Part 2 My Granddaughters Visit

I have been busy, busy and really busy. My granddaughters are keeping me on my toes. I am just loving every minute of it. I have a few more pictures to share. I hope you enjoy.

Pumpkin working on her reading skills. We keep her practicing her reading and writing skills. 

Sweet Pea had to do her school work also. We are working on her coloring skills.

Lots of sand and sun.

Learning sand castle construction. Now that important!

We weeded and weeded. Then the girls had a lesson in how to tell when a radish is ready to pick. They picked radishes, tomatoes and a couple pepper plants! Yes, I said they picked a couple pepper plants. Grandma forgot to explain that pepper plants are like tomato plants. Just pick the fruit. Lol, they thought pepper plants were like radishes just grab the plant and pull. We had a good laugh, crossed our fingers and replanted the poor pepper plants. I guess you can take the girl out of the city but you can't take the city out of the girl. Ha ha! 

How is your garden growing? Do you have any good pepper plants? 

Two Weeks Of Pure Happiness

We have been given our two sweet granddaughters for not one but two weeks of summer vacation! This is what I have been waiting for all summer. I have been planning this two weeks for almost a year now. I can hardly believe that our summer vacation has arrived. I know it sounds like work not vacation. I feel like it is a vacation of pure pleasure to have my grandchildren in my home. I am hoping my grandsons will be here to visit at some point during these next two weeks. It has been almost impossible to get all the grandchildren together for a family photo. I am hoping we can do this at least once a year. Well, I have got to go for now but I will leave you with a few photos of our vacation so far.

 Sweet Pea and Pumpkin feeding the goats.

 Some serious painting going on. 

 Taking a break in the pool after helping grandma weed the garden.

 Sweet Pea dancing for grandma and grandpa.

Pumpkin making a nature collage. 

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. There are will be a lot more to come. 

Guest Post: New Cake from Life with Tootsabella and The Rose

So you all know how much I love making and decorating cakes. Well my daughter in law over at Life with Tootsabella and the Rose has been kind enough to Guest Post here today and share one of her cakes with my readers. I hope you enjoy and stop over to visit her blog.

I have recently started back up making cakes again now that my youngest is a bit older. Here is a cake that I had made for a boy going into high school. The school supplies that are on the wires are from Michaels in the scrap-booking area. I put straws in the cake to put the wire in so the lead from the wires did not go into the cake. The High School and Freshman sign are taped onto sucker sticks and stuck into the cake. It worked out really well. I had a wonderful time making this cake. If you want to see more of my cakes, check out Life with Tootsabella and The Rose. I have a Sofia the First cake on my blog. My kids are obsessed with Sofia and Doc McStuffins. I hope you enjoyed my post. Have a wonderful day!!

Ozeri Weight Master Digital Bathroom Scale

Disclaimer: Grandma Bonnie's Closet was not compensated for the review of this product. I received a free product in exchange for an honest opinion. The opinions in this post are all mine.

Thank you Ozeri for making the perfect bathroom scale. I am very impressed by the scale I received to review. I am so excited about this product! It has so many great features it is hard to pick a favorite feature. I definitely love that the scale has a large bright screen. I can see the numbers with out squinting or moving around. My old scale had such a small screen I had to lean forward to read the screen. As most people know if you do not stand straight on a scale and very still you are probably not getting a correct measurement of your weight.

Ozeri Weight Master Digital Lighted Screen

My second favorite feature is the surface of the scale has been infused with Microban antimicrobial product protection. 

This means I do not have to worry when sweaty smelly feet stand on my new scale. That is such a relief. This scale is set to measure my weight in lbs but it can be set to weigh in kg and st. The maximum weight capacity is 400 lbs/180 kg/28 British st. 

The scale uses StepOn technology that captures the precise weight  measurement upon contact. You do not have to tap before stepping on. I really like this scale. I am very pleased with this product. You can find this product at this link on Amazon. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Gluten Free Any Berry Pie With Graham Flavored Crust

What's an Any Berry Pie? An Any Berry Pie is made from any berries you have available to make a pie from. I just so happened to have a basket of mulberries that needed to be eaten. So, my pie is made with handpicked mulberries and a hand full of raspberries.

