Ahhh . . . Sweet summertime . . .

Ahhh....... sweet, sweet summertime! Yesterday was spent swimming in the creek (pronounced "crick" in these parts). My father - in - law has a little house (actually it's more like a trailer) not too far from Jim Thorpe , off the beaten path near the town of Parryville. It's a beautiful, peaceful spot in the woods , on the creek that comes off of Beltzville Dam around the bend -- so the water is COLD !!! (we like to refer to it as refreshing on a hot summer day - - your limbs won't go numb if you keep moving !!) Up around the bend , up the crick, is a really deep spot where the kids can jump off of the rocks. There are also tons of trout , ducks and geese , beavers, etc. There in the first picture are my boys, Matt and Evan horsing around trying to dunk each other. Ahhhh ...... a "refreshing" swim, then sitting on the dock in the sun eating watermelon and spitting the seeds into the crick --- a little heaven on earth!

Today, I finally got around to making that cherry cobbler I've been talking about for at least a week. So, there it is , ready for a picnic on yet another perfect summer afternoon ! (by the way, that quilt was a birthday gift from my husband a couple of years ago. He found it in a wicker warehouse store where he buys alot of furniture for the hotel (The Inn at Jim Thorpe) that he is partner and manager of -- if you want to take a peek, it's listed over there on the right in my list of fun blogs, etc. Blogger wouldn't cooperate with me to link it here in my message). He said the guy was pretty much using it to throw over stuff in the back of his truck -- YIKES !! So, my husband rescued it and gave it to me for my birthday -- I LOVE it!! I'm not sure how old it is, but it's all hand appliqued, embroidered, and hand quilted !! AND it has a scalloped border !!!)

Anyhow, here's the Weight Watcher friendly cherry cobbler recipe if you want to make it.

CHERRY COBBLER:
Ingredients:

1 20 oz can of Lite cherry pie filling (I used Lucky Leaf)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
3 Tbsp reduced - calorie margarine
1/2 cup fat-free skim milk
1 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

Pour cherry pie filling into 8-inch square baking pan. (originally , I was going to use fresh cherries, but then decided it would take too long to pit all those cherries !! )

To make the topping , in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Work in margarine with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk and stir until flour mixture is evenly moistened.

Drop 8 tablespoons of topping mixture onto cherry mixture. (I kind of flattened my 8 blobs out into 1 big blob). Bake until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly,about 20-25 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces and serve. (3 Wt Watcher points per serving).

Enjoy!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)