Paper Bird

About The Girl

My heart sighs as my little one- not so little any more has just turned twelve.  Each day I see amazing changes as she is growing into such a lovely young lady.  Watching her grow is bittersweet.  Just as it has been with each one of my children.  She is the youngest and the last of my Peeps in the nest.  I see these precious years fleeting, the years rushing past.  Not long ago I held her in my arms inhaling her sweet baby breath and admiring her dark beautiful eyes.  Through passing years she has grown, her eyes still dark and beautiful but now behind them stands a young lady.  I don't remember getting older, so how did she?  Somehow I would love to slowdown the ticking clock, to keep her precious youth. But the realization is that life marches on whether we want it to or not. Each day is precious and a  blessing.  So as I watch her grow into a lovely young women just like my older daughters, I will savor these sweet days of her youth.  Yes, my heart sighs!

Pictures by Ally Lewis

 1st three songs on my playlist- Little Lou Lou's favorites.

Frightfully Good Time

Did you experience a frightfully good time this All Hallows' Eve?

Magical moments transpired here.

Masquerading visitors in enchanting costumes giggled with delight as they came a calling for delicious treats. Family and friends gathered as the spirit of Halloween promised good times.

Mischief abound, all in good fun on this magical eve as Trick-or-treaters gathered on the Autumn landscape decorated with wicked pumpkin creations and eerie decorations.

 We had a wonderful time- I hope the spirit of Halloween manifested a frightfully good time for you as well!

 

 

The GOULS were out this ALL Hallows' Eve!

 

 

 

 

 

Be Witchy

Sometimes my husband can be a  WITCH!

But usually only once a year!

 

I think he is handsome.

 

But once a year he puts on a whole new face.

  

It is quite the transformation.

It takes time... 

and talent to get this look.

 

 

Sorry girls, won't find this wardrobe at Anthropologie!

Some men are Macho enough to be Witchy!

Now for a bewitching dessert,

one of my very favorites- Bread Pudding.

 10 large Croissants

3 jumbo eggs beaten

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 1/2 cups Half and Half

2 full TBS. orange zest

3/4 TBS tsp. cinnamon 

4 TBS. melted butter

1/2 tsp. salt

about 2 TBS. Grand Mariner

2 TBS. melted butter for your 9x13 dish

Your desired fruit

My favorite is Raspberries- one container and home canned peaches mixed in.

You can us just raisins if you prefer.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

brush a 9 x 13 pan with 2 TBS. melted butter

Break croissants into bite size pieces

add your desired fruit

In a large mixing bowl

add eggs, sweetened condensed milk, half and half, melted butter, cinnamon, salt, orange zest.

Mix thoroughly

gently add Grand Marnier Liqueur

Pour EVENLY over Croissants and fruit

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

sometimes it looks wet on top but no worries- if a knife inserted comes out clean it's good- just don't over bake because you want this to be moist

(Sauce)

1 stick of REAL butter

1 cup sugar- I use a bakers sugar

1/2 cup canned milk

melt ingredients in a small sauce pan on medium heat

bring to a boil and add Grand Marnier Liqueur to taste

not too much- mix in well and serve over bread pudding 

garnish with whipped cream. 

some suggestions-

If you are adding apples I would pre-cook them a little before you add them to the bread pudding -also you can use rum or good vanilla instead of the Grand Mariner Liqueur for both the bread pudding and the sauce.  This just depends on the fruit you use.  if you are using raisins- the rum is a better choice- the same for apples.   Worth every single calorie. 

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween

Today...

Today I will not sulk.  

I may shed a tear or two, but I will not sulk.

Today I will have my favorite breakfast. 

One bacon egg and cheese Mc Griddle and one nonfat hot chocolate- 

extra whipped cream please!

Today I will resist the temptation to clean my already clean house.  

It will still be here tomorrow.

Today I will leave my PJ's in the cubby and I will wear something nice, 

maybe something orange, my new favorite color.

Today I will paint or create something pretty.

Today I will make my favorite dessert, raspberry peach bread pudding 

and I will use my hoarded jar of fresh peaches.  

Today I will not worry about calories. 

Today I will treasure time with friends and family.

Today I will not notice the gray in my hair and the wrinkles that seem to appear daily.

Today, when my body is tired and before I lay to rest, I will get on my knees and thank my Heavenly Father for this beautiful life that I have been given. 

Today I am 50.

 

PS. 

Today, I am supposed to be in the Sunny Florida keys with my Sweetheart.

I can sulk and even shed a tear or two

But it won't change the fact that 

life happens and sometimes our plans are interrupted.

My Sweetheart has been down with the flu since Friday.

Today I will count my blessings that it is merely the flu and nothing worse.

Sunny Florida... another day, another time :)

Today... home, where my heart is.

Witches Night Out

My friend Heidi and I hosted a "Witches Night Out" party.

A party for all good witches.

The Artsy kind.

 

We hosted this party for the art group that we belong to.

It was such a fun evening, we loved planning every little detail.

 

 

It's not often we get to pretend we are "Martha", but for one bewitching evening we did.

Welcome to our "Witches Night Out"

 

 
 
Halloween spooks hung around.

 

 

 

 

 

A handmade witch broom

Pretty flowers and sweet orange pumpkins.

Caramelized pears for the salad

A savory onion sauce for the butternut squash ravioli.

Witch Craft kits.

Bewitching talents.

It was a magical evening.

Some wore their very best witch ware.

Of course we kept witches hours!

Magical Autumns

I do love the summertime, 

but Autumn seems to be such a magical time of year.

