Forcing Spring

Spring cannot seem to get its act together here in Central NY.  In fact, just as we were starting to be able to see earth and dormant grass instead of snow, we got another 7 inches on Friday.  Such a sad, cruel April Fools joke!

I was chatting with a friend who lives farther north than me and she started talking about having fresh forsythia in her house.  I was shocked - how on earth could she have fresh flowers already, she was farther north than me!  Then she let me in on the secret she picked up from her mom and grandmother: you force the little suckers into blooming!

I was sold!  I had seen this post last week at Happy Clipping$ about reclaiming jars and making them pretty with a little mod-podge and scrap booking paper and embellishments.  So on my perfect day I sneaked away from G-Girl long enough to mod-podge the jars and went out in the drizzle-sleet-nasty-cold and chopped off a bunch of forsythia ends.  I stuck them all in water and left the house for 2 days.

Sunday Sunshine

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude by giving.

Last week's spring preview gave way to cold temperatures this week and more snow.  Btu it has also brought some sunny days.  I got a day on my own on Friday which was a great break, while LittleG and Handyman went off on their own adventures.  I continue to be blessed by the kindness of friends who spend time and share their love with my daughter.

Fun things from this week included strawberry filled chocolate cupcakes, a game night with friends, a phone upgrade to a new toy and some down time brought on by the late season snow.  This week also included some good conversations with family.

My alone time for today is punctuated with a warm cup of tea and some quiet, before the projects and the responsibilities again take precedence.

I hope you are able to see the joy in your week and the peace in the night.  Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

2011 Gardening Kick Off

I still have snow in the yard, but I am seeing signs of spring.  Which then got my brain planning on the garden and ... and... and... I'll just give you a couple shots of the daffodils and first buds of the bleeding heart that are coming up:

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This post is linked at An Oregon Cottage's Tuesday Garden Party.

Sunday Sunshine: Preview of Spring

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude by giving.

This week, we were given a sneak peek at spring with a couple of warm sunny days!  GBaby learned about puddle-jumping.  We started cleaning out the garden beds and I started scheming, er, planning my garden for this year.

HandyMan and I got a much needed evening away thanks to great friends (Thanks G, D & K!)  We also were able to enjoy some much needed family time, to reconnect after what has been a very full and stressful couple of months.

Saturday we were able to spend the day with friends, enjoying a meal, visiting and letting the kids play.  It was a much needed respite from our own chores and routine!  (Thanks J & J!)

It's been a week full of blessings.  I hope you have a great week and have the strength to choose to find the blessings!

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Kickin' Back Creativity: English Muffins

My kitchen creativity has been limited lately.  I enjoy playing in the kitchen, but the time consuming projects have been tabled a lot lately since my little helper, is a little less than helpful.  Usually by the time I have space to play, I'm ready to kick back.  Tonight I combined kicking back with the creativity.  I queued up the Netflix and set up camp by the stove to make this English Muffin recipe I stumbled across and wanted to try.

They turned out great!  They are so much softer and the nooks & crannies are finer than in the store-bought English Muffins.  I think that we will be having the best egg sandwiches ever for breakfast tomorrow!  Or maybe with cream cheese and Strawberry Jam, or just butter, or ... oh well, the possibilities are endless!

Here are a few of my own tips:

:: I used half unbleached flour and half white whole wheat.

:: Keep the heat under your pan on low to medium-low so that they will cook thoroughly but not burn.

:: Once the dough had risen, I dumped it out onto the board with corn meal and pressed it out as gently as possible.

:: I flipped the muffins with my fingers, very gently so they wouldn't "fall".

:: Use the edges of dough after you've cut out your muffins to test the heat in the pan (and to taste test of course - they were really good with sliced cheese!)

This was not a hard recipe, just a little time consuming on the cooking end.  I saw some comments on the King Arthur Flour site about baking them in the oven and flipping them part way through.  I may try this next time and think it may work on a baking stone pre-heated in the oven.

Sunday Sunshine

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude by giving.

This week has been full of real-life stuff, and not much online.  I had the pleasure of getting to know new friends, and being so encouraged by others.  I was able to help provide snacks for a very successful youth event.  Kind colleagues were able to rescue a large amount of my candle inventory from water damage when melting snow and rain caused the ceiling in one of the shops where I sell candles to collapse.

