It Was Lovely

Oh dear! I've been away from blogging for ten days and managed to forget everything I thought I knew. This is dangerous when one has been as preoccupied as I have been. Anyway, starting again this morning by pulling the post that went on overnight and saving it for the correct day. 
Let me instead post about Easter, which was a beautiful day. The most lovely in recent memory with temps soaring to 80F. The landscape was almost snow free, but brown. Well, with those temps, we can't complain. No matter the circumstances or the weather, Easter is a day to be honored. Our very futures depend on what Jesus did for us on the cross and what He did in leaving His grave behind and our recognizing it. 

The family is still in the stage of going through the holidays one by one without John. So this was the first Easter without him and the last holiday when we will say  "this is our first ____ without John." We muddled through...at least, I did. I was glad that it was "my" year as it gave me more things to think about. John lives Easter every day now.
Recently, my grandson Jake told me as he came through the door that for just a moment as he climbed the stairs he thought he would find John here. Just for a moment. I have felt that way sometimes, especially in the morning on waking or at a certain time in the afternoon when John would have been coming home.

What I have learned through the year is that the same scene can look very different depending on my focus or my filter. 

 Are the tulips lavender or pink? (It depends.)

And I have learned that just because there is snow on the ground today does not mean that there'll be snow there the next. Things can change quickly when God is invited into a situation.

 ~very little snow~ It has been a blessing to read about your Easter so I thought I would share mine. And not one photo of the family. Am I slipping or what?! 

Yellow

A color sorely lacking in my world since those golden days of October has been yellow. In my corner, white moves in and some years, like this one, wants to stay. Now don't get me wrong, when one deals with this much White on such a massive scale for so many months of the year, it is really nearly the last thing I want to see in my home. In fact, I don't even want to see white ceilings. True.



~Golden October~


The Hodge Podge has made me think a lot about my favorite color since Wednesday, but truth is I've had a few discussions about yellow in blog posts through the years to include this post titled For the Love of Yellow way back in 2008. Those were the days when the walls around here read white over yellow or pumpkin. It is also where I first described why I love the color yellow so.

The question of who can wear yellow came up on Wednesday's post and in the comments. I can't. Can you? *This is a fun article* humorously written that you might enjoy reading sometime for the answer. It was written way back in 2004 when the color of the year was yellow. Can you imagine yellow ever being trendy? Warning: The author does use the "b" word to describe Fashion, but who among us hasn't? Okay, I haven't, but I have said other not so nice things about fashion.


In tamer and lamer revelations, often I wander through my Pinterest 💛Yellow Folder💛 just for fun. Check it out. You may find yourself there as Mrs. Rabe will.

This is such a pretty yellow color. I hope you'll visit Mrs. Rabe at Creekside Cottage *Here* to find out what it is and see more photos of this pretty chair. I'd love to have one this shade!

~buttery biscuits~

I tried a new biscuit recipe today. No, I didn't. I actually tried a new method using my own recipe. It's made with butter instead of shortening and the butter is melted into the buttermilk or milk. It's a nice something, but it is not a biscuit as I know them.


New England biscuits are a force to be reckoned with. These are not as pretty as a regular New England biscuit, which is really a silly thing because the best looking biscuits I ever made were inedible. (I used baking soda instead of baking powder.) I remember how disappointed John was with those things and I didn't have enough ingredients to start over. So these look bad, but taste good, which is preferable to looking good and tasting bad.

See? I cannot stay on topic no matter how I try! ツ

Would love to know what your favorite color is, if you've loved it long, and if you wear it or use it in your home.

Have a blessed Palm Sunday weekend...

Lawn and Garden Hodge Podge

1. April is Lawn and Garden Month. On a scale of 1-10 what's the current state of your lawn and/or garden. (10=a showpiece, 1=send in the professionals). Tell us about any lawn or garden plans you have for this month.

This is easy. My lawn/garden is under snow. 
Send in the sun! 
☀️

If the snow melts, and the lawn dries some, I hope to rake the sand off, clean the garden, and get things tidied in general. My mailbox also sits on my front lawn and it is looking a bit shabby so I hope to replace it or spruce it up. 

2. "Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there."~Thomas Fuller  What does this quote mean to you?

