a little rain, a little deep breakfast~

please click above to hear the music

many years ago, on our 10th wedding anniversay, lars and i 

flew to maine. it's still one of my all time best life experiences. neither

of us had been to the sea and we couldn't wait to eat lobster and

smell the salt air. we stayed at bed and breakfasts along the coast 

and visited several little fishing villages. my favorite one was

camden, maine. on one of the days we were there it was raining and we

poked our heads in little shops. in one of them this music was playing.

i was immediately in love.

i bought the c.d~ deep breakfast~ by ray lynch

and to this day, if i listen to it on a rainy day like we're having today,

i am transported right back to that little town along the ocean.

i can remember how my raincoat felt (kind of clammy and hot), 

the way i wanted to take a picture every 4.5 seconds, (that was

back in the old film days- so i couldn't), the sound of the ships

in the harbor knocking against the docks, and the gulls. the magic of
being somewhere new and exciting with my husband. 

is there anything better than our senses being able

to bring back fond memories?

this morning i've been listening to this c.d and drinking

coffee ...eating popovers and watching the rain pour down.

i love rainy days.

**************

fri. i bought these farm fresh, organic eggs.

i'm not sure if it was more the cute little carton or the

colors inside that made me think $5 a dozen was no biggie...

a person doesn't want to use them for just anything tho, so when i was cleaning 

out my food cupboards yesterday and found this popover mix i was excited.

o.k, i know they are kind of laughable. so small that i "had" to eat 4 of 

them to equate a normal one, but they were delicious. was it the eggs? maybe.

wish i would have taken a picture before i cleaned, threw and organized my cabinets~

and what would a spring post be without a couple shots of this week's ranunculus?

a mixed color bouquet this time.

the view out the kitchen window just now...look way down in the background.

see that little pond?

when buying a house, never-ever- underestimate the power of having some

kind of a water view. when we bought our home it was winter. this little

pond was frozen over. we didn't even know it existed. we were desperate to

find a house and had looked and looked and LOOKED and we were moving in 

20 short days when we finally found this one and bought it.

it wasn't my dream house- not even close- but when the snow melted and

one morning i looked out and saw a pond in the neighbor's back yard i was

thrilled! we've lived here over 20 years now and we've made this house

a home and raised our children here and that pond down there?

it has made it all the sweeter.

*  i learned a new word today. 

ona

it's swahili.
it means 
"to feel"
"to experience with the eyes"

isn't that beautiful? 

happy sunday,  xo beth

this photo was on the web this morning and i think it is

compelling.    haunting.    beautiful.

the description said:

a greater adjutant stork swoops down near a girl

 searching for recyclables, in a garbage dump.

*Gauhati India

April 22, 2014

we are so blessed in this county. 

so very, very blessed. there but for the grace of God

this could be any of us. born in another land where

life is not even close to being easy.

i hope you feel lucky and blessed and loved today,

beth

home made, hand made, and hard to come by...

this may not be all that exciting to y'all- but to our

family, this little pitcher represents a season of 

waiting, reading, gathering and goodness!

 this my friends, is our first maple syrup.

we hope it's not the last for this year, because so far we've only boiled

down enough for about 2 pancakes....haha   (that's why it's so precious).

 i do declare that it was the best maple syrup i've ever tasted though!

 i just keep planting new pots of wheat grass. 

if spring wants to be stubborn- i will just fight back.

i found this photo mixed in with the ones

of the grass.~ have i shown you this fellow before? I just love him...he

was a little surprise from a sweet friend. the tag around his neck is original

from when he was given as a gift- on the back it says: from mother.

i'm guessing he's about 50 years old.

and speaking of dogs,

probably should have photo shopped a diaper on 12 week old koda~

so please excuse his privates showing, but how flipping cute

is this pic of him sound asleep yesterday in his little bed?

in spite of the fact that on april 16th, this is the view out my window....

this really and truly was taken in our front yard last summer.

now this is what spring is supposed to look like.

it's almost becoming laughable, but if you want to look

at the sunny side of life, (and I do), think of how much worse it could

be. it's not a tornado. it's not a tsunami, it's not an earthquake.

you probably haven't seen even one wood tick or mosquito in the back yard...

