friday's favorite five

If it's Friday it is time to join Susanne  to  share  about our blessings of the week.

1.  This has been a busy week around here as we have been up-doing our bedrooms  in preparation for our girls' visit next week. Because we had  previously, over the summer,  removed all that  hideous glued down carpet and redone the hardwood underneath,  every  room  had  experienced a lot of upheaval... it was my job to  decide what to keep and what to reject  partly  in the hopes of  de-cluttering, but also,  so each room had its own  theme  and  not just a  repository for'stuff'! This week it all

came down to  Granddaughter's room..  which ended up looking like this  as of last week.

The room  with all the  cast out junk...It was just almost  more than we could handle...yes,  Hubs  was fully committed to  helping  because  the bed needed an overhaul..  the mattress was way too high for a 4 year old  so  the box springs were removed  and   plywood was  purchased, cut, and  now supports the mattress.. 

Improvement..eh??  I love the lamb's wool  rug  so if  sweet Birdie falls out of bed, it wont hurt,,,too much!!

Now  the other  48 weeks of the year when they aren't visiting this room serves as my upstairs office and ironing room!!...so I have my own corner  sort of    walled off to keep prying hands at bay!  But they have their space to play!

 And since  it is Birdie's birthday coming up we have gifts for her and Doodle Bug...  

A basket of all of their mommie's  stuffed animals..  plus I bought  recently because I love them,too!!! And  Amanda's  dolly in her lil bed!

Stacks of  books for them  just about every where..

Somewhere  is Amanda's Samantha doll.. 

 I want to find it and  wash up her clothes and  have it ready  in

case  Birdie tires of  the things she has to  play with...  plus,  we  will show her all of Samantha's  books,   hopefully  she will want to take these  home with her...

2.  We were supposed to go on a day trip yesterday  with  a church group  but I awakened feeling horrid...  praise God it never really materialized too much...  just  a general malaise and  low grade temperature..thankfully,  I am better today  and am able to  do some  do some  smaller tasks..  like child proofing the rooms.

3.  Well,  the girls along with her hubby  have flown to Richmond  on the first leg of their trip.

 I am always  feeling thankful when  their flights touch down... They  will visit  college friends there before  they travel here  on Sunday...    that is going to be such a  blessing..  praying for travel mercies  as  they drive across the

state.

4.I have been having such a fun time planning  the  family birthday party because it will be  for  me, Amanda, and the girls...  Because of the  fabulous  British Baking  show...  which I have written so much about  I  am going to tackle     a vanilla sponge cake with mascarpone creme icing..  now this is  something for I usually just do a mix..

This delicious strawberry and mascarpone cream sponge is a quick and easy way to transform that classic Victoria sponge cake. Strawberry and mascarpone cream make a luxury take on a Victoria sponge, taking only 1hr and 15 mins to prepare and bake. This recipe makes 1 regular sized cake, enough to feed 6-8 people, depending on how big you like to cut your slices! The fresh strawberries add a sweet, tangy flavour to every bite of this moist, dense sponge cake. The mascarpone gives it a creamy, rich texture as well as flavour. Store any leftovers in the fridge and eat within 1-2 days for the best taste.
Ingredients
225g (8oz) butter, softened
225g (8oz) caster sugar
4 large eggs, beaten
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
1tbsp milk
3tbsp strawberry jam, sieved
2tsp lemon juice
150g (6oz) strawberries
142ml carton double cream
125g (5oz) mascarpone cheese
Icing sugar, to dust
Few halved strawberries, to decorate
The sponge cakes can be made a day ahead, but don't add the filling until 2-3 hours before serving.
Method
Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs, a spoonful at a time. Add a little flour if the mixture begins to curdle. Fold in the rest of the flour and milk.
Divide mixture between 2 greased, lined 20cm (8in) round loose-based cake tins. Level the surface. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4) for 20-25 mins until risen, golden and firm to the touch.
Cool the cakes in the tins for 5 mins, then turn out on to a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely. Mix together the sieved jam and lemon juice. Hull and slice the strawberries; stir gently into the jam mixture.
Slowly beat the cream into the mascarpone cheese. Spread the mixture over one of the sponges and top with the fruit mix and the other sponge. Dust with icing sugar; decorate with halved strawberries.

