Went to a friend’s home today. This lovely lady taught me how to make sense of the painting instructions I was using. She has a studio in her basement! How fun! Her world is filled with beauty and so is mine from knowing her. Here is a link to her website where she has a gallery page featuring some of her work.
Here are some pics of my day.
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The beginnings of my first attempt at a mountain landscape. I have a lot of learning to do.
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The lady next to me was painting a scene on a bunny. Here are the aspens on his back and on the front, she painted purple columbines.
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I’d like to get to know my readers a bit more. Please take this survey. It’s just 10 questions about how and where you drink your tea. Thanks!!
Click Here to take survey
Remember how I was going to post pics on how to make Scotch eggs? Well, that’s not going to happen. Turns out, Scotch eggs are messy and labor intensive. Tasty, but the pics would not have been very appetizing. Trust me.
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Remember this picture? It was taken not too long ago. Since then, the earth’s position has tilted enough to where the sun is coming in the windows in the afternoon. From about 2:30 until 4:00 or so, I cannot work in my office. The sun beats in through the window, heating up my back. It’s a good time to grab a scone and a cup of tea and watch Oprah. The above picture is the view from my kitchen sky light.
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Here it is this morning, as Old Sol hits it. The mountains and certain trees and bushes were bathed in pink (my fav. color!) light this morning. I’m getting excited. Spring is coming!
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So, I have to tell you the story of the summer Tech Hubby and I camped out in our living room. This was waaay before we started doing any kind of home group or inviting people over for dinners. We were newly married. My mom was getting rid of some box springs. Our mattress sits inside a water bed frame without box springs. I knew the box springs wouldn’t fit because we have a Cal-King bed (I hate it! It is so hard to kind cute stuff for!) but I wanted to see if the box springs would make a difference in how the mattress felt. We tossed everything on the floor in the living room in the corner where the sofa and love seat came together and camped there all summer. We would lay in bed in the morning and track the beams of sun light as they traveled around the room. Ok, I would track them as Tech Hubby slept. He is not a morning person. Then, we (I) decided to grab the volume off the shelf that had Shakespeare’s play, romeo and Juliet and read it to each other every morning. I’m getting all tingly just thinking about it. I know, but I’m like that. I was surprised at how much Tech Hubby got into it. No one got shot or blown up and it is written in the original ‘Klingon’ as he calls it, but we both got into the story and the words and the imagery.
Sigh, where is that man? I must go and kiss his face off now!
My query letter/bio/synopsis/50pages, thingy. I’m freaked! The agent to whom I’m sending all of this requests an author bio of a half a page. My guess is to keep down the copy on all those super experienced writer’s out there so she doesn’t get eye strain. My bio page was 2 sentences. I’m pretty sure she won’t go blind reading it. I could be wrong. You see, I took creative writing in high school and college. I’ve been writing stories and poems since I could hold a pencil. My professional writing life has been a bit more limited. I have articles that were published in the local paper, and dreams, big honkin’ dreams about writing. Yeah, so I’m forty and this is my first novel. So what? Martha Stewart didn’t write her first book until she was forty either but I’m thinking it was more because she was busy creating a domestic empire and not because she was wasting away in a corporate America gulag because she believed the hype about getting a good job for the security of it, then got laid off which turned into a wake up call to live her life and revisit her dreams. Whew! Yeah, corporate America is about as secure as the button on my jeans after I’ve been down the Easter candy isle. Not!
Well, I can stand up now with out falling over, mostly, and throwing up everything I’ve eaten since I was five. I’ve lost 8lbs since Tuesday when this all started. Now to keep it off!
I will have to continue Easter posts next week. I did have a vision though while I was sick. Thursday night was the worst. I won’t go into the gory details, but as I lay in bed shivering from exertion and exhaustion and chills, Jesus came and asked me if I wanted Him to take me home. I said, ‘no, I’m not ready yet’ and He left.
What was I thinking? I could be in heaven right now! Sigh, oh well, everything in its own, good, time.
I will be posting photos (hopefully soon-next couple of days) of how to make Scotch Eggs. No, they are not eggs marinated in booze. This is my first attempt at making them. I like to try recipes out before serving them to guests. This is a great way to avoid any embarrassment should something go awry in attempting a new recipe. You wouldn’t want to serve your guests a mess now would you?
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After much labor at the kitchen counter, I have succeeded in bringing you…Scone in a bag!
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I actually call it: Easy Victorian Scone Mix. I’m selling them on Etsy. Link here. Please, don’t get too concerned when you see the shipping costs. They really don’t have a way to calculate shipping based on weight, and this is the best guess I could come up with. When you tell me your zip code and how many bags you want, I’ll calculate the shipping charges at that time. Currently the available flavors are dried Cherry with spices and dried Cranberry with spices.
