Tent Vows and Glass House Toasts

My husband, eldest son, and I attended a special wedding Sunday evening. The ceremony was held under a tent by a lake with ducks swimming by on the water. The bride and groom vowed to love, honor and cherish until death do them part in a hushed setting of serenity. The reception celebrating the marriage was in the Glass House just up the lighted pathway.
The white chair coverings and black bows added a touch of panache.
The guests were well-fed with these delectable morsels. Unfortunately, my plate was minus the jumbo shrimp. I think I like them....and I would like to like them, but I just don't!
Wedding cake was eaten while we visited with our dear friends, the parents of the groom. It was delicious, not too sweet.....just right (the cake and the conversation). A magical view of the lighted path to the Glass House. As we meandered our way back to our car we felt as if we had wandered into wonderland as the thousands of tiny white lights on the trees surrounding the parking lot dazzled us with their sparkle and glitz.

"Marriage is one of the most profound passages of life a person experiences.
This is because it includes three significant stages,
simultaneously incorporating
an ending, a merging, and a beginning."
Sydney Barbara Metrick

Morning's Memories

The morning after. Unwilling to be paparazzi-like and snap photos last night, this is the scene which greeted me this morning. Last night the food was all carried in by the hands of many helpers. The dishes were cleared and the lovely teenaged daughters loaded the dishwasher and hand washed the many extras before they became engaged with card games with all the others. The adults remained outside sipping our glass of blackberry wine until the darkness swelled around us. Happy memories. These lovely zinnias were from our guest's garden and were placed in the center of the food table that was surrounded by God's abundance to us:
Marinated grilled chicken
Fresh leafy green and romaine lettuces
Cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes , broccoli, sharp cheddar, almonds
Homemade dressings of green goddess and balsamic vinegarette
Yeast rolls
Watermelon
Homemade salsa and tortilla chips
Gallons of sweetened iced tea with lemon and mint
And who does not like a choice of desserts? Or maybe even having two desserts...... Peach cobbler with blueberries served ala mode, of course.
And because I love the smiles of people of all ages when I bring them out, Chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream smoothed in between to make ice cream sandwiches.



One fallen leaf reminded me that Fall is just around the corner.

Refreshment in order

When one is tired from dusting, vacuuming, washing an assortment of lettuces, making dressings, cleaning bathrooms, baking cookies ....



Refreshment is an utmost priority.

Now on to mopping the floors and setting the tables.....refreshed!

shop with love

Due to a rolling along type of day, I was unable to manage my time to get to the market. Since we are expecting a family of six tomorrow evening for dinner, my husband kindly offered to take me to the grocery store tonight.
How I love this man. Does this count as a date?

old herbs and new herbs

I happen to love herbs and the old ones especially hold a irresistible charm. Many years back I was given an old herb, costmary. I adore its musical name. Sometimes it is referred to as the Bible plant. The ladies of yore would press the leaves in their Bibles and use them to combat any soporiferous tendencies of long-winded preachers during church service. This particular plant was included in the "must not stay behind" group during our moves from once place to another. This year I decided I needed to transplant it from its first hurriedly placed spot in the far corner of my yard. Hopefully, it would not just survive but flourish. I am not disappointed. I am hoping it will bloom for me once again. In case you were wondering, it has a candied minty aroma.And these snipped leaves are Thai basil, a first-timer to my garden. This plant is thriving near my not so thriving tomato plants. Its fragrance is spicy and sweet. I couldn't resist filling a little jelly jar with its pertness to sit in my kitchen eating area this evening.

Comforting Megrims

"In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul".
Psalm 94:19


The telephone rang this afternoon, it was my dear mother. I can not keep the conversations I have with her lately off my mind. There's a book I read to Rose about 1 1/2 years ago entitled, Always My Grandpa by Linda Scacco. As we read it I cried silent tears. Rose was just beginning to understand. She saw the resemblance of someone dear to her, her grandma. This one took her to favorite restaurants to get the choicest food, shared hours dreaming over shiny catalogues and the beautiful dolls to be ordered, and on perpetually every visit there were guaranteed sour lemon drops, juicy fruit gum or a trinket bought at roadside stops. Grandma made everything brighter and her specialness was absolute. But just as in the hardback cover of that library book, grandma has changed. Thankfully, at the present time she still gives warm hugs and she tells us how much she loves us, but it is so different and frankly we miss the old grandma terribly. All the studies and doctor's reports tell us what lies ahead. It is like an approaching storm that we are witnessing. We are sad.

