Thursday This and That

"It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

A few friends were sitting around the table one day enjoying each other company when the talk moved to the subject of growing older and how some people like to keep their age a secret. One lady quipped: "My mother will have to stop making herself out to be younger than she is, because soon I'm going to be older than she is!"

I'm not sure why people go to great lengths to conceal their age. I would think they would be quite proud of themselves having reached their nobel ages intact and in good health! You quite often see it with film stars.



We have had such an unusually mild April here in the UK that the bluebells are already in bloom, a full two weeks earlier than they normally are! Oh, I do love to see a Bluebell Wood in bloom. It's so beautiful . . . that carpet of blue beneath the trees, quite magical really.

A fine and subtle spirit dwells
In every little flower,
Each one its own sweet feeling breathes
With more or less of power.
There is a silent eloquence
In every wild bluebell
That fills my softened heart with bliss
That words could never tell.
- Anne Bronte, The Bluebell

I noticed too that the lilacs across the way are bursting into bloom also. I do so love lilacs in bloom and the lovely fragrance that they give to us in the air. It seems this is the season of blue and purple! So very lovely!



I am almost finished my second set of designs for the rubber stamp company. I am putting the finishing touches on them now. Then it will be time to design a Christmas line. In the world of the media it seems you are always working several seasons ahead! I wonder how hard it will be to get my head around Christmas when we are entering the warm summer months! That will be a challenge for sure!

Mitzie still hasn't come to terms with the alien like cat in the back garden. She is still giving it a wide berth, although I have noticed that the birds are seemingly unaffected by it's presence and having lovely dirt baths in our carefully dug rows. Oh well . . . Mitzie does love to dig in the dirt and eat it . . . I have never known a dog to do that. She will leave her perfectly tasty breakfast in her bowl and then go out and eat mud. It's really strange! She has turned into a lovely dog though. Her only bad habit still is jumping up on people when they come in. We have not been able to break her of that yet, although we keep working on it. She almost works herself into a frenzy.

My friend Julie sent me some friendship cake batter in the post a couple of weeks ago. It came to fruition yesterday and it was time to divide it up and gift other's with some of it, so I parceled it up in several small containers and gifted my neighbors with it along with the instructions and a cute little poem yesterday, and today I will bake the cake with my portion, and start another bunch of it with the remaining portion, so that a few weeks down the road, I can make a gift of it to some more people! Thanks Julie! It's been so much fun doing this. I can't wait to taste my cake later on today!

I haven't had much time to play with my doll's house lately, what with one thing or another and the spring clean up going on. I am sure to get back to it one of these days soon. I keep glancing at it with longing . . . I am such a child at times, but then again there is no harm in that. A part of the joy in life comes from being able to look at things with a child like view don't you think???



Which brings me back to my first thought here this morning . . . I wonder why some people go to such great lengths to conceal their ages . . .

And there you have it . . . my mishmash of thoughts for this early Thursday morning in mid April. Have a wonderful day everyone! Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I hope you find something pretty to look at and some joys to discover!

Here's a delicious recipe I gleaned from the Kraft site. I have not made it yet, but it is on my list of things to do. I thought they looked quite, quite delicious! (Todd may beg to differ perhaps!)



*Coconut Fudge Bars*
Makes 32
Printable Recipe

Fudgy chocolate filling over a graham cracker crust and topped with a delicious combination of nuts and coconut!

1 cup of butter, divided
2 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1 cup sugar
1 (5 ounce) tin of evaporated milk
6 cups of mini marshmallows
12 ounces of semi sweet chocolate, chopped coarsely
1 cup of chopped toasted walnuts
1 cup of flaked coconut, toasted

Line a 13 inch by 9 inch pan with aluminium foil, allowing it to extend over the ends and creating handles that you can lift the squares out with. Melt 3/4 cup of the butter and stir it together with the graham cracker crumbs. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Place the remaining 1/4 cup of butter, sugar, milk and marshmallows in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Add the chocolate chunks. Cook and stir until the chocolate melts and you have a smooth even mixture. Remove the crust from the fridge and pour this mixture over top. Mix together the toasted walnuts and coconut and sprinkle them evenly over top. Return to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours until firm. Lift out by the foil handles to cut into squares for serving. Store any uneaten squares in a airtight container in the refrigerator. Delicious!



Over in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Chicken Salad with Chutney, Coriander and Lime!