Rain Drops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

Yes, you can keep singing that song because this morning I am going to tell you about a few of my favourite things! Allison from The Rabbit Hole started a meme last week about five of your favourite things and threw down the gauntlet to anyone who wanted to pick it up. Me, being the sort of person I am, gladly picked it up and . . . away we go! Here are five of my most favouritest things in the world (One of which is that word, which I know really isn't a word, but I like it anyways!)



1. Katherine Kidston Lemon and Geranium soap. Katherine Kidston Lemon and Geranium anything actually. I use the soap every day when I take my shower and I also have the handcream. I know that Geraniums don't really smell all that good in real life, but this soap does! Perhaps the Lemon makes Geranium smell better??? I dunno, but the combination really works for me!



2. My Nemisis Now Fairy on a wishing ball. I just love this fairy. Not only is it a remembrance of a really special day trip I took with my Todd to Cranbrook last winter but I just adore the way it looks . . . all whimsical and mysterious and mischevious even! I fell in love with the colours and the face and the crystal ball at first sight! (Fairies are one of my most bestest things ever!)



3. My gingerbreadman and my heart in hand cookie cutters. I love that they are large and have heart cutouts in the middle of them. I have had them for a very long time and I just love making cookies with them when I get the chance. I made a whole bunch of gingerbreadmen with the gingerbreadman cutter to hang on my Christmas tree a couple of years ago and decorated them with white puff paint. They look really nice and also smell nice! The heart in hand cookie cutter reminds me of one of my favourite "shaker" sayings . . . "Hands to work, Hearts to God." (Shaker anything, but mostly furniture of which I have none but really covet, are also a bestest thing for me ever, as are gingerbread men!)



4. My little bluebird cream and sugar dishes. I bought these little lovelies at a yard sale for about Two dollars some 15 years ago now and they have travelled all over the world with me! (read that to mean Canada and across the ocean to here in England) I love their cheery little faces and the fact that they look old and vintage. They are stamped "Made in Japan" underneath so I know they aren't copies, which you can buy today. These are the real deal. I'm not sure if they are worth anything but they are priceless to me!



5. My letter "M" which hangs on a doorway in my kitchen just above my rooster kitchen sign. From the time I saw Mary Tyler Moore's letter M on the wall in her apartment on her self entitled show I fell in love and wanted a letter "M" somewhere in my own home. I finally got it a couple of years ago when we went to Cumbria on holiday so now not only does it make me think of Mary Tyler Moore's apartment, it also makes me think of a lovely time I got to spend with Todd in a most beautiful place in England. One week, where the sun never stopped shining and we got to partake of some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. We communed with sheep and walked on some of the most breathtakingest walks ever! It was so nice to get away from the world and just be . . . we are going again to the same place this July for a week and I can't wait!

So there you have it! Five of my most favourite things. I could have gone on and on, but I expect it's a good thing to save some for another day! In the meantime I get to tag five of you to pick up the baton and carry it forward! (I have to say that these five are some of my favouritest bloggers ever as well! MY goodness but this is a post full of favourite things!)

1. Julie of Tulips Kitchen - Julie sells Pampered Chef and cooks low carb. I bet she can show us a few fancies of hers in a really great way!

2. Rhondi of Rose Colored Glasses - Rhondi lives in the cutest house which seems to be filled with blue and white things which are my two most favourite colours for decorating with. I can't wait to see what her favourite things are!

3. Lindsey of Cafe Johnsonia - Lindsey is a real dab cook and her blog is filled with delicious food photos. I always come way from there with a chin wet with drool! I wonder what her five things will be and if they will have anything to do with food and cooking?

4. Tracy from Pink Purl - Tracy is a wonderful sewer of beautiful bags (of which I own a few now) and she also the prettiest pieces of jewelry. I love visiting her page because it is a feast for the eyes and the heart always. I can't wait to see five of her favourite things! (She also has a lovely orange cat Charlie and she lives in Norway, how cool is that!!!)

5. Mica from Garboodles Soup - Mica is a fantastic doll artist that lives in California. She is so wonderfully creative and has a really beautiful heart. She so sweetly sent me a small doll that she had made last year before Christmas as well as some lovely Celestial Seasonings herbal teas that I totally adore. They smelled good enough to eat with names like Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride and Gingerbread Man! I bet Mica has some pretty wonderful favorite things to show us! (She also makes the cutest sock monkeys!)

I was feeling so lazy after church yesterday, but then again, I feel lazy most Sundays. I spent some time speaking to my mom on the telephone, which I do every two weeks, and really enjoy. I wish I could talk to her every day. She's like my best friend ever. If you had told me when I was a teenager, that I would ever feel this way about her one day, I would not have believed you . . . so, mom's of teen girls out there, take heart, it won't always feel the way it does right now. One day they will be your bestest friend ever and love you to pieces! Then, last night about 6 or 7 of us from Recipezaar got on the MSN to chat together and play with webcams, which I really enjoyed before my MSN gave out. (I hate it when it does that!) I also got the bestest news ever yesterday!!! I am to be a grandmother again! My middle son Doug, and his wife Kayla, are expecting their second child, which will make Jonathan a big brother. It's really quite exciting and I am well pleased for them! I am not sure when it's due. Can you believe it, I forgot to ask!!!

I am almost embarassed to show you what I made for Todd's and my tea yesterday . . . but I will, because I am ever honest with you, and I don't think it hurts to let you know that sometimes even "I" resort to this . . . and yes, these, too, are one of my favouritest things to eat!



*Beans On Toast*
Serves 2

I had never heard of beans on toast before I came over here. I think this is one of Britain's favourite dishes and it's become a favourite of mine. I always sprinkle my beans with vinegar and sugar. My mom always said it took the snap out of them . . . I'm not going to comment on that other than to say I believe it's an old wive's tale, but I love the flavour it gives them anyways. This is comfort food of the highest calibre!

1 tin of Heinz Baked Beans in Tomato sauce
(You can use whichever kind you like, but I like Heinz)
4 slices of bread
2 ounces of cheddar cheese
Caster sugar and malt vinegar (optional)

Empty your tin of beans into a saucepan and place them over medium heat to warm them up, giving them a stir once in a while. In the meantime pre-heat your oven to about 180*C/350*F.

Toast your bread on both sides and place them on a baking sheet. Grate the cheddar cheese and sprinkle it evenly over top of the toasted slices of bread. Bang them into the heated oven for several minutes until the cheese is all melted and beginning to bubble. Remove the cheese toasts from the oven.

Place the cheese toasts on warmed serving plates and spoon the heated baked beans evenly over top. Sprinkle with some white sugar and malt vinegar and enjoy!