Treasures Of The Heart...



Today as I carefully packed this fifty-year-old Christmas card away with all the other decorations, I smiled, and was reminded of how our personalities are shaped in so many ways and by so many things as we grow. On the inside, it says, "Merry Christmas to Mother and Daddy Love, Kathy."

I don't remember making it, but what I do remember is having a coloring book at my grandmother's house when I was about six. I remember asking my uncle if he wanted to color a picture in my book. I watched him as he outlined and colored each item on the page. I clearly remember thinking how beautiful his picture was and how I needed to outline if I wanted mine to be beautiful. To this day I outline every picture I color. I think that simple experience may have shaped me, may have caused me to be more careful, more meticulous, wanting my efforts to be just right, or maybe it had nothing to do with anything at all.

I found the card while cleaning out my parents home after both of them had passed away. It reminded me of how, we as mother's save so many little things our kids make for us. We save ornaments that we hang on the tree year after year, construction paper paintings, letters they've written to us... We save these things never knowing what will become of them when we're gone.

A lot of things have to be thrown out. You can't keep it all, but every now and then something comes along in the form of a treasure. You know it's a treasure because it speaks to your heart. This is one of those treasures. The heart kind. The kind that reminds us to remember.

It reminds me of that little seven-year-old girl who must have been outlining and trying to make her picture as beautiful as she could. It reminds me of time spent at my grandmother's house and of the mother who lovingly put it away, only to have it resurface 50 years later. I'm glad she did. I framed it and hung it behind the Christmas tree.

Today I carefully packed this fifty-year-old Christmas card away with all the other decorations. I wrapped it in cotton batting, the kind that sparkles with glitter, and when it resurfaces again next year I'll smile, and I'll be reminded, and I'll remember.

I hope your January has started out to be the beginning of a great new year.



Distant Hours...

 

“Happiness in life is not a given, it must be seized.”

 

Distant Hours  



A long lost letter arrives in the post and Edie Burchill finds herself on a journey to Milderhurst Castle, a great but moldering old house, where the Blythe spinsters live and where her mother was billeted 50 years before as a 13 year old child during WWII. The elder Blythe sisters are twins and have spent most of their lives looking after the third and youngest sister, Juniper, who hasn’t been the same since her fiance jilted her in 1941.
Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother’s past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Milderhurst, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. The truth of what happened in ‘the distant hours’ of the past has been waiting a long time for someone to find it. ~Goodreads.

Author: Kate Morton

Published: 2010

Purchased: Amazon.com

 

REVIEW

 

I have read more than one of Kate Morton's books and enjoyed them all, some more than others. Kate Morton is a very accomplished writer. The way she tells her stories in flashbacks always makes me excited to get from now to then. Distant hours with it's castle, moat, and mysterious characters make it a hauntingly, gothic-like novel. The Blythe sisters each had their own story to tell and it kept me guessing and trying to solve the mystery. I did feel that it was a little too wordy and therefore could have been shorter and could have moved a bit faster in places, but it was definitely worth the read. I give it  four stars.  I can't wait to read her newest novel, The Lake House. I highly recommend any of Kate Morton's books.

 

Happy Reading!!!

 

It All Has To Go...

               The time has come once again to pack it all away.

     The Santa,

      and the favorite book.

The pictures

and the lighted houses.

 The bells and ornaments,

and things from the past.

 

Christmas cards and Santa mugs,

Angels, carolers, and advent calendars that decorate the mantel.

snowmen and snow globes,



it all has to go.

 

Normally, I feel like it's over before it begins, but this year I started decorating in November and next year I may start in October. I love Christmas and everything that goes with it.

Hope everyone has a wonderful new year filled with the best that life has to offer.

Have a great week!

 

 



Mother's Baked Beans...

For every family get together that we have my kids want me to make baked beans. In September, for Labor Day, I decided to surprise them by making a Crock Pot full of Great Northern beans. I love white beans. My grandmother used to make them and call me to come eat with her and take home the left-overs. She would always say nothing tasted good if she tried to make it for one person, so she would make a whole pot. Well, after Labor Day, to my surprise, the kids informed me that they wanted me to stick to the baked beans. Even my newest son-in-law requests the baked beans.
My husband's family is having their Christmas party tomorrow night, so in the morning I will get up and make baked beans. Sunday we are having Christmas at our oldest daughter's house, so Sunday morning I will get up and make another pot of baked beans.
When I first got married in 1975 my mother-in-law shared her recipes with me and this was one of her recipes. I call it Mother's Baked Beans. I get so many compliments on these beans that I thought I would share.

