By Sun and Candlelight

John James Audubon's Birthday ...

I just found out it's today!

The Massachusetts Audubon Society was asking its members to report in on chipmunk activity, and since we just spotted our first chipmunk of the year, I jumped into the conversation ... and that's when I noticed another member wishing the late Mr. Audubon "best birthday wishes."

:)

Well! As long-time members of the MAS (and life-long nature lovers), I consider this a great day to celebrate in some small way or another!

First, we could learn more about the man himself, and the society set up in his name. There are things to read online, but I also found a 55-minute documentary called, John James Audubon: Drawn by Nature. It is available on Netflix as "streaming" video, which means you can watch it immediately if you subscribe to that service (which we do). This will be something nice to watch with the kids after dinner!

There are (of course) a few books at the library I'd like to check out ...

The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon

John Audubon: Young Naturalist

John James Audubon's Journal of 1826: The Voyage to the Birds of America

*

And naturally, we took extra-special care to fill all our birdfeeders today!

Now, speaking of special days that are nature and history related ... tomorrow is Arbor Day ... and I have a very special post planned for that. :)

Hope you're all having a great day!

❤

A Tea for Shakespeare's Birthday

As I mentioned in my earlier post, today is England's National Day (aka St. George's Day), and it is also the birthday of one of the most famous Englishmen, William Shakespeare. As an American of English descent (on both sides!) as well as a self-confessed Anglophile, I feel this is a fantastic day for my family to celebrate! (It's also the feast day of a great Catholic saint - Crackerjack's favorite - so there's that as well. :))

So I pulled out my olde Norton Anthology of English Literature from my college years (which I've since given to Bookworm for "Brit Lit") and perused some of the Bard's sonnets. I even read a couple out loud in case anyone was listening. (I don't think they were, lol.)

 Now, I have a St. George's Dinner planned for tonight, but I thought I might incorporate some kind of dish to represent Shakespeare. So I googled a little but alas, all I could find was a "Shakespeare's Tea." Apparently it was mentioned in The Winter's Tale (act 4). I don't have the specific herbal ingredients on hand, but I thought I might add them to my garden plans this year. They are all readily available, easy-to-grow plants.

Here's the recipe, just in case you're curious:

Ingredients

• • 1 cup dried lavender flowers
  • 2 cups roughly cut dried peppermint
  • 1 cup dried summer savory
  • 1 cup dried sweet marjoram
  • 1 cup dried whole calendula flowers

Directions

1. Here is a dried tea blend to keep you young and warm-blooded all winter!
2. Collect your herbs mid-summer and rub off the stems when dried.
3. Crumble the Peppermint leaves to match the size of the other greens.
4. If your Calendulas are huge, break in half when dry.
5. Use 1 tsp per cup.
6. In a pot add 1 tsp per person and 1 for the pot!
7. Steep 3 minutes.

How neat! 

And if you happen to have a copy of China Bayles' Book of Days (an absolute favorite of mine) for today's page there is a checklist of herbs and flowers to include in a Shakespearean-themed garden. They all show up in one way or another throughout his works.

(If you don't have that boo,k and you're intersested in the checklist, let me know in the comments below - I'd be glad to type it up and send it to you. :)

Now, I may not devote a whole garden to this particular theme, but a few planter-pots would be fun! Maybe a windowbox devoted to the herbal tea mentioned above? Ooh, I can just imagine the possibilities! This would make a great summer homeschooling project, methinks! I can see a whole notebook devoted to Shakespeare ... poems, narrations, research ... nicely embellished with pressed herbs and flowers related to his works. In fact, I just requested this lovely little book from our library, and I've added a project page behind the May tab in my Yearbook binder ...

But I'm getting carried away now (as I'm wont to do), so I'll wrap up what was meant to be a quick mid-morning post!

I hope you're all having a lovely Monday - rain or shine, busy or no. Thanks so much for stopping by ... I will see you again very soon!

Every birthday deserves cake ...

... even when it's a birthday for your cats. :)

I just used one box mix and decorated the two cake rounds to look (more or less) like our two kitties. I raided the Easter baskets for materials. ;)

Here is Oliver (he has olive green eyes).

And here is Archie with his golden eyes.

The ears are frosted mini scones, the nose is a pink jelly bean, the mouth is a sliver of red gumdrop and the whiskers are a few strands of of Easter basket grass. I also tinted a bit of the frosting pale orange and applied that to their ears, foreheads and temples.

