these hands...

I love these hands.

These are the hands of the boy.

The boy I married.

These are the hands of the man.
The man I am still married to

and

love with all of my heart.

They have been busy hands .

They have been hard-working hands.

These hands have provided for us so faithfully and so willingly.

These hands tell of the 49 years of service

that has been given so freely.

These hands have been used by God.

These hands hold mine.
They have been the hands

to comfort me

to love me

and

to hold mine in prayer.

They have been the hands to hold our babies.

These hands

have changed their diapers,

taught them to throw a football

and to pray.

These hands have transformed our houses into our homes.

They have been the *do it* behind the *think it*.

They have built houses,

playhouses,

and memories.

I love these hands.

I love this man.

Happy Birthday, Dearie!

linens, linens...

lace and doilies and spools and hats and buttons and...

Everywhere linens.

Progress report: Operation CHAOS

I continue to sort, sort, and then do some more sorting.

Seperate everything into like-items piles.

You know, re-distribute the *piles*:)

Slowly, but surely I am making progress.

This is the parlor floor=real progress!

How did I get so much *stuff*?

It is the downfall of the business.

"I might use that,

it was such a bargain,

I'll never find one of those again."

And so on, and so on...sigh

Here is a little corner of the *fun* part.

Decorating.

I'll be back for White Wednesday with more...

summer delight...

I posted recipe this last summer-
It's still one of my favorite summer-time treats.

There's time to make it

if

you hurry!

Did anyone try it last summer?

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream



MERINGUE

2 egg whites

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 c. sugar

Put a rack in middle of oven, preheat to 250 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat whites and salt in med. bowl with a mixer at med. speed until whites hold soft peaks.
Add sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating at high speed until meringue holds stiff, glossy peaks, about 1 minute. Spread meringue into a 9in. round (like a blob!) on parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake until firm to touch, about 1 hour. Turn off oven and let meringue stand in oven 1 hour. Transfer meringue (on parchement) to a rack to cool completely.Peel off parchment and, working over a bowl, break meringue into1/2-to1 in. pieces.



ICE CREAM

1 1/2c. heavy cream

1 c. whole milk

3/4c. sugar

4 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1/8 tsp. salt

6 egg yolks

2/3c. lemon juice

Combine cream, milk, sugar, zest, and salt in 2-3qt. heavy saucepan, bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally.Meanwhile, whisk yolks in med. metal bowl until smooth. Add hot cream mixture to yolks in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour back into pan. Cook custard over moderate low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon(170 F). Do not let boil.Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into clean metal bowl and stir in lemon juice. Cool custard to room temperature, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours

Freeze custard in ice cream maker.
Transfer ice cream to bowl and top with meringue.

Yummy!

ENJOY!

Happy Summer Days!

Rene'

vintage white...

Welcome to

White Wednesday!

I love old pieces of architecture.

They are what make these old house so unique.

I love to collect doors, windows and other pieces of these old ladies.

From the inside looking out

Details that I just love...

As much as I love to paint white

there is just something about

chippy, vintage white

Especially, with a touch of pink added

The vintage white spandrel

between our family room and kitchen

My downstairs powder room door

Drop on by Faded Charm to see more wonderful white.

Thanks, Kathleen!

we have a plan...

Operation C.H.A.O.S.

progress report

I have a plan and I've begun that plan.

That is progress.

Big progress

My husband calls it:
analysis to paralysis

I'm not quite creative enough just to let go

but

each detail must be:

thought over

talked over

and

anguished over...

from every angle

to make sure it will work and it is what I want.

That really slows me down.

So this is the plan so far:

My inspiration room will be in the boys' old bedroom.

I wish it were still filled with boys

but it is not.

So, what's a Mom to do?

I debated over this because it is an upstairs bedroom
and I didn't want to seperate myself from the family too much.
The main advantage was that it had the most room
so the most potential for clearing up the rest of the house.

I've had 4 days to myself this week.

Time to attack.

That first day I woke up at 2:00 (yes, a.m.)
...gotta love those 40's hormones...

I was so excited to get started!

It's slow going...it's still hard to sort through everything

and find a place for it.

And I so struggle with function over beauty.

I really do just want to decorate.

I'll be back in a few days with another report:)

sweet dreams...

of

White Wednesday

glimpses of my bedroom

I love my iron bed...

It was a Christmas present from my husband.

Can you tell?

I've been on picnik again.

I can't decide which photo I like the best.

My linens are all off-white.

Always Kiss Me Goodnight

vintage wedding shoes

I've had this bowl and pitcher for a long time.

I once traded a primitive cupboard for it.

I love it!

My chandy is white, too.

It also was a surprise-gift from my husband...

he even painted it for me.

This is where I dream...

Thanks again to Kathleen

at Faded Charm

for hosting this very fun party.

baby love...

It's been about a month now since

I've had my grand-ma-ma bragging post.

It's about time for another one, don'tcha think?

We babysat the triplets and Brogan the other night.

It only took 4 of us to get the job done!







Busy, busy, busy.

I can only imagine life next year

for *mommy and daddy*.

Have I ever mentioned here

How amazed and proud I am of these two?

They are doing a fantastic job.

They have a

schedule and order

that makes me look like a push-over.

~

~

~

And then there is Brogan.
He is happy and energetic
And lots of fun.

He thinks Grandpa is the best!

And he's going to be a big brother come January.

It's both a

weird and wonderful thing

to watch your kids

become mommies and daddies.
~

~

~

And finally,

The fishing trip with Grandpa.

You can see it was way successful.

In more ways than one.

Fish, candy, and lotsof good laughs.


I'm just full of Baby love.

beauty...

Never lose an opportunity of seeing

anything that is beautiful,

for beauty is God's handwriting, a wayside sacrament.

Welcome it

in every fair face,

in every fair sky,

in every flower,

and thank God for it

as a cup of blessing.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

beau·ty -\ˈbyü-tē\ noun 1: the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit .

Synonyms: loveliness, pulchritude, comeliness, fairness, attractiveness.
Antonyms: ugliness.

One thing I ask of the Lord,

this is what I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to see him in his temple.

Psalm 27:4