Friday 31 January 2020

One of those days . . . .



Sorry, no post today.  Its taken me an hour just to get this far, and I can tell already its not going to get any better.  I am pretty much out of time. Everything on the computer is moving incredibly slow.  I hate it when my day begins with so much frustration.  Computer woes.  Annoying as heck.  I will be back tomorrow, hopefully, with a much better post.  In the meantime here's a cute photo to hopefully put at least a small smile on your face  . . .  




See you tomorrow! 








Thursday 30 January 2020

My Favourite Things . . .

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOOPpfEd5Zsq2tbOc2-UBk6Njak8VrG7e7evggWXGZ2mh-j53ekFS5_iJ7oLR7meELGbGOHT1tpJoMRH-WDForIBx-F86puBU5K_uuGKf1hWiGc5Jko8kG6S71gFooUD3ZEZNrNzAWfJI/s320/alfp_favorite_things.png 
 
These are a few of my favourite things.  Maybe some of them are yours also!  A few of the things which catch my eye, inspire me, pluck at my heart strings, make me smile, or that I just enjoy. I hope that they will do the same for you.   
 
 
  
 
 
Antique Fashion Plates.  I always tell myself that I am going to print a few off and then frame them for hanging, but I never ever get around to it.   I also love  . . . 

 
 
Botanical prints  . . .  I also love LOVE drawing botanicals.  Studying all th parts of a plant or flower and then drawing them. I think its so much fun!   

 
 

 
 
Goldfish Cheddar Crackers.  Mitzie likes them too. I sometimes put a few in her treat ball so she can nose it around the floor trying to get them out.  She loves doing that no  matter what you put into it. 
 
 
 
  
 
Matthew McConaughey.  He's not too hard on the eyes and has a beautiful smile and those baby blue eyes.  He seems really nice, a real family man as well, plus his voice is amazing.  On my Calm App his bedtime story called Wonder is my favourite one. I could listen to him talk for hours, but I always fall asleep about 5 minutes in so I still don't know how the story ends.  
 
 
 
 
Antique Dolls  . . .  any kind.  
 

 
 
I also love the little Madame Alexander dolls.  The youngest daughter at the Manor had a whole collection of them on a shelf in her bedroom. All different ones. I used to love dusting them and looking at them on Wednesdays when I did the housekeeper's job as well as my own. 
 
 
  
 
 
Handcrafted art dolls like these from Elise on IG.  I love them.  They are such wonderful little characters, with unique personalities.

I guess I just love dolls! 
 
 
 
 
Vintage looking kitchens.  They seem so cosy to me. 
 
 
 
 
Pink glass  . . . . 
 
 
  
 

Painted glassware . . . 


 
 
 
Collectible Salt & Pepper shakers  . . .  
 
 
 
 
 
The art of Danielle Donaldson . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
Knitted Baby Layettes  . . . 
 
 
  
 
 
Little caps with net veils  . . . .  
 
 
 
 
Eastern bluebirds.  I have never seen one for real, but I would love to and I hear they have a beautiful song  . . . 
 
 
  
 
 
Chairs in pinstripes with buttons and skirts  . . . . 


 
Breakfast nooks  . . . 
 
 
  
 
 
Free range hens  . . . . 


 
 
Cottage bedrooms  . . .  especially if they are built under the eaves . . . 
 
And those are my favourite things for this week.
 
I have gotten three recipes done this week for the new site.  (That's why very little new on the blog.)  I have one more to do for today and then it will just be one recipe a week from then on.  They were late in getting to me for January, hence the rush in getting four done before the end of the month.  I can't wait to show them to you!  Whew!   
 
A thought to carry with you  . . . 
 
 
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~\。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ | 田田 |門 ★

 *
The secret of change is
not to focus all of your energy
not on fighting the old,
but on building the new.
~Socrates •。★★ 。* 。 
 
 
 
Hot Italian Hoagies. Not new, but still delicious.
 
 
Have a wonderful Thursday.  Whatever you get up to, don't forget! 
 
 ═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════   



And I do too!      





 



Wednesday 29 January 2020

About a Boy . . .



