Mother's Motto

Motto:  A maxim adopted as a guide to one's conduct.

My mother has always had this poem hung above her stove wherever she has lived.  Early on it was on a round plaster plaque that was made to look like wood. 

Motto:  A brief statement used to express a principle, goal, or ideal

 One day it fell and broke.  It wasn't too long before the poem reappeared above the stove inscribed on a ceramic plate. 

Motto:  A sentence, phrase, or word inscribed on something as appropriate to or indicative of it's character or use.

Mom is 88 now and lives in her own home.  The plate continues to hang above the stove.  The most amazing part is that she is still happy working in her kitchen.  She cooks for herself and always has something ready for those who stop by.  At Christmas she bakes cookies and makes packages for friends and neighbors.  Cookbooks are her bedtime reading and her favorite topic of conversation is new recipes to try.

I'm thinking that there is something to this motto business.  Here is the rest of the poem on Mom's plaque:

My Kitchen Prayer

God bless my little kitchen

I love its every nook
And bless me as I do my work
Wash pots and pans and cook.

And may the meals that I prepare

Be seasoned from above

With Thy great blessing and Thy grace

But most of all Thy love.

As we partake our earthly food

The table before us spread

We'll not forget to thank Thee, Lord

Who gives us daily bread.

So bless my little kitchen, Lord

And those who enter in

May they find naught but joy and peace

And happiness therein.

"Be warm, inside and out." - Mary Engelbreit

Any handmade gift is akin to Thoreau's proverbial woodpile - it warms you twice.  It warms you first with the glow of receiving something from the heart, and it warms you again as you use it. 

This true in a very practical way with a handmade quilt, because physical warmth is what it's all about.

This quilt was made for me by my daughter Collette almost ten years ago.  I hung it on the wall of my sewing room where it served as inspiration for my own quilt making. 

Now I use it to curl up on the couch with a good book and a cup of tea, warmed all the way through..

All photos were taken at daughter Karen's house.

The Floating Tea Party Wears Green

St. Patrick's Day, and one of my daughters is still under the weather.  So the floating tea party puts on the 'wearing of the green' and makes a visit.

We had cupcakes, chocolates and green jelly beans in the boxes.  Paddy O'Cinnamon was offering his green jellies from the jar.

We had a few gate-crashers fresh in from a  romp in the woods.  But we put Mr. Bill to the task of barring the way.  If you want to come to my tea parties, you have to wash your faces and comb your fur.

Old words that are becoming New again

My Floating Tea Party

Mr. Bill says that he has heard of floating dice games, but this is the first time he's run across a floating tea party.

I say that sometimes good ideas are not necessarily planned , but just happen!  My little Valentine vignette that lived on my kitchen island made a few rounds in February.  I just popped the bear, the bird, the dog, the valentine cards, and the plate rack into a shopping bag.  Some cookies, some fruit and a few tea bags were tossed in with them and off we went.  The first stop was our daughter Collette and the grand kids in Illinois around Valentines Day and on the 28th we had a "Good-bye to February Tea"  at my daughter Karen's house where she has been under-the-weather and shut in for a while.  I even wore a hat for that one. 

It was so much fun Mr. Bill and I are planning more.  He suggested and 'Ides of March Tea' because we have a bust of Julius Caesar.  However, Mr. Bill is not in favor of togas.  I'm thinking of a 'St. Patrick's Tea'.  We probably will do both.

BTW:  The books on the table are from the Tea Shop Mystery series by Laura Child. 

A Chairy-full-of-Mary

  I never enter blog give-aways or contests.  Never, until now.  I was tempted and I succumbed. 

 Greetings from Geralyn is giving away a 'Chairy-full-of-Mary' on
 March 7. 



 And, my, what a chair full of stuff it is! Who could resis that?

Fortunately, the give-away rules are not very hard.

All I had to do was to come up with my favorite Mary Englebreight quote.  That was really easy, because 

the first time I saw the quote that ME had above the doorway to her workspace, I wanted a sign with the same quote for my sewing room.

 So, my daughter Karen designed and cross stitched one for me as a surprise!  I was thinking it was a few years ago,

but the note on the back says it was made in 2002.   Wow, time sure does fly!

I probably don't have much chance of winning.  There are many, many, entries.  But you can't blame a girl for trying.

I enjoyed having my special quote above the work table in my sewing room until we moved and downsized in August, 2009.  Now, in my cottage at the end of Hickory Lane, I am working at the kitchen table.  One of these days, I will rearrange things, find a permanent workspace, and rehang it.  After all, as ME says:

Post Script:  I didn't win :(

Meatball Kabobs

Our snow all melted and an ill wind blew in Sunday night. It was cold, damp, blustery, and rainy yesterday. The temperature was actually warmer than usual, but with the wind and the damp, I felt colder. The landscape certainly did not look like a winter wonderland!

What a relief to wake up to a light snow covering and gentle flurries in the air. The forecast for the last week of January is that the month will end with dignity - crisp and pretty.

We have been busy indoors putting away the stray ends of Christmas. After all the glitz and glimmer of the season, the house always looks a little dull. We made some adjustments to our decorating, but nothing takes the place of that Christmas warmth. After a few weeks, memories fade and everything looks fine again.

I'm mostly on schedule with my first-of-the-year bookkeeping. It's my time to clean out last years files and to readjust the budget to cover holes created by holiday spending. I also made some changes to my bookkeeping system. In the past, I kept two sets of spreadsheets that would both balance against my checkbook. One was to keep track of all expenses according to category, and one was to enter all expenses against future income to see how we were going to end up at the end of the year. It was a lot of work, since I was doing it for two checking accounts (four spreadsheets in all). I've decided to eliminate three of the spreadsheets and keep only the one for the household budget which is run through my checkbook and the only thing I really can control. This will be a lot more 'effortless' (my key word for the year).

Here is the delicious recipe Steve used for his meatball kabobs. I also happened to have this recipe, although I had never made it. He had another one for chicken kabobs that was different and equally delicious. I'll have to track him down to get it.

MEATBALL KABOBS

1 Package wooden skewers soaked in water 30 minutes before using.
32 frozen fully cooked 1-inch meatballs (1 pound), thawed
1 red pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 green pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
Opt: Wedges of onion, chunks of pineapple (Steve used both)
1/4 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Thread meatballs, vegetables, and fruit alternately onto skewers.
Microwave jam on HIGH 15 seconds. Mix with BBQ sauce. Brush half onto kabobs.
Grill 8-10 minutes turning occasionally and brushing with remaining sauce.

Served with cous-cous or rice, this fits my profile for more 'effortless' cooking for the new year.