And Then There Were Two

The first thing hubby said this morning was "I wish you hadn't cleaned yesterday."  We thought we were in for a very dusty day, but by mid-morning actually had a nice, refreshing rain, which cleared the way for a very colorful sunset.

Another weekend has rolled around.  Screech and Hootie are happily hanging out in the twig tree waiting for more friends to arrive.

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

It's a Start

After a dust storm, there is more dust than I care to think about, so instead of crocheting, I was forced to do a couple of hours of dusting after school.  Honestly, it is such a wasted effort ... but must be done.  Anywho ... I did finally sit down to try out the owl pattern.  Very straightforward, and easy.  He still needs to be stuffed but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

One more day of school and then our weekend begins so I will have more time to play and crochet.  More owls to come.

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday!

Finding Inspiration

We have dust again. The kind that just hangs in the air.  Leaves one feeling a bit blah and uninspired.

While we were on Spring Break last week, I made hearts and bags and all sorts of Easter themed items.

I even crocheted when we traveled.

But nothing this week.  Like Jingles, I've just kinda been sitting.  Only doing what needs to be done.

However, today I came across Julie's crocheted owls, which led me to Carrie's pattern and then I saw Twyla's colorful crocheted blankets and I'm ready to get started on something new.  Unfortunately, it's bedtime.  Tomorrow I shall crochet!

 Have a terrific Tuesday!

The Meaning

Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it. . . . What frustrates us and robs our lives of joy is this absence of meaning. . . . Does our being alive matter?

Harold S. Kushner in

"When All You Ever Wanted Isn't Enough"

My cousin who died on Friday suffered from Huntington's Disease just as his father did.  It is a hereditary disease for which there is no cure.  

People talk about surreal moments in their lives.  Sometimes I feel like our entire lives are surreal.

We never know what one day to the next has in store for us.  It is our duty to live each one with gratitude and to constantly count our blessings.

Wishing you a wonderful new week!

Easter Blessings

I hope that you have had or are having a joyous Easter celebration with family and friends.  Easter was always a big occasion when I was growing up.  There probably weren't too many Easter holidays that I didn't spend in Mississippi at my Mammaw's house surrounded by aunts and uncles and cousins.  Easter egg hunts in the big backyard were always fun, especially when Aunt Dot would put money in the plastic eggs.  Aunt Betty's potato salad was always the best.

I learned today that one of my cousins passed away on Friday.  Robbie was only 55 years old.  May he rest in peace.

Wishing you a beautiful and blessed Easter day.

Food & Friendship

Our trip to Dubai was a combination of business and pleasure.  Mostly the latter, with food and friendship being the main theme.  Leisurely mornings at the hotel's breakfast buffet were wonderful.  No planning, no clean up; just pure enjoyment.  While hubby read the morning paper, I enjoyed a new magazine and even a bit of crochet.

One of the best meals I had, and yet the most simple, was at Nordsee in the food court at The Dubai Mall.  The fish soup served with plain baguette was out of this world!  Afterwards we headed over to More Cafe with a Pakistani business associate for dessert.  I don't think you can really go wrong with an apple tart and vanilla ice cream.  Yum!

And our last night was spent with Japanese and Spanish friends having many, many courses of personally prepared Japanese food.  We felt more than a little pampered and it was a great way to round out our short time in Dubai.

Spring Break is almost officially over for tomorrow it is back to school.

Wishing you  a blessed and beautiful day!

It's a Small World After All

If you wondered where I was, hubby and I ran off to Dubai for a couple of days and just got back this afternoon.  On Wednesday, we had lunch at the Yacht Club with our Japanese friend, Saito.

Then enjoyed a performance of The Dubai Fountain that evening.

 The water and lights dancing to Andrea Bocelli's Time to Say Goodbye was absolutely spectacular.

And to top that off, I had the pleasure of meeting Maureen from Daydream Living at The Dubai Mall.  She (and her two beautiful girls) accompanied her husband on a business trip and it just happened to coincide with our getaway.  Our husbands humored us as we spent several hours together chatting like old friends.  The girls had a good time going through the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.

