Happy St. Patrick's Day ...

... and many blessings to you and yours!

For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way-
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.

Have a great day, everyone!

:)

Friday "Irish" Tea

Happy Friday, my friends!

It's such a wet, gray day here - perfect weather for a cup of afternoon tea. This week I'm using one of my grandmother's Irish tea cups, and my tea of choice is - naturally - Irish Breakfast. I grew up drinking tea - at home of course, but especially with my grandparents. When I was young my Gram would prepare tea (always the white tea pot, always the Irish china) and to my cup she'd add a big spoon of sugar and a whole lot of milk. :)

Nowadays I still like my tea on the sweet and light side ... I never really got the hang of honey and lemon.

How do you take your tea?

*~*

Well, I've got next week's file folder sitting here on my lap and I'm looking over the "doings" for next week. Lots coming up ...

19th - St. Joseph's Day

20th - The First Day of Spring

22nd - My Blog-Birthday :)

23rd - National Organize Your Home Office Day

25th - National Waffle Day

I also realized I need to buy a new year's worth of file folders! I went to place something in a May folder and came to find May is already full! So this weekend I'll stop by Staples and purchase my 52 folders. I'm not sure what colors I'll go with ... I've been doing the primary set since they kind of go with my "red and green" learning room, but I'm not sure. I wish they had a greater variety to choose from ... maybe I should look at Target instead?

Well friends, I'm going to sign off ... but before I go I'd like to wish you all a pleasant evening and a happy weekend ahead.

See you again very soon!

❤

P.S. Please forgive my slow replies this week to all your lovely comments. I just caught back up this afternoon ... I thank you for sharing your thoughts and as always, for your very kind support. :)

Afternoon Outing: Lovely Latte, Pretty Papers

My friends, I had such a nice afternoon! I was able to meet a very dear friend of mine for "tea" while I was out and about. We met at the most adorable cafe not far from where my boys take their art classes, and honestly I wish I had had my camera with me because I was so charmed by this sweet little shop! It was a small place, but airy and bright and there were all kinds of little treats and gifty things like local preserves, quirky wooden signs and herb-scented laundry detergent. There was even a little wine corner and some microbrews in a fridge!

(Needless to say, I'll be visiting again soon!)

Now, the menu featured all kinds of interesting brewed teas, but I actually skipped over the tea, and chose instead a quite potent and very tempting "raspberry mocha latte."

Oh my.

I may pay for indulging in such heady caffeine (especially so late in the day), but it was deliciously worth it!

Well, after catching up for a bit, Lynne and I went our separate ways (with a promise to do 'this' again soon). But as it happened, I had a few minutes to kill ... and as it also happened ... my favorite paper-craft store was right across the street!

So naturally I popped in to take a quick look around and as usual, I spied so many new and beautiful things! (This place is like a candy store, I tell you.) In under 10 minutes I had picked out some pretty pastel papers and coordinating embellishments, keeping my "new" planner and "Spring Newsletter" in mind.

Here's a peek at my purchases: 

Don't you just love all those soft, springy shades? They feel just right for this time of year ... plus I have such a weakness for "vintage" and "Victorian" things. :)

So I have some new supplies to work with, and while my planner is (once again) underway, my Newsletter is still just a bunch of notes in a notebook. ;) Speaking of the Newsletter - I'm hoping to have it ready to go sometime soon after Easter. (I'd like to say before, but I'm sure that's overestimating my time and energy, lol!) It will be loads of fun to work on it, though, and I must thank you all again for your enthusiastic response!

***

Well my friends, I must now sign off for the night ... the kitchen timer is due to ring in oh, about seven minutes. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing in my day ... I hope yours was a good one!

Have a nice night ~ I will see you again soon!

❤

Irish Blessings

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

I'm a little early for St. Pat's, but I was looking for Irish prayers this morning and came across the lovely one above. I just had to share it with you all. :)

And speaking of sharing, I so wish we could all sit down and have a cup of tea together, and maybe one of my freshly baked bran muffins ...

These are really nice with tea ... and a dab of maple butter. :)

Also wanted to show you this pretty Celtic cross EB and I made this morning ...

And here's a charming book I've been paging through ...

(Note: The above link takes you to Amazon, but I picked up this softcover version at Barnes & Noble for $8.98. The illustrations alone are just gorgeous! Very colorful and "vintage" looking.)

*†*

Now, St. Patrick's Day is this Saturday, and that's nice because the whole family can celebrate together. First off, I have a new book to share with Earlybird: Saint Patrick and the Three Brave Mice. It's a very sweet tale (the mice help St. Patrick chase the last snake from Ireland), but he's a little skittish about snakes, so we'll see how it goes!

