Wednesday, March 31, 2010

What's Outside My Kitchen Window and Library Loot

What's outside my kitchen window?


This.......

March really did go out like a LION!

It wasn't like this all week, but for a full look at my Big Backyard please check out that blog.

You could just click on the button on my sidebar...the one with the picture of  a bird at the feeder, which was, incidentally, taken just outside my kitchen window, but if it's easier for you just click here

You know, if I were a person who could get things done in a timely manner (my friend April put it so accurately in describing the both of us...if someone gives me a deadline, all of the sudden everything else becomes extremely important. EVERYTHING! even straightening out a sock drawer, so that the deadline drawers nearer and nearer with nothing done! It's called procrastination)

if I got things done in a timely manner and wasn't such a procrastinator, might do a "Mr. Linky" and have everyone show me "what's outside their kitchen windows"


But I'm not that organized.


I do have to say tho, that I'm great under pressure..... my job requires it.
I get my things done, just as the guillotine of the deadline is about to drop!
I actually must thrive on that feeling.... it's how I roll.

*************

 Library Loot!

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva at
"A Striped Armchair" and Marg at "Reading Adventures"  that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!




Want to share your loot?

This is what I picked up this week.







I have no idea as to why, except I like to hear stories about America and it's people. Regions and customs and stories. Hopefully this will be good for that. I'll let you know.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Sweet Tea and a Teaser for Tuesday

A couple of weeks ago, I made "Iced Tea" in my Cookbook Countdown. (Yes, I was taking the easy way out... I have over 200 cookbooks to get thru)



I posted about it here: ICED TEA
 
Now, comes my comparison. If you remember, I said that "Sweetened Iced Tea" was not my thing....and my friend April, who grew up in Virginia was horrified at my use of words.



She said that "Sweet-en-eddd Icee-ed-tee" doesn't even flow off your tongue. ( oh my gosh she drew it out and made fun of me...sweet ten ed iced ed ed tee )


She set me straight.... it's Sweet Tea. It flows.....


I made my sweet tea from this cookbook.... You've all seen it: Screen Doors and Sweet Tea by Martha Hall Foose.




It's a great cookbook, full of all kinds of stories as well as recipes. I think I love reading cookbooks for reasons such as this, I like to hear the stories that went along with people's food memories.


I do feel some guilt here tho as there are so many great recipes in this book, that it seems a shame to make "Sweet Tea".


I even found one for "Inside out Sweet Potatoes" which is mashed sweet potatoes wrapped around a marshmallow, and rolled in cornflakes, baked and when you bite into it, the marshmallow is warm and gooey and yummy!!


This recipe is a legend in my family. From what I  understand, my great-grandmother used to make these, and no one has been able to reproduce them since she passed away.  I hear stories about how great they were, at every Thanksgiving.   I'm going to try them and see if I can surprise my mom! There are all kinds of treasures in this cookbook.


Anyway, make the Sweet tea, I did.



 And you know what? It was good. Even the Handyman thought it was good. We both liked it very much.


But....as you know. We are northerners/westerners, and we prefer our tea "un-sweet" (and also a bit stronger than this recipe allowed for), so we'll stick to that.






Even if Sweet Tea is not your thing, I suggest you check out this cookbook. It's a lovely little visit to the South.


Sweet Tea


4 pitcher-size cold brew tea bags or 6 tablespoons orange pekoe tea leaves in a diffuser.
3/4 cups sugar
Ice cubes
2 lemons
Fresh Mint sprig (optional)


Place the tea bags in a large pitcher. Add 3 quarts of cold water, and steep for 30 minutes.


Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water and the sugar. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved.


Remove the tea bags. Add the sugar syrup and stir to combine. Serve over ice with lemon and fresh mint, if desired.
***************************************
 
I am going to add a Tuesay Teaser here. I don't think I've ever done one before..



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.


Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)


Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Here is my teaser:
I stopped for coffee and hot biscuits just outside of Nags Head at an empty diner that probably thrived in the summer but was barely kept alive in off-season by teh occasional truckers passhing through. The woman behind the register was napping with her head down on the steel countertop when I arrived.
~pg 139, "Legwork", by Katy Munger.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Musing Mondays


MUSING MONDAYS is hosted by Rebecca at Just One More Page.

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about multitasking.

Do you – or are you even able – to do other things while you read? Do you knit, hold a conversation, keep an eye on the TV? Anything?


Hmmmm.....multitasking. Let me back track just a minute. Yesterday I glanced at this question (it was posted already because it was Monday in Australia, which is where I believe this comes from), and I've been thinking about my answer all last evening and this morning.


Finally, I have time to write a response.... I click on "Booking Through Thursday" and I can't find the multi-tasking question ANYWHERE! I go back, I go forth, I refresh my page...still nothing. I can't for the life of me figure out why she pulled her "musing" this Monday.


Then it dawns on me: I'm looking at Thursday's meme and not Monday's.


Multi-tasking? Me? Probably not. I used to be able to read while watching TV, but in the past few years, even that doesn't work, so I'll take my book in the other room...but that's been nice in and of itself this winter, as the other room has the fireplace. There's nothing better than a warm fire and a good book.... unless it was summer time, a hammock and a good book.....rainy day, warm cookies and a good book?

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Cookbook Countdown and Weekend Cooking

I am making progress with my Cookbook Countdown. If I don't purchase another cookbook ever, and I make a recipe from 2 cookbooks a week...I should be thru my cookbook collection in about 4 years. That's Four years. I better get cooking.

This cookbook is from my mom's church. I use it all the time, it's one of those good "churchy" cookbooks, with everyone's best recipes.



As you can tell, this one is older....they typed everything up on a typewriter, made copys and put a spiral binder thru it...all themselves.

I'm not sure what "Koinonia" means. I think it's an Indian word--Native American. I'm not sure why they would use it.... maybe it means GREAT RECIPES!!

Inside the front cover is a very poorly photo-copied picture of my mom's church... the church I got married in 32 years ago.


We were invited to a BBQ, in hopes that the weather would turn nice--it didn't, and we were asked to take a salad. I made this macaroni/seafood salad to count towards my Cookbook Countdown. I'm also going to link to Weekend Cooking, a weekly meme hosted by Beth Fish Reads


Seashore Salad

1 Tbsp salt
3 qt. boiling water
4 oz salad or shell macaroni
3/4 cup salad shrimp or tuna
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup mayonnaise
chopped parsley
lettuce

Add salt to boiling water. Gradually add macaroni and cook until tender (about 10 minutes.)  Drain thoroughly.  Combine macaroni, shrimp, celery, relish and mayonnaise.  Toss lightly to mix well.  Arrange on lettuce in a bowl or on individual salad plates.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley.  Chill.



It was a good seafood/pasta salad. Not as good as my mom's, but then, she didn't put hers in this cookbook.


I would definatly make this one again, everyone seemed to like it. I've never actually used a recipe for a macaroni salad tho....
....this one had a lot more relish than I usually use. I usually use pickles, but the sweet relish was good with the shrimp.

Kid Konnection--a day late


I am obsessed with "Little Golden Books".....with collecting them for my grandchildren. I'm not sure I can defend this obsession, Little Golden Books are certainly not easy books to read (you have to be a pretty good reader to get thru some of them), not easy books to hold (they have really sharp edges and they are reinforced CARDBOARD), not that easy to find (other, up and coming books/authors have pushed them aside.)


But...there is just "that certain something" about Little Golden Books, that " Je ne sais quoi " if you will.
I love them, so I keep picking them up when I find them.


My obsessions are usually short lived. I was on a Nursery Rhyme obsession for a while, so my twin grandchildren were the lucky recipients of 5 or 6 different versions of Nursery Rhyme books. Then I ventured on to Fairy Tales (they have only about 3 of those books, but they are collections, not just one story).


A few months ago, while shopping I found a rack of Little Golden Books and it had the books "Little Mommy" and "Doctor Dan the Bandage Man." I was hit by a jolt of nostalgia and I've been buying them ever since.


