Last week....

I wish a good Tuesday to you!  How is your week going thus far?

Last week I went to tour the Symphony Show House in our town.  It was open for touring for a couple of weeks, with admission charged to benefit the Symphony.

The house is not a small one - over 10,000 square feet on three levels!  I took some pictures of areas that were of interest to me.

A table setting in the dining room....

....and the chandelier over the table.

There was some attractive decor....

...beautiful botanical prints.

Gorgeous fireplace!

 

 

Powder Room decor.

Of course, I would take three pictures of the kitchen on the main level!:-) 

The lower level featured these rooms.

Kitchen

Video room

Did someone mention a slumber party?

I was quite taken by a bedroom on the upper level.

Fancy French Poodle!

Do you see the slippers on the floor?  We gave City Girl the very same slippers for her birthday in April!

Pink and black

The room followed a French theme, with Eiffel Tower images used throughout! 

There was, of course, much more to the house.  The different decorators really did a wonderful job with the decorating.

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

The week-end....

Here it is Monday already!  We have another week before us!  Did your week-end seem to pass quickly?  We certainly managed to fill ours!

We made a quick visit to Munchomom and family.  When we arrived on Saturday, this was waiting for us.

Fresh strawberries from an area farm.

Oreo Bon-bons, made with help by the Munchkins.

That devil's food cake with seven-minute frosting that Munchomom featured on her blog last week.

We were also happy to greet Spike!

The bearded dragon lizard that is Boy Munchkin's pet.  He closed his eyes when I took the picture.:-)

On Sunday morning, I was surprised by this.

Have you written your story?

 

 

The youth of the church where Machoman is the minister recognized the mothers who were attending worship.  This is what I was presented for traveling to visit my child.

Ready to plant in the outside planter.

We also came home with this.

A print of the original art created by Little Munchkin!

We had a really good time!  Machoman and The Husband made sure Munchomom and I stayed out of the kitchen.  It is always very entertaining to see the men working on our meals.:-)

We have lots of sunshine here this morning, and a nice cool temperature.  No rain in the forecast for today! 

I send along wishes for a good Monday to you!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Just in time....

When I was a child, we were always hopeful that our red roses would be in bloom by Mother's Day.  My grandmother, who lived next door, was the one who took such an interest in the roses, and of course there was also a white one.  It was traditional for those of us whose mothers were still living to wear a red rose on Mother's Day.  For those whose mothers had passed away, the white rose was the color worn.  My father, mother, sister, and I would pin those red roses to our Sunday clothes, and we were ready to head off to church, while my grandmother would cut a white one for the day.

Appearing on schedule.

The red knock-out roses are just in time for this day!  I really am in need of a white rose bush, though.  Has anyone ever known of a white knock-out rose?  

On this Ascension Sunday, the UMW Prayer Calendar for 2013 lists the Mission Focus as the Hattie B. Cooper Community Center in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

On this Mother's Day, think of the influence of the women in your lives as your faith has developed through the years.

May this day be a blessed one for you!

Surprise gifts....

Happy Saturday morning!  The week-end is here!  Do you have something special on your schedule? 

On Friday morning, I went to church for Second Friday Bridge group.  There are usually five full tables, and it is a time of good fellowship.  I always like to stop by the adult day care rooms to greet the participants before I leave.  I was in for a surprise on Friday! 

A gift for me!

One of the co-directors presented me with this wonderful gift bag!

Lots of goodies!

The note cards were hand painted by the participants, and they are available for sale.  I don't think there is any way all those Milk Duds would be eaten at one trip to the movie!  A chicken sandwich and a Frosty would be a good treat for after!:-)  The dogwood mints would be just perfect, too!

And - that's not all!   I hadn't been home long until the doorbell rang, and there was my very favorite Mary Kay Director wishing me a Happy Mother's Day with a basket of my favorite products!  I have been a Mary Kay customer for 36 years!  The girls had gone together to send this wonderful basket.

Nicely put together!

Complete with a balloon, flowers, and candy, there were other products that will be greatly enjoyed!

We never did have the showers that had been predicted on Friday, either, although there were lots of clouds in the afternoon. 

I send wishes to you for a good week-end! 

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

More James Herriott....

Several days ago, I shared some books by James Herriott.  It was a rather hurried post, and I didn't show you all the ones I had intended to share.

One of the books in the other post was illustrated by Ruth Brown as well.

Really realistic illustrations.

This one is about a dog.

More of Ruth Brown's illustrations.