Another idea for the day - especially as the weather is supposed to be nice - would be to go for a "Green Walk." While walking the neighborhood or perhaps through the woods, we would look for a bit o' the green here and there i.e. - signs of spring life! And to make this walk even more "green" we can take along a trash bag and do a bit of "earthkeeping" as we go along ...

Back home, in the evening, we'll enjoy an "Irish" supper ... and I'm not exactly sure exactly what that means yet, but I've got my thinking cap on! After supper we might watch this old movie because not only is it old-fashioned fun, but the Irish scenery is so very lovely ... and of course, Bill and I will enjoy a traditional cup of Irish Coffee before bed.

❤

Well, what started as a "quick morning post" became something rather lengthy! But now I'd best be off ... but I'd love to hear about your St. Patrick's Day plans! And I'll have more "Irish" to share tomorrow when I sit down for my weekly tea. :)

Until then, have a good one, my friends! See you again very soon ...

Late Afternoon, Mid-March

Well, this pond view actually looks pretty depressing - all damp, drab and dull -  but in reality, it was kind of lovely. We were on our way home from the library when I spied a few Mallards resting in this pond. So I pulled the car over, grabbed my camera and took a closer look.

You really can't see them in this shot (darn phone camera!), but there are about three of them there. And the air was damp, but not too cold ... and it all smelled so earthy and spring-like ... and I could hear blackbirds calling further off in the marsh ...

All in all, I was glad I pulled over, because it was a really nice moment.

:)

Now, speaking of ponds, if you live near any vernal pools this is the time to start listening for spring peepers. And maybe - if it gets warm enough - watch for "The Big Night" after a nice soaking rain. I plan to crack our family room windows each night this week and see if we can hear those unmistakable sounds in the woods ...

*

Well, I hope you've had a nice Wednesday, my friends ... I'm going to sign off now and start supper, but first let me again say THANK YOU, for all the interest in my little Spring Newsletter! I was not expecting such a response, but I am really so pleased and so very humbled. It will take me some time to pull it all together, but I will be in touch soon regarding mailing details. In the meantime, I guess I'd best get to work!

And as always, thanks so much for stopping by. I wish you all a pleasant evening and I hope to see you again soon!

❤

Wednesday Whatnot

Good morning, my friends! How are you all today?

I myself am a little bleary-eyed this morning, I must say. I was out with girlfriends last night (nothing too crazy - just coffee at the bookshop!) so I got to bed much later than usual, and then roundabouts 1 a.m. Bill and I woke to an absolutely fierce thunderstorm raging overhead! There was thunder, lightning and hail was pelting the roof! Amazingly the kids did not wake up, but it really rattled me, and it took me a while to get back to sleep ...

Anyhoo!

The coffee's kicking in, so I wanted to stop in to say hi, and maybe chat about a few things. First of all, in case you were not aware, today (3.14) is National Pi Day, so that's kind of neat. We usually have "pie" of some kind on this day - a pizza pie, an egg pie (quiche) or a meat pot pie, perhaps. (I'm thinking chicken pot pie for supper and apple pie for dessert.) Also, in the past we've read Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi on this day just for fun. :)

Oh, and it also happens to be National Potato Chip Day, and here's a link that has some interesting potato chip facts. So now I find myself wondering ...

What's your favorite kind of potato chip - brand, flavor?

Have you ever made your own potato chips?

I'd have to say my favorite kind of chip is the "kettle-cooked" variety and I'm rather fond of the Cape Cod brand. I prefer plain over flavored (though I won't say no to barbecue chips on occasion) and I've never made my own but I think it would be fun to try.

:)

Now, while I'm here, I thought I'd show you how our stained glass cross project is shaping up:

Over the next three weeks I'll add the bottom three panels, and then the middle spot will be filled on Easter morning. I took this picture just now - as you can see it's a cloudy morning here - but when the sun shines through here it looks so pretty!

Another quick note ~ a few of you asked how we liked the Knorr Leek-Potato soup, and I'm sorry not to have responded. As it turned out, I did not make that soup on St. David's Day as originally planned, as I was low on chicken stock. But ... I made it last night and it was delicious! In fact, Bill called it "crazy good," but then, he's easy to please. :)

For the record, we left out the cream as Bill is lactose intolerant, and honestly I didn't miss it. It was delicious with grilled cheese & ham panini and steak fries. (Bill suggests dipping the steak fries into the soup!) And I found it very easy to mix up using my hand blender - rather than putting it through the blender in batches as the recipe instructed. (By the way, that tool is also awesome for whipping cream quickly and with little cleanup.)

Well my friends, I have a few more things to discuss, but I've run out of time ... I need to pack up the younger boys and dash out to pick up Bookworm from his British Literature group ... then get home and make lunch!

