A Christian Woman Thinks (And It's Dangerous)

@#(!^%@ Disney!

Let me just make a disclaimer before I tell you about my first ever day at Disney: yesterday turned out to be THE busiest day of the year for Disney, according to one park employee: the end of spring break, a total of 71,000 people jammed in the park (Magic Kingdom) verses about 33,000 the week before. Plus it was in the 80s, sunny..... you get the picture.

So I did not enjoy Disney yesterday. There were so many people you couldn't do anything: rides had waits of 60+ minutes, and the FastPass options were gone on some of them by the time we got there. You could not stroll liesurely around. We waited about 40 minutes just to get on the Dumbo ride. The kids were hot, tired of walking, and disappointed we couldn't do things like Space Mountain.... and we only got three autographs from characters, ones from Pinnochio.

We did manage a ride on Big Thunder Mountain at 9:30ish when the crowd was diverted to Cinderella's castle for the spectacular fireworks. My daughter also went on some kind of splash ride....Mostly we just walked around and ATE. We had a bad experience on the train that runs around the park: we were let on, but as folks RAN to the trains the seats quickly filled. My hubby and one daughter got a seat, but Joy & I could not find a space to fit in. The "conductor" kind of sneered at us as we headed towards the front (we told her there was no room in the back, she insisted there was)... meantime the front filled up and we were then turned away by another conductor ("No more, folks! No more!"). So all we got to do was exit the train ride. How, well, let me say it just once, sucky. I was so mad. We couldn't get ANYTHING accomplished, our kids just wanted to go home and get in the pool.

Having said all that, it had to be done, our trip to Magic Kingdom. Hopefully Epcot tomorrow will be better. Today we are recovering, our feet are killing us from Universal and Disney, two days in a row, miles of walking.

Here's some pics for sharing:


Here's all the kids on our journey: from left, my daughter Natalie, with Jacob and sister Brooke (my niece), and daughter Joy, posing at the resort.


Some pretty hibiscus, growing in April! In New England we MIGHT be able to grow these later in the summer, but they wouldn't last. These were from big bushes of them...


And one pic for the kids: find the little lizard in this photo....

Security, Lizards, and The Hulk

Music Tag

T.I.R.E.D.

T  ime to get up?

I    don't believe it.

R  ise and shine?

E  gads, I'll leave it.

D  reamland is much more fun.

Sparkly Things

I love sparkly things, you know that? We had some snow on Thursday night, and by Friday morning it was so pretty - only our second real snow of the season, and really, the first snow was more ice than snow. This one was the nice, heavy kind that sticks to tree branches and makes everything seem white, soft, blanketed. I took a camera in my car on the way to work and snapped the view from my windshield... it doesn't capture the true beauty, but I thought I'd share anyway.



I drive 20 miles of scenic, rural road to work...it's hilly, but as you can see the roads were clear so I could truly enjoy the snow view.

The view from my back door was equally impressive... and for you farm & construction equipment fans, I've included a photo where you can see the snow AND a piece of equipment, courtesy of Endless Express Contracting (and Alan Bates, my contractor brother).



I've been enjoying a couple of other sparkly things lately... my hubby bought me a pretty Journey pendant for Valentine's Day, a true treat because he doesn't often buy more expensive jewelry like this. He really made my day when he did this year. I also finished stringing and hand-knotting a set of pearls to wear.



Some of my knots did not come out as close to the pearls as they should be - they're supposed to be snug, right up to each pearl, and many are but some had a little space. So I am not ready to be an expert hand knotter, but it was fun learning and you get a nice result to enjoy when you're done.

As always, thanks for stopping by my blog and allowing me this space to talk about whatever I feel like, what fun!

The Truth About Tea

After typing a lengthy entry about tea for you, I did the usual magic trick, hit my back button by mistake, and returned to an empty entry box!!! So here I go again, I'd like to share a little about tea.

My friends know my preference for tea (I don't care for coffee). Usually when I visit they try to accommodate me. The conversation will go something like this: "What kind of tea would you like?" Me: "What kind do you have?" My friend: "Well, I've got some chamomile, some orange zinger, some lemon soother, and some regular tea, I think it's Red Rose or something like that..."

