It is 37 this morning with lots of sunshine.. I believe winter is over! What is on the breakfast plate::: Yum, we enjoyed poached eggs on English muffins with a slice of left over bacon from the weekend!
Right now I am:::
I am remembering the lovely time we had over the weekend as we celebrated our 46th anniversary.
On my reading pile:::
Ephesians
Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way
I am still reading Susan Branch's book
Her's are such savory reads I don't like to breeze through them!
Also
The Road North, 300 Years of Classic Scottish Travel Writing
Movies or Shows I watched this weekend:::
Netflix..
North and South for about the 10th time<3 div="">
When Calls the Heart
I watched every episode of When calls the Heart since last week... All caught up.. oh, how I enjoyed that series!!!
Fixer Upper
On the menu for this week:::
no plans as of yet!
On my to do list:::
Kitchen......do some meal planning and sorting the food stuffs
Laundry.....linens/towels
House...... Pick up around the house. Not bad at all..mainly shoes hahahaha
Revival some this week.. Having a new range delivered tomorrow dental appts this week
Praying for a very serious surgery for my cousin and Bible Study
What I am creating:::
Still working on Spring vignettes... last week's snow completely took my springtime mood
Looking around the house:::
I am beginning to see bunnies coming out from their warrens!!
From the camera:::
Bunnies really are coming out of their warrens!!!
What I'm wearing today:::
My wine colored velour sweat and brown pants
One of my simple pleasures:::
Reading and watching period dramas.. they really take me away to my happy place, for example, Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell
Inspirational Quote, Bible verse, anything you want to share:::
This morning I'm sharing with Eileen's Saturday Critters party. Well, this is the first weekend of spring and we are in a winter storm warning with several inches of snow predicted. Here's hoping winter will loose it grip on our area! I am so glad I started really paying attention to the birds this year. At this time I have several pairs who regularly visit our feeders and they a re beginning to feel like family! I have a pair of woodpeckers who are daily visitors...
I absolutely love my pair of mourning doves
I especially love their morning cooing!!!!
A Purple finch family stops in daily.. a couple of adults, as well as, some youngsters
There are at least two Carolina wrens.
This cardinal pair is so fun to watch... Sir cardinal always swoops in all his majesty and all the pesky house sparrows dissipate so, then, Mrs. cardinal can come in undisturbed!!
I have seen several handsome Eastern Bluebirds...
and some youngsters who are more happy foraging under the feeders!
Finally, this one found the suet and took up residence there yesterday!
This morning we were so pleased to host this handsome fellow..
I was so sorry to disturb him for I knew he'd hie away
but I had to be off to prayer group... But he did stay for some time and I hope he will stop back by!!!
1. On this first official day of spring tell us something (besides the weather) you're looking forward to in this season of the year.
We always go to visit our daughter and grands,
come spring, early autumn and then everyone takes their turn around the holidays.. We try to wait until the threat of snow is over... since they live near Boston.... but it is a wonderful time to see the girls...no matter what spring time month I will bring Easter baskets and we will hide eggs.... otherwise , well, it is probably as much for Gaa Gaa as the girls!
2. When it comes to spring cleaning would you rather wash windows or wash baseboards? Clean out closets or clean out the garage? Dust ceiling fans or dust bookcases? Wipe down the patio furniture outside or wipe down the light fixtures inside? Any of these tasks recently completed?
At our house it has always worked best for us together to wash the windows on the inside and then Hubs does the outside when he paints them about every 5 years. Hubs does the baseboards usually when he vacuums if they are looking shabby!We just finished our closets.. I usually do mine with the change of seasonal wear. The garage is Hubs domain!praise God we only have a couple of ceiling fans and we do them when they start to look bad, not necessarily during spring.. I do the bookcases in spring and fall. After the onslaught of pollen we take a Saturday to do the whole porch.. We remove everything and hose the porch and walls and pillars.. sometimes the pillars need to e cleaned with a bleach to kill some mildew Hubs painted the ceiling and pillars last fall so this year it will be an easier task Then we clean the wrought iron and the cushions and put it all back together.. I love it once it is all done! yayayaya
I love our new rug we bought for the season!
3. Your favorite thing to make/eat that calls for cream cheese? Sour cream? Whipped cream?
Cream Cheese~Cranberry
Walnut Scones
3 c Virginia’s
best self rising flour
1 T baking powder
½ c sugar
¾ c butter…slice in
tablespoon slices to make
working it in easier
1 c fresh cranberries… I added golden raisins to make a
cup
½ c chopped English
walnuts.. I used pecans
1 1/2 T orange zest
1 c buttermilk I
used clabbered milk ( 1 cup milk
with 1 table of white vinegar)
To top unbaked
scones.