Oh heavens! Joyce is making me think again. It's been a long time since I saw the garden... Let me try to bring up that picture...😖 😑 😊 ahhh, yes,  joy and pleasure in seeing the beautiful flowers and anticipation even now. And I have some special tulips planted there that I hope will bloom this spring. 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷   

3. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about God?

LOVE 

4. If we were chatting in person, how would I know if you were nervous?

lack of eye contact 😳

5. Do you like the color yellow?

💛 my favorite! 

 Would I find any in your home or wardrobe?

One pale yellow shirt~jacket (I don't wear yellow well.)

Lots of wood that is yellow...kinda...see header

One yellow wall

Buttery yellow kitchen cabinets that need to be painted! 

Splashes of yellow here and there...

 Daffodils, tulips, roses, sunflowers, day lily, black eyed susan...which yellow bloom on this list is your favorite?

Yellow roses are my favorites, but I 💛 all posies...

6. Flip flops or bare feet?

In time past, flip flops. Alas, I developed that nerve thing on my toes where the thong goes...ouchie! It only affects my right foot so I could wear a flop on my left and go barefoot on my right...it'd be a look. 😏

7. Tell us about any Easter plans, celebrations, or traditions you'll carry out this month.

Plans still not finalized, but my grandson, who keeps tabs on all such engagements, tells me that it is my year. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

🌷☀️🌿😎🌿☀️🌷

Thank you for your visit. Please join Joyce and friends HERE. 

Easter Bread

Recently, Cheryl of The Farmer's Daughter was describing a spike in her blog numbers. She found the information on her stats. I had another such spike yesterday with over a thousand visitors on a quiet Sunday...unheard of...nearly. There was that one time several years ago when my stats went through the roof — over a thousand visitors an hour for several days. (Those of you who have millions visit every week, just bear with me here. ☺)

As much as I'd have liked to think that my humble blog had gained the attention of thousands, I knew better. Something was up besides the numbers! Back then, Site Meter was still in operation and I was able to drill down on those visits.

I found a forum of some sort in Norway, the country. They were laughing their heads off over my posts on "Easter Bread." They soon had John and me laughing, too. Apparently, the word for "Easter bread" the one my Mennonite friends use, means quite something else in Norwegian. So when I described the aroma of it baking in the oven, these forum folks were bent double in fits of laughter.

If you'd like to bake some most delicious Easter Bread (Paska), check my featured post in the sidebar. It is most delicious!

~back in the Notecard Party days~


Do you ever drill down your stats to find out where visitors are coming from? I have found some lovely blogs that way...

*🌷*🌷*

That snow that arrived Saturday? About a foot of it here. Nearly all gone. Of course, we'll do it all over again on Tuesday just for fun. Then lots and lots of rain will be moving in. This always makes me nervous. Good thing I have the flood insurance all paid up at The Ponderosa.

Have a beautiful springy day...

Romans 9:16

There is nothing we can do to earn His mercy. When we come to God, He gives it freely. Of course, one must come to Him for He rewards those who seek Him.

A blessed Sunday to you.

April Fools Day 2017

Courage is not ignorance of bad weather but persistence in the face of it. 

~Harold E. Kohn 

Well this is a fine kettle of fish — A Nor'easter on April Fools Day. How funny — not. Still I plan to keep a stiff upper lip and be as cheery as is possible on such a day.  

Yesterday, my sister called in a bit of a panic as she had a doctor's appointment and my father's new care person had not shown up. The Veterans Administration is struggling to keep staff as they simply do not have enough. They're not the only ones as local hospitals are hiring traveling nurses and they come from all over at great costs to fill in the gaps. Something is very, horribly wrong with this picture. No wonder health costs are so exorbitant. It's crazy. 

Where was I? Oh, back to my sister. She had no one closer to call on so she called me. I had a few plans that I decided to set aside. There was nothing more pressing that could not wait. I did not want her to miss an appointment when she had waited so long and her schedule is so rigid. I ran some errands, filled the gas tank, and set off for her corner. It was a lovely drive, if I discount the miles and miles of potholes. I thought about taking photos of the things I saw that might interest you, but in the end I was just too lazy. Oh I did take one for the Instagram crowd. Are you jealous? 😉

I stopped at a market and picked up a box of doughnuts. One must not arrive empty-handed. I hadn't yet and didn't want to start. I found that everyone, except my father, is dieting so that wasn't the best choice. Dad and I enjoyed our doughnut all the same and reminisced about my paternal grandmother's delicious homemade doughnuts. No store bought doughnut holds a candle to our memories of them.