MOTHER'S BAKED BEANS

 

• 1 can of Van Camp Pork & Beans
• 2 ribs of celery, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 2 T of prepared mustard
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 2 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces 

Mix all ingredients together and pour into baking dish. Cook 3 hours at 250 degrees. The last two years I have used the Crock Pot to cook them. I put the pot on low and let it cook for about 6 hours. It works fine.

 

This is the original recipe. I have never made it using only one can. I use 6 cans and it fills my Crock Pot. If the beans have a lot of liquid in them I will partially drain because the Crock Pot seems to create it's own liquid. If you are using a baking dish you may not need to drain them. I don't care for too much celery, so I just guess at the celery, a couple of ribs may be all I use in the whole pot. When it comes to the onions I cut up two or three medium to large onions. I cut the bacon into 1 inch square pieces. It will seem like a lot of bacon, but when it cooks up it isn't too much. I follow the recipe x 6 for the rest of the ingredients.  

 

My mother-in-law with my kids in 1987. She was a good cook and we enjoyed many wonderful meals prepared in her kitchen.

 

Enjoy!!!

Have a nice weekend!

Meet Inka And Piper...

I have had them for about eight years. They are now eight and ten. The oldest one, Piper, is starting to have problems. I took her to the vet thinking it might be diabetes. The testing was inconclusive.

She wasn't really overweight, but the vet thought it might help if I cut back on her food, so I did and she immediately lost weight. I can now clearly see the shape of her spine and ribs and even though I have begun to feed her more than ever, she can't seem to gain. She seems healthy as far as her personality goes, but seems to be wasting away.

 L to R, Inka and Piper

Inka normally weighs about 2 lbs. and Piper can be anywhere from 7 to 10 lbs. Since this might well be the beginning of the end, I have taken to spoiling her a bit lately. Monday night while Christmas shopping I bought her a huge, nasty looking, hog femur. She loves it. It is the worst smelling thing I think I have ever smelled, but poor Piper, she has been such a good dog, so for now, I will sit in my chair, and watch T. V. and pretend a pork roast is cooking in the oven and that I am enjoying the aroma of her tasty snack.

Hope you have a great weekend!!!!

 



A Bed For Baby Jesus...

In April, while in Santiago, Spain, I bought this baby Jesus as a souvenir. The young man that ran the store was very nice. I was thinking about buying the large one for double the price. He told me he thought the medium size would work for me and he was exactly right. Then he opened at least five boxes trying to find the perfect one. One with no flaws. He was an example of every Spanish person we came in contact with.

Some wood, some glue, a piece of cotton and

Baby Jesus has his bed. He's going under the Christmas tree.

Have a nice week.

Happy Birthday Party...

Happy Birthday, Little Lawly!!!



This past week was our little Lawton's 3rd birthday. I think the last time I blogged about him he was a newborn.

 His mom threw a great party. We had all the taco salad and tacos we could eat. Afterward, we had cookies and cake with little Lawly being the center of attention.

 He loves Mickey Mouse, so of course, that was the theme of the party.

Blogger won't let me upload anymore pictures, so

Have a great rest of the week!!!

 

 

 

My Camino (pt. 7) Conclusion...

At the Cathedral in Santiago at noon each day there is a mass held honoring pilgrims. This cathedral has the largest Botafumeiro in the world. The Botafumeiro is the most famous and popular symbol of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It is a large incense burner that hangs from the ceiling of the Cathedral and swings back and forth during mass. It takes eight men to swing it using ropes four on one side and four on the other. The men pull on the ropes. You can see the fire burning inside of the Botafumeiro.

 

I decided the night before reaching Santiago that I would need to leave by 4:30am if I was going to reach Santiago in time for the pilgrim's mass. The lady I had been walking with didn't think she wanted to get up that early, so a man that I had met several times in the past week said he would like to go with me if I would wait until 5:30. He thought we could make it by noon. It was 12 miles to Santiago and raining. I said okay.  