One of the younger  sisters in my church congregation just had a baby boy recently.    I saw him for the first time yesterday morning and I spent a few minutes in the hallway in between our meetings talking to her and admiring this newest wee one, come down from our Heavenly Father.   His fingers so tiny and delicate . . . that beautiful little face, so perfect . . . so sweet.    It reminded me of when my own boys were babies, and my girls too.   It was so long ago, and yet . . . it seemed like just yesterday that I was holding them in just the same way and they, too . . . were fresh from our Heavenly Father's presence.    My grandson Luke will be turning 10 tomorrow. Its hard to believe. It seems just yesterday he arrived on earth.   He is my oldest son's youngest son . . . and this is for him.




 Somewhere between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we discover a delightful little creature which is called a boy.   These creatures come in all different sizes, weights and colours, but all come with the same goal in life which is to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to protest loudly when that day comes to an end and the last minute is finished and the adult male in the house packs em off to bed at night. 




You can find boys everywhere; on top of, beneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to!   Mothers love and adore them, little girls hate the bones off them, older brothers and sisters tolerate them, adults ignore them, teenage girls adulate them . . . and Heaven protects them. 



A boy is truth with a dirty face, knowledge with bubblegum in his hair . . . and the hope of our future with a frog in his pocket.   When you are busy and wanting peace and quiet . . . a boy is an inconsiderate, bothersome, intruding cacophony of noise.  When you want him to impress, his brain turns to mush, or else he becomes a sadistic, savage, jungle creature bent on destroying the world and himself with it. 




A boy is a mixture of many things.   He has all of the appetite of a horse, the digestion of a sword swallower, the energy of a small atomic bomb and all of the curiosity of a cat.   In him is the imagination of Paul Bunyan, the lungs of  an absolutist, all the daring of a great adventurer, the enthusiasm of a fire cracker . . . as well as all of the shyness of a trembling violet.   When he makes something . . . and he often does . . . he appears to have five thumbs on each hand. 



He likes ice cream and candy, knives and saws, Christmas, Comic Books, Dinosaurs, Video games, daring adventures, mud, his friends, the woods, water, horses and dogs, trains and fire engines, Saturday mornings and his Dad.  He's not into school of any kind, company, girls, getting his hair cut, washing behind his ears, wearing a tie, washing his hands, overcoats, adults, or bed time.   He's the first to rise in the morning and late for supper, but nobody can attack a meal with the appetite of a behemoth like a boy can.   Nobody else can get the pleasure out of trees, forts, dogs and breezes like a boy can. 



They are magicians which can cram more into one pocket than is humanly possible . . . two rusty knives, two half eaten apples, three feet of string, a variety of rubber bands, an empty Bull Durham sack, a couple of hard candies, a couple of quarters, nickles and dimes, a treasure map,  a packet of bubblegum, a secret decoder ring, a sling shot, a dead frog and a big chunk of something completely unknown and undefinable. 



Boys are wonderful beings.  You can lock him out of your kitchen, or workshop . . . but you can never lock him out of your heart.  You can keep him out of the study, but you can never keep him out of your mind.   He's your captor, your jailor, your boss and master . . . . freckle faced, pint sized . . .  a cat chasing bundle of noise, but at the end of the day when you are tucking him in bed with only the tatters of the day that was and your hopes and dreams . . . he can mend them like new, with three little words.   I love you.  And as those wiry little arms wrap themselves around your neck to say goodnight, you realize that  life is good . . . amazingly, wonderfully and beautifully good. 



Ho Ho Hoppy Birthday Luke!
(A private Joke)


This was adapted into my own words from a piece by Alan Beck.  All of the photos this morning are of my grandson Luke.   Happy Birthday Luke!  Grammy loves you.

A thought to carry with you  . . .

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~\。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ | 田田 |門 ★

 *
"Going to church on Sunday 
does not make you a Christian 
any more than sleeping in a garage 
overnight turns you into a car."
~unknown  •。★★ 。* 。 



Nothing new in the kitchen today but thought I would share this recipe with you for Steakhouse Steak & Chips.  Served with a lush chimichurri sauce, this makes for a beautiful meal. 

Have a wonderful Wednesday. I need to work really heard today as I have to finish 3 recipes for the new site I am working for between today and Friday!  There is no rest for the wicked!  Don't forget! 

 
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════   
 


And I do too!