Stop right there! What you have there is NOT tea (except the Red Rose). You have herbal tea - called tea, yes, but not really tea. There's not a drop of tea in those bags. You have a tisane - a concoction of herbs crushed up and used as a beverage or for medicinal purposes. I use them on occasion - like when I need a sore throat soother, or a stomach settler, or a sleepy time drink. You can buy tisanes in bulk at your local co-op or health food store. But these are NOT tea! So I'll take the Red Rose, thank you - it's the only one you've got with tea leaves in it. Tea, the leaves of the tea plant, either black, green, or white - has to be an ingredient. Otherwise, no thank you!

Now, I know this sounds a bit snobby, but what if I offered you fake coffee? Some kind of herbal tisane with a root of something that's supposed to make a dark-colored drink? You wouldn't like it.

I learned a lot about tea from Pearl the tea lady at a tea at historic Roseland Cottage (The Pink House) in Woodstock, CT, years ago. Turns out later in life Pearl & I attend the same church. Pearl has a tea magazine and even a tea school, if you want to become an expert. Click the tea bag below for information about the magazine and the school.

Tea can have some flavor to it, using either oils or blends of other kinds of teas. For example, I love Earl Grey tea, which contains oil of bergamont, and its lighter counterpart, Lady Grey, which has some citrus to it as well. You can also have varied flavor depending on the "color" of the tea leaf: green and white are younger leaves, and they have a lighter flavor than black tea leaves. Different regions of the world have different flavor teas, too, hence the different types of black teas: Indian teas like assam and darjeeling, teas from China like lapsang souchong, teas from Sri Lanka like ceylon. Other brands: The British have it right with PG Tips, a plain, strong black tea. It is England's favorite tea (or so proclaims the box). Drink it with milk and sugar or a bit of honey, or just straight up! Or try a chai tea with sweetened condensed milk: I don't mean the powdered stuff, either. Buy a chai bag, brew it up, and add the sweetened milk. Yum! Brew a cup by boiling cold water, either in a pot or a tea kettle. Nuking a cup of hot water just doesn't taste as good.

Buy a box of biscotti, or better yet, MAKE biscotti, and dip it into your tea for a later afternoon pick-me-up.

For the ultimate, go to a tea room and have a full tea: endless pots of tea; scones with jam and curd and perhaps even clotted cream; small crustless sandwiches like cucumber and cream cheese, deviled ham and olive with dill, oh, yum; and desserts after all that, cakes and pies and tarts. What a treat! You just can't do that with coffee.

I know all you Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts fans are just bored to tears right now (did you know where we live there is now a Dunkin Donuts about every quarter mile in almost every town? I am not really overexaggerating here, either). But you should try it, you might like it.

Anyone out there have a favorite tea, or tisane? Make your own tea as homesteaders (I hear you can make it from things like dandelions, and other plant roots)? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you!

Dangly Earrings

I made earrings today, nothing too fancy, but it satisfies the urge to create! I am thinking of taking a beading class to learn to work with wire so I can string things like freshwater pearls, which have a smaller hole than these kinds of beads.
These are cobalt blue millefiori beads, with small spacers & french hooks, all sterling silver. Would be neat to make and sell these on eBay, but you know there are thousands of them already there like this. The good thing is you can find beads like this on eBay for less. I paid maybe 50 cents a piece for these beads in the store.
I should add my friend Deb taught me how to do this using a simple pin and some round-nose pliers. You simply slip the beads on the pin, and then make a little hook and put them on some ear wires.



The deep blue did not come out in this photo, sorry! Also, I would like to learn how to wrap the extra wire at the top around the hook. Anyone know how to do that? Seems like it should be simple.

Kids are back to school today, life goes back to normal.... have not taken down the Christmas tree yet. How is everyone else doing? Thanks for stopping by...

Easy Does It

Last night I spent about 20 minutes making a new entry for the blog on the new Easy Bake Oven (the Real Meal Oven) my daughter Natalie got for Christmas. Then my hand rolled over the little roller at the top of my Mac mouse, and away my entry went (this back spaces your web pages, and when you come back to where you were the entry is gone). Yikes! I didn't have the heart to start over. So tonight I think I'll type it all up first, then add my photos, as I have many to share and that's what took so long. Here goes!

DD2, Natalie, had "Essy Bake" on her Christmas wish list (spelled just like that, too). Imagine my groanings to find it on her list. We just got rid of two of those light-bulb ovens from DD1, one of which was never opened because we had two of them. Imagine my delight, then, to find the new Real Meal Oven at the toy store. This oven boasts "no more light bulb" and is run by electricity. It also features some neat packets of food stuffs besides the usual cake: mac & cheese, pretzels, nachos & cheese dip, pizza... take your pick.

