Winter Beauty

~~May all the seasons be sweet to thee~~

googleimages.com

Sepia Saturday = Merle and Roy Johnsen

Merle Elaine Johnsen 1926-2008

Roy Lavern Johnsen 1931-

For the past couple of weeks, I've used Sepia

Saturday to post about Martha May Sampson,

The Mister's maternal grandmother. Mattie

married George Johnsen and they lived in

Grand Rapids, Michigan. Today's

picture is of their first two children Merle and Roy.

Merle is The Mister's mother.

The Sampson family can be traced back to Henry

Sampson, one of the original Pilgrims.

The Johnsens originally came from Denmark.

Both of these children were born and raised

in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The photo was taken in 1933 when Merle

was 7 years old and Roy was 2.

We miss 'mom' very much as she's only

been gone less than 2 years.

Uncle Roy is still with us. :)

****

Check out other Sepia Saturday pictures

by clicking HERE!

What In The World?

Yes, that's Harry. Yes, he's sitting on the kitchen island.

Yes, he has his toes on a butter knife.

Yes, that's a very obnoxious Veggie Tales CD playing

in the background accompanied by his humming.

And yes, I have two more boys just like him.

Oh my....somebody feel sorry for me! LOL!

No worries...after recording, I made Harry

sit on the bar stool, cleaned island counter, put the

knife in dishwasher and turned down the volume.

Whew! Yes, you must have a sense of humor

to survive in this world! LOL!

Theme Thursday = Bottle

antique aspirin bottle, flicker.com

“If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache,

do what it says on the aspirin bottle:

"Take two aspirin" and

"Keep away from children"."

~anonymous

*****

Check out the other Theme Thursday

participants or come on and join in!

Click HERE!

Watching the Snow

Alex almost looks like an angel in the brightness of the

doorway, doesn't he? I've been tempted to wear

my sunglasses in the house while the sun reflects off

of the snow! LOL! The guys were certainly mesmerized

with the falling snow last week as it fell continuously for

a couple of days. We got 25 inches but some has melted

away with the rain. Nothing cozier than being inside

and watching the snow. Ahh...think I'll have a cup of tea!

Angel Hair Pasta Primavera

A really yummy one dish meal. :)

Pasta Primavera

1/4 c olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 c sliced zucchini

1 c sliced mushrooms

1 c pea pods (I used sugar snap)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tomato, diced

1 c ham, cubed

1 1/2 t salt

2 t Italian seasoning

1/4 t ground black pepper

1/4 c grated parmesan

8 oz angel hair pasta, cooked al dente

******

In 12 " skillet over medium heat, saute onions.

When translucent, add remaining veggies, meat

and seasonings. Saute 3-4 minutes until

veggies are tender but crisp. Add pasta

and cheese. Heat through and serve.

Duck

As I was thinking about my entry for "duck" in

Mr. Toast's Creative Tuesday assignment, I was

doing dishes in the kitchen. And this little duck

caught my eye...my little nail brush!

He sits in a bowl of draining stones along with

other scrubbies and soaps.

If you want to see what other's did to paint,

draw or doodle "duck", click HERE!

Or join in ~ entries are due this Tuesday!

Sepia Saturday = Bert and Belle Sampson

Last week for Sepia Saturday I posted about The Mister's

maternal grandmother, Martha May Sampson, with her

fellow classmates in their gym clothes around 1915.

Today's photo features her father,

Bert (Uberthan) B. Sampson 1855-? and

step-mother, Belle Corwin Sampson.

Bert is the man standing on the left side and Belle

is seated in front of him. Belle's mother, noted as

"Grandma Corwin", is sitting to the right of her.

They are the only three people identified on the back

of the picture. Although, if I had to guess, I would

say that the other man might be their son with his

wife and daughter and mother-in-law in front of

him. I'm only guessing, but I think he looks

like Bert and she looks like her mother, and the

girl looks like her mom! (hope you followed that line

of thinking! ha!) I have no guesses as to who the

lady is standing in the middle.

******

What drew my attention to this photo was the casual

setting...just as if they had finished a meal around

the table and then gathered at one side for a photo.

