food, crochet, merriment
“Becoming people of integrity and honesty does not occur quickly or all at once, nor is it merely a matter of greater personal discipline. It is a change of disposition, a change of heart. And this gradual change of heart is one that the Lord accomplishes within us, through the power of His Spirit, in a line-upon-line fashion.”
David A. Bednar
This moment~
A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from our lives.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Happy weekend everyone!
I do believe in fairies…I do believe in fairies…I do believe in fairies.
I do.
I do.
I do.
I’d like to introduce you to our dearest and most beloved kitty from my childhood. Laurie and I brought her home in the wagon one day. A neighbor lady from down the block saw us playing with a kitten in her yard and came out and said, “You can’t have that kitty, but…” handing us a different kitten, “you can have THIS one,” you know, like we’d won the grand prize or something. We felt pretty dang lucky–winning the kitty lottery like that, so naturally we took her and ran all the way home.
Now Laurie was a little older than me and much smarter–at the time–so she briefed me on the plan. See, Daddy didn’t particularly like cats. He liked dogs…big dogs…that don’t really get along with cats. But mama–she liked cats, so it would be important to get to mama first, waaaay before daddy caught on. Because if we sold mama on something, then it would be so. She could talk daddy into anything. ANYthing. Trust me on this.
So, I stayed out on the side of the house while Laurie went in to see if the coast was clear. It was. No daddy in sight. We brought the kitty in and she purred right up to mama and that was that. We gave her some warm milk and fixed her a snuggley box bed with an old towel for a blanket. By the time daddy came home that little cat was curled up fast asleep in mama’s lap and we’d already named her Beasty.
Poor Daddy never stood a chance.
Oooohh–if you didn’t love us before today, it’s gonna happen now. Here is our lovely first attempt at Italian Ice, and what better flavor to start with than watermelon.
Dang.
The official name for this sweet thing is Watermelon Granita, and I must say–it’s positively the perfect thing for those hot August days, while gliding on a porch swing, or floating in the hammock…
either way.
Positively blissful I tell you.
You may even decide to throw a garden party…just because you can.
And so you should.
Make this…you’ll thank me.
I swear.
1 cup sugar
1-1/4 cups water
6 cups cubed watermelon
Bring sugar and water to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Set it aside while you work on the melon. This part is fun. Cut the middle out of a watermelon unless that will make someone really mad. In that case–just cut out enough chunks to measure about 6 cups. Now, drop about 1/3 of the pieces in the blender at a time and pulse on low. We don’t want to grind up any seeds.
Pour it into a strainer and press out the juice. Discard all the pulp and seeds. Once you’ve finished you should have about 3 cups of beautiful, sparkling watermelon juice. Now, transfer it into an 8-in. square dish and stir in the hot sugar syrup. Let it cool to about room temperature then set it in the freezer for about an hour. Take it out and stir it into pieces with a fork. Now re-freeze for about 2-3 hours longer or until completely frozen, stirring every 30 minutes or so with a fork or metal spatula. Stir again just before spooning into dessert dishes. It should make about 8 luscious servings.
