May Flowers Are Here (heavy on the blossoms)

Every time I think I am done photographing the spring blossoms, another opportunity shows up with more endless blossomy moments to capture.

Our property and our neighbors' properties have so many beautiful trees.  We live on a short street and we are all friendly with one another. You can't go for a walk without seeing someone to say hello to :-) Don't plan on being in a hurry. LOL

We started spring with double tulips, lenten rose and azaleas. Then moved onto Mother's Day, picnics, flowering crabapple trees, dogwood blooms, yellow magnolia, lilacs and white fringed tulips from my husband's tulip garden at the school where he teaches. 

Then our local museum had "Art in Bloom"... with incredible floral arrangements inspired by pieces in their permanent collection at Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute.

I can't wait to see what June brings! 

xoxo

Debbie

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Will you be watching the ceremony? Something I learned this week (lol) is that Meghan Markle, future wife of Prince Harry, loves to eat pasta. One of her go-to recipes is cacio e pepe pasta which is easy enough to make on a weeknight.

On Saturday, May 19, the ceremony itself begins at noon London time, meaning
 7 am ET/4 am PT.

If you prefer to watch straightforward live network TV coverage,  CBS’s coverage starts at 4 am. ET with a preshow hosted by Gayle King and Kevin Frazier, and will include a two-hour special airing at 8 pm on Saturday. NBC is sending the hosts of the Today show to Windsor Castle for its coverage, which will begin at 4:30 am ET Saturday.

McVities biscuits, PG Tips, scones with English clotted cream and assorted jams will be served for the Big Day. We'll rise at 5 a.m. for breakfast tea for two and view the wedding. No big deal for us since we get up at 5 a.m. every day for work. And yes we are suckers for these weddings.

A tray makes our breakfast tea perfectly portable. 

When my husband was in the Peace Corps in Montserrat, he purchased a booklet of stamps that were designed to mark the occasion of the Royal Wedding of H. R. H. The Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer. The designs were based upon Royal Yachts from the mid-seventeenth century to the present day. He has always had a special place in his heart for Princess Diana ;o)

Thanks for stopping by!
Debbie

Rhubarb Dream Bars..the Hummingbirds are coming!

 

Yay, we finally have decent weather and the hummingbirds are on their way!!
This week it's about the little things. Here we celebrate the Lenten Rose blooms and the arrival of the hummingbirds. I even have clematis buds. This is big folks :-) Over the weekend, I noticed I had some frozen rhubarb from last July so I pulled out my rhubarb folder where I have six tried and tested recipes. I found the recipe for Rhubarb Dream Bars and I was reminded of how good they are. Too good really, but always share with my next door neighbor Isabelle who is 95 and still bakes and shares with me.   

It's a nice change of pace from the usual rhubarb pie or cake recipe.

Rhubarb Dream Bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups white sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 4 1/2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups of flour, confectioners' sugar and butter until it forms a dough, or at least the butter is in small crumbs. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. While this bakes, whisk together the white sugar, salt, flour and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in rhubarb to coat. Spread evenly over the baked crust when it comes out of the oven.
3. Bake for another 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until rhubarb is tender. Cool and cut into squares to serve.

Thank you for stopping by! 

xoxo

Debbie

Spring Arrived...Time To Grill Pizza

Joe's sister and hubby drove from NYC to visit us for the weekend, and THANK GOD we had sunshine and nice weather. We have not seen the sun since last October..LOL. So we made grilled pizza since they don't have a grill where they live in NYC. If you have a grill, give grilled pizza a try. We've been doing pizza this way for at least ten years, and have made hundreds for get togethers. When we went to the New York Botanical Gardens, they were demonstrating how to grill pizza. I've included links to the two pizzas they made. I've made both at home and they were both wonderful. I hope you try it!

BBQ Chicken and Red Onion Pizza

Grilled BLT Pizza

This is my sisterinlaw holding our newest grandson Quinn Joseph :-) 

 It was one of those perfect April days when suddenly the Lenten Rose said "I'm here, look down, I was under the snow all this time".

And this is the golf course near my camp in the Adirondacks. They are scheduled to open in two weeks. Pray for sunshine and warmth :-)

The MacKenzie-Childs warehouse sale was fun! Here's a few of my favorite items. Thanks for stopping by! 
xoxo
Debbie

I'm off to the MacKenzie-Childs Warehouse Sale!!

Wish me luck! Not that I need a thing :-)

UPDATE 4/14/18:  We had a wonderful time at the sale, met some wonderful people, and I will post about the sale and the Traveling Tote on June 1. 

 20+ years ago, my co-workers happened upon MacKenzie-Childs in Aurora, NY (Finger Lakes region of New York). I had never heard of it. Enthusiastically, they would tell us about their purchases, most of which were seconds at reduced prices that they bought from Richard and Victoria MacKenzie-Childs. 

In 2017, MacKenzie-Childs hosted their FIRST warehouse sale in Union Springs, NY. We went, we enjoyed it. Not too crowded. It was like the July barn sale, just on a smaller scale and MUCH LESS crowded. This year may be different since it seems EVERYONE found out about it.  LOL

In the photo above, you will see the "black and white checks". Courtly Check got its start more than 30 years ago and in 1995 it was featured on the enamelware in the Camp MacKenzie-Childs collection, which was designed for casual outdoor use and glamping. The enamelware was called Roasted Marshmallow because mixed in with the overall black and white check were subtle hints of additional colors that resembled the caramelized sugar on marshmallows toasted over an open fire. A few years later, the pattern was renamed Courtly Check after an editor referred to MacKenzie-Childs as “the court jester of tabletop.”

This is me last April at the sale. And I still love that wreath that I bought!

Headed out early on Saturday. I'll be back soon with a full report!