Since Natalie was craving a pretzel from the mall (you know, those big, buttery ones at the stands in the mall), we decided to crack open the new Real Meal Oven and the pretzel mix that came with it. It came with three packets, one the pretzel dough, one with some kind of glaze that makes the dough bake up dark brown, and one with the salt. We plugged the oven in (it takes 15 minutes to heat up!). Then Natalie got to work making her teeny, tiny pretzels, and put each in a teeny, tiny circular pan (the ones you use for the little cakes). We baked them for 18 minutes... and out they came. On the way out Natalie learned an important lesson: you don't touch hot pans with your bare hands! You'll see a photo of her dousing her finger in cold water in the faucet. We also learned another lesson: you need to put the glaze everywhere, or they come out a light doughy color.

Were they good? Natalie served them up for herself and DD1, Joy. Joy proclaimed them a thumbs up. Daddy and gramma? Well, they kind of screwed up their eyes and tried the pretzel. Both had the same reaction. Not your mall-style pretzel, but it still made someone really happy to bake them herself. What shall we try next?



In they go....



Ouch! But still smiling...



Looking good....



Serving up a feast....



Thumbs up from critic #1....



Daddy gives them a "two eyebrows scrunched up..."



Gramma gives 'em the same....



But someone was very happy. How do you like that smile?

Post Christmas Musings: Booty, New Shoes & Moon Shoes

It's all about the boot - or booty, you might say. Here are a few pics of our Christmas loot, as found by our gals on Christmas morning! Keep in mind this was loot for more than just immediate family living in the house (myself, DH, two daughters, and gramma) - it was also for two brothers and a girlfriend and two more kids. But it looked pretty amazing all piled up and spilling out from the tree!

Boy, you think we'll miss that orange carpet when all the renovations are done? If you look behind the tree you'll notice a "hole" in the wall... yet another sign of things progressing. This used to house an air conditioner. All holes & windows have been dealt with (almost, anyway) so siding could go up outside. Speaking of outside, here's the promised pic of our new cranberry colored door. I love the color...

This past season I also acquired two new pair of boots (you all might remember how much I like boots). The first I've told you about, my Bear Paws with the sheep wool lining:

Don't they look like Santa's boots? The second pair was an unexpected gift: black leather Frye harness boots. These came via California, in my brother's luggage. It seems his girlfriend Cheryl does not like the way they fit her. Did I want them? Hmmm... had to think about that (NOT!)

Can't tell you how cool you feel in these boots, you'll have to find a pair of your own to find out. Also, thanks for allowing me these musings about shoes once more. I know it's a little strange, and maybe even a bit materialistic for a blogging community that is searching for simpler times. But I figured we blog about things we like, things we're doing, so there you have it!

My gals have been enjoying their Christmas "shoes," too - DD2, Natalie (age 7) got a pair of moon shoes. Here is a closeup of these beauties:

Ground control to Major Tom (7..... 6..... 5.....) Commencing countdown, engines on.... (4..... 3..... 2.....)

These photos came out huge, didn't they? Forgive me again for some blurriness, too....

That's it for now. I've enjoyed all your post Christmas musings, friends - check out Musketman's blog to see the neato metal detector he got for Christmas. Kitty also posted some pics of her family opening the gifts. MistressBee (HeMarriedMedusa) confessed to some Christmas blues, and if you're reading, Medusa, you are in my prayers - and keep posting, a lot of folks enjoy reading. Catch you all later!

Adding Some Fun

I got this idea from reading Peggy's blog, Home Made Simplicity . On the right-hand side of her blog is a whole list of things that pertain to her day. Each day she changes the information - fun stuff, like what fragrance of candle or tart she is burning today, what she's wearing, etc.

I thought this was kind of neat, so I added a couple of graphs to my right side. I put a what I'm wearing and what I'm doing today section. You may not care about either! But that's okay, I thought it'd be fun. Any other ideas? I think we could come up with more ideas....

In a Whirl

Doesn't the laundromat have its own allure? C'mon, now, I know no one wants to be IN the laundromat, but once there it has its pleasures. The smells. The sounds. The snap of clothes being folded.

The sounds - nothing beats that airplane engine sound while your clothes are spinning at high rpms in the front loading washers.