And here are the birthday boys themselves ...

I think they had a good day.

❤

I hope you all had a good day, too ... Happy Weekend, my friends! I will see you here again very soon.

Happy 1st Birthday, Archie and Oliver!

Today our dear kitties turn ONE!

It's hard to believe they are no longer kittens, but now fully grown cats. (Or nearly fully grown ~ our vet tells us they still have a little growing to do.) And technically speaking, today may or may not be their actual birthday ... but we know they were born sometime in April. We adopted them last August 13th (on Crackerjack's birthday), so we felt April 13th was just about right. :)

So, yes ... Archibald Fred and Oliver James were born into a litter of nine. The kittens were found on a busy city street, with no mother (or owner) to be found. The lot of them were rescued and fostered for a few months before being put up for adoption through a local pet store. 

Meanwhile, we had just lost our Smokey in May, and by August we were really missing having cats in our house, so I started my "kitten research," scouring shelter and rescue league websites. I was keeping an eye out for orange kittens, as that's what we had our hearts set on. (Our previous cats were mostly black and white so we wanted very different cats this time around.)

Anyhoo ... I spotted these cute little fellas on a local pet savers website (their original names were "Jerry" and "Josh" if you can believe it!) and it was tentative love at first sight. I say tentative, because I didn't want to get our hopes up! (Kittens are adopted pretty quickly, sometimes too quickly for the website to keep up.) But as fortune would have it, they were still available by the time we got over to see them and then it really and truly WAS love at first sight.

:)

This was the first day we brought them home! They were so tiny!

They've always loved windows ...

And baskets ...

... and bags ...

... and just about anything else they can squeeze themselves into ...

Or get themselves into ...

And they've always been the best of friends.

(As only brothers can be.)

Moral of the story: Archie and Ollie are a big part of our family now, and we love them to bits!

Happy Birthday, my dear little fellas!

*

And yes ... as the boys just had me clarify ... we WILL be having cake today in the cats' honor. (I'm sure I'll be posting about that later.) :)

So have a great Friday, everyone ... enjoy your day and I will see you again soon.

❤

Birthday Blessings

Well, dear readers - as some of you knew, and some of you guessed! - yesterday happened to be my birthday. I am now officially 43 years old!

(Ack! How did this happen?)

I had a wonderful day - though our snowy start did indeed turn to a driving, windswept rain! - and I thank you for the many kind messages. I thought I'd share a few pictures from our evening ... Bill took me to dinner and then we had cake and presents back at home with my folks, my brother and our boys.

I could not have asked for a nicer day!

Now this first picture (snapped sneakily by Bill) makes me chuckle because it shows a little "birthday gift" I bought myself recently ...

... a pair of reading glasses! 

Yes, my friends, I now need reading glasses. As of last June I had, according to my opthamoligist, 20/20 vision - and I was very proud of that fact! He warned me, however, that - as a person, ahem, over 40 - I'd soon find the need to hold things at a distance to read them. And that when I found myself doing this, to just buy the lowest strength reading glasses - commonly found at the pharmacy or a supermarket or wherever.

Well, I found my pair at Target - for all of eight dollars, lol. I wear them now when I read or use my computer - and they are just wonderful! I even brought them with me to read the menu in this lovely, but low-lighted restaurant.

And here is my very thoughtful husband, grinning at me from across the table.

Bill and I don't go out much, but we try to at least a few times a year - on our anniversary and one, if not both, of our birthdays.

And this restaurant is very special to us - I've been coming here since I was a little girl. My grandparents used to bring us here for special occasions. I remember my grandfather would always arrange (when I wasn't paying attention) to have the waitstaff serenade me with a flaming cake and their signature birthday song. I always squirmed and blushed at the attention, but inside I felt so special and loved. ❤

No singing tonight - just a lovely supper and some quiet conversation - and we returned home to find our house full of family ...

First, I have to show you my "present pile" because the wrapping is so pretty. It's rare to see pastels in this household! 

I received such lovely gifts, among them a Downton Abbey book I'd been pining for, as well a favorite soap, an angel candle and a dvd set, but here's the "big" present of the night - a gift from my three boys: 

A brand new printer!

(I basically killed our old one after that long weekend of daybook printing, lol! It was on its last legs, anyways - and I think it was about 10 years old. And our family does a whole lot of copy/printing as you can guess!)