If I have time I'll pop back in later ... thanks so much for stopping by!

I will see you again very soon ...

❤

Felt Banners for Lent & Easter

Well, here we are almost halfway through Lent and I'm finally getting our banners up!

I've had the supplies for over a month now, but I only found the time to work on this project yesterday. Now, this was supposed to be done with Earlybird - but he was far too busy playing outside yesterday to help me, lol.

Here are the simple supplies:

• Several sheets of plain purple and glittery white felt.
• Adhesive-backed felt letters in purple and glittery white.
• Wooden dowels and ribbon (purple, shown, as well as gold).
• Fabric scissors and (not shown) a hole punch.

I just laid a sheet of purple felt on top of a white sheet, and cut them to fit (the white was a bit larger). I punched a hole in the top of the sheets, near the outer edges. (This was tricky as the hole punch really could not get through the felt easily. What I did was to punch the start of a hole and then used my fabric scissors to enlarge the hole.) I then threaded the ribbon through the holes and attached it to the dowel as shown below.

I shaped the bottom of the sheet a little to appear more banner-like. And lastly, I pressed sticky-backed felt letters onto each banner ...

(Note: I had purchased two-sided tape to sandwich between the felt sheets, in order to fasten them together, but I found it made the felt buckle. And really, the sheets kind of stay together without tape due to static cling.)

Once the set was complete, I hung our new banners in the learning room!

The banners display simple Lenten messages: Pray, Give, Wait, Faith, Hope.

But here's the really neat thing ... on Easter morning the boys will find white banners hanging here instead. (The reverse side!) They will be decorated (secretively, by me, on Holy Saturday) in all kinds of Easter finery - gold, glitter, sequins and what not ...

... IF I can keep the cats away from them, that is!

(Nothing is sacred, I tell you.)

Now, these banners were pretty easy to put together - I worked them up in under an hour - and I think they would be fun for any holiday or festive event, like a birthday, graduation or anniversary. Perhaps for a new season, like the Spring Equinox ... or, if you happen to keep a liturgical corner in your home, you could have an interchangeable banner for the various feasts and seasons of the year. Purple and pink for Advent and Lent ... white for Christmas and Easter ... green for Ordinary Time and blue for Marian feasts, etc. And you - and/or your children - could decorate them with all kinds of felt shapes, letters, sequins and fabric paints, etc. Because despite the fact I could not lure EB inside from his dirt pile to help me with this, lol, this really is quite a child-friendly craft. A nice project for a homey afternoon. :)

***

Well folks, I'm going to sign off as I have quite a busy day ahead ... in fact, I am going to postpone my usual "Tuesday Tea" until later this week. Most likely Friday, I think. I am planning a little "Irish" tea in honor of Saturday's feast, so I do hope you'll join me!

But before I go, I would like to thank you all for your very kind interest in my Spring Newsletter! I am so pleased the idea has been so warmly received! I am keeping track of all your email addresses and once I get a little further along in "production," I will contact each of you in regards to your snail mail address. I can't promise how quickly this will happen ... but it will certainly be sometime this Spring!

For now, my friends, I wish you all a very pleasant Tuesday ... thank you so much for stopping by. I will see you here again very soon!

❤

Announcing the Winner ... and another Spring Offer!

I'm very happy to announce that the winner of my Spring Package Giveaway is:

 EK White!!!

EK's favorite Spring Tradition is the "tapping of eggs." Now, I am not Greek myself, but a few years ago I had the honor of participating in this festive Easter tradition - and quite luckily my egg survived to the last!

But enough about me ... CONGRATULATIONS, EK! I will be in touch very soon so we can arrange all our posting details. :)

And thank you, EVERYONE, for taking the time to leave me your Spring Thoughts - explaining your traditions and sharing your beautiful memories. (Honestly, dear readers, if you are looking for Spring ideas, take a look at all these lovely comments - so many wonderful ideas here!) I so enjoyed reading every single comment, and if I could, I would send each and every one of you a Spring Package ...

Well, I can't do that ... but how about this?

I'd love to send each of you a "Springtime Newsletter!"

 This is an idea I've been toying with for a while ... creating a little homespun, handmade newsletter to send to interested readers. You all know how I love writing, and paper-crafting, and talking about the seasons ... so this might be fun!

So if you'd like to receive my newsletter, please let me know in the comments below and I'll add you to my mailing list. (You don't have to leave your "snail mail" address in the comment, I'll be in touch via email and we can go from there.)

:)

Well I am now completely ready for Spring - and very happily it feels just like Spring here in New England. It's a glorious day, and one day this week, right after lunch, I'll be taking the boys on our first "Nature Walk" of the year. I'm sure I'll have lots to "report" after that!

