Update on Snowbank

Hmmmmmmmmm, do I smell He-man Chocolate Chip Cookies baking across the land? :D Wish that I still had some, but I was smart and invited people in for coffee the first afternoon and, yesterday, I bagged up the remainder and took them to a friend's for tea. Having that many cookies in the house is dangerous! (Don't forget to tell me if you try them.)

So here's the snowbank...the very handy Saturday post. At least, until it's gone.



Yes, that's snow falling...sigh.

This next photo made me laugh.



I've often felt as if I didn't know whether I was coming or going and now I see so clearly why!

And this last photo nearly made me weep...



Such a brave little daffodil to be getting ready to bloom under a snowbank and in such trying times.

Have a wonderful Saturday, dear friends!

He-Man Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday afternoon, I was in need of a cookie ministry. A pack of chocolate chips from before Christmas was sitting open in my pantry. Rather than munch on them by the handfuls, I decided to bake.

Out came my recipe book, actually a photo album where my hand-written recipes live, and there was my recipe for He-Man Cookies. They contain a lot of oatmeal so, since they would be so much more healthful... This recipe is from the Yankee Kitchen Radio Program, which ended in the late 90s.

I loved Gus Saunders the host of the Yankee Kitchen. Googling this morning, I found that Gus passed away last year and I felt sad as if I had lost an old friend and hadn't been told.

On summer vacations, my children would be off playing in their "secret" playhouse under the 100 foot pine whose branches swept down to touch the lawn. And I would spend many afternoons puttering in my blueberry kitchen cleaning or preparing for supper all the while listening to Gus's mellow voice sharing recipes and cooking tips. The premise was that in order to request a recipe, you had to offer one. It was a swap thing. My notebook and pencil sat at the ready to hurriedly snag a recipe the old-fashioned way. Good thing that Gus was a gentleman who knew just how to slow down and repeat things in the right moments. Ahhhh, dear Gus.



He-Man Chocolate Chip Cookies
from the Yankee Kitchen Radio Program

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 2 unbeaten eggs
* 2 tsp vanilla
* 1 TBS hot water
* 2 cups quick oatmeal
* 1 1/2 cups flour
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 cup chopped nuts
* 1 12 oz package of chocolate chips

Method:

Mix butter and shortening, sugars, eggs, hot water, and vanilla.

Add oatmeal and the remainder of the dry ingredients. Lastly, add the chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop onto parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake 10–12 minutes @ 375°

These are a tasty, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside cookie. Hope that you'll try them sometime!

Before and After

Do you love before and after pictures as much as I do? Nothing makes me much happier than a before and after photo of anything. Got a garage to clean? I want to see a before and after. (Speaking of which, I'll be providing this myself just as soon as the weather warms a bit.) Got an eyebrow to pluck? No kidding, I want to see the transformation.

Sometimes, trying to talk someone into sharing at this level just does not work. Not two days ago, I was cranking away on a friend (Hi, Mrs. G.!) and practically begging for her to show me a before and after of her reorganized sewing room. She said, "Not bloody likely!" or something close.

On Tuesday, as many of you already know, Kari and Kijsa held an "Homage to Spring" and so many great bloggers participated. That's where I learned the following four things and I'm sharing!

For quite some time, I've been unhappy with the arrangement on top of the china cupboard. I've been playing with it since Christmas. This is how it looked yesterday before I employed #41 on Kari and Kijsa's list.



I am not very good at creating things on my own. Inspiration is an absolute necessity. Number 41 provided that for me...that's #41. ;> I didn't have old window frames, but I did have an old picture frame and that's close enough. Yes, I cheated again by lighting the candles. Candleglow always works, doesn't it?

Then I decided to employ #84's use of white silk flowers. Mary has single-handedly turned my thinking around on the use of silk. I'm afraid that I had become something of a decorating snob eschewing anything fake. Not anymore! Until the real thing is readily available, I'm happy to follow Mary's lead.



(Sorry that I don't have the before, but you can imagine it by removing both rabbits, the flowers, and the small pitcher.)

Not only did I gain an idea or two about decorating, I will definitely try #74 for my grandsons and #86 also for the grandsons. I just picked up some muslin for the #86 project and hope to work on it today. Number 74 is an Easter treat that is cuter than a button and sweet to eat. Kids of all ages will love them! You've just gotta go see what I mean.