Why not go over and check out my listing and order some to try? Thanks!
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Uncle Tony is a republican, Aunt Betty, a democrat. This year’s election is hot, hot, hot! Do you really want the two of them seated together? At a meal with knives? While you want the conversation at the table to be lively, you want to make sure it doesn’t hedge on homicidal. Sit down with paper and pen in hand, or, if you really want to get fancy and technical, you can create a seating algorithm, but I’m an old fashioned paper and pen kinda gal so follow along with me on this, ‘k?
Take a stack of 3×5 index cards and write on each one, the name, occupation and general interests of a particular guest until you have a card for each guest. You may either take the cards to your table to help you visualize, or, just lay them out in front of you like playing cards. You are sort of playing a game. You are strategically placing all the ‘pieces’ on your ‘board game’ . The out come of this ‘game’ is to have a successfully, engaging evening without bloodshed. when you are finished, make a seating chart. Take a piece of paper and on it, draw your table and write in each guests name where they are to be seated. Either make them your self, or have place cards made up ahead of time and on the day of the event, after the table is set, place them at the head of each place setting at the op of the plate or in the center as a decoration, so that everyone knows where to sit. This is your dinner party, take charge of it and it will turn out better than you might think.
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So, I’m getting ready this morning to go out. I walk from the bathroom to my office chair, and the room tilts. I sit here for a few minutes and the room begins to spin. I call out to Tech Hubby that there is something wrong with me and he helps me get to the bed. I lie down. More room spinning, tingles, nausea, and then…I vomit. I have not done that in about 5-7 years! I spend the rest of the day on my back sleeping, shaking sweating and on occasion, feeling like I’m spinning. If this is what I’ve been reading about everyone else’s blogs I feel for you. This is not cool.
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It’s time to celebrate! Dig out your good stuff. You know, the things you tuck away and save for ’special occasions’. Personally, I think we should all use those things everyday that we tuck away and never use because we are always waiting for the special occasion that never comes telling ourselves we are too busy to entertain. I imagine entire neighborhoods filled with homes whose china hutches and linen closets are packed with items that are never used. Break out your good stuff people and let’s get to work.
If, however, you do not have closets and drawers full of unused items waiting to be put into service or your drawers and cabinets are full of mismatched items, and you are reluctant about inviting people over because you don’t have enough matching dishes, you can do several things to remedy the situation. The dollar store has clear glass dishes. You can either flesh out the dishes you already have with a few extra from the dollar store by mixing them in with the others to blend them together, or, you can buy an entire new set of clear glass dishes and use them for every occasion, changing out the table decorations to match the season in which you’re entertaining. You may also mix and match your present collection of dinnerware as I have done here in this photo. The dishes are a combination of my grandmother Hagemeir’s dishes(the small roses) and dishes I found at a local thrift store (the large roses). On the side, you can see a crystal sugar bowl and creamer. Neither set of dishes has a complete cream and sugar set so I used the crystal set (from Princess House I’ve had for years) to complete the table scape. Are you on good terms with one or more of your neighbors? You may try asking her if you could borrow some of what you need from her (only if you are in very good standing with her) some things to remember about borrowing; you must return the item/s the very next day, clean and in the same or better condition in which you received them. If the item is antique and irreplaceable and you are concerned it may become damaged, do not borrow it. If the item does become damaged whether you forgot and put it into the dish washer and the paint faded, you broke it into a million pieces, or it’s stained beyond redemption, you replace it. You don’t had her the money and say, ’sorry’, you go to the store, buy a new one and profusely apologize for your clumsiness. To say thank you to your neighbor for her gracious behavior in lending you what you needed to pull off your event, invite your neighbor over for a cup of tea and something good to eat on top of the thank you note you gave to her when you returned the item. A little token (gift) of your appreciation can’t hurt either. You could send home a plate of cookies with her that you baked for the rest of her family to enjoy.
If you’re new to the area and haven’t made such close neighborly connections, open up the phone book or go on-line and look for the nearest party planner rental place. These can be life savers if you don’t want to buy extra plates, napkins or certain decorations. A quick call later, and you can either pick up, or have delivered to you, what you need to complete your table scape.
Plan out how you want your table to look ahead of time. Do a practice run. Set everything up exactly how you want it to look, then take a picture of it for two reasons;1. The day of the event you will be focused on other things. You may not remember how the table looked and with the picture, you can delegate the job of setting the table to someone else. They will know exactly how you want everything to look and you don’t have to waste valuable time showing them what to do. 2. File it away to use for another event. You’ll not only have it as a guide but you will have a keepsake of how pretty your table looked.
