pastel morning ……. crystal clear day

I woke to a pastel painting with the moon in the sky and the fog on the ground!

It was my day off, and I was headed to my favorite place…..

take the trip with me and see what I got.

As I leave my country surroundings, passing the farms, buffalo, horses and cattle… I finally get to town. Once in town the closest mall is another 30 minutes away and we must go over the lake.

Even though I travel over the lake each day to work, I go over a different part of the lake and the senior care center I work at is on the lake shore. But to head to the nearest mall we will take a quick jaunt on the freeway. Coming from California, traveling on the freeway to go anywhere is the norm ~ so when we first moved to the Dallas area and our realtor told us that the people in our community seldom go “over the lake” (as if they were going on a huge excursion)….. we laughed and laughed at the small town mentality. Well, three years later, going over the lake and leaving the community has become a “huge ordeal”. Who’s got the last laugh now? Hubby and I are such “creatures of habit”, as my sweet sister-in-law once told me! So, today, is “big ordeal” day!

Oh, but let me back up just a bit…..

On the way to the freeway, there are so many beautiful homes on the lake. Today, I wanted to share one of a hundred of my favorites. I love the contrast of the stone house with the metal roof and the up & down wrap around porches!!! Thought you might like it too!

And while stopped to capture the picture above, I couldn’t help but to look up! Always remember to look up!

Blue skies and pine cones!

Shades of red and sunshine!!

Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.

by William Wordsworth

Ok, back on track. I, so easily get off track while driving to town. So, across the lake we go…

whoa, this may be hard on the eyes at 60 miles an hour ~

Impressive. See how I focused on the car behind me in my side mirror? (To be honest, it was not intentional ~ cool shot ~ if I say so, myself)….. And I tell my son not to text and drive!!! Such a great example I set.

We made it. Over the lake and back on side streets. Phew!

And here we are………

This is a great outdoor mall with every store you can imagine. It is like a little village that you drive around in. Someday, not today, I will show you around. Summer is best ~ when all the flowers are in bloom.

And, what is my favorite store, you ask…….?

Barnes & Noble, of course. And it is not the first time it’s picture has been found on my blog!

And what was I here for?

PW’s cookbook!

and who was it for? ……..

My son’s girl! Favorite color purple.

Why did I buy her PW’s cookbook?

Well, when I first found PW, and started to read her love story, it captured my heart and I spent the next 8 hours reading each chapter until I finished. My hope was that “this Birthday Girl” above, would not only enjoy some “cowboy” recipes to learn to cook up, but would get caught up in the love story as well. Those of us who are familiar with PW, know that she is hysterically funny, a great cook, an accomplished photographer, and so much more ….who, on top of it all, adores her husband and loves her (in her words) 4 little punks!

In other words, she puts us all to shame and we keep going back for more!

She is an inspiration for all women. That is why I felt her story was a great gift for this young woman.

Have a beautiful week!

ox ~Cheryl

halloween night

This was the first Halloween in over 30+ years that I did not stand at the front door handing out candy. When my boy was little, his daddy always took him house to house while I handed out the candy. I loved dressing up and frightening the children!

I love Halloween. As my family and friends know, it is probably my favorite holiday. It is one day a year you can dress up and be someone else besides yourself and just have fun! As a child I used to bring home two full pillowcases of candy, mom always made my costume and I just loved running around in the night getting scared by monsters behind the bushes!! I hated when there was no one home at a house handing out candy and I must confess, we didn’t let them get away with it (bars of soap & toilet paper were very popular growing up in the 60's & 70's).

I stayed true to my heart and never disappointed a child who dressed up for Halloween and walked the neighborhood looking forward to picking up their treats! And I stayed true to my mom’s efforts with my costumes, and always made my sons Halloween costumes.

I have so many fond memories of Halloween Parties hubby and I threw over the years :)

Of course, due to all the real life frightening things that happen in this world, children now go to parties, church events, malls, etc to do their “trick or treating” ! So, because of the lack of children coming to the house, hubby and I decided to go to dinner and take in a movie!

We went to see Law Abiding Citizen with Jamie Foxx. I thought it was great. Jumped out of my seat at least 4 times and the poor man sitting next to me must have thought I was a bundle of nerves. You see, as I have gotten older, I scare a lot easier than that little girl running around the dark streets at night looking for the scare!