Here's the link, once again, for Kari & Kijsa's Homage to Spring.

P.S. Oops, forgot to say that there are some great comments on yesterday's post about dreams. That's another thing I enjoy reading about so perhaps you do, too.

On Her Way

There are universal dreams...the one about falling, the one about walking in molasses (oh, yeah, don't tell me that you haven't had that one), the one about flying, which is closely related to the falling dream, the one about driving in reverse at 100 mph (no? you haven't had that one either?), the one about dying, the one about giving birth to something not necessarily someone, the one about hearing your name called very loudly. Feel free to share if you've ever experienced any of these or add one of your own regulars.

From the time I was about ten to the present, I have periodically dreamed of a man falling down a deep well. He yells my name all the way down. I know him to be my husband. Yes, I knew that he was my husband even as a girl. Now I recognize his voice.

I have been dreaming a lot. That's because I have been sleeping a lot. At the risk of being clobbered by your nearest shoe, I have slept at least ten hours the past three nights. It's been great. I usually sleep seven hours or less; sometimes a lot less. I'm ready to go back to my usual schedule as this loss of three hours is a problem.

Enough about sleep and dreams.

Some of you have expressed such empathy for the lack of spring in my corner and I have appreciated those sentiments, truly. Not only that, so many have been providing that "ministry of flowers" that I spoke of some time ago that I have felt as if spring is very near even though I've seen no signs. Well, no signs until a few days ago.

I was searching the trees for nests and I found this one on a branch that hangs over the street in front of my home. See? There's a red circle (sort of) around the nest.



Then, wanting to see the nest better, I played with the zoom and took this shot.



It was so exciting to see this photograph not because of the nest, but because of the buds on that tree. Buds! Red buds! Spring is coming; she may be delayed; she may have to step over snowbanks, but she's on her way!

Interview With a Glove Rabbit

Good morning, Lil' Rabbit!



You've been the subject of much speculation.



What can you tell me about your life before Saturday?



Ahhhh, so was the creation process difficult?



Do you have any concerns that your head may have been placed on backwards?



What are you doing to prepare for a life of intense loving?



Any final thoughts you'd like to share?



Yeah, well, thank you very much for that, Lil' Rabbit. Now let's tell the nice folks where to find some good information.

Jill at Homemade by Jill has all the information that you'll need including the links to Martha Stewart.com. If you read the directions very carefully, you may get your rabbit's head on straight! :>

***



Yesterday, I baked Manuela's Sock-It-To-Me Cake. It was so delicious that I am trying to think of anything else so that I won't bake another one today. I made two minor substitutions...no nuts because my grandbabies were eating it and I used plain yogurt instead of sour cream. Still absolutely fantastic!

Would you believe that I slept 11 hours last night? I love the Time Change, but adjusting can be a challenge.

Enjoy your Monday!

Edited to Add: If you are arriving from Kari & Kijsa's "Homage to Spring," welcome! If not, go check things out at K & K's!

I Boast not of Works nor Tell of Good Deeds...

I Will Glory in the Cross

I boast not of works nor tell of good deeds
For naught have I done to merit His grace
All glory and praise shall rest upon Him
So willing to die in my place

I will glory in the cross, in the cross
Lest his suffering all be in vain
I will weep no more for the cross that He bore
I will glory in the cross

My trophies and crowns, my robes stained with sin
Were all that I had to lay at His feet
Unworthy to feast from the table of life
'Till God made provision for me

I will glory in the cross, in the cross
Lest his suffering all be in vain
I will weep no more for the cross that He bore
I will glory in the cross

Bridge:
In the cross, in the cross
Be my glory 'ever

I will weep no more for the cross that He bore
I will glory, I will glory, I will glory in the cross

~Dottie Rambo



Ephesians 2:14-16a For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross...

Clicking on the words to the song will take you to a You Tube clip of Allison Durham Speer singing "I Will Glory in the Cross."

Jerusalem Crown of Thorns Source

Have an excellent Sunday! How's the time change treating you so far? (Five hours of sleep here...ackkkk!)