I'm In Strawberry Heaven and a Quick Visit to 1802 Beekman Mercantile

The "test" kitchen at 1802 Beekman Mercantile has a wall covered with painted kitchen pans, trays and gadgets, mostly donated by the residents of Sharon Springs. Joe snapped this picture of me as my eyes were glued to the wall. 

My blog has turned into a diary of my week. What I've been up to, so don't mind me as I like to share a glimpse of my life with my friends. When I look back at my blog posts over the last five years, I realize that I dedicated a lot of time to my blog when I wasn't working the long hours that I am now. Some of my previous posts have over 10,000 views. That's crazy.

Over Father's Day weekend, we picked strawberries in the morning (for Joe's annual cheesecake) and visited the 1802 Beekman Mercantile in Sharon Springs before heading to dinner to honor Joe. A very pleasant drive through the countryside on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The day we visited, in honor of our Flower Market collaboration with MacKenzie-Childs, every Neighbor walked out the door from the Mercantile with a Peony blossom from the Beekman 1802 Boys farm. The pale pink peonies were lovely.

For my "local" friends, you must have dinner at The Table at Fort Plain for dinner. We feel very lucky to be living here in the Mohawk Valley. Perhaps it’s all the great food growing all around us or the dedicated folks working hard to raise amazing meat and dairy. All we know is that nothing beats the first maple syrup of spring, grilling corn in August within sight of the field where it was grown, or the smell of apples on a crisp Fall morning.   

 If you are lucky enough to visit the Mercantile when Denise and Serafina are working, you will quickly feel like you have been friendly “neighbors” forever! No stop is complete without a visit to McGillycuddy's Natural Soaps, where the Beekman Boys learned the craft of making goat's milk soap. They have goat milk soap SECONDS that are a great deal that I never pass up. They told me that college students love the deals too.

Love this thought from Susan Branch's blog.....

"I’ve felt the honor of living in this old house every day since we bought it in 1989. I give it things. I give it old lamps and old dishes I find in second-hand stores. And when I come home, it’s arms wrap around me."

She gives her house things :-) I gave our home that sweet garden stake from MKC. The peonies are peeking out from the heart :-)

One of my favorite recipes in the summer can be found here Strawberry Streusel Bars. You can use any fruit that your heart desires. Thank you for stopping by!

Debbie