Eight Random Things About Myself

Here are eight random things about myself. Please feel welcome to share eight random things about yourself too! It's a fun way to get to know more about each other!


1.) I've been told that I look at life through rose-colored glasses. I feel it is more just looking on the bright side of life, but perhaps there is a shade of rose in there somewhere. :o)

2.) I have a fear of swimming in deep water (I am not a good swimmer). I can ride in a boat without fear, per say (yes, I always have my life jacket on), but I always breathe a sigh of relief when we get back to shore.

3.) I hope to travel to England one day to see a life long friend of mine. We have been writing to each other since we were 12 years old and have never met in person. We have talked on the phone a few times only in recent years and it has been such fun!

4.) I tend to be unorganized and a bit scattered in my housekeeping. I've heard that creative people are often a bit cluttered. That's my story and I'm sticking with it...lol!

5.) I have a terrible addiction to chocolate, and especially peanut butter chocolate M & M's candy.

6.) My first experience flying was in 1993 when we flew to Japan to see friends, and then on to South Korea to pick up our adopted child. A long first trip in a plane!

7.) I love old classic movies (black and white) and have very old fashioned tastes in many things I watch.

8.) My decorating tastes are romantic country. I enjoy using vintage style florals and lots of nature in our log home.

June Seasonal Giveaway!

As I love the different seasons of the year, I've decided to host a giveaway each of the 4 seasons on my blog. Starting with the month of June, here is the first one. It is my first ever, and very fitting to me, as I love to give things to friends! Will you please join my first giveaway? The drawing will be held on the morning of June 15.

Giveaway gifts include (top right & clock-wise): One rose colored waffle weave kitchen towel (Dunroven House), one blank journal: 'Maison des Jardins', one pack of 10 blank notecards & envelopes (cafe' front with Victorian design across top), one stainless steel cup & saucer design demi spoon, one garden design butterfly magnet, one heart-shaped stainless steel teaball, and one Victorian style paper mache' box (the lid is in front with lady holding a fan, the box is on it's side so you can see the inside bottom, which is a replica of an old postcard), AND a little secret surprise which will be inside the box.

To enter in the drawing, please answer this question: What is your favorite thing about summer?

The best of luck to each of you! Please let your friends know. I can't wait to send the package out to someone!

Blessings,

Janice

Blue

The original packet of seeds for these beautiful blue 'Love in a Mist' flowers, came years ago from a dear friend and penpal from England. The seeds have scattered themselves every year and now they are popping up everywhere in front of the house...along the driveway, in the flower bed, and all along the stone steps. They are a wonderful reminder of a treasured friendship from afar.

My Mother's Day hydrangea still looking beautiful in the pot. I hope to get it planted sometime this weekend.

Sweet Potato Fries

To those of you interested in the recipe mentioned in my previous post, I am happy to share it with you! The recipe shows the fries as being orange, but in the grocery store I shopped at, they had a bin of yams (orange fleshed) and a bin of sweet potatoes (white fleshed), so I got sweet potatoes. So, by name I got the right one, but by looks, I wonder if people creating the recipe used yams. (There always seems to be a lot of confusion about the two anyway...lol). Anyway, all I know is these were good! :o)

Sweet Potato Fries (Serves 4)

*2 sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs. total), peeled and cut into 1/2-by-2-inch sticks
*2 TBSP olive oil
*coarse salt and ground pepper
*1 TBSP fresh lemon juice

1.)Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. Divide potatoes between two rimmed baking sheets; toss with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer, without overlapping. Roast, tossing once, until tender and starting to brown, 25-30 minutes.

2.)Sprinkle with lemon juice; season with coarse salt and pepper, if desired. Toss to coat.

**What I changed:
I did not use lemon juice and omitted the second sprinkling of pepper. Use a non stick baking sheet or you'll have a mess...lol. I had one pan they slid right off of when finished and one pan I had to scrape them from. Enjoy!

Color

After a recent trip to the grocery store, all this color on my counter caught my eye. I think as the years go by, I appreciate color more than ever.

Lately I've been having fun trying some new recipes from 'Everyday Food' (a Martha Stewart publication). The sweet potatoes shown, turned into some sweet potato oven fries....my first time trying them. Yum!