Gentle breeze how you mourn
Touches of an April day, but for now it is winter.
Frolicking children see them play?
Warmed by the pleasures of life,
Heedless of the approaching storm.

The dark clouds shadow the playground.
The soft drops of misty rain turn to pelting streams,
Running steps, hurrying inside
But one lone child turns and looks back
Not missing the sun rays behind the clouds.

Angelina Ballerina at my house

Several years ago, American Girl Company offered a charming and imaginative play set that we were so fortunate to purchase before it was sadly discontinued. The play set is created from Katherine Holabird's charming character, Angelina Ballerina. Rose acquired the three room board house and the entire furniture collection for the three rooms. All the things, along with the loved dolls, were handed down to Charlotte. Ever so often, we pull down the soft, pink- stripped boxes and Charlotte will spend hours in cozy Mouseland imagining Angelina and Alice chatting over tea and cookies in the winsome kitchen.
Or resting comfortably in the tidy living room before heading to ballet class.
After a full day, it's time to don the pink satin pajamas and crawl into the big blue bed with a good book!

I love it when Charlotte brings me an Angelina Ballerina book to read to her. The illustrations by Helen Craig are inviting and the stories are simply classic.

Praise

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul praise Him for He is my health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!

Joachim Neander 1650-1680

I love the old hymns! When I am up or when I am down, there is a hymn that my soul and spirit can sing. I am teaching them to my children since they are not singing these acclaimations of truthful doctrine in church as regularly as when I was a child. I have found songsandhymns.org to be helpful in providing the actual music to sing as well as information about the hymn and hymnwriter.

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Before I close off on this lovely Sunday afternoon, I must report a story that I am now hiding in my heart as one "for the books". When young, my first children would eat about anything and evidently I was too smug, too soon. Along comes Charlotte who is an extremely picky eater. She has humbled me on more than one occassion! Today it was about a green bean, and yes I did say green bean, as in single bean. She made all kinds of faces and refused to eat it because it had seeds. My 25 year old son was having Sunday dinner with us and he was the cheerleader in motivating her and getting her across the finish line......eating the green bean. Now with total succes under his belt he proceeds to tell his father and me what we must do to keep up this system he has devised for Charlotte's future gastronomic progress. Just you wait...........

Dog Trials

There is always something new to learn. Today it was Dog Agility Trials 101. When we raised sheep we owned a border collie. He cared for us dearly; he cared nothing for herding sheep. But we were interested enough to go on little excursions to see herding trials. It fascinated us. The dog trial we attended this afternoon, however, was unlike the herding trials in several ways.All the people handling their dogs were so friendly and helpful to share a wealth of information to a family who knows nothing about dog handling and trials.......(or I should say knew nothing).
Rose loved the elegance of the collies and implored me to hold the camera, strap around neck, to take this photograph. This dog is waiting for the sign from her handler to tell her to start the event. Since it was the middle of the afternoon, snacks were "woofed" down so as not to miss a single class.
The biggest treat by far were the Pembroke Corgis! The entire purpose of this adventure.

Another photo beseeching to be taken......she has a willing mom. I see a future for you Mr. Putter. And I will never say never.....but, I do not have plans to train a dog! Absolutely not, remember I am a cat person.

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.

Sunrise to Sunset

Charlotte sleeps tight and I just love her morning hair! She greets me at my quiet place every morning with a warm hug and a sweet kiss.
Five years ago I owned a small hobby sheep farm. I raised Romney which I am still convinced are the most beautiful long wool sheep in the world. Before acquiring our little flock, we would make trips to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival the first weekend in May. Here we dreamed big and hard of owning sheep....one day. For three years I would look forward to adding the fanciful artwork on a mug from this potter, Marilu, to my collection. You know I put these mugs up when I moved here and I really do not know the motivation or reasoning for doing so. But they are out again and I use them every morning to hold my coffee. Like I have said on an earlier post, I am revisiting many aspects of my life right now....sheep mugs, yes. But for now I leave the wool boxed up in the attic.
Rose had a sleepover at her friend's house last night. They live 30 minutes away so I made a delightful road trip over to pick her up this evening. The setting sun was our scenery on the way home. Little towns with RR tracks and water towers are part of the charm of small town America.