Rocky Mountain High

Do you remember the song "Rocky Mountain High...Colorado",  by John Denver?  Well, that song was playing in my head while on vacation with my youngest son, Kevin,  DIL, Kristen, and granddaughter, Harper, as they whisked me away to the beauty of Colorado!  Oh, what a time we had!  This was our view from our condo's balcony! 

 

Our second morning, we were greeted by this magical rainbow!

 We took the gondola up to the top of the mountain.

 Harper had fun playing in the snow, making a snowman, and throwing snowballs.

 Riding down the hill on her Daddy's lap was such  fun!

 

 We drove to Rocky Mountain National Park.

 We made it to the Continental Divide.

 We saw female elk on one of our favorite stops.

 On the way back from the National Park, we stopped at the town of Grand Lake, had lunch and there was a beach, where Harper could play.

 Sapphire Point was a spot that my friend, Joy, told me about.  Little chipmunks were all around, in and out of the rocks, and such fun to see.  There was also a easy hike which we took.

 We even went panning for gold at a nearby mine....no luck, though, in our pans!

 This darling lavender house, with the purple trim, caught my eye, and I immediately thought of  friends, Margie, from Tea In The Valley, and Judith, from Lavender Cottage and Gardening, and had to get a picture. 

 I could move right into this darling, little cottage!

 

Gorgeous, overflowing hanging baskets were everywhere!

 I always take time to stop and smell the flowers, and admire their beauty.

 Speaking of beauty...these two special mother/daughter friends honored me by driving an hour from their homes to meet me for lunch.  I have known sweet Stephanie, from The Enchanting Rose, for several years, through blogging, and she paired me up with her dear Mom, Debbie, from, She Graces Her Home In God's Beauty, at her very first teacup/mug exchange, which was four  years ago.  You can really get to "know" friends through their writing and blogging.  However, it was so nice to meet them for real, in person and chat the hours away.  They are as kind,  wonderful, and dear as you would expect. 

Stephanie and Debbie gifted me with these thoughtful gifts.  Thank you, my friends, for your thoughtful gifts. 

Thank you, sweet family, for sharing your vacation with me!  What a fun family you are to be with! These memories will be with me forever, and I am truly grateful.

 

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea 

Cooking and Crafting with J & J

Tea in the Garden

Share Your Cup

Foodie Friday

Dishing It! & Digging It!

Thank you for your visit!  xo

My Mom's 88th Birthday and Meeting Michele

 I recently went to Ohio to celebrate my Mom's 88th Birthday.  That's my sister, Amy, on the left with my Mom and I.  We took her to the Morgan House, and had a wonderful lunch. 

Isn't my Mom so cute?  She bought this pretty dress to wear for her birthday lunch, and then before I left for home, she gave it to me!

 Here's a picture of my chicken salad, with a side garden salad with a fresh strawberry dressing.  We each had a pot of tea, and I chose Blackberry Sage, Mom had Apricot, and Amy had Wild Blueberry.

Look who showed up to meet us!!  My friend, Michele, from The Nest at Finch Rest, surprised us!!  I had texted Michele to tell her where we were going, hoping that she could come by.  Michele and I have always wanted to meet in person.  Of course, we already knew each other well from blogging, but meeting in real life was such a treat.  My Mom and sister loved Michele right from the start, and she stayed and had a pot of tea with us.   Michele was too kind and brought my Mom a gift that she had made, with the instructions to open later. 

Here's Mom at home,  opening her gift from Michele.

The gift was a darling pitcher (which my mom collects) with a pretty floral arrangement.  Wasn't that sweet of Michele?  I placed it on my Mom's nightstand.

 My Mom always wants me to make her an angel food cake with her favorite Speedy Meringue Frosting.

Singing Happy Birthday to this sweet lady!  

My Mom and I had a day to spend together because my sister had to work.  I was down in the basement doing some laundry and this quilt and sham set was calling to me.  I brought it up to see if mom would like to change out her quilt on her bed, and she did.  It gave her a pretty summery feel to her room.  The green quilt at the foot of the bed was found down in the basement, too. Yes, it was such fun shopping the house! 

