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/

I lovingly send forth these words for you today........ they are from the wonderful Helen Steiner Rice.......
Happy Sunday!

"Often during a busy day

I pause for a minute

to silently pray,

I mention the names

of those I love

And treasured friends

I am fondest of ~

For it doesn't matter

where we pray

If we honestly mean

the words that we say,

For God is always

listening to hear

The prayers that are

made by a heart that's sincere."

"Loving God, bless all my friends today and bless those who are not yet my friends, in other words, God, bless us one and all."

It's FRIDAY! And, we have a winner! THANK YOU ALL so VERY, VERY much for helping me with your responses ~ I so appreciate your time and opinions! As promised, I drew a winning name this morning........ and the winner is.......

ARLENE from The Lil Cottage Shoppe

Yaaay! Congratulations to you, Arlene! If you will please send your snail mail adress to me at: Delia252@aol.com, I will get your gift out to you early next week!

Again, thank you all so very much! I truly love reading your comments every day........ and thank you for visiting!!

*A Poll & A Giveaway!*

So, you probably know by now, I enjoy making things........ be it sewing, or painting, I enjoy it~ I love it........

I also love selling my creations........ I have sold on eBay off and on for some 9 years now........ through blogging, I have learned about Etsy, but have yet to try selling there........ so, here is my question........ a "poll" so to speak........

eBay vs. Etsy

What do you think? Which one is better for selling on in your opinion? Which have you had success with? Do you do both? Which do you think is more "buyer-friendly"?

I really would like to know........ please post here and tell me what you think........

As a "thank you" for your opinions and help, I am offering a very-special giveaway! Simply post your "vote" and/or opinion here, and you could win a wonderful super special, top secret, "handmade" treasure........ from me to you....... just because.......It might be crocheted........ it might be sewn..... it might be painted........ you just never know, and I ain't tellin'! But I guarantee it will be one of a kind, and I really think you'll like it........ .I will draw a name in one week, on Friday, June 8th, from all who are kind enough to post a response here, and I will send out my special thank you gift!

So, come on, I know you like giveaways!