❤

Have a great Monday, my friends ... see you here again very soon!

Masterpiece Monday ~ South Riding, Part 2

Good Morning, everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend. :)

So, this morning I'm curious to know ...  what did you watch on TV last night? And - whether you watched Masterpiece - or something else entirely, what did you think?

For our part, we watched Once Upon a Time with the older boys at 8:00, and then Masterpiece (which in Boston was South Riding, part two), right after.

Once Upon a Time had grown a bit stale for me lately, but last night's show really caught me by surprise. Some interesting (if not confusing) new developments. (Anybody else watching this?)

Part two of South Riding was more likable than part one, so I find myself eager to see how it all plays out. It's still a rather grim and, in many ways, disturbing story ... and I'm still not very fond of the lead character ... so it's hard to really get into the story. (I have a question about the scene in which Carne needed his meds - was that a heart-related issue or his nerves? And what did he take?)

More thoughts to come on the inside later on ... as I say, I'm curious to hear what you all have to say!

As for the "Spring Package Giveaway," well, I'll be posting a winner here later today ... I will say around 1 p.m. as that will be when our busy morning winds down. So I will see you here again a bit later on!

Have a good one, my friends ...

❤

Springing Forward!

Did you remember to turn your clocks ahead this morning?

We changed our clocks before we went to bed Saturday night - I don't like to attempt mental math before I've had at least one cup of coffee - and boy, did the morning come fast! (There was a whole lot of yawning at church, lol.)

So I thought I might take a few minutes today to list a few of my favorite Spring Things. I've so enjoyed reading about all of yours ... especially since we are all from so many different corners of the word. But it seems, wherever we're from, Spring is quite special to all of us. :)

Spring Things I Love:

Spotting the first blooming crocus. (See above.)

All the planning and preparing for Easter, especially working with my mum.

The hope and promise of a new garden: making plans, starting seeds, turning soil.

Hearing peepers in the woods at night.

The smell of Easter lillies.

The taste of white chocolate.

The change of light ~ the new brightness to the days that lasts into the evenings.

Seeing the first chipmunk appear after winter hibernation.

Hearing (and maybe seeing) a flock of red-winged blackbirds passing by.

Baking rhubarb crumble.

Watching the goldfinches go from beige to bright yellow.

Setting up the Spring book baskets.

Seeing new lambs at the farm.

Visiting a local sugarshack - bringing home a new supply of maple syrup.

Organizing holiday clothes: buying new things, laundering and ironing it all so everything's fresh and crisp for Easter Sunday.

Holy Thursday evening ~ attending the Mass of the Lord's Supper.

Watching The Ten Commandments as a family, one night before Easter.

Watching the boys search for eggs in the yard on Easter morning. The neighborhood is so quiet ... the sunrise is so soft and lovely.

The way the air smells these days ... like fresh dirt and green, growing things.

Looking for - and finding! - pussy willows down by the river.

The way the neighborhood comes alive on those first sunny, warm weekends.

Visiting the local nursery in mid-May ... coming home with some new things for the garden.

Spring Cleaning. (Honestly ~ I love it!)

Those few days in May (usually around Mother's Day) when the lilacs are at their peak. 

 Finding tiny violets and johnny-jump-ups in the lawn.

Our annual "Search for Spring" nature walk.

Celebrating Easter Sunday with our family.

***

Well, my friends ... I'm sure I could go on with my list, but I'll stop here for now. It was especially fun working on this list today - as it truly feels like the perfect Spring day. Sunny and mild-ish with just a bit of a cool edge to the air. The rest of the week looks to be absolutely amazing around here - sunny and up around 70! :)

So I'll be off now, but thank you so much for stopping by, and for all your kind and thoughtful comments. Have a great Sunday night ... and I will see you all again in the morning!

❤

Humble Pretzels with EB

(And other Saturday stuff.)

Today was such a changeable day - bright and sunny one minute, dark and gray the next ... we even had snow flurries this morning! So very like March. :)

Well, early this "very March" morning Bill took the older boys into Cambridge, to attend a special program at M.I.T. So Earlybird and I had the whole day to ourselves. We spent part of our morning at Whole Foods (Nana came too) and then the rest of the day we just puttered around the house. It was a little too cold to spend much time outside, so after lunch I suggested we make pretzels with a bag of pizza dough I had in the fridge. Pretzels are a traditional Lenten food ... but it's always fun to work with bread/pizza dough! And as you can see above, our pretzels were very humble attempts, indeed ... but they were tasty!

I thought I'd share a couple more pictures with you before I sign off. It's been a while since I've done a "Friday Felines," so let's start with a sleepy Archie ...

... and an Ollie who insists he's not too big for this basket.