One evening we did the fun tiles that my son, Mike, and I had done this summer with the grands.  My nephew, Shane, joined in for the fun project.  He was so sweet and asked to create one together with his grandma.  the bouquet of flowers behind Shane were a gift from him to his Gram.

Happy 88th Birthday to my beautiful Mom, sitting on her pretty patio.  I was so happy to be able to share her birthday with her!

Now I am off to Breckinridge, CO, to vacation with my youngest son, Kevin, DIL, Kristen, and granddaughter, Harper.  

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea 

Cooking and Crafting with J & J

Tea in the Garden

Share Your Cup

Foodie Friday

Dishing It! & Digging It!

Thank you for your visit!  xo

Buttermilk Pie and Meeting Blogging Friends

 Today I'm sharing an award winning recipe that I received when touring the McKinney Home and Garden Tour. It's so good!

 This sweet teacup that I received from the last teacup exchange always puts a smile on my face!

 My teacup planter is thriving with the Angel Wing begonia.  I wish I had thought to take a picture of what is started out like after the winter months. 

 Recently I met up with two blogging friends at a new to me restaurant, called Rise.  Eilis, who blogs at My Heart Lives Here, is on the left, then me, and then Bonnie, who blogs at Living With Thanksgiving.  Eilis and I had met twice before, and Bonnie, whom I had never met, but "knew", was in from Alabama, visiting family.  Bonnie's DIL suggested this restaurant and oh my, we all loved it!  It was such fun visiting!  We each had a salad,  and like good friends would do, we shared a ham and cheese souffle'.

 Of course, when women are together we just HAD to try two desserts to share! I must tell you that the souffles' were so perfectly prepared and were heavenly.  We had the chocolate souffle' and the bread pudding souffle'.  What a delightful afternoon it was with friends at a fabulous restaurant.

Now for the pie recipe....When I toured the McKinney Home and Garden Tour recently, a lady of one of the homes was sharing recipe.  She told the story that this Buttermilk Pie was served to President Truman on the USS Missouri, and he liked it so much that he asked for the recipe.  The Steward of the ship refused (can you imagine??) to give him the recipe, but in 1994, the recipe was released.  Although my picture doesn't do it justice, it really is a wonderful pie!  Barbara Wagner, who shared the recipe, has won several awards with this recipe. 

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
• 1 recipe Pastry for Single-Crust Pie
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted**

Directions

1. In a large bowl, gradually beat sugar into softened butter with an electric mixer, beating until mixture is well blended.
2. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Combine flour and salt. Gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture.
4. Beat in buttermilk until mixture is well blended. Pour into the Pastry for Single-Crust Pie.
5. Sprinkle pecans over the filling in piecrust.
6. Bake in a 300 degree F oven for 1 hour and 15 to 20 minutes or until the buttermilk filling is set. Cool. Store pie in the refrigerator. Makes 8 servings.

Note

• * To make 1 cup sour milk, place 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup liquid; stir. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes before using it in a recipe.

Note

• ** To toast the chopped pecans, spread them evenly in a shallow baking pan. Bake the pecans in a 350 degree F oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until they're browned, stirring the pecans once or twice during the baking time.

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea 

No Place Like Home 

Bernideen's Tea Time, Collage and Garden Blog Party

Tea Cup Tuesday 

Cooking and Crafting with J & J  

Share Your Cup

Full Plate
Thoughts of Home on Thursday 

Foodie Friday

Weekend Potluck
Tea in the Garden
Dishing It! & Digging It!

God Bless America!  xo

Chocolate Cherry Cake and a Cherry Teacup

 Today I'm having tea and cake in my bedroom.  I have to admit that in reality, I have breakfast and tea in bed every single morning.  My late beloved and I started this practice, after our kids all left home, and it's something that I continue to do. There's something so indulgent about breakfast in bed, even though I have to get up and make it! 

 This darling teacup is from my friend Deborah, that blogs at The Beautiful Matters.  When she visited Texas for a wedding, we  met and she gifted me with this teacup.  I just love the cherries on the front and the checkerboard design.    Thank you so much, Deborah.  She also gave me a gift bag with eight different Harney & Sons Organic teas.  Today I had the Assam Black Tea, which is described as "revitalizing".  It was the perfect complement to my Chocolate Cherry Cake, which is in honor of my cherry teacup. 

