Where Am I From?

I am from cool, black soil; fields of grain and changing seasons

From Brownie Scouts, Nancy Drew, piano lessons

And mom baking cookies after school

I am from high school sweethearts married over 60 years

I am from mini-skirts, hot pants and suede jackets with fringe

Kent State, Woodstock and "Give Peace a Chance"

The Beatles, the Stones and Mama Cass "California Dreamin'"

Where have all the flowers gone?

I am from college dorms and term papers

Lost dreams and dreams found again

I am from marrying young and lasting

I am a mother and a daughter, a parent and a child.

I am of cookbooks and novels

White tulips and peach roses

I am from blue jeans and turtlenecks

Penny loafers and boots

I am from war and peace and war again

I am a work in progress; always learning, always growing

I am a child of man, a child of the world, a child of God

I am from joy and love, hopeful about what is yet to come

11/24/06

     Are there things from your past that immediately throw you back to childhood? A certain perfume, a song or the smell of your mother's cooking? All of those things can immediately take me back to a different time. I had that experience a few days ago when my husband and I were walking out of a "Books-a-Million" store. We had already paid for our purchases and were headed for the door when I saw this book:

     I stopped in my tracks, saw the $5 sale tag and my husband picked up a copy and headed back to the checkout counter. You see, he knows that hours of my youth were spent reading Nancy Drew. Every Christmas I would get 3 or 4 new ones and of all the wonderful things under the tree...those books are what I remember the most. I was immediately 10-years-old again. I didn't even care if other customers wondered about the middle-aged woman, hugging her oversized Nancy Drew book and jumping for joy!

Where are you from?

Love Is...

     When my husband and I were dating, we were attending separate colleges in different states (until we gave in and got married while still in school). We wrote lots of letters. My  husband almost always included a "love Is..." comic from the newspaper in each letter. I still have all of them. So often they said exactly what we were thinking. For our 25th Anniversary he found a musical framed "love Is..." as a special surprise.

     Love Is...began as a series of little love notes that Kim Grove drew for her future husband, Roberto Casali. The strip was first syndicated in 1970. Kim Casali died in June 1997. Since then, her son Stefano Casali has maintained the strip although it is always shown as "by Kim Casali" and signed "Kim" instead of Stefano.

     In December we celebrated 35 years of marriage. I'm happy to say that my husband still knows what love Is...at least for me. It is the fact that he knows me so well that when I thought I was only getting this...

     ...and I was completely happy with my favorite chocolates. He pulled out these...

     ...a mushy card, my favorite white tulips and this amazing book that I've had my eye on for months. How did he know? Love Is...paying attention to what your wife looks at every time she is in Cracker Barrel.

     I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Love comes in many forms; our spouses, our friends, our children, our pets...I hope that someone loved you today.

Sometimes Music Makes You Cry

     I am a rock and roll girl. I tend to listen to the "new" stuff. Justin Timberlake, The Fray, Black-Eyed Peas, Pink to name a few. I don't act my age at all when it comes to music. I love to go to concerts to see the musicians of my youth. The Eric Clapton commercial makes me smile, I still love Paul McCartney and I loved recent concerts of REO Speedwagon, America and Kansas.

     Once in a while, something will come along that is completely out of my normal musical interest. The other day I happened to catch a group, The Canadian Tenors, on Oprah. They only sang one song...but, the harmony was outstanding. I was touched and I immediately downloaded their album. I finally had a chance to listen to it this morning. All I can say is that I kept turning up the volume and I just let their perfect voices fill my home. It is the perfect music for a Valentine weekend. I hope you will take a moment and listen to a few of my favorites from the album. If you go to their webpage you can download Always There for free. Click on the links below.

Because We Believe

Always There

Hallelujah

Party Mix-Foodie Friday

      A few days before the Super Bowl I was talking to a friend on the phone and mentioned I was making Party Mix for game day. She commented on how good it sounded. When I told her she should just make a batch, she said she "couldn't do that"! When I told her how simple it was, she decided to give it a try. I decided that maybe there were other people who didn't realize just how easy it was to make a batch of this yummy goodness. There are many variations. This is how I make mine.

Ingredients:

6 cups rice chex cereal

6 cups corn chex cereal

3 cups wheat chex cereal

3 cups Cheerios

2 cups mixed nuts

3 cups pretzels

1 cup vegetable oil

1 T. season salt

1 T.Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

In very large bowl or pan (I use a large soup pot) put all of the cereals, the nuts and the pretzels. In a measuring cup, pour the 1 cup of oil. Add the season salt, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder and whisk (or use a fork) until well blended.

Pour over dry mix and gently toss with 2 large spoons. Pour the mixture onto 2 edged cookie sheets. Bake at 250 degrees for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Cool and store in Ziploc bags or airtight containers.

     Hints: I generally make 2 batches of this (4 cookie sheets). It fills 4 large Ziploc bags. Party Mix freezes very well. These are the ingredients I use when I plan ahead. You can also use other cereals (non-sugared) if you have them.

     Michael is having some wonderful giveaways to celebrate a year of Foodie Fridays!

Tea for Two-Tablescape Thursday

     Tablescape Thursday is here again. Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch is our hostess for this fun event. Take a little time to visit her and see all of the beautiful tablescapes.

     I knew exactly what I was going to do this week. I got ready to put away my Valentine's Day tablescape from last week, and I just wasn't ready to do so. I don't really decorate for Valentine's Day and the table decked out in all that red and white really adds to my dreary winter days. I'll just do my planned tablescape next week.

     A few days ago, I baked some cookies and made a pot of tea for the two of us. The lighting isn't what it should be, but at least I did remember to grab the camera. When you have a daughter who works for Disney, Mickey Mouse has a way of showing up around the house. A few days ago, Mickey joined us for tea!

     I got out a rattan tray (Crate and Barrel) and my winter Mickey mugs. I like them because they are big! I bought the teapot on our visit at Christmas.

The Valentine Mickey cookies are being given the "white glove" treatment on a sweet little plate that came with a different Mickey individual teapot.

Mickey and Minnie drove by to visit. They parked on our red and blue napkins.

Every time we go to visit our daughter, we swear we won't come home with anything Mickey Mouse. It never fails...we always do!