Blueberry picking, pie and antiquing at the cottage

 Our lake cottage is still a place we don't use very often because there

is no electricity or running water....but there is a beautiful lake 

with blueberry bushes. We visit most every weekend and our son

noticed the branches were loaded with ripe tiny blueberries.

It was a cool day for summer, so swimming wasn't at the top of our list.

We got right to picking blueberries so we could make a pie.

These are what are referred to as high bush blueberries. They are way up off

the ground, and our "bushes" are so old that they are like thin gnarly trees.

 Our cups were filling quickly as the three of us happily picked away.

 They are tinier in size than most of the cultivated varieties you

get in the supermarket. We needed five cups to make one pie.

 recipe here

The next day I looked for recipes and found a good one at Sally's Baking Addiction Blog.

"Simply the Best Blueberry Pie' recipe, used a cute method to make the top crust using 

cookie cutters.  Sally used stars while I used a vintage heart shaped cutter for the top crust.

 Since we had less than the six cups the recipe called for, I used a smaller

quiche style dish instead of a larger pie dish. 

Finish the crust with an egg wash and into the oven.

Absolutely glorious!! 

Served with Brigham's Vanilla ice-cream, this is 

a very rare summer time treat!

While we were at the lake, I visited my favorite antique shop in Northwood, NH.

Parker French Antiques, which has two shops, side by side. 

I took some phone pics and shared on my Instagram stories.

 The marvelous painted trunk was still sitting there. It may be overpriced, as it 

would have come home with me long ago....

 A set of 4 botanicals in a blue and white fabric matte caught my eye.

 The lower level of the shop has a zillion pieces of artwork, many originals.

 This old French Trumeau style mirror with a tinted print at the top and a delicate gilded

frame with a lot of detail was very pretty and dirt cheap.

 Our 17 year old son loves fishing and he had never heard of creel baskets. Even Reeve has begun

fishing with her dad and mom and she caught her first fish this week!

 These baskets are used by decorators for lodge homes in the
 mountains and by lakes and are sought after in good condition.

The smaller basket has a leather strap and buckle in the shape of a fish head. 

I might have to back and get it and stick it under the Christmas tree!

"An angler's creel is designed to function as an evaporative cooler when lined with moss
and dipped into the creek to keep the catch chilled.  Caught fish are inserted through a slot
in the top which is held in place by a small leather strap. " Wikipedia

Fancy chairs mixed in with old rugs and anything one can imagine.

A very old lawn sprinkler in the shape of a tractor. This thing will roll along as it waters

the grass.  Just a bunch of cool old stuff. I love looking at old things.

 Antiquing has always fascinated me as I love the beauty that antiques and vintage items

have that modern day housewares and home goods do not. 

 If you are curious about the cottage and the land that surrounds it, it is not very pretty.

After suffering tremendous tree loss and having to remove many trees and dig up stumps and 

cut them into logs and haul away, the yard is barren except along the shore area. The snakes of hay

protect the water from silt run off into the water.   We hope to be able to build next year, but for now

we will enjoy what it has to offer.  

Piper has discovered how to swim without being spastic.  She used 

to flop around gulping water but now is perfecting an elegant dog paddle

 and really enjoys getting in the water. She is standing in a cove that was created when

a stump of a giant tree was ripped out of the ground!  

Thats the latest from our little slice of heaven by the lake.