“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.”- Gertrude Jekyll

Don’t you agree that juicy fruit and fresh veggies are some of the best gifts of summer? We have been harvesting everyday now and looking for new recipes to change things up a bit. This recipe took lots of cucumbers and ingredients we always have on hand except for the rye bread. Nathan, the girls, and I loved it – the boys, however, have decided cucumbers aren’t their thing right now, so they were happy to let us devour the dish! Comment below if you’ve tried this recipe or have a favorite cucumber recipe of your own : )

I’m a little overzealous about clutter (according to my husband, anyway…), and all the treasures that land on our fridge seem to pile and pile up – not enough magnets! But we think we have found a beautiful solution. This cable took all of ten minutes to install, and it even comes with the cute little clips. We usually have the latest art hanging, but have also enjoyed displaying Christmas cards, prayer requests, and birthday decorations.

The wonderful elderly lady whom we assumed ownership of our property from told us stories of the truckloads of raspberries she and her husband would haul to the local farmers market each summer. Now there is a only small raspberry patch left from the 40 year legacy. We certainly have plans of expanding it, though – when the berries are on, the enticing patch can’t sustain the foraging fingers! It’s everyone’s destination, whether we’re on a walk or out doing chores. Raspberries are so delicate, we usually eat them fresh. You’re in for a summer treat if you’ve never had them sprinkled on homemade vanilla ice cream! I’d love to hear about your family’s favorite thing to do with fresh raspberries, too – leave a comment.

with love, Damaris