Friday, July 25, 2014

My Friday Random 5


I had to make a little run to the city yesterday.  While there I made a quick walk through Shelter Gardens to see how their flowers were looking this summer.  I practiced some macro shooting on this hibiscus, and I still need lots more practice but shooting in the very bright sun makes seeing your camera kind of difficult.  It was a beautiful day but the sun seemed exceptionally bright, probably because I was taking photos.


This old water pump in the gardens always brings back thoughts of the farm where I grew up.  In the summer, I was often given the job of pumping water for whatever livestock happened to be in the lot by the barn.  The pump was very similar to this one.  It wasn't a hard job, but it took some time to fill the tank under the spout if it was very low in water.  I had many different chores living on the farm.  I'll tell about some others another time.  What was a chore you were given to do when you were a youngster?


I also stopped by the resale shop yesterday.  I'd forgotten they were having their Christmas in July things out.  I don't know about you, but I'm just not ready to look at Christmas stuff in July!!  I only bought a cookbook written by a woman who used to write articles and share recipes in the old Kitchen Klatter magazines.  Anyone remember those?  Yeah, I know, I'm really telling my age here.  My grandmother used to subscribe to this little magazine and would pass them on to me.  Bottles of Kitchen Klatter flavorings used to be on the grocery shelves, but I haven't seen them in years.  I should have done a Google search to see if they were still in business.


My little buddy, Stormy, helping me shuck corn for dinner last night.  I shuck the corn and put it into a kettle of boiling water and boil 4 minutes.  Perfecto!  My aunt tells me I should just put the corn, husks and all, in the microwave and I've heard other people do this but old habits die hard.  I still prefer to do it this way.  I know it will be good!  How do you prepare your corn on the cob?  


I just can't resist sharing another photo of my sunflowers.  If you were following me last year, you know I had a thing for zinnias and showed them nearly every day, or so it seemed.  I still love zinnias but haven't taken many photos of them this year.  No worries!  You'll get to see some of them before summer is over.  :)    

Linking to Tanya's Willy Nilly Friday 5

Happy Friday to you!
xo Cheryl 

36 comments:

  1. Hi Cheryl Love the first shot and the 3rd shots looks like a beautiful painting however you are edited it. Have a great weekend.

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  2. I'm loving your sunflowers so keep on posting them. The hibiscus is amazing too.

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  3. Beautiful flower shots. As for childhood chores, I washed the dishes each night.
    Stormy is so sweet. I cook my corn just like you. I'm one of those who still bakes potatoes in the oven!
    Hope you have a very nice weekend.

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  4. i wonder about the Kitchen Klatter - i will have to ask my mom?? sounds like a cool magazine.

    i love sunflowers. your corn helper is too too cute!!

    one camping spot we camped at had one of those water pumps ..it works well without electricity but it is a lot of work. you never realize how precious your water is - until you have to work one of those guys. think of the muscles you would have though?? so cool! ( :

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  5. the yellow cone flower should be printed on a canvas and hung on the wall. i can see it there now. i love sunflowers keep on posting.My chore that i hated was hauling drinking water from a house down the street, we had outhouse and no drinking water in the house. it was about 200 yards to wear i had to get the water.
    but the pump made me smile. we moved to KY when i was 10, i had never seen a pump and the 3 room school had no running water. outside was a puimp like this one. they would bring a bucket of water inside each room and had a dipper for COMMON use and i was SHOCKED to the core.. i did not want to drink from it. brilliant idea was to take a piece of paper from my notebook and form it into a cup... the problem was i held it in one hand under the pump and pumped with the other... you can imagine the rest

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  6. The flowers are lovely. Loved the water pump and story. My job as a child was the ironing. It was quite a chore too.

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  7. i'll have to google kitchen klatter, sounds like something i'd love! again, gorgeous flowers...i'm trying to think of my chores...had to clean up the dog poo, i did quite a bit of cooking and cleaning the whole house when i got older and my mom was working full time then...i also had to keep the pool clean, skimming, acid/chlorine levels, but my dad was the pool vacuum dude :) i have heard that too about the corn but i still shuck by hand and i boil it for about 10 minutes. my husband likes to grill the corn on the cob but i don't care for it that way, not as juicy to me, or maybe it's the way he does it lol...a thing he does that annoys me, if i'm shopping with him and he wants to get corn, he shucks it right there in the store. i know they have the trashcan set up for that and some people do but i just peel back the top to make sure i got a good ear then shuck it at home. who wants to do that in the store? stormy looks like quite the helper lol...have a great weekend and thanks for playing along!

