The Chili Dog Days of Summer...

Okay, I admit it...I'm being a little silly today!

It's been a hot & humid week in Central New York as it has been in most of the country. Below is a picture I took from my back door about 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. Red skies...

Any rate, getting back to my topic. A couple of weeks ago, we had a Pizza Hut pizza party for my mother and aunt, both in their 80s. It brings so much pleasure to the two of them when we have these parties every so often, but last time my aunt said, "The next party needs to be a chili dog from the Patio Drive-In party."

I'm all for that; I love chili dogs and there are none better than the ones from Patio Drive-In.

So today, in honor of my mother and aunt, it is officially the Chili Dog Days of Summer Party which will be held at my mother's house later this afternoon.

Oh, I can't wait...chili dogs and fried onion rings with champagne; doesn't get much better than that!

Pucker Up, buttercup!

This weekend, even though it was hot and humid, I decided to make the muffin recipe that I posted in my last blog.

They were super easy to make (meaning, I didn't have to bring out my mixer!); they actually only took 20 minutes; and they are absolutely delicious. Of course, you have to like the taste of lemon.

I substituted a can of lemon pie filling for the lemon curd and it worked just fine. Other than that substitution, I followed the recipe exactly as written.

Comments from the peanut gallery were quite favorable; my son even thought the muffins would make a nice dessert. I definitely agree, but they would also make a wonderful choice to serve for breakfast, or brunch.

I am definitely going to add the muffins to my holiday menu!

My computer upgrade is about half way done. Yay! I hate disruption, but sometimes it cannot be helped. Still crossing my fingers that I am completely up and running in a couple of days!

Daylilies are in bloom...

...and they are spectacular!

About a month ago, I transplanted some purple and yellow daylilies on either side of my patio.

They are now in full bloom and I can see them from my kitchen window. What a great way to start the morning gazing out the window looking at the beautiful flowers and the birds that visit my yard; it takes the drudgery out of cutting several vegetables to cook in my omelet each morning.

For those of you who like recipes, here is one I plan on trying this weekend. It came across my Facebook feed this morning and just sounds so good given that the weather here is hot and sticky. What is better than lemonade on a hot, humid day?

Click on the picture for the recipe; there is also a recipe for a lemonade milk shake on the same page. Yum! The muffins are definitely on my to-do list for this weekend; the shake I probably will pass on, but I'm betting a tall glass of ice tea will go great with those muffins!

We are in the process of once again updating my computer system because I need more storage space. Besides writing this blog, I also write several other blogs for my online business as well as writing a blog about our town political shenanigans which includes videotapes of each town meeting and that takes a lot of computer space. I am hoping that the changeover to the new system will be this weekend (fingers crossed) so I probably will not be blogging at all for the next few days.

In the meantime, I'm off to my studio to finish creating my latest pattern that I will be releasing early next week. If you are in love with American Girl dolls (I actually have several) or know someone who is, my next pattern may be just what you are looking for!

Hope everyone finds some time to relax and stay cool in the days ahead!

Dog Days of Summer...

..."the sultry part of the summer, supposed to occur during the period that Sirius, the Dog Star, rises at the same time as the sun: now often reckoned from July 3 to August 11." (Dictionary.com)

In honor of Sirius, I thought I would share a picture my son took a couple of days ago of my two faithful companions.

Dolly, on the right, is a Cockapoo that I adopted from the Rome Humane Society in 2008. According to papers I received at the adoption she is now 15+ years old; however, she has the spunk and playfulness of a puppy. She is my shadow.

Gracie, on the left, is a Pomeranian that I adopted from the Stevens-Swan Humane Society in 2014. She is now about seven years old. Gracie is a love bug; she is always looking to be scratched for hours on end.

Dog lovers will understand when I say that my furbabies are my joy! Please consider adopting a pet; there are so many looking for a loving home!