 

I woke him at 5:00am and we prepared to leave. He was from Budapest, Hungary and had blisters all over his feet. He had to stop walking for three days and that's when I caught up with him. We left the alburgue at 5:30 as planned. It was dark outside and raining. We arrived at the Cathedral in Santiago at 11:00am. I went immediately inside the church and sat  down on the third row, directly in front. I sat there one hour waiting on the mass to start. I sat there and rested and thought about the walk and how I had actually completed it. My journey was over. I took my shoes off and rested my poor feet. When the mass started and we had to stand up I had to put my shoes back on. I couldn't stand on my feet without my shoes on. They hurt so bad.

 

After the mass I hooked back up with my friend from Australia. For the next week we shopped and enjoyed Santiago. We rode the bus to Finnesterre and saw the ocean. I returned home on May 5, 2015. It took me 44 days to complete my walk. I started on March 14th and reached Santiago on April 26th. It was an experience of a life-time.

 

 You can see the steeple of the Cathedral. This is the first glimpse I got of the Cathedral. I had been walking for 44 days and the site of this steeple was something I can't explain. I had to stop and take this picture. The steeple got larger and larger it was awesome.

These two pilgrims had been walking ahead of me for at least 5 miles.

 The back of the Cathedral.

 I sat down on the third row right in front

 

Cafe' con Leche-coffee with milk

Many pilgrims drank this all a long their walk. I didn't drink it until I reached Santiago.

Cafe' con Leche was good, but nothing like Café Americana.

Café Americana was black coffee.

Everytime my friend and I would order a coke or coffee they would bring a snack with it. This was our table after we had sat for a while. Some of the snacks we had already eaten. It was comical. There is no way we could eat all of the snacks they brought us.

We rode the bus to Finnesterre and saw the ocean.

This is the café across from my room where I ate for the week I stayed in Santiago. Most of the cafes, also called bars, were long and narrow like this one.

 Another tuna salad. They were so good.

 The street my room was on.

My room in Santiago where I spent the week.

Looking out the window of my room to the street below.

 

I hope you enjoyed my walk to Santiago.

It is also called the Way of St. James.

It's an adventure of a life-time.

It's a tremendous challenge, but anyone can do it.

I can tell you, determination is more than half the battle.

Have a great life and remember it's never too late to plan an adventure.

 

 

My Camino (pt. 6)

When we left Sarria we had roughly 62 miles to go. The goal for some is Finnesterre and Muxia, these are towns three to five days from Santiago. They are on the ocean, but for me it had always been the cathedral in Santiago. I thought I might ride the bus to the ocean, but I had no desire to walk farther than Santiago.

When I got to Sarria I crossed paths with a lady from Australia that I had met somewhere earlier on the trail. I think it was maybe the night after I left Sarria that she and I actually started walking together. We didn't walk together on the path necessarily, but we kept track of each other the last week by staying in the same alburgues at night. We walked at our own pace, so we would catch up with each other when we stopped for a break, and agree to stay in the same alburgue. She was faster than me. I enjoyed her company. You meet a lot of interesting people along the way, but once your journey is over you don't expect to ever cross paths again. This journey, these people, and experiences become distant memories, and that's okay. That's the way it was meant to be. 

 Here we are one bridge and 57 steps to Portomarin.

If you look closely you can see the stairs at the end of the bridge.

 If my memory serves me correctly I counted 57 steps.

 You were always exhausted when you reached your destination, so when I saw this staircase, I doubted for a moment that I could do it. Counting seemed to help me when I was going uphill, so I just started counting and before long I was at the top. 

 They say, "rain, snow, sleet, or hail cannot stop the U. S. Mail". I thought of that quote several times while walking.

 After leaving Sarria we encountered more and more pilgrims each day. As long as you walk the last 100 km from Sarria you can still get your compostella, so some people will start their walk in Sarria. 

 These giant ants were interesting.

 I didn't see cattle through most of Northern Spain. Finally they started showing up.

This is a stork nest from what I was told. Some of the cities had huge poles erected especially for these nests.

Another stand along the side of the road. It was always refreshing to come upon one of these.

 

NEXT STOP SANTIAGO.

 

TO BE CONTINUED...