a gift

A friend of mine took ill overnight. Healthy one day and near death the next.

Her immediate future at this point is unknown (to us.)

I watched an interview of the brother of an American on the flight gone missing.

He said how his brother viewed each day as a gift. 

The Gardener, just two weeks before the plane went away, 

flew out of the same airport on the same airlines,

headed in a similar direction.

So the news clutched at my heart.

Look around you, look outside.

Grab up today. 

It is a gift.

at home

Our house is filled with old things, including us.

Many could tell family stories, some several generations back.

And books. Lots of them.

All this winter, the Gardener and I have said there is 

no where we would rather be than tucked in at home, sweet
home. But now,  just today, it seems like spring is here
and we may find ourselves drawn  
o  u  t  s  i  d  e.

Joining with Mosaic Monday.

Words and Letters

 For the photo challenge today I turned this to black and white after adding
a tad of "exposure"and giving it some "warmth"and "sharpness" in my simple iPhoto program.
I wonder if this used to be Joe's corner barber shop.  LOL

 I don't think I used a flash with this but the shine is probably from the piano light. 

Since I have used this photo before on my blog I altered it a bit by making it a "warmer"

 hue in my iPhoto program and added a bit of "contrast" and "highlights."
I had this post all ready when it suddenly came to me that this photo is not actually "words."
But it could be considered "lettering" -- musicians read the notes to play
music that at times can speak as well as words to us.

My grandfather's spelling book. Look at the varied fonts.

I think I cropped this to make it a close in photo but did not use a flash.

I couldn't resist this "bonus" found at the

Spring show last week. Lovely, colorful lettering 

on a black canvas. The little hanging things, by the way,

 are bits of plastic water bottles on string.

I enjoyed this photo challenge as I love letters and words and enjoy

photographing them. I am joining Donna's Photo Challenge today.

Burned Broccoli Tutorial

Having the grandies over is one of the sweetest joys of life, but it can be distracting. The other day they stayed for supper and insisted on helping me prepare the meal, every.step.of.the.way. Washing the broccoli, handing me potatoes, washing dishes … finally all was ready and we went to play while the meatloaf cooked. Towards dinner time I got the broccoli started cooking--planning to go turn it down in a minute as I was just in the next room and we were so busy building roadside rest stops (because we had lots of small pieces) with the Lincoln Logs. See Little Brother here reading one of his dad's Richard Scarry books. Wouldn't you be distracted?

In time I thought I heard some rather loud gushing sounds and an odor began to fill the room. Actually smoke began to fill the room. Man! Had I started cooking the broccoli? I had totally forgotten. How long ago had that been?

The kitchen was filling with smoke and an awful burn smell and steam was spewing out of the pot. I removed it quickly and placed it on a small cutting board which immediately turned black. I threw open the windows. With it being 20 degrees outside I couldn't leave them open for long. We brought in fans and did the best we could but the smell just filled our nostrils. Later when I took the kids home their dad sniffed and said, "Where have you been?" He stripped the kids right in the laundry room, started the washer and took them up for a bath. Yes the smell of burn was in their hair.

The tutorial is this: How to get rid of the scent of burn on a very cold day (researched). Wash all linens, take a shower and wash your hair, remove all burn remnants from the house, run fans, boil cut up lemons, place open dishes of baking soda in adjoining rooms, place chopped onions in a bowl of water and set out to absorb odors, and spray F*breze (sparingly). This was my favorite: line a jelly roll pan with tinfoil and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over it along with a tablespoon of butter. (This might also work when your house is on the market.) Place in 200 degree oven for four hours. Mmmmm. It worked. Dinner cooking in the crock pot all the next day also helped. I'm guessing I'm the only one in the whole wide world that has ever done anything quite so stupid ...

February Finish

 At first I thought February was a rather quiet month until I looked at photos.

From left to right: The month began with our mentor group and talking

about make ahead freezer meals; we gave them each one to take home.

