I was organizing my freezer recently, and in the process, I found a ziplock bag with three frozen, extremely ripe bananas in it.   You know, the ones you just cannot bring yourself to throw away, because you know you will want to make some banana muffins in the near future.  I pulled the bag out and thawed them.

 I remembered visiting a blog recently that had a good looking banana muffin recipe on it.  I visited it again, and copied the recipe.

Easy, quick, and I had all the ingredients on hand.  What are the chances of that happening:)
Thanks to ... http://onesimplecountrygirl.blogspot.com   for sharing this winning recipe with us.  My husband asked me to keep this one in my file.  Moist and most delicious!  Amazing what three frozen, overly ripe bananas can make.(I doubled the recipe and I did add the chopped walnuts)...

...much to the dismay of this little guy.  He was disappointed when I told him there were nuts in the muffins, but his paw paw certainly was not.

Instead, both little guys are thrilled with this commonly served snack.  I believe they could eat strawberries for every snack, with every visit here.

This is a recipe that I have made so many times when our girls were younger.  In fact, it has been on the Bisquick mix box for years, and it is still one of the most requested impossibly Easy Pie recipes.

It is one of those recipes that you can make adapt to what you have on hand.
When I decided to make it, I suddenly realized that I was out of shredded cheese.  That rarely happens in our home. 

I microwaved a bag of these Steamers with cheese sauce.

I put them on top of the browned hamburger and onions.  Then I added some slivers of light cream cheese.  All of this in place of the missing shredded cheese.  Improvising is a daily part of my life.

I doubled the bisquick, milk, and eggs, because this dish is larger than I ususally use.

Then in the last 15 minutes of cooking time, I added the last of my French's  French Fried Onions.

A bit messy looking, but it is definitely a version of this recipe I will be making again.

In fact, my husband told me that if I had a restaurant and served this, he would order it often.
The little guys ate all of their portion too.

Another quick, simple, and inexpensive recipe.  Thank you Betty Crocker!  You have helped make my life easier over the years.

Thanks to each of you too, for taking time to visit...just a little something for you, this evening!

We met together in this beautiful, quaint venue last evening,

Our purpose was to celebrate a new online magazine,  "Neighborlies".

Candlelight created ambience greeted everyone who walked in the door.

"Vintage" was visibly the theme of the evening.  The one in charge of the decorating, has the uncanny ability of taking old in many forms, putting it all together, and having it come out as cozy, warm, and so inviting.

Favors done with lace, jute, and old tags, were offered to everyone.  Inside...small wrapped chocolates.

The mantel was done with glassware and candles from cupboards, closet, and consigment shops.
The banner was made with old lace ties.

The talented lady who was in charge of decorating for the evening.  I am not sure how this busy mother of a baby and three other young children does it.  I did notice her mother and sisters rallying with her throughout the evening. 

My oldest daughter, who just happens to be the one who founded the idea for this particular online magazine.  I must admit, I was proud of the endeavor that her and others produced.
If you are interested in finding out more about Neighborlies, you can click HERE and you will get a better idea! (If you like what you read, you can click HERE to subscribe--it's free!)

Included in those attending the evening were some special mother/daughter teams I know personally.

Mother, daughter,and granddaughter treasure an evening spent together.

A special visit paid by an out-of-state mother, to celebrate the evening with her daughter(and baby to be).

 

My sister-in-law and her two lovely daughters.

 

 

 

 Me and my dear daughter.

Tiny, perfect looking, delicious tasting cupcakes were baked and decorated by another busy, young mother. 

 

 

 

A local professional bakery baked and decorated the cake for the introduction of Neighborlies.

 

It was a beautiful evening of combined efforts and talents coming together to launch a dream.

I wish them well!

 

 

I miss seeing flowers.  Just in case you miss them too, I thought I would share some with you from my archives.  They seem to be a dose of medicine for me on this cold winter evening.

Late this afternoon, I happened to walk past the window.  The tree outside our kitchen window was filled with a variety of birds, and they seemed thrilled with the opportunity to feed on its abundance of berries.  As they ate,  I watched in amazement.  It appeared to me, as if an invitation would have been sent out to birds everywhere, to come and feast on the tree.  At one time there were at least twenty birds on the tree, each grabbing berries and eating them.  My husband thought that maybe they knew a storm was coming.  Could that be it?

They didn't seem the least bothered by me or my camera.  They were hungry and dinner was free.

I observed this Robin retrieving at least three berries in rapid succession, and notice how he has them stored in his neck. 