I love the twinkle in Bert's eye! Family notes

record that Bert made an excellent wage as a

lumber scaler in the milling business. He was

a thorough Prohibitionist and had an interest in

politics. They lived in Stanton, Michigan

and also had a homestead in Sidney Township,

Montcalm County.

******

I'd also love to dig around in that china cabinet!

You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

The ladies are wearing lovely lace trim to their

collars and cuffs.

******

Don't forget to check out the other photos featured

today on sepiasaturday.blogspot.com

And join in if you would like!

"E" Is For...

The Eiffel Tower...

Eggs... Evergreens in winter... Embossing...

and Earl Grey tea...

googleimages.com

Theme Thursday = Bell

Yes, but not just any bell....we're ringing a bell at

2:00 PM EST today (Thurs. 2-18-10) in honor of

our blog friend Barry, and everyone else

in a battle with cancer! Come join

with us ~ just ring a bell and say a

prayer for anyone you know in this fight.

And, click HERE for all of us

participating in this week's theme!

photo~googleimages

• Raw determination
• Is certainly
• Needed to endure the
• Grueling treatments of chemo

• And radiation!

• Barry, you are an excellent
• Example in your valiant fight, while never
• Leaving behind your
• Lovely sense of humor!

• This day, we want to send your way
• Oodles of prayers and good wishes for
• Decades of good health....from
• All of us to
• You!

Coconut Cookies

One of my very favorites!

♥♥♥

Coconut Cookies

1/2 c butter, soft

1/2 c solid crisco shortening

1 c sugar

1 3/4 c flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 c coconut

♥♥♥

Whip butter and crisco together in mixer.

Add remaining ingredients.

Roll into balls on parchment lined cookie

sheets. Press down on each with fingertips.

Bake 350 for 10-12 min., barely golden on edges.

(that's right...there are no eggs in them!) Enjoy!

Snow

Through the sharp air a flaky torrent flies,

Mocks the slow sight, and hides the gloomy skies;

The fleecy clouds their chilly bosoms bare,

And shed their substance on the floating air. ~ George Crabbe

My cyclamen dropping seeds...beautiful!

Valentine Memories

Remember making those decorated shoeboxes for the

school Valentine's Day parties? Oh, the pressure to

come up with a neat looking mail box! I always liked

having that list the teacher sent home and neatly

crossing off each name as I signed their cards.

It was also very important which cards you gave

to each classmate. The best ones to your favorite

friends and the neatest 'boy' ones to the cutest boys!

♥♥♥♥♥

One frustrating thing I remember was that I always

received several Valentine's where they spelled my

name "Besty". Used to drive me crazy! I remember

thinking, "It's easy to spell! You just have to sound it out!"

Then there was opening the Valentine's sent to me!

The fun ones had candy attached. And those candy hearts

with the messages? Oh, I took them sooo seriously!

If one said "You're Cool" from one of the boys, that

was just the best! LOL!

♥♥♥♥♥

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope at least one sweet thing happens to each of you today!

xxoo

Sepia Saturday = Martha May Sampson

Martha May Sampson

1898-1978

(pictured 2nd from the left)

Martha is The Mister's maternal grandmother.

I've posted about her before since we have so many

lovely old photographs of her.

I think this is a high school picture, so maybe it

was taken about 1915? She was born in Greenville,

Michigan but grew up on the family farm in Vaughn,

Washington. She was the oldest of 5 children to

Bert and Emma Sampson.

I love the girls long braids wrapped around their heads!

And their school uniforms are so cute...love the sailor

dresses with the big collars and ties.

******

If you want to join in or see other sepia pictures

posted today, click HERE! Come on, it's fun! :)

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Well, I must be having a blast, then! It's my 2nd Anniversary

today, Friday the 12th! I have met incredible people

who I consider my friends all over the world. Men and women

who have changed my life forever. There certainly is a

connection between us, isn't there? Non-bloggers just do

not understand, do they! LOL.

