Things That Make Me Smile :-}

Sweet Mary from Isabellas Closet did a post today about her favorite sneakers which make her smile..... and she asked about something that makes us smile..... well, here is mine.......

This is *Betsy*........ she is so named, because my Gramma named her car "Betsy", and she would talk to her car from time to time, especially when it was a little tempermental........ well, I don't have a car...... so, this is my *Betsy*........ she makes me smile :-) every time I see her........ She holds so many precious memories for me.........

She was my very first Christmas present from Steve...... Christmas of 1975...... and she and I have been through quite a lot since. She and I have spent lots of time together........ sewing Christmas presents for my family; and gifts of stuffed bunnies and bears and angels and pillows for my Mom; we sewed a Sherpa-lined vest for my Dad to wear to work ~oh, how many needles were broken on that project, not to mention the leather truck bed cover for him! We have sewn baby quilts, and hearts, and little girl dresses, and Halloween costumes. We have spent many nights alone together over the years, trying to get those last minute teacher gifts done before taking the kids to school, and sometimes we just barely made it!

And she has of course kept me company on many, many sleepless nights......

She has been sitting here in the hall at the top of the stairs for the last 6 years, though I have promised her a room of her own soon :-) and in those first long weeks after Steve was gone, she sat silent, but I am sure she knew I would be back, and she waited patiently..... and, now she will join me on the next path in our journey together, when I finally get serious about making and selling my things, as Mom and Steve had always wanted me to......... I know she's ready......... So, here we go girl, and here's to many, many more years together! Just you and me, kid.............

What a glorious Sunday evening........ it has been much, much too hot here lately...... of course, this is just my opinion, but I am certain I am not the only one who feels this way.......
So, it is always a delight to me when I am finally able to open up the windows because the sun has gone down, and Mr Moon has arrived...........
And, so, here I sit by the window, just me and him........ a slight breeze drifts in through the window.........ahhh, a bit of relief....... it is calm and it is quiet........
And, then suddenly.......... I hear him......... he starts out faintly, and then gains momentum........ and all I can do is sit back and enjoy it........
You see, there is, on the opposite corner from me, a sweet old gentleman, who, every evening........ honestly, every........ rain or shine........ steps out onto his porch......... and begins whistling.......... Now, it isn't whistling for a dog........ it is not, an attention-getting hey-you whistle........ oh, no........this is a wonderous sweet sound that fills the quiet night with a loud, vibrant whistle which echoes off the houses........ and it is beautiful........ Steve loved to sit quietly and listen to him, no matter how he was feeling, it would always bring a smile to his face......... It is just as beautiful in the Winter as the Summer........ You can hear him even amidst the raindrops........ Sometimes, you can tell he is having trouble sleeping, for he will be out in the very wee, wee hours of the morning......... but, no one minds........ no one complains........ This man has a talent not many know......... And, he will stay out there until his song is complete...... I don't know the names of his songs, but I do know, they touch my heart......... and they make me stop........ and listen....... and reflect........ and Thank God.......It has been a good day......... it is a beautiful night........ and, if only for a few moments......... I am being "serenaded" by one of God's "earth~angels"............ goodnight my friends........ May God Bless........

Can I just say.............

YUMM!!!

I found this delightful creation on a blog this morning....... and, well, since I simply adore muffins, I thought, well, why not give it a try?

This, in spite of the fact that as much as I love them, I am not very good at baking muffins........ mine are, at the very least, reminiscent of "the Sahara desert"..........

But, oh, no, not this time! Not this lovely batch of "brown-bombshells".... no, no.......... these, these are..........well........... indescribable! Truly they are!! I wish I could send some to you........ they're that good!

I added just a teeny bit more liquids than the recipe called for, just a teeny.... like a *splash* more milk.......... a *skosh* more coffee {don't you love my cooking terms?} and maybe just a *glunk* {which is somewhere between a splash and a skosh} more vanilla than called for in the recipe...... I did this because I did not want to "visit" the Sahara this morning ;-)

And, I baked them for exactly the 18 minutes it says in the recipe...........

Also, as I was making them I discovered I did not in fact have chocolate chips :-( but I did have mini chocolate chips~ and maybe this made them even better! Oh, so yummy, and oh, so good! I am going to certainly make this one of my favorite blogs, and I will be trying more of her wonderful recipes, because goodness knows, if her recipe can give me muffins that come out like this.......... well, then this lady is one smart cookie!!

