Wednesday Wishes

One of my favorite quotations is "Encouragement is oxygen to the soul."

The lovely Shane at Roses, Lace and Brocante recently passed along an award to me.

Next month will mark 2 years since I started blogging. I have certainly found it to be a very inspiring and encouraging journey and have "met" so many wonderful friends along the way.

I now approach the world with "eyes wide open".

My camera is with me wherever I go.

I appreciate the simple things in life more than ever.

I have tried new patterns, crafts, recipes -- so much I never thought about before.

This blog world is truly an amazing experience. I'm still in awe of the fact that we can connect within seconds from all the way around the world.

Speaking of around the world, our bags are packed and we are leaving today for a 10-day family vacation.

I stocked up on yarn to keep me busy while waiting and flying and riding.

I cannot believe that July is just around the corner. Summer is flying by.

I wish you all a great rest of the week and a happy July! Will check in with you in a couple of weeks. Friendship blessings, Tammy

This and That and Tea on Tuesday

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Good morning to you!

We live in a residential area. Our next door neighbor does not have a farm, but he does have a rooster and chickens running around his yard. There are restrictions as to where you can have trees, but none when it comes to the animals you have.

It's a hot day with the temperature around 115 and clear skies.

A hot day calls for a cool lunch. Avocado, cherry tomatoes, cilantro! Yum!

A mid-afternoon snack of one of my favorite treats: green tea & mint with a couple pieces of dark chocolate.

Its 3:00 pm here and 8:00 am in OH so I need to try and call my mom.

Have a terrific Tuesday! Friendship blessings, Tammy

Making Things

Do you have those days when you just really need something salty? I told hubby not to buy chips anymore because the kids go right through a whole bag in no time. So, when we need a salty fix, I make pita chips. Just brush pita bread with olive oil and then sprinkle with a New Orleans spice blend and/or garlic salt, broil on both sides, let cool, then break up into chips.

Sure you can go out and buy pita chips in the store, but I think just about anything you make at home has got to be healthier than what you can buy in a bag.

I tried a new dishcloth pattern the other day. The pattern is worked in rounds which drove me just a little bit crazy. I now know why I have yet to accomplish the granny square. All that increasing with each round just throws me off. I was determined to finish the dishcloth and I did, but it didn't come out as a square shape like it should have. Still, it will do its job as a dishcloth and I'm happy I finished it. I will not be doing that pattern again.

It's been a busy day around here. In fact, in just a few a minutes, it will actually be Tuesday. Yikes! I gotta hit the hay. Hope your Monday has been a good one.

Best wishes and blessings, Tammy

Little Visitors

Our balcony was a hubbub of activity this morning!

A little Pale Rock Sparrow came to have breakfast with the doves.

Isn't he sweet?

And this is little Lillian.

I met my girlfriend, Melissa, today for a bit of shopping and lunch. She brought along Lillian who is now 9 months old.

Baby fingers for lunch! Yum!

Hope you are having a happy day! Friendship blessings, Tammy

Breakfast and Birds

It's nice to start each day in a leisurely way. We had whole wheat pancakes with strawberries for breakfast.

While I enjoy seeing my moss roses bloom each morning ...

my little feathered friend enjoys eating the succulent leaves.

Jingles finds her own treat on the balcony. Tender shoots of grass grow in the pots so she gets her much needed greens.

Did you know there are around 300 species of doves and pigeons in the world? After Mariette from Mariette's Back to Basics referred to my visitors as ring-necked doves, I did some research. Who knew there were so many.

Turns out, there are 5 varieties found in Kuwait: Eurasian Turtle Dove, Oriental Turtle Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Laughing Dove and Namaqua Dove.

I think these guys enjoyed a bird bath and a bit of sunbathing before taking off.

Happy Saturday to one and all! Friendship blessings, Tammy

Dinner at 8

Last night we had dinner with friends. Mood lighting made it hard to snap pictures.

Pasta with two sauces.

Fish cakes, salad and carrots with sesame.

Green tea and strawberry cobbler with cream for dessert.

I made a paperbag friendship book as a gift for the hostess. So easy to put together with scraps of paper, simple images, photos and quotations. The crocheted dishcloth underneath along with a candle and oatmeal raisin cookies accompanied the little book.

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

Hope you are having a fabulous Friday! Friendship blessings, Tammy

What's Cooking?

Good morning! I hope your Thursday is off to a great start!

There has been a whole lot of baking and crocheting and cooking going on around here. Banana muffins with cream cheese for breakfast.

Lemony Chickpea Stew for lunch. This is the first time I tried this recipe. I seem to have a thing for chickpeas and spinach at the moment.

Saute 4 cloves of garlic in olive oil. Add one can of chickpeas, one can of diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup of vege broth and one small box of frozen spinach. Season with pepper, a dash of red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, zest and juice of 1/2 a large lemon. Cook til spinach is heated through. Serve over brown rice.

I get lots of comments about the fact that I cook and bake in the heat we have around here. The thing is, we live with air conditioning at least 10 months out of the year so I would have to convert to a raw food diet if I didn't cook or bake.

There is something so comforting about a homecooked meal. I make soup year round, even on a hot day.

It is currently a whopping 113 degrees out there and our low tonight will be 91. These guys continue to stop by for refreshment.



And a bite to eat. Whatever is in there, they like it!

Have a terrific day! Friendship blessings, Tammy

Inspired by Others

I had cherries.

I had mangoes.

So I made cherry mango crepes after seeing this post here.

I've never made crepes so they came out a bit thick but it was still a sweet afternoon treat that the kids and I enjoyed. They even said they'd like them for breakfast. The good thing is, crepes can be stored in the fridge for a day or frozen and heated when needed.

Yesterday, after visiting Bluebird Notes and seeing Koralee's post on Out of this World Cookie Bars, I had an urgent need to bake. Although I didn't have the ingredients called for in her recipe, I did have everything for oatmeal raisin cookies. Yum! Some have been packed in a recycled container ready to take to a friend tomorrow night.

The Around a Square Doily is now complete. I don't use cotton thread but a thin cotton so it came out bigger and more ruffly than Glor's did.

And , after a bit of a blog break, my cousin is back. She's the one who got me to blogging in the first place. You can visit her at Gwenny's Way.

Welcome back Chickadee! Hope you are all having a wonderful Wednesday. Friendship blessings, Tammy

Tea on Tuesday

While I am working up an Around a Square Doily posted by Glor at Crochet Galore and having lemon iced tea ...

Jingles is gazing out the window ...

at these two little mourning doves.

They were primping ....

resting ...

eating...

and basically driving her crazy!

And then there were three.

This is the first time I've seen doves actually hang out on the balcony for any length of time. They are certainly keeping Jingles busy!

For more tea participants go to Kimmie's place at Art in Red Wagons and have a terrific Tuesday! Friendship blessings, Tammy