This particular allure came home to live at my house yesterday. We had a new front-loading washer delivered. It was supposed to be for my laundry room upstairs, but my contractor brother figured I'd enjoy using it NOW in the basement while the upstairs work marches on (plus, he didn't want it in his way up there, I think). So it got hooked up - and we did two loads. And we watched a good portion of the washing. Mesmorizing! I don't know why, but it is.

I wrote a poem in honor of wash day with the new washing machine:

Laundry, laundry, everywhere

And not a decent thing to wear

Except this shirt with its small tear

Guess it beats just going bare

It's in the teens in New England today, and windy - let me rephrase that: it's COLD. Yesterday it was pushing 50 degrees, and tomorrow and Sunday it will warm again. That's the thing about New England, as they say, if you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a minute.

Bought a pair of BearPaw boots last night, the kind with the sheepskin lining. You can wear 'em without socks, if you want - they do keep your feet warm and toasty. BearPaws are like UGGs, if you have never heard of them before. You do all remember how much I like boots, right? I can link you to my infamous cowboy boot post - in case you missed out. Maybe I'll take a pic of the new ones for you? We shall see.

Christmas shopping tonight - just checking in with you all, reading your posts, glad to see Darcy putting posts up again and she tells me she is shopping until she drops today.

Here's a holiday hug for you all- Chris

Soap!

Those cute confetti colors are soap trimmings added to the batch for color. We were told you can also use clays and sometimes your oils to make color in your soap. Ours is natural looking.

Now for the fun of finding some of the materials we need.

eBay Box Has Arrived

Pumpkins & Apples

This is for Ellen, who asked me to post fall leaves pics... I don't have any!!! But we did pick apples over the weekend, so here's some pics from our time at the orchard. Lots of pumpkins and gourds at the orchard.

They also had some great dried flower bouquets. I liked these straw flowers Joy is holding, but put back the bouquet in favor of buying some cheddar cheese...

There were plenty of apples for us to pick. Natalie found some on lower branches - by the way, she's wearing a poncho made by my GRANDMOTHER that WE wore as kids!!! (My brothers & I each had one something like this one).

Beautiful Newport, RI

We have the pleasure of being about an hour away from the Atlantic... including beautiful Newport, RI, where we headed today. Here are some photos from our day - we watched the sun set on the water, and the girls even found a star fish in the waters along the rocks.

Blogging friend Robin has blogs titled "Wordless Wedensday" - I think that works for the most part here, too. Let's call this Newport in pictures...

The photo above, though blurry, was taken to try and catch the splendor of the majestic Newport bridge, which marks entry and exit from this magnificent island. By night its bright lights are like a beacon, calling out to all who would come - by sea or by land. It is hard to capture while in a moving car!

Fun With New Computer Software

We just switched from a PC to an Apple computer at home... and while it's been frustrating, there have been some fun things on the new Mac, like Photo Booth. You can do things like this using the software and the little camera at the top of the computer screen....

That is daughter Natalie, who has been enjoying this software immensely, especially when it does things like this to her mother:

As is the case sometimes, there is no need for words here.

Busy Here, Easy Cheesecake Recipe

Things are busy here, as usual. My father is visiting from Florida, and today we will meet up with him to visit. We don't see him often because of the distance - Connecticut to Florida.

We spent the weekend cleaning and getting out of the house so we could have a showing and open house. Unfortunately, we have no news from either of those. It is a little depressing. We have now had about four viewings and this was our second open house - in fairness, we had the first open house while we were under contract with potential buyers.

My hubby has been working so hard through all of this. He is under a lot of stress - and he suffers from depression and anxiety issues. It has made him a bit hard to deal with but in fairness to him he does get up again every morning and resolve to deal with his issues and continue working on the house. I don't know if any of you deal with depression - I'm not talking about being a bit gloomy. There is a stigma about it, I think, in most people's minds. My hubby is actually under a doctor's care for this problem and he is taking medications to bring it under control.

I don't pretend to understand it myself. It is very hard because the rest of the family gets disappointed when he feels he can't deal with something or he gets anxious about things that seem small to the rest of us - 

I don't want to share too much about this for fear I will make him uncomfortable. But things have been stressful lately.