Recipe

Pie Crust

1 & 1/2  cups Almond Meal Flour 

1/2 cup Coconut sugar or Brown sugar

1/4 stick butter softened

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp salt

Mix all the above ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix the dough by hand until the all ingredients are blended together. Press the dough into a 9 inch pie plate. Refrigerate until the filling is ready.

Pie Filling

3-4 cups of berries cleaned

1/2 cup water

Sweetener of your choice (I used pure cane sugar)

1 & 1/2 tsp Arrowroot flour or corn starch

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Place clean berries in a sauce pan with water, lemon juice and sweetener. I added 1/4 cup of sugar as the berries I used were not tart or sour. If your berries are sour or tart use more sugar to your taste. Bring the berries to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Stirring constantly. Mix arrowroot flour or corn starch to an 1/8 cup water mix well. When berries are softened add the arrowroot water slowly to the simmering berries. Stir constantly until the juices start to thicken.  Remove from heat let cool for a few minutes. Pour into prepared pie crust. Chill and serve. 

This is a gluten free crust that taste a little like a graham cracker crust. It can be altered to fit a paleo or vegan diet. 

I hope you all enjoy. When is the last time you went berry picking? Have you taken your children berry picking? 

Weed Free Garden Follow-Up

I know a few of my readers have been waiting to see how my Weed Free Raised Garden Bed has been doing. Although I was skeptical I had hoped it would remain weed free through the summer. I have some good news and some bad news. 

Everyone wants the bad news first right? There are weeds in my garden bed. Not many but there are weeds. That is too bad but now for the good news! I am pleased to say even though there are weeds in my garden the weeds I found have not come up through the ground. The weeds I see have most likely gotten there by wind and critters. These weeds are easy to pull and require hardly any effort to remove. 

Weeds and grass growing by our cucumber plants.

My tomato plants a few weeds around them. 

These are a few of the weeds I pulled. I was able to pull roots and all with very little effort. 

Although the weed free part was a little disappointing, over all I am fairly satisfied with this garden method. I have spent very little time weeding. I believe at this point weeding frequently before the roots of weeds take a strong hole is my best bet. I hope to update again in the fall. 

Readers do you have weeds in your garden? How is your garden growing? I would love you to share your favorite garden tips in the comments? Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided Grandma Bonnie's Closet with a free sample of this product to review. I was was not required to review this product unless I chose to do so. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review of this product.

I have read the name Tropical Traditions over and over while reading my favorite blogs. I use coconut oil often for my cooking needs. I just had never tried Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. I realize  I am always slow to try a new product but when I do I like to dig deep and read all I can about the product. This product was no different. I read many reviews before I decided to try this Coconut Oil for myself.
What I learned in my research of this product is amazing. Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is handcrafted in the Philippines by families using traditional methods passed on from past generations. This coconut oil is not highly processed bleached coconut oil but rather traditionally handmade. The oil is GMO free and USDA Certified Organic.

Over the summer months I do a lot of frying and grilling. I like to cook with healthy oils. We switched from using store brand vegetable oil (soybean oil) to using Coconut Oil for our frying needs about two years ago. I am now happily switching to Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil because of their production methods. I like knowing I am taking care of my family's health in the best way possible.
The video below explains how Tropical Traditions makes their famous Coconut Oil.

The above pie crust was made using Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. I replaced the butter in the recipe with coconut oil. This pie was a hit with our entire family.

What oils do you cook with? Do you have a favorite oil for frying?

Hanging Out With My Grandchildren Courtesy Of Verizon Wireless

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

I have had another very busy week here at home. With all the rain and bad weather we have stayed close to home and have not been able to visit any of our grandchildren. I sure do get a little cranky around here when I have not got my fix of their sweet little faces! I need that little fix daily to remain a happy grandma. What have I been able to do to get my fix of my sweet grandchildren?
I picked up my Droid Razr Maxx HD courtesy of Verizon and decide to Skype Pooh Bear and Little Roo.

This is a screen shot of Little Roo on Skype. It was hard to get a good screen shot of the fast moving boys. You can see how clear the baby gate is and the lamp in the corner is my screen view. 

With the front facing webcam (1.3 MP) and the 4.7" Super Amoled HD display my whole Skype experience was simply perfect. I played peek-a-boo with Little Roo and I spy with Pooh Bear. If you have not had the chance to play a game of I spy with your grandchildren on Skype you should try it some time. It can be hilarious. I even had the opportunity to read their bedtime story. 

