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So Lovely

I must confess–I’m quite new to the idea of machine quilting. I mean, honestly, in my day quilting something meant tying yarn knots all over the darn thing till it held together. But nowadays–that’s just not good enough for these beautiful quilts. My daughter, April has made the leap and started machine quilting with her very own machine!

And get this–every…single…stitch is hand guided–no computerized patterns going on here! Each one she finishes is simply breathtaking. So much time. So much work. So much gorgeousness. Is that a word?

I’m so pleased to show you some of her incredible work and I hope you’ll pop on over to her site to see more of it. You’ll likely faint from the beauty of it all.

Oh, and if you have a masterpiece–from table runner to California King–that you’d like professionally machine quilted…trust me…

she’s your girl–at Prairie Grass Patterns.

Just remember, I knew her first.

:}

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From the Frozen North

We might not be getting much in the way of snow–but I can tell you where it’s all going…that’s for sure.

It’s landing right smack dab on my cute boy in Siberia!

He’s been given a new assignment though. Last week he was called as an Assistant to the Mission President and he sounds pretty happy about it. He’ll travel and visit and help the other missionaries with their work or with the language–or whatever they need. They couldn’t have picked a better fellow for the job.

Besides his sweet grin–the best part of this photo is that familiar blue cube on the side of the desk. Can you see it? Seems that all the way on the other side of the world, he still has his beloved Rubix with him. I can just hear him telling the other guys to, “…mess it up for me, would ya?” so he can solve it–over and over again. The smarty pants.

Comforting to my mama-heart to know that even though he’s learning and growing and becoming who he needs to be–so far away…

all in all, he’s still my boy.

And that’s so, so nice.

:}

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Doing Nothing

Yesterday–since I was staying home from church, tending Miss Chompy Sniffles, it ended up being one of those put-your-feet-up, kick-back-in-the-chair sort of days where it kinda feels good to sit and do a little bit of, you know…

nothing.

I could have made some serious headway on the baby’s ripple blanket, but alas…

it was too much of something, to fit into the category of…

nothing.

I really thought about catching up on some light reading, but again–too important to be considered–

nothing. So they just sat there staring at me.

I thought, for a while, about baking something poofy and warm that would make the house smell like Snow White’s cottage in the forest, but it was too much trouble, and…

well, you get the picture.

There are just some times when it has to be ok to sit back and soak it all in and let everything else be big and important and necessary, on another day.

Believe me, it felt just lovely, thank you very much.

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{ A Grateful Heart }

“With our Father’s help, all of us can choose to feel more gratitude. We can ask Him to help us see our blessings more clearly, whatever our circumstances. Giving thanks in prayer can allow us to see the magnitude of these blessings and all of our other blessings and so receive the gift of a more grateful heart.”

President Henry B. Eyring

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Cream Cheese Lemon Bars

 I know, I know. It’s not spring yet and I could possibly have curbed my craving for something luscious and lemony until the flowers were blooming, like a good girl. Perhaps that would have been more seasonally appropriate. But then I thought…

seasonally appropriate?  What does that even mean? And then a better question would be–and do I care? Hmmm….

Apparently not.

:}

Ingredients:

1 box lemon cake mix

1/3 cup butter-  softened

1 egg

8 oz cream cheese – softened

1 cup powdered sugar

peel from 1/2 lemon – grated

2 Tbsps lemon juice

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, blend dry cake mix, butter, and 1 egg. Press into an ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Blend in the powdered sugar. Stir in lemon peel and lemon juice until smooth. Set aside 1/2 cup of mixture. Into remaining cream cheese mixture, beat 2 eggs, and vanilla until well blended.  Spread over the cake mixture.
Bake at 350° until set, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely. Spread the reserved cream cheese mixture onto the bars. Refrigerate until firm; then cut into squares and serve.

I found this scrumptious bit of loveliness on a pass through Recipe Tips and sincerely couldn’t resist.

Yeah…like I tried.


5.0 from 1 reviews
Cream Cheese Lemon Bars
 
Print
Ingredients
  • 1 box lemon cake mix
  • ⅓ cup butter- softened
  • 1 egg
  • 8 oz cream cheese - softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • peel from ½ lemon - grated
  • 2 Tbsps lemon juice
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
  1. In a mixing bowl, blend dry cake mix, butter, and 1 egg.
  2. Press into an ungreased 9 x 13 pan.
  3. Beat cream cheese until smooth.
  4. Blend in the powdered sugar.
  5. Stir in lemon peel and lemon juice until smooth.
  6. Set aside ½ cup of mixture. Into remaining cream cheese mixture, beat 2 eggs, and vanilla until well blended.
  7. Spread over the cake mixture.
  8. Bake at 350° until set, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
  9. Cool completely.
  10. Spread the reserved cream cheese mixture onto the bars.
  11. Refrigerate until firm; then cut into squares and serve.

 

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