It was exactly one month ago that Maureen, who lives in Switzerland, made my blog her Blog of the Week so it is absolutely unbelievable to me that we have now actually met in person.  That's what's so great about blogging -- making and meeting friends all across the world.

Have a blessed day!

Clean, Cook, Crochet

The tv room has been rearranged, curtains washed and rehung.  Weather is warming up with a high of 90 predicted for the week, and although I do still like to whip up a nice pot of soup in the evenings (last night I made chickpea, tomato and pasta soup), a hot afternoon calls for a nice, fresh, cool salad.

In between the cooking and the cleaning, I tried out a new project from Fiber Flux -- one round crocheted eggs.  I should stick with making them rather than eating the Robin's Eggs in the bowl.  (They are very addictive.)  I also finished up another Easter gift bag.

And made another coaster based also on a pattern from Fiber Flux.  She calls hers Simply Cheerful Trivets, but I didn't think mine was very cheery, so added an extra little frilly round.

Nothing much else going on around here.  It's Spring Break and I'm just happy, happy, happy to be at home.

Wishing you a great new week.

Breakfast, Blue Skies, A Bear and a Bunny

Good morning!  I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  We are officially on Spring Break now and it's been a busy one so far.  Thankfully, today is a quiet one at home.  My favorite weekend breakfast of late is toasted rye bread with light cream cheese and honey, a few dates and walnuts, along with a cup of coffee.  A healthy and nutritious way to start the day.  We've had dust and even some rain while we were sleeping the other morning, but today blue skies are back.

Last week, Leah at Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me posted about her little teddy bear pattern that she uses to embellish baby hats.  I was finally able to make one yesterday to embellish a gift bag.  I think it will make a sweet gift for a new baby with a small soap or lotion inside.

And then, since Easter is on its way, I decided to take the same idea and make up my own little bunny by adding long ears.  I am very pleased with the results.  In these bags, I will add some Easter grass and chocolate eggs and give them as gifts to my Easter celebrating friends.

Now I am off to do some cleaning and rearranging in the tv room.

Have a great day!

Looking Up and Out

Our weather has been all over the place this week.  Sunsets with color mean skies are clear.  Hazy sunsets like today's, mean clouds or dust, or both.

Jingles and a fine feathered friend have taken advantage of good weather days by spending time on the balcony, just not at the same time.  

And on dusty days, we stay inside and watch the world go by.

Curry and chowder have been on the menu this week.  Unfortunately, my family does not share my love of Indian food and soup.  That just means all the more for me.

Have you seen the moon?  It's right outside my bedroom window again and easy to spot even through the clouds.

My new friend in blogland is having a  lovely giveaway of a crocheted pillow with knitted backside.  I love the colors in the one on the left.  Please visit Elna Sudden to enter before April 5th.

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday!

Chocolate, Crochet and Tea

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered Hershey's Dark Chocolate Pieces at the grocery store.  Have you tried them?  They've quickly become one of my favorite treats.  A handful a day is about all I need.

Along with a cup of tea and crochet, it becomes a special part of my afternoon or evening.  I'm still making Daisy Wheel Dishcloths like crazy.  And the little crocheted flowers below are Forget-me-nots made from a pattern found at Little Treasures. 

If you pop over to Art in Red Wagons for tea today, you will find that Kimmie is having a wonderful giveaway.  A spring banner made from used tea bags stamped with her own designs.  So creative and beautiful!

Have a terrific Tuesday! 

The Storm That Wasn't

Everyone was in a tizzy this morning about a dust and rain storm on the way.  There was definitely more dust than rain.

 

 The good news is that it came and went fairly quickly.  This afternoon I walked around the block to take flower photos ...

and blue skies were back.

Wishing you all a great new week.

At Home Simplicity

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action. 

(Mother Teresa)

When someone you know is experiencing a turbulent home life and is displaced for the moment, it makes you even more grateful for your own quiet, peaceful home.  And for daily simplicities.

 

Yesterday I made more gozleme. This time I filled them with spinach and feta (my favorite) and tried some with halloumi cheese and zaatar & olive oil.  I made about 12 pieces and they were gone in no time.

