gifts

Today I am sharing a treat for any of you who might enjoy reading the classic books of Grace Livingston Hill. And that reminds me I failed to add a book of her writing to my posted 2025  Reading List. Actually, I read it back in early January, The Blue Ruin, (I will go back and update the recent post). Other similar authors are found on this site 

 Isabella Alden, 

Marcia Livingston, 

Faye Huntington,

  Margaret Sidney

 Isabella Alden was the aunt of Grace Livingston Hill. You can read several selections of their novels FREE on your browser and you have the capability to store them in your own personal library for later reading.

On a totally different matter altogether, I hosted a couple from my church for Sunday Dinner this past weekend. I have assuredly known for years how much invitations for sharing a meal together will bless people. The act of selecting a menu, preparing the food, setting a table, and then inviting friends or acquaintances to your home makes hosting a reality, and yes it will take time and energy, but the rewards are priceless. Then all that is left to do is serve your guests with love and  the chosen food around your table. Conversation bubbles up as closer and newer friendships are formed.

If the people I invite are fellow believers it seems as if I am experiencing a touch of eternity.

For those of you who might be curious to what I served:

Cream of Broccoli Soup

A Beef Chuck Roast with Carrots/Potatoes/Gravy

Green Beans

Deviled Eggs/ Pickles

Tea and Water

Lemon Drizzle Cake/Coffee

"Dining with one's friends and beloved family is certainly one of life's most primal and innocent delights,  one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal."   ~Julia Child

recalling last week and entering the new year

A good fire roared and hissed in the grate. I read this line from a light  Christmas mystery I was reading recently before bedtime. And this just happens to be the setting for this post. As a blustering wind is blowing in this afternoon with an expected cold front arriving for the weekend.  Snow? Maybe. I hope so!

I had sauntered the ridge earlier while the sun was shining bright and my woolrich coat, ear band and mitts had to be discarded to the front porch while I continued on with my turtleneck and wool sweater sufficing well. I like that feeling of warmth when I take wintry walks.

Now I am resting by the fire and drinking some holiday blend decaf coffee. In order to detox this beginning of 2025 I am foregoing sugary treats for a spell. It is not as hard as I imagined it to be after the holiday splurge and especially my ongoing delight in an afternoon tea/coffee break. My Christmas cookies are having to be eaten now that the crowds are gone solely by my husband. I threaten to throw what is left to the chickens and my husband tries his hardest to finish them up, but he is loosing ground fast. These cookies were baked last week, no preservatives added and face it the taste and texture is lost greatly after a few days. We do not like waste, but to me feeding the chickens the leftovers is not a total waste.

I am adding a few photos here just to finish off the season. Remember I do blog to keep the memories so I want to try to be true to that intentional purpose too.

My sterling silver was taken out of the drawer for its annual shine. It was my son, Alan, who volunteered to do this job. I do love the shine of polished silver.

The table setting chosen this year was gold and white.  We had eight people joining us for Christmas dinner. The Christmas tree was placed in the dining room and that was enjoyable and festive, but that  also meant some of my African violets having to be removed and put at a window upstairs.

Through the days before Christmas and even on Christmas Day we hiked through the woods and fields with family and friends.

I prefer to decorate as much as possible with fresh greens gathered from the yard and woods.

We have several magnificent magnolia trees I am able to cut and use as well as a large hedge of huge old holly trees across the front border of our yard facing the road. But to find this wild holly tree with berries in the woods was a treasure.

                            And as always Louie was pretending to be the best present of all! This year Charlotte's old bedroom was designated the gift wrapping room. When my children grow up and marry, leaving and cleaving, their bedroom will be called their old bedroom for a time, but I  personally have no problem making the room into something else in the future if needed. 

Sunday Dinner

"One of the most amazing revelations of God comes when we learn that it is in the commonplace things that the Deity of Jesus Christ is realized.

~Oswald Chambers

After church service our family partakes in what we call Sunday Dinner at my house. Yes, the numbers are smaller these days as just the three of us are gathered at one end of the dining room table, but when eating a meal in the more formal dining room a  special touch is added to this very significant day, the LORD's Day. Today, a Sunday in late April, we did not pull out the best china or crystal as we do on some Sundays. But we did light the candles and this beautiful music was playing in the background.

And it is surely time to expand the numbers around my table and share memorable times with others...soon, very soon!

new stone patio

The new stone patio is completed and curing nicely.

Now we can commence to dining outside once again, with the natural feel of stone under our feet.

Even if it is a run by the fast food store and pick out picnic food affair. 

coffee and cake

Or is it cake and coffee? Whatever, the pairing of the two on this afternoon topped off our meal quite nicely.

Rose made the almond- flavored cake with lemon icing, colored with bright pink or green.

Alan being home made the cake sweeter and the coffee smooth as polished alabaster.

Switcheroo

The old dining room was painted this week. It will become the new living room.

I have been contemplating this switch for quite some time now. It just took convincing some that it was a tremendously smart move. More wonderful people will be able to fit around our dining table, and in this case, more is better.

This chandelier will have to go, but I plan to keep the medallion on the ceiling and add a formal light fixture more appropriate for a living room setting.

I will keep you posted on my progress.

amid the gerber daisies

From my point of view eating outside is what makes summertime purr with deliciousness, the sort that makes things come together like a jigsaw puzzle just fitted with that last piece. So one Sunday after church we gathered together with our friends and dined in the back yard. The gerber daisies popped amid us.