While at the library a couple of weeks ago, I came across this catalog and price guide of Little Golden Books...and I was shocked. SHOCKED to learn that books I had when I was a kid are now going for $27, $30 and more for a first edition!
Why couldn't have my mother saved all my Little Golden Books? (sigh) She did recently give me all my "Dr. Seuss Book Club books". (my brother does not know I got all the books...shhhh.....).


We owned this one!! The Naughty Bunny!! Where or where did it go?


 Last week, I noticed, that the Sunday School room has a bunch of older Little Golden Books on a shelf.
They have the Naughty Bunny. I wanted to "borrow" it. I glanced to my left, then to my right....my fingers got itchy.... my husband sighed and shook his head. He said, "Really Debbie? It's a church."
Okay, so I left the Naughty Bunny on the shelf. But when I go help with Sunday School today, I'm going to hold it in my hands and dream.


Actually, this was my favorite Little Golden Book....Heidi. I loved Heidi.


 I will stop this obsession when I find this book for my grandchildren. I'm on a quest!

Then I think I'll move on to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. OR...the Bobbsey Twins!


Did you have a love affair with "Little Golden Books?" What was your favorite?

I am linking this post to "Kid Konnection",   a feature hosted every Saturday (yes, I am late) by Julie at Booking Mama.   
Check it out for great links to other great children's books.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Cooking Book Club-The Lit Wits

Yes, it is a "book club", but we also "cook"......


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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

What's outside my Kitchen Window

This is what's outside my Kitchen window....




And then this is what's underneath my kitchen window!
A Hollyhock "springing" back to life.


Go Here for a look at what all is going on in my big backyard.

No Library Loot today.  I'm running behind.
Have a great day!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Musing Mondays

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about tbr books.

TBR--for you non book bloggers is "To Be Read"


Where do you keep the books on the top of the tbr pile? Not the bunk of the mountain, but just the tip of the peak – the ‘almost up to’ books?

It's funny because my "tip of the peak" pile, my "almost up to" pile is just in my head.

I can count 3 book shelves in the family room, 2 in the living room, (plus two baskets of books), 3 in my bedroom, 1 in the red-room (not including my children's library shelves in the closet), 2 or 3 in the other bedroom. Some books are even in the garage, some on my bedside table... but the ones on top of my TBR pile are---in my head.
I have a couple of book club books always at the top of the pile, since we meet once a month to discuss those.
I know I always have those waiting to be read, then I have a mystery in my mind and also books from the library, which I know I need to get thru because of a "due date", and then a children's novel, and 1 or 2 that are "just because I want to" to be read.

And they are all kept....in my mind.

Now, I'll probably be obsessing about a place to put them. ~smiles~

Stop on by Just One More Page for a link to all the Musing Monday posts and join in the fun, if you want!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Cookbook Countdown and Weekend Cooking--Blackberry Cream Streusel Cake


What could be better for "Weekend Cooking" than using one of my rarely used cookbooks and courting it towards my "Cookbook Countdown?"



Well....nothing. So I used a cookbook that I never, NEVER pull out and use. I took it with me on our drive to Reno last week, and found about TWENTY recipes that I want to try.


The cookbook, I'm talking about is "Morning Glories"; Recipes for Breakfast, Brunch and Beyond From an American Country Inn, by Donna Leahy.


Leahy and her husband are the proprietors of The Inn at Twin Linden in Lancaster, PA.


I just checked out their website and man oh man...it's beautiful!!
Check out their website!
(they also have a BLOG--check it out here)
 
I've had this cookbook for about 15 years, and had never, not once, used it, but I've decided that inviting friends for breakfast or brunch this summer is something I want to do.

While glancing thru it, I was just amazed at all the great recipes. Many I have marked and want to try.


This is one of them..... and it was so incredibly delicious, I can't wait to make it again for my friends.