This shot of EB and me is blurry, but I just love it. He's always there to help when there are presents to open ...

... as is Archie. ;)

(Speaking of Archie, I have a "Friday Felines" post to go up later today ... I just wanted to share my birthday with you all first.)

Once presents were opened and much appreciated, it was time for some birthday cake. My mum made this delicious - absolutely delicious! - vanilla-almond cake for me.

EB placed the candles in the cake himself (you all remember he has issues with this part?) and he was even amenable to lighting them! - but alas, we had run out of matches!

And one more picture to share ... me with my folks and my brother Matt (who turns 40 himself this year!).

I have so many birthday blessings to be thankful for - but the best part of all is I don't need a birthday to enjoy them - they're with me all year long. A loving family and days just like this: healthy, happy and homey.

How good my family is to me - and how gracious God has been to me! - I am so thankful for all that I have. And I so look forward to starting this new year ... I can't wait to see what it will bring!

Well I thank you all for stopping by today and indulging me in this rather "self-centered" post. I hope you all have a nice Friday - TGIF, as they say! - and if all goes well, I will see you again later today ... Archie and Ollie have some silliness to share. :)

*❤*

The Daybook Goes Live!

Good Thursday Morning, my friends!

It's snowing here at the moment, all light and lovely, so my day has started out on just the right foot. :) It's due to turn to rain any moment though, so I'm enjoying it while I can!

Now, Charlotte and Teresa asked to see what a page in my daybook looks like all filled out, and I'm happy to do that! So here we have today's page, which I mostly filled in last evening (hence the low lighting):

Please bear in mind, this daybook is only a few days old, so I'm sure I'll adjust how I use it as time goes by. But basically what I have here on my page are the following things:

At the very top of the page is a bit of clipart designating the month at hand, and directly below that, is a box where I "make note of" what makes this day special (i.e. birthdays/holidays/feast days/natural events like the Vernal Equinox, etc.). Both bits of clipart I found in this lovely little booklet of Victorian images.

In the top left corner of the page, I have a space for the day's agenda, which is divided into three time blocks (a.m./noon/p.m.). Here is where I write in appointments, activities, the boys' classes, etc. - as well as things like "lessons and chores" in the morning area, and "lunch: use up cold cuts, lettuce" at noontime. Seeing my time divided in this way helps me get a "fix" on how my day will go.

In the top right corner of the page I have a space for listing the day's housekeeping chores. Now, my weekly chore routine is mostly set in stone (i.e. bedrooms on Monday, bathrooms on Tuesday, etc.) so I contemplated pre-printing my chores in this space, but that would have made the printing process much more challenging and time consuming. So in today's chore box I've written out things I do on Thursdays, like "trash & recycling," "sweep and dust dining room," and "begin a new file folder for next week. 

Just beneath the chores box, there is a space for writing down any spending done on this day. (For today I noted "groceries" because I plan to "Stop 'N Shop" this afternoon, as well "dinner," because Bill's taking me out for dinner tonight! Later on, I'll fill in the amounts spent.)

In the middle section of the page there are three blocks for "learning & living" notes for my boys. This is pretty self-explanatory - here I write in what lessons they are working on and any other activities/projects to focus on.

The bottom left hand corner has a box for writing down things "to do and remember." This is where I'll write down just that - non-routine tasks and reminders. For today I have things like "look up info. on bake sales," "mail Globe tip," and "check Netflix queue."

In the middle of the bottom of the page is a tiny box for writing down the day's "supper." I try to have the week's dinner menus planned out in advance (makes shopping easier and less expensive!) but I like having a reminder of what I need to prepare at day's end. (And it's a nice record, too - that's a big part of this daybook for me, that it will serve as an annual household diary.)

The bottom right hand corner has a box for "notes" and this is just a place for anything else I need or want to jot down. So far I've written down a few weather notes this morning, regarding the rainstorm and its happy, snowy start. :)

*

So there you have a pretty detailed look at how I filled out today's daybook page. I hope it makes sense! If you would like further clarification on anything, please do not hesitate to ask. Remember, I'm still working out the kinks, so it does me good to have to explain it!

