Anna's home!

She's home! Mike went to pick Anna up at her drop-off point in VA. They got home late but we all stayed up until midnight or so talking. Anna had a good week at camp and had much to share.

Earlier in the day, Mike took Allen and Lizzie to a Youth Sportsmen's Day up in Waldorf. They had a wonderful time learning about archery, shooting, animal tracking, fish identification, etc. They got home around 6 pm, lightly sunburned and happy. We were a very tired family this morning.
Last night, Sarah decided to have some friends over for dinner after church this morning. It was very informal, and we had roast chicken, sourdough cracked wheat rolls, corn, turnip greens, potatoes and gravy, stuffing, watermelon, apple dumplings...and lots of lemonade.

I made these apple dumplings based on a recipe that was recently posted by my friend MaryAnn over at A Joyful Chaos. You can see her recipe here.

This is my version:

Apple Dumplings

6 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apples (several varieties)

2 cans (8 oz each) crescent rolls

1 stick butter melted

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

12 oz mountain dew or sprite

cinnamon or apple pie spice

Place 5 or 6 slices of apples on each triangle of dough; wrap loosely. Try to use one slice each of several kinds of apples in each dumpling. Place seam-side down in a well-buttered 9x13 glass dish.

Melt butter, then add water and vanilla. Pour over all making sure each dumpling gets coated. Pour soda around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon or apple pie spice. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Our family enjoyed eating this when it was almost completely cooled...and the dumplings had absorbed most of the juices. When serving, be sure to spoon some sauce over each dumpling. Enjoy!

This is a wonderful dish to make with children since there is a lot to do: peeling and coring apples, rolling up dumplings, etc.

On Friday, everyone headed over to my parents' home. Allen brought his friend Jeff along. They swam in the pool......and rode the paddle boat around the pond.

I walked down to the pond to take pictures. It sure was humid!

The pond has a vine growing around the edges. It looks awful from afar...like scum or something.

Here's a closeup of the vine. The fish love it.

I was surprised the paddle boat was able to cut a path through it.

Meanwhile, Maggie and Lizzie were in the kitchen helping Grandad bake up two recipes: sticky buns and blueberry turnovers.
Grandad did his share. Both my Dad and my aunt have (had for aunt Joan) a love of cooking. I will have to ask Dad where they got that. Probably watching all my many great-aunts (dad was 6 when his mother passed away).
Speaking of blueberries...the amish store is accepting orders for frozen and fresh blueberries. The frozen are $37 for 30 lbs. They don't know the price for fresh yet. These blueberries are the best! Usually the fresh blueberries come in 20 lb boxes...which takes my family 5 days to eat. If you'd like to order through me, let me know. We have been feasting on raspberries this summer. I never tire of that! This past week I was in Walmart and noticed a few senior citizens trying out the free samples of ham. It got my curiosity, so I made sure it contained no eggs or dairy, then tasted it. Delicious! No fatty parts or fake taste! So I asked for 4" unsliced. It cost about $10 but made a large bowlful. The brand is Sahlens. I diced it to put on top of our salad for dinner that night.
With the hot weather, we've been enjoying fresh and cool meals.
One night we had crab claws from Crabknockers. Only $5/bag!
I found this picture of "the cousins" in Sarah's folder. Love it!

I made two flower arrangements from my garden. I arrange flowers as badly as I take pictures:-)

They sure do brighten my kitchen!

This is a long post but lately I've been having trouble finding the time to get online. Allen is busy writing reports, Sarah has several blogs, and everyone else enjoys it too. It is one of the few things to do in this heat! Here in southern Maryland, we are breaking several records with our current temps. We will have a little break this week for which I'm very thankful. Meanwhile, I haul lots of garden hoses for watering the gardens.

Enjoy your week. Many blessings ~ Kathie