Blackberry Cream Streusel Cake

with Cinnamon Cream


Cake batter and crumb topping
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond-extract


Filling
8oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup seedless blackberry preserves


Cinnamon Custard Cream
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon


Cake and Topping: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a 9-10 inch spring form pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Remove and reserve 1 cup of this.
Then add the baking powder, soda and salt, combine well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg and almond extract. Stir this in the flour mixture and combine well.
Spread in the bottom of the spring form pan evenly.




Filling and Assembly: With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, egg, sugar and almond extract. Spread the mixture over the cake batter; spoon on the preserves evenly over the cheese mixture. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs over the top.
Bake for 45 minutes, until firm and lightly brown.

Cinnamon Cream: In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cream and cook over medium heat until just ready to boil. Remove from heat. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and brown sugar until well combined. Pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture--slowly and whisk to combine well.
Prepare a large bowl with ice and water and a second empty bowl for the custard. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until it just begins to thicken and coat the spoon. Immediately remove the mixture from the heat and pour it into the empty bowl. Submerge the bottom of the bowl in the ice water to stop the cooking and prevent over-thickening, and stir, until slightly cooled. Stir in the cinnamon.


Refrigerate until serving.
Serve each piece of cake on a pool of custard.


*Both the cake and the cream may be made up to 24 hours in advance and then reheat the cake until warm if desired.



**********
Weekend Cooking is a weekley meme hosted by Beth Fish Reads
Be sure and stop by for links to other great Weekend Cooks.



The Cookbook Countdown is my own challenge--to use every cookbook I own.
You can check that out too, to see how I'm doing.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Kid Konnection--Gone Away Lake

I am not a book reviewer, and I don't pretend to be. I just like books. A LOT. I am especially passionate about children's books and I do have a "library" in my grandchildren's guest room up stairs. I've collected books throughout the years, at used book stores, school library "sales" and.... taken home discarded books.

Which brings me to my entry into Kid Konnection..... Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright.

Kid Konnection -- is a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books hosted by Julie at Booking Mama.

I picked this book up when I worked at a school library ... it was being discarded, to make room for newer books, and I took it home.


Getting rid of the old, to make room for the new is a complicated issue. I read an article recently in which the author wondered if children's classics will be "forgotten" by kids....forgotten to be read!
Gone Away Lake is not a "classic" in the traditional sense, (whatever that means)  but it was a 1958 Newbery Honor book and it deserves a place on your bookshelf! 
In the story, Portia and her brother take a train from the city to the country--BY THEMSELVES--to visit a cousin. Portia is "beginning to be eleven" and her brother Foster is six and a half, but that's old enough Portia convinces her father and "My goodness what could happen? There were two of them!"


It was a different world in 1957.... I want my grandchildren to visit this kind of world, thru books. (because there is no way, they are getting on a train at 11 and 6 by themselves to travel to the country!! Or a bus, which is what my own parents put me on with my 8 year old brother, when I was 11. We were being sent to our grandparents for a visit) But I would really like for them to enjoy the experience thru books. This book. It makes me sad, that it might not be available to all school kids, because of room. I mean the fact is, that we sometimes do have to make "room"... what a horrible position to be in, the one to decide.  (But why  one would decide to discard a Newbery Honor book is beyond me...... I KNOW;  it probably wasn't getting checked out often, sigh)


I know that great books are coming out now, and will continue to come out in the future, but I hope that there is still a place for older books--with the perspective of that "older" author.

This is my copy.... the  one I picked up at a "discard" sale.

with great illustrations by Beth and Joe Krush
(and a spot on my camera lens..... that's funny, it's like I'm trying to blur out something)


Having said that....my grandson Camron, wanted to go to the library today to get: Goosebumps books.
I told him that I happened to have Goosebumps books upstairs that belonged to his dad and uncles, when they were younger. He said "They're that old?"
Hmmm....maybe even tho Goosebumps are not great literature, and not classics, they are old,er and they're still popular, so... I guess if you're willing to read....it should be encouraged.


I'll read him a chapter or two of Gone Away Lake, and then he'll go to bed with his Goosebumps books.

