Bridal Shower

Something Old...


Something New...



Something Borrowed...


Something Blue...


A pretty bride and her bridesmaids...

A refreshing rhubarb punch, pretty as a blushing bride...
A light ladies supper...


Good friends celebrating...

It's all good...

Preparations for Kristin's Bridal Shower

Shelly and myself gave our friend Sheryl's daughter a bridal shower last evening. We decided on a Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue theme.

While Shelly was busy cooking and gardening on the farm, I baked cupcakes. I used Martha Stewart's recipes for the Vanilla and Fresh Strawberry and my tried and true for the black bottom cupcakes.

Shelly and I work well together as an entertaining team. She's a cook, I'm a baker. She's a gardener, I'm an arranger. And we both have a lot of dishes and linens. We met in grade school but could have met at China, Silver and Linens Anonymous.


On the day of the shower my niece Hana came to my place and made the butter cream frosting. It's a family recipe. Hana piped and I sprinkled and embellished. Three batches of frosting later...

On the morning of the shower I drove to Shella Flora and raided the gardens. Three buckets later I was ready to get home and start arranging.

I used a vintage wicker umbrella with the ribbon in the wedding color, cerulean blue and white roses for the front door to welcome our guests and let them know they were at the right place.

Later I'll share table settings, friends, food and flowers.

In the Fire

I found this passage and story on Natasha's blog and want to share it with you this morning. Natasha is in the fire. Right now, I know many family and friends in the fire. Everyone has something, sometime when they have been in the fire. It's how you come out of the fire that matters.

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver"

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were the hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Blessings-
tami

My Helper, Hawley

Hawley loves his rawhide bones. If someone is out doing yard work, he loves nothing more than to gnaw on his bone and watch you work. It makes him feel like he's helping out. We let him think he's a big help.


This week I got the Stone House ready for the 4th of July. Hawley did his part! It will be here before we know it and then SuMmEr! The old timers say it isn't summer in the Pacific Northwest until after the 4th of July. I hope when it comes that it stays.

A Sigh of Relief

The sun was out yesterday so Hubby and I went to Birch Bay. My sis, Jodi has a beach house out there for the week. We walked, talked, collected rocks, sea glass and shells. Noshed on crab cakes, burgers and Special K bars and had some laughs.



And then a gorgeous sunset to wrap things up. A beach break is a good thing...

Take a Deep Breath

My Sam is flying toward Iraq as I write. He has been trained, he is ready, he loves his country, he loves God. All systems GO!

After receiving his deployment orders on Monday it has been hectic for him. Up in the air junior bird man, he is atta here. I'm okay. Not great, but okay. Tiny meltdown...

Since Monday he has had vaccines, medical and dental checkup, packed, found storage, packed some more, had his name sewed to his bags, clean his apartment, bought a new camera, said his good byes and this is the part that just does his Mama in, he made his funeral arrangements. Busy guy with a heavy load.

We are so proud of our soldier. And we are on our knees.

Berries for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

We love the berry season and Hubby says he wants strawberries everyday when they are in season. It's a short season and we need to eat as many berries as we can. I can't argue with that notion.
For breakfast I have a smoothie, in season I go for the fresh strawberry option. Ice, water, vanilla protein, light yogurt and berries.

I have no photos of lunch as I just stand at the sink, rinse, eat repeat.

Last night for dinner I made Grandma's waffle recipe for dinner. Berries are at their finest on the waffles.

Grandma's Waffles
1 cup flour
3 tsp. baking pwd.
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg separated, I use 2 egg whites, 1 yolk.
1 1/2 cup milk, maybe a bit less if you want the batter thicker
2 T. melted butter

Beat egg whites and set aside.
Melt the butter,set aside.
Mix dry ingredients, add egg yolk, milk and butter. Fold in the egg whites.

I beat the egg whites with my hand mixer, then use the mixer to whip up the butter, yolk and milk and then on low to fold in the egg white. If you do it in that order you don't have to wash the beaters in between.

I don't have pictures of the waffles with berries and dairy because both of the phones were ringing as the waffles were ready and yeah, dinner got a little staggered and crazy.

Trust me though, it was pretty and delicious.

Inspiring

University Village had their Annual Sidewalk Sale yesterday. I had a girl's day out with "sisters". The flowers at U Vill are so gorgeous, I think I may have to run to town today and buy begonias and fuchsias to squeeze into my patio pots.