More color coming soon (from the flower beds).

Beauty in unexpected places

On our hillside above the main road closest to our house, tall wild white daisies grow.

I had been noticing a little patch of daisies in the ditch along the road below that hillside for two or three days and finally took my camera with me when I left the house this afternoon. Seeds caught in the rocks last fall have brought forth a sweet display, with just enough water trickling through to keep them flourishing.

Amazingly, (and yet not), the page I recently read in my 'Simple Living for Women' book fits perfectly. I would love to share some things from that page.

Remember...

'Like vivid blue wildflowers blooming in an alley, nature~and God~show up in unexpected places.'

'Beauty beckons you from every corner of heaven and earth, wooing you to greater simplicity of spirit.'

'The magnificence of creation can nourish your soul and lighten your load.'

'Noticing the grandeur of nature helps you embrace the nearness of the Lord~and the simple life.'

Simplify...

'Study the intricate detials of a single flower. Thank God for the ways his amazing handiwork reminds you of the simple life.'

'Pause on your way to work, the store, or post office to observe nature. Let each tiny miralce invite you to experience God's presence.'

Gatherings

Here is a photo of yesterday's gatherings. Three eggs from the nest boxes and quite a lot of rhubarb from the garden. Isn't it such a blessing to have a spot of earth to call ones' own, and to have the privelage of growing and gathering?

For Revee

To Revee and anyone else interested in the book I mentioned today in my 'literary meme' post, here is some information about it. It is a small hardcover book with no actual author. The compiler of the quotes and lovely writings gathered for the book is Lila Empson. It was published by 'Inspiro' in 2004. I hope that helps!

Gifts

It's so much fun to get a birthday extended! :o) My birthday was in March, and on Monday, a friend stopped by to bring belated gifts to me. She always has such a way of knowing exactly what I love. There is a green cast iron scroll design soap dish, which goes very well with a bathroom mirror we have, 2 bars of soap (apple cider and lavender), a pretty face cloth (I shall have to hide it to keep grubby little hands off...lol), a wonderful lidded jar holding a pear scented candle, and three packets of seeds (2 lavender and 1 ornamental gourds). Fun for me! I enjoyed her short, but sweet visit too!

Columbine

The photos I shared a week ago don't even compare to what the rock garden looks like right now. It's bursting with color! The top three pictures show different columbine plants I have. A busy bumble bee posed long enough to be included too.

Literary Meme

Revee shared this on her blog Country Roads and I thought it would be fun to participate.

How it works:

1. grab the book closest to you
2. open it to page 161
3. find the fifth full sentence
4. post the text of the sentence to your blog
5. don't search around for the coolest book you have, use the one that is really next to you.

Ok, I had one book on my computer desk, other than my address book, so here goes. The 5th full sentence on page 161 is:

"If you have a lemon, slice a thin wedge and squeeze it, letting tangy juice drizzle over the ice."

The book is 'Simple Living for Women'.

Thank you for the fun little activity, Revee!

Does anyone else want to participate?

Bluebird of Happiness

Another joy on the afternoon of Mother's Day, was seeing this male Western Bluebird. We do have them around, so it's not a rare thing to see them, but this guy was not one bit afraid of us while we were sitting out on the porch. For the longest time, he sat on the birch tree limb in the front yard close to where we were sitting , then he flew to a stack of wood just beyond that and sat... and after a while, he flew up to a wire and sat looking around. I took several photos because I was so intrigued with how friendly he was. It reminded me of new baby birds learning to fly and they have not yet learned to be cautious of humans. I knew it wasn't time for baby birds yet, and especially ones of this size. The only other thing I could think of was maybe he was scoping out the property looking for a nesting place for his bride. It wasn't until I downloaded the pictures onto the computer that I saw his foot and leg were deformed. At first it made me very sad for a while, then I counted it as a blessing received. Perhaps his disability had made him more trusting in us for some reason. Whatever it was, it added a special something to my Mother's Day, as I dearly love birds! I didn't see him anywhere today, but hopefully I'll see him again. If not....I'll know for sure it was a Mother's Day gift.

