Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Decorating for Easter and a Quick and Delicious Cake Recipe



Last week I was inspired to pull out the bunnies, colored eggs, chicks and tulips to set the stage for Spring's arrival (one week from today) and Easter at the very end of the month.


The cotton branches adorning the top of the hutch were a gift from a friend.  I once mentioned to her how amazed I was the first time I spotted cotton growing in a field along the country road I was driving on.  Not something one sees in my home state of Michigan.  The next time I saw her she presented me with a huge bundle of cotton from her brother's farm.  At Christmastime I put it up there thinking it looked a bit like snowballs.  Now I am letting it morph into cottontails for the Easter season.


See?
One little cotton ball that broke off has turned this bunny into Peter Cottontail.


Yesterday I had a guest coming for an impromptu dinner.
Wondering what I could come up with for a quick dessert, I remembered this recipe for King Arthur's Original Cake Pan Cake.
It goes together super quick with ingredients that I generally have on hand.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons that it is one of King Arthur's most requested recipes.



Wondering what else I had on hand to fancy it up a bit, I opted for a dollop of whipped cream and a fresh raspberry.  
Moist, chocolaty and they'll never know how easy it was.

Friday, March 1, 2024

March Make It's Arrival




~ Welcome March ~

The rain is falling outside my window on this first day of March.
Along with the raindrops I see an abundance of Northern Cardinals and Mourning Doves combing the ground for seeds that have fallen from the feeders.  The daffodils are beginning to bloom.  Their brilliant golden hues a bright spot on this otherwise gray day.

Today March has made it's arrival.
Hooray!
Spring is right around the corner.
Something new to see each day as the temperatures slowly begin to rise.  I love the colors of Spring.  So welcome after the drab shades of winter.
This year March also brings Easter.  I love the pastel colors of Easter decor, candy and flowers.  Soon I will decorate the house for Easter and put away the few lingering snowflake themed decorations that are loosing their luster at this time of year.

How has March arrived in your corner today?
Rain, sunshine, wind, or (heaven forbid) snow?  Unless, of course, you love the snow ;-)

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Happy Valentine's Day, Sweetie Pie




Happy Valentine's Day to You, Sweetie Pie!

Sending my vintage Valentine greeting and a virtual slice of cherry pie to you today.


Awhile ago I gave my toy stove and other vintage kitchen items a new home.  Right inside my pantry.  When you open the door there is a little space before the shelving begins.  I think it is meant for tall things like brooms.  One night when I was having trouble getting to sleep I formulated an idea...


The next morning I got up and gave the broom a new home in the garage.  I emptied out a tall, narrow bookcase I had.  It fit into that space perfectly with room to still access the light switch.
Now when I turn on the light my treasured vintage collection greets me.


When I moved to this house, this collection didn't look quite right in my more modern kitchen.  Now I can still see and enjoy it in my secret hiding spot.  The stove still makes it's way to the counter at Christmastime.  


Another night when sleep was slow to come I formulated a new home for my cookbooks.  Until that point they were housed in various cupboards where the weight on some of the shelves was concerning.  What can I say, I love to browse through cookbooks.  Sometimes I even use them for their intended purpose.  Ha!!
Tonight, for example, I will be cooking and baking a special dinner for my Valentine.

Wishing you a day filled with love and a special treat or two.

Monday, February 12, 2024

Outside on These Mild Winter Days



The snowdrops that I planted a few years ago aren't multiplying like I had hoped.  Still, they are a happy little sight to stumble upon in the garden at this time of year.


On one of our recent mild days I spent some time on the patio.
A nice variety of birds kept me company.
A few different woodpeckers enjoyed the full feeder and the suet that Brett had recently put out.


The tree outside my office window has been visited often by the Eastern Bluebirds.  They looked especially lovely with the brilliant blue sky background.


Over the weekend I was at my son's house.  While the guys were busy assembling something in the house I decided to take advantage of our 70 degree day and go for a walk around his neighborhood.  The first thing I noticed were daffodils in bloom at many houses.
At my house they are well out of the ground, but not close to blooming yet.
When I got back to my son's house I took a stroll around his yard to see if there were any spring bulbs sprouting.  The previous owner liked to garden.  In a patch of iris (I think) I noticed something sticking up.


When I pulled it out, a ceramic goose greeted me.
After brushing off the decaying leaves, I gave him a new home near the daffodils.  I think he will be happy once those pretty yellow flowers start popping out.  


Around the corner from the daffodils and iris I discovered a few well marked hyacinths awakening from their winter slumber.
I think the former gardener's grandchildren enjoyed painting rocks.  I've found them here and there throughout the garden.


Back home, the window feeder has been another popular spot with the birds.  This sweet little house finch was patient enough to pose for a picture.  A very fitting visitor for this Valentine week.