On Monday we woke up to 15 inches of snow and I was so thankful that we had a snow blower!  I'm even more thankful that much of that snow has melted and there is minimal flooding happening in our area.

In the wake of tragedies and unrest around the world, I'm thankful to live is an area that is relatively free of violence and catastrophe.  I'm thankful to be healthy and to have my family around me- or just a call or video chat away.

I hope you have a great week and have the strength to choose to find the blessings!

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Book Review: Indivisible

I've enjoyed Kristen Heitzmann's books for a long time as each one of her stand-alone novels is distinctly different and Heitzmann doesn't seem to write with a predictable formula.   Indivisible was a wonderful read.

A melange of characters in a small Rocky Mountain town learn what it is to be together, and divided as they face facets of their past that make them the people they are today.  Heitzmann does a wonderful job of illuminating the pasts of her characters, pulling the threads of their pasts slowly into the light.  The revelations are similar to what you would experience in developing a new friendship.  One thread leads to and twists with another until an intricate network of emotions, experiences emerge.

All the while, gruesome happenings keep Sherriff Jonah Westfall busy with investigations. Tia Manning is working through pains from the past as well as finding her footing for the future.  Piper has arrived in the small town to escape her family and finds friendship, acceptance and camaraderie in the people of this small town.  Liz is working hard to bring peace and wholeness to her life, but it is not an easy task.

When the threads of emotions and pasts are combined with the plot of current activities, a great tapestry of fiction is woven and is an enthralling read.

I received a complementary copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  The opinions and thoughts of this are my own and are not influenced in any way.

Sunday Sunshine

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude by giving.

In all honesty, this last week has been rough.  As much as I would love to sit down with a friend and a cup of coffee and whine about all that has gone wrong, I'm choosing to remember the graces of the week.  The first choice would be easier, but here goes.

:: coffee and chocolate

:: The huge ice patch at the front, steeper end of our driveway is gone.

:: Friends who pitched in and helped us out when we needed it this week.

:: Appliances that work.

:: Warm house.

:: Girl Scout Cookies (must find hiding spot!)

:: A fun family morning of breakfast out and playing at the local children's center.

:: Grocery shopping alone

:: That GBaby has finally dozed off for her nap and now I can crash too!

I hope you have a great week and have the strength to choose to find the blessings!

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Freezer Friday: Defying Winter!

This week Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts were on sale at a local restaurant supply house.  A friend and I split a 40 pound case of chicken and got the rock bottom price of $1.39/pound.  In my world hope of spring, is running strong so I decided to pack it up- summer style.  Mind you, it was 31 degrees outside.  But the sun was shining!

So, I took ten pounds of chicken and packaged them up with BBQ sauce and Fajita Marinade.  Thaw and grill.  Yum!  I threw a couple pieces of chicken in the freezer un-touched to use in upcoming recipes.

As far as the other ten pounds of chicken go, that's where this story gets a little more interesting.  And since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll save myself the typing.  This is my grill:



This is the path that I shovelled to my grill:



And this is the packaged up grilled chicken that came into the house smelling like summer, and tasted pretty close to summer too!  We had to try the little scrawny piece!



It will get thawed and chopped on top of salads and used in recipes in the coming months as the weather warms up and the signs of spring and summer vanquish the the snow and ice!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Last fall I visited friend while she was baking.  She pulled out a liquor bottle and started measuring it into the recipe and I didn't think much of it until I took another look and saw all the stuff floating in the bottle.  She then introduced me to her family's homemade vanilla. I was enthralled.  I wanted to run home and research it and make it RIGHT. NOW.  I did go home and research and enjoyed the Heavenly Homemaker's Tutorial.  Then I didn't get around to it, couldn't squeeze vanilla beans out of  my grocery budget etc.  But then everything lined up just right.  I had gotten a bottle of vodka for a recipe a couple months ago and never used it.  It sat collecting dust.  Then this week, Amazon had a crazy deal on vanilla beans and I had a little extra cash.  So I introduce you to my Vanilla In Progress:

I've read differing reports on how long to let it live in a dark corner: 8 weeks to 6 months.  In any case it will be ready for fall and Christmas baking.  We'll check back in on it in a few weeks.