Graduation Open House

Last night we hosted a graduation open house for Taylor

and two of his classmates. We enjoyed cake, nuts, ice cream sundaes with all the toppings, coffee and punch along with 300 guests!

I think the guys had a really great time! It was also the last

day of school for them and they left this morning for

their senior trip to NYC.

It was fun to set up memento tables of baby pictures,

senior pictures, newspaper articles and Letterman jackets.

We had many people tell us how much they appreciated

Taylor. Several teachers commented on how not only

is he handsome, athletic, respectful and funny....he

has always through his school years befriended the

kids that didn't have friends. What a wonderful thing

to be remembered by. We're very proud of him.

Anyone who allows themselves to be a part of his

life is going to be blessed and the few who refuse

are really missing out!

Graduation is next weekend!

Where did the time go???

The Mystery of the Leftovers

We've been finding these little containers on the kitchen counter

after dinner lately. Then we caught Alex doing it!

Apparently, he doesn't care for green beans as much

as his brother Harry does! He was taking them

off of his plate and getting them ready to go in the

refrigerator as if they were leftovers.

If he had put on the lid and put them away, I

probably would have never figured it out!

His Eye is on the Sparrow

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"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

Yet not one of them will fall to the ground

apart from the will of your Father.

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

So don't be afraid;

you are worth more than many sparrows."

Matthew 10:29-31

Grilled Pizza

Have you ever made grilled pizza? It's only on the grill about

3 minutes and is delish!

It has a thin, crispy crust and a little bit of that charred-ness

just gives it some of that brick oven taste.

Grilled Pizza

~~~~

1 lb fresh pizza dough or frozen bread dough, thawed

Divide in 4 parts and roll into 8" circles.

Brush both sides with olive oil and grill 1-2

minutes, covered.

Turn over, add toppings. Cover and grill

2-3 more minutes until bottom is brown

and cheese is melted.

~~~~

I use my stovetop JennAir grill, so I

divided the dough into 8 parts, 6" wide.

I grilled them 2 at a time and used 2

saucepan lids as covers.

One trick...make sure all of your toppings

are warm and very thinly sliced.

Use a thin layer of cheese.

Thick cheese will take too long to melt and

you will burn the bottom.

My dough never rolled out in perfect

circles, as you can see...they are rustic, let's say. :)

Enjoy!

my pizzas, shown, made with homemade sauce,

thinly sliced veggies, sweet Italian chicken sausage,

and finely shredded 4 cheese blend.

Wisteria on the Pergola

Memorial Day

Thank you!

Do I Have A Bidder?

One of my good friends' husband is a 'son' of a father-and-sons

owned rel-estate company and they are professional auctioneers.

They asked me if I would be interested in working their monthly

auctions as a clerk. Today was my first auction and it was really

fun! It was a large, multi-estate auction with lots and lots of

antiques. I learned to scan driver's licenses and register people

with a paddle number. After a full day of the actual auctioning

(how in the world do they talk like that????) we checked people

out and took their payments. If I had a few extra hundreds

lieing around, I would have bid on a table full of Haviland

china, some gorgeous old framed botanical prints

and some of those large pickling jars. And that grandfather

clock and beautiful old cabinet, too!

Joe's or Jim's?

A friend and I went to lunch this week.

We stopped in Trader Joe's and did a little shopping.

I bought a few things I don't normally get...a few

nice treats. This Italian Blood Orange Soda looks like

it will taste yummy with my blue corn tortilla chips

and pineapple salsa. :) I bought some flavored teas

for The Mister, too, along with his favorite dark

chocolate covered caramels.

And I got my usual ahi tuna steaks.

Someone recently recommended I check out

Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati. I hear it's like a huge

Trader Joes...actually, it's a 6 acre grocery store!

Sounds like an all-day adventure!

I wonder if Joe and Jim are related!

Harry in Ohio

At least if Harry gets lost, he can tell someone

what state he lives in! Actually, they learned their whole address, but

I thought this worksheet was cute.

One More Look

I'm still enjoying my little bouquet and thought you'd like to see

what is surrounding it. I got the lamp last week while visiting my

sister and doing a little shopping. It's tin and handpainted.