So, you know it is going to be a good weekend when it starts off with this:

Followed by this:

The boys and I drove up to my oldest son's new home on Friday to spend the weekend........ It is about an hour and a half away....... and, we had a wonderful time!

I was surprised by the flowers and cake up there.......... very pretty and very yummy!

It was a fun-filled weekend, with trips to thrift shops and Goodwill looking for some things for his new place........ not much luck there really, just a few cookbooks, and I found a book for me by Luanne Rice...........and two lovely little paperbacks by Louisa May Alcott.....

and, we watched movies, the boys played games........... and we ate and ate and ate........

"All right, I thought you hid the camera from Mom before dinner"

"It's ok, boys, just be yourselves"

"Oh, ok Mom"

The weekend went all too fast..... so much so in fact, that we decided to stay an extra day, and actually headed back Monday night....... I can't wait for our next trip up........ possibly next weekend....... I'll take more pics for you, it's a lovely place!

I love this picture! One of my latest "treasures" from Goodwill..... I will display it in my bath/dressing area...... I thought at first I would hang a seashell necklace from it, but then I thought these "faux~pearls" which were my mom's would be better..... What a delightful picture though, don't you think? It reminds me of simpler times in life... it reminds me of special times with my daughter when she was small.......Some days I wish we could go back to when she was this age..... As I think back, life seemed easier then... She would giggle at just about everything... she loved to go exploring, everything fascinated her..... she loved frilly girly things....... perfume, jewelry, and dresses.... oh how she loved her dresses........... most were handmade by me, and always included flowers and ruffles and lace...... they are tucked away now, in hopes that one day another lovely little lady will wear them...... And of course back then the only boys we had to worry about around our little girl were her brothers.... and she could certainly keep them in line.... no worries there whatsoever..... I so wish it had stayed that way..... I like to remember the days when she looked like this:

But she has grown into quite a young woman... and the most I can hope for her is that one day she will know these same feelings about her own little girl.......

I am so proud of this beautiful girl...........

Love You *Miss Mary* !

Feeling a bit like this lately..... I am so, so very sorry my friends... I cannot believe it has been a month I have been away.... I suppose it began with Father's Day and the trip to the cemetery.... it has become our tradition..... the kids and I travel to Steve's gravesite on holidays, and his birthday...... it's not necessarily that I think he is "there", it is my personal belief that he is not, though I think it is a distinct possibility that he goes there with us, he is in heaven, and he is here with us from time to time, and one day we will all be there together, (these are my beliefs, not intended to be a religious statement here) but the cemetery is a beautiful place, a tribute to him, and it is our way of honoring him together as a family........ for some reason the trip this year just triggered something, it kind of felt like a downward spiral, and I have just been trying to "deal" with it all, and am now trying to climb my way back up......... I have been through this before, I guess this time it shocked me a bit, and when these feelings come I tend to withdraw from everyone because I don't want anyone to think I want them to feel sorry for me........ I think sometimes I expect too much of myself..... I mean 30 years truly is a long time to be with someone, and then one day to not have him there, well, I don't think it is something one "gets over"........ and he was such a wonderful husband and father.............

Below is a picture of him when he first began his Chemo treatments........ His Oncologist soon became one of his best friends....... Steve was just like that, people just immediately took a liking to him.......... His Oncologist would tease him that he looked like Ghandi..........

and he was such a kidder.......... whenever anyone was feeling down, he would find a way to make you laugh, and he wouldn't leave you alone until you did......... this was taken shortly after he began Hospice at home......... he wanted to go out and buy lottery tickets in this outfit..........

And so, I just wanted to apologize for my absence........ I enjoy my blogging, and have made some delightful new friends here....... I hope I haven't lost anyone along the way....... I truly will try to be better about these things and keep up here........

I do want to thank a very special lady, who lives what seems to me to be a "world away", and is incredibly talented and busy, and yet she took the time to email and ask if I was OK............ if you haven't visited her lovely blog, please do so........ she is amazing, and I am so honored to have "met" her..........

A huge, huge Thank You,

to Cherry Menlove

http://talesfrompixiewood.typepad.com/weblog/