As for making these pages printable, should you wish to use them for yourself - I'm working on it! Actually, my dad is working on it. :) He took home copies of both the "weekly planning page" and the "daily worksheet" (with clipart removed, due to copyright issues) and he's trying to see if he can make it a jpeg I can share. I'll keep you posted on our progress! (And if you would like, I could try to fill in the missing clipart with something I've drawn up myself. Just let me know. :))

OK, so I'd best be off now because the morning is running late, and we're barely through breakfast. Time for one more cup of coffee and then I'll (hopefully) be firing on all cylinders!

Have a great day, my friends ... I'll be back here again very soon!

*❤*

A Party for Papa & Earlybird

Good Morning, my friends!

I hope you all had a nice weekend. Ours was very busy ~ but quite nice as well. I thought you might like to see some pictures from our family party on Sunday ...

Here's our 10 year-old birthday boy:

And here's the appetizer spread:

As I've mentioned before, EB shares his birthday with his Papa, so I made up some of my dad's favorite appetizers: baked artichoke dip with French bread, "Ruffles" chips with "Hannaford" brand French onion dip, shrimp dip with Bugles and cream cheese stuffed celery.

The birthday cake was just a simple box mix (dark chocolate), but I made up a homemade peppermint-buttercream frosting ...

... and I dusted the edges with crushed candy canes.

While we all enjoyed the appetizers, EB tore into his presents. :)

(He was especially fond of the Thomas plushie, wooden train set, giant art pad and the "Monster Jam" Wii game.)

After all that unwrapping, it was time for lunch! Now, I told EB he could request any menu he wanted for his party, and not surprisingly his request was quite kid- friendly: hot dogs and macaroni and cheese!

Or what we like to call ...

"The Earlybird Special"

EB likes uncured turkey dogs and Annie's mac and cheese, but I also served ~ nitrate-free beef hot dogs, homemade macaroni and cheese (thanks, Mum!), maple baked beans and a big garden salad. For dessert, of course there was birthday cake, ice cream and lots of freshly brewed coffee.

Humble and homey, and just right for a cold December day.

:)

And so here we are at Monday again, and dear readers, I hope your week is a good one ... in between all the "hustle and bustle," I hope you are able to find some quiet moments for yourself. With this in mind, I've scheduled a cup of tea for myself every day this week at 4:00. Right about the time the sun slips from the sky and the dark descends ... a few moments to sit and relax and reflect ... and just be for a bit.

Perhaps you'll join me?

~**❤**~

Many thanks!

From Earlybird (and me) for all the kind birthday wishes!

Here's his homemade "hot cocoa" cake.

(Not much to look at, but it did taste really good!)

Now, truth be told, EB kind of freaked out when we lit the candles - even though we haven't sung "Happy Birthday" in years, he still stresses out whenever those candles are lit. He usually just leaves the room, but sometimes he melts down a little ... and last night was one of those times.

I had just finished setting the cake up on a small table by the tree, when EB went into hiding ...

"No, birthday cake! I don't want it!" 

I felt so bad - torn between wanting this familiar "tradition" to be part of his day, and keeping in mind that it's HIS day after all. It's not about what "should be" but rather, what works best for him. But as much as Bill and I try to just accept the way things are, sometimes it's hard to let go of certain expectations - you know?

Anyways, I was just removing the candles from the cake, when EB reappeared by my side. Peering at the cake (probably getting a good sniff of all that chocolate!) he quietly asked to help re-light the candles. Well, of course, I couldn't allow him him to "help" with matches, but I did let him watch as I re-lit the candles.

I think because he was in control - he came to the cake, not the other way around - he relaxed and had his "make-a-wish" moment. So, without further ado, Bill grabbed the camera and we blew out the candles right then and there!

Crackerjack was happy to help:

Earlybird's gift today was a long-hoped for train video - one we owned years ago but somehow lost. Bill uploaded the video onto his iPad and EB was in railroad heaven. :)

And happily, aside from the brief cake "mishap" (lol), EB had a very nice day. (We all did!) He loved reading all the birthday wishes left at "his post" and he got some nice emails from friends and famly. He also got "Happy Birthday" phone calls from his Nana (in the morning) and his Papa (in the evening) which made him so very happy! (He's getting much better at phone conversations!)

EB has his challenges of course, but one of the ways he is (we are) blessed is that he's very aware of (and loving to) his family and friends. He is constantly talking about them! For instance, at least three times a day we cover just WHO will be coming to his birthday party on Sunday. :)

***

Well, my friends, thank you for listening to me "ramble" and thanks again for the lovely birthday wishes for our little boy. I hope you all have a great day ... I will see you again very soon!