Sheila L. Beaumont says this of Gone-Away Lake, in a review on Amazon, August 21, 2000,
"Gone-Away Lake" is a delightful, beautifully written story, just this side of fantasy and filled with interesting, likable characters. A brother and sister from the city take the train to visit their country cousin. The children discover an old, mostly abandoned summer colony of houses near a swamp that used to be a lake. There they meet the most charming people in the book, an elderly sister and brother, Minnehaha Cheever and Pindar Payton, who are living happily in the place where they spent summers as children. The pair wear old-fashioned clothes stored away many years ago by their family, cultivate a variety of gardens, and have chickens, goats, a duck, and a cat named Fatly. Once a month, Pindar cranks up the antique Franklin car and drives into town for supplies. The children are adventuresome and imaginative, and have no need of TV to keep themselves amused. The descriptions of the country are amazingly vivid, and there's plenty of humor too. Don't miss the sequel, "Return to Gone-Away." And Elizabeth Enright's series about the Melendy family is also fun to read.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Cookbook Countdown, What's Outside my Kitchen Window and Library Loot.

Wednesdays are long for my blog posts.  If you are looking for library loot,  don't be discouraged....just scroll down to the very end!

This could possibly be the longest post I've ever written.
(**not ture....there is mostly pictures, so written is subjective)


I'm not quite sure what to do about that. I mean, I KNOW my mom will read it and maybe my mother-in-law. My daughter in-law Sadie, a few Friday Friends, here and there.... but really, reading it to the end?


If a post gets too long and it's not that captivating --if my sense of humor and my quick wit doesn't reel you in, in the first couple of paragraphs, (because if truth be told, my recipes are not TO DIE FOR), well, then, you probably won't get to the end of my longest post ever.
That makes me a bit sad.    Also, knowing I just passed by my 400th post without having a big celebration....like a give-away--makes me feel bad too!

My first blog post ever? (click HERE for trip down memory lane and my first post)  It was about the same thing as my 400th blog post.  In a round about way.
I'm trying not to laugh, for fear of falling off my seat, --it wasn't a "food" post, or a "book" post -- BUT it did mention my trip to Virginia and me having
Sweet Tea.   It was not until my 2nd post, July 2007, that I mentioned having started my blog.   (   You have to remember, that it was not a food blog, but just a way to keep in touch with all my "Friday Friends" )



HOW WEIRD IS THAT?
That my 1st post and my 400th post mentioning the same thing: ICED TEA.
If I would have only thought ahead...... I would have done a give-away.  Maybe I can do one for my 425th post!
******************************************

Let's move on to my Cookbook Countdown!

I am going to count one of my "put together notebooks" as a cookbook... I have notebooks and notebooks of recipes I've collected over the years.


 Look at this notebook, (if you can read it ) it says:   
Soups, Hometown cooking misc. and Diet Recipes.
There is no rhyme or reason to my organizational skills.



On Sunday,  I was hungry for a stew that my daughter-in-law, Mara's, mother had made when we visited them last fall.  We were in Arizona visiting my son and his wife and most importantly, our new granddaughter, Cassandra, and we ate lunch at a restaurant where my DIL's mother works.



It's been on my mind for quite some time, so I thought I'd try my hand at making this original Mexican Stew.

Here we are....  the two grandma's.  Me and Maxine.  Which isn't her "real" name, but that is the Americanized version of it.   She speaks no English and I speak no Spanish.
REMEMBER, the camera adds 10lbs. Not to mention how many pounds are added when flying thru camera to computer to internet!




She made us these great dishes! (no cheese, no Fritos)



 
"My" family makes a soup/chili dish that we call Chalupa.   It has pork, pinto beans and a  broth with spices...it's  really good.    But of course we "Americanize" it by adding cheese and crushed Fritos, among other things.
I thought I'd "UN-Americanize" it and make it like the stew last fall.






This stew (my photo is blurry)  came to the table with the beef and the broth and then my daughter in law added the cabbage and onions, which were in a bowl beside the soup/stew bowl.
 