We arrived before opening and scoped things out so we knew right where to be at 9:30 a.m. I always leave Ravenna Gardens inspired by the creativity. The "overstuffed" wooden chairs were obviously built by someone very clever.


We hit Starbucks, the Fisher Scone wagon, and Trophy Cupcakes for snacks. Not to mention lunch and dinner too. We paced ourselves though...

Another Rhubarb Punch

Last Spring I shared my Rhubarb Punch recipe. Yesterday I spotted a new one on Tastespotting. I was all kinds of excited.


Send help! I need a Polish translator... Tap, tap, anyone out there...

Yikes, maybe this isn't even a recipe.

Składniki na 0.75l

400 g rabarbaru
500 ml wody
100 g cukru
1 łyżka startej skórki z cytryny
cynamon do smaku


Rabarbar myjemy, kroimy na kawałki. Wodę gotujemy ze skórką cytrynową, cynamonem i cukrem. Dodajemy rabarbar, ponownie zagotowujemy i odstawiamy na 10 minut. Przecieramy przez sito, odstawiamy do wystudzenia. Rozlewamy do szklanek, wrzucamy kostki lodu i podajemy.

My Little Chick Has Flown the Coop

On Sunday Max and I had a quick visit with Danny in Edmonds. Dan is looking forward to this week as it is the break between quarters. We saw him on his break at Anthony's, left him with some jam and cookies and then drove to downtown Seattle.

My baby, Max is going to work on the farm this summer. We met Aunt Marie, enjoyed some time with her and her sis, Jane and friend Gail, and then Max and Marie headed for the hills. Over the hills, and gone for the summer.

Hubby and I are temporary empty nesters. It's bittersweet as we are really going to miss the little guy. But it might be fun too...

Everyone asks me what I'm going to do. I'll tell you what I'm going to do.

WHATEVER I WANT TO!!!

Cheerful Yo Yo Curtains

Remember last week when I was feeling kitschy? I stitched my yoyo's and had a plan all along. I was inspired by Meagan's cute valance. The laundry room/work room/scrapping stuff room needed some new curtains. The sun had baked the last pair of sheers. And I hadn't made any changes to my work room since the chandelier. It was time.

I started with a set of white tab top panels. I found them at one of my favorite spots. The TarJay end caps, clearance, oh yeah! I had a the cute quilt fabric squares from Kris and Becca from Quilt Sandwich for my yoyo's. I randomly stitched the yoyo's on to the panels.


It's cheerful in my work room on another rainy, gray day in the Pacific Northwest. Guess I'll do some laundry and ironing today, it's just too wet to be gardening.

Coming or Going

In September Sam left for Fort Sill, OK for basic training. In December he moved to Fort Sam Houston, TX for medic training. In May Sam moved to Fort Benning, GA for Airborne training. After completing his jumps Sam was shipped to Fort Bragg, NC.

But really, Sam is in limbo. The Land of Limbo. He has no address, lives in temporary housing, and does not have a job in his field.

He was told he was being deployed to Iraq within weeks. Then, nope, you're staying here. On Monday he began deployment classes. The two week course soldiers take right before they deploy. He was told, no, you're not going.

Yesterday Sam had to go and pick up all his deployment gear. Today he gets his overseas vaccinations.

If he doesn't get deployed, he gets to come home in July for a week. I want to see Sam, Sam wants to get deployed. One thing we all agree on is that we just want to know.

This may be what they call, military games...

Oh, and Sam still likes the army.

*In the pic, Sam is on the far left.

A Sip n' See

On Friday afternoon, early evening, actually, I called my friend, Sheryl to set a date for her daughter's bridal shower. We decided it would be easier to get together with our calendars and figure it out. She was stopping at Haggen's and then coming over.

When she got to my house with her bags, I had a feeling we were going to have some fun. Sheryl stopped at Haggen's wine aisle and we were now on a mission. It was an honorable assignment and someone had to do it.

Choosing the wedding wine! I got out my little glasses (cute travel, Ned Harris), paper and pens for notes and had homemade rolls and butter to cleanse our palates. Rose to the occasion.

We were sniffing, swishing, swirling and coming up with some pretty good descriptions of each wine. After small sips, of course.