Nana would make doughnuts when the mood struck her, which was actually quite often. She would rise early to get much of the work done before we grandchildren awoke.  She would begin by setting the lard in a large heavy iron skillet upon the stove to heat while she mixed the dough. The recipe was in her head and perhaps in her heart as well because those doughnuts were amazing...the stuff of legend. She used an old soup can to cut her doughnuts and she formed the doughnut hole with her finger swinging the dough around and around her finger until it was perfectly shaped. She needed no fancy thermometer to know when the fat was ready. She would slip each doughnut into the fat with hardly a  ripple; she had no fancy tongs so she used a simple fork to first turn and eventually lift the doughnuts being careful not to poke them. A paper bag was used to line a rectangular cake pan that served as the receptacle for the browned doughnuts fresh from the fat.  If we wanted sugared doughnuts, we would put some sugar in a paper bag, pop a couple of warm doughnuts in and shake the bag. I have been known to eat a dozen doughnuts all by myself. *hiccup* These memories were the gist of our conversation. 

When my brother-in-law arrived home early from work, he fixed the broken mirror on my car. It was one of the things that had been on my docket for the day. And he did it for free! It was worth the trip! That and the sweet memories about homemade doughnuts. 

On my way home, I decided to use my Joann's coupons. I loved hearing the clerk say that I had saved $48 dollars. We shall not discuss how much I spent to save that. I bought a few more fabrics for making a few more bowl cozies. It's my plan for this day while the snow falls. A cozy day in my sewing room making cozies...how cozy!  Cozy, cozy, cozy...are you believing any of this? 😜

I certainly hope that it is not snowing in your corner, but if it is, feel free to tell me all about it...

ETA: The snow totals have changed in my corner from 8 to 18 inches to 3 to 5 inches. Ahhhh,,,much better. Edited to Add Again at 7:30 am: One can't trust those weather people. At. all. Our original snow totals  are going to prove correct by the time this event winds down at the end of the day. Heavy wet snow expected all day long.

No visible tree creature horse today!

A March Hodge Podge

1. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'  What's something you've seen recently that you thought was beautiful?

Something about the woods yesterday made me stop and pay attention. Was it the multiple grays, taupes, and browns? The bit of green provided by the Eastern Spruce? Not sure, but I was quite surprised to see a tree creature looking right at me as I was editing the photo. Do you see him, too?

2. Our culture and beauty...your thoughts?

My first inclination is to say that our culture (in the United States) has been firmly based on Judeo-Christian values and that is what makes it both unique and beautiful. Nothing can be more beautiful than The Creator of Beauty Himself.

And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
~Psalm 90:17


3. Age before beauty, beauty queen, beauty mark, beauty sleep...which beauty-ful phrase resonates with you today? Why?

Beauty sleep...proper rest and quality sleep are so important to one's health and well being and it certainly makes a difference in the mirror. 

4. I read here a list of the top ten 
beasts animals that scare us the most-

alligators, coyotes, black bears, birds (but pigeons in particular), sharks, bats, bed bugs, rats, rattlesnakes, and the black widow spider. 

Which 'beast' on the list scares you the most? What is the likelihood of you having an actual encounter with that particular beast? Did a movie contribute to your fear of this creature? Have you ever had a real life encounter with any of the animals listed?

All except birds. I am even afraid of killer squirrels these days. It is highly unlikely to have an encounter with any on this list other than bats with which I have had multiple encounters. Acccckkkk... 

5. Where were you when you last heard a bell ring? Was it alarming or musical?

There are a number of bells in my home. I just rang one because it was there and what is a bell for? Besides, my late husband John gave it to me and I have always been charmed by it. It has a beautiful tone. 

(No, no, I was not ringing the bell to chase off the dogs from their own yard...never saw them until I uploaded the video...Ha!)