5.I am so blessed  with  my dearest Hubby...he  doesnt complain  .. well, not hardly...  and just sets to checking things off his list.. so many little odds and ends.. like  fixing the bed...  and hanging various  things on freshly painted walls, doing a  lot of shopping  especially  these last couple of days  when Ive been  so puny,  he's getting ready to  clean the  bathroom and shower along with the tub upstairs...I think he's definitely a keeper!!!.

Well, these girls put a  smile on  both our faces!!! 

A Solar Eclipse Hodge Podge

Click here  for our hostess!!

1. Did you watch the solar eclipse? Your thoughts? Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Starburst candies, a Blue Moon beer, a Sunkist orange, or a Milky Way candy bar...what's your favorite eclipse related snack on this list?

Having lived through several solar eclipses we decided to just enjoy the beauty of the gradual change in the atmosphere...the gradual lengthening of shadows and then right at the maximum 90% eclipse... the cicadas went crazy! Very cool.

For us it would  have to be Milky Way bars  for sure!!!

2. What are you 'over the moon' about these days? What's something you enjoy doing every 'once in a blue moon'?

Those who know me would agree I'm always over the moon about my  grand daughters age 2 and 4...  who live 12 hours away...  and alas,  because  travel for them is so difficult  it has been two years since  they were last here...so  Birdie was 2 and  Doodle Bug was   in the womb.. so  they a re coming next week and I'm definitely  way over the moon!!

Once in a blue moon I love to treat myself to a  regular Dr. Pepper..daughter has  told me I should never ever  drink a diet soda...  it will kill me...but ever so often I have to get my Dr. Pepper fix!!!

  

3. Tell us about something in the realm of science that interests you. How do you feed that interest?

Well, I tired to  get into bluebirds a few years ago.. bought the expensive feeder and  joined a bluebird club..  registering eggs, etc.  And I loved their perfect tidy nests..

That lasted about  one whole season  until the next spring when  the nest was    going and the mother was sitting tending the eggs  I happened to open the door of the  bird house and  a nasty English sparrow had killed the bluebird and taken over the nest...  Once they start in it is nigh onto impossible to get rid of them.. such  horrid birds  and all they do is cackle... I lost interest thereafter... and  English sparrows  live there gleefully  but    I just ignore them.

 I still love birds, though..  I love to keep a bird journal  of the birds I see in the yard and  practice my sketching and  writing  about them  in the journal... 

My journal is packed away but this is very  similar.

source

4. What are a few things you remember about going back to school as a child?

As an only child I always so looked forward to  going back to school...  to see my friends and    find out who I  had as teacher..  I was  always most fortunate in my grade school teachers especially... I always got  exactly who I wanted... Mama   never took me to  buy  new  dresses for school,  for we never wore jeans and such.. always  dresses or jumpers  with  bobby socks or knee socks.. Mom made all my clothes...  I remember her working so hard    sewing and coordinating fabrics..  using a piece of this for the collar and  a piece of that for the  sleeves  .. always  many buttons and  special trims...  Mom did buy me new saddle oxfords  whenever I outgrew my old pair...  until then we  polished them with the white and black polish respectively!I remember  each classroom had a cloak room where we hung our coat on a peg and  placed our  lunch box on the floor  underneath and    sometimes placed our  galoshes  or snow boots and leggings.  I remember the fun in the cloak room on wintry mornings...  I loved going to the 5 and dime to pick up my tablet and some new pencils..  Sometimes I got my own pencil sharpener too  and  my box of 24 crayons.  

When I was about in the fourth grade I remember  my  gorgeous  new book bag!!!

5. I've seen several versions of this around the net so let's make one of our own...share with us five words that touch your soul and briefly tell us why.

Family~  through the generations.. family  stands out hugely in my  life... reunions where we all gathered to share memories... I see  the ones who came before us...  grandparents  and parents who long ago  left this plane but  are  held so dear in the heart.

