Tiny, wilted, white flowers,
Still blooming by the side of the trail...
Spotted by two little hikers...
Who ducked right under the rail.

Quickly and eagerly they picked them...
Happy as they could be.
Then raced back to the winding trail,
And directly returned to me.

No gift could ever have been better!
No intent could have been more real.
Then these tiny, white, wilted flowers,
Given with purpose, love, and zeal.

"You may give gifts without caring-but you can't care without giving."   
~ Frank A. Clark


"A pig was complaining to a cow that he was not appreciated.  "I don't understand it,"
he said, "people are always talking about how generous you are, giving them cream
and milk and butter for their daily use.  That's nice, of course, but I give more than
you do---ham and bacon and bristles and feet.  Yet nobody has any use for me.  They
make fun of me and call me a pig.  I don't like it."

"Perhaps the difference, " the cow replied after a moment's hesitation, "is that I give
while I'm still living."     ~unknown

"He who gives, teaches me to give."    ~Danish proverb



(picture from Pinterest)

 

"Maw Ma, what are we having for dinner tonight?", she asked, while we were babysitting
her and her brother for the weekend, recently.  Well, I told her, "we are going to make our own
pizza".  "I am going to teach you how to make it, and you will be able to do it all by yourself."
If only every little chef would be this eager to learn. 

Carefully, and methodically, she spread the pizza sauce onto every English muffin half.
I told her to make sure it was spread to the edges of each one, and she did just that, with
her little "chipped nail polished" hand.

So seriously, she embraced every step.

While I browned the hamburger, she added the shredded cheese.

Patting it down as she went.  I am not sure that part was included in my instructions, but
she was set on doing it.  Next step, I had her sprinkle each pizza with a bit of oregano.

As proud as she could be, she held the finished prepared tray.

Next step, under the broiler.  She watched carefully as the cheese melted and browned
slightly (well maybe more than slightly:).

 

Eager to taste her newly made creation, she proclaimed that it was "the best

pizza that she had ever tasted!"

 

Look out Pizza Hut and Dominos...we have a new little pizza

baker on the horizon.

 

 

It is Tuesday.  It is time to vote.  Please don't forget to do just that.

It is a freedom and a privilege we have that we can never take for

granted. 

 

Thank you for stopping by.

 

 

For forty-three years, this is the route that takes me to a little white church in the country.
The scenery changes only with the seasons.  The roads offer peace and solace as we drive
on them.

On this particular morning, the early morning fog, presented a somewhat eerie, yet
picturesque landscape.

Often, we pass others, headed to their own places of worship, on various forms of transportation.

In the midst of farm land overflowing with cornfields and hayfields, is a small white
church that I have come to love, along with those who also walk through it's doors each
Sunday.  We come from all different walks of life, and varying circumstances,
but we gather together once a week, to worship God.  During those years, we
have welcomed many new friends who walk through it's doors, and said "good bye"
to others whose days on earth, have ended.  We learn from each other, pray for each
other, and care deeply for each other.

Interestingly, I have had the privilege of sitting under the teaching of the same pastor, for
all of those forty-three years.  I continue to learn so much from his simple, yet profound
teaching.  It is a gift that I hope never to take for granted.  No bells and whistles in this
little place.  No huge choir, or a host of programs are found here.  But what does take place
here, has taught me so much in living life with gratitude and praise to my God.

Wishing you an enjoyable Sunday!

"Take nothing for granted, for whenever you do,
  The joy of enjoying is lessened for you.
   For we rob our own lives
   much more than we know
   when we fail to respond or in any way show...

  Our thanks for the blessings
  that daily are ours---
  The warmth of the sun, the fragrance of flowers,
  The beauty of twilight, the freshness of dawn,
  The coolness of dew on a green velvet lawn...

   The kind little deeds so thoughtfully done,
   The favors of friends and the love of someone
   Unselfishly gives us in a myriad of ways,
   Expecting no payment and no words of praise.

   Oh, great is our loss when we no longer find
   A thankful response to things of this kind.
   For the joy of enjoying and the fullness of living
   Are found in the heart that is
   filled with thanksgiving."      ~Helen Steiner Rice
  

We have had so many exceptionally beautiful days lately. with colors, and smells,

and sunsets, and brisk air.

 

 

I for one, wish that Autumn would last for a few more months.

 

Above pictures taken in Minnesota, last week.

 

 

But, since we all know what season is just around the corner, you might

like to try this hot chocolate mix recipe I found.  The blog where it was found,

is here;

http://www.momadvice.com/post/delicious-drink-mixes-creamy-hot-cocoa-or-vanilla-chai-tea-mix 

    

 

The lady on this blog, claims that this mix is "her favorite cocoa recipe

in the whole world!" 

Last evening, when my husband was drinking his mug of this cocoa,

he praised it, too.  So, just in case you are looking for a recipe, you might want to

try this one.  In the recipe, she discloses her "secret ingredient".

 

PS.  I never realized how difficult it would be to get a good picture

of a cup of hot chocolate.  Mine does not look like the magazine pictures:)

 

The next season, has beauty of it's own to offer all of us...remember?:)

Another little something for you, from me, who is so thankful for each one of you.  For your
visits, your comments, and all I learn from you weekly...thank you!