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Now, my sweet friend Becky from Farmgirl Paints (please stop by and give her a visit), asked that I share more pictures of myself in my blog. I have always photographed terribly, and as I age it is getting worse!!! UGH!! But here it goes. I tweaked the colors of the last 3 sunsets for fun! After dinner (Mexican, of course), hubby and I went down to the harbor to the theatre. The sunset over the water was fabulous!

Have a beautiful week! ~Cheryl

and the winner is……

Thank you for your entries for my year anniversary giveaway. Using the random generator, the winner is Judy, of Just a Little Something for You!! Please visit Judy’s blog and say hello!

Judy, please email me with your information and I will get your goodies out to you shortly!! Congratulations! ~ Cheryl

one year “blogiversary” giveaway !!!

 

 

For the coming season I would like to present a

 Christmas Giveaway!!

Two kitchen towels. Red & White ~waffle weave with snowman appliqué.

Two vintage pillows with red ribbing. One Santa, One Snowman

Two snowman ornaments.

One gold Florentine picture frame.  Opening 3.5 x 5 inches.

One Christmas coffee mug!!

 

I hope this is something that you all will like.  It is my thank you for following my blog and giving me so much joy in showing my photos of my everyday life, recipes, and everything that makes me smile about this beautiful state of Texas!

But most of all, I have been blessed to have met some special friends .

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment and please let me know, over the last year, what you have enjoyed most about my blog (or what you would like more of) ~ so that I can continue to have your visits be enjoyable for you.  Thank you for taking the time to stop by.

I will let this giveaway run until Saturday, October 31st, midnight, central time! 

~Cheryl~

Thank you!

Thank you.

I wanted to thank each of you who sent your well wishes to me. I am beginning to feel much better. The fatigue that I had is lifting and my spirits are lifting as well. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kindness and concern.

~Cheryl

under the weather

Bless our Texas home

Been under the weather.

Brighter days are ahead.

how i know when it is autumn in Texas ……

The cows cannot eat in peace and the grass starts turning brown.

It is so cute, these birds follow them everywhere!

The fields are yellow… and

the sky is blue!

Pumpkins are everywhere.

The nurseries are decorated ……

and mums are about to bloom!

The colors are magnificent.

and cameras are in hand…

Just in case someone is right there for you to capture!

And did I mention, pumpkins are everywhere. Pumpkins of all kinds!

But most of all, the sun has that special Golden Glow ……..

and the sunsets never disappoint.

How do you know it is autumn where you live?

Have a beautiful fall week ~ Cheryl

so much to say, so little time …

My son and his girl went to Seattle and Portland on their first vacation together and for my son to meet her father. These are 4 of his 400 pictures!!!

This is the souvenir they brought home to me………

Since it is Monday, and my day off ~ I vowed to take the time to enjoy the morning sun and post in my blog. You know how I love the morning and evening sun coming in my house. My new mug is from the “first” Starbucks located in Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA. The perfect gift for me :) Thank you Brandon & Megan.

My snack.

Actually, this is my breakfast today….but normally it is my sweet-tooth snack.

Frozen banana slices and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter! YUM!

Now, this can’t be an everyday thing, because of the peanut butter.

270 calories, and 16 grams of fat.

If you cut the peanut butter to 1 tblsp, then you only have 8 grams of fat, which is about a third of the fat you should have for the day. And believe me,1 tblsp is PLENTY! But for photography purposes, I had to go with the 2 tablespoons :)

While deciding to photograph this treat, I was looking in my kitchen for a plate and I found these cute little plates that I bought on sale months ago for $5 ~ I forgot I had them.

CUTE!!!!

I could save the rest of what I have to say for another post, but I have been meaning to share these (below). I picked them up a couple of weeks ago with a Barnes and Noble gift card I had from the girls at work. Barnes and Noble is always my request if anyone insists on gift giving!

I know you all have seen Tara’s book on many of our fellow bloggers blogs, but I want to share as well. Tara is one of the first blogs I found that just blew me away. Her humor, her photography, her love of her family …. And to top it off, she wrote this book … I think she deserves all the recognition we can give her!

