Is it spring yet?

Poured rain this morning out of dark scary skies.

A few hours later the sun came out and warmed the earth.

A bit of wind chased away the clouds and sadness ...

~ * ~

And I caught a few reminders that Spring is on the way

~ * ~

The back field is greening up

Rhubarb is poking up it's little heads

Along with a weed or two and moss :(

Chives are making their appearance too

And the grass is making its way through this leaf.

I love the way God's creation works beautifully together.

SHAVE MY HEAD!

My Genius son has been negligent in hair cuts recently ...

well recently isn't really the word for it.

It has been months and months and months.

Because of this, his hair had become a

very sore spot in the family.

Long, thick waves kept cascading over his ears ... Yikes ...

With his oval face, and this hair

he looked like a giant black Q-tip.

Finally after some gentle (?) persuasion,

he comes up to me and says SHAVE MY HEAD!

The official measurement indicated that his hair was clearly

tooo long!

Out with the clippers ......

With a reward of DQ blizzards for all,

the deed was done.

My Genius son is handsome again!

What Old People Do For Fun

My husband celebrated his 54th birthday yesterday.

I served him lasagna, dinner rolls, and salad for dinner and

Angel Food cake with raspberry sauce for dessert .... His favourites.

Too busy to go out and celebrate mid-week

so we plan to go out and have fun later.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Speaking of fun,

I found this clip on youtube showing

how other"old folks" have fun

Irish Stew and Soda Bread

It seems that every blog I visited today had some shamrock showing,
or special green dish displayed,

or some little leprechaun dancing upon their shelves ...

I am ashamed to say I don't have anything decorative

that even resembled

a St. Patrick's Day celebration.

How sad for me and how boring for my family.

~ * ~

Now, that was my confession part

and here is what I did manage to do today:

Irish Stew with Irish Soda Bread

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Irish Stew

1 tbsp olive oil

2 lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 large onion, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 parsnip, peeled and cut into large chunks

4 cups water, or as needed

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)

1 cup coarsely chopped leeks

~ * ~

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large stockpot or Dutch oven, Add lamb pieces and cook, stirring gently, until evenly browned. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add the onion and carrots and cook gently alongside the meat for a few minutes. Stir in the water. Cover and bring to a boil before turning the heat down to low. Simmer for 1 hour or longer, until meat is tender.

3. Stir in Parsnips, potatoes, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes before adding leeks and rosemary. Continue to simmer uncovered, until potatoes are tender but still whole.

Serve piping hot and enjoy!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Irish Soda Bread

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup buttermilk

~ * ~

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet.

3. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

Serve hot with yet even more butter ..... Yummm!

Irish Blessings to You

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

~ * ~

(Don't forget to scroll down and stop my playlist songs

located on the left column before you watch this beautiful film clip)

So True ... So True

A little lantern can do what

the great sun can never do ---

It can shine in the night

You are the world's light ...

glowing in the night for all to see.

Matthew 5:14 TLB

The Adventures of Shifu

One of the fun things that my Hubby and I did during our travels

was take a series of photos of

Shifu

(You remember him best from Kung Fu Panda fame)

~ * ~

To our glee, we found that he was quite photogenic!

We kept Shifu and my camera in a side pocket of my purse,

but when a perfect backdrop appeared,

out he popped for a photo shoot!

It was funny to see people watch us as we tried

different angles and back grounds

Most just smiled as they joined in with our fun ...

and middle-aged giggles

Although Shifu is only a plastic McDonald's version

of the 'REAL' one,

he almost came alive in our minds


We found that

sometimes it's the cheap entertainment

that gives us the priceless memories

Wonderful Weekend

So we had a wonderful weekend together

Just Hubby and I

and he only answered the cell phone three times the whole weekend!

We had a wonderful weekend

Here are a few shots of places we passed by

in old Bellingham, Washington

A towering old church

The City Hall built in 1892

Lovely

This magnificent building is the

Y-W-C-A

And this is the hotel room where we stayed the first night

I would definitely say that this is one of those reported

Best Places to Kiss

Romantic Weekend

So Hubby and I are going away on a

Romantic Weekend.

First one 'officially' in our almost 24 years of marriage.

Friday morning we cross the US / Canadian border

and travel south.

First night we have reservations at a lovely hotel,

and second night we are playing it by ear.

Whatever place suits our fancy.

I only hope that we don't wind up at a Youth Hostel or YMCA!

Somehow that would totally put a damper

on the whole Romantic Weekend concept!

Who knows what adventures will await us?

I'll tell you all about it when we return!

Showing and Telling # 4

Wow ... I am stunned!

And I want to share on Kelli's Show and Tell the reason why ...

Lookey what Susan from

http://sincerelysusiehomemaker.blogspot.com/

sent me from her Blog Contest back in February

I won her contest by somehow making the closest

G - U - E - S - S

to how much she spent on an all day

Thrift store shopping trip with her sister.

The prize was a fun and unique one:

Pick the prize of your choice from the bounty

she had acquired that day

Check out her post for the winning day:

http://sincerelysusiehomemaker.blogspot.com/2009/02/and-winner-is.html

I chose a sweet little Scotty Dog figurine,

but look what she sent me ...

I am overwhelmed with gratefulness

The box was beautifully filled with:

A photo box, two lovely dish towels, three pot holders,
four scented candles (I've used one already!)

a special chocolate bar (Do I have to share?)

a cute purse-shaped note pad,

a ribboned card and sweet note from Susie,

AND my little Scotty Dog

Thank you Susie ... You have made my day ... week ...
Probably gave me enough happiness for a whole month!

The Simple Life

Yesterday I happened upon a

VINTAGE PHOTO

of a little boy tending his garden

... I was thrilled ...

And to put the icing on the cake, they had it marked down to 25 cents!

Score for my side.

~ * ~

Check out his warm overcoat and buttoned leather shoes

Perfectly trimmed hair cut and sweet face ...

and THAT HAT!

You just want to eat him up

~ * ~

To go with this yesteryear photo memory,

I found this quote:

"It is neither wealth nor splendor,

but tranquillity and occupation,

which give happiness."

Thomas Jefferson

Happy Birthday Song

Oh, can't forget this ...

My younger brother sent me this

Happy Birthday Song

Thought that you would enjoy it too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxYjclsmP_I

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What's Inside

This past week has been disastrous!

Not only we were overly stressed with busy-ness,

but my computer gave a loud POP

and then there was smoke and then utter darkness.

~ * ~
~~~ That can't be good ~~~

~ * ~

Fortunately, Paul from our church came to my rescue.

I think that he replaced a spark plug or something

and now it is working again ... Yeah!

~ * ~

This week end also brought about my 48th birthday.

March 1st to be exact.

~ * ~

My daughters down in South Carolina sent me this cute fridge magnet.

~ * ~

And my daughter Johnnie-Girl composed this for me:

Happy days have come, your birthdays are here,

Let excitement flow, they only come once a year.

Sit back, relax, have breakfast in bed,

And be thankful you're not being Dining Common fed.

We love you, we miss you, we wish we were there,

You can make it happen, just pay our plane fare!

I wish they could have been here.

Only 67 more days till they come home for the summer.

More later on this past week ...