National Chocolate Cake Day

For all you chocoholics out there, today, January 27th, should put a smile on your face because it is "National Chocolate Cake Day." Any excuse to eat chocolate is OK with me. It also happens to be my Grandson's 18th Birthday and when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted - to my surprise he said chocolate. So I looked through my recipes for one given to me by my neighbor many years ago. I used to make it for my son when he was young. Found it!

Chocolate Cake (Moist)  

2 C flour                           1/2 C sour milk
2C sugar                           2 eggs
1 stick oleo                        1 tsp soda
1/2 C shortening              1 tsp vanilla
1 C water                         3 TBL cocoa

Mix in sauce pan - butter, shortening, cocoa and water. Bring to boil. Pour over flour and sugar and mix. Add other ingredients and mix well.
Bake in shallow pan 20 - 25 min.

Icing

Melt 1 stick butter
4 TB. cocoa
6 TB milk

Melt this mixture. Add 1 tsp. vanilla and enough powdered sugar to spread.
(about 1 box powdered sugar, add a little more if too runny)

Enjoy!

Wondiferous Weed Walk

Tina and the members of the Essential Herbal chat group have talked us into having a weed walk at our home. It will be held on August 15th rain or shine. We hope it will be a learning and fun experience for those that attend. There will be lectures, demonstrations, and handouts. Space is limited so if you wish to attend please contact me at sgherbs@verizon.net. Some of the topics we are working on are tinture making, wild edibles, hydrosols, soapmaking, mushroom logs, maple tree tapping, out door bake oven baking, and much more. Sign up before July 15th to receive the Early Bird price. Hope to hear from you soon.
Picture is Fred picking Watercress along the trail.

Teaberries ready to eat.

Teaberries, growing in aboundance along the trail.

Spring Antique Show Somerset

This weekend an Antique mall where we rent a space, (I dabble in Antiques too) had their annual Antique show. The weather was good on Saturday but Sunday we had a cold front go through. I am planning on moving my Herb Shop to a new location within the next couple months. It will be directly across from the Antique Mall in a shopping complex called "The Georgian Place". It has a beautiful setting, with shops wrapped around an Inn. This location will bring more visibility to my business. I plan on putting my shop in the front entrance and renting the rest of the space to Antique vendors. Check out the pictures, the room with the inside vendors is the store I will be renting. First picture is the outside of my new location, next is the Inn, next is the Antique Mall located across from me and last vendors set up inside the building that will become my new shop.

Susanna & Maryanne discussing ideas for next years faire.

The Butterfly Puddler booth always has a nice display.

Fred watching the booth.

Landis Valley Herb Faire

Maryanne, Tina, & Sue Having Fun!
We attended the Herb Faire at Landis Valley last weekend and got to see some of our friend. The weather was great and the crowd kept us busy. Fred did a talk on Barn Stars and I did a demo on Brewing a perfect cup of Tea. Check out the pictures and see if you recognize any familar faces?

For Christmas I took my daughter Cathi and granddaughter Sadie to New York City. While their we saw the play Mary Poppins and went to Radio City Music Hall. Sadie really enjoyed her first trip to the big apple and wants to go back. Other things she saw was China Town, the Statue of Liberty all the toy stores on Fifth Avenue and of course Times Square. One place she asked to visit was the Doughnut Plant, famous for their square doughnuts. She had seen a program about them on the History channel. The only down side to the trip was the COLD WEATHER. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Fred and I have been working on the garden between rain drops since spring. We decided to make a few changes - eliminate some beds - so the garden is more manageable. You know the older you get the quicker you tire! It had a small water feature that he has taken out and is putting in a new pond that a kind neighbor no longer wanted. I have been weeding and weeding as a result of long neglect, but it is starting to take shape. When finished I think I will plant a row of different colored Iris.