If Joyce means big bells...I really miss the bells ringing on Sunday morning calling people to worship. The townsfolk complained so about having their Sunday morning disturbed that the bells have been silent for decades. What a pity!

6. What's your favorite carb? How's that for random?

Bread! How's that for obvious and common? Any bread will do.

7. Let's wrap up another month of Hodgepodging and life with an acrostic. Recap your month using the word MARCH.

M any days of snow 

A and freezing 

R ain

C old and 

H onestly depressing

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

But better days are coming...and there's more to life than the weather. As John would say when I moaned about the weather, "Better than no weather at all." True. 

Thanks for reading today and feel free to join Joyce and friends HERE. 

P.S.

This That and the Other

It was a quiet weekend. I kept busy with tidying the house, doing the laundry, and baking. I chose the cupcakes Susan so kindly gave us the recipe for a few weeks ago and practiced frosting them. 

ツ
(There's more than one way to fix formatting.)



A friend tells me that I need a lot more frosting to get a full piping effect.


Time was also spent in the sewing room. One project completed and the other completed with troubles. So like me! I seem to have a tea cozy that won't fit even my smallest tea pot. How'd I manage that?! 

↓As for the bowl cozy...used all year round in the microwave for easy removal of hot food and protecting hands from hot bowls and/or for protecting hands from cold ice cream bowls...I'm showing one little tip. If one quilts it a bit, ironing is not necessary. I dislike ironing bowl cozies. 

ッ

Finally, I must have watched this little video 25 times. It makes me howl with laughter. You may well have already seen it as it went viral in 2013 and again last fall. (I live under a rock, which explains why I hadn't seen it until recently.) This is a real couple married over 50 years. His name is Jack; her name is Sonja. His line is "baked in a buttery, flaky crust." Can he say it? Not on his life. Sonja is definitely over invested in his success.  There's a hilarious ironic twist in the end. I watch it one time and just focus on Jack. The next time, I focus on Sonja. So funny! Let me know if you've seen it (I want to know how far under the rock I am). I saw someone in Missouri claiming this video...nice try, but these two are quintessential Mainers eating at a truck stop that I love.


Thanks for popping in. Have a wonderful day!

Psalm 37:37

One Incredibly Lazy Blogger

Of course, I am speaking of myself. I am blaming the cold, bitter cold of winter that has returned for my hunkering down under the blankets reading political commentary and fascinating things like that. The wind howls and I sink lower. I often don't even bother with meals, but today I made this treat for my afternoon snack. 

Appetizing, say what? I'll let you wonder what it might be. Do you ever make this snack? It's a lot faster than baking a cookie!
🍪 🍪 🍪  Earlier in the week, I started on a tutorial for my method of making bowl cozies because I make them differently from any tutorials that I have seen. 

I had fabrics and scissors and cutting mats and starch and padding and all manner of discussion on techniques, stitch length, etc. So sorry because I know that you're all hanging by a thread here, but I just didn't have the wherewithal to see it through.

Apparently, even the cactus is feeling lazy. One bloom. Just one. There'll be no more. I'm not sure whether to celebrate the one blossom or bin her for being a loafer.
If I can drag myself to your place, I'll be by later. If not, feel free to bin me for being a loafer.

comments on this post are now closed... 
Update: Okay, not thinking clearly here this morning. (Must be the new snow.) If I had been thinking clearly, I would not have closed comments before I could make some thanking all those who took a guess on what exactly is on that slice of toast up there. There were many fun guesses from apricot jam to cinnamon sugar to apple butter. Anyway, unbeknownst to you, I was having myself a little contest to see who would guess correctly. I expected that I would have to draw names from a hat. Guess what? I don't. Only one person guessed correctly. Some persons did not hazard a guess at all. So what is on that toast?
Brown sugar. That's right. Just that simple. And no fancy concoction of it or broiling of it either. Just butter your toast as per usual and liberally sprinkle on the brown sugar and  press it on there with a knife as you would anything else. Hey! Don't knock it until you have tried it because it is yummy.  
So who is that one person to get it right? Mrs. T that's who! I am not sure what sort of happy mail she will be receiving, but some little something~something.