Home~Funny, when I  think home my first thought is my child hood home... there is a certain atmosphere  always  as if  it is an early autumn  day and the sun is shining through afternoon shower.. the windows  open and  curtains floating  the smell of the rain...   such a  warm and  cozy feeling. I revel there for a while before thinking on about  my home now...even though I feel so 

blessed to have our happy home so full of sweet memories

Daughter~ special blessing of God..  the  happy completion of  our  small family... hubs,  Amanda and me..Her years with us  seem  so fleeting...

Granddaughters~pure bliss and  joy

Prayer~I am a prayer warrior at this time of life...  prayer is  probably one of my  main pastimes...   and I wouldn't have it any other way...

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I just got back from getting my  new haircut and color    and I feel so sassy...  the gal who washes   is  so  awesome.. I  lay back in the chair and  revel in my mini  spa  few minutes...  I would never think to  treat myself to a real spa day,  but I so enjoy those 5 minutes!!!

Happy Homemaker Monday

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The weather::: 

is bright and sunny.. perfect for   the  2017  Solar eclipse... 

I just want to  issue  a caution....   please    be absolutely sure  you have   proper viewing glasses...  there have been many sold  at a high price  on Amazon and other places  saying they are  certified when in fact have been recalled...  I have heard of people  buying glasses  at Dollar stores...   no no no!!!! No  viewing of an eclipse or anything is worth your precious eye sight..Hubs and I will go out on our porch and marvel at the gradual  darkness that covers the land and  pray  to the Lord  ...  give Him our  wonder and  glory for  his creation and  the workings therein!  We should  give Him the glory not His creation..  later we can see all we need to see on  the news!

To  check your glasses   view this.  Note  some  glasses  are falsely marked with the  verifiable code... just  be careful, please!

Right now I am::: 

 I  am    writing this blog and  cooking breakfast at the same time....   heheheh

On my reading pile::: 

Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way 

Ecclesiastes,Chapter Chapter 4-6

Max Lucado, When God Whispers Your Name 

Zola Levitt,  The 7 Feasts of Israel

Movies or Shows I watched this weekend::: 

I can not seem to get my fill of The British Baking Competition... on Netflix... especially the master's classes where Mary and Paul demonstrate how they do their bakes... We are celebrating 3 birthdays next week..    and I  intend to attempt  Mary Berry's Victoria Sponge cake.

Mary’s Victoria sandwich Preparation time less than 30 mins Cooking time 10 to 30 mins Serves Serves 8-10 Dietary For the final technical challenge Mary Berry asked the bakers to make this simple sponge with homemade jam and butter cream – without a recipe. For this recipe you will need two 20cm/8in sandwich tins, an electric mixer and piping bag fitted with plain nozzle. By Mary Berry From The Great British Bake Off Ingredients Forthe sponge 4 large free-range eggs 225g/8oz caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling 225g/8oz self-raising flour 1 level tsp baking powder 225g/8oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing For the jam 200g/7oz raspberries 250g/9oz jam sugar Forthe butter cream 100g/3½oz unsalted butter, softened 200g/7oz icing sugar, sifted 2 tbsp milk Method 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line two 20cm/8in sandwich tins: use a piece of baking or silicone paper to rub a little baking spread or butter around the inside of the tins until the sides and base are lightly coated. Line the bottom of the tins with a circle of baking paper. 2. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, flour, baking powder and soft butter. Mix everything together until well combined. Be careful not to over-mix – as soon as everything is blended you should stop. The finished mixture should be of a soft ‘dropping’ consistency. 3. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins. Use a spatula to remove all of the mixture from the bowl and gently smooth the surface of the cakes. 4. Place the tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Don’t be tempted to open the door while they’re cooking, but after 20 minutes do look through the door to check them. 5. While the cakes are cooking, make the jam. Put the raspberries in a small deep-sided saucepan and crush them with a masher. Add the sugar and bring to the boil over a low heat until the sugar has melted. Increase the heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully

6. The cakes are done when they’re golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins. Press them gently to check – they should be springy to the touch. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool in the tins for 5 minutes. Then run a palette or rounded butter knife around the inside edge of the tin and carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. 7. To take your cakes out of the tins without leaving a wire rack mark on the top, put the clean tea towel over the tin, put your hand onto the tea towel and turn the tin upside-down. The cake should come out onto your hand and the tea towel – then you can turn it from your hand onto the wire rack. Set aside to cool completely. 8. For the butter cream, beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Add the remaining tablespoon of milk if the butter cream is too thick. Spoon the butter cream into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. 

