My Vivie is One Today!

Can you stand it?
I know that I cannot look at this picture of my 'girls' without getting a little misty eyed.
This amazing duo that is my legacy to this old world.
Especially on this day, Vivien Claire's First Birthday...

I clearly remember Eldest/Admin's First. I remember being overwhelmingly amazed that I survived the roller coaster of her health travails and that she survived my newby motherly skills.
I remember gathering all the people for her first birthday to thank them for being there to help me throughout that long, amazing, traumatic, wonderful, exciting year.

And now I get to be a part of my girl's girl's first birthday celebration!
What a blessing! What joy! A true God thing...
Eldest/Admin was not supposed to have children you know..
The odds were against her from the time she was tiny..
In her crazy odyssey of hip problems that came with a six inch high stack of medical reports that included an inordinate amount of xrays, the docs then were concerned about how the abundance of xrays on her teeny tiny ovaries could effect her procreation. They warned us to not be over fearful of it; just aware.
And in due time, we informed her that there was a real possibility that she could have trouble conceiving/retaining a progeny.

And I have a dusty pregnancy test on my dresser that was one of the twenty or so that Eldest/admin took that now long ago summer week when conception was suspected, that laughs at the anxiety that quietly plagued me when EA started her journey to motherhood.

So.
This weekend when all the grammies and poppies on both sides, all the aunties and uncles and young and old friends gather to celebrate the wonderful little person that Vivie is, I will silently thank and praise My Father in Heaven that brought us to this celebratory time....

Happy Birthday, my sweet Vivien! Grammy loves you sooooooo much......

Having Yes Men(women) Around You...

Baby Girl and Her Beloved Hubby made a pit stop while they were in town yesterday for a family celebration on his side.

And this is why I love to see Baby Girl:

1. Oh, mama, the house smells so good. (really fear having a smelly house and with having a dying cat, long haired cat that is allergic to herself AND a busy puppy, one's concerns are not unwarranted)

2. Oooh, mama! I love your new haircut! Looks great! (one thing you can say about my kiddos, they can deliver a great compliment!)

3. Beloved Hubby says, 'you guys look great! How are you??!!', followed by big hug.

4. Baby Girl watches me in the kitchen where I am preparing their enchiladas, 'Mama, are you losing more weight? Your legs look so thin!' (of course, the only place I lose weight is in my legs, thanks to Miss Dixie)

5. Baby Girl says,'Look at you and your thin little waist! My, don't you look good, mama!' (by this time I'm giddy by the lush praise in so little time, without any of the usual prompts by me.....)

And this was in less than 15 minutes in the house....

Man, I miss having this girly around more often.....

Pizza- Diabetic DeeStyle

Crazy Dee had some disheartening news recently.
In addition to a scary heart attack and the looming of a triple bypass in her near future, she also has discovered that a diabetic diet is in her cards as well.
So, in my daily care of her luncheon needs, I have had to get creative. Nutritional yet tasty.
Hubby made the mistake of mentioning our Stromboli lunch whilst we visited one day.
Big Mistake.
Poor Crazy Dee could think of nothing else but pizza.
Online Recipes came to the rescue again with a diabetic friendly crust.
I freelanced the rest.

Here it is for all your diabetic friends cravings:

Crazy Dee-lightful Pizza:
Preheat oven 400 degrees
Crust:
1 pkg yeast
1 packet of Splenda (didn't have any stevia)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour (I knew that this should be all whole wheat, but I figured CD would protest too much...Later, when she is agreeable to all things whole wheat, I will go all whole wheat)
Smidgen of salt substitute

Mix yeast and Splenda and let sit for 10 minutes.
Add flours and mix well.
Knead till smooth.
Roll on pizza stone or pizza pan, oiled with olive oil.
Prick with a fork
Bake for 10 minutes

Sauce:
1 can tomato sauce
1 packet of Splenda
1/4 oz red wine
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp salt substitute
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp ground pepper

Spoon sauce over crust after it's first baking.


Toppings:
1 1/2 cups spinach, torn into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup yellow pepper
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1 cup chopped broccoli flowerets
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
120z shredded mozzarella
1/2 tomato, sliced thinly
(and any other veggie, zucchini, carrots, etc etc...)


Sprinkle toppings over sauce, finishing with cheeses.

Bake for 20 minutes of until cheese is melty and starting to brown.

CD and I LOVED her 'safe' pizza...Barely missed all the evils in regular pizza at all...Come to think of it, all of us would benefit greatly if we ate like we had diabetes before we actually develop it.....Hmmmm....

Back to School!

Time to take some more of my Irish Good Will and spread it around.
This stop, The Elementary School where I make my weekly visits and add to the glue usage quota of the county.
By now, the children are aware that Ms Deb packs enough construction paper, glittery embellishments, yarn and puffy fringey balls, to make any holiday more festive.
Today, I ransacked my Auction Pauline stash of vintage shinys to make my little friends happy with their handmade shamrocks.

How these little mock leprechauns manage to take the same equipment and in a very short span of time, make something so sweetly unique, always amazes me.
I love how they bring them back to me full of positive reinforcement of their craft capabilities.
I always giggle at their own touches on a basic design.
And their memory.
They remembered quite a bit of an Irish lore book that I read last week, including the colors of the flag of Ireland, a point that their beloved teacher had forgotten.

