Paper Project

Birgit over at The Primitive Country Bug had some images of cute little vintage seed packets that can be downloaded. She printed them on fabric for decorative pillows. Hmmm...later I may have to try that printing on fabric thing.

But right now I just printed them out on off-white cardstock, backed them with some scrapbook paper that already has appeared on enough pages in my photo albums, and mounted them on cards. Simple, quick - would have taken about 2 minutes per card if all my cutting and taping-down supplies had already been out.

I also used a lavender-ish inkpad to stain the edges of the image.

Spring Thunderstorms

It's raining cats and dogs.

Here are some of the cats.

Mother's Day Weekend

View from hotel balcony, 6:40 Saturday morning.


View from near my beach umbrella, a few hours later.

During those 15 barren years before God opened my womb and gave us Earthgirl, we tried to make it a habit to take a trip on or including Mother's Day. It was so much easier to go somewhere, and then by the time we arrived home Sunday evening, Mother's day was all done. We have tried to maintain the tradition, and I love it. We have missed the last 2 years, but this year we went to Daytona Beach for the whole weekend.

I want to go to the beach more often this summer - and by summer, I mean right up to November. What do you want to do often this summer?

ICE - In Case of Emergency

Florida friends - we can now link our Driver's License numbers with 2 emergency contacts.

My friend Donna informed me that this can be done online, but I had to replace my 15-year-old DL this Spring, so I added my contacts in person. Donna's husband was in a terrible accident 2 years ago, and it took some time for emergency personnel to locate her. It would have made that afternoon easier for all involved if the emergency personnel could have accessed her cell phone number in a flash.

I also have in my phone and in my wallet several ICE (In Case if Emergency) contacts - not just my husband, (who could be in an accident with me) but friends who could come get Earthgirl until family arrived. I pray there will never be a need for them.

What's for Supper?

I'm a Southern cook. I'm not the cook my Mama is, or that Nanny or Grandmama were, but I can, like Mama, breeze into the kitchen with no idea what's for supper, peer into the freezer or pantry, and whip up fried ham, butterbeans and/or peas, biscuits, and grits in about a half-hour total. Ditto other menus. I don't do it as often as I should - there are, after all, advantages to living in a developed area, including good take-out Chinese and plenteous restaurants - but I can do it when I need to. And the biscuits? - I have come to depend upon Mary B's or Marshall's frozen biscuits. (Mine are only about 65% likely to bake up fluffy; theirs have a better track record)

Like Nanny, I mess with recipes. This sometimes turns out good, like when I took the recipe for Russian Tea Mix, added some pumpkin pie spice and black pepper, and made it a spicy Southern Russian Chai Mix, and sometimes it turns out badly, like the time I added Cajun Seasoning to a meatloaf recipe that already had sausage in it, resulting in the consumption of gallons of sweet tea to cool the fire. (Our guests said, "It's good - - really. We like spicy food." Then they moved away.)

{In the above paragraph, I am not certain if I shoulda said, "...turns out good...turns out bad..." or "...turns out well...turns out poorly...", so I split the difference. I guess I mess with grammar, too}

Since I have packed up my cookbooks into storage, I have become adept at finding recipes online. My favorite source in Recipezaar, though there are many others. Southern Living is another old favorite.

Southern Plate is a recipe-driven blog I am just beginning to explore. Christy is a Southern cook shore 'nuff. I cook some of her recipes already, because they are already part of my upbringing. Her how-to-make real Banana Pudding is a must for anyone who thinks banana pudding comes in a box. It's made the way Mama does, except we make ours in a long Pyrex casserole, and top it with meringue. I want to try her Mama's Chocolate Cobbler. I've made the Shoney's look-alike strawberry pie. And that's just what I see from my first viewing.

Do you have a favorite recipe website?

Project in progress

Such promise!

Sunday Morning Thoughts

Ho! Everyone who thirsts...


My favorite Sunday School teacher (the one to whom I am married) taught from Isaiah 55 today. What a wonderful call! Come and drink!