Spring Reminder Southern Style

This here blue waterin' can full of spring flowers is my feeble attempt to remind myself that it is actually SPRING and not w~i~n~t~e~r.

Brrrrrrr!

We've had a gracious plenty of cold weather in these here parts of late. I'm ready for it to git gone! I'm hankerin' for those sunny spring days to return. I'm 'bout to have me a hissy fit it they don't. I like to froze my hiney off this morning when I took Bella out.

I reckon it's 'bout time to draw for a winner in the Spring Fever! Quilt give-away. If'n you'd like to take a stab at winnin' this right purty little piece of stitchery, click over on the side bar where it says "Enter Here" and leave me a comment directly.


I know some of y'all have tried to leave a comment but cain't. I have an axe to grind with the people who run this site. I bout' decided they're a couple sandwiches shy of a picnic.

If'n ya' done tried to leave me a comment and hadn't been able to do it proper like, ya' better email me right quick at:

laurat1962 at yahoo dot com

Fer ya' still wet behind the ears types, ya gotta remove the spaces and replace the "at" with "@" and the "dot" with "."

If ya cain't figure that out, then by golly, yer engine's runnin' but ain't nobody drivin'.

Give me a holler, ya' hear?

Now, I gotta git. I'm plumb wore out.

Love,
Laura Lee

Howdy from the Dude...uh...Dudette Ranch!

This morning, Lacy and I are riding our new friend, Billy. He's such a sweet, gentle horse. He's a big, beautiful quarter horse, very well broken and Chuck got him for teaching us. Thanks, Chuck.

This is Chuck's stallion, Rascal. We'll be riding him soon. Isn't he gorgeous?




I think I'll just chill here in the grass while Lacy rides again.

Snappy boots, huh? When I have these on, I just exude that "Don't mess with me, Pardner" persona. I love it.


Billy's had a good workout and so have we! Now it's time to wash him and give him a drink.



What do you mean you're doing all the work? Someone has to take the photos, right??

Good boy, Billy. See you next Saturday.

Pasta

When Sharon emailed yesterday to tell me how good this dish was, I knew a trip to the grocery was on my agenda! What could possibly beat a combination of pasta, mushrooms, and asparagus with a sprinkling of pistachios thrown in for good measure?

My resolve set, I ventured out last evening, only to find that there must have been a run on asparagus in these here parts. All my favorite grocery stores were out! Everyone had the same idea:

Spring=Asparagus.

Undeterred, I drove around until I found a store with a bin full of asparagus. However, upon closer examination, I had a good chuckle. These poor little things could have substituted for pick-up-sticks. I've never seen such tiny stalks!

Being a woman on a mission, I grabbed myself a couple pounds of the tiny deliciousness and made my way home, with visions of today's lunch swirling around in my head.

Have you ever seen such ridiculously tiny asparagus?

Chop, dice, slice....

Sizzle, sizzle.....

Awesome color!

The perfect day for an al fresco lunch!

Comments???

If you've tried to comment but couldn't, please e-mail me at:

laurat1962 at yahoo dot com

Seems several people have tried to comment to no avail.

Thanks,
Laura Lee

Spring Fe/ver

spring fe/ver
noun
a feeling of excitement and restlessness felt at the beginning of spring

Symptoms of spring fever are a sudden desire to do spring cleaning, an unexplained urge to spend lots of time out of doors, and an abrupt yearning to don flip flops and shorts.

For me, it also includes stitching up pretty pots of posies in all my favorite colors.


I don't have an official diagnosis, but I'm experiencing all of the above symptoms. Therefore, it is highly suspicious that I am down with a severe case. I'm told there is no cure for this malady, so I plan enjoy it while it lasts!

My particular strain appears to be highly contagious, so I'd like to share it with you!

I've been busy the past couple days designing and stitching this little, tiny springtime wall quilt. I was going to hang it in my kitchen or family room. Then I decided I'd really rather give it to one of you. Why not hang this in your home or office and let the world know why your mind is elsewhere these days?

Just leave me a comment and tell me what is your favorite thing about spring. I'll put all the names in a basket and draw a winner next week. As always, if you'd rather email me, you may do so at:

laurat1962 at yahoo dot com

I'll start by telling you that my ab.so.lute fav.or.ite thing about spring is hearing my first whip-poor-will! I heard him Thursday night, on the first day of spring!

Now I'm headed outdoors for some fresh air and sunshine. How about you?

He Is Risen!

At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus.

They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" Then they remembered Jesus' words. Luke 24: 1-8 The Message (emphasis added)

"He is not here, but raised up."

Praise God forever. Amen.

God bless you this Easter Day and always.

Love,

Laura Lee

Oh, It's So Good!

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite "new" foods. Actually, I discovered this for the first time a few years ago and make it often now.