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  8. I'm so glad you made a few stops yesterday and shared some of the highlights with us. Love all of the flower photos, but that sunflower with the bumblebee on it and the blue sky in the background is really nice.
    I'm afraid I am one of those people who can look at Christmas decor any time of year, especially if it's vintage :). I know, strange but true.
    Kitchen Klatter? Never heard of it, but it sounds delightful. I think we are close in age so I'm wondering whether it was a regional thing perhaps??
    As for corn cooking, I do mine in a pot of water but I cook it longer than you do. I usually let it boil 10-15 minutes. In the past few years we have started the microwave method too. It works great and is nice when it's just the two of us.
    My childhood chores were making my bed, cleaning my room on Saturdays, dishwashing, setting the table and helping out around the house as needed. I'd be interested to learn about your farm chores. I always thought it would be fun to live on a farm. Although I know it is hard work.
    Have a great weekend, Cheryl.

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  9. Good morning .
    Cute little helper you have there.....
    We still cook our corn in boiling water as well. I have started adding a bit of sugar to the water, and I think it adds a bit more sweetness.

    With 6 kids in our family, there was always something to do, but many hands make light work :)
    One of my favorite chores as a kid, was to rake the leaves in the fall.
    We would also pair up, two at a time and wash dishes and clean up the kitchen after meals.

    Have a happy weekend.

    K.

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  10. Beautiful pics. I have never heard of that magazine but the old ones are the best. I never microwave corn. Have a nice weekend. Hug B

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  11. stormy is a cute assistant. :) keep the sunflowers coming. liked the old pump, too. we had a pump in the farm yard. had to fill buckets and tote to the garden and to water my mom's flower beds. :)

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  12. Your flowers are gorgeous Cheryl. I like a cat that doesn't mind helping out. :):) My cousins had a pump like that on their farm too. Try to get a kid to go fetch water today...they would laugh so hard. Me too. xoxo,Susie

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  13. If I want fresh corn to be really good, I add sugar to the water and then boil as you do. Sneaky little trick that many of us use up heah. If I want to be good, I steam it. I rather like your aunt's idea and may have to give it a whirl.

    I think your photo is beautiful!

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    Replies
    1. Chores? Washing and drying dishes, weeding garden, keeping room clean, keeping house tidy, mowing lawn. At the lake there were all these plus hauling water and heating it on the stove for dishes and laundry. Only cats and dogs to care for...no livestock...thank goodness!

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  14. Isn't the Hibiscus a perfect bloom for the day . . . Yesterday I had five in bloom all at once . . . They seem to look prettier when I see them then in my photos.

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  15. I recently heard about the corn on the cob, microwave thingy . . . Cooked with the husk on, cut off the end, pull on the tassel end and the corn comes out clean as a whistle. I am still saying, "no way!" Have yet to try it! I think I will try throwing corn, husks and all in the boiling water though and see if it works! Fresh sweet corn isn't ready here yet! SOON . . .

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  16. The flowers are gorgeous! I also make my corn on the cob the old fashioned way….it's hard to change our ways!

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  17. Somedays I just hate the sunshine, those are always the days I see the best flowers. Chores I had lots of them as a kids living on a farm, you name it I probably did it. I enjoyed milking cows hearing the squirt squirt going in the bucket.
    Corn, I have heard that the microwave method is great in the husk and all and then cut off the end. Corn is not good up here yet, a few more weeks and I will try the microwave method. I f I boil corn I usually boil about 15 minutes..:)

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  18. Cheryl, geez you even got the shadow of the center of the plant. I googled for what it is called so I wouldn't look like a dummy. I thought it would be stamen, but it is called the stigma. I think it could be called either. Am I not just all full of info this morning?.. Ha! Love Shelter Gardens.. it gives me peace and I love the friendly squirrels.
    Stormy is darling and doing a great job of snoopervising! When we can, we grill our corn, we just boil when we can't grill. I will take a picture of your sunflowers any old day. Enjoy your Friday Cheryl! AND the weekend!