My brother Alan suggested I blog about cheesecake next time I made an entry. You see, I made a small cheesecake in a graham cracker crust - ready made - pie size.So why didn't we call it cheesepie instead of cheesecake? Now, I don't know if my brother understands the blogging concept - but to make him happy I've posted his thoughts here. Anyone have any ideas about how cheesecake got to be called cheesecake? I'll give you the recipe, though, if you want to make one:

Take a ready-made graham cracker crust. In a bowl, mix a bar of soft cream cheese until smooth. Add 3T of lemon juice, and then one egg.  Pour half of this mixture into the crust. Take 1/2 C of preserves/jam/jelly, mix it with 3 T lemon juice. Dot the cream cheese mixture in the crust with half of the preserve mixture. Pour the remaining cream cheese mixture into the crust. Then dot the remaining preserves on the top - and swirl with a toothpick or knife. Bake at 300 degrees for about 55 minutes, or until the center is almost set. Let cool on a rack for about an hour, then chill for at least 3 hours - you have to make this ahead! But it is very easy and not too sugary - the kids loved it.

Hope you all have a great day.

Ode To Bun

Here's a tribute to my older daughter's friend, Honeybun - Bun for short. We've had him for about a year now and he's a pretty good pet. He is an inside bunny, he has a cage but we let him out to roam the house almost every day. I have read of folks who leave their rabbits out all the time, but this one gets into the wires and stuff and we're afraid he will eat them. You can't really leave him unattended....

Honeybun is a dwarf Holland Lop. We purchased him from a breeder last spring when he was just a little ball of fur and ears. Joy likes to hold him and bundle him up like a baby - one drawback, though, is he has big nails. We have to clip them - something I've only done once and have been reluctant to do again.

Did you know rabbits like to play? If you have a small ball he'll push it around. If Joy plays with her army men & other action figures, he picks them up with his teeth and throws them around. He has also pushed around small toy cars. When he's done playing he kind of flops down somewhere on the floor and rests, feet splayed out, perhaps on his side, like a dog.

Honeybun makes a good pet- he's pretty much litter trained. He has a litter box in one corner of his hutch and he does most of his business there. If anyone has rabbits, though, you know there are different forms of "business" and there is one form he leaves in the bottom of his hutch - not sure why? But the rest goes in his litter box. For the box: bunny odors are very strong. We get these great pine pellets, a nice all-natural alternative to clay kitty litters - they become sawdust when they get wet, and they absorb a lot of odor. You can even buy them at the big mart in the kitty litter section.

One last thought, if I can share it delicately: I am always appreciative about the way God designed humans after watching the rabbit - one of the forms of business the rabbit makes he uses as a food supplement. I have seen the rabbit on my couch, seen him leave a bit of business, and then before I can call one of the girls to come clean it up he has disposed of it. I am SO glad God made us to eat all kinds of food for nourishment, and not things that are leftovers from our bodies......

I Knew It!

Hi, friends! I found this news on a bag of chocolate made by a big chocolate maker, H*&sh(@'s:

"The natural antioxidants found in TEA (emphasis mine) and certain fruits can also be found in H*&sh(@'s (name of chocolate here)... Enjoy in moderation as part of a HEALTHY (again, emphasis mine) diet and active lifestyle. One serving (4 pieces) contains 220 calories and 13 g of fat."

I knew chocolate was good for you, but now we officially have it on the bag. You now have permission to eat away, and feel good about your healthy and active lifestyle (I think the active part comes when you take the wrappers off).

P.S. I may have photos of the building project - my mom called to say my brother started the "destruction" part of the construction today. I head over tomorrow to move some plants away from the foundation so they don't get trampled, and I hope to take some photos for you.

10 Things You'll NEVER Hear Me Say

Okay, this is one of those things you answer so folks get to know you better. I was thinking of words today you'll NEVER hear come out of my mouth. If you care to post your own list leave me a comment so I can read yours! And I think you'll find yourself giggling  just typing the words for your own list -

1. May I have mayo on that sandwich?

2. I could go for some lobster -

3. I love the wind whipping my hair around, roll that window all the way down!

4. I love getting up early, set the alarm for 5 a.m., please.

5. I love to sunbathe. Let's hit the sunniest part of the beach.

6. I don't understand how anyone can spend hours reading a book. That's a waste of time. If I read, I only read non-fiction so I can learn something.

7. Turn that rap music up!

8. No dessert for me, thanks (well, on rare occasions I have said something close to this - but only at times when every point counted - you Weight Watcher pros will understand the points thingie).

9. Could you put the whipped icing on that cake? I prefer it to the buttercream.

10. Can I have a cup of coffee with that? (I am an avid tea drinker - the only thing great about coffee is its aroma).

Thanks for reading!