slice of life mid-june

Most every morning, especially when the weather is hot, my breakfast is a nutritious, filling and delicious smoothie. I simply throw these ingredients into the blender in this order: enough Silk Unsweetened Almond-Coconut milk just to cover the blades, about a cup of organic frozen mixed fruit, a banana, a dollop of unsweetened plain Greek yogurt, a tablespoon of hemp hearts, a sprinkling of turmeric, and a handful of organic baby spinach. Takes only a few minutes to make and you could even pour this into a portable drink container to take in your car if you're going to work or an appointment, etc. in the morning. You can easily mix this up with different fruits, kale instead of spinach, add some flaxseed meal instead of hemp hearts (or, use both), or even put in a little unsweetened organic coconut for a tropical taste.

A little something new...a vintage find from last week ~

the yellow sifter in the middle of the china cabinet.

We attended the wedding of my friend's daughter last weekend. They made their own table decorations, which I thought were really pretty.

The wedding and reception was held at a nearby venue right on this gorgeous lake. One thing I love about the area I live is the many lakes.

This ginger kitty had been hanging around our house the past few weeks, driving my cats nuts when they saw him through the windows. I think he belongs to someone on the street in back of us, because he'd always run through the arborvitaes in the back yard to get to the houses behind us. With the weather being in the 90's this past week, I haven't seen him, so I hope that means the owners are keeping him inside. Which they should be doing all the time, anyway. 

All my plants are really taking off...
I can't believe how huge this red-veined sorrel got since last year. It was just a tiny plant when I bought it. It's also flowering now, which is kind of pretty. I'm not sure whether to leave it like this, or if I should cut this growth off. If it means those little buds are going to fall off and self-seed, then I suppose I should cut them. 

My Kentucky Pole Bean plant is growing about an inch every day now! I'm sure it won't be long before the pods start forming on the vines. You might recall from a previous post, that this "trellis" is actually my boy's crib springs. :-)

The cherry tomato plants are growing like crazy now, too.

And, the hostas! We have them all around our house, but this one astounds me every year with how huge it is. We've even divided it several times already.

Purple Salvia at its peak...

The tiger lilies in our front ditch have just started to bloom. They're such a pretty filler for an unsightly area, but once the blooms fade, the plant itself isn't far behind and then they look scrappy. That's the downfall to tiger lilies, but oh well. We enjoy them while they last.

Guess what else is in bloom now? Mulberries! Our mean next door neighbor has two huge mulberry trees on her property, one of which hangs directly over the south side of our house. That's where we have a lot of nice perennials, potted plants, and the patio. We just had her trees trimmed last month (and that was an ugly, horrendous story in itself) but still, these disgusting mulberries drop all over our patio. And the patio furniture. And all over the perennial beds. And into plant pots. They stink and attract flies. So, every day I'm out there sweeping up these mushy berries. I also had to move the two rocking chairs up against the house to protect them from the mulberries. I'd also love to get an outdoor rug for the patio, but it would get ruined.

Happy weekend ~ and happy almost-summer!