So.... I got out my cookbook notebook and looked at my Chalupa recipe, called my daughter-in-law  and asked her if she knew what Chalupa was.
She said "from Taco Bell?" She had never heard of it before. She did say that different regions of Mexico cook different dishes, so it could be a dish, that she just hadn't heard of.



Next, I looked thru my Diana Kennedy cookbook "From My Mexican Kitchen" where she does indeed have a Chalupa recipe... that is nothing like what we make.


Her chalupa --meaning little boats-- is a concoction of flour, like a thicker tortilla, filled with toppings/fillings.




I will have to try them someday, but for now this is my Chalupa/or Pork stew.
 
If I'm honest with you---yes, I did buy Fritos for my family to crush up. And I had some Jack Cheese, and I set the sour cream on the table too..... I couldn't "UN-Americanize" it too much. The rest of my toppings were onions, cabbage, radishes, tomatoes and avocadoes.





 



The verdict was...it was REALLY GOOD. But we've always known that. It was good when it was just Chalupa with the Fritos crushed into it and the cheese melted on top of it.


I didn't have any Fritos in mine.... I made it more of a "stew". I think.

Chalupa--our way
(I add this as part of my cookbook challenge in my very own cookbook countdown --click here to see how far I've come)

3 pound pork roast
1 pound pinto beans
1 4oz can diced green chilies
1 tsp oregano
1 Tblsp ground cumin
2 Tblsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 small onion -chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
7 cups of water

soak beans over night, drain.
Simmer all of the above for about 5 hours.  Remove the roast, shred and add back into the broth.

Crush some Fritos into a soup bowl, add the Chalupa and top with the following:
tomatoes
avocados
lettuce
cheese
onions
salsa 

to make it more original ( I thought) I also topped it with:
cilantro
cabbage  (instead of lettuce)
radishes


********************************
As long as this is the longest post ever, (for me)  I will mention that the Handyman and I played a game and voted on it in our "Weed out the Games" resolution for 2010. (Brainchild of my dil Sadie) 
This way it will be recorded.

We played Showdown Yahtzee.




It was fun enough. We decided that we should play it with four people to make sure.


I said, "maybe this is a cabin/lake game" (meaning we'll take this one to my parents cabin and leave it there)
Handyman said, "I thought all the ones we didn't like were going to the cabin?"
Me, "no, we're selling them in the yard sale."
Handyman, "oh."  And then he looked at the Keeper pile (very big) and the loser pile (only 2 games) and he sighed.


So the verdict on this one is tabled for a while.
*****************************************

What's Outside My Kitchen Window?
Lots of brown stuff right now. Brown grass, brown leaves, brown weeds......
But I can see spring...in my mind.

My "dining room" window.....




Just after Christmas, we had a sad thing happen---our old Basset Hound died. Monroe. He waited until all the boys were home and said good-bye and then he just lay down and died. He was very old. It was very sad.






But now....the Handyman and I have decided to live dog-free for a while. It has been over 30 years with a dog in our lives.


so what does one do with the old dog house? Since Monroe's pen and dog house (not that he was ever penned in his life) shared space with our garden.
See our garden space last year/click here.
 
Outside right now...


We plan to take the chain-link fence down and cart the dog-house somewhere and enlarge our garden area. I might even consider composting. I want to, but I have to research it.




Last Summer



Right now

I can't wait for it to get warm enough to plant something!
****************************************
 
Library Loot.



Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva (a striped armchair) and Marg (reading adventures) which encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!



Poor, poor library looters, who have come to see what loot I've gotten and then had to wade thru a rambling recipe and a gazillion pictures of my yard.


Ask me how I'm going to have time to read these book?! I have no idea.
But....here is my loot for this week.....






I'm a little obsessive, I know.
Happy Reading everyone!








Friday Friend recipe #352

  Making my way thru my  Friday Friend Cookbook , one recipe at a time. What is the Friday Friend cookbook?  I once had about 50 of my close...