All kidding aside, we got'er done. Nicely done. Towards the end of our assignment I was still taking notes.

"Me likey!" I think that says a lot about a wine.


Now, I am busy planning the bridal shower with Shelly. It'll be a breeze IF it is sunny on June 29th. Hopeful, praying and crossing my fingers.

Sunny

Finding my happy place... in the sunshine... on my patio.

He Comes With His Own Toothpaste

It is sometimes said that the first year of marriage can be pretty rough. The last straw, or the biggest fight can be about how your partner squeezes the toothpaste tube. The little things can get on someone's last nerve.

I'm thinking that someday I'll send Max into marriage with his own case of Colgate. I don't want any deal breakers involving how he leaves his toothpaste on the counter.

Cuz there are no returns...

Favorite Cookies

Before Hubby and I got married, his Aunt Donna sent me New Favorites. A cookbook put together by Ripon Christian School in 1982. It is one of those cookbooks I have used many times over the years.

I found this recipe early on and added chocolate chips instead of chopped almonds.

My secret weapon or stash are the variety of chips I use in my cookies. I add about a cup and a half of chips. Mixed chips, such as a half cup each of mini semi-sweet, butterscotch, the huge Guittard milk chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips. The mix makes for a happy surprise in the cookie. And it's a good way to use up the odd bits of chips in the cupboard.

Oh, and I never use margarine...BUTTER baby! Butter all the way.

And Here She Is...Debbie Downer

I have been accused of being too cheerful on the blog, not keeping it real. Life is pretty real here, I just tend not to bore you with the downers. The moments when I do feel disappointment.

Generally speaking, I focus on the good. I like to think everyone is good, everyone is happy, no one is worried, everyone has a job, no one has debt, no one wants to harm others, everyone else's kids are angels, and everything is GOOD...this brought to you from lala land.

Sometimes I am disappointed on so many levels. Sometimes I am disappointed in myself, BiG time. Sometimes I am disappointed in others. Or just circumstances.

*I was pretty disappointed when my facebook account got hacked and everyone thought I was messaging about my love life Wednesday morning. yikes.

*I was disappointed that Sam didn't get to come home for a visit in May. Miss him.
Edited to Add: We just were informed that Sam is being deployed to Iraq in a few weeks and won't have any time to see us before he ships out. Hoping and praying for a brief deployment and that he comes back in August with his brigade. A little overwhelming for us right now.

*I was disappointed that our Commander in Chief chose not to go to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to lay a wreath during a time of war. Not interested in politics or biased party opinions here, just want my President to show some respect to our military during a time of war.

*I'm disappointed in our local public school board and administration. Not berating or belittling here, just disappointed. The past several years the Board and Administrators have been under attack. I,(misinformed, little Mary Sunshine), have always said, "it is a difficult job, they are doing their best". Reality check.

*The good ol' boys' club is flourishing in my small town. I don't like it.

*Cancer sucks! Praying for Coleson, Conor, Sue, Karen, Cash, Bill VP, Janet, Ben, Kathy, all fighting their battle against cancer. They wake up with it and go to sleep with it. There is no good in cancer but it can bring out the good in us.

*I listened to channel 7 Seattle news Saturday. The reporter is standing in an empty campground and he asks if it's empty because of the rainy weather or because of the improved(huh?) economy. He thought that people aren't camping this year because now the economy is so improved we can afford resorts again. HUH? I'm thinking it's probably because it's rainy and no one can even afford to camp this year. The media's lack of reality and actual news is disappointing.

*No Child Left Behind...it isn't working and it's disappointing.

*Disappointing to see local, hard working, creative, business owners in these tough economic times. Small business owners take a risk being in business, I get that. Sometimes it's very rewarding, sometimes it tanks. It's disappointing when capitalism is not working the United States.

*Weekend weather, pouring rain is disappointing on a holiday weekend. Thank goodness for indoor camping and s'more bars! But the weather can get me down especially when there is no sign of the rain letting up.

*I love football. I'm disappointed that Max isn't at camp this week. I seem to be the only one that cares about why he isn't there.

*Then I remember, There, by the grace of God, go I.

See, life is good! Not perfect, but good. Manageable and sometimes pretty funny.

And yes, I too have stuff. I just like to focus on the good and not bore you with the disappointments.

Tomorrow I'll bring you something fun or sweet.