Area author....

Are you glad Friday is here?  Do you have special week-end plans?  Perhaps you plan to spend some of your time reading. 

Here are some books by a local author.

Written in order from top to bottom.

What is exciting about this author is that she is the mother of a former third-grade student of mine!  These books are fiction and are set in the area of the Smoky Mountains.  I am fortunate enough to have autographed copies of two of the books.  Later today she is having an autograph session, hopefully for the next book in the series.  Perhaps I will be able to convince her to autograph the books I have that are missing her signature.:-)

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Time for refreshment....

Without a doubt, summertime is here!  The heat index here yesterday neared 100 degrees!  That is time for some cool summer refreshment.

Smoothie, anyone?

While Smoothies are mentioned as a great breakfast option, I find a good one can be a smart choice for an afternoon "pick-me-up." 

This recipe is from the March 2013 Everyday Food leaflet that arrived with my issue of Living Magazine.

TROPICAL BLUEBERRY
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup chopped pineapple
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
1 orange, seeded and cut into quarters
1/2 - 3/4 cup water

- Add ingredients, in order listed, to blender.  Blend until desired consistency.

Beautiful, tasty, and healthy!

I send along good Thursday wishes to you!  Stay safe and cool!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

New blooms....

A short post on this Wednesday.  Lots to do, it seems.  Whenever there has been a busy week, the one that follows (that doesn't have many things on the calendar) seems to be full with catching up.  Of course, that is a never-ending journey - "catching up."  It seems there is always some of that to do.

Another lily blooms!

Hydrangea on the way to full bloom!

That will do it for me today.  On to laundry, cleaning, and other organizational chores.:-)  I hope you will have a good Wednesday!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

By request....

Happy Tuesday to everyone!  How is your week going thus far?

A few days ago I featured strawberries on the blog.  By request, I am including a recipe today.

In small bowl, combine strawberries with lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar; stir gently.

Pour mixture into freezer bowl through ingredient spout.

Pour into freezer containers to "ripen."

This was truly a very tasty way to use some of the strawberries we have had.

I used a countertop Cuisinart Ice Cream maker.  This requires that the bowl be frozen when you begin the mixing step.

FRESH STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

1 pint fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla

- In small bowl, combine strawberries with lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar; stir gently and allow strawberries to macerate in juices for 2 hours.
- In medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk and remaining sugar until sugar is dissolved, about one to two minutes on low speed.  Stir in the heavy cream plus any accumulated juices from the strawberries and the vanilla.  turn machine ON, pour mixture into freezer bowl through the ingredient spout, and let it mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes.  Add sliced strawberries during the last five minutes of freezing. 
- Transfer to freezer containers to ripen, and freeze until firm. 

The warm summer days we are having practically beg for a refreshing dish of ice cream!  Enjoy!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Volunteers....

Happy Monday to you!  Once again the week-end seemed to pass all too quickly.  Do you have a good week planned?

I shared a picture of the outside of part of our church building in the previous post.  While some of the work on the property is tended to by a professional, much of the maintenance for other areas is done by volunteers from our church.  I think they do a wonderful job!

What kind of flower is this?

Is anyone able to answer my question?  I am not sure what this might be.  The two pictures at the top come from the front lawn of the church.

We did not receive the rain that had been predicted earlier, so the week-end was largely sunny and free of clouds.

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

For today....

Outside view of the window in the Nave at church.

From The Upper Room devotional booklet for Saturday, June 8, 2013 was this following Thought for the Day.

                               "Rather than standing in opposition to our brothers and sisters,

                                       let us stand beside them and praise the Lord together."

The Mission Focus from the UMW Prayer Calendar for June 9, 2013 is the Susanna Wesley Learning center, East Prairie, Missouri.

May you have a blessed Sunday.

TWTWTW....

Do you remember those initials?  Or - something similar?  TWTWTW - This Was The Week That Was - is my recap of the past week here.  Perhaps you will be able to understand why I am happy we have a week-end.:-)

The pictures I have to share come from last Sunday.

Shared earlier, from the Country Couple's creek overflowing.

Frodo thought the water was his personal water dish.

The chickens were happily clucking about.

Diesel, the barn cat, was not cooperative about posing.

Country Girl had baked a Mulberry Pie!

When we left the Country Couple's place, we headed on to the site of our Sunday School class picnic.

The view from the deck of this house....

....with this lovely stone chimney!

Two members of our Sunday School class have "cabins" on adjoining lots, so there was a lot of room for us to mingle.

Some of the seating provided.

An interesting sculpture.

A common sight from our area.

Years ago, when I was growing up and we would be traveling, it wasn't unusual for barns along the highway to have this "directive."  This was a popular tourist site in those days.

So - last Sunday rather set off the week.  City Girl came by on her way back to her place from a trip to NC.  She was here on Sunday evening until Monday afternoon, leaving about the time I left for my Circle meeting on Monday night. (This is after I had prepared lunch during the day for the adult day care at my church).  Tuesday morning I delivered the food, then went to the Senior Center for bridge.  After bridge, I returned to church to enjoy lunch with the day care participants.  From there, it was off to the hairdresser for a hair cut.

Tuesday evening, we attended the funeral for a neighbor who passed away last Saturday evening.  She was 85, also suffered from Alzheimer's, and her husband had been her care giver until two months ago.

Wednesday was the day the chorus performed at the Senior Center.  On late Thursday afternoon, we once again performed for a group meeting at a church.  The Country Couple surprised me by coming into town for that performance.  I had to really hustle after the performance, though, as I was scheduled to give a UMW program at a church sort of in the same general area.

On Friday morning, I was off to my First Friday bridge group.  Pretty decent cards, for once.:-)

Then, I have successfully faxed in the book order for the Conference Mission Education Event in July!

Now - I am glad to have a week-end!  There is nothing on the schedule!!  How rare is that?!?  Perhaps there will be some time to read.:-)

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.