Remember, no matter how you choose to decorate your table, entertaining is about people. All the little extras you do make it that much more enjoyable for everyone (and hopefully yourself) but don’t focus on what you do or don’t have on the table, focus on who is sitting around it. Tomorrow, I will discuss seating arrangements. Seating arrangements can make or break a dinner party.
Please use the comments or my email to ask me any questions you may have about entertaining. I’m happy to answer them for you.
Happy sipping!
Yes, YES, it really is that close. Why not host a dinner or tea brunch next month for those outside you immediate family? Of course, you may include your family, but invite someone with no where to go. People are lonely. Reach out.
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Quick Tea Ring Recipe
1/4 C brown sugar
1 1/2 TBS cream
1/4 C melted butter, nuts and/or dried cherries
2 cans refrigerated biscuits (buttery the better) 12 to 16 biscuits
3 TBS melted butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 C sugar (I used brown. I think brown sugar tastes better in these sorts of dishes)
Mix brown sugar, cream, melted butter, nuts and cherries. Place in bottom of tube pan (bundt cake pan) I spread them out to go up the sides of the pan a bit. Now, at this point, you can either leave the biscuits whole, or cut them into quarters. I quartered them. Melt the remaining 3 TBS of butter and combine the cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar in separate bowl. Dip biscuits in the melted butter then the sugar cinnamon mixture and layer them through out the pan on top of the nuts and cherries. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes. Cool slightly and invert onto serving plate. Replace any toppings that fall off. Serves 6-8.
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I go here from time to time. It’s right on the beach by where we have our condo, which, btw is for rent. We have some bonus weeks we’ll never use. If you’re interested, contact me through my blog.
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View of one of the three pools at our resort.
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View from our condo balcony of a cruise ship coming in to the bay. See the black line I drew? That’s where the shallow water ends, and the deep water begins. That’s how the ships are able to come in so close (and the whales come here to have their babies). At the bottom of the photo, you’re able to see that we are within walking distance of the fun stuff. Glass bottom boats, water taxis, jet skis, para sailing, and we are within walking distance of the marina. Where you go for your deep water activities like fishing, snorkeling, dinner cruises, etc.
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I get up this morning, and do my usual routine which includes visiting my blog friends’ sites. I follow some links and end up at Christian Women On-line Magazine. I thought, ‘Hey, this looks good. I think I’ll add myself to their blog roll and add them to mine.’ Yeah. It always starts out so innocent, eh? Then, you end up looking like this…
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My blog code stuff doesn’t have a side bar widget.I have very, and I do mean very limited experience in cutting and pasting code, but hey, I had done it successfully twice this morning so a third time should be no sweat. Right? Right. I had already added their link code myself and it came out fine and dandy. However, I didn’t like how it looked on my site, so I went to delete it thinking I’d come back later and mess with it some more after church. Well, when I went to delete it, I went up too far and deleted too much code. My blog went blank. Have you seen that commercial on t.v. where the guy’s car is stolen and the brick wall has eyes and the cat barks, etc.? Well, that’s exactly how I felt. Then, the verbal beratement started. Tech Hubby, who didn’t get to bed until 1 this morning, got up to help me. Without me asking. I guess he sensed a Chernoble sized melt down coming.
There are so many reasons why I love this man and the fact that he comes to my rescue is just one of those reasons. Before I had the coffee made, he had fixed the problem. Ahhh, all is well in my tiny, but much loved blogdom. Long live Tech Hubby!
Did you know, that Annie Oakley was a Victorian LADY? She was not a hard talking, fast living, un-ladylike woman who wanted to be ‘one of the boys’. She was dainty, genteel, well spoken, a lady through and through. She was also an advocate of women being armed. At all times.
In the wake of yet another mass shooting, I hope the voice of reason will prevail. I truely believe, that had there been another armed student at either university, well trained in the use of their weapon, that, as in the case of the New Life shooting, the shooter would have been taken down before so much destruction and devastation had occurred. History has proven that restrictions on guns do not prevent gun violence. You don’t need a gun to kill people. You could kill someone with your bare hands, a kitchen knife, etc. If someone is determined to kill, they will. Whether or not they are armed with a gun.
Please, let us not act out of fear and anger. The knee jerk reaction is to tighten gun control. That is not the answer. I believe that the impersonal way in which we all live, contributes to the violence that permeates our schools and open areas. We do not view each other as humans. We do not treat each other as we would like, demand, to be treated.
Do not allow your right to bear arms be taken away or restricted. Once one right goes, it opens the door for the rest of them to be taken away.
Colorado Weapons Training (you should know how to use a gun)
I’ve been trying different recipes for what I like to call, ‘Super soup’. It’s all the same basic ingredients but I look for ways to make it more interesting. I think I’ve found a winner.