It's a nice change on my old table. The watercolor was actually

painted by said Willow almost 2o years ago for my birthday.

But then, you already knew she was talented. :)

One thing that never changes is the candy dish. It has become

a constant by the front door. Want a red gumdrop?

Don't columbine look like little bonnets? The blue ones

are in their third season here and spreading nicely.

Setting Sun and Evening Shadows

My casual bouquet of columbine and buttercups

make a cheery spot in the foyer.

Sweet Words of Encouragement

This sheet of paper came home in Alex's book bag last week.

The kids in the 8th grade class all wrote little messages to him.

They were all so thoughtful and kind.

Some of my favorite were~~

• you're always smiling
• you have improved so much
• you teach people not to quit
• you help me learn to be compassionate to others not like me
• you have sweet headphone things

Isn't that just the cutest?

You're Either Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem

I told you earlier this week about the boys removing all the slats

in the window blind when they couldn't raise and lower it

after the cord broke. That got me thinking about crazy things

all kids do as a solution to a problem.

One time, I was about 8 or 9 years old and I locked the keys

in our family car. Instead of just going inside and

telling someone, I stuck a stick in the key hole

to see if that would work. Of course

the stick broke off inside the lock! I also remember

trying to use the bathroom towel bar to do chin ups.

I was about 4 years old. The towel bar pulled clear

out of the wall...of course!

I don't remember having a solution to that one!

~~~~

“The solution of every problem is another problem”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Two For One!

Sometimes two heads are better than one!

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Blind Troubles

The boys had raised and lowered the window blind

so many times over the last 10 years that the pull cord

finally broke. What was their solution? Just pull out all

of the slats! Someone, please tell me this did NOT happen!

Cooking at School

Apparently, Harry enjoyed making Kool-ade much more

than Spencer enjoyed making Jell-o!

Mother's Day

Merle, circa 1930

We lost The Mister's mother last August.

Her estate was finalized just a few weeks ago and

since I work with vintage jewelry and sell it

on ebay, I've been given the fun task of going

through the jewelry family members didn't want.

I've spent the last week cleaning, sorting

and doing a few repairs.

I got to keep a few pieces, which I'll post on in

the future. You know I love the old vintage stuff!

~~~~

Obviously, working on this little project, Merle

has been on my mind quite a lot lately. Her old

jewelry box smells like her perfume and I

remember many of the pieces being worn by her.

Since The Mister and I began 'dating' back when

we were 13 and 14 years old, I have been part

of their family for quite a while. I grew up

knowing her and The Mister's dad, who has

been gone for 20 years already.

~~~~

I have good memories of a hard working wife

and mom to six children. She never saw me

without giving a compliment. And I never

saw her without her having a big smile on

her face. The thing I remember most about

her is her laugh....what a wonderful thing

to be remembered by. :)

~~~~

So, this being the first Mother's Day without

her, I wanted to remember her on this day!

Sweet Blooms

First bouquet from the flower garden!

Everything blooming first is blue and yellow!

It's The Simple Things

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"I once had a sparrow alight

upon my shoulder for a moment,

while I was hoeing in a village garden,

and I felt that I was more distinguished

by that circumstance than I should have been

by any epaulet I could have worn."

Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)

Rugelach

Cream cheese dough, apricot preserves and pecans. The only thing that made them sweeter was my tiny milk glass stand found at the thrift store last week. For $1.99, it was begging to come home with me! For the recipe from Ina Garten, click here!

A Bird's Eye View

My little blooming crabapple tree is extra

fun to look at these days as I sit at my computer!

Mr and Mrs Bird have chosen this lovely spot to have their nest.

Can you see Mrs. Bird?

They are busier than ever now with round the clock feedings!

I wonder if they had triplets! :)

Fluffing the Bed

I celebrated May Day by removing the flannel sheets...finally

it is warm enough! Smooth, fresh cotton feels

so light and airy. I think it's officially spring now.

Tea ~ ~~

~~~a drink with jam and bread!

Happy Sunday!

Betsy and the Giant Berry

Kind of like "James And The Giant Peach"?

Could they get ANY bigger???