There are books I have not shown on the blog.  "The Christmas Day Kitten" is one.  I think it is my favorite.:-)  

What have I been reading?  In the past two weeks, I have completed "I Am Hutterite" and "thinandbeautiful.com," both books from the UMW Reading List for 2013.  Everyday I read from "Morning Coffee With James," and I have "How Coffee Saved My Life" to read next.

The week-end is just around the corner.  I hope you have plans for something that is enjoyable.

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

The rest of the menu....

Happy Thursday to everyone!  I hope your week has been good thus far.  Now we are on the countdown to the week-end!:-)

It has been a rather busy week here, but that's almost a usual thing.:-)  

As promised, here is the recipe for the entree I prepared for the adult day care participants/staff at our church.  It comes from the Weight Watchers Best Eats cookbook.  I failed to get a photograph of it, so you will have to use your imagination.  The recipe is for 12 servings, so you may want to adjust it to suit your needs.  I doubled it to serve the number included in lunch.

LAYERED MEXICAN CHICKEN

2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts
3 cups fat-free sour cream
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 (4-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, drained
2 cups shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 2-inch strips
1 cup salsa

-Combine chicken and enough water to cover.  Bring to boil and simmer until chicken is just cooked through.  Transfer to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.  Cooking liquid can be reserved for a future soup or stew.

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.

- Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces and return to the bowl.  Add the sour cream, beans, chilies, 1 cup of the cheese, the cumin, and pepper; toss to combine.

-Place half of the tortilla strips in an overlapping layer in the bottom of the pan  Spoon half of the chicken mixture on top.  Place the remaining tortilla strips over the chicken mixture in an overlapping layer; top with the remaining chicken mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of the cheese.  Bake until heated through and the cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes, then cut into 12 portions and serve with the salsa.

For this purpose, I served store bought salsa.  Also, I made guacamole and added some tortilla chips to the menu.  Shredded lettuce topped with chopped tomatoes completed the menu.

We have a glimmer of sunshine here this morning.  Perhaps the showers will hold off awhile.  That would be a real change.:-)

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Eat dessert first....

Happy Wednesday to you!  The middle of the week is already here!  I hope the week is proving to be a good one for you.

Yesterday was the day for taking lunch for the adult day care at our church.  As promised, here is that dessert recipe.  I saw it on the Life As A Lofthouse blog, and she gave credit to her friend Mandy.  It reminds me of something that I have made before with a different name.  Perhaps you have heard of a similar recipe.

HEAVENLY OREO DESSERT

1 (15.35 ounce) package Double-Stuffed Oreo cookies
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 packages (3.4 ounce, each) Instant Chocolate pudding mix
3 1/4 cups cold milk
2 (8 ounce) containers Cool Whip
1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:  Take a large zip-lock bag and place all the Oreo cookies inside.  Seal bag shut and place on counter.  Using a rolling pin, crush the cookies until they are small chunks/crumbs.  You want them to still be chunky and small, but not fine crumbs.

Set aside half of the cookie crumbs for the topping.  Pour the other half of cookie crumbs into a 9x13 baking pan.  Pour the melted butter over the crumbs and mix well to combine.  Once combined, press into the pan to form a crust.

In a bowl, whisk together the 2 pudding mixes and milk.  Cover and place in fridge to set.

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese until smooth.  Slowly add in the powdered sugar.  Fold in one container of Cook Whip.  Spread mixture over the cookie crust.

Next, take chocolate pudding and spread over the cream cheese mixture.  Spread the other container of Cool Whip over the chocolate pudding layer.  Sprinkle the top with the remaining cookie crumbs.  Cover and chill in fridge at least 2 hours before serving.

Doesn't it look delicious?

Yes, there were leftovers from Tuesday.:-)  Not good news for my waistline, however.  I believe you are able to see how this recipe could be lightened a bit, but I didn't do any lightening to it when I made it.

My Tuesday was almost like a marathon.:-)  My routine is to take the food to church early - around 8:30 - and then I go to the Senior Center to play bridge.  I leave there just a little early to come back and eat lunch with the group.  Tuesday, I left bridge a little earlier so I could work in a trip to a market before going for lunch.  It was a tight squeeze, but I was able to return home with the pans, etc. and hurriedly drop them off.  The reason for the rush is that our chorus was to sing for the funeral of the husband of one of our members.  We sang "You Raise Me Up."  Not quite as well as Josh Groban, but nicely done, nevertheless.  Thankfully there were no "glitches," and I was on time for everything that was scheduled.

I even made it back home before City Girl came back through town on her way home from her conference!

Today will not be full of such activity - only laundry.:-)

Oh - there was another recipe from Tuesday I will share.  Perhaps tomorrow!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.