When I start feeling like I’m coming down with something and my throat starts to feel funny and my ears and glands start to tingle, here is what I do.
1. Drink green and/or white tea. Four to five cups a day. Really.
2. Eat dark chocolate 70% and up if you can find it or as a last ditch desperate attempt to get better, 60%. The higher the cocoa content and the lower the sugar levels the better.
3. Drink Airborne.
4. Eat my ‘Super Soup’
Super Soup recipe
2 leeks chopped into small pieces
1/2 sweet onion in thin slices
2-3 cloves garlic
1 can pre-cooked chicken (why do more work than you must?)
1 TBS of fish sauce
2 cans of low sodium chicken broth (fish sauce has sodium you will not need salt for this recipe)
1 C water
1 ‘chunk’ mung beans (these are the bean strands you buy dried in the Asian food isle. They are very hard when dry but soften up when soaked in water or our soup broth)
In skillet on medium heat, place 1-2 TBS of coconut oil and fry up the leeks and onion. Fry until soft. Add garlic cloves. I press them in my garlic press first. Add can of chicken right after you add the garlic. Allow it to simmer for a bit. Add in fish sauce. Saute’. Add chicken broth and water and simmer adding chunk of mung beans. When beans start to soften, cut them into manageable pieces with kitchen sheers.
I use my kitchen sheers for almost everything. They are a very important part of my kitchen gadget repertoire. I even use them to open mail which was a huge thorn of contention in premarital counseling until those in objection realized metal could be washed and sharpened. Hello!
When beans are soft, the soup is done. I hope all of my home remedies help those of you who need to get well soon, to get well soon! lol
Do they still exist?
It’s all happening in China and we are still doing business with them and going to the Olympics. Why?
Do you remember, or have you ever heard that song? ‘Ain’t she sweet? See her walking down the street?”? Ok maybe I was the only who had to sing it in school for a choir performance. This is one of the few ceramic/porcelain dolls I have left that is not broken or chipped. I can’t remember why she was given to me. I’m sure it was in some sort of celebration of a life event. I placed her next to the tea cups so you could see just how small and perfect she is.
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Here ends pink week. I hope you had a great week and a Happy Valentine’s Day!
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We’re getting more snow today. I thought it would be nice to show a picture of one of the many fabulous sunrises I witnessed while on my honeymoon three years ago in Cabo San Lucas, MX. I was amazed at the pinks and blues of the sunrises there. Here, we get orange, and red, and yellow.
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Valentine’s Day is the only holiday that celebrates marriage between a man and a woman. People fought for, and died for, the right to marry and not live in sin.
Saint Valentine: Holy Priest of Rome: The date of this Saint Valentine’s birth is not known. Along with Saint Marius and his family, Saint Valentine assisted the martyrs during the persecution they suffered under the rule of Claudius II (also known as Claudius the Goth and Claudius the Cruel). In addition, since Rome was at the time involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns, the emperor found it difficult to recruit the male populace into joining his military leagues. Believing this to be because Roman men were adverse to leaving their loved ones or their families, Claudius canceled all marriages and engagements within the City of Rome. Saint Valentine and Saint Marius, however, continued to perform wedding ceremonies in secret. (and was later killed for his efforts)
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Sis and I and Rocket went to the d.p. again yesterday. Why, WHY do people bring their aggressive lame-oid dogs to the d.p.? If your dog needs socialization skills, take it to a trainer first, THEN come to the d.p. when it’s over whatever issues it has OR put it on the necessary meds. You know, the ones that DON’T make it want to run full speed at other dogs which can hurt them. There was a Boston terrier there that did this. I was standing next to Rocket and another lady who had a 4 month old Boston terrier. Another lady with a full grown Boston T. came in. Her dog, big and heavier than our two, kept running at Rock and the puppy. Its owner just stood there looking (sorry but it’s true) dazed and confused. Finally I addressed the dog which made the owner wake up and leash her dog. I’ve seen this before, both with Rock and other people’s dogs. The owner of the offending dog just stands there watching their dog act aggressively, sometimes attacking, another dog without even calling off their dog. I’ve seen some dog owners laugh at this. This is not cool people. If your dog is aggressive, take it out of the d.p. and do not get an attitude if the owner of the dog your dog is trying to eat uses whatever means necessary to get your dog to stop its behavior if you’re not going to do anything about it. Okay, now that I’m done venting, let’s look at some cute picks. Btw the lady who owned the Boston was very nice about me telling her dog to stop.
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Sis, on the right, and I sitting at a picnic table at the dog park. Can you imagine trying to have a picnic with 10-15 little dogs all begging for scraps?
