aunt ruthie in the ozarks

Well howdy-do Sugar Pie! Thank you so-so much for stopping by! I’ve been a busy gal tending to my garden. We’ve had so much rain that the weeds have really taking over.  Fortunately, my pumpkin plants are growing good and strong! Here’s the crazy thing…once again I’m growing another “accidental” pumpkin patch again this year. Although, this time I think I should say “intentional-accidental!” What I mean is, we intentionally threw our pumpkins over our deck onto my garden plot this past winter and WA-LAH! (Voila!)…pumpkin plants started popping up all over this spring! Makes this mama happy!

Here I am with my faded, vintage granny apron on (that I bought for $3 at a flea market here in the Ozarks) and my bandana on my head to keep the wind from blowing my hair across my face and sticking to my lipstick…ha! Yes, I wear lipstick while gardening! Like I always say “If the barn needs paintin’…paint it!” Hee hee! That’s how I roll sistah! :D

chicken boots in the pumpkin patch

Chicken boots and pumpkin plants. Yee Haw!

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Meanwhile inside my house…OH DEAR, we had (key-word “had”) a mouse in the house. Eeeeek! Lord have mercy! That there, is life in the country, by golly! I can tolerate a lot of things but not that! There’s only one mouse that I like and his name is Mickey. Other than him, the very minute I see evidence (poop) of a mouse, I declare war! I search for any points of entry to find out how he got in. I lay sticky glue traps (affiliate) everywhere!  Fortunately, and thank The Lord we caught that rascal! Those sticky traps are the best thing since sliced bread, I tell ya!

Well, I had to scrub and scrub everything that got in it’s path.  For some reason he walked through my beloved apron drawer. OH GOOD GRAVY! So I grabbed all of my aprons and pushed them into the washing machine and set it on the Sanitize cycle, which runs for about 2 hours. Oh Lawdy! When I went to transfer them into the dryer I found my aprons were tied together in a million knots! Wet knots at that! I coudn’t believe it! Seriously, I kept staring at this jumbled ball of soggy aprons twirled together like spaghetti on a fork. I kept thinking, what do I do now?? I called my daughter Summer to come see…she burst into a belly laugh and then we laughed ourselves silly. Then we got busy untangling that mess. It took us about 30 minutes. But I think the memory of it will last a lifetime! Note to self: Don’t launder a bunch of untied aprons together! Sheeeze!

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Well, in other news, the good ol’ summertime is here at last! Yay!!! Fresh fruit from the farmer’s markets, slip-in-slides, sparkler’s on warm, starry 4th of July nights, family get-togethers…

my ozark backyardSummer rainstorms…blue skies…puffy clouds lazily drifting by…

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Growing my kitchen garden…

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and my favorite homegrown cherry tomatoes warm from the sun…

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daisy fresh, sunny mornings…

IMG_3414…summertime fishin’ with my kids and grand babies! And another soon-to-be summer favorite is my  new grandbaby that’s on the way! My son Dusty and daughter-in-love Kimmy are expecting their 3rd in July! We don’t know what they’re having yet! It’s going to be a surprise!

IMG_2315More summertime favorites are dining outdoors…

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and making my most favorite Plum jam!

IMG_3150Recently I made a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb jam…soooo yummy! I kept taste-testing spoonfuls at a time…well I had to make sure it tasted right don’t-cha-know! Ha!

southern watermelon iced tea

And here’s a new-to-me summertime favorite! Watermelon Iced Tea! My son J.J. called me the other day and told me about it. He thought I might like to share it with y’all on my blog…isn’t that just the cutest! I love how he was thinking about his mama and her blog! Well, he said he was at a restaurant and they were serving this delicious watermelon iced tea. He said he loved it and that it was really refreshing. So I googled it and come to find out it’s an old southern recipe!

Basically, you make a pitcher of iced tea (minus two cups) and add two cups of pureed watermelon from the blender (that’s about 3 cups of chopped watermelon). Make sure the watermelon has great flavor and is nice and sweet. Sometimes the watermelon’s that we buy turns out to be a tasteless, grainy dud. It’s not going to taste any better in your iced tea either. Now if you want your tea even sweeter go ahead and add sugar to taste,  a simple syrup or honey. You can also add fresh mint or basil too! Then just pour over a tall glass filled with ice. It’s a refreshing twist to plain iced tea. I’m thinking peach iced tea would be yummy too!

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Another summer favorite of mine: It’s the perfect music for  sitting-on-the-porch, watching-fireflies-dance-on-sultry-evenings, while you’re sipping an ice cold glass of Southern Watermelon Iced Tea…it’s Billie Holiday! I love the way she sings “Summertime…and the livin’ is easy…fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high”. Ahhhh! It’s the simple things in life that are so sweet! Click here to listen to a sampler of her 1940’s blue-zy, southern sound! (affiliate)

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Every summer I have to pull out one of my favorite Summer books to get me in the summertime mood! It’s Susan Branch’s The Summer Book! Oh how I love her stories, charming illustrations and recipes! I just love her!

wf-cover-web-386x4991Hey speaking of Summertime books! Hee hee! If you’ve never picked up my summer ebook Watermelon & Fireflies…you  need to get you one right here!!

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It’s jam packed with vintage goodness!

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Recipes, stories, family fun ideas!

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51 Farm Fresh Ideas Fo Celebrating The Good Ol’ Summertime!

 

My heart’s passion is to encourage you to be the best mama, wife, woman, and/or  homemaker that you can be (by homemaker I mean any woman that loves her home and wants to create a safe, happy place for her family– whether she works outside the home or inside the home). That’s what Sugar Pie Farmhouse/ Warm Pie, Happy Home is all about.

I want to continue sharing with you valuable tips that I’ve learned through my 39 years of marriage and homemaking and 35 years of being a mama to four kids! Believe me when I tell you that I’ve had my share of challenges and difficulties keeping my home organized, raising my babies,  and keeping my marriage strong. Not to mention going through post-partum depression, infertility (for three years), feelings of self-doubt and failure. But I’ve also learned that I don’t have to be perfect and that Jesus is right by my side, and that He has an amazing plan for my life as He does yours! I’ve learned the secret to joy and focusing on one of the most important things in my life which is making sure my family feels loved, blessed and cared for.

All that to say this; I love you my Sugar Pie Sister so very much, you are so dear to my heart and so when you take your precious time to come here I want to provide you with the most value that I possibly can. I don’t want to waste your time or mine. I need to know how I can best help you find joy and contentment in life. Not that I have all the answers, but I have a whole lot of experience behind me that I want to share with you!

So here’s where I need your help:

  • I want to know what is your greatest frustration in life? As a woman, homemaker, wife, mother, Christian?
  • What are your pain-points, challenges, or obstacles?
  • Are you stressed out? With what?
  • What do you struggle with?
  • What are you anxious about?

Here’s the thing, we all struggle with stuff! We’re all in the same boat! Let’s help each other!

Leave a comment below! God bless you dear on! Just the fact that you are here tells me you have a heart for home, family and sweet vintage goodness just like me!

Sending you sweet-as-pie hugs and blessings!

Aunt Ruthie

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