❤

Happy Birthday, Earlybird!

Can it be true? Our sweet EB is really turning TEN?

Yes, indeedy ~ we're in double digits now, folks!

As any parent knows, each child is unique and brings his or her own special gifts to the family. Our dear Earlybird, our youngest son, has blessed our life in so many ways ...

He's always Eager to start the day!

He's incredibly Affectionate - he gives the best hugs.

He's learning to Read - and he loves it! 

He also Loves trains, planets, monster trucks, cooking and crafts.

"Oh Yeah," is his catch-phrase of the moment.

He's blessed with Brightness: his eyes, his smile, his mind.

He's working so hard to be more Independent.

He's our only Right-handed child.

He shares his December birthday with his beloved Papa!

*❤*

Yes, Earlybird was due on December 21st, but - true to his name and nature - he came a week early, right on my Dad's birthday. :) 

So we'll be celebrating with family over the weekend, but today we have a few fun things planned. For one thing, Bill took the day off (yay!) so we'll take the boys to lunch at "Wendy's" - EB's favorite restaurant. And Bill will join us on EB's afternoon routine ... we'll do a little marketing and we'll stop at the library, as well as the post office ...

And I'm sure there will be some cake and candles at day's end - but no singing - never any singing, lol! EB has never liked the "Happy Birthday" song so we skip that part entirely. Wishes, though? Yes, there will surely be wishes - as well as plenty of prayers. For health and happiness and many more birthdays like this - enjoying our day together and celebrating our wonderful boy.

Now, as I finish up this post, I'm sitting with EB while the rest of the family sleeps on. It's super early in the morning and the sky is just starting to lighten. EB knew his birthday was coming this week, but when I said "Happy Birthday!" to him this morning he looked at me in surprise for a moment ... then over at the calendar ... and then he threw his arms around me and said, "It's my birthday, today! Oh, thank you, Mama!"

No, my sweet little man ... THANK YOU! Earlybird, we are so proud of all you do, but most of all of who you ARE. You bring us so much joy and laughter - and you remind us every day to count our blessings and never take anything for granted.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EARLYBIRD!

We love you so very much!

Now, let's have a fantastic day!

:)

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Happy Birthday, Dear Nana!

My mum's birthday is the 26th of November so some years it falls on Thanksgiving. This year we celebrated it on Sunday, after church, with a light and leisurely brunch. 

(Well, maybe not so light, lol.)

Here's the birthday cake, in all its autumn glory. :)

Since the dining room is still being worked on (Bill painted this weekend), I decided we'd eat in the family room. So before we left for church, I laid the table with a pretty, deep burgundy tablecloth - but fortunately I waited on anything breakable, because while no one was looking, Archie came along ...

And made himself quite comfortable.

I'm too cute to get in trouble ... right?

The brunch buffet included my mum's special scrambled eggs, a roasted potato & vegetable "hash," bacon and apple sausages, bagels and cream cheese, leftover cranberry relish, ETC.

My dad and the boys wasted no time tucking in. :)

Speaking of my boys, Nana's three grandsons ...

Crackerjack (12)

Earlybird (10 in two weeks)

Bookworm (16 1/2)

(Just when did my boys get so big?)

EB scooted out of the picture just as it snapped, but here we are presenting Nana with her present ...

Can you guess where we're taking her?

(I can't wait!)

At last, it was time for cake ...

This was just a boxed spice cake mix, baked in a bundt pan, and frosted a with homemade maple-brown sugar glaze. Perfect for a November birthday! I sprinkled some "autumn leaves" sprinkles over the top, and then set a tiny glass vase (actually a votive candleholder) in the center hole. It fit perfectly - and it held just a few mini carnations (leftover from Thanksgiving day).

A slice of cake with a scoop of maple-walnut ice cream (Nana's favorite).

So it was a very nice Sunday ~ a quiet day spent at home with my family, celebrating a special birthday and the start of a new season. 

And so we say, Happy Birthday to Nana!

And Happy Advent to everyone!

What a wonderful time of year ...

:)

Thanks so much for stopping by today ... I hope your week's off to a good start! 

See you all again sometime soon ...

Happy Birthday, Crackerjack!

It was a Smurfday Birthday this year! And Crackerjack is now officially TWELVE years old!

A few quick pictures from our party yesterday ... today we celebrate with family so I have but a few moments to post!