Have you ever tried quinoa? Pronounced "keen-wa", it is a staple food of the Incas and the Indians in Peru. It is very high in protein and amino acids that tend to be low in other grains. It also contains iron, calcium and phosphorus, B vitamins and vitamin E, and is relatively high in fat. It tastes similar to rice, but has it's own distinctive flavor. A whole grain, quinoa is prepared just like rice: one part quinoa to two parts water. I cook it in my rice cooker in about 15 minutes.


The little round grains cook up light and fluffy and very tasty. For lunch today, I topped it with sauteed zuchinni, squash, onions, mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes. Salt, pepper, half a lemon juiced, and a little Parmesan cheese was all the seasoning it needed.


In a word: YUM!


And do you see that avocado over there on the right? Well, let me tell you, that is my new food craze. Rochelle got me started on those in Hawaii. I know, I know....you've known for a long time how good they are. My own mother tried for years to get me to taste one. But I was stubborn and convinced it couldn't possibly be good.

Wrong!

Rochelle seasoned them up with just salt and pepper. We sat on the lanai, munching our delicious healthy snack on several occasions. Now that I'm back home, I've gotten Lacy and Maggie excited about them too. Strangely enough, Holly, my most adventuresome eater, took a pass after one bite. Oh well, she'll come around, I bet.

Avocados have taken a bad rap ever since the "diet dictocrats" decided certain fats were not good for you. Well, don't be fooled. Here is what Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, has to say about that.

Shoppers err in refusing to buy avocados because of their high fat content. Avocados contain from 5-22 percent fat, mostly monounsaturated oleic acid, in a form that is absolutely fresh, with its full complement of lipase and vitamin E. Avocados also contain carotenoids, B-complex and C vitamins and numerous minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium and phosphorus.

That makes perfect sense to me. I'm wary of anyone who tells me that a food God packaged up Himself and created to be so incredibly tasty is not healthy. So I'm eating them with aplomb!

Here's to your health!
Laura Lee

Three Years of Maggie Love!

I think I'll forever have this image burned in my memory. This was how Maggie looked the first time I laid eyes on her, three years ago. She was toddling around in the Fuzhou civil affairs office with her nanny when we arrived. And as sweet as she looked, she was less than excited about meeting us. In fact, she let us know very quickly that she did not like this idea at all.

She took to Lacy first. She at least looked familiar, even if she sounded very strange.

By that night, she was sound asleep in the bed with Lacy, well on her way to deciding we weren't so bad after all.

Within a few days we were getting lots of smiles like this.

Before we left the White Swan Hotel, we took the famous Red Couch photo. All the travel groups plop their newly acquired children on this couch and record the resulting mayhem for posterity's sake. Maggie, there on the far right, let us know very quickly that she was in no mood for a photo op.

Fast forward three years. Our baby has grown into a happy, healthy, precocious four year old. She smiles all the time and now she loves a good photo op. In fact, the girl can really work a camera.

On Saturday, we had a reunion with almost all our travel mates from March 2005. How fun to see the children and their families again. We dutifully plopped the youngsters on a couch and snapped away with the cameras. Lots more smiles this time!


Happy 3rd Adoption Anniversary, Maggie Rose! We love you!!!

Hints of Spring

Is it warming up where you live? We are enjoying temperatures in the 70's this week. I don't think I need to remind you how delighted I am that warm weather is returning.

Spring will officially be here next week! In celebration, I wanted to show you a few quilts that remind me of Spring. All of these projects were constructed from 1930's feedsack reproduction prints, my favorite fabrics!

First up is a delightful little baby quilt my dear friend Ellen made for Maggie.

Maggie loves this and can't you see why? She sleeps with it every night and takes in in the car on road trips.

Next is another baby quilt. I assembled this one about eight years ago and finished it with hand quilting. The colors of this just make my heart sing. It reminds me of everything old-fashioned and good in life!


Below is a sweet little pillow which graces the rocker in my den. I love the perky appliqued posies growing out of this flower pot. A friendly honey bee is buzzing around happily.

And finally, Maggie's Good Morning pillow. A little bird has already found a worm before the sun is all the way up.


Have a lovely, sunshiney weekend. Spend it with the ones you adore!


Love,
Laura Lee

Just In Case You Thought I Was Joking

I'm being reminded daily by my loyal and devoted readers that I need to update my blog.

Knew that!

It's just a little difficult to come home from a fabulous trip to paradise and write about, you know, the real world.....

But, alas, the time has come to move on to other topics....

Today I want to show you what our youngest progeny were up to while we were away. Remember what I said about Mary Poppins, the Hundred Acre Wood, and the cute Labrador retriever? Well, I wasn't joking. Every few days I had new photos from Oma in my inbox that captured the exciting exploits of our three youngest girls. The emails said they were busy hiking, exploring, coloring, building, weaving, cooking. Their days were filled with dressing up, tea parties on the porch, and a little school work thrown in for good measure.

Really, it's a wonder they even missed us!






Next post: quilts for Spring!!!! It's just around the corner!

Till then,
Laura Lee