9. To assemble, choose the sponge with the best top, then put the other cake top-down on to a serving plate. Spread with the jam then pipe the butter cream on top of the jam. Place the other sponge on top (top uppermost) and sprinkle with caster sugar to serve

I have watched and watched her  and  I feel  inspired!!!!

On my TV::: 

I love  the Disney movie.. Brave...I introduced to Hubs  just this morning..

He loved it as much as I did...  I cry  every time!!!

On the menu for this week:: 

Monday~stir fry chicken  

Tuesday~  fish fillets and cole slaw

Wednesday~ Meatloaf

Thursday~Chef Salad

Friday~Crab Cakes

On my to do list::: 

~Laundry

~Enjoy the glory of  God's  Creator on the porch...  minus actually looking at the sun

~Finishing  work in  granddaughter's room...  need to  take box springs off the bed.. it is way too high and  buying a  cut  piece of plywood to  hold  the    mattress on the frame..

Exchanging  the  old  worn carpet in there  with the new    exceptionally cushy  plush rug

reasonable facsimile

~Setting up  the room  with various play stations.

(photos to come next week)

~Hang some pictures in  some of the rooms upstairs

~Change the sheets and  get all the beds    fresh and  beautiful

Our girls will be here next week!  yayayayaya

~Purchase a couple of gifts...

~Wrap gifts

~One day this week  we  are going on a  day church trip    

Looking around the house::: 

From the camera::: 

I've made two of these fairy gardens for the girls to play with

I also bought  fairy tutu  ballerina  outfits..  I  hope  things go well..  It has been two years since  the girls were here..   and  the  youngest hasn't ever been here before...

One of my simple pleasures::: 

Inspirational Quote, Bible verse, anything you want to share::: 

Please pray for the divisions in our country to be healed.. and pray against the evil spirit of leviathan .. the twisting serpent and the spirit of Jezebel who are the authors of these destructive events and patterns in our society..God is faithful to hear our prayers and work on our behalf. but we must ask. Also, this  eclipse  can be a warning to America  that God is about to do something      and  it  behooves  His children to press in closer than ever..  spend time in His Word and love one another  with the love of Christ!!! God bless !

Maranatha~Come Lord Jesus

A Yummy Apple Dish.... for anytime..

Continuing my  apple mood  from  earlier today!

My ancestors were Scotch, Irish, English on my mom's side and most of them settled first in the NE and migrated south to the Mid Atlantic along the Great Wagon Road through the Shenandoah Valley... I had lost sight of this fabulous recipe that was handed down through my aunts.... and it is so scrumptious... when I ran across this one it is so very similar it had to be based on this old time recipe from the Amish.

Amish Style Baked Oatmeal with Apples, Raisins and Walnuts... My aunts also included cranberries! YUMMY

Jennifer Segal is the online source of this fine recipe...

step by step photos are found here.. Visit her page for the tasty heart warming recipe!

This is a wonderful breakfast dish... a bed and breakfast in Lititz, Pennsylvania we love to visit has it at least once a week.. But it makes a delicious winter side dish with pork ,as well, a delightful dessert with ice cream. So it passed the Versatile Award for fine cooking!!!!

Be sure to click the link and print out the recipe for yourself... so yum yum!!

Celebrating Back to School

Today, as I look out across the street at  our neighborhood school, I see  the cars parked, as teachers  have returned for the new term. And even though it has been 14 years  since I last  entered  my  empty classroom with  dreams and visions of  how  to make   that new year the best ever.... I still  have that sense of  solidarity with  teachers.. their hopes and   the things  they  probably dread about each new  start up...my adrenalin still  starts pumping  as  I would  one by one  get about  a dozen  balls into the air and try to keep them  all going...  the class arrangement, the computerized math lab, and the reading lab, reading groups,  bulletin boards, books assigned, lesson plans,    progress charts,  new  class notebooks for creative writing, and student documentation folders. and praise the Lord there are  some things  I cant remember..that is a good thing  because  a lot of these things  I'd love to forget..  for it  was  the students that every teacher  really  wanted to  assess...  those  giftings, and the struggles  and how to  set about  reaching  each young mind to challenge it and  help mold  it  for  desiring  learning and  to be  self sufficient in their own  ability to reason and think for themselves.  