The balloons were actually supposed to be dispersed around the yard - along the fence, the trampoline, off the deck, etc. But we were running late and Bill brought them home literally moments before guests were scheduled to arrive. The list of "things to do" was consulted, and an ice-filled cooler and a grill ready-to-go took precedent over well-spaced balloons, lol!

And here's the buffet table ... we had burgers and dogs, veggies and dip, macaroni salad, macaroni and cheese and assorted chips. Oh! And a "Smurfberry Punch!"

I originally had a plan to display all the blue and white cupcakes (along with a red toadstool cupcake or two) on a tiered display something like this ... but alas, once again, time and toil got in the way of creative expression. Above you see my last minute variation. 

Here's a picture of how the cake and cupcakes ended up:

Not quite what I envisioned, but it all tasted quite yummy. (And as CJ reminded me, that's really the point!)

And why yes, I am wearing a "Smurfette" shirt. 

;)

Well, I hope you all have a great weekend. I will be back tomorrow with another post (we have some happy news to share with you all) but for now I'm off to get ready for the next birthday party!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Bill's Birthday Butter & Whiskey Cake

My goodness, it's a scorcher here today! Over 90 degrees and muggy as all get out. We're really and truly knee high in Summer these days!

I'm here to share a recipe, but first I'd like to say thank you for all of Bill's birthday messages. I can assure you he had a wonderful day, and he appreciated each and every birthday wish very much! :D

Now, for the main point of my post ... the birthday cake recipe! 

My mum first made this cake over 30 years ago ... she used to make it for Christmas, but as I mentioned, it became Bill's signature birthday cake at some point during our courtship (which itself began over 20 years ago!). It's quite rich and moist ... and of course, as it's soaked with liquor, rather decadent! ;D

So, without further ado ...

Butter & Whiskey Cake

Beat well: 

    1 box yellow cake mix (Mum likes Duncan Hines "butter recipe")

    1 small package vanilla instant pudding

    1 oz. whiskey

    4 eggs

Slowly add:

    1 cup whole milk

    1/2 cup vegetable oil

Fold into mix:

    1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.) tossed with 2 teaspoons flour

(Note: Nuts are optional. We are a family of non-nutters - except for my mum and Bookworm who love them.)

Pour into a well-greased, large, tube pan, and bake at 325 degrees F. for 55-60 minutes.

Leave cake in pan while you prepare glaze.

Glaze:

    1/2 lb. unsalted butter

    3/4 cup sugar

    1/2 cup whiskey

Heat above ingredients over medium heat for a few minutes - stirring and keeping watch - till the mixture thickens and a syrup forms. 

Run a sharp knife around edges of pan and tube. Poke small holes (pricks) over top of cake. Pour glaze over cake and let it sink in and run down sides.

Cool cake for 2 hours, then refrigerate for 24 hours.

Remove cake from pan, transfer to a plate and sprinkle with powedered sugar.

Serve and enjoy! It tastes best at room temperature (or as Bill says, once the humidity's gotten to it, lol).

***

If you make it, let me know how it turns out! And thanks so much for stopping by today ... I hope you're week's going well!

:)

Happy Birthday, My Mr. Sun and Candle!

"To get the full value of joy, you must have somebody to divide it with." ~ Mark Twain

I am so grateful to have my "somebody" to divide with ... Thank you for sharing in all this JOY with me, honey!

Today is Bill's actual birthday, but yesterday we had a feast in his honor. I made those slowcooked ribs again, and for dessert my mum made her delicious "Butter and Whiskey Cake." This has been Bill's favorite cake for years, ever since my mum made it for Christmas one year. It quickly became his bday cake of choice. ;) He especially likes it "the morning after," once it's had a night to "steep." I served it with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sorbet - delicious! (If anyone wants the cake recipe, let me know, and I will ask my mum.)

Well, I hope you all have a great week! Thank you so much for the wonderful comments re ~ the file crate folders. I am working on a post addressing all those questions and hope to get it up as soon as I can.

Keep cool, be safe, and may you all have much JOY in your day!

:)

(Almost there!)

Today's my last day of teaching - at our church, not here at home with the boys - so my time will free up considerably in the next few days. I do hope you've all been well!