It amazes me as to how the birds are so carefully provided for, by their Creator.  I do wish you could have seen the abundance of berries on this tree a few months ago, and their feasting continues.  The same process has taken place each winter since I have lived in my home, but this is the first time I took the time to notice it.

A tree of berries to provide food over the winter, for a multitude of birds.  How perfectly it has all been designed.

Last evening it was sunsets...this evening birds and flowers.  Makes one wonder what will be next:)

 Some weeks I only blog once or twice.

Some times I blog twice in one day.  Today was one of those days.  I just could not help myself as I saw these sights ahead of me, when I was driving home this evening.  Now, for some silly reason, I found myself thinking that perhaps you too, would enjoy seeing what I saw.  Oh, how kind you blogging friends are, to put up with me sharing what I find most beautiful, especially in the realm of sunsets.  Grab a cup of coffee, and take in nature's picture show on the quiet country roads in my part of the world;

Would these sights had you stopping by the side of the road to take pictures?  Or do you just smile at people like me, who do that?

Thanks for stopping by again!

 It was late in the afternoon when I made a quick stop at a busy grocery store. The store was filled with people doing the same as me. The checkout lines were long, and people seemed to be in a hurry (and troubled by the long lines), and the few cashiers available. I chose the line that looked the shortest, as we all do, and then I did not have anything else to do but wait, and wait.
The cashier in our line, was a young man (perhaps in his late teens or early twenties).  It was a bit unusual, as there is usually women doing the job at this time of the day.  I wondered to myself, if he was working his way through the local college?  I watched him calmly, efficiently and kindly tackle the task in front of him, with a smile for everyone.  To me, it seemed like a stressful task, with so many people(some quite impatient) lined up and waiting.

When it was my turn, I was so caught up in unloading my cart, and thinking of the things I had to do when I got home, that I almost forgot to acknowledge him.  I wondered how many times in the past, that I did forget to do that.  But, this time I did acknowledge him, and I told him that in observing him, I noticed the efficiency, the calmness, and the kindness with which he tackled his job...... that I wasn't sure I could have handled it the same way.  His eyes lit up and he thanked me.
I left the store with a smile.  His kindness lifted my spirits.

Later in the evening, I was thinking back over the simple, quiet example I had witnessed in a large, crowded grocery store, and it made me pray that I would be able to share kindness with those I come in contact with day in and day out.  It made me aware of what a difference that can make in an ordinary day's events. 

Awhile back, I read a  quote on kindness that stuck with me;

It was shared by Mother Teresa;

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.  Be the living expression of God's    kindness;
kindness in your face,
kindness in your eyes,
kindness in your smile."

Pictures from my archives of unsolicited kindness, being exhibited in the midst of everyday happenings.

Or like John Wesley put it;

"Do all the good you can.
By all the means you can.
In all the ways you can.
In all the places you can.
At all the times you can.
To all the people you can.
As long as you ever can."

Kindness did make a difference in my day yesterday and so many days of my life.
Let me never forget, that "kindness does give birth to kindness", as I face my day today...no matter if I feel like it or not.  And, thanks to the young man at the checkout, for reminding me of this important fact of life.

Hoping you each have the opportunity to show alittle kindness to someone today!

It is Monday evening and I am sitting here in a quiet house.  It was not that way this past weekend.

You see...we had some real special little visitors, some of them human and one of them not:)
Who ever would have thought that I would be spending time talking and interracting with a rather "old" pink flamingo...imaginary conversations and a few photo sessions were included.

Being a maw maw provides some most interesting moments and I love it!

It is good to have a friend who always listens and has time for you:)

Here the three of them pose for another photo shoot.  Notice the older one sharing love and tender care with the younger one.  I pray that will always be part of their lives,

We had a some moments of laughter and admiration.

That's it...just a little something for you tonight!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

 The morning sun lights up the clear eastern sky.  Its brilliance is breathtaking! A new day!  A new beginning for each of us!

Did you know..."The earth is huge in comparison to each human; but in comparison with the sun in our solar system, it is small, and that 1.3 million earths are needed to match the volume of the sun?

The sun is enormous, and yet it is one of the smallest stars in our galaxy.  Another star, Antares, is so gigantic
that it occupies 90 million times as much space as our sun and is 390 million miles in diameter."

~Renald E. Showers

 The sounds of the wild geese can be heard, in the quiet of the morning.

 "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."   ~George Washington Carver

The sun lights up our family room, and it warms my heart this morning.

Thank you for stopping by.  Wishing each of you some warmth from the sun, in your world today!