Then a visit to a friend's farm coincided with welcoming a new nephew.

The snowstorm of the decade, decorated with spring tulips and
rounded out by Valentine's Day.

Playing with a new app. A loved one's funeral. And my beloved

Gardener traveling completely around the globe.

He and I were both happy and thankful 

when he was home-sweet-home.

Linking to Cheryl's Gathering the Moments and
Little Red House's Monday Mosaics.

Dressed up

 I love to dress up rice especially for a company meal. It's great to serve with
chicken or seafood. I saute finely chopped red peppers and onion in olive oil.

 Meanwhile cook tiny pasta and brown rice 

with some chicken seasoning.

 Add sliced/chopped fresh mushrooms to the onion
mix, with some salt, pepper, and garlic. A nice
addition (not shone) is chopped fresh spinach.

 Add sliced black olives and set aside.

 Mix drained rice and pasta in a large bowl, add feta cheese.

Add the vegetable mix with some more olive oil and seasonings if needed. 

I also like to include halved grape tomatoes. 

Serve lukewarm as a side dish.
Joining with Foodie Friday today.

quick water color notes

 I was so pleased with how the water color effect to my kitchen 

photo turned out, I decided to make some quick notecards.

And quick they were: I just put the images in a word document so I could size 

them to just under 4 x 6, and printed them on white card stock.

It only took a few minutes; writing the notes took longer.

Bonus: babysitting last week I needed to use "the facilities."

Many of you can identify with this: in no time a party had joined me.

the reader

I missed the Book Thief when it was here in the theaters and have not read the book
yet but want to. Meanwhile here is "my" little book girl. I love when I visit her town. 

She's always there, sitting outside the town's library nestled
on a ridge over looking her little mountain village. 

I think if she was a thief, she would have been caught by now. 

She's always reading the same book each time I visit.

Fancy that!

Joining with Little Red House's  Monday Mosaics.

Intimate Strangers

These are the people who complete me and explain me in many ways. 

They are intimate strangers . . . I know them by the whispers of 

heredity . . . quirks of instinct, rumors of shared wounds. There is, 

at the roots, a deep-down entanglement. There is a shared  cache of 

private folklore that shapes us.  -- Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God

I thought about this quote last weekend as I sat in the midst of intimate strangers. 

Second cousins that I faintly knew existed but had never met. We come from a

 large family: our grandparents were six brothers and two sisters. Our parents, first cousins, 

were all close growing up. But then they scattered to all parts of the world. 

We gathered to celebrate the life of an aunt, and for me a first-cousin-in-law-once-removed 

who was like an aunt to me.  It was fascinating seeing family resemblances,

 and those little "quirks of instinct." What felt even stranger was their sharing 

in the same old stories that I love. 

Our parents well instilled in us a deep love for our heritage. 
Ours is a strong story that has impacted our lives.  
Will it be the same for our children, is a question.

 At the service we sang the Hallelujah Chorus. 

Anyone who had ever sung it in the past came up to be the choir. 

It was a joyous moment in time I won't forget.

pink notes

I started thinking valentine cards for notecards this month,

but this is where I ended up.

I am enjoying a new app called waterlogue

It actually fools me into thinking I'm an artist.

Smile.

Joining with Vee for her Monthly Note Card Party.

Because these are "water color" notecards,

I'm also linking up to Rhondi's Rose Colored Glasses

first-ever Waterlogue Wednesday. 

Why not visit and see what she's up to!

white holidays

Only someone who lives in the south can really understand how a little snow can become a holiday. 