1 T cream or milk
1 T sugar mixed with ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Stir together all dry ingredients at top of list..
Rub the butter slices into the
mixture until only coarse crumbs form… Like
cornmeal…. Incorporate the butter
evenly.. no large chunks….Stir in
cranberries, nuts, and zest. Add
buttermilk and mix with a fork until evenly moistened. I
didn’t mix it too much
and as soon as I saw it coming
together I poured it out on a floured surface and shaped it into a ball.
Pat the ball into a ¾ inch thick
circle. Don’t work the dough too much… it should be
fairly easy to work with you will have a lot on your fingers
As it will be
moist. So incorporate just enough
flour so not so sticky
But keep it
pliable.
Cut rounds with a
biscuit cutter and place on a greased sheet. Brush tops with the cream or milk
and sprinkle the sugar mixture on
top. Bake at 400 for 14-16 minutes or
until golden… if you desire
lightly sprinkle with powder sugar.
Cream topping:
8 oz cream
cheese. I used mascarpone and thought it
was much better. But it
is much more expensive
1 T zest
2 T honey but I didn’t have honey so I sued 1 T of
orange Marmalade This is a fine spread for any specialty bread!
Sour Cream~
We don't use sour cream too much in cooking.. but I do use it as a condiment or garnish for things like tacos, baked potato dips etc
Whipped cream~
Victoria Cake
ingredients
200g caster sugar 200g softened butter 4 eggs beaten 200g self-raising flour 1 tsp baking powder 2 tbsp milk For the filling 100g butter softened 140g icing sugar, sifted drop vanilla extract (optional) half a 340g jar good-quality strawberry jam icing sugar, to decorate
Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper.
In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed.
Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
To make the filling, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in icing sugar. Beat in vanilla extract if you’re using it.
Spread the butter cream over the bottom of one of the sponges. Top it with jam and sandwich the second sponge on top.
Dust with a little icing sugar before serving. Keep in an airtight container and eat within 2 days, or top with whipped cream and strawberries!
4. I read here a list of commonly mispronounced words. What is a word that gives you trouble when it comes to pronunciation?
I have no trouble with words at least the ones given!
5. What's a song you love with the word 'rain' in the title or lyrics?
Singin' in the Rain... I had a major crush on Gene Kelley
6. Insert your own random thought here.
My pansies, daffodils, blood wort, and hyacinths are all blooming so profusely.. Around town the Bradford pears and cherry trees are loaded with their pink and white glory... yet tomorrow, the first day of spring, it is going to snow... and we could be in for it! Bah!! Time for spring, I say!
We slept in this morning... was a hard night.... Hubs is getting the coffee going while I
am thinking "Hmm, I want something good for brunch.. "
On my reading pile:::
Ephesians
Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way
I am still reading Susan Branch's book
Her's are such savory reads I don't like to breeze through them!
Also
The Road North, 300 Years of Classic Scottish Travel Writing
Movies or Shows I watched this weekend:::
Netflix..
North and South for about the 10th time <3 div="">
When Calls the Heart
I had never gotten into this one... really enjoying it as well!
Fixer Upper
Escape to the Country on YouTube
On the menu for this week:::
no plans as of yet!
On my to do list:::
Kitchen......organize my office area
Laundry.....dark colors, linens
House...... Pick up around the house. Not bad at all..mainly shoes hahahaha
make some important phone calls to change appt.s and set up a group luncheon for my Sunday school class
Concerned Women for America meeting
Bible Study
What I am creating:::
Time to change St. Patrick's day decor to Easter springtime.. YAYAYAY~~~~~
Looking around the house:::
My bird feeders have really attracted many different birds last week..I love that a male and female mourning dove have taken up residence nearby
I love their morning songs!!!
Another regular visitor is this handsome pair of Downy Woodpecker s
This handsome fellow
and his lovely mate.
From the camera:::
During our previous temperate days I couldn't help but spring up the front porch a bit
It was lovely being able to enjoy sitting there in the warmth when my over night guest was here last week!!!
What I'm wearing today:::
Jeans and green sweater set.. I'm still in an Irish mood!
One of my simple pleasures:::
I love perusing recipes and think about what I could fix for dinner,, but alas, I am so out of the mood by dinner time we usually go much more simply.. It is probably for the best because we are both losing a bit of weight! So I think of planning my next dinner party...I ordered 6 cups and saucers to go with my Garden Basket plates... a great sale at Replacements'
So I am thinking a lovely green table setting for spring time light fare would be a lovely way to kick off the season...
Inspirational Quote, Bible verse, anything you want to share:::
