Thankful {things I love} Thursday...

Archer with the Amber eyes xoxo

I have looked into your eyes

with my eyes.

I have put my heart

near  your heart

~Pope John XXIII~

Every Spring ...

 

 Sundays are Hike days for us & a day we really enjoy.  I love to walk & there is something about having a dog with you that makes walking that much more wonderful!

Here's Archer in the garden ... dressed & ready to go!

 A flock of birds flew overhead.

We noticed the distinctive bright yellow tips of the Cedar Waxwings.

I love these birds! 

 Little buds appearing everywhere  we looked ...

 delicate & beautiful ...

 It seemed with each meandering turn we saw new colours and textures ...

 I wonder what we'll find next week?

Every Spring

is the

only Spring ~

a perpetual

astonishment

~Ellis Peters~

52 Friday...

12/52

~PERSIST~

***

~Have a wonderful weekend!  Yesterday saw record breaking temperatures here.

Texture Tuesdays...

 This week's challenge at The Cafe is Black & White

Homecoming

Kim Klassen Texture: Faved

***

You can kiss your family

and friends goodbye

and put miles between you,

but at the same time

you carry them with you

in your heart,

your mind, your stomach,

because you do not just live

in a world

but a world

lives in  you

~Frederick Buechner~

Spring {time}...

 

Walking gently ...

 lovely clusters of crocus are popping up underfoot ...

 

 Received my issue of Green Craft Magazine this morning.

Love this magazine & seeing all the creative, re purposed ideas & the the beautiful way in which the magazine encourages & values   items normally discarded.

I have 2 of my "trash to treasure" creations in this issue.

Being sticklers for recycling, if there isn't a spot to toss out recyclables, they come home with us.  I got thinking about the plastic  cone toppers that came with some ice cream we purchased while on vacation knowing they could be turned into "something" :-)

I love anything that has a dome to it, as the height gives you room to fill it with tiny little treasures, which is what I started to do. A small watch face with chain, a  few snippets of lace, and the words "always find time" cut out from discontinued book page were just enough items to fill this tiny vessel.

  I cut a small circular disk, a bit larger than the lid from discontinued anaglypta wallpaper using decorative scissors as a backing.

Once finished, I put it to one side atop of some papers I had sitting on my desk ~ aha ~ a paperweight!

I'll show you the other project later in the week.

Take care of the minutes

and the hours

will take care

of themselves

~Lord Chesterfield~

Luck in odd numbers...

Happiness often sneaks in

through a door

you didn't know

you left open

~John Barrymore~

I guess doors are like hearts ... wonderful things can sneak  in when both are left open!

Yesterday was so beautiful outside, that Archer and I sat out on the deck for a while in the morning.

When I went inside to make a tea, I looked around to spot him looking through the screen door waiting for me just as Ben and Ernie had :-)  Funnily, Archer is sitting, Ernie standing, and Ben is laying down.

In keeping with St.Patrick's Day, and LUCK, I went looking through my photos and found these ~ three beautiful, faithful Labs waiting for me ... now THAT is LUCK ♥

***

Good Luck

is another name

for tenacity

of purpose

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Oh Mr. Sun ...

 It's a gorgeous, sunny day today in my little corner of the world ...

 The sun is streaming in through all the windows in my hOMe ...

 And on the water ...

along the lake ...

 and in the garden as the squirrels

 and Woodpeckers enjoyed their breakfast ...

 and on the floor of my Studio ...

~ You are my Sunshine~

*Happy Wednesday*

52 Friday...

 I realized today, that I had forgotten to post 52 Friday last week ... so today, I'll post 2!

9/52

ENJOY

***

He was free to enjoy

the breathless glee

that overwhelmed him:

the speed, the clear cool air,

the total silence, the feeling of balance

and excitement

and peace

~Lois Lowry~

10/52

BALANCE

***

Balance your thoughts with action.

If you spend too much time

thinking about a thing,

you'll never get it done.

~Bruce Lee~

***

I was looking at a bowl of lemons on my counter and decided I should make Luscious Lemons Squares :-)

They're the perfect BALANCE of Tart & Sweet.

Here's the recipe...

LUSCIOUS LEMON SQUARES

1/2 cup softened butter

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

1 cup plus 2 1/2 tsps all purpose flour

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar ( I use a little less)

6 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

***

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease an 8" baking pan.

FOR THE CRUST:  Using an electric mixer, cream butter, confectioners sugar and 1 cup of flour on medium speed and beat until well blended.  Press dough firmly over bottom of pan and bake in oven for 15 minutes until lightly golden.  Set pan aside to cool.

FOR THE TOPPING: While crust is cooling, prepare the lemon topping by combining eggs, granulated sugar, remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons of flour, lemon juice and zest in medium bowl.  Beat with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Pour over cooled crust and return to oven for 20 minutes more, until set.

Allow to cool thoroughly in the pan before cutting into squares.

Dust with confectioners sugar.

Enjoy ♥

A walk around the Garden...

 Early in the morning, I've been taking my morning tea and having a walk around the garden with Archer. The ground is uneven, some mushy spots, other parts hard.  Wellie boots are a must!

It's always around this time of the year, that I start thinking about changes & how I'd like the garden to look this year.

So this morning, I took  my Gardeners notepad out with me,  and jotted down what I already have.

Then, made a note of projects I'd like to start.

 I couldn't remember how long I'd had this little notebook, but noticed February 2002 on one of the entries, so it's been at least 10 years :-)

 Even though our garden isn't very big, looking down my "English Cottage Garden" Flowers list I see we have EVERYONE in our garden ♥

 My favourite kind of window boxes are overflowing like this one in my Garden Scrapbook.

A favourite combination is chartreuse sweet potato vine, heliotrope, pansies, nicotiana, daisies, portulaca, verbena, English ivy & coleus.

I love it when the flowers spill over the window box ♥

I have these beautiful browns looking at me ...

so I think we'll head back outside.  It's chilly out, but the sun is shining.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Thankful {things I love} Thursday...

~Morning Blessings~

 Happy March 1st!

It's a rainy day here but the birds were singing happily as I had my morning tea ♥

It was so nice to hear their singing.

 And our "resident" doves have returned once again...

what a thrill to look out our kitchen window and see them together...

 Spotted this little hidden treasure on a walk with Archer.

I just stood and stared at it in awe, taking in all the detail.

 And then there's Archer...

I stare in awe of him too ♥

 Queen Anne's Lace seeds safely tucked into their "little nest" just waiting to break free and scatter...

Happy & Content.

How amazing are dogs!  No matter what their past has been like, what stories they could tell, they move on and give us unconditional love.

♥D