Tea and Tags on Tuesday

Today I am having Ginger and Mandarin organic tea ...

along with a few lemon cookies from the gourmet shop at Marks & Spencer, a UK based department store.

My afternoon plans include tags and a bit of crochet.

Hope you are having a terrific day. For more Tea on Tuesday visit Kimmie at Art in Red Wagons. Friendship blessings, Tammy

Spreading the love

Hubby brought roses home yesterday.

Rather than keeping them in one bouquet, I like to spread them around.







And when one of hubby's shirts has stains that won't come out ...

I make lavender filled heart sachets.

I hope you have a love-filled day. Friendship blessings, Tammy

Happy Mother's Day

I hope your day is filled with beauty and blooms ...

sweet treats ...

and lots of rest and relaxation.

To those who continue to suffer in the storm ravaged areas of the States, I pray for peace and comfort in the days ahead.

"I shall wipe away all their tears, neither shall they remember them any more, for all their pain shall be forgotten in the beauties & joys that are to come!"

God bless you one and all! Tammy

Weekend Happenings

We tried a new restaurant yesterday ... at least new to us.

Turns out we were the first customers for lunch.

There used to be a small outdoor cafe on this spot but now it is two restaurants -- The Noodle House and Johnny Carino's. This was the view from our window. Just down that walkway in the distance is a play area for kids. We used to take the boys there when they were little.

I started my meal off with a prawn curry laksa that was delicious!

We enjoyed nice weather and blue skies. It didn't feel like it was 100 degrees out there.

Jingles was happy to do a bit of sunbathing.

And with a bit of watering and nicer weather, my moss roses are blooming again.

I hope all is bright and beautiful in your corner of the world. Friendship blessings, Tammy

Simple Pleasure: Instant Chocolate Pudding

When I was pregnant with my first son, my favorite snack was Jello instant chocolate pudding topped with salted peanuts. I would sit in bed at night, place the bowl on my belly, and watch in delight as Yusef would literally kick around in there and move the bowl from left to right.

For some reason, many years ago, all Jello products went off the grocery store shelves never to return again. The other day, a friend gave me four boxes of instant pudding that someone had given her -- 2 chocolate and 2 vanilla. They are a Meijer brand which is a grocery store chain in Michigan where my aunt lives. Stores are also located in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

I added some peanuts and a bit of coconut for a sweet treat to start the weekend.


For more simple pleasures, please visit Dayle at A Collection of This and That. Hope you are having a great day! Peace & blessings, Tammy

Tales from Tuesday

Last year, when my friend Sheryll realized that her beloved grandmother would not be on this earth much longer, she had mini-memory quilts made for her immediate family members. Each square holds very special meaning since they were made from clothing that belonged to her grandmother.

I visited Sheryll yesterday. This large bougainvillea was gifted to her by a friend and will be planted in memory of her grandmother.

A Frayed Hearts quilt was made by a lovely lady in the States and donated to Operation Hope, the organization Sheryll founded that provides humanitarian relief to low wage laborers in the country.

It was raffled off at the Mother's Day breakfast held this past Saturday which I didn't attend since the weather was so dusty and awful. Thankfully, our weather has been better the past several days.

Both these kitties were outside Sheryll's house enjoying the weather.


And you won't believe what I saw on the way home.

Seven sheep on the run. Now you don't see that every day!

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday wherever you are in the world. Best wishes and blessings, Tammy

Tea on Tuesday

I like trying different flavored green teas but recently came across this Asian Plum White Tea so brought it home to try. It goes well with the Raspberry Thumbprint cookies I made.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Butter Cookies

2 sticks of butter; 1/2 cup sugar substitute (I used Splenda); 2-1/2 cups wheat flour; 2 egg whites; 4 ounces light cream cheese; raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add flour, egg whites and cream cheese and mix well. Roll into balls about 5/8 inch diameter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. The cookies don't grow when baked so can be placed close together. Press thumb in center of ball to flatten and leave an indentation. Fill with jam. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

For more tea party participants please visit Kimmie at Art in Red Wagons. Hope you are having a terrific Tuesday. Friendship blessings, Tammy

Meatless Monday

Meatless Monday is actually a global movement to reduce the consumption of meat at least one day a week for "personal health and the health of the planet".

Lentils or dal are staples in the Arab and Indian diets and lentil soup is a favorite in both cultures.

There are many versions but this recipe was given to me by my friend Renee whose mother-in-law is Syrian.

Add to a large pot 12 cups of water, 1-1/2 cups of orange lentils, 2 onions chopped, 4 potatoes cubed, 4 carrots sliced, 4 bouillon cubes (I actually use 3 TBS of a natural vege broth extract). Boil on high heat for 40 minutes then reduce heat and simmer until desired consistency. Add cumin powder and black pepper to taste.

It is normally served with fried pita bread and a squeeze of lemon juice.

As they say in Arabic "SAHTAIN!" which means "to your health".

Soup is a lot like a family. Each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor.
Marge Kennedy

Wishing you health and happiness! Peace & blessings, Tammy

May Day

Happy May Day! In many countries this day is known as Labour Day or International Workers' Day.

May is also the month that we celebrate mothers (May 8th) and remember those who died in active military service (May 30th).

May Day is also celebrated as a traditional springtime festival.

While watching the Travel Channel yesterday, I snapped these beautiful springtime images.

Sure wish spring looked like that around here.

Our last day of April was filled with a mixture of dust ...

and rain.

Sweet May hath come to love us,
Flowers, trees, their blossoms don;
And through the blue heavens above us
The very clouds move on.
- Heinrich Heine, Book of Songs

I hope your day is beautiful! Peace & blessings, Tammy

Friday Finishes and Saturday Pinks

All eyes were on London yesterday for the Royal Wedding. Whether you wanted to watch it or not, coverage was on every station so it was hard to miss. And now after all the hoopla, it is a part of history. Why does the world feel the need to judge it so? I don't quite understand.

Yesterday was a much enjoyed pajama day. Along with cleaning, crochet was on the agenda and baby boy blanket is finally done.

The last sugar cookie was eaten.

Baby girl blanket is complete with border.

And one little moss rose decided to bloom to brighten my day.

Besides coverage of the wedding, there was also the devastating news coming out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama where I lived for a year in the late 80's. A tornado also touched down in Jones County MS which is where my brother lives. It seems that the tornadoes this spring season will make the record books. The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears. ~John Vance Cheney

I pray for rainbows after the storms. Friendship blessings, Tammy

Simple Pleasure

O bed! O bed! delicious bed!
That heaven upon earth to the weary head.
~Thomas Hood, Miss Kilmansegg - Her Dream

And if tonight my soul may find her peace
in sleep, and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created.
~D.H. Lawrence

For more simple pleasures, please visit Dayle at a Collection of This and That.

Sending prayers out to all those who have lost or been lost in the devastating storms that have swept across the south.

PEACE & BLESSINGS, Tammy