Magical colors, so deep and lovely seem to burst from every branch. 

 Fallen leaves adorn the lawn.

Fat orange pumpkins decorate porches. 

It is a magical time to celebrate family traditions.

Traditions that seem to be the threads of life that bond a family close together.

Creating memories that will forever hold a place in our hearts.

Traditions that will affirm our family values, our faith and our life experiences.

Traditions that will keep us connected to our past and keep us rooted in the cultures of our heritage.

 As I see my children getting older, myself too...  I realize how quickly time is passing.  I see how important it is to maintain family traditions.

To laugh

 

and play.... 

and be thankful for each magical day!

Apron Frenzy

Recently I took a load of unwanted useful goods to the Good Will.  Packed in my box were a bundle of overalls that I had not worn for years.  I kept them thinking that I might re-purpose them, maybe making a denim quilt.  There they sat collecting dust until one particular day when I became possessed with that obsessive need to clean, organize and rearrange everything in sight. You know those days, when you are like a runaway freight train and nobody should get in the way.  The days where the hubby just rolls his eyes knowing that this obsessive frenzy is beyond his control. 

Long story short- the overalls went to the Good Will.

I thought twice about getting rid of them.

But in the end I knew I would never have a use for them...

Until... I discovered this apron!

Maybe someone else will make really cute aprons with my discarded overalls!

Speaking of aprons,

have you noticed the frenzy with aprons?

There are so many wonderful collections...

Like here from  Dottie Angel

I love her sweet Apron made from recycled thrifty finds and vintage goodness. 

 

If you have an addiction you might want to look here .

Aprons for the Peeps by Key 2 Life.

And for Apron inspiration- Apronology!

My favorite aprons is one I bought at an antique store.

It's colors faded, a pretty red and blue.

Someone's Grandmothers apron perhaps?

Do you remember your grandmother's apron?

An all purpose apron...

"Grandma's Apron"

When I used to visit Grandma. I was very much impressed,
by her all-purpose apron, and the power it possessed.
For Grandma, it was everyday to choose one when she dressed.
The strings were tied and freshly washed, and maybe even pressed.
The simple apron that it was, you would never think about;
the things she used it for, that made it look worn out.
She used it for a basket, when she gathered up the eggs,
and flapped it as a weapon, when hens pecked her feet and legs.
She used it to carry kindling when she stoked the kitchen fire.
And to hold a load of laundry, or to wipe the clothesline wire.
She used it for a hot pad, to remove a steaming pan,
and when her brow was heated, she used it for a fan.
It dried our childish tears, when we'd scrape a knee and cry,
and made a hiding place when the little ones were shy.
Farm produce took in season, in the summer, spring and fall,
found its way into the kitchen from Grandma's carry all.
When Grandma went to heaven, God said she now could rest.
I'm sure the apron she chose that day, was her Sunday best.
(author unknown)

The Cure

 The Autumn skies are quickly turning shades of dark, overpowering the light that peeks through the fluffy masses.  

The mountains above our home already have frosted peaks.   

Winter is coming- ready or not!   

I am not.

The cold and the dark skies seem to take over.

 Filling my spirit with just a bit of Melancholy.

Struggling, not wanting to fall into that abyss of sadness- 

there is only one cure.....

 

FLOWERS

All winter long!

Like  a sweet song, they brighten my spirit.

Can we conceive what humanity would be if it did not know the flowers?  

~Maurice Maeterlinck

Valley Ridge Art Studio

                 

The heart of autumn must have broken here, and poured its treasure out upon the leaves.

Charlotte Fiske Bates

Tucked inside the Wisconsin countryside I found treasure.

Abundant in beauty, the landscape flourished with scattered oak barrens and wet woodlands.  A spectacular offering of nature's colorful palette.

   A perfect place to create art.

A sanctuary where you could "wash from the soul the dust of everyday life".

There was beauty nestled in every corner.

Beauty within the sweet soul who came to share her talents.

To teach her magic.

A place to create our own magic and connect with kindred spirits.

A place to nurture your spirit and fill your heart with sweet contentment.

Valley Ridge Art Studio , a treasure beyond expectation.

      

Disappointments

Sometimes life is filled with disappointments.

How many times in life have you had to stand at that door?  

The dread and weight that always comes with it. 

 Kind of like a brick in your pocket that you can't wait to lose.

She hadn't felt this too many times in her life.

 She has been blessed with so much.  

So much in fact that she does not realize just how good life is.  

True disappointment is unknown to her.

She has known small disappointments in her short existence.

A hurtful word from a best friend.

Homework instead of play.

School on a snowy day.

Nothing much more than some of the disappointments we may face each day.

But we grow, we learn and we become wiser, don't we?

This weekend she felt she had met the monster of disappointment.  Whether through misinterpretation, miscommunication or wishful thinking on her part, she opened that door and found something she did not like.  It had rushed out at the turn of the knob like a winter wind slapping you in the face.  

It had done nothing less than crush her sweet spirit.

Brutally unmerciful.

Something she thought she could not recover from.

How could she recover from such a disappointment?

It was so unfair.  Almost a total injustice in her innocent mind.

What could have been so unkind to such a precious spirit?

Her adored Dad.

The one who melts at most all her requests,

Mr. "we are not having anymore pets"

the one who makes all final decisions... 

has denied her a dog! 

                                             

      Just a loaner dog while my son and Daughter-in-law reside with us!

                               So Cute!                        

Something not to be disappointed about.

Little Lou Lou tried out for a part in her Dance companies performance of the Nutcracker.  She earned a part and will dance as a Candy Cane.  Forty girls went home disappointed.