bbq, peonies

summer leave just started and we decided to grill for the first time (?!?) this summer. pork was on order, just plain with some oil before placing them on the grill, glazing it only towards the end of cooking time. button mushrooms with lemon and parsley as a side. granma mami's cast iron pan is beautifully seasoned but since i have a ceramic stove i got get much use out of it. the pan was perfect for this







simple summer lunch, green salad with just iceberg lettuce and arugula








certain someone built this deck at the shack last year. today we spent most of the day on it, early afternoon it got too warm (another ?!?) and we added a "shade" made out of a sheet... not very martha stewart but got us thru the afternoon. however, there are plans to make a more permanent and prettier solution. some of the potted plants were put on the sill of deck







one example







another, i should have paid more attention to the names of the plants i got. i think i need to revisit the garden center just to get the names...







aah, don't you just love the hint of pink waiting to burst out!







in case i've forgot to tell, i love peonies







there are many ants in the budding blooms, i need to ask martha if i should do something about them








these here are the carrots i planted in big ikea "bucket", looks like we might actually get a dozen or so carrots. that is if the rabbits don't figure out how to get to them first. last year they got my malgolds...







breakfast today, sorry kids, i will make some for you as well at the cottage






ps. happy birthday, older niece!