it's just some snow. and snow we can handle. 

just drive carefully if you're going out of town and

God bless you and yours this Easter season.

xo, beth

Holy week and cookies

in the past week i have made dozens and dozens of cutout sugar cookies.

they are a labor of love i tell you~

i brought some to a bridal shower for annie last sunday, and then

last night a friend of hers, who was at the shower

texted me and said,

"do you have a business making wedding cookies

now? i would like to order 5 doz."  

i wasn't sure if she was just messin with me or if she

was serious, but after several texts back and forth

i had a for real order for 5 doz. for her son's wedding ~~in ohio!

i can't believe cookies i'm making are going to travel to 

ohio for a wedding.....    :  )

blogger pioneer woman, gives away kitchenaid mixers once in a while

but i haven't won one yet and this sunbeam that was a 

shower gift to me about 36 years ago is still mixing quite nicely.

(who has room for one of those big fancy- heavy duty- 

fun colored babies anyhoo?)

i've got several sugar cookie recipes, but cindy's is always 

my sure fire -go to- for making cut outs.
* i see this recipe is dated 1997- that means i've been making these
for 17 years. (how old am i again? older than this recipe for sure)

here i was starting to mix dyes into my frosting and 

looked down to see this random face looking up at me.

"hi"

mixing your colors for frosting is an art. too much of it and your cookies look

garish if you ask me.

 if you haven't learned this already, when using

these wilton food colors, never- and i mean never dip into the 

container more than once with whatever utensil you're using

 to mix in the frosting. it ruins your dye if you get frosting in it.

i use a toothpick to get a tiny amount out, and then if i need more,

(remember, less is more-start cautiously) use a clean toothpick.

was that confusing? sorry - just don't double dip!!!

alright, now after you have all your cookies cut out, baked and cooled you can frost them.

(the fun part- for sure). when i'm going to decorate them really fancy, i spread on a 

base layer of frosting as smooth as i can get it. i like the little spatulas for spreading

like are in the photo above. then after that sets, you can start the 

detailed, time consuming part. for this you have to have decorating bags and 

a variety of tips to make different designs.

well, here they are- all decked out and looking "partyish"

their wedding is may 10th- it won't be long now. when two people

have had their 50th birthdays before they ever find true love,

i can't help but feel like it's extra, extra special.

now, not to change the subject, but

i guess i am-   completely changing the subject.

: )

have you discovered these dishcloths yet?

if i could i'd send you each one. that's how much i love them! 

one of my girlfriends told me about them last fall and i got my first two.

now i'm hooked!!!!

they are made in sweden and found in specialty shops.

(or i'm sure online) and they are like sponges kind of.

if you have a stainless sink or appliances like i do, they are

just marvelous for damp wiping them down. you don't even need to dry afterwards.

you can just throw them in the dishwasher to clean them too and

they never get that dreadful sour dishcloth smell.

the fun patterns on them is just an added bonus~

well, if i have time i might be back before the Easter weekend,

xox, nite

happy Easter week!

here are some inspirations i found on pinterest 

that i thought were worth sharing.

 i'm a big fan of anything with hand stamped words on it

 if i were entertaining on sunday, i'd consider trying this.

to make, find a pretty clear glass bowl and you'll need

several small pots of blooming spring bulbs and some potting soil

and moss. just replant them in you bowl- tucking moss around the edges 

before you put the bulbs in and add soil around them.

  how easy would this banner be to make? use pretty scrapbook or wrapping paper for tails~

 could not love this little "bread chick" more...hmmm I think the eyes might be

whole nutmeg or cloves and the beak is an almond?

 my gram always made an Easter egg tree....

a favorite memory.

 now, i'm a bit sad to say that with snow in the forecast for us again this 

week, this may be what the Easter bunny will have to deal with?

hope he/she has wellies!

Hunter brand to be specific.

i've got about 6 dozen cutout sugar cookies to frost now-

toodles!!!

xo, beth

do not be these parents.... make your own basket~

: )

bare toes...

the color pink~

sunshine and smiles

the 

weatherman 

said

today 

will

hit

70,

party on the deck!!!!!

: )





*p.s. see photos below, less than a week ago we had a significant snow.