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Here she comes! (cue theme song from Bonanza!)
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Soon, everything will be in bloom. I can hardly wait, although, the starkness of the trees against the blue winter sky is quite lovely.
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Tech Hubby’s favorite candy is whoppers. While at the store the other day, I saw they had them in peanut butter and strawberry. Tech Hubby loves strawberry AND pb&j, what to do? I picked up the strawberry carton and boy, am I glad I did! Remember how good that strawberry flavored powder was you stirred into your milk when you were a kid? These taste just like that! They taste like a strawberry milk shake! Sis and I are going to the store today, maybe I’ll get some more.
My pink kimono, a gift from my sister. I take it with me every time we go to Cabo. The same design you see here on the back, is also on the lower front panel. I love it because it is so girly.
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Everybody howl…ahoooooooooo!
My sister called me today to see if I wanted to go to the dog park with her (and, you-know-who).
When she got to my house, she told me that Rocket knew exactly where they were going. When my sister passed the park to pick me up, Rocket flipped out. She whined, howled, and carried on to let my sister know she had passed by the desired destination. What a character! I can just hear her little pea brain trying to figure out why my sister wasn’t turning into the parking lot for the dog park.
‘Where is she going? Doesn’t she know she passed it? She has to know, it’s right-there!’
Oh the agonies and drama of being a small bred dog.
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The first thing you do when you get to the park, is sniff.
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Then, you say, ‘hi’ to whomever is there. They are usually sniffing too. It’s cool. That’s how we roll at the dog park.
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See the little guy I highlighted? I was busy taking another picture and I feel something ram into my knee. I look down and this little guy is jumping up at me as if he had springs tied to the bottoms of his feet. He was jumping straight up about 2-3 feet! PING! PING! PING! Have you ever been so full of joy you just had to jump? Maybe you need to go to the dark park more often.
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The dp used to be very over grown and jungle-like. We were surprised to see that it had been cleared out of all the under brush. I hope they left the apple tree alone.
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It’s so purdy!
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Although a good time was had by all, I think one of us enjoyed it a bit more than the rest of us. Look at that smile! She’s a happy pappy.
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It’s coming.
29th February 2008 24 hour Tea or Coffee break 2008
A pack of 80 tea bags costs £1.79, yet an Indian tea farmer earns only 15p . The 24 Hour Tea and Coffee Break is held during Fair Trade Fortnight and highlights the plight of poor farmers throughout the world.
You can also ask your server at your restaurant or your grocery store for ETP teas or fair trade teas and coffees. These come from tea and coffee estates that are monitored for the care of the workers and good prices for the farmers.
For our first anniversary, Tech Hubby presented me with a wrapped package containing this. Knowing he did it to get a reaction from me, I remained calm, thanked him profusely, and went on about my business. A few short minutes later, he presented me with this…
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The real thing, with pink sapphires and white diamonds. I love channel set jewelry.
What is your favorite pink jewelry? All week at Melissa’s Cozy Teacup, it is Pink Week. Today is pink jewelry day. See the post below about it.
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I know, that in this time of uncertainty and turmoil, we find ourselves drawn inward in order to find what we had previously been looking for outward, in the world. When food, clothes, cars, ’stuff’ cannot bring us happiness nor give us a sense of fulfillment and purpose, we start to seek it elsewhere. If you are looking for ways to discover and develop your purpose, try, in addition to reading your bible, ‘The Purpose Driven Life’, by Rick Warren, or ‘Conversations on Purpose for ‘women’, by Katie Brazelton.
These books focus on the Creator, not creation. I am bringing this up because of the newest book to have made Oprah’s book club. ‘A New Earth’, by Eckhart Tolle.
Yes, I post about tea, and the way my sister’s dog’s feet smell, but that doesn’t mean I take life and spiritual matters lightly, and neither should you.
I went to Amazon.com and started reading the excerpt for ‘A New Earth’. My there certainly is a good deal of type dedicated to flowers in the first few pages, isn’t there? I love flowers, too. Flowers amaze me. Why? Well, God could have created a world where there were no flowers, or only one kind of flower, or a world with no plant life at all and the air could just be filtered with ugly metal machines. But He didn’t. He made the earth full of bright color and living things, for our enjoyment. Yes, it all is intricately woven together to function in a complicated manner. Perfectly so that we have exactly what we need to survive. Isn’t He good? He also gave us more than basic survival gear, He gave us beauty.
The bible says God gave us creation and all its marvels as proof He exists. ‘A New Earth’, focuses on evolution and even in the first pages give vague and unbelievable theories on how things just happened to happen.