Things have been seriously crazy here lately and I'm really looking forward to the long holiday weekend. I'm also looking forward to having time again for the simplest of things - looking over my calendar, catching up on emails, working (playing!) with my journal, and digging my way through my (now overflowing) reading basket. I'm itching to work on my file crate notebook, too - especially because I owe you all a post on that project!

And ... I miss posting, too. :)

But I just had to take a few minutes this morning, to pop in and say hello, and to thank you all for your lovely birthday wishes for Bookworm! He had a wonderful day, and truly enjoyed reading through all the birthday messages. As you can see above, we had a homemade cake per his request - his Nana's yellow cake with chocolate fudge frosting (his favorite!). I used a bag of "Peppermint Patty Pieces" as a happy, albeit humble, embellishment. (Btw, his big gift this year was this. He's having fun figuring it out!)

Well, I must be off for now ... it's back to the salt mines, lol! I have notes to type and print out, children to feed, and a bag to pack with books/props/and snacks. (Honestly this has been a terrific, if exhausting, experience - teaching a 7th grade religious education class - squeezing a whole curriculum in one week!)

So, please know I'm thinking of you all and appreciating every comment that gets left ... I will be catching up with you again just as soon as I can!

:)

Guess who just turned 16?

Yesterday was the first full day of summer ... and it was also our Bookworm's birthday!

It's sounds cliche, I know, but honestly, how time has flown by ... I can't believe we have a 16 year old! Here's a post I did way back in my first year of blogging - Bookworm had just turned 11! There will be so many changes ahead for Boowkorm this year - he'll be learning to drive (ack!), making his Confirmation, thinking about college and he's eager to get a "real" job. And yes, he's now taller than both his parents! He's such an amazing young man - kind hearted and sincere, so smart and funny. Today we're celebrating all that he is and the promise of all that's to come ... 

God Bless you, Bookworm! We love you so much! Here's to an exciting year filled with all kinds of new adventures! 

:)

Happy Birthday, Smokey!

 

(The likeness is uncanny, isn't it?)

As I mentioned earlier this week, our dear little cat turned 20 this week! Yesterday, in fact, was his birthday. I'm happy to report, he had a very nice day - lots of extra loving, a second can of food, long naps by the fireplace and a wee bit of catnip to boot. For our Friday baking, Earlybird and I made little lamb cupcakes - but I tinted a small amount of the frosting with a few teaspoons of cocoa powder and made one of the cupcakes look a little (a very little, lol) like Smokey.

Now, if you've followed my blog for any length of time you know that I'm a huge animal lover. I might have grown up with dogs (and birds, fish and hamsters) but after 20 years and five cats, I am now a truly confirmed cat person. It's hard to believe we only have one cat now, when we once had five ... yes, five! The story of how we came to own five cats is described in this long-ago post, a tribute to our first cat to pass, Mama Kitty. 

To be honest, Smokey is definitely slowing down. Having gone through four kitty deaths already I'm starting to recognize the signs - he's very thin, a little disoriented at times, and he's walking a bit lame. But he's also eating regularly, using his box, still jumping up on our beds, etc. He's basically doing pretty well, but I know our time with him is nearing its end. Whether we have months or even another year, it will never be quite enough. But I'm very grateful we've had him in our life - that he's lived so long and so well.

***

Well, thanks so much for stopping by today, ... I'm off now to get this day rolling. We have a busy Saturday ahead - lots to do, errands to run, a family gathering to prepare for ... 

Have a great weekend, everyone ~ I will see you all again very soon.

:)

"Well if it's a birthday, then there must be ...

... CAKE!"

So decreed Crackerjack once I told him it was my "blog" birthday. And so (twist-my-arm), I baked a cake for my blog yesterday afternoon. ;)

Pressed for time, I used a simple snack cake mix from Trader Joe's. And whipped up some plain old (but plain good) buttercream frosting for the top ... But what of the decorations, CJ asked? Well, I'd run out of the EB-friendly, natural food dye so any "sunny" color was out. Instead I used almonds to shape a "sun," yellow candles to represent "candlelight" and added some little leaf cookies just because they looked pretty ...

After supper we lit it up - though as usual, per EB's demands instructions, there was NO singing ... 

Pretty, yes? It tasted good, too!

Before I go, I want to thank you all - SO, so much - for all your sweet blog-birthday wishes! I am honored and humbled by your very kind words and encouragement - and it means the world to me to think my blog has meant something to you.

:)

Have a lovely Wednesday, my friends. I hope to see you all again very soon ...

