Fearless Friday

The spring flowers on the front porch are unfortunately still in their little black 4x4's. It hasn't stopped them from blooming their little heads off.

Their bright colors cheer me. Slugs like them too....Did I tell you?......One year I planted primroses all along our front walk. The slugs ate all of the pretty colored ones and left the plain white ones alone. I just adore the tiny sweet faces of violas and pansies.

We have a lot of woodland hyacinths around our yard. I gathered a few for a welcoming bouquet on the storm door.

There are just small bottle vases with water, surrounded with moss gathered from the weeping cherry tree.

All of this fresh prettiness does not even hint at where I am.......

in the the thorny brambles of my studio.

organizing, cleaning

cleaning, organizing.

yes.......

again.
I am Helen "M Ready", hear me roar!

I can do this!

Cheer with me.."You can do it, m!, you can do it!" (family joke)

It's a good thing this is "Fearless Friday"....

what a mess.

If I don't surface in the next few days, send in the search and rescue dogs.

All Washed Up

I made this today:

Jen gave me some of her bountiful supply of "Fruit Fresh", which is what is substituting for the citric acid in the recipe. There is a load running in the dishwasher right now, and I'm anxious to see the results. This recipe was for a small batch, so will be a good test. I'm also going to mix up a batch of this liquid one, to see which one we prefer.

A couple of years ago, I found recipes on-line for making homemade laundry detergent. I had difficulty finding the ingredients, even though they are quite simple. Last month, I found a recipe at My Frugal Lifestyle in which Stephanie was gracious enough to share her source....Yay Winco! After receiving a couple of nice new buckets with lids from Jen, I mixed up a batch. The resulting product looks sort of...icky. BUT,it has worked very well. All of our clothes have been coming out very nice and clean. I am not a cold water wash laundress, unless it's an item that "requires" it. I wash loads of whites or jeans in HOT water. I also bleach whites as needed. I say this, to emphasize the fact that I can't vouch for it's effectiveness in cold water.

I used to make homemade bar soaps, but lye is difficult to come by these days, unless you get HUGE supplies and pay through the nose for shipping "Hazardous Materials".
The next product on my list to try is Stephanies recipe for "spray and wash".

Have you tried any homemade cleaning products? Satisfied? Dissatisfied?

Apple Blossom Time

They are budding out......

Apple Blossoms always bring memories flooding back. Memories of the song that played over and over on the radio one summer while visiting my Great Aunt and Uncle. They had a cafe and a little store, and I loved spending time there, with them. Every day, when the Apple Blossom Time song came on, she and I would have our paper and pencil ready to copy down some more of the words that we just couldn't "quite make out." When we were gathered around our car, the day we were leaving to come back home, she and I hugged and sang it together, one last time.

It was to be the last time I saw her, and I treasure that moment dearly.

When I was grown and married, our first baby was a "summer baby", born towards the end of July. To make myself not feel so hot, tired and heavy laden, I wore a light "Apple Blossom" cologne, that was sweet and refreshing. Do certain smells bring memories back to you?

Birdie must love the apple blossoms too, she lays under them, soaking up the dappled sunlight and lovely scent.....making memories of her own.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

How do you write about a "writer", and do her any justice at all? I feel so inept.
When God brought her into our lives, He brought us such joy. When she was a little girl, her laugh was absolutely infectious. Her father and I could not hear it without breaking into instant smiles. She has grown into a beautiful young woman, a loving wife and mother. We are so proud of her, and she still makes us smile.

Watching the Paint Dry

Mmmm, it smells cozy and yummy in this old house today.
There is a soup for supper in the crockpot. Homemade rolls from the freezer stash.

I'm not into cooking today.....up to my elbows in paint again........

I'm not sure I could actually cook a regular "meal" in the midst of this chaos anyway.

The living room ceiling, walls and trim, are all getting a fresh coat.

There are dishes, ....................

EVERYWHERE............



As the dining room contains the sofa...........

And we are awaiting help....with strong sturdy backs.......to help us move this monster.......

The shelves and doors have been removed from the top to help.....some.

In the meantime; we're just watchin' the paint dry.

"Bodacious Carrot Cake"

That's what Dot calls the recipes that have the coconut, crushed pineapple, and pecans in addition to the usual spices and carrots. Since I'm a beekeeper (I'm using the term loosely), She had given me this pan some time ago. I decided to give it a whirl and made B. carrot cake for Easter. The dense recipe held up very nicely. I made the usual cream cheese frosting, minus nuts, and thinned it down some. The oil and flour prepared pan, beaded up and left a rather pitted appearance, but all in all, it didn't turn out too bad for a 1st time run, and it was fun.

Tiptoe.......

Finally.............

For years, Sarah and I have talked about going to the

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm Tulip Fest.
This year, we finally struck out at midday on what was to be the only non-rainy day of the week.
Pretty containers outside of the gift shop.Aren't these cute?

worthy of a Van Gogh or Rembrandt painting...............

Hi sweetie!

A fringey ray of sunshine

on an overcast day...........

Mt Hood is somewhere in the distance...........

Tiptoe...........

tiptoe.........

an antique tractor.........

remember............

tiptoe........

through the tulips with me.

Tiptoe........

Don't run!

the end....

Golden Cloverleaf Rolls

The other day, I received this lovely little gift of Spring. It glowed with the promise of sunshine.

A bit like these rolls the little magpie and I made for Easter dinner.

She made special mini rolls for the little peeps.

Golden Cloverleaf Rolls

4 3/4 cups bread flour

1 pkg. dry yeast

1 1/2 cups milk (warm)

2 Tbs. oil (can use butter for additional flavor)

2 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/2 cup pureed winter squash (I used acorn for these....you can even use baby food)

3 Tbs. melted butter (for brushing on the rolls, warm out of the oven.)

I put it all into my bread machine on the manual setting. It kneads and rises in a draft free environment. You could mix it in your mixer or by hand. (It makes a sticky dough.)

After the rising in the machine, I turn it out onto a lightly floured board and shape it into rolls.

Then, I turn my oven on, (and the range hood halogens), and put the rolls to rise under a clean dish towel for a couple of hours.

Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, or 'til desired golden yummyness.

Brush while still warm with melted butter.

Enjoy!

Celebrate!

He is Risen!
We serve a risen Saviour!
Praise the Lord!

Sunday afternoon, we had a celebration meal together.
The girls brought potato, broccoli, and couscous salads. I made a tossed salad.

The tablecloth and bunny on the kids table

matched Sarah's cupcakes

We were all dec'd out in chandy decor

ties

and fancy hair bows

There was joy and laughter

Everybody's Baby Girl. Even the smallest of the kids, think she's so special.

The weather was cold and wet.

Another indoor Easter egg hunt year.

It didn't dampen the enthusiasm.

There was a silver egg prize, won by a happy oldest girl!

Baby girl with her cotton tail collar

After the guys hid the eggs for the kids, and they were found......

the older kids hid some more for the younger ones.

in the blinds

in Uncle Bob's hoodie

In Papa's shirt pocket

A very excited younger set winner of the PURPLE EGG

So good to have the chicks in the nest at Easter!