So, thank you so much for taking time to chat with me

every day. We've laughed and cried together and

I appreciate all of you! Thanks, especially for your

encouragement to me in raising triplet sons with autism.

Yes, it's a tough thing to do but your sweet comments

and emails to me are so special! I also love learning

about you and sharing in your lives!

Thank you so very much!

xxoo

first photo googleimages, second photo mine!

Theme Thursday = Mirror

googleimages.com photo by timothy toole

Did you ever wonder if the person

in the puddle is real,

and you're just a reflection of him?

~Calvin and Hobbes

• My surface is silver and exact.
• I have no preconceptions.
• Reality, unmisted by love or dislike. My
• Reflections are not cruel,
• Only truthful
• Representations.

acrostic inspired by poem by Sylvia Plath.

Click HERE to join the group or read other posts about mirrors today!

My blog friends with autistic children know that every little step

of progress is something to be celebrated! Last week, their

teacher called me in the middle of the day.

Usually, this is not a good thing...to hear her voice on the

phone while they are at school with her! But this time

she said she had good news! As most of you know,

the triplets are non-verbal. Spencer can say a few

requests, saying, "I want...". Alex can not say anything.

Harry says only 2-3 words... very garbled, but we know

what he is saying. Anyway, his teacher was calling to say

that she asked him what his name was and he

answered "Huh-wee". Yay! She thought it may have been

a fluke, so she took him around and had other people ask him

what his name was, and he continued to answer "Huh-wee".

They even visited the principal so she could ask! LOL!

I was excited when I hung up the phone and laughed

at the curves life throws at you. At 16 years of age,

we should be celebrating those driver's licenses

and first dates and instead we are thrilled at Harry

answering a simple question. But in some ways, it's

more of a miracle than when your toddler does it for

the first time... and seems even sweeter because of

the long wait. So celebrate with me! Even days later,

Harry is still answering that question correctly. And I

wonder if he thinks we are crazy asking that over and

over when we obviously know who he is. LOL!

So, thank you, God... for simple, small gifts

that spur us on in this endeavor! :)

What I Did Today...

A group of ladies had a meeting last nigiht.

Refreshments were catered by me!

Hope they enjoyed them!

We're nibbling on the leftovers! Yum!

Come have a cookie and cup of tea with me!

What's your pleasure...coconut, almond sugar snowflake,

chocolate crinkle or iced chocolate heart?

Tea = Muse

Tea does our fancy aid,

Repress those vapours which the head invade

And keeps that palace of the soul serene.

~Edmund Waller, "Of Tea"

******

This is my entry for Mr. Toast's Creative

Tuesday. The theme is muse!

Pop on over to his blog to see other

entries...always a wonderful variety

of talent and imagination!

******

"Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage."

~Catherine Douzel

View From My Windows

Brrrr! Stay warm and enjoy your Sunday!

Sepia Saturday = Spencer's Tooth

This is one of my favorite pictures. It's my

Spencer in 2003, bringing me a tooth that

he had just lost. It's special, first of all, because

it's so sweet. And also since Spencer

has autism, it really was uncommon for him

to communicate something like this.

Come to think of it, Spencer was quite fascinated

with teeth during his grade school years!

Here he is checking out the teeth of

his brother, Taylor. Around that same time,

I was spring cleaning and found .....

a secret tooth collection in the back of his closet!

*****

To visit other bloggers who are participating in

Sepia Saturday, click HERE!

And, why don't you consider joining in?

It's lots of fun!

Theme Thursday = Red

Red is the ultimate cure for sadness. - Bill Blass

rose~cinnamon~rusty~brick red~ maroon

coral~damask~vermeil~sanquine~blood red~

carmine~wine~cardinal~scarlet~vermilion~

ruby~burgandy~cerise~red

****

googleimages.com

To read other bloggers entries for Theme

Thursday, click HERE!

Nun-hatch?

Remember my little Nuthatch?

I couldn't help but think that his

coloring and markings reminded me of something.

Ah, yes....this is it! Do you see the similarities?

Maybe Mr. Nuthatch is really Miss Nuthatch...single

and wanting to stay that way! LOL!