca/)

Today, we put our American flag on the porch, for Monday is Memorial day...we remember all those who have helped protect our freedom!   

I pulled a bunch of weeds (mostly silver maple seedlings that came from the neighbor's tree) today, near the baby tomato plants and lettuce.  My littlest sister move to Oregon almost 9 months ago and we got her 3 blueberry bushes...they are thriving (had flowers on them last week) and have green blueberries on them now!  

My sister gave me some herbal tea from St. Elizabeth's Skete, we enjoyed a pot of it last night.  ♥  We had organic lavender chamomile tea tonight with our friends, Marina, Michael and Bethany...seriously, both teas were full of pretty yellow chamomile buds!

At the very bottom of this blog, you'll see the playlist...and if you want to listen to some nice music, I recommend Lenka:

Tea on Myrrhbearer Sunday...

These are some of the macarons we made...they were scrumptious, but didn't have a "foot" and I'm sure it's because we overbeat them, after reading this:  http://kitchenmusings.com/macaron-faqs/

Sunday afternoon, we had a little tea party.  It was Myrrhbearer Sunday, the day we celebrate those who came to Christ's tomb to anoint his body with myrrh and found that he was gone...and risen!!!  Christ is Risen!  ♥  It was my namesday, as I'm was named after St. Martha and my sister is named after St. Mary, the sisters of Lazarus.  My sister, Susanna, is also named after a myrrhbearer (she would've been Lazarus, if she were a boy) and my littlest sister, Andrea is named after Bishop Andrei Rymarenko of Novo Diveevo, NY, (my parents were very close to him and he passed away in 1978),  her patron saint is St. Andrew the Apostle. 

I got a new teapot for $11.99 with an infuser basket, because I've been making loose leaf tea.  This Rose Petal black tea from the Republic of Tea (given to me as a gift from a friend), with some honey and a little milk, is my favorite!

Our homemade poutine (a French Canadian speciality), turned out well.  I used frozen french fries from Trader Joe's.  The cheese curds I got at Country Fresh Market, on Vine St.  $3.89 for an 8 oz. package and I made the gravy, as this recipe says... 

We had hamburgers with it...they were still on the grill, but we had to dig in...

Hannah climbed our fence to reach over and pluck a few roses from the neighbors wild rose bush...there are SO many, I'm sure they won't mind.  They smell wonderfully!

On my list...

I have a list of things I plan to cook this weekend:

• prosphora - bread that is brought to church and blessed
• quiche - with asiago, spinach and eggs from our chickens
• hamburgers - on the grill (well, my husband will do the grilling, I will chop onions and mix it up together and then make them into patties)
• poutine - I have never made this and will be trying this recipe out!
• salad - harvested lettuce from our backyard, for the first time, this year, today!
• macarons - I have made macaroons, but never these French macarons!  We splurged and bought a box of 12 of them at Trader Joe's for $4.99 for a little tea party. 

Tea at Bonbonerie

Local bakery and cafe, Bonbonerie, here in Ohio, is a lovely place to have tea.  They serve spinach asiago quiche, scones, raspberry jam, clotted cream, French macarons, and fine Elmwood Inn teas from Kentucky.  I ordered a pot of China Rose tea (black tea) and added a few sugar cubes and cream...

My sisters, Mary, Susanna, and I took our mom there. ♥  We all got a different kind of tea, and tried the other kinds. 

All of our plates, teacups and saucers were mismatched nice china, which I really liked.  Doilies used as placemats.

Shelves lined with pretty teapots.  There were a bunch of kitten teapots with a paw up to the side, the spout!

Mom walking outside Bonbonerie and also by the irises...her favorite flowers!

Butterflies of Morocco

I remember hearing of my grandma's trip to Morocco...  She gave me a t-shirt from Tunisia when I was about 10 and I wore it for many years after.  I guess she must've gone to Algeria, too, because that's between those two countries in northern Africa.

We went to see the Butterflies of Morocco at Krohn Conservatory (it's a huge greenhouse with all kinds of exotic plants, like banana trees and cacoa pods growing) in Eden Park in Cincinnati.  Admission is $7/adults and $4/children, under 4 are FREE.  We got coupons to use for $1 each admission at the library.

We walked around Eden Park to where there is a nice lookout point over the Ohio River.  The girls took turns in the old phone booth!

 

Little Elizabeth is 9 months old today...exactly 3 more months until her first birthday!

 

You probably know the story of Remus and Romulus, the two brothers who were raised by a wolf.