Sunday's Blessings

Pin It

 

 

 

this week I loved the .....

 

smell of :  fresh laundered sheets

 

sound of :  the weatherman calling for warmer weather

 

taste of : a fresh brewed cup of tea

 

sight of :  a clean house

 

feel of :  sunshine

 

 

this week I am thankful for .....

 

-  getting over the flu bug ..... it was NASTY!

 

- a no school day

 

- dedicated, caring veterinarians

 

Have a Blessed Sunday and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Sammy

Pin It

 

 

 

 

Yesterday Bob and I had to make the difficult decision of putting down our `thirteen year old Rottweiler Sampson.  Sammy experienced a seizure in the afternoon so we rushed him immediately to the vet.  After tests were done, it was determined that he was bleeding internally and had massive cancer throughout his body.

 

As the lethal injection was administered, Bob and I sat and murmured loving words with lots of hugs and kisses.  He passed peacefully.

 

He will be so missed.  Sammy didn't have a mean bone in his body and was loved by all who knew him. 

 

RIP

 

 

OUR DEAR SAMMY

 

WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU

 

 

 

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 





Oatmeal to Go!

Pin It

 

 

Okay, I have to admit ..... I HATE (notice how that is bold) cooked oatmeal.  I have a real problem with eating cooked oatmeal. I love oatmeal in cookies and bars but not just plain old cooked oatmeal. I can add blueberries, raisins, fruit, honey ..... whatever ..... I HATE cooked oatmeal!

 

 

So for my quest of eating healthier, I think oatmeal should be added to my diet.  It has so many beneficial health aspects, lower cholesterol for one!  I think we could all lower our cholesterol for better health.

 

                 

 

Since you all know my love with Pinterest, it should come to no surprise that I found a great recipe to include oatmeal into my daily diet AND it is in muffin form!!!  Yippee!!  The best part of this recipe is that it is gluten free and diabetic friendly.  The original recipe is from Sugar Free Mom.

 

             

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

1 mashed banana

6 packets of stevia or 1 1/2 teaspoon of stevia powder packets or 1/2 cup honey (personally I used organic honey)

5 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups milk (I used skim)

Optional toppings:  walnuts, sliced almonds, raisins, chocolate chips, blueberries, raspberries

 

                  

 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Mix vanilla extract, eggs, applesauce and banana and stevia (or honey).

3.  Add oats, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and mix well with wet ingredients.

4.  Pour in milk and combine.

5.  Spray 2 - 12 muffin tins or use muffin liners.  Pour muffin mix into liners and fill to 3/4 of the way.

6.  If using toppings, add them onto the muffins now.  If using fresh or frozen fruit, drop it right into the batter.

7.  Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.  Cool and enjoy or freeze them in gallon freezer bags.

Perfect.  Now this kind of oatmeal I can handle.  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!



Three Pin Thursday

Pin It

 

 

 

 

Good morning my friends and to my new followers!  I am so glad you joined me and I wish you the warmest of welcomes.

 

Thursdays are my Three Pin Thursday post from Pinterest.  My top three favorites for the week!

 

I am focusing on garden pins this week since I am beginning to think of spring and beginning to get excited with the thought of getting my hands dirty once again!

 

First up.  This is just amazing!  What a lawn ornament!!!  Made entirely from old shovels.

 

 dnewmanpaintings 

 

 

Next up, a great way to start your seedlings!  When ready to transplant, just pop the whole works right into the ground.  Clever!

 



 



 photo credit

 



 

And lastly, just because I think it is ADORABLE ...... what a cute addition to downspouts ..... and I would want mine yellow as well!

 

 



 A Green Thumb Landscape

 

 

There you have it.  My top three garden pins for the week.  Enjoy pinning and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 

Baking and Books

Pin It

As I have mentioned in other posts, I belong to the local library book club.  Our club meets each month and discuss a book that was pre-selected by one of the book club members.  Each of us are in charge of choosing a book and supplying the group with a tasty treat one month of the year.  This month was my turn.  

I had chose a historical non-fiction book entitled "Buddha in the Attic" written by Julie Otsuka.  It is a very easy read, historically accurate and an interesting read.

 

photo credit

 

Deciding on treats was the next challenge.  There happens to be between 12 and 14 members within the group at any given meeting. 

 

All of the members so far have brought store bought treats and seeing that I am a person who would rather do some home baking ( this way knowing the ingredients that are being added ) decided that I would get busy.  I think that bringing homemade goodies are becoming a lost art but are still so very much appreciated. 

 

                  

 

 

Still having quite a bit of pumpkin in the freezer, I whipped up a batch of pumpkin bars ..... I used this recipe and topped them with cream cheese frosting. 

 

 

Then I popped some drop sugar cookies in the oven.  Having a container of Betty Crocker peppermint frosting left over from Christmas shopping, I thought it would be a nice touch to the cookies. 

 

 

Then noticing some stray candy canes left over as well, I tossed them into the Ninja and crushed them to a coarse powder. 

 

 

Once the cookies were cooled and iced, I sprinkled the crushed candy canes on the icing ..... THAT sure got rave reviews!!! 

 

Not wanting only sweets on the table ( in case someone was unable to eat them ) I added a combination cheese and cracker tray.

 

We had a wonderful evening talking about the story, munching on goodies and planning for the next book over the course of a couple of hours. 

 

I look forward to these evenings and spending some time discussing one of my favorite pastimes ..... reading!  Do you belong to a book club?  What is it like?  I would love to hear about it .... and maybe pick up some ideas!

 

Happy reading and remember to give your loved ones a hug!