Here's some of my planner "puttering" laid out on the counter ...

And here are my older boys this afternoon, standing in front of M.I.T.

Bookworm has attended SPARK (and its fall counterpart, SPLASH) a few times before, but this was Crackerjack's first time. The classes - taught by M.I.T. students - are offered to kids in grades 7-12, and it's really quite a production! The classes my boys took included "Greek & Roman Mythology," "Introduction to Zombie Defense," "The Most Challenging Puzzles," "Environmentally Benign Design," "Peanut Butter & Jelly Robotics" and "Light Saber Dueling." It was a very full day and a really great experience!

Happily, Bill and the boys are home now ... so it's time for supper and the usual evening routine. Before I go though, I'd like to say I am absolutely LOVING reading all your Spring Thoughts. What joy this season brings to us all, in so many ways! I'll have to do a post about my own favorite things springs sometime soon.

And thank you, also, for the wonderful bake sale advice - I'm taking lots of notes this weekend!

Now, tomorrow night Bill and I will be watching part two of South Riding ... and I'm hoping it's a little better than last Sunday's showing. Monday morning I'll have a discussion post up where we can talk about SR and/or any other shows or movies we might have seen over the weekend.

So my friends, I hope your weekend's going well. As always, thanks so much for stopping by ... I will see you all again very soon!

:) 

Spring Package Giveaway!

Hello again, my friends ~ and Happy Friday!

So Bill and I have been going through our ginormous book stash downstairs, and I'm getting rid of - i.e. donating - many books the boys no longer read. As I was going through all these lovely books, I thought it might be fun to put together a little Spring package to offer here at my blog as a "giveaway."

:)

All I ask of you is this ...

Please tell me about your favorite Spring tradition or activity. It can be home, holiday or nature related - anything at all! I'm just really in the mood to think about Spring!

I'll keep this post open through the weekend, at the end of which I'll pull a name from the comments and announce the 'package winner' Monday morning.

Hope to hear from you!

Bake Sale Advice?

Good morning, everyone! I hope your Friday's off to a good start. :)

My question for you today:

Do any of you have experience with running a bake sale? And if so, do you have any advice to share with someone (namely, me) who is organzing a bake sale for the very first time?

Because here's the deal ... I volunteered to organize a bake sale for my homeschool support group this Spring, with our proceeds going to autism awareness. I'm shooting for a date in April as April is Autism Awareness Month.

Now, you all know I love to bake ... but I don't have much experience with a public bake sale. (I've hosted "goodie" tables at homeschool events, but nothing on this scale.) I know I need to line up help - and several people have very kindly offered their help - but I need to figure out how I need help. To that end, I'm working on a checklist of things to consider and do before the sale day itself. And of course, I'm trying to project what the sale day will in fact be like ... right now we're in "negotiations" with a local supermarket to use their vestibule as our bake sale location. As for my next step? I'm not sure!

So, any and all advice would be most appreciated ... and thank you in advance for your time and thoughts.

:)

Have a great day, everyone ... I'll check back in later today.

❤

Planner Recovery Project: Step One

Buy more paper.

Ivory tint again, but legal rather than letter this time. I had some "size" issues with my original planner so I'm going to play around with it a little ...

I will, of course, keep you all posted. :)

Have a great Thursday night, everyone ... See you again sometime tomorrow!

❤

Now Let's Not Panic ...

I'm sure this will all be resolved very soon: 

Downton Abbey: Are Dame Maggie Smith And Dan Stevens Walking Off The Estate?

At least we know they're already filming season three!

Well, have a great Thursday, my friends ... I'm still catching up on comments, and as it is a busy day for us (both older boys have classes and I have a few errands to run) I'll most likely be slow in my replies. Thank you, though, as always, for stopping by and taking the time to read and perhaps "review."

I'll be back here again very soon!

:)

Field Trip to the Farm!

Oh, what fun we had today!

This afternoon we attended a field trip to a local Audubon center. We hadn't been on a field trip in a while, so this was a nice treat for us all. What made it all the nicer ... Bill took the day off to join us, and drive us out to the farm in the RV!

And it was such a glorious day ... nearly 60 degrees and so bright and sunny. As usual, I took TONS of pictures, so I thought you all might like to see them. :)

Here's the entrance to the farm ...

And my guys heading down the path ...

First we hit "Bird Hill."

Where we saw ...

Crows, ravens, pheasants, hawks (as below) ...

... barred owls ...

(We called them, Sarah and Percy and Bill ... anyone know what book that's from? It's a favorite of ours.)

And finally, a great horned owl!

(I know it's hard to see through the grated fencing, but if you click on the photos they will open up and the birds should be easier to see.)

Next, we headed over to the sheep & goat barn ...