💝

Saturday, January 27, 2024

January Garden Club Meeting



Our neighborhood garden club had the first meeting of the year this week.  A master gardener and the local extension agent gave a very thorough presentation on gardening in our area of North Carolina along with timely tasks like the above.


They brought lots of seed catalogues and garden related books for us to peruse.  


This Green Prints magazine is new to me.  Are you familiar with it?
It looks like it would be appealing to anyone interested in gardening.
Particularly at this time of year when we are doing more dreaming and planning than actual gardening.


Our garden club established and maintains a Monarch Waystation.
Volunteers (like me) take turns tending to it throughout the season.
This is how it was looking last September when I was on duty.


Houseplants were being raffled at the meeting.
My number was called and I chose this Christmas cactus.
It was a generous sized clipping with a few buds on it.  I am thinking they are going to be white.  The clipping was wrapped in paper with a bit of soil attached.  On the way home from the meeting I stopped at the garden center for potting soil and a new pot to put it in.
Came home, potted it and gave it a drink of water to settle the soil.
I noticed it didn't have any roots and decided to check online for instructions for potting a clipping like this.  It seems the preferred method is to put it right into soil and not water it for a week or until the roots develop.  Hmmm... hope I didn't cause a problem by adding water when I did.  Luckily it wasn't a lot of water.  I guess you can tell when the roots are forming by giving the plant a little tug.  If it seems firmly planted, there should be roots growing.  
Time will tell how successful this little project will be.
So far it's looking just fine.
Have you ever propagated a holiday cactus?  If so, what was your experience like.  Enquiring minds would like to know :D.

Monday, January 15, 2024

A Reading Challenge for the New Year




Snow is not in the forecast here, but very cold temperatures are.  It will be going into the teens a few nights this week so I have a pile of drop cloths all ready to cover up my potted plants and star jasmine when the time comes.  Last year I came close to losing the jasmine and my potted gardenia to extreme cold weather.  I am hoping that covering them through the worst of it will allow them to survive the winter.
How are you all faring in this harsh winter weather?
I must say I have been enjoying the snowy photos so many of you have shared.  


While filling the bird feeder this morning, I noticed a few pansies in bloom.  The landscape is predictably barren now so the pops of color attracted my attention.


I snipped a wee bouquet for the windowsill of my home office.
A pretty reminder that spring will be our next season.


I've been in the reading mood since the new year began.
I just finished these three.  The Susan Wittig Albert series is one I have been making my way through for years.  I now have one left and have just ordered it.  Can't wait for it to arrive.


These were read years ago.  I have them displayed in my bookcase for their winter theme (and colors).  I'm thinking I might read that center book again while I'm waiting for my book order to arrive.  The author, Maeve Binchy, is sadly no longer with us.  I believe I have read all of her books.  I don't re-read many books as there are so many that interest me and only so much time.  However, her books about small town life in Ireland are just the sort that I am apt to read more than once.
Once I finish a book I enter it into Good Reads to keep track of what I have read and what I want to read in the future.  I noticed they have a reading challenge for the year and decided to take them up on it.  I have no idea how many books I might read in a year so I came up with what I thought would be reasonable yet still challenging.
I settled on 40 books.  It will be interesting to see if that is even close to realistic.  If I keep up at the pace I've been reading, I think I would far surpass it.  As I know there are other times of year when other things get in the way of reading, I tried to take that into consideration.
Time will tell.

❄❅❆

Stay Warm ~ Stay Safe

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Settling In To A New Year




The scene on my calendar looks nothing like the scene outside my window.  Here the sun is shining and the temperature is 50 F.  No chance of snow anytime soon.  I always hope for at least one snowy day per winter.  Last year we had none.  It remains to be seen what will happen in the new year.


For the first time ever I had all of my Christmas decorations taken down and put away on New Year's Eve.  Usually it happens in early January.  For some reason this year I was ready to move on and have a fresh start on the first day of the new year.  
Now the house is clean and in order once again.
I left a few snowy touches in the hutch just in case the snow decides to fly.


I'm not one to make resolutions or select a word for the year.
Instead I tend to reflect over the year past and pull together my best plan for improving the areas that could benefit from some improvement.  After the excesses of the holidays, eating less and healthier always factors into my plan.  Moving more is addressed (over 10,000 steps yesterday and all 3 rings on the iWatch closed).  
Perhaps my biggest area to work on this year will be to step aside from certain situations that I know are beyond my control.  I am reminded of Doris Day singing "Que Sera Sera" (whatever will be, will be.  The future's not ours to see).  It really is so true.  I need to do better at remembering this.
With each of the areas I plan to work on, I hope to work towards them daily knowing that some days will be better than others.  

How about you?  Are you a word for the year or resolution maker?
I don't think it matters how it's done, but perhaps the important thing is to use the new year as an opportunity to take note of what is working well in one's life and what could use a bit of improvement.

May your 2024 be a year of good health and happiness!!