Month: March 2016

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New Things To Love~

There are SOOOO many things in my world that make me happy these days.

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 Take this little headboard, for instance. It’s just the right amount of swirly, antique-ish, that even with my bed a bit rumpled and the pillows tossed in a pile–it’s still pretty.

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This button positively jumped into my cart at JoAnn Fabrics–while I was minding my own business, shopping for yarn. I don’t even know how I got into the button aisle in the first place. But oooooh…it’s so sparkly.

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This little girlie makes me real happy too. She is such a good kitty and she’s taken so well to our new/old place, that I’d swear she acts years younger than her decade-and-a-half old self. Even climbed a tree the other day. I know. We were stunned.

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While everyone is talking about Spring…we’re getting poured on with rain, and the mountains are coated with snow. But it makes a pretty postcard–wouldn’t you say?

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Scrubbed off my old plaque the other day and found that much of it’s old time charm, was actually…ahem…30ish years of grime.  It’s better now. Sheesh.

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Still working this lovely thing while watching a basketball game here (Go Warriors!) or a Once Upon A Time there. Slow and steady, right?

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Rhenny boy finally hung up the banners from his favorite teams. It almost felt…ceremonial somehow. Like we finally live here. Go Warriors!

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Ahhhh….my pretty dishes finally have a home. Even if it is in a nasty colored cupboard with no doors. It will get fixed soon enough. It’s a process.

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Bought these juicy things from a roadside stand and what a deal!! They are soooo yummy and sweet. Oranges don’t actually grow in these parts, so it was a particularly nice little serendipity. They won’t last long.

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Oh, the pure grammy-joy of my baby showing her baby the other baby. Oooh, I’ll make farm folk out of these guys yet! Heh, heh.

Guess I have to figure out how to become one myself.

Working on that. Stick around.

 

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Meeting The Kids

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Of course, I wasn’t the only one who was excited at taking this first step…

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into…ahem…farm life.  Wee step, though it is.

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The kids have all taken turns coming over to snuggle…

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and hold…

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and stare at…

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and hold–some more–these pretty babies. I truly have dreamed of being this kind of Grammy.

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So my little sweethearts could come over and have a good, old, earthy, relaxing time with dear little animals. If I had more room–there’d be a cow and a couple of goats in the back too.

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This’ll do for now.

This’ll do, indeed.

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Happy Easter–Egg!!

I have to admit, Easter caught us a bit off guard this year.  Easter in March is just…you know–weird. It’s still cold out and there’s not too much Spring yet. Who decides these things anyway?

IMG_1901The kids declared that an egg hunt was in order–whether or not Spring had officially sprung.

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The big “kids” were thrilled at the prospect too.

Obviously.

Back in my day–when I was the mama filling all those eggs for my babies to find–we just packed those suckers with as many malt ball eggs and jelly beans and gummy bunnies as we could get our mitts on.

It’s a wonder all their teeth didn’t fall out. Sheesh.

But this year–my smart cookie daughter, came up with an idea that would give the kids just enough sugar in the plastic eggs to give them a buzz–but not so much that they’d run around the coffee table 45 times in 2 minutes.

She loaded some of the eggs with plastic coins that the kids could turn in to the Bunny Store, for cute little prizes. Good thinking girlie.

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Candy-schmandy. What’s sugar compared to a Sponge Bob kite and a pink bunny face mask–I ask you?

The little peeps were thrilled beyond belief.

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And we still found plenty of surprises in the eggs.

HAAAAA

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

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I found this luscious little recipe lonnnng ago, when my kiddos were small. Everyone who ever popped one in their mouth would say, “Ooooh,  chocolate AND peanut butter. Where’s the milk?”

It was definitely a family favorite.

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Then, we moved…like 50 times. Ok, maybe it just felt like it. ANYway, in all the hustle and bustle of packing and unpacking, and the kids growing up and having their own kids (what?!!), somewhere, somehow we lost the recipe. And no, I did not have it memorized. That would have been smart.

Gone. Gone. Gone. Oh, the tears we wept.

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Then one magical day, as I was sorting through an old recipe file that belonged to my mom, what should fall innocently out, onto my lap? My long, lost Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie recipe!! WA-dang-HOOOO!!!

I still have no idea how it even got in there in the first place, but who cares? Can you hear me singing, “Re-u-ni-ted and it feeels so gooooood,” ?

Well, I am.

And it does.

Now, my friends, you are free to sing and dance and frolic merrily, while you eat these amazing things. But, the catch is–you have to make them yourself.

I’m eatin’ mine.

Don’t forget the milk.

 

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

3/4 cup butter

1 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 large egg

2 tsp vanila extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1-1/4 cups flour

Heat oven to 375 degrees
In a large bowl beat butter and peanut butter until creamy.
Add sugars, cocoa, egg, vanilla, and baking soda; beat until fluffy.
Slowly add flour and mix on low speed just until flour is blended.
Roll into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1-1/2 inches apart.
Flatten with a glass.
Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool for one minute before removing to a wire rack.

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5.0 from 2 reviews
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
 
Print
¾ cup butter 1 cup peanut butter ¾ cup sugar ¼ cup brown sugar ½ cup cocoa powder 1 large egg 2 tsp vanila extract ½ tsp baking soda 1-1/4 cups flour
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup butter
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vanila extract
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1-1/4 cups flour
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
  2. In a large bowl beat butter and peanut butter until creamy.
  3. Add sugars, cocoa, egg, vanilla, and baking soda; beat until fluffy.
  4. Slowly add flour and mix on low speed just until flour is blended.
  5. Roll into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.
  6. Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1-1/2 inches apart.
  7. Flatten with a glass.
  8. Bake for 8 minutes.
  9. Remove from oven and cool for one minute before removing to a wire rack.
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My Sweet Babies

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Look how big my babies are getting after only a WEEK!

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Their wing feathers are growing more visible now. Oh, and we have..ahem…two more than we had last week.

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The new girls look a lot like the black stripe-y Barred Rock, but they’re more black–at least for now. But get this–they lay eggs that look like CHOCOLATE Easter eggs.

Yeah, I really didn’t have any choice. I had to buy them.

I gave them a little pile of weeds and they LOVED it. Of course, they think they are all grown-up–pecking and scratching like big girls–but in reality I don’t think they actually ate much.

But they are so dang cute!