Weekly Missives

I read these books to my children when they we were young and now we (the grandchildren and I) have rediscovered them again. Charlie knows all of them by name and sight from the backs of the books, Mr. Noisy, Mr. Messy, Little Miss Birthday etc. by Roger Hargreaves. I pop one in the mail as a surprise treat from Grammie, and then we get on iChat to read them together. I have a stack of these little books on my desk, ready to send as little love missives...a gentle reminder that they are in my thoughts and firmly in my heart.

Mother's Day Gifts

I've taken photos of the sweet, thoughtful Mother's Day gifts I received this year...I love them all. Eli's, of course can't be photographed, b/c it is an iMovie on CD. If you are a member of my family - you will know who gave what easily...from the photos - it will be so easy for you! I blogged about this earlier but didn't have the photos to back me up.

If you click on the photos, they will expand, and you can read the poem on Sarra's canvas...it is truly beautiful. I love the colors and the the whole idea of 'scrapbooking' on canvas. Perfect. Mark's will be put to good use when I get my new car next month...yes we are doing our part for the auto industry. Jared's is hanging up in my room, it's a favorite Greg Olsen print. Loads of love to each of you for your thoughtful gifts and sentiments.

AI

The finale...and two great talents. Somehow all the expectation fell just a bit flat for me (dawg). Maybe Kris and Adam were both tired...and that last song - the worst written song in history. In my opinion they both blew that final original song. Kris in particular started off the best, gave off the best vibe, but couldn't hit the highs, and it just wasn't Adam's cup of tea at all. The other two songs were pretty good for both of them, Mad World being my favorite from the entire season...Kris should have chosen either 'Falling' or 'Heartless'. But honestly, the swagger was missing tonight.

Who should win, it's like choosing whether you love an apple over an orange, they just are really hard to compare. For the first time, in my diligent following of AI, I am stumped. Good luck to both of them.

Who Says I Never Win?

Lyla Lou's Giveaway WINNER!

The winner is lucky number 19, Elizabeth, who said:

"I love the Yellow Trixie Headband, for my granddaughter, Jane. Thanks for the heads up on the cute site."

Congrats, Elizabeth! Please email me at flowerchain@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Sabbath Day University

Today in Sunday School, I felt like I was attending a university level gospel doctrine class. I am definitely the consummate nerd, with my notebook, colored pen, scriptures, and my study guide. I can't help it, when I have a really great teacher, it is the best feeling in the world to have gospel doctrine opened up to you with scholarly supporting information, the kind that you usually don't get to hear unless you are a scholar yourself and you dig it up through your own reading. I love to read, but I am not able or willing to work that hard (apparently), so when it falls out of heaven like that, through a really effective teacher (and we do have very capable teachers) I am a teachable, willing recipient. I am truly grateful for the time and effort of these wonderful teachers in my ward.

Bubble Blowing Skirt and Top GIVEAWAY!!!!

Bubble Blowing Skirt and Top GIVEAWAY!!!!

This one is for Jane:-)

Perfect Love

Perfect Love

Who would be loved, let him possess

A true beloved like mine,

And share in secret blessedness

Love's mystery divine:

Lovers like us none else, I guess,

Are found in earth's confine.

'Soul of the world' - such was the name

My idol gave to me;

While I do live, her I proclaim

Soul of my world to be,

And none I know doth own the same

Dear loyalty as she.

Behold me now - take not as heard,

But ask, and all will say

That this is sooth: this was her word:

'I shall be thine for aye'

Truly she is, as she averred,

And I am hers alway.

A.J. Arberry

Taken from Persian Poems An Anthology of Verse Translations

Food

Here's another EASY yummy recipe, cuz I just can't stop myself. This is so good and easy:

Boil fusilli in salted water for 6 min.

While pasta is cooking, saute garlic in olive oil, then here you can either add just halved cherry tomatoes, or as an alternate, you can add cooked shrimp, or cooked chicken, whatever, and then the halved cherry tomatoes. Heat through. While this is cooking, dice fresh mozzarella (the soft kind) into a pasta bowl, and throw in rolled and thin sliced fresh basil leaves. Now take the drained pasta and toss in the pan with the garlic, and tomatoes (and perhaps shrimp or chicken though not needed!). Pour over the mozza and basil in the bowl, and toss. The whole thing takes 6 minutes, and YUM!

You could wilt either arugula or spinach in this pasta dish too, just throw it in with the tomatoes.

As you can tell, I like food FAST & FRESH!

Halibut Yum

YUM. Tonight I made, in about 5 minutes flat, the best halibut steak. This is what you do:

Heat 1 t. butter & 1 t. olive oil in a saute pan, til bubbling, drop in the dredged halibut (in flour with salt and pepper) into the hot pan, and cook on one side 2-3 minutes. While cooking, zest a lemon right over the fish. Salt and pepper, lightly. Now juice 1/2 lemon right over the fish while it is cooking. Turn the fish over, and repeat on the other side. Done in about 5-6 min. Serve with green beans, or spinach salad, or sliced tomato or whatever...something fresh:-)

I nearly took a picture it looked so good!

Milk Weed Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Milk Weed Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Sarra, I'm trying to win it for you:-)

Geese

We have two goose 'couples' that return every year to have their children...they hatch their eggs (anywhere between 1-4), then tend to their goslings all summer long...it is really inspiring and we look forward to seeing them. One of the families arrived on May 2. and it really made our souls happy (that's how you know that you are getting older...you love birds and trees) - it means that Spring is really here. I can't wait to see how many babies they will have this year.

What makes the geese so inspiring is the way that they are devoted to one another and to their little families. The 'children' are always positioned in between the mom and the dad..and the parent's truly do stand guard over these goslings all summer, right up to the point that they are really all the same size, and it's time to fly south. It's fun to see this divine like quality in nature.

Sweetness

I started to cry when I saw these photos in my email this afternoon. I miss these little wonders. Jane is wearing a dress that Sarra sewed for her this week - she is so cute in it. Wonderful job Sarra - I love the colors! The next photo is of Scarlet, who has grown way too much! She is wearing the little felted booties I gave her for Christmas; she wasn't there to receive them, but she has them on now:-) Then, the last photo is just the sweetest picture of Charlie having a little snuggle, and then a snooze with Scarlet...he is nuzzled right up to her. Charlie has a heart of gold, for sure.

A Night at the Opera

I was given tickets to La Traviata by Verdi for Christmas, by Mark and Eli...a lovely gift, and I enjoyed it so much! It was wonderful. The music was beautiful, and the story and sets were enchanting (a popular word right now thanks the the right press:-). I took Jared with me, as he is our musical aficionado. We went out for dinner afterwards, to OPM. I love to spend time with my family - and Jared is such good company. I am planning to go to the library tomorrow to pick up the music for a second listen. Thanks to Mark and Eli!