my latest acquaintance

 It's been a while since I've done any serious baking and while  I watched the apple trees do their thing, my thoughts turned to apple cake, apple crisp and  my new favorite. As the days turned to weeks and the tiny buds turned to tiny apples my heart sank. I waited and hoped the little buggers would make us proud...
Not this year:(
Deana  had to collect them for apple jelly (I don't do jelly)...they are just too small and too many!
This recipe calls for Granny Smith thank goodness...the thought of monkeying with our dinky apples makes me crabby uneasy.

It looks overdone, but  you need to bake the heck out of this cake because it is so filled with apples (6 cups),  after leaving it under the cake cover overnight it's perfectly moist and gets even yummier  with age ...I've kept it  covered on the kitchen counter for up to 6 days with  no ill effects.I was going to add rum with the orange juice, but I forgot...maybe you will.... and then let me know the result.

 Can't wait for dessert!

the kind of work women do

Tobit is not having a good week. Anna isn't helping. I read that the wicked demon Asmodeus, killed Sarah's husbands out of jealousy...pretty powerful stuff!

Holy Spirit
Steeples are a favorite subject of mine...so I snapped this before going to Mass this morning.

Always happy to have an excuse to lunch, I met up with the birthday girl (she turned 20 3months ago) who seemed thrilled with the Dollar Store towel I gave her, while Maria devoured the pickles that were on her plate.

I was given a sewing project to do...hopefully I can finish before summer is over.

sixty two and counting

Many years ago I started receiving mailings from AMM. I have ordered many medals from them and spread the devotion whenever possible. I even went on pilgrimage to France because of my association with them. I wore a gold Miraculous medal for many years and lost it about 2 years ago and have been without one... until now.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Liam Neeson has been a favorite ever since "Ethan Frome"...he was definitely the best part of that movie and so with every thing he's in. We saw "Taken" yesterday...Jerry gave it a "10" which he usually reserves for "Star Wars".
We dined Italiano at Valentini's, where I tried my first ever martini...it warmed the heart but left the stomach in distress.

It's always a treat to go to Mass at Mary Star of the Sea...today was no exception...we had to rush home after losing at Bingo to help Tigger celebrate his 13th birthday with a photo shoot.

I wonder if he's pondering his life.

cute as a button

The retirees are invited to the Company Christmas party...so we went.
The hard working staff at GSL served fish, fowl and beef with accompaniments. There were lots of friendly faces to insure a pleasant evening. One of the faces was, actually, quite familiar

Question....Have you ever purchased a garment that has "YOU" written all over it?
Answer......Yesterday.

These little button earrings were inspired by a pair I purchased after Christmas last year. The hardest part of construction was removing the shank.

Amuse S'il Vous Plaît

We had an unusual dining experience the other night. One of our favorite sisters was visiting from Tucson, we wanted to treat her to something special and this certainly filled the bill. Our chef along with the rest of the staff prepared a six course dinner that pleased our palates and warmed our hearts.

What an act!

Aimee, Nancy and I took a road trip to NDSU to see Nixon in a talent competition. She didn't win, but seeing her and some of the extended family (once removed) was worth the trip.

We supped Tuesday night with "some mothers and kids".

Wednesdays dining was like a scene from one of those Italian gangster movies...only without the gangsters. P 'n K took us to "the best kept secret in Minnesota". The food was tasty... and the service was classic! While we (4 adults, a teen and two smallies) were enjoying our lunch, K's father came in to say hi. Within minutes the proprietor, (Al) brought over a huge plate of spagetti and placed it in front of Tony and greeted him saying, "Enjoy Tony, it's on the house." Now that's hospitality! Got home around 7 and started planning for the big trip.

S and G were visiting from Singapore and joined us for dinner at the local O G.

Went to Dixie Friday night for fish fry...tasted much better than I remembered.

Celebrated my birthday in style at Top of the Harbor..... lunching with daughters, # 2 and 3 and grandchildren # 13 and 14 tomorrow...that should be the end of the celebratory meals for a while.

I was reminiscing about the May Crownings of my childhood. Maybe I'll have to get the ball rolling....very nice tradition.

We feasted on venison,

with spice cupcakes for dessert...yum!

My all- time favorite valentine!

There's nothing like heart shaped scones!

Always ready for a challenge, I tried to figure out how to construct a blanket that B. had received as gift for Maria. I decided to start out making just a potholder (why waste a bunch of fabric in case I botched it up). I was surprised it turned out as well as it did...the two sides that were cut on the bias 'chenilled' really well, while the corners that were cut along the grain frayed badly...I should have gone online for help, because later I found this. I definitely see a chenille blanket in my future.

The 'Built by Wendy' pattern is getting a real workout...longer sleeves this time.

Every time I make this chutney recipe I forget an ingredient. Peggy gave me the recipe years ago and I had never really tasted it until we visited her in December. I loved it, made a batch when I got home and forgot to put in the water until it was almost too late. That time I blamed it on the fact that Barbara and Maria were visiting and I was trying to "multi-task", something I've never mastered. This time I left out the apple...no excuses ... hopefully, next Fall I will get it right

I'm amazed this Honey Vanilla Pound Cake from small hands archive (don't ask me which one) has lasted until the twelfth day of Christmas...as the Magi depart, so goes Christmas and so goes the pound cake.