Ms. Deb had to bring in her shamrock bearing curtain to frame out our Wish Tree in the hall window.

I love how proud of their little room decor and how a relationship has started with the students and I over a very simple project that they now see as theirs.
Take some simple gifts and time to your local school and watch the magic....

What It's All About

This happens to me.
I receive a fanciful package, usually a cardboard box with odd shapes jutting out.
They are the best kind of gifts.
Thoughtful. Unique. One of a kind.
And full of love.

My In the Know Friends, know that I love the things that most people throw away. Or should be thrown away. But,no my dear friends think of me right before a rogue box of somethings is ready to be dumped into the garbage.
Neighbor Nancy has left in my back yard:
1. A bird bath pedestal
2. A used dining room chandelier
3. A yard roller
And I personally stole a piece of old drain tile next to her garage.
All these odd things have made their way to my garden and pergola.
It entertains her and thrills me.
See how it works?
And this has gone on for years throughout many stages of friends...

So it came as no surprise when Faithful Friend showed up at my door on our Date Night with the flowerfull old shoe box with tissue and porcelain spilling out, that I was the least bit surprised. She had helped her grandmother move and the oddities that no one knows what to do with, was just waiting for FF's pretty shoe box, ready to gift me for no particular reason other than the secure thought that Gma's treasured things for which she no longer had room for, needed a home.

My wonderful friends know how I thrill at the prospect of junk.
At the potentiality of an assortment of renegade china and cloth. You know, things that have stories...

*sigh*
I love my friends.
Faithful Friend, Kindred Spirit Friend (the first re re re gifter; Amazing Things she has given me; some direct from garbage cans;some laundered; all treasured) Crazy Dee, Neighbor Nancy, Sweet Sharon,Old Friend, Most Loving/Interesting Friend, 2G's Mama, Lovely Wife's Mama....so many know me well....

Treat your friends well.
Especially if they know what you like.....

Corners of Ireland

Seriously.
You had to know that I would have a shamrock plant, right?
Try to have one going all the time.
I believe this one is on it's third year.
My father in law had a ginormous one that I loved. That thing lasted forever.
I love their fragile stems and perky foliage and their sweet little blooms.
Keep her watered and sunny and she'll be around for a long time...

Molly McDougall comes out of the china cabinet every March to oversee the March Celebrations. She's a pushy Irish lass but she keeps us merry...

One of my prized possessions is my very large Waterford Jar from Hubby's Aunt Peg and Aunty Anne Shaughnessy's bestowment. Before the wonderful duo left their large apartment (a blog unto itself), they sorted all their beloved things into separate boxes for all their nieces/nephews/grand nieces/nephews, matching up the item with each recipient.
This lovely was in our box. It had a tragic crack years ago that I will not speak of, but I keep it cracks, chip and all.

Another piece of their Waterford, matching candlesticks. A small mustard jar completes my Waterford collection from the aunties...Did I mention that Aunt Peg lived to 107 years old? Actually, her funeral was the day of her 108th....
Amazing woman...

These wonderful, whimsical ivory elephants have marched for decades. The aunties told us that Hubby's daddy loved to play with these fun guys....There is a few tusks missing and some 'repaired' with scotch tape..Bet Papa Si didn't so much as get a hand spanking when that happened...:D

And look who I found way up high on my laundry room cabinet?
The Goosey Couple! Actually, a triplet passed away several years ago; aggressively played with by one of Papa Si's wonderful grandchildren....Inherited roughness?
The Goosies are happy in front of my Grandmother Sommers' sewing box. Many a day I played with the expandable drawers, drawn to the accoutrement of a sewist.
Where my sewing lust began.....
Hope you enjoyed your tour of mama's Ireland!

MARCH-ing In!!

Of course one has to have a St. Patrick's Day door decoration.
Firstly, my Hubby's name is Patrick, Irish Catholic, born in the area of March with St. Patrick and St. Joseph. Hence the name, Patrick Joseph.
His great grands came from Ireland toting an extra letter in the last name.
Ellis Island saw to it that there was to be no further baggage and promptly discarded the unecessary 'e'. To this day, I joke when people want to put that superfluous e in, I state that we could not afford the e so it was dropped years ago. (Thanks Skip!) Of course, I came from the Murphy Clan, with my mother toting the Irish surname of Sommers as well. And I have freckles; my dad had red hair.
So every year we pull out all the stops to make sure our St. Patrick's Day celebration is grand.
One year when the children were small, we had our own little parade. Another year, I darn near had Youngest Son on the day, settling instead on the Ides of March, much more appropriate for my Shakespeare loving son.
It is a fun holiday that demands that we include all our friends into, the Irish and the Nons. We make believers of naysayers regarding Irish Soda Bread, Corned Beef and Cabbage and all things green. Quite a few converts have exited our door way.


This month, I will focus on the proper way to celebrate a grand Spring like holiday like St Paddy's and gear ya up for the rest of the Spring Ritual at the Cory's.

Find something green to decorate your door with.
This year my Electric Shamrock pooped out on me so I had to grab some English Green Satin to wrap around the frame.
Something tells me my impoverished, Irish famine survivors ancestors would be very proud of my thrifty ways......