I know what some of you are thinking. Not everyone has Skype or maybe they just don't like to use Skype. My Droid Razr Maxx HD has got that covered also. Google has an awesome app called Hangouts (Talk). The Droid Razr Maxx HD came with this app already preloaded on the phone. If you have a Gmail account you can use hangouts. 

 Hangouts and Talk app icons.

Back on the topic at hand. The next evening I decided to Hangout with my grandson Little Bug. This is really a big deal! I have never tried Hangouts and was not sure how easy it would be. Well, let me tell you it was a simple as selecting the Talk app on my phone. A list of my Gmail contacts came up on the screen. A green dot beside a contact means the contact is available to hangout with. I selected the video camera displayed beside my son's name and we were on.

 This is a screen shot of Little bug  on Hangouts showing me how his crank flash light works. Again the screen shot is not as clear as it could be because of my moving target. I can assure you though the view is clear on screen.  

In my opinion there is nothing better than to be able to see your grandchild every day even when they are many miles away. Thank you Verizon. 

There is one other feature on this phone that I would like to share with you today. The Droid Razr Maxx HD has a Circles widget that is one of my favorite widgets. 

This is a screenshot of my home screen.

The Circles Widget is displayed at the top of the screen. The large circle displays the time. Tap this circle and it brings up the alarm clocks. You can easily set one or more alarms quickly. The medium circle displays the temperature of a city you preset. You can select to set multiple cities to view. To change the view of the displayed city just slide your finger across the circle and the next city will be displayed. Tap on the circle to view temperatures expected for the week. The last circle displays remaining battery life. Tap on the circle and the battery setting will be displayed. If you receive a text, miss a call or receive a voice mail, the Circles Widget will notify you. This is a major plus for me. Seeing all this very important information at a glance. I have a few favorite apps and widgets that I like and the Circles Widget is at the top of that list.

What do you think about the Circles Widget? Do you have a favorite app or widget you like best?  

Walking In The Quarry And More

We had a busy week here at home. The back quarter of our property where we have lots of evergreens had been left to grow over with weeds and brush. This week we had a few dry hours here between all the rain storms.  So we got out and cut down all the brush and weeds. While out back we came across a surprise Mulberry tree.

The mulberry tree was growing between the evergreens. Did you know some people consider mulberry trees weeds? I don't know about you but there are some tasty berries on that weed. I am about to go make a cobbler from the berries I picked today.

My grandson Little Bug helped me weed our weed free garden. Lol, that's another post in the making.  The little red spot in front of him is a radish he pulled. We have to schedule a few more weed pulling lessons before I set him off on his own. Ha ha.

We went into town and stopped by the lake shore for some photos. 

That is a view of the Lake Erie shore line.

A view of Cedar Point off the Lake Erie shore.

We went for a walk in a quarry. About half an hours drive from our home. This old quarry has been made a park by Erie Metro Parks. The quarry has many nature trails. Some for walking and some for biking. A walk on the main path takes about 45 minutes at a steady pace. We took the main path most of the walk and got off on a few side paths just to see where they took us.

Old cabin off one path.

Some of the cliffs climbers use. I think climbing is prohibited though I often see some climbers.

Half way along the path is an awesome observation platform.

If you look closely you can see Lake Erie on the horizon. 

Our walk down was much quicker as it was all down hill. We really had a great week. I do hope you all Enjoy you weekend.

Happy Fourth of July

Hope you and your family's all have a safe and wonderful day. Remember we are celebrating our freedom. Lets be thankful for those who have served to keep us free. 

DIY: Turtle Birthday Cake

Little Roo's First birthday is coming up soon. While he was visiting we had a little birthday party for him. I love making my grand children's birthday cakes. My daughter has wanted to make it a tradition to make the birthday cakes for her children. I thought that was a fantastic idea so we decided she would make Little Roo's first birthday cake with only technical advice from grandma.

She started with three layers. We then decided to remove one layer as it seemed a little on the tall side. 

Then she crumb coated with butter cream icing. 

Next my daughter rolled out white fondant and draped it gently over the cake.

press the fondant to the sides of the cake starting at the top and slowly working down. Ease the folds and wrinkle out as you move down. Trim off the excess. 

She then added cut out fondant pieces by wetting the back of the cut outs with a bit of water.

Little Roo and Pooh Bear.

Crumbs are the best right?

Her first cake came out beautiful. What do you think?