‘One day, however, a critical threshold was reached, and suddenly there would have been an explosion of color and scent all over the planet-if a perceiving consciousness had been there to witness it.’
Excuse me? Is he really going to the old ‘if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it does it make a noise?’ argument? Is he saying that if no one was there to witness it it probably didn’t happen? ‘There would have been- if…there to witness it.’ Well, Mr. Tolle it did, and there was.
When creation was created, there was a ‘perceiving consciousness’ there to witness it, God, then Adam and His finale’, Eve.
In his book, Tolle also compares Jesus and Buddha side by side as if Buddha can even be in the same category as Jesus, which he can’t. There really is a difference.
Recommended reading: ‘So, What’s the Difference?’ by Fritz Ridenour
‘Captivating:Unveiling the Mysteries of a Woman’s Soul’ by John and Staci Eldredge, just because it is so good.
‘The purpose Driven Life: What on earth Am I here for?’ by Rick Warren btw, yes that is a preposition at the end of his title sentence and it still became a best seller. It must have some good stuff in it worth reading, eh?
Just about anything by C.S. Lewis. Last, but not least, your bible. Everyday. Fill up on the word, and the garbage can’t get into your head.
For Christmas, The Pioneer Woman received a puppy. She said his toes smelled like Fritos. The other day, I was at my sister’s house and yep, dog toes do smell like Fritos.
6:00 a.m.Hid under the covers, but the humans still found me and tossed me out into the cold to go potty. Honestly, if they have indoor plumbing, why can’t I?
7:00 a.m. Hang out under the boy’s chair and wait for food to drop. Mmmm, pancakes, my favorite.
7:45 a.m. Watch female and boy leave and get into big black truck. I like the truck. It has warm seats. I have the whole house to myself. Time to plot.
8:15 a.m. Female is back. I pretend to slee…zzzzz.
10:00 a.m. Bark at birds and am let outside and I find the steak bone from last night’s dinner in a snow drift. Hmm beefcicle!
10:30 a.m. Female has been trying to get me to relinquish the bone. As if! I must bring it into the house as it is too cold to continue to enjoy outside. I hear the door bell. Is it a trick? No, the other female is here that looks like my human. I want to greet her but my human still won’t let me in the door. They are talking. What’s this? A snack! Just inside the door. I don’t have room in my mouth for both. The bone can wait.
11:00 a.m. Why are they standing in the food room and not feeding me? The food closet is just right there. I shall remind them I am waiting. BARK! Why are they scowling?
11:02a.m. Mmm, snack. Oh, they are cooking. I love it when they cook. The air smells so good!
1:00 p.m. There are creatures in my back yard. Do the humans not see them? Do they not see the birds? I must bark at the birds and chase them or they will take over the yard! Hey! Let me out humans!
2:00 They are both on the floor. They must want to play! I’ll go and get my toy.
2:01 They are ignoring me. I will lick them and let them know I’m ready to play. The one that looks like my master ruffles my fur and gets up off the floor. What is she doing?
2:05 They are…dancing? It looks like they are doing what the lady on the bright box is doing (author’s note: we were belling dancing to the Shimmie show). They didn’t want to play after all. Sigh. I’m taking a nap. Silly humans.
2:30 They sit down and are talking now. I will go and sit in my master’s lap. It is my favorite place in the house. My second favorite is my special chair in the office. The Boy doesn’t have HIS own chair in the office, but I do. It is so that I can keep an eye on the neighborhood and let my master know if there is anything suspicious going on, like stray leaves, crazy squirrel activity, or those crazy bunnies I like to chase. Oh how I love how their fur tickles my lips when I catch one. I caught one the other day and was nibbling on its fluffy bottom. My master came running out of the house to rescue it. Can you believe? Oh Diary, it was a sad day indeed. My first bunny catch and it was taken away. I was robbed!
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Let’s forget there is snow and wind outside. Come on over, come inside. You bring the cookies, and I’ll pour the tea.
We’re still getting cold and snow here in the Rockies. Unfortunately, people are dieing too, on the icy roads. Further west than where we are, on the side of the Rockies where mom nature really lets loose, they are buried! Check out Jill’s snowy posts.
By the time the storms cross the mountains and come here, they lose some of their omph. Also, with Tech Hubby and I being in the foothills, most of the snow and ick blow over and hit hard at my sister’s house and further east on the plains. Still, I’ve had quite enough, thank-you-very-much. Our snow pack in the mountains is above average ensuring us plenty of water for spring and summer-technically-in theory-I hope. So, enough already. It’s spring time in the UK and here’s proof. Check out the pictures over at, Autumn Cottage Diarist. She has proof it can’t last forever!