In this case it was the storm of the decade, and we had a bundle of it. As I look outside, our yard is still covered with snow--that's 6 days of seeing white out our windows. I can only remember that being the case one other time in the many years we have lived here. Because our area doesn't invest in the proper snow removal equipment (since it is rarely used and the snow usually melts in a day), we are
forced to stay in when it snows. The main roads may be plowed, but getting out of the
neighborhoods is the problem. There are many "northern transplants" here and for us,
snow is very nostalgic. We become creative: plastic bags tied over shoes for boots and
 cardboard or trays or garbage can lids for sleds. The best part is the total halt to activity.
 Everything is canceled. And I think everyone loves having to stay home.
We take a collective breath and slow down,build a fires, drink hot chocolate,
watch the snow fall,concoct creative soups, watch movies, play games . . .

So it was for the 3 1/2 days that school was canceled this week. We watched in marvel as
it snowed for three days, interrupted by ice and sleet. It's one for the books.
We'll remember it. And then came a nearby earthquake,
and a beautiful full moon.

Joining Mary's Monday Mosaics.

snow day(s)

" . . .  And tree and house, and hill and lake,

Are frosted like a wedding cake." 

R. L. Stevenson

Usually here in the south we have a "snow day" once or twice a year.

This week we have had "snow days" and it's not over yet.

It's been a heavy, wet snow and has stuck beautifully to the foliage.

I find it hard to concentrate on other things because there

is so much beauty to behold outside. Each window is like

a framed landscape painting. I had to dig out my vintage boots and go

out to walk around and shovel a bit. Just to be out. We usually don't

shovel much down here in the south. We just wait for it to melt.

 I miss having my little kids here to play with in the snow and the snow

brings memories of those days. They both live in town

 but driving is hazardous, so we stay put. 

But we had some fun group texting our storm updates, 

sending pictures of rulers in snow banks, etc.

All the while, safe and warm at home.

phoney tales

Story # 1: Here is my phone's little stereo system. 

While the sound coming out of this little device is

very good, the tube enables it to be more in a stereo effect. I enjoyed making it

after seeing it somewhere on the 'net. But to be honest, the best sound

comes when you put the phone in a small bowl or just lay it on some granite.

Story # 2: We have the custom of saying grace before our meals.

On more than one occasion I have finished cooking the meal and getting

it on the table while talking to (usually) my sister. We sit down to eat

and since we still seem to have more to say, we ask if the person

 at the other end would like to say the blessing for us. 

Here I am holding the phone while my sister prays on speaker. 

Then we start eating while continuing the conversation, begging her 

forgiveness for eating "in front of her."

I will admit there are usually a few smiles.

And yes, our big snow storm has arrived!

hearts strung

I thought I'd string buttons on some cute yarn; harder than I thought 

(but aren't most things that way?)  Then I lost my mini clothespins. 

They are soooo cute and would do such a perfect job of hanging these 

hand made valentines sent to me over recent years. Where could they be.

And oh yes, that little snow flake snuck in. 

There is another prediction of those coming our way this week.

Just when we assume it will be nothing, a big one surprises us. 

Probably not, but stay tuned …

city streets

I love the reflections on glass-walled buildings in our own city.

A view from the back seat of a taxi in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Freiburg in southeast Germany is a happy city, known for having more sunny days than 

anywhere else in Germany, and maybe most known for its little waterways that 

line the cobblestone streets of the old part of the city. It's charming to 

watch the children play with boats, or to watch workers on their lunch hours

 cool their feet in the little channels.

All my photos, sadly, were taken with a little point and shoot, most likely on automatic.

I do some editing on these, primarily with iPhoto. With some of the black and white
I give more depth to the photo by using "definition" and "contrast" and
 in some cases, more "warmth," as in the photo above. You can
see the difference in the two black and white photos here.

Linking to Donna's Photo Challenge for February.
Also linking up to Katie's Little Corner of the World  for her "Photo Friday."

a deep breath

Timeless thoughts of a winter’s stare;

Eyes glazing over a landscape bare …

 from Michael Barron's

A Winter’s Epiphany

A few days away from suburbia.

Quiet expanses to gaze upon.

Take a deep breath.

Restoring.

Sometimes I forget to take a deep breath.

Do you?