Thanks to Jingles who turned a pot over on the balcony, I found a little surprise.  A while back, I placed the top of a sprouting spud in a small pot of soil.  I didn't actually expect anything to happen so when I found this little potato, I was quite pleased.  I guess if the pot had been bigger, I might have gotten a bigger potato.  Who knew it was that easy.

 

Dandelions have taken over lots of our potted plants and that's just fine with me.  Where mostly there is no color, it is nice to see their little yellow blooms.  I'm happy when anything is able to survive the heat and dust.  Our afternoon temperatures are climbing up into the 80's now so it will only get hotter from here.

A large part of the weekend was spent crocheting.  In fact, after I finish getting everything ready for school tomorrow, I will pick up hook and yarn again.

I hope your day is filled with simple pleasures and lots of love!

Almost Gone

Another weekend and already one full day is gone. 

Last night hubby and I went to visit friends we had not seen in quite some time.  I made chocolate chip cookies and took a couple of my crocheted dishcloths as gifts.  Before we left, Jingles had already taken up her usual spot next to Zack for the evening.

We've had pretty good weather since the dust storm on Saturday and Sunday, but there's definitely more dust out there.  Yesterday's sunset did not have that golden glow like it did on Wednesday

And yes, that is the sun, not the moon.  When it looks like that, you know there is dust high up in the sky.  Today, there was also some cloud cover.  This is what the sun looked like at about 5 pm.  Going, going, gone ... in a matter of seconds.

I've had a quiet day at home.  Lots of crocheting, some baking and blogging.  While visiting Traude at Rostrose , I learned of a free photo editing software called Photoscape.  All my collages today were done using the free download which was quick and easy to use.

Wishing you all a great start to your weekend.

Things That Go Together

Since the dust storm that rolled in on Saturday and departed on Sunday, we've actually had pretty nice weather.  A few clouds yesterday and supposedly a chance of rain by Saturday.  Hard to tell what is gonna happen this time of year.

 I found these pretty printed napkins tucked away in a cupboard so crocheted a dishcloth to go along with them.

And since today is Mother's Day in the Middle East, I had a chance to give out some of my upcycled jars filled with milk chocolate, dark chocolate and almond Kisses.

Lentil soup and baked sambousa for dinner.  Quick and easy.

Hope you are having a great day!

The Taste Test

Today I have a couple of treats to share.  First up, Primal Brownies.  Have any of you heard of the Primal Blueprint Diet?  I found the following information at Livestrong.com:

The Primal Diet calls for the complete elimination of modern foods in favor of foods that humans have had available to them for their entire history. The theory behind this approach is that the foods human ancestors ate, up until the last 100 years or so, were the foods with which humans evolved and thus provide optimal nutrition while not promoting weight gain. Modern foods such as vegetable oils, grains, dairy and legumes, according to "The Primal Blueprint," promote fat storage through insulin reaction, increase heart disease and diabetes risk, and cause food intolerance problems from the lectins, phytates and gluten found in foods such as grains and legumes.

I for one don't believe in diets.  I take a common sense approach to my eating.  I do, however, believe that processed and packaged foods are not doing anyone any good.  This recipe came from Debbie's blog The Loving Path.

1 cup of peanut butter (or other nut butter); 3/4 cup of mashed pumpkin; 1/3 cup honey; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 egg; 2 TBS cocoa powder.  Grease mini muffin tins and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or til done.

My kids didn't think they were sweet enough but all the adults I gave them to thought they were great.  Zack's English teacher from last year has a gluten allergy, so she was thrilled to taste test and receive the recipe.

Yesterday I was given the task of taste tester when two friends from school made their versions of rice pudding. One was creamy while the other was thick, both yummy!  My kids were beyond excited as they love it, too.  Unfortunately, it didn't last long. 3 bowls and two containers of yumminess are gone.

I enjoyed my last bowlful this afternoon with a cup of organic white tea with vanilla.

Kimmie is sharing a recipe for pupcakes over at Art in Red Wagons in celebration of her dog's birthday.   Stop by if you have a chance.

And have a terrific Tuesday!