My favorite subject to teach  was history....  I love our history....  the true  history with its  greatness in the founding of  our nation and its struggles  in its darkest moments.  I taught fourth  grade... Virginia history... and I loved to teach  through story-telling and hands-on  projects..  So many wonderful themes  about  Jamestown, Williamsburg,  the Revolutionary War, etc.  and then toward the end of the year  we  taught the Civil War...and I pray   that my students,  who  many are in their 40's  now, remember how strongly  we    taught of the  horrors of slavery...  of being kidnapped,  the  ravages of  the  long arduous voyage,  stacked in rows of  crates in the bottom of  those vessels  left to  lie in their own body fluids  for  days  and once a week  brought up on deck and  hosed down with sea's salt water. ... treated worse than animals..  and then  worst of all being separated from families  on the auction block..and then slavery began..  not a pretty picture...    but then  I taught them about  Robert E. Lee...a top graduate of the US Military Academy, a decorated  US General    who fought valiantly  in the Mexican American War..whose father  Lighthorse Henry Lee signed the Declaration of Independence,,  whose  home was in Arlington Virginia..  his beloved  state. He was  heart broken over the  secession of the south and Virginia's part in it, and it  was   Lee who was offered to lead the  Union forces,  but couldnt in good conscious  fight against his  home, Virginia. Lee was  born  to the upper class,  like many of the founding fathers of that time lived  in a  beautiful mansion,  was taught  in the best schools and had  by  great tudors and was a gentile  gentleman...    he was a man of his time...  was    sympathetic to  slaves yet  was a slave holder  as  had his family  for generations. He  was a man of great dignity,  who  may not have led  his  troops to victory , but to fair the  deck was  from the beginning stacked against him... The south being agricultural, the north,  industrial.... but  he was first and foremost fair and  never  vindictive which cannot be said of many of his northern counterparts.  The Civil War was an ugly business at best..  Brother fighting against brother, cousin against cousin,  some times father against son...

Not only  a war about the ills of slavery,  but  just as much a battle over state's rights. If we are not very careful,  the US could find itself  facing  another such  war  and  I  tremble at the thought. This is why the desecration of historical monuments and  figures  is so   wrong...  The rewriting of history and now the  lack of even teaching  students of their history is downright  maddening to me...  or else the  trap of  making the very same mistakes of the past will be inevitable. I would urge parents and grand parents to find  good  writers of books who   are not skewing the truth  but correct documentation of the past  to share with  your children...many books do exist..  but  young adults need  teaching on the truth of our history  so they can instill in  their own minds openness and wonder and not be swayed by the lies that are so prevalent in our society.

Wow,  have I ever  deviated from  where I  as  planning to go...  but I do  hope  that was timely and  it was things  Ive been wanting to say...  but Im  actually here to  pay homage to  back to school..Many  schools across the country will host at least one classroom    celebrating the apple,  because if it back to school..  it is  fun to celebrate  Johnny Appleseed.. 

Steven Kellogg, one of my favorite children's author,  wrote  a  delightful book  that I  read to my classes..

So,  if it is back to school,  I love to pull out  my Fransican apple dishes..  a  large  bouquet of  wild flowers  and  some bright red gingham and I'm all set to  get in  a  happy to go lucky mood..

It also  makes me feel  great to  be getting in  a quasi  autumn attitude  because late August  around here is so  miserably hot  that dreams of  September  days  seem like  heavenly delights longed for!

or other  years I  change it up a bit...

One  tiny shared  tidbit..  I love my  creamy white teapot I fund at a consignment store a couple of years ago.. I'm so glad it caught my eye and I bought it for a song..  because it goes with everything  but also because when I got it home I discovered it was  made in England by Wedgewood..One of most  special  finds!!

It just gives  me the merriest feeling,  especially, now  that I am retired.. I can  enjoy the  frivolity of  the upcoming apple season,  but  my  body can revel  that I am doing it  here  at my home sweet home!!!

Oops, let me go hang out my  back to school flag...

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