... where we met two little lambs who were born just today!

So precious ...

Inside this barn (all around the farm, actually), there was a lot of interesting info posted, like this lambing chart:

And this "Sheep to Sweater" display board:

Though the air was cool, the sun was quite warm. We were very glad we wore boots, because there was lots of mud ...

... and melting ...

And much dripping everywhere.

This is what 'early spring' looks like in New England!

Here are a few more farm animals we met ...

The rooster.

(Noisy fellow, he.)

The sow.

(Just two years old, and already a good mama.)

Some goats.

(These are the sun-loving youngins.)

Next we encountered a chicken on the path.

Quite free range, and almost friendly.

And here we have the Barn Cat.

Clearly, striking a pose.

And just look at these guys!

A flock of wild turkeys taking advantage of well-stocked feeders.

Earlybird was most fascinated by the farm equipment - the tractors, and harvesters and such - but we could just not get him to slow down for a photo! But I'm still going to post this one because it shows how tall Bookworm has gotten recently!

(If you remember, I'm 5'5." He's over 5'7" now.)

Next ... while Bill, Bookworm and Earlybird stayed with the larger group, Crackerjack and I headed up to the Audubon Shop with our friends ...

Such a delightful shop - a nature lover's absolute haven!

Well, I was weak of course, and bought a few things - with my member discount naturally! I bought a solar system place mat for EB, two new field guides (one for butterflies, another for dragonflies) and new nature journals for myself and the boys.

After saying goodbye to our friends, CJ and I headed back out. For a moment, we contemplated venturing down this intriguing path ...

But in the end, we stayed put and explored this neat solar-powered structure:

Very cool! 

More solar goodness:

And one more picture of me and my boys ...

It really was such a nice day. :)

And here's my "chauffeur," ready to escort his brood home ...

 

Once safely home, we set about our evening routines, and then a call came in from my friend, Kim. Kim (of coupon binder fame), was the one to organize this field trip, and she called me from the road to alert me to the rising moon!

I was so glad she did because I was not even looking outside, so caught up was I in all the "catching up." And what a nice way to end a very nice day ... standing outside in the cool (but not cold) dusk, watching the Full Sap Moon emerge in all its March glory ...

I feel so recharged after this day spent outdoors, in the "country," getting fresh air and reconnecting with friends we have not seen in a while. It makes me want to plan all kinds of fun spring outings ... my "Nature Club" wheels are now turning!

*

Well, I hope you all had a nice Wednesday ... wherever it took you. Thanks so much for stopping by ... have a nice night and I will see you all again soon!

Tuesday Tea ~ A Touch of Maple

Good Tuesday evening, my friends ...

... I hope you've all had a nice day!

 I took my tea on the early side today since, as I mentioned, I had a hair appointment at my usual "teatime." So right after getting the boys their lunch, I set about baking some muffins and then turned the kettle on ...

I decided to go with a "maple theme" today because the Full Sap Moon is on the rise this week. This month's moon is so named of course, because March brings maple sugaring season - and this is kind of a big deal here in New England. :) We like to visit sugarshacks and watch "sugaring" demonstrations at this time of year - there are plenty to choose from in the area. And of course it's time to lay in our syrup stores for the year - goodness knows we go through a lot!

March's moon, it's interesting to note, has also been called the Worm Moon, the Crow Moon as well as the Lenten Moon ... And I actually spied the waxing moon on my way home from the hairdresser's just now - hanging so huge and pale in the evening sky. Beautiful!

But back to my tea ...

If you notice, beside my cup of lightly spiced tea, there is perched a small maple sugar candy. My parents brought these back for us from Vermont, and I've kept them in the fridge for a once-in-a-while treat. And as for this week's "cup," this is actually a teacup and saucer from my wedding set! Bill and I chose "English Countryside" by Mikasa for our everyday china all those years ago. We liked the versatility of the creamy white color and the look of the raised bramble pattern. And though the bridal registry associate was simply appalled we decided to forego formal china, we assured her that between mothers and grandmothers we would not want for a more formal set someday. :)

These are the muffins I baked - Refrigerator Bran Muffins:

Just for fun (and flavor - because let's face it, bran muffins can be dull) I made up some maple butter one might spread inside ...

 ... or on top, if one so desires.

(The candy was a little bit over the top - but it made for a pretty shot.)

*

Well, it was a gorgeous day today ... bright and cold, with lots of melting going on. With temps in the high 50s tomorrow (and the 60s on Thursday!) the leftover snow really doesn't stand a chance.

Drip, drip, drip ... that's all I hear when things get quiet enough to listen.