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I’ll bet they’re tired of it too. These are deer from my mom’s neighborhood. I took this picture at the beginning of January. The momma deer are all pregnant now and showing. They have huge baby bumps.
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Their excuse, not the bed, although, I’m not buying that either.
A girl’s bed is being marketed as the ‘Lolita’. Yes, THE Lolita.
Supposedly (and I don’t believe them) the people who manufactured and marketed the bed, had never heard of Lolita, ever. Never heard of the book. Never over heard anyone, eve,r talking about the movie, or saw a commercial for it when it came out in 1998 starring Jeremy Irons and, um, isn’t he a famous British actor? Yes, yes he is. Isn’t this bed being sold in the UK where he is from and no one, from the concept person to the marketing person tot he one who saw the bed set in the catalog and bought it for the store, to the store manager EVER heard of the movie Lolita? Yea, right. I’m not buying the lie people. Neither should you.
Here is the link to the story. I’m telling you, our children are being targeted. Slutty clothing, Brazilian waxes, and now a line of salacious bed room furniture? How dare these people think they can hide behind a cloak of feigned ignorance? No. Just taking the product out of stores is not enough of a penalty for them. I think they should be punished in some way. Fined perhaps.
So, parents of young girls, weigh in on this issue. Do you feel your girls are targets of much too grown up advertising and products? What do you do to try and protect them from too much exposure and from growing up too fast? Have some of you given up?
I love the color pink. If you do too, then join me in Pink Week next week. It is, after all, Valentine’s week. I will (try, and I do mean try) to make a little something you can post on your site indicating you’re participating. All who do, please use the item to link back here and I will list with links everyone participating in pink week.
DAY1 photo of your favorite piece of pink jewelry and the story behind it if there is one.
DAY2 photo of your fav pink outfit, or item of clothing, or accessory and story if applicable
DAY3 photo of pink food or alternate item if no pink food
DAY4 photo of something pink outside. Can be nature or buildings or outside statuary, etc.
DAY5 free day. Photo of anything pink.
Who wants to play?
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Here’s an example:
The top cup and bottom cup were found in a thrift store. The middle cup is from a partial set of dishes I received from my mom that used to belong to her mom.
Well, this is embarrassing. Every time my husband does an update, something breaks and ‘we’ have to go fix it. Well, this time it was the something I use to create cute little things like business cards and post cards etc.
So, if anyone out here can make a cute something or another we can all share to promote, Pink Week, please feel free the share the love. Thanks!
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It’s been years since Colorado has had the opportunity to participate in a caucus. At first I thought, ‘great another time suck taking me away from NCIS and Mark Harmon.’ Once there, I really got into it, although I didn’t quite understand it all and I’m now doing something in March somewhere but I don’t know yet what exactly I’ll be doing but Tech Hubby will be there so it’ll all be ok.
The caucus was held at the local high school. I had a slight panic attack sitting in the desk chair combos.
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We sign in, gather our paper work and look over the agenda. The chairman guy did a good job of keeping us on track.
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We then opened with a moment of silence, then with an actual prayer, and finally, The Pledge of Allegiance which included the (One Nation, Under God) part and no one got offended and left.
It has been years since I had said the pledge I’m excited to report I still knew all the words.
There were many, okay, most of the room, for whom this would probably be their last chance to vote in an election. I’m not kidding. We’re talking field trip day for the senior citizens home so they could participate in the caucus. I wish there had been more young people (listen to me, ‘young people’?!) there but ours is an older neighborhood without much growth and one that younger couples just starting out can’t usually afford. I’m not bragging, it’s just the facts. Most of these people, I’m sure, bought their home in this neighborhood in the late sixties, early seventies when their kids were young and this was a new development, and have lived here ever since. Quite frequently there will be an estate sale in the area and you can tell by the look of things that the house hasn’t been updated since they moved in 30-40 years ago. All original appliances, and paint too I might add.
I didn’t realize that I would be meeting so many of my neighbors, as in, live-on-the-same-street-neighbors. The only draw back was that there were so few of us republicans in the neighborhood. :<
I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
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Here is Tech Hubby at the end of the evening, speaking with the Chairman guy (whose back is to us for privacy sake) asking him when we will be receiving our information packets telling us about whatever it is we we’ll be doing in March since we ended up volunteering for something but I’m not too sure what it was or how to do it, yet. You can bet your sweet bippy I’ll be keeping you informed, as I learn for myself, about just what on earth is going on here.
So far tonight, in a school, I heard a prayer and said the word God. Not that I’m keeping score or anything. a-hem!
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I really don’t hate Montague’s. Really. I actually enjoy it quite a bit. However, they have changed from using lovely antique teapots to these ugly things.