Lastly, for today, I want to share with you what I am doing for my heart. Oatmeal. I have been meaning for sometime now to eat oatmeal each day to counter-act all the bad things I do to my heart, caffeine, lack of cardio, stress etc. My mom swears that she lowered her cholesterol by these three things daily. Oatmeal, an orange and fish oil tablets. I have incorporated the oatmeal into a smoothie with orange juice, soy milk and a frozen banana. I semi-freeze it and drink it throughout the day at work. It is my mid-morning snack, my lunch and my afternoon pick me up.

Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

1 frozen banana

3/4 cup oatmeal (uncooked)

1 cup orange juice

1 cup soy milk

Put in a blender until smooth. Freeze for one hour.

Health Benefits of Bananas ~ Click to Link to Statistics! Better than an apple a day!

Have a wonderful week ~ Cheryl

oh yea, Cowboys 31, Giants 33 – UGH!

who doesn’t love a cowboy …

I forgot to tell you girls (in my last post) the best thing I love about the fall. It is the start of football season :)

I’ll be spending my Sunday afternoons with Mr. Tony Romo and his boys for the next 4 months!!! He’s the MAN!!

1st game: Cowboys 34 Tampa Bay 21 Way to Go Boys!!!!! We are on our way to Super Bowl !!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boxjock78/3040336220/

it’s all around the corner!!!!!

These are the things I love about this time of year:

Gorgeous Golden Sunflowers – other than pink roses, sunflowers might be my favorite flower~

Pumpkins and Gourds – It takes me forever to pick out our pumpkins…searching for just the right ones. The right ones are never the same from year to year…..just like the Christmas tree!

Sweet Caramel Apples – These were a childhood fave, along with salt water taffy. My silver fillings, root canals, and crowns are proof! I adore caramel. I was always happy to get the little wrapped caramel squares in my Halloween bag.

Scrumptious Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream – The BEST. I have to admit, Costco has one of the best pumpkin pies. It is the perfect firmness, spiciness and it is HUGE!!!

Change of Leaves - I always say, we can’t beat God’s colors.

State Fair - Texas holds their State Fair from September – October. They come out with a new deep fried food every year. This year it is “deep fried butter”. What the heck????? I don’t know what to think about that, other than they better have plenty of ambulances available. Heart attack on a stick!

Country Wagons & Red Barns – Actually, I love country wagons and red barns all year round!!!

Hot Apple Cider & Cinnamon Sticks - This is also a great beverage while putting up Christmas lights – with a shot of Brandy ~ of course :)

Cider Mills – I was such a lucky girl growing up in the North. Us kids would walk to the cider mill to get hot cider and fresh baked cinnamon doughnuts each fall. It was a 14 mile round trip walk. Imagine 5 or 6 kids (boys and girls) walking a country road to the cider mill and back. It would take us all day since we would goof around the whole way there and back. These were the good old days when our parents didn’t have to worry about us and we could be kids and experience the world around us – on our own. A blessing to be a pre-teen in the early 70’s!! I guess that is why I relate to the movie “Stand by Me” ~ except we weren't looking for a dead body. EEK!

Happy September!! Enjoy all that the season has to offer ~ Cheryl

1. Sunflower Close up, 2. Pumpkin Pile, 3. caramel apples, 4. Pumpkin pie, 5. Walk With Me...., 6. enjoyed the ride!, 7. The Old Buckboard Wagon, 8. fpx206004, 9. The Cider Mill

the apron

The History of 'APRONS'

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few and

it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material. But along with that, it served as a

potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched

eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow ~ bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could

dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew

it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served

so many purposes.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.

Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron!

This apron history was sent to me by my dear friend Lisa and I just had to share it with you since it brought back such wonderful childhood memories of my sweet granny and my mom. Both apron wearers! Though I don’t wear an apron, I do own them because I like to buy vintage ones at garage sales & new ones at Anthropologie. Check out the link below!

http://search.anthropologie.com/?q=aprons&international=false

hey ? hay !

as I drive along the country roads, I see golden speckled land. a familiar site this time of year which promises that autumn is around the corner.

are you looking forward to pumpkins and hay rides and a chill in the air?