A Wonderful Day!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day yeseterday. Our front porch was full of family and sunshine! We had a great BBQ dinner (burgers and the works) and I received some lovely gifts. My dh gave me a blue hydrangea plant, daughter #1 gave me Almond Rocha candy and the promise to decorate my blog *she already started with the flower cursor...did you see it? :o)*, daughter #2 and her little girls (my grand daughters) gave me a bouquet of flowers and made a cake (the cake is a tradition they have done for a while), daughter #3 gave me three flower pots for the front porch, and her little son (my grandson) gave me a little pot with a yellow mini rose in it, and my son gave me a note saying he'd like for us to go to lunch together soon. The best part was that we were all together enjoying a lovely afternoon!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to every lady who reads this! Some of you have raised your children and some are in the process of doing so. Some of you have no children in your lives, but I believe you are moms just the same. Any woman can be a mother to those she loves, cares for and encourages...even if it is a small kitten. So to each and every one of you, may God bless you for your important role in the lives of those you touch! Have a lovely day and do something special for yourself!

Morning

' I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.'
~ J.B. Priestly~

(Photo taken of sunrise on our property a few months ago)

Garden Bench

In 2001, my dh had this concrete garden bench made for my birthday. It has a mosaic image of hummingbirds and flowers on it, along with 'Janice's Secret Garden' and the date. I can't even tell you what a surprise that was...I had no idea he had that planned! It sits close by the fish pond.

Over the years, moss has filled in the letters and numbers, adding more old garden charm to it.

The patio stones were gifts from another year, on Mother's Day, presented to me in a wheelbarrow and stacked all around it. Each family member had painted their name on a stone.

I bought the little sun dial a year or two ago and just love it. During the rainy days, the top holds water, which the kitties love to drink out of.

These are some of my most unexpected and extravagant gifts...which will be treasured forever and hopefully passed on to other family members someday who love to have a special garden spot to call their own!

Debbie Mumm Card Organizer

I love writing letters and mailing cards to people and was happy to find this while shopping recently. It's a Debbie Mumm greeting card organizer with address book. The front pages are catagorized by the month, with places to fill in birthday, anniversary and special occaions dates (on left of lower photo), and pages to keep cards (on right of same photo), with a special quote to read. In the back of the book is set up like a regular address book. I'm excited to have something fun to help me be orgainized in this way!

Rhubarb Strawberry Banana Betty

Well, it has taken me several hours to get this put together and baked (new puppy care, and my other dog got loose...need I say more? lol), but it sure looks good. I wish you could smell my kitchen now! I had some freshly picked rhubarb from the garden, some strawberries in the freezer, and one banana in the fruit bowl. I found this receipe on the internet here: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/print?id=225543 I left the raisins out of the recipe. I'll go to the store in a while to buy some vanilla ice cream, and look forward to having this for dessert tonight. Would you like to join me?

May Flowers

One of the greatest virtues of gardening is this perpetual renewal of youth and spring, of promise of flower and fruit that can always be read in the open book of the garden, by those with an eye to see, and a mind to understand.

~E.A. Bowles~

These photos are of my side rock garden next to the sidewalk. It is most glorious in the month of May, and I find myself finding every excuse to go outside and just gaze at it.

A new baby and other beautiful creatures

Yesterday we took a 7 hour (one way) road trip to pick up a new member of our family. Lobo is a 10 week old part malamute, husky, wolf. We bought him for our 15 year old son. The top photo was taken of him during one of our stops on the way home. We already love him dearly and he is fitting in very nicely. The other two photos were taken on the trip back also...a family of Canadian geese, and a buffalo herd grazing in a field. We were gone 15 hours and quite happy to get home and get out of the truck!

Deer Friends

We have a mama deer with two young ones living on our place. We enjoy watching them a lot. This morning they were in front of the house across the driveway. Our dog was on her cable in the side yard watching them (and shaking like a leaf with excitement, of course). The babies were fine with seeing the dog, but the mama was concerned, and several times would lift a front foot high, then stomp hard on the ground as a warning. Later on, mama was down across the pond resting (I zoomed in, so she looks closer). Her babies must have been just out of my sight taking their naps also.

It's just me

I am back, my dear friends. I have missed you. I have been keeping a yahoo journal lately, which I love and intend to keep....but I want to be back here with you also. I look forward to being a part of your lives more again. Will you have me back?

~Janice~ (used to be Flora)