"Those Lazy Days of Summer"...Say What???

I have been on an "unintentional" vacation from my blog.

Did you notice?

After writing my last post (June!!!),

I was feeling a bit stale and kept waiting

for inspiration to hit for my next post.

It never did and the whole summer seems

to have flown away.

I may have been uninspired,

but I haven't been idle.

Here's a little catch-up on what's

been happening this summer

at Buttermilk Cottage.

We had to say a very sad farewell to Chaos.

You might remember he was my bother Rick's dog,
who was going to stay here while
Rick and his family were in Germany
for a three year tour with the Navy.
Sadly, Chaos who was 16 years old,
began failing.
He was here a little more than a year
and it is amazing how he worked
himself into my heart.
You were a good dog Chaos
and I miss you.

My daughter Kate made a quick trip home
and sorted through loads of her things
that have been in storage in my
basement for the past three years.
She has made her move out of NYC
(goodbye publishing),
to Washington DC
(hello law school).
She now has her own apartment
and can finally take some of her things
to make her own nest.
Good luck Kate!

After anticipating it for the past year,
my sister Nancy and I finally took our trip
to Germany to visit Rick and his family.
(More pictures will be included in a later post.)
Due to their outstanding efforts
we had a wonderful vacation!
Thank you Rick and Terry.

I've been busy baking for the past few
weeks in anticipation of the upcoming
neighborhood yard sale,
during which we host a
"Bistro on the Porch."
So far, I have stocked away in the freezer
8 loaves of zucchini bread
(lovely zucchini from my Dad's garden)
8 dozen brownies with white chocolate chips
2 Lemon Blueberry Cakes
1 and a half Cinnamon Cakes
(Half the cake stuck to the pan and we had to eat it.)
The event is less than two weeks away
and I really should have something in the oven right now!

And finally, I have been knitting mittens all summer!
I have designed a cozy pair with wool and mohair
and will be listing them in my Etsy shop soon
in ten different colors.

So, a couple of months may have elapsed,
but you're up to date with me!

My Big Fantasy--Being a Restaurateur

We have just finished one of the busiest weekends

of the year here at Buttermilk Cottage.

It was our neighborhood yard sale,

which is a very big deal.

It's one of our neighborhood association's

bigger fund raisers for the year.

It's promoted heavily in our city and

neighboring area and brings

thousands and thousands of people

into the neighborhood.

The crowd starts early, often before the sun is even up.

Saturday morning started misty and cool.



But, the seasoned shopper knows the good stuff goes early!

Even so,  there's no shortage of something to tempt everyone!

Interesting merchandising--athletic shoes and baby dolls.

Are you thinking flea market, maybe?

The sale here at Buttermilk Cottage

is always small by comparison.

But...

we have found a way to compensate!

I often fantasize about having my own

Bed & Breakfast, Tea Room or Bistro.

For one day a year, I get to do it!

I've been baking and freezing for weeks,

but by Saturday I was ready!

We started with hot coffee, muffins and

cinnamon cake early in the morning

and sold our last (#90) chicken salad sandwich

 just before the yard sale ended at 3 P.M.

The porch becomes a nice oasis for weary & hungry shoppers.

As for me,

my little fantasy is usually completely satisfied

 by the end of the day;

and I'm quite content to go back to my

"day job" as a knitter and seamstress.

This week I'm linking with

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage

Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

The Bistro on the Porch...

As promised in my Neighborhood Yard Sale post, here's Part Two about our "event" last weekend.

Because we didn't have enough "treasures" to have a yard sale last year, we held a "Bistro on the Porch." We had such a good time with it, we continued it again this year. Friday evening we set our menu board out at the end of our sidewalk, to let everyone know we'd be open for breakfast/lunch and snacks the next morning.

We set up a pretty little counter at one end of the porch, displaying all our home made treats. In a cooler underneath we had two types of sandwiches already made up. Besides offering baked goods, we also had a sack lunch available which consisted of a sandwich, dessert and chips.

The morning started with freshly brewed coffee.

Half and half for the coffee was iced down in a decorative birdbath. We also had bottled water and cold drinks iced down for sale.

Here's my partner/sister, Nancy taking a little break during a lull. This is the opposite end of the porch from the "counter." We made the porch available for hungry, hot and tired shoppers to recharge before continuing on with their yard sale shopping. You can see a little of the yard sale activities beyond the porch.

More seating for our customers.

We moved some wicker onto the front lawn to offer more seating.

Once again, this was a huge success for us. We actually had repeat business from last year, insuring that we'll probably do it again next year. It was a big job since we were also doing the yard sale. Organization was the key. I baked and froze food for several weeks prior and made 130 sandwiches the evening before. One of the reasons I think it's successful is that it's such a pleasant surprise for people. Who expects an elegant little bistro when they're yard sale shopping? It's also always quite warm during our neighborhood's yard sale and the porch is a lovely spot for people to sit for a few minutes, cool off and have something good to eat. It was fun to stand back and watch total strangers chat with each other as they had their lunch or snack. I've figured out a way to fufill my fantasy of having my own little tearoom or bistro, if only for one day a year. It's shown me it's way more work than I'd want to do on a full time basis. But, I've already made notes on what I want to do differently next year...