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So now, you get your own, individual teapot that gives you 2 1/2 cups of tea. Montague’s doesn’t decant their tea and, they don’t tell you how long it’s been in the pot by the time it gets to your table. You just kind of have to guess at the steeping time and hope your tea isn’t too weak or too strong which is why I uncharacteristically put milk in mine that day. The food is ok, the tea is ok, the desserts are fabulous and done by the same place, Little London, that made the cake for my wedding (Mom, Sis and I shared a piece of coconut cake, then Mom decided she needed a whole cake for her up coming birthday party last Saturday) the seats all need to be reupholstered, so what is it about Montague’s that keeps us all coming back? Perhaps we are just desperate for a tea place where we can relax and feel like we are in the kitchen and dining room of a friend and that’s what Montague’s feels like to me.
For months now, I’ve been talking to Tech Hubby about buying a motor home, tossing all his cra-, er, I mean highly technical and sensitive electronic equipment into it and hitting the open road. For us, this means selling our home which means getting rid of things. For some reason, my tiny, nacho cheese Dorito filled brain didn’t realize it also meant getting rid of the pin ball machines. We have three. Judge Dread, Doctor Who and the Adams Family. When Tech Hubby and I dated, one of the places we went, was the arcade in Manitou Springs, and, to Pinball Alley in our basement. We fell in love over pinball machines. We’ve even been tot he pinball event at the Jefferson County fair grounds.
When it dawned on me I’d be saying goodbye to these machines, I got depressed. ‘He’s selling our love,’ I thought which was incorrect but how I felt. Of course, my favorite machine was the first to go.
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The guy who is buying it came by on Saturday to look it over. The Adams Family. It is the most fun to play, I think, and I love how Gomez and Tish love each other. I was so upset, that when the guy came to look at it, I stayed in my office. I could still hear the machine through the walls as he tested it. My whole weekend was ruined because, yes, I AM a big baby like that.
Man, the motor home we buy had better be jaw droppingly awesome!
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Doesn’t this house just scream, ‘tea party!’? I think so. See the porch out front? You could serve a tea out there and watch the clouds go by. Or…
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You could just use this little house, also on the same property, as your all the time, tea party house. You could decorate it to look like a doll house or in an Alice in Wonderland theme, or, you could change the decor with the seasons and really go crazy!
I get to see these houses every Sunday on my way to church. What do you think about when you look at these houses?
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Garden Goose is having a b log give away for Valentine’s Day. For more details, head on over. LINK
All Thing Bright and Beautiful!
I had a contest this week during my cook book expose’. Who ever left a comment on any of last week’s posts, had their name put into a drawing and ATBB won! Woohoo!
Her prize?
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Her choice!
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We interrupt the regularly scheduled blog entry to bring you this breaking news…scientists in New Zealand have genetically altered an onion improving it (by their standards). What improvements did they make to this new Frankenfood? It doesn’t make you cry when you cut it, really?
Now really, do we need, want, a genetically engineered onion just because it makes us cry? I don’t. Do you want the FDA to make producers of such monstrosities to label them to let us know if we are eating cloned meat or genetically altered food? I DO!
If you are what you eat, then whose to say that eating a piece of food containing altered DNA won’t alter mine? If tea can naturally have an effect on your health in positive ways; lowers blood pressure, reduces cholesterol, helps you to lose weight, then how can something I eat that has been tampered with not effect me in a negative manner?
But it sure is handy in the kitchen/dining room.This is not a cook book and in some ways, it’s a bit better. The Perfect Setting, Peri Wolfman and Charles Gold, is filled with ideas on how to dress a table. Yeah baby! I have been getting more into presentation following exposure to Asian movies about cooking; Dae Jung Geum, and reading Asian cook books; Harumi’s Japanese Cooking.I don’t just want to make tasty food, I want to create a beautiful experience. Do you feel sometimes as I do, that your day can get caught up in rushing around so much so, that every beautiful moment is snatched up and stolen away by the urgent? Well, make a cuppa and put your feet up and learn a little about how to make eating more than a few gulps before you go on to the next task. Let’s make it a beautiful moment in the day.
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Doesn’t the cover look like it has something good to offer inside?
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This book teaches you the names of different utensils and how they are used.
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I have cutlery very similar to this. I don’t care for it, it is too manly for me. It is Tech Hubby’s from before we were married
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Also featured are different types of linens and full examples of place settings in different styles and colors. There are many photos of teapots inside a country kitchen, outside, ready for a breakfast of croissants and tea under the shade of a tree.
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Look, even a paper Alice and her friends are enjoying the perfect setting for an enjoyable meal.
From a simple soup, to a rustic loaf of bread, from appetizers to fancy parties, this book can tell you how to make it look fabulous.