:)

Now, several of you have expressed concern - and sympathy - over my ruined planner. First of all, thank you for your kindness - and yes, I am upset that it got ruined. But I have to tell you, Crackerjack felt *so* badly about it, and he just kept saying he was sorry over and over. Of my three boys he is my "feeler" (and overthinker like his mama), and I knew HE knew how important my planner is to me. So I tried not to make a big deal out of it, because I knew he'd really take it to heart ...

So I'm choosing to look at this as an opportunity to be creative again and do a little (or maybe a lot of) calendar crafting. I'll be posting about this very soon ... as soon as I can get my hands on some new materials!

***

My friends, I must be off now as it's getting late, Bill's almost home and I have a supper to start. Nothing at all fancy tonight - just turkey-and-cheese panini, steak fries and tossed salads. (But oh, I must mention - that schnitzel was fabulous last night!)

So have a good night, everyone - take care and be well. I will see you here again very soon!

❤

A Day in Our Life

Just for fun - and because I don't have any post drafts in the works - I thought I'd jot down notes as we journeyed through our day ... so here's a little peek at what a fairly typical day looks like for us.

:)

@ 3:27 a.m.

Earlybird, inexplicably, is awake. And convinced it's morning. Ready to get on with the day.

Inform EB that it is, in fact, still nighttime. (Technically it's not, but a little white lie at this moment is necessary.)

EB persists in his plan to start his (and our) day.

Inform EB none of his parents will be getting up with him because said parents are still sleeping.

Much fussing from EB.

Tell EB he MUST go back to bed. He must TRY to get back to sleep.

More harrumphing from EB, and then ... suddenly, blessedly ... quiet.

... zzzzzz ....

@ 6 a.m.

EB is up again, and so are we!

But this is late for us - we're behind schedule, lol!

Bill starts the coffee ... I start my laptop.

Check email and blog comments ... drink first cup of coffee.

Feed cats ... bring in newspaper ... pack Bill's lunch.

Get MM post up.

Drink another cup of coffee ... eat some toast ... take vitamin.

See Bill off ... with a kiss and a wave. 

❤

@ 7 a.m.

Wake older boys.

Boys throw coats on and head over to take care of neighbor cats.

Boys eat breakfast ... read comics.

Strip beds, gather laundry, head downstairs

Get laundries running ...

Oversee Earlybird's bath.

Boys wash up ... start on school work.

@ 8 a.m.

Bill calls to check in after arriving at work.

Make bed, neaten bedroom.

Take shower: wash/think/pray.

Fix hair and makeup; dress.

Start packing tote bag.

Set out dinner ingredients.

Pack Crackerjack's lunch.

Set out lunch things and note for Mum.

Have Crackerjack shower/dress/pack art bag.

Switch laundries.

@10 a.m.

Nana arrives ... CJ and I leave for class.

With CJ off to art class, hang out as parent "supervisor."

Catch up with a dear friend. Open calendar and make plans for playdate later this month.

After lunch period, gather CJ ... head for home.

Listen to music on way home. Laugh over a "Talking Heads" song.

Answer CJ's questions about my teenage radio habits.

(Such as they were.)

@1 p.m.

Arrive home.

Realize with distress that CJ's unfinished chocolate milk has spilled in my tote bag!

Realize with relief that my waterproof purse protected my wallet and phone.

Realize with sharp disappointment that two favorite magazines and my current read have all been thoroughly doused with milk.

Realize with utter dismay that my planner - my PLANNER - has been ruined.

:(

Reassure CJ it was not his fault ... and I am not upset.

(At him.)

Chat with Mum before she heads out. 

Eat lunch (veggie pizza made by Bill last night).

Notice cool show about "hot air balloons" on TV; throw a 'record' on it.

Check email, blog comments, news site.

@ 2 p.m.

Give boys final assignments for the day.

Switch laundries.

Empty/fill dishwasher.

(Find a broken glass!)

 Investigate "strange noises" heard downstairs in Lego City. 

(Reprimand EB for wrecking Lego City.)

Put away all school materials except for reading assignments.

@ 2:45 p.m.

Send boys out back to play.

Fill feeders with seed and nuts. Investigate strange hole/burrow by tree. (Skunk? Mole?)

Bring in mail.

Clean up family room of major toy clutter.

Find EB's long lost and beloved "train" monster truck.

Announce this 'find' to EB ... hailed as hero of the day.

@ 3:00 p.m.

Kids back in - too cold!

Hang cold/wet gear over shower stall to dry.

Switch laundries.

Answer doorbell - allow neighbor boy to come in and play.

Prepare dredging dishes for cutlets.

Set out pans and skillet for supper prep.

Get snack for boys (baby carrots and crackers).

Fill last items into dishwasher (with Ollie's help).

Run dishwasher (with Ollie's permission).