My Pretty Purple Bag

So of course you knew I was going to show you what I got at The Paper Store this morning. ;)

This is one of my favorite places to shop - it's like a candy store for women! If I'm shopping for a mom or an aunt or a sister or a friend, I know to come here and I'll easily find a perfect gift. In addition to the gift card from my parents, I also happened to have a birthday coupon the store sent me *and* some Hallmark reward points to cash in. Needless to say I was well armed and ready to shop!

And what a fun time I had perusing all the goodies on display, deciding what to buy for myself! Well, as I've mentioned before, I have quite a weakness for bags ...

And I kind of have this thing for purple lately, too ...

It was the lovely color that caught my eye first, but the embroidery really drew me in. It's a very generously sized tote - with a pocket on the inside as well as the outside. It easily fits all my "stuff" ... the items I lug around with me, to work on when I have a spare minute or five: my journal, clipboard, planner/binder, current book and some magazines and catalogs too.

As you might guess, I'm very happy with my new "birthday" bag. :)

After I got home from my shopping, Bill and Earlybird ran out to pick up some pizza for lunch. We're hosting a "Greek Mythology Night" later this week for our monthly homeschool activity night, and we found a local pizza place that specializes in Greek foods. This was a "trial run" of sorts. I've been staying away from pizza lately, but I tried a little spinach pie that was absolutely delicious. We're definitely getting some of that for our gathering!

Well, I hope you've all had a nice Monday. As I finish up this post, I'm smelling the soup cooking away in the kitchen - it smells SO good! No homemade bread for us tonight, though - we waited too long to start the machine. Pilsbury crescent rolls will just have to do. ;)

Have a great night, my friends ... thanks for stopping by! I'll see you all again very soon ...

A Sweet, Snowy Day

Checking back in at the end of the day, past five o'clock now, almost dark ... and guess what ...?

It's STILL SNOWING!

We have well over a foot of snow on the ground - maybe about 18 inches. It's been such a snowy, blowy day. Bill and Bookworm have been busy shoveling - our driveway, as well as our neighbor's and Mum and Dad's (whose snowblower broke this morning). I expect them home any minute now ... and I have a skillet full of American Chop Suey (my friend Debbie's delicious recipe) and a crusty garlic bread in the oven. A classic wintertime supper - hearty and hot. :)

Before I go any further with my snow talk though, I want to thank each and every one of you who left me birthday wishes today! Thank you for thinking of me and taking the time out of your day to pay me such kindness! Truly, I feel blessed ~ to be surrounded by such nice people in my personal life and here online. :)

Now ... as I mentioned, the day is winding down - my older boys are hoping I'll pick a movie for the night - but before I retire, I would love to share some pictures I took today ...

The beautiful Carolina wren at the suet.

A male northern cardinal in the distance - they are very cautious birds; I find it so hard to get a close picture.

A purple (or house?) finch taking issue with a slate-colored junco at the feeder.

Typically the juncos are ground feeders, but the stormy weather brought them up where the food was!

The blue jay is another striking bird against the snow.

The deck railing - just to give you an idea of how deep we're talking here!

Smokey, our 19 year old cat, eying the birds on the deck.

Our front yard late in the day.

Making "sugar snow" as an after-lunch treat ...

Tasted just like cold maple candy. :)

And at the end of the day ... just a few minutes ago ... a sweet vanilla birthday cake just for me. Note the pink candles - I'm the only one who gets pink candles around here! Thanks to my mum who baked this cake and sent it home with Bill so I'd have something yummy to wish on tonight. 

And thanks as always to my readers for stopping by and seeing what we've been up to. I think we'll spend some time digging out tomorrow morning but then it will be back to business as usual. I hope you all had a nice day too, this fine winter Wednesday. I'll see you all again very soon. :)

Birthday Snow

Same tree, four hours later. :)

Looking out my front door, 7 a.m. 

It is almost a given that it will snow on my birthday - sometimes a little, very often a lot. Since I LOVE snow this is a real treat for me - though I remember as a child, party plans were often postponed due to wild, wintry weather.

No big plans today to speak of - Bill is working from home, and I'm starting my day with a coffee (or two) in bed, listening to the wind wail as it blows around the house. (I think I may even have heard thunder a little bit ago!)

A very stormy day out there - a homey day within. I'm sure I'll have more snow pictures before the day is out!

Happy Wednesday, my friends!