Through the Screens...

....there is blowing a most delicious breeze.

 After about a solid week of very oppressive heat,

 it feels like heaven!

Busy Days.....

.....but wonderful at the same time.

~Hope all of you in the U.S.A. had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Strawberry~Volcano Mini~Muffins

They were supposed to just be Strawberry~Jam~Filled Mini~Muffins. But I got a little zealous with the strawberry jam....So I decided to call them  Strawberry~Volcano Mini~Muffins instead. The children thought they were the most amazing things ever.

One thing I have learned, which will remedy most all cooking mistakes (as far as your children are concerned;), is this:

Give whatever it is a really spiffy name.

And don't be afraid to use their favorite book characters or even authors! I know from experience......it works! ;)

(~Like Dr. Seuss's Orange Lumpy Muffins......yes.......they were pretty bad. An experiment with left~over pumpkin gone horribly wrong. Can't believe I don't have a picture. You'd have to see them to believe them. Anyways,  I came up with the name out of sheer desperation. And guess what? The children couldn't get enough of them!

~I think it might be a technique that would work for picky~eaters as well.....;) 

Tuesday Morning....

Stacks of pancakes.

Plenty of sunlight and singing birds.

Sheets drying on the line.

It doesn't get much better than this.

Sing in Silence

"Since our life as monks consists mainly in singing the praise of God, then, everything around us must also sing. Sing with fruitfulness, with the radiance of beauty.

Sing the truth .  .  . in silence."

~A Contemplative Monk

My Mother's Day Gift.....

As many of you know, I love hanging the wash out on the line. Back at "the cabin" there was a lovely umbrella clothes line that I was able to use, but when we moved here....nothing. For weeks, I had my eye on this, and told my Knight that I would love nothing more for Mother's Day.  Weeks went by and nothing was said. I resigned myself to waiting til the summer.....or maybe even later. Our budget is a bit tight right now, what with all the "restodling" we've been doing.

However, a few days before Mother's Day a great big box arrived!

And my Knight got it all set up this week (~he had wanted to put it up before Mother's Day, but circumstances beyond our control prevented it).

Isn't it the most beautiful thing you ever saw?!

I told him I 'd take it over a thousand diamond necklaces any day (not that he was planning to get me any!;) and he laughed at me.......but said that is one of the reasons he loves me so much.

The morning after he poured the cement, I couldn't wait and just had to run out and see how it was drying.

And my heart melted away when I saw this: 

He'd carved it with his pocket-knife and said he wasn't able to do a very good job of it because it was getting dark.

I think it is perfect.

It's the little things like this.

One of the many reasons I love him so much.

Ascension Thursday

"Grant we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we who believe Thy Only-begotten Son, our Redeemer, to have this day ascended into heaven, may ourselves also in mind dwell amid heavenly things. Through the same Christ our Lord Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God , world without end. Amen."

~Prayer from today's Mass.

Aren't these flowers lovely?

Miss Posy picked and arranged them just for me.

That girl's got talent.

I just finished washing and chopping a rather large mound of potatoes.

Now they are in a large pot.....presumably simmering away on the stove;)

(My dear mother asked me to bring potato salad to the feast day dinner tonight.)

Mmmm.

I do love potato salad. 

Hope you all have a wonderful Ascension Thursday!

Shadows...

"It is only through shadows that one comes to know the light."

~St. Catherine of Sienna

A Small Sampling.....

....of my garage sale finds thus far:

A beautiful "new" rug for the living room.

An old wooden rocking chair.

 (~One can never have enough of these.......in my opinion anyway!

A sweet little shirt for Miss Posy, with built in pearls!

As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to bring it home to her.

So there you are.....

....just a small sampling;)

Aren't garage sales wonderful?!

To All Mothers....

May your Mother's Day be filled to the brim with love and God's blessings!

Locust Tree

Peony Buds....

A Prettyish Kind of Wilderness....

"Miss Bennet, there seems to be a prettyish kind of a little wilderness on one side of your lawn. I should be glad to take a turn in it, if you will favor me with your company."

~Pride and Prejudice

by, Jane Austen

Chocolate Truffle Frosting

Big Brother takes after his mother.........in that we both love chocolate.

So of course he requested a chocolate cake with chocolate icing for his birthday this past Sunday.

Mmmm....

I made the simple Chocolate Cake recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, and then I followed their advice and iced it with Truffle Frosting.......

Heaven.

Here it is, for those of you who may be interested:

In a medium heavy saucepan bring

1 1/2 cups of whipping cream

and

1/4 of light-colored corn syrup

 to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in

1 12-ounce package (2 cups) of semi-sweet chocolate pieces

and

1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Let stand for two minutes, and then whisk the mixture until smooth and melted. Cover and chill about 1 1/2 hours or till mixture reaches spreading consistency, stirring occasionally. Beat with an electric mixer till light and fluffy. This frosts the tops and sides of two eight or nine inch layer cakes.

*Don't be fooled by its light and fluffy texture ~ it is quite rich!

Milly~Molly~Mandy....

Presently Milly~Molly~Mandy said, "Doesn't the earth smell nice when you turn it up?"

And Billy Blunt said, "Does it? Yes, it does rather." And they went on weeding.

Presently Milly~Molly~Mandy, pulling tufts of grass out of the pansies, asked,"What do you do this for, if you don't like it?"

And Billy Blunt, tugging at a dandelion root, grunted and said, "Father says I ought to be making myself useful."

"That's our sort of fruit,"said Milly~Molly~Mandy.

"My Muvver says we'd be like apple-trees which didn't grow apples if we didn't be useful."

~The Milly~Molly~Mandy Storybook,

by Joyce Lankester Brisley

Poppies

The Ordinary Things.....

"Sanctity is not the province of the past nor the exclusive privilege of clerical life. Throughout history many laymen have achieved lives marked by holiness.

They have learned to do the ordinary things in an extraordinary manner."

~Robert Reilly

Kisses....

Bright, Balmy and Breezy

These are the perfect words to describe today.......

.....and I keep glancing longingly out the windows.

But I must keep focused.

Laundry.

And minor alterations to a pretty white dress which I hope to have ready for Miss Posy to wear on Sunday. She has been chosen as one of the "angels" who drop petals during the May~Crowning procession, and my Aunt, who is organizing it, had expressed a wish that the "angels" wear white.

Miss Posy is very excited, and can hardly wait til I have finished.

And, speaking of which, I had better get back to work!