In my mind, I'm going to...

I didn't make my regular post last week, but it was because our lives got a lot more exciting in a very short time!  Todd has been looking for full-time work in his field for the past year while finishing up his dissertation.  After obtaining his Ph.D. at the end of last year, he started his job search with renewed vigor in 2012.  Two weeks ago, he received TWO job offers!  After much prayer, we now know and can announce...

WE'RE MOVING TO SOUTH CAROLINA!!!

We'll be settling in the Clemson area in the upcountry, the far northwest corner of the state.  It's a beautiful area in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, surrounded by lakes, and we are beyond excited.  Todd will start work at Clemson University the second week of September. 

So, we took a little drive down there last week.

It's interesting to see how vegetation varies by region.  We saw a lot of the same trees that we have in Indiana, but we also saw quite a bit of cactus and bamboo.  Crepe myrtle trees were in bloom everywhere, and I saw several magnolia trees, too.  As a gardener, I'm especially excited.  Making the jump to Hardiness Zone 7 opens up a whole new world of gardening possibilities!

Did I mention...magnolia trees?!?

Clemson is a small town of about 12,000 people.  The university is beautiful, with a lovely landscaped campus bordered by large lakes on two sides.  There are several other small towns only 10 or 15 minutes away in each direction.  For someone who's used to concrete and traffic, this sort of town-to-town drive is very refreshing:

You can just see the mountains in the distance!  Just beyond the main streets and housing clusters of each small town is this:

Quiet, tree-lined streets.  A little further out, farms.  It's so pretty!

One of the reasons for our trip was to look at houses.  We looked at some more modern homes...

...but we mainly saw old-fashioned ones.

It doesn't look big from here, but this is a 5-bedroom farmhouse, built in the 1930s!

Oh, it's so green.  I've missed the grass.

This farmhouse is partially remodeled...

...but other areas need some work.

This is not the house, of course, but one of the two barns on the property.  Todd is imagining a place to store our business...while I'm more focused on the other barn, which would house animals.

It's a little ramshackle, but it is a barn with 4 stalls and plenty of room to move around.

A beekeeper must live nearby, because we saw these down the street:

They were full of very active bees!

It was fun to look at houses, but we wanted to see the natural beauty of the area, too.  We drove about 20 minutes north of the little town with the farmhouse, to the Jocassee Reservoir.  It's amazingly beautiful, and seemed so large.  I couldn't believe it when I looked on a map and saw that we were only at one tiny finger of a much, much larger body of water.

The water was so warm and inviting that we immediately peeled off our shoes and socks and went wading.

This is one body of water that Todd has agreed to snorkel in!  Scuba diving is very popular here too, as well as all types of boating, swimming, hiking, and bicycling.

It was great to take a break...

...but now we're home and in a flurry of activity.  We've patched and painted the interior of the house, hauled loads and loads of things to Goodwill, and filled a second storage unit with miscellaneous non-essentials.  We're putting our house up on the market this week and are then going to rush to get ready for a toy show we'll have a booth at later this month.  Then packing, finding a place around Clemson, and finally, hauling two cats and a very nervous dog on a pretty long drive!

Phew!

We're ready for the challenge, though!  Todd and I are both excited about this opportunity and are really pleased about the area we'll be moving to.  Moving is never fun, but we've gotten a lot of great advice from friends and family and I think we'll be able to keep things pretty low-stress.

I think.

I'll be sure to post regular updates.  Have a great week!

Dog Days of Summer

Because of the drought, my garden looks like this:

...instead of this:

So, I'm supplementing our indoor bouquets with grocery store flowers.  One that I've didn't use to like, but now do, is astroemeria.  The flowers can look 'plastic' in the wrong setting, but put them in the sun...

They're one of the most inexpensive flowers you can buy, too!  Lovely!

Several weeks ago, I bought a few ornamental pepper plants for their bright, cheerful leaves.

Soon they flowered...

And then the flowers closed up as tiny peppers started to form.

 

Now my pepper plants are covered in tiny purple peppers.  I'm so glad I bought them!

 

We are definitely in the dog days of summer, and most of the time we feel like this:

Our situation was greatly improved when a friend brought me an almost-new machine from the thrift store.  It was originally $11...

 

...but she had a coupon.  So, I got it for $5...

My very own ice cream maker!  It was barely used and worked perfectly.  Making ice cream from scratch is ridiculously easy.  Make sure your ingredients are cold and the ice cream maker's inner canister is frozen.  Pour in your ingredients and hit the ON button.  Wait 25 minutes. You then have the equivalent of soft serve ice cream.  If you like your ice cream firm and 'scoopable', just freeze it for a few hours.  Done!  

 For my first batch of ice cream, I decided to go DECADENT...rich chocolate ice cream made with 5 egg yolks, making it taste like rich, creamy gelato.  

