photoshoot

backporch creative photographer ~ jamie hamilton {on left}

worrying

For my children who know {?} that I worry too much . . .


pickles free online by Brian Crane

college tennis

It was such a pleasure for us to be able to
attend our son's final college tennis match.



It was even more exciting as he won his final game with an ace!



Watching a match is no easy task
while looking through the wind blocks.



A proud parent moment when he won these three awards . . .
Best Singles Record 2011
Great Laker Award 2011 {best team spirit}
Most Valuable Player 2011 Season



Congratulations Seth!

dressing a salad

My cousin Ann makes the best salad ever
and I thought I would share her recipe with you.

Assemble any salad ingredients you like in a large wooden bowl.

Ours usually includes:
romaine lettuce, thin sliced yellow peppers, grape tomato halves,
shredded purple cabbage, shredded carrots, dried cranberries,
thin seedless cucumber slices, feta cheese, small croutons



Toss the salad with a little extra virgin olive oil
Sprinkle on Cavender's Greek Seasoning [or dried basil] ~ toss again
Sprinkle on Bragg's Liquid Aminos [or balsamic vinegar] ~ toss again
Sprinkle on fresh lemon juice [or Real Lemon in a bottle] ~ toss again

I often "overdress" a salad so I keep some of the greens aside and add them at the end after the salad is dressed. You should be able to find Bragg's Liquid Aminos and Cavender's Greek Seasoning {also comes in a salt free version} at your local supermarket.

Isn't it funny how tossed salad always tastes better when someone else makes it?!

graduation

We are so proud of this young lady as she received
her master's degree from Eastern University.



We had a wonderful trip to Philadelphia for the
ceremony and were joined by our son and his girlfriend.



A bit of rain that lasted about 10 minutes didn't dampen our spirits.



We are so very grateful to Daniel {Amanda's husband},
for his amazing support during this two year journey.
We only wish he could have been here to share the celebration.



Congratulations Amanda!

raccoon

While we were away my sister-in-law had a very unwelcome visitor in our basement. For several days he reeked havoc and several people were called for assistance {sister, neighbor, police, college nephew, brother-in-law with a small trap, W-o-W friend with a bigger trap}.

In the end he left on his own but not before destroying our little pantry at the top of the basement steps. I wish I had a photo of that as you wouldn't believe the mess he made tearing everything off of every shelf.

It gave Jim the motivation to clean and paint and now it looks great!

We have lived in this house for 30 years and never painted those shelves. It was time . . .

Chicken with Artichokes and Lemon

Chicken with Artichokes and Lemon
Serves 6


photo from All You magazine

Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves, patted dry
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup flour
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup white wine
1 12-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

Preparation
1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 6 minutes total.

2. Add wine and artichokes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until chicken is almost cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Scatter lemon slices over chicken, cover and cook until chicken is done, 2 to 3 minutes longer [165 °]. Transfer chicken and lemon slices to a platter.

3. Stir thyme into sauce and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Simmer 1-2 minute. Pour over chicken and serve.

I served his with brown rice and asparagus roasted with onions and beets.

beach read #4 {last}

First book of the Elm Creek Quilts Series
It is a good peek at quilt making but ...
I am not inspired to read the rest of the series.



Glows with the love of quilts, the importance of family,
and the value of friends to share our joys and sorrow with.
- Kathryn Smith, Anderson Independent-Mail

mother's day blessings

Amanda decided to come home from Cambodia with baby Cedar
for her graduation from Eastern University near Philadelphia.
We will have them with us for 10 days and feel so very blessed.



More reasons I am blessed on Mother's Day. . .
Three wonderful sons.

beach read #3

each time I picked it up I read slowly as
I didn't wanted the story to end

"The Birth House is an astonishing debut, a book that will break your heart and take your breath away…To read The Birth House is to enter a world, a richly imagined and keenly observed ….To say this is a powerful debut is to damn Ami McKay's novel with too faint praise; it is an altogether remarkable work from an impressive new talent." ~~~ Ottawa Citizen

sisters

We were visiting my sister for a few weeks and just like
the old days we did "girl stuff" like highlighting our hair.



It is a little hard to see the results but it was fun!