Awww Sweet Memories!

In 2004 I was blessed to be a chaperone for a school trip to Europe. I had been to a couple places in Europe before but this was trip over 17 days visiting 6 countries, 14 cities with a bunch of high school students. It was a blast! Our first stop on the trip in Europe was in Frankfurt, Germany. During our short stay, we ate some lunch and tried a wonderful dessert called Spaghetti Eis. Ice cream sundae that looks like a dish of spaghetti... YUM.

Over the summer months this year I located and purchased a Spaghetti Ice Creamer machine. This is like a big garlic mincer looking tool and you push softened ice cream through it. Then top the "spaghetti" with a strawberry puree and top with "parmesan cheese" made up of grated white chocolate. You can add "meatballs" made of chocolate balls or "pepper" (finely grated dark or milk chocolate). It is really just a fun dessert to have.

Here is a photo of my first attempt at making it.

Christmas crafting

I have finally gotten a couple things started on my Christmas crafting. My first attempts at making these and I like how they have turned out. So I guess I will be making more eventually.

This is the front

and the back

I made 3 of them for now.

Happy Birthday!

I figured it was time to get this site updated...about time! 

Along with the Birthday of America, our family also celebrates the birth of our daughter, Angel. She will be 23 this year; Wow time flew by quickly.

A tradition for our family was born the day she was born. We always have a cookout, now I know this isn't something original for most Americans...I mean July 4th and cookouts really go together. For our family it all began with a ship's cookout at our house in 1988. We planned and planned and prepared for it for what seemed like for month's. Keep in mind the ship's crew was about 150 and maybe 2/3 of those crew members were married. So we were expecting quite a few people.

Angel wasn't due until 1 Aug, but I guess decided she wanted to join the party. With a house that had been scrubbed down spotlessly and a yard that I don't think could have been any cleaner itself, with the grass cut and edged, and even the curbside swept up to be very clean. The fridge was full of lots of delicious food waiting for the guests and the heat of the grill. I went into labor at 2 am (as we went to bed) and she was born at 7:11 am.

Needless to say she and I didn't get to attend the cookout, but there was no way I was going to let my husband and 3 boys call it off...everyone seems to have a great time, so the pictures show.

Our following annual 4th of July cookouts are no where as big, but we still enjoy having friends over to celebrate this wonderful day. Oh btw, I don't think I mentioned really that at the time Bill was in the Navy and so up until about 3 years ago all the friends attending were also in the Navy and really part of our extended family. Now our friends are neighbors. Which are really just extended family as well!

Tis the Season

Well the decorating and hustle and bustle of the season is definitely underway. I have added a few pics into a photo album.

We are very fortunate again this year to have all the kids home for Christmas, with Samuel coming in from Washington state and Sean coming up from Virginia.

The weather has gotten cold and we have had a couple of snow flurries but nothing stuck. I am guessing just to tease Bill about his snowblower. After last February with it's 4 feet at one time we bought one and are ready.

Back to cleaning and decorating for now. Will post more photos once they are taken.

Spring is blooming into summer!

This year I decided to put in a butterfly garden and so far am very pleased.  I still have a few things to get and plant.  I will be adding a few landscaping rocks for the butterflies to sun themselves and have a few more plants to get.

Included in this garden is Butterfly Bush, Elijah Blue Fescue, Russian Sage, lavender, Bee Balm, Stonecrop, flat leaf parsley, Red Fox, Lobelia, Purple Coneflower, Loosestrife, and Coreopsis.

This photo really doesn't show the beautiful blooms, but to look out the windows and see the butterflies fluttering through the plants is very calming during stressful moments for me.  

This is the first real garden I have even attempted and have to say I can see why people love to garden.

February finished!

I finished up the February ornament for the Bride's Tree. I wasn't sure about adding the beads but felt it needed more...

Now on to April's ornament to be all caught up. Still trying to decide between designs but hopefully by the end of the week I will be totally caught up on this SAL.

Stitching Progress

This is my January ornament for The Bride's Tree SAL. I put the last stitches into it today while enjoying a beautiful afternoon watching my granddaughter and two charming neighbor girls playing.

The house represents shelter and protection in the Bride's Tree. And what a charming house this depicts with the trees and shrubs framing it. I can almost picture the white picket fence around it.

I have had to stitch a new design for the February ornament as I cannot find the candlewicking heart I made many years ago (1984?). I had wanted to use it tying in the something old, but I know once I complete this new design (which I love by Kirsten Schmidt 2007) I will locate the candlewicking one. That is the way things go and I can save it for another set. The new one is about half way finished already this evening and will be finished tomorrow.