It was wonderful, but I couldn't help but think of just how fattening a half cup was...and that took away a bit of the enjoyment.  I decided to find something a little healthier.  I discovered that putting chocolate pudding and some evaporated milk into the ice cream maker yields something that tastes a bit like a Wendy's Frosty...that's a good thing when you use all low-fat ingredients and make your pudding from scratch.

But I decided to compromise between "healthy" and "coronary" with the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Book.  First, I took the eggless cookie dough recipe from this blog entry and mixed it together, rolling it into indecently large balls and putting them into the freezer while I made the ice cream.

I took one of B & J's basic vanilla recipes and substituted egg beaters for the eggs.  Once it was done churning and had reached the soft serve stage, I stirred in the frozen cookie dough balls and ladled the ice cream in to a large container to freeze.

Best. Ice cream.  Ever.

I've made two batches in four days and it hasn't lasted long enough for a staged photo, just a photo of us scraping the bottom of the container for the last remaining spoonfuls.

I love making my own ice cream with my own pure ingredients, no worries about additives or preservatives.  The ice cream only has five ingredients, too, which you probably already have sitting around!

Ben and Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream

Makes one quart

Slightly modified

Ingredients

1/2 cup Eggbeaters (or 2 eggs)

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (NOT imitation, this will keep it from freezing!)

Mix together...pour into ice cream maker...stir for 25 minutes...stir in your cookie dough balls...ladle into a bowl...and enjoy!

I'm already thinking of other stir-ins...brownies?  Oreo cookies?  Fruit puree?  The sky's the limit.  I HIGHLY recommend getting your own ice cream maker (this model retails for around $40) and starting your own experiments.  Just don't forget to pick up a gym membership while you're at it!  ;) 

Have fun!

a bout of scout(ing)

Last week, Todd and I drove to Kentucky to retrieve some merchandise being stored in an uninhabited 101-year old farm house.  While Todd "wheeled and dealed" with the merchandise owner, I prowled around the property, trying to keep the sweat out of my eyes in the 103-degree heat. 

The buildings have fallen into dilapidation, for the most part.  Nature is slowly but surely reclaiming the space.  You can see the vines sneaking up the edge of the roof on this barn.

Similar vines stretch across the front porch...

...and up the walls.

A trumpet vine threatens to strangle a small shed. 

Trumpet vines are beautiful plants, much loved by butterflies and hummingbirds. 

They can be very invasive, though, so plant them on a trellis but never against your house.  They will take over!

I saw wild grapes on an ancient arbor, almost invisible in the weeds.

Bright purple ironweed lit up a dark corner...

...and wild meadow daisies made a cheerful show in an otherwise parched meadow.

This odd weed reminded me of a flower...

...except for the gangly stalks that grew out of its top.

These strange rainbow-colored spikes were clustered around the front porch.  What were they?

I did some research later and discovered that they are arem italicum, or the Italian Cuckoo Pint plant. They aren't supposed to be up until fall, but the drought and heat caused them to spike prematurely.  Also known as "Lords and Ladies Plant", the roots of arem italicum were boiled and then powdered and made into a starch that stiffened the ruffles and collars of 16th and 17th century clothing. 

I'm going to file this away for future reference...they make beautiful late fall and early winter-interest plants!

I saw maple bladder gall all over these maple leaves.

Tiny mites that have overwintered in the bark of the tree cause these bumps.  They feed and then lay eggs there.

Another strange growth or gall is affecting these leaves, but I don't know what kind!

A type of boring insect caused the holes in this tree. 

There are a few fruit trees there that still produce.  This mystery tree was just starting to fruit...

...but this apple tree had been producing for a long time.

The apples were shriveled in the heat, but are still tasty to local wildlife.  Some deer scat underneath the tree indicates that this is probably a favorite feeding spot.

There were other signs of life, too.  Lots of little skippers were visiting the still-green clover plants.

I spotted an old ootheca...

...and soon enough, one of its former occupants.

 There were lots...and lots...of googly-eyed grasshoppers.

Some were brown but most were green...

...with black-striped backs.

I saw these red paper wasps swarming around a tree and burrowing under the bark.

They shred the bark from trees and use it to build nests in abandoned buildings.  I did not go looking for one of those!

Lots of beautiful spider webs hung in buildings and even in the trees.

Try as I might, I was only able to spot a solitary spider, hidden except for one or two legs.

It's interesting what you can see if you're willing to look closely at something that at first sight, seems devoid of life!

There's no "knitting" or "stirring" on today's post.  Unfortunately, we're entering our 12th week of no rain and 100+ temperatures, and our A/C unit is in need of repair and is not putting out much cold air.  It's being serviced today, so hopefully I'll be able to make more than the perfect glass of ice water soon!

Have a great week!