If you happen to empty one of these packages, and you are ready to discard it, you may want
to reconsider.  A while ago, I briefly saw this idea. I can not remember where I saw it,
but it stuck in my mind.  I decided to try it for myself.  With a glue stick and some left
over tissue paper, I simply covered the long box.  I wrapped it in gift wrapping fashion,
smoothing the paper as I wrapped it, inside and out.  I cut a piece of tin foil and placed
it on the bottom of the box.

The blueberry muffins that I had baked, fit in it perfectly.  Six of them, were the right number.

I closed the box and tied it with pretty red and white twine. When visiting our daughter,
I had purchased a package of these adorable gift tags, when we visited The World Market.
I tied it onto the package.

So, here you have it, a "before" and "after" easy, quick recycling project:), from my kitchen
to yours.

And, just in case you would like your own gift tags like these, you can order them
on line on The World Market website.  The nice lady at the checkout told me that they
have a large online market.

Here is where you can order the spoons or lots of other unique and cute items;

 http://www.worldmarket.com/category/seasonal/Christmas/baking-central

Thank you for stopping by.  I'd love to share a box of muffins with each one of you.

 

It had been almost a year since we last spent days visiting our youngest daughter and family.
They live in the Midwest, and we discovered that the Fall of the year,  is the best time
to visit them.  The last time we left their home, it was a minus 21degrees wind chill factor. 
This time, the weather was exceptional!  We found that Minnesota has miles and miles
of gorgeous walking trails, and we explored many of them.  In cases as the picture above,
the walking paths were built and then corporate parks and housing were built around them.

In this park, pots of vibrant colored flowers continued to bloom, despite the fact that
it was October.

Fallen, colorful leaves though, served as reminders, that winter was just around the
corner.

Of course, spending time with this little guy, was the best!  I know many of you have
grandchildren living far away, and you can identify with the joy that comes when you
do  finally get to spend valuable hours with them.  Here, hiking was made easier with this
sturdy shoulder carrier.

No matter how long the walk, or how steep the trail, our happy little companion, just
enjoyed the ride:)

We took coffee breaks at some quaint, old coffee shops.

My daughter took me to see a small shop that sold the cutest cupcakes.  I liked the wire
whisk lighting and thought you might too.

We sat at their kitchen table and were served a delicious meal of tacos.  At the end of a
big day, what could taste better! 

It was so good just being together again.

We took many feeding breaks for a hungry, growing, little guy, and a few for the bigger guy
too.

We visited the town of Stillwater, and sat soaking in the sun, by the Hudson River. 

This bridge separates Minnesota from Wisconsin.  We walked the bridge, crossing from
one state to another.

The sunsets were indescribable!  This is the lake we walked around one evening

after dinner.  We were gifted with one of the most exquisitely breathtaking

sunsets ever, as we walked together.

 

As family, we are connected by love that distance can't separate, even

thousands of miles.  We treasure our memories today.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  I look forward to catching up with

each one of you in the coming week.

 

 

 

Sunday evening we had an invitation to our friend's home.  I knew you would enjoy
seeing the Fall decorations and creativity exhibited by the family that live here.
The front door vignette was colorful and tastefully arranged.  Everything said, "welcome".

It was a treat to look around this home and see how they used nature and lighting to create
ambience and coziness.  What a great idea, to intertwine a string of tiny lights, in with the
pumpkins and gourds.

The table scape was exceptionally done in the fall design, with leaves and
pumpkins as the dominant theme.

But, the highlight of the evening, was this beautiful young lady, who happens
to be their youngest child.  She is an excellent cook!  She planned the dinner for
twelve, cooked the dinner, and her and her lovely sister, served the dinner to
the twelve of us.  Now, I have cooked and served many a dinner in my life time,
and I can tell you, for me, to cook and serve a meal for twelve, is a real feat, and
I do it with fear and trepidation:)  Hence, I so admire this young lady.
With calmness, finesse, and great skill, she handled it all.  On top of that, the
meal was exceptionally delicious!!!   How did she do it?  She even baked the
bread that was served, and it melted in one's mouth.

Here she is with her older sister, and her mother.  What a trio!  They pulled this meal off with
such style and grace, that one almost did not notice ALL that was involved.  I admire these
women so much!  I will stand on the sidelines and watch as this young girl works her way
through the cooking world.  Right now, she is working at a lovely tea room in our town,
with a stellar reputation, and I can't help but think she is a big part of that.

Some of the recipes she used were from the "Food Network"
magazine.  Three cheers for that magazine, if all their recipes taste as good as her food
tasted.

I wish I could remember the name of this chocolate icebox cake she made, but I do
remember the raves I heard about it.  Look how she had each plate sprinkled with
powdered cocoa, before placing the cake slices on it.  Isn't that impressive, especially
for someone as young as this girl is? 

I want to thank my youngest sister for taking these photos throughout the

evening and sharing them with me, so that I can share them with you.

I enjoy seeing young people tackling projects and running with them, in

today's world.  I believe these two sisters could successfully tackle any project,

and do it skillfully, and with smiles on their faces.

 

Thanks for stopping by!