 

 

Deborah and I met in a French Cafe, that I wrote about here.

 I wish I could share a piece of cake with Deborah, and we could sit and chat some more!

The recipe for this cake came from an article in The Dallas Morning News from April 24, 1996.  This cake comes together very quickly, and it's really tasty.  Although I make many things from scratch, I am not a food snob (except for a certain brand of ketchup and also,  freshly grated nutmeg!!).  I never mind using a cake mix or some other prepared products.  I hope you give this recipe a try!

Chocolate Cherry Cake

• Cake:
• 1 Devil's Food cake mix
• 21 oz. can cherry pie filling
• 1 tsp. almond extract (may use vanilla)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ICING:
• 1 c. white sugar
• 5 tbsp. butter
• 1/3 c. milk
• 6 oz. chocolate chips

Baking Instructions

• For cake:
• Mix together by hand. Put into greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Do not mix too much. Batter will be thick. Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Ice while warm.
• For icing:
• Combine sugar, butter and milk in a saucepan.  Cook until mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook, stirring, 1 minute longer.  Remove from heat and add chocolate chips and stir until smooth. May put on cake right out of oven.

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

No Place Like Home

I was featured!

Tuesday Cuppa Tea 

Bernideen's Tea Time, Collage and Garden Blog Party

Tea Cup Tuesday 

Cooking and Crafting with J & J  

Share Your Cup

Full Plate
Thoughts of Home on Thursday 

Foodie Friday

Weekend Potluck
Dishing It! & Digging It!

I was featured at Foodie Friday and Everything Else!

Thank you for your visit!  xo

Candy Easter Eggs, Copy Cat Peeps Treat, Critters and a Blogging Friend

 Won't you join me for some Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs and a cup of tea?

 My dear friend, Linda, gave me this two piece tiered plate stand for my birthday.  Isn't it beautiful with the green doily embossed into the glass?  I can see using this for so many things.  Thanks, Linda!  My Peanut Butter Easter Eggs recipe can be found here.

 

I'm using my Royal Albert 1920's Spring Meadow to celebrate SPRING!

  

I made this bunny couple  years ago and  I always love getting them out for Easter.  

Fairy BlogMother,  Linda,  from Life and Linda made some adorable furry critters, which you can find here, a  few weeks ago and I loved them so much that I had to be a copy cat and make them for my grandkids.  Aren't they the cutest jars for treats?  The stuffed animals all came from the Dollar Tree.  You cut them apart (oh dear, I felt like I was amputating the little critters!) in the middle, cut their little feet off, and hot glue them onto the jars.  I used various ribbons to cover the rim of the jar.  It was a fun craft, and they look so sweet!  Thanks for the idea, Linda!

 Two of my grands spent the night and we copied what Mary made of  Home Is Where The Boat Is,  a few weeks ago.  To see Mary's directions and her beautiful cookie tart, you can visit here.

 Didn't the kids do a great job on this Peeps Cookie Tart?  Thanks for the inspiration, Mary!  The kids even used my Wilton Dessert Decorator and piped the icing on by themselves.

And last, but not least, I was so excited to be able to meet Deborah, from The Beautiful Matters, who came from Michigan to attend a wedding.  We had lunch together and spent a couple of hours just chatting away, as if we hadn't seen each other in quite some time. Isn't it wonderful how we actually get to "know" blogging friends through their words, and what they share on their blogs.  Deborah is as beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.  Deborah gave me the cutest teacup and a gift bag filled with several teas, which I will share some other time. Our friend, Celeste,  from Southern DayDreams was supposed to join us, but she was under the weather, and couldn't make it.  We missed her!

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

No Place Like Home

Tuesday Cuppa Tea 

Bernideen's Tea Time, Collage and Garden Blog Party

Tea Cup Tuesday 
Roses of Inspiration 
Cooking and Crafting with J & J  

Share Your Cup

Full Plate
Thoughts of Home on Thursday 

Foodie Friday

Weekend Potluck
Dishing It! & Digging It!