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  19. This is the cutest meme.... I have a few other friends who participate in it... AND --you make it so interesting!!!! We still do our Corn-on-the-cob the 'old-fashioned' way also... It's PERFECT for us--and so delicious. My son puts his on the outdoor grill --and it's good that way also.

    Love your sunflower and your hibiscus shot... NEAT....

    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  20. Beautiful! And I love sunflowers and zinneas too. My zinneas this year aren't as full and pretty as others I've planted, but... About corn on the cob: We haven't had it for a long time, but when I fix it, it's just steaming hot with butter. I set the butter stick out in a dish and we roll the cob of corn in it. I know. Some people hate that. But it's really efficient. My mother would never have let me do that. LOL

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  21. I cook corn-on-the-cob as you do it...the old-fashioned way. Yum!!
    Our zinnias are just beginning to fill in. Hopefully, the best is yet to come!
    Love that old pump!

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  22. we don't corn in our area (it's for the cows)..if imported and we get some we boil it still. I came from the city but relatives and friends used the water pump, so I am familiar with one, fond memories come with..;

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  23. Love corn on the cob, but even better to slice it off and add sugar and real butter. Oh to be young again and able to eat like that! Stunning sunflower!

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  24. The flowers are so pretty. I have a few white and pink in our yard. That pump brings back childhood memories for me too at my Aunts farm.

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  25. I tried that corn and husks in the microwave but had a rough time getting silk off a hot ear. Think I missed a step. I had a pump like that at my place in Florida for when the power went off after hurricanes. Wasn't good drinking but would flush toilets.

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  26. Love the flowers nice pump too, Francine.

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  27. Your third edited picture is amazing, I love it!! And the hibiscus macro is beautiful. Stormy is so sweet trying to shuck the corn!

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  28. Oh, I'd much rather have the shucked, boiled corn on the cob!!! That microwaving just sounds 'all kinds o' wrong' for me.

    Beautiful flowers....the pump is nostalgic...my grandmother had one....AND loved your furbaby helper!!!

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  29. I love the sunflower shot--I could show or look at them every day, too!

    Re putting corn, shucks and all in the microwave--I cannot help but think what if there is a worm!

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  30. I cook my corn in the microwave right out of the Green Giant bag.....lol. I never had any luck cooking fresh corn...always hard. Love your cat helping you shuck! That's just too cute....and what a sunflower!!! I thought we had some pretty sunflowers here, but ours have no orange....just yellow and brown....love your variety!!! Wish we had a seed swapping club! Love to have those grow here!!!

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  31. Hi Cheryl!

    Long time, no see! I love your pictures - it is hard to see in the sunlight, but the hibiscus is gorgeous!

    That old pump brought back memories for me too. I remember going up the hill to get water for the cabin, and carrying it all the way down wishing I had put on those gloves my mother told me to wear!

    I love corn on the cob too - but cooking it with the husks on makes my allergies go crazy, much better to cook it the old fashioned way!

    Sunflowers are always fun to look at, yours are gorgeous! And, I love the big ol' fat bumble bee!

    Looking forward to a few more posts now that most of my business is over - good to be back!

    Hugs,
    Barb

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  32. I tried the microwave corn with the husks... worked great! Who thinks of these things?? LOL! LOVE your sunflowers. Oh, they are so beautiful! And, it just wouldn't be summer without your zinnias... so, I'm looking forward to seeing some of them. (It has FINALLY started feeling like SUMMER here this past couple of weeks).

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  33. Everyone needs help with corn shucks, especially the kitty kind. :). We tried the microwave method twice this week and liked it. I'm into sunflowers this year. Have taken entirely too many photos. Lol

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  34. You really do take some awesome flower pictures. We are so limited on flowers around our house this year. I don't know what my problem is with planting them this year. I think it has just been too busy and too hot.
    I remember most riding with my Dad on a tractor on our farm and picking potatoes. Otherwise, I just played a lot out on our farm.
    Your little Stormy is adorable and you always get such cute pictures of him. I do have some corn on the cob I need to fix maybe tomorrow night.
    Loved this one and blessings and hugs for you for brightening my day with your photos.

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