Work on card craft with Earlybird.

@ 4 p.m.

Begin tidying up:

Sweep floors.

Wipe down counters.

Put things away.

Turn on "evening" lights.

Bag up, take out trash.

 Find small stash of Russell Stover Easter Eggs - hide put aside maple cream egg for myself. :)

Organize reading pile.

Think about tomorrow.

Find and print out lamb image for stained glass panel. (Tomorrow's craft.)

Sit down and look at new books with EB (while watching Jamie Cooks Christmas - his choice!)

Listen to BW read aloud amusing passages from his assigned reading.

Crackerjack and friend draw comic strips at kitchen island.

@5 p.m.

Bill calls - he's on his way home!

Start supper with EB's help. (Dredging is quite fascinating don't you know.)

Bookworm in shower.

Neaten bathroom, towels.

@ 6 p.m.

Bill gets home. ❤

Supper: Turkey schnitzel with dill sauce and lemon, couscous, steamed green beans. 

@6:30

Bill takes older boys to homeschool activity.

Clean up supper - put away leftovers.

Clean up kitchen. Turn down lights.

Pour myself a glass of this.

(A birthday gift from my brother. :))

Watch Chuck's Day Off with EB.

Play with cats (who are having their "Crazy Time").

@ 7:15 p.m.

EB declares he's "ready for bed."

(Fine by me.)

Pick up, put away toys and books.

Help EB wash up, say prayers, tuck in.

Me: "Love you, EB - Good Night!"

EB: "Don't let the bug beds bite!"

(Lol.)

Wash face, moisturize, etc.

Change into comfy pajamas.

Put on Chronicle.

Finish this post.

Look at Downton Abbey book.

Remember laundries ... head back downstairs.

@ 9 p.m.

Bill and boys arrive home.

Take care of neighbor cats.

Wash face, brush teeth, pajamas.

Boys read in bed for a bit ... then prayers with Dad and lights out.

Watch TV with Bill ...

(We're actually watching the last 5 minutes of the final DA episode. You know ... that scene with Matthew and Mary? :))

@ 9:45 p.m.

Good Night!

 So I will see you again tomorrow, my friends! And please remember to stop by for Tuesday Tea! It will be a bit late tomorrow as I have an afternoon haircut appointment. I'll take tea beforehand, but post about it a bit later.

All in all, I hope you had a good day today - and a great one tomorrrow!

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are… Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect Tomorrow. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.
~ Mary Jean Iron

Masterpiece Monday ~ South Riding, Part 1

Good morning, my friends!

So it seems we are all, for now, watching different things on Sunday nights, depending on what our local PBS station is airing. We here in Boston were shown Behind the Drama of Downton at eight o'clock, and then the first of a three-part series called South Riding, at nine.

The behind-the-scenes show was wonderful, of course. I really enjoyed hearing from (and seeing!) the various Downton actors as they described what it was like to work on the production, and offered their opinions on the plotlines. How different they all look in "real life!" 

As for South Riding ... well ... I wasn't sure I was going to like it at first (and I still can't say I like it, but it grew on me). South Riding is set in depression-era Yorkshire and it felt, well, rather depressing. The look of the show was washed out and dreary - though I think that's the point - and the main character, Sara Burton, really did not appeal to me at first. I felt a little better about it (and her) by the end of the installment, though, so we will watch again next week. 

More thoughts on the inside ... once I get caught up with my coffee. ;)

Well, I hope you all have a nice day ... I'll be back here again very soon!

Downton Abbey Creator Takes on 'Titanic'

Looks like April will be quite a month for us, ladies! We have all that great Masterpiece Theater to look forward to, and now comes news that Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, is producing a new miniseries about the RMS Titanic ...

It's set to air in four parts, beginning April 14th on ABC, coinciding with the 100th anniverary of the tragedy itself. You can read more about Titanic here.

(Amongst the cast, I spy Downton's Vera Bates and Mr. Quilp from The Old Curiosity Shop!)

Now I must confess - I am a bit nervous to watch this. For you see, I have never seen Titanic (the James Cameron version or any version, actually) ... nor have I had any desire to. It's not a story that appeals to me - rather, it frightens and saddens me terribly. Just watching the trailer at the above link has me weepy! But I will definitely watch this ... as hard as it will be to do so. It does look quite good, and it's done by Julian Fellowes, after all ...

*

So I wanted to spread the word to my dear readers and let us mark our calendars! We'll have much to discuss next month!

In the meantime, we have Masterpiece Classics to look forward to this weekend - and, if I'm reading my PBS schedule right, we also have a Downton Abbey - Behind the Drama special airing beforehand. So I'll have my "discussion" post up early Monday morning so we can chat. :)

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends ... see you here again very soon!