I guess I will be sharing from time to time, yes?

Candlelight Hot Pot

My husband called this evening to inform me he was detained in a business meeting and would be arriving home later. I put Charlotte in the bathtub, fed the girls something quick, but nutritional, and planned a special meal for just the two of us to be eaten by candlelight.

There happens to be a restaurant, a favorite of ours to dine out, that has on the menu a delicious soup called Hot Pot. A soup I honestly believe my husband dreams about in between visits to this restaurant.

I set out to make my own version of hot pot for him tonight. Some key ingredients were not available and I did not make a trip out to the market, but I thought I could still get a very tasty and perhaps pleasing dish with the ingredients that were on the pantry shelves and in the refrigerator:

Shrimp, asparagus, tomatoes, garlic, chicken broth, coconut milk, cremini mushrooms, and some very hot thai sauce.
He was not disappointed to say the least.

Frank sang his classics for us while the candle's glow created a soothing mood, something very needed in my hard working husband's life. How fulfilling it is to be able to offer that to him.

And we discussed the upcoming wedding, and our plans for the rehearsal dinner we will be hosting in May,

as we nibbled chocolate and sipped our coffee.

a morning breakfast

Vacation mornings,

lazy mornings,

enjoying good things such as eating breakfast in the dining room where the Christmas roses still sit on the white tablecloth, showy and companionable.

A breakfast of chipped beef gravy served over fresh buttermilk biscuits steaming hot from the oven.

A pajama clad affair.

This day tempted me with its ripeness. The warm sun rays, the balmy temperatures and the crackling leaves under my feet as a table was set outside for supper.

A fat pumpkin and a collection of red maple leaves added the essence of this season.

A quiche made with red and yellow peppers.

Plans were to read of Martin Luther and the nailing of his 95 Theses to the church door. However, the leaves sang to us and the sun painted lovely shadows as we allowed the peacefulness of such a beautiful evening to roll over us.

After darkness falls I shall read to them of this great man of the faith and how he "turned the world upside down".

Late Summer Memory

These late summer evenings are downright seductive, therefore, we bear with the mosquitoes to be outside as much as possible. Charlotte did her part by setting the dining table.


Thankfully, spaghetti sauce was made yesterday morning and set in the crock pot to simmer as we went about our afternoon activities. Charlotte's ballet lesson was at 5:00, and upon arriving home to the smell of red sauce cooking the remainder of the dinner preparations were much easier.

As the sun set, a coolness settled over us and my husband suggested a fire. The girls hurriedly managed their baths, donned their pjs, and returned with a wire clothes hanger and a bag of marshmallows.

I love memories that linger. This morning's greeting of the fireside seatings made me happy.

A going away dinner

Alan leaves for college tomorrow, heading to a small private school in the eastern part of our state. Alan is quiet and reserved in a line of loquacious siblings. We shall miss his quiet presence.

He requested lasagna, salad, garlic bread and strawberry cobbler, topped with vanilla ice cream naturally. With good thoughts of him I prepared the requested meal, so happy to be doing something that speaks of love. Charlotte conveys her version of love quite well. Every once in a while she looks at him and with the emotional intensity that only a six year old can unabashedly state, "I will miss you Alan."
My mother's heartstrings are taut.

These photos are courtesy of Rose, taken on her new camera.

There is a silly addendum to this post, so keep looking....

Covering Chairs

On Sundays my family dines in our dining room. I pull out the good china, silver, and crystal and we enjoy sitting at a more formal setting, valuing the specialness of a special day. After all it is the best day of the week.

Because the chairs at the dining room table are used at least weekly let's face it, children drop food when they eat, or for that matter adults have a way of making their own sort of messes.

So many spots and stains had been scrubbed and some were actually able to be gotten out, but alas, some would be downright persistent in staying right where they were put without avail.

I know a lady who was willing to show me how to reupholster these chairs. Easy she says. I am such a team player.......so why not share the joy.....enter my gifted husband. I am glad to announce all the chairs are now beautifully recovered.

This past Sunday we all sat on the silk, taupe colored, newly covered chairs. My husband set a towel on each and everyone's chair. It was almost like being handed a bib.

Vegetable Supper

We are still enjoying the summer's harvest. For the past two nights we have had dinners of vegetables only. No one complains. Sliced cucumbers are a favorite. Add a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper, and white wine vinegar. I could eat the entire bowl all by myself! But I will control myself and share.

My mouth waters when I think of tomato tart. Nothing fancy, but the burst of flavors created with just a few simple ingredients makes a savory supper indeed.

Tomato Tart

Prepare pastry dough. Roll to fit pan approximately 1/2 inch thick.

Brush lightly with olive oil

Slice tomatoes and place on dough. Any type of tomato will work, but I find romas or a smaller variety work best.

Drizzle olive oil and add chopped fresh basil.

Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Bake 375 degrees 25-30 minutes.

Dining with country style

Not wanting to miss an opportunitywe dined outside this summer evening. Charlotte "decorated" the table with coreopsis beside each plate. That's my girl! Fresh picked Silver Queen corn is dreamed of all winter. I mixed herbs of salad burnet, parsley and basil in with the butter.

The table's centerpiece of daisies, oregano blooms, coreopsis and sage were randomly placed in a mason jar. A bee later gathered nectar from the blooms while we watched nature in living color before our eyes.
All done.