Hot.

The pool opened this week-end and yesterday we enjoyed it even though it was pretty crowded for Memorial Day. It's been quite hot here and today the heat index is to hit 105 so we're enjoying the air conditioning, ice tea and I'm about to fix pasta salad for dinner. Too hot to do much of anything! Just ask my cat.

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Thank you for the SALE orders ~ EPatterns are still in the process of being sent. Mailing of orders go out in batches beginning tomorrow. Enjoy and happy summer stitching. Stay cool!

Memorial Day SALE !!!

Wasn't it just yesterday we were getting ready for school? Celebrating Halloween? Putting up a Christmas tree? Throwing snowballs? Getting back from spring break? How can it be almost June??? My oldest turns 12 next week - eek! I've clearly not had good luck at bottling time around here - my 2 boys are growing like weeds and eager for summer vacation just like I am. Preschool ends tomorrow and 6th grade has a little over 2 weeks to go! Loving this lemonade, poolside, flip flop, stitching time in the sun ahead!

Memorial Day SALE
May 25 - May 30
Patterns 25% off / Booklets 30% off

Details on website!

bliss

::homemade soaps from Lori in MA (love.them!!)
::bookclub night
::last day of preschool
::cosy rainy nights
::sweet corn
::pool opening
::sale shopping @ Talbots
::ice cream sandwiches
::hearing from an old friend
::Dove dark chocolate
::summer stitching
::kitty purrs
::belly laughs
::earl grey ice tea
::chick flick watching
::clean laundry
::playing blackout bingo with my boys
::flip flops
::long week-end

Happy Birthday

Today is my grandmother's birthday! She is 85 and we celebrated with a fun birthday lunch at my house with friends, food and of course, presents! My Mom made a lemon cake and it was delicious. I fixed the tilapia & dip that I'm currently addicted to, pasta salad, sausage & cream cheese bundles and friends brought salads which were divine. Beautiful weather here! Hope your week-end is splendidly fun too.

good eats

Oh wow - this was delicious, simple to make and the dip with it was fantastic. Both kids ate the fish! I had mashed sweet potatoes with it. Recipe is adapted from one in the June/July 2011 issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray.

Dip

1/3 cup Mayo

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper

Mix together and chill.

Fish

1 cup Panko breadcrumbs

3 Tablespoons light olive oil

3 Tablespoons flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 lb Tilapia, cut into pieces

Heat oven to 450. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with Pam.

In one bowl: Mix Panko and olive oil with fork. In another bowl: beat eggs. In another bowl: Mix flour and salt and pepper.

Wash and pat dry fish.

Toss fish pieces, 2 pieces at a time, into the flour mixture, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Place on baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes or until done. I turned half way to brown both sides.

New Pattern! Just Married, the Jane Austen Way

New Pattern!
Just Married, the Jane Austen Way
Copyright 2011 The Sampler Girl

I loved this quote by Jane Austen and thought it a sweet fancy to stitch for someone getting married. All details can be found HERE on the website. Enjoy!

How about a day at the beach?

That would be nice, wouldn't it? Z's preschool class had a Beach Party Day and it was adorable. I think everybody should have a beach day filled with party food and plastic sunglasses during their week.

Lots going on this week -- band concert, baseball, Methodist Confirmation for Ben, more baseball, and things that fill the heart and make life heavy but we'll make it through. This evening the power went out -- a squirrel (told you I didn't like those buggers!) zapped himself on the transformer and caused several houses to go dark. The power company came out rather quickly, thank goodness, and fixed it just in time for me to make the weekly pizza. Never a dull moment!

...

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. ~e.e. cummings

M for Mama

My favorite thing to be called is Mama. When my oldest son started calling me Mom instead, it made me sad because that sounded too grown up, too Hallmark-cardish, too June Cleaver-like, so for awhile I told him to please, please just call me that at home and with the guys he can call me Mom but alas, I became Mom. I will say he tried, bless his heart, but it didn't catch. And now I hear Mom in triplicate most times as if he thinks I can't hear him loud enough. He can be across the table and say Mom three times before he says anything else and funny, that makes my eye twitch.

My littlest son still calls me Mama and little does he know but he can't follow suit with big brother in what he calls me in a few years -- we'll just have to work on that when the time comes. I know, I know, he'll probably go the same route but he might surprise me.

Both boys are different and similar in so many ways. It is so much fun seeing them in all their childhood stages, how they interact with each other and with their friends, how they are growing into the men they will become.

Mother's Day is every day as far as I'm concerned. I'm blessed with a loving mother and grandmother. Mothering isn't a picnic all the time but rainy days can be all that sweet too. I love my boys and thank God for them making me a Mama because I've received no greater gift.

...

It was a very difficult weekend. My mother in law was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer back in mid-March and it just advanced all so quickly. We were able to go up to see her this weekend and I like to think she was waiting for us, to see the boys again. She died that night. It's a long drive from Virginia to Massachusetts and I could never have made it without my mother driving us there to join my husband who had been there all week. Grief and stress takes its toil on the body and mind and I have recently found how very fragile we can be when these take over. So my mom, grandmother, Zack and I made the journey in time and coming home on Mother's Day yesterday was bittersweet.

Life is precious. Faith in God carries us through all of it.

a day in the life

Lest you think I sit around all day and eat apple honey butter with a spoon or shovel down caramel white chocolate covered popcorn -- I have been trying to finish this shawl for my mother in law who is very ill. I love the yarn color, very cheerful. I pray I finish it in time.

And here are some recent favorite lines from my two favorite boys, Ben (11) and Zack (4) ...

B - Mom, you're such a Mom.
Z -At snack today I sat with the girls and told them knock knock jokes.
B - It's teacher appreciation week? All week? When is kid appreciation day?
Z - Mama! Don't take my band aid off ~ I want my friends to see it.
B - No, I don't need a shower - you think I need a shower.
Z - I need more food, Mama. This isn't enough.
B - Is the Royal Wedding stuff over now?

Z - Ben, my friend, let me show you something I made today.
B - Why is there never any cheese in the frig?
Me - Because you eat it all.
...

Monique, also a freak of Royal watching like me, clued me in to Bath & Body Works' Royal Limited Edition promo; I wasn't able to get to a nearby store on Friday so ordered online. The UPS man arrived this morning wish my goods. I am now the proud owner of several fragrant lotions and potions (I adore the bag!!) and of course, the Royal Pucker lipgloss. My lips now smell and taste like sugary cake frosting. Ah well, methinks the container will be a collectible, right?


Oh and the UPS guy wished me a Happy Mother's Day. Made me smile.

beyond popcorn

in case you're wondering ... it's good :)

simple pleasures

On our recent visit to Trader Joes, I fell in love. There, at the end of an aisle were a few new products and my eyes were drawn sweetly to the words ... Honey Apple Butter. I love apple butter and known to hoard jars of it when the farmers market opens because it's just so darn good when made fresh. Add honey and wow, this spread is already addicting. It was superbly matched on my turkey sandwich for lunch today.

A favorite cookie is their Crispy Crunchy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. These bite-size bits of goodness are highly addicting (see a pattern?) and so good for you -- oatmeal, right? :) They are just divine and happily the raisins must be ground up because you can't taste them as much which is good for me because I don't usually like raisins in oatmeal cookies -- gimme chocolate chips any day -- let's be honest! But these little cookies are fantastic and you really need them.


Have a closer look and agree.


Ok, that's all I got today. The sun is out and it's Monday so as far as I see it, the week should go along swimmingly from here. Time for my cup of afternoon tea and I think I need a cookie to go with it. Till next time -- happy May!