Daffy-Down-Dilly

Daffy-Down-Dilly

Has come to town
With a yellow petticoat
And a pretty green gown
Daffy-Down-Dilly.

At least we thought that had finally happened when the weather turned suddenly warmer and all the daffodils started to bloom. It looked like we would have a lovely show. A friend told me this is because we have had lots of freezing weather this January and February and daffodils like this and that makes them suddenly bloom when the warm weather comes.

It has unfortunately only lasted 3 days as last night we had another freeze and now most of the lovely yellow blooms are lying flat on the ground again.I hope they stand up again when the weather gets warmer again tomorrow.

Poor Daffy down dillies.

I wondered where this name had come from and found out it is from the book “Little Daffydowndilly” by Nathaniel Hawthorne , known better for his book “The Scarlet Letter”.

Lola and Stella growing up

Lola and Stella growing up

Our grand dogs are growing up fast and when I saw their photo that Chrissy had taken I just knew I had to paint them again.

 This acrylic painting was from that photo taken when they were about 5-6months old. They have almost doubled in size since then as they are now over a year old.

Grandad made the frame for the painting and we  gave them  this painting as a gift in the hope it will remind them of their beautiful pups for years to come.

A Windy day in Texas

Who Has Seen the Wind?      

BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

As Mike and I drove down Highway 35 West , one of the major freeways in Texas today you certainly could feel the wind. We were heading down from Argyle to Fort Worth for a doctor's appointment.

The sun was shining , there were blue skies with grey/blue clouds forming to the west. The temperature even early at 10 am was warm for February almost 70 degrees in fact it was too warm.I suspected a change in the weather was imminent.

We didn't notice the wind until we reached the highway which goes through a very rolling prairie type area with little in the way of trees or large buildings to shield the highway. The wind was blowing really hard and it threw the cars almost into the next lane especially as you traveled over the high overpasses.

When we got to a high point that over looks the city of Fort worth in the distance you could see what the high winds were dragging in from West Texas. There were thick yellow grey clouds of sand and dust almost making the city disappear as in a fog.

Fortunately the windy fog cloud had dissipated by the time we came out of the doctor's office it was a clear bright day again Still windy though.

Such is the weather in Texas in February.

Cold , Ice, Wind, and blazing Sun. Take your pick . It changes every day.

But don't ask for Rain. It never comes.

Gratitude

Gratitude

we are very grateful for all our pets

As I sat down this evening to write my blog I checked my email first to see if there was anything I needed to answer.

One of my good friends had passed on a video to me called gratitude.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/gXDMoiEkyuQ

This comes from one of the well known TED lecture series and this a very special one.

The photos in the video are just amazing and well worth seeing but the commentary in it makes you really understand the many things that you can be grateful for as you go through each day.

Nature in all it's glory

It opens your eyes to so much we all take for granted.

We have so much to be grateful for.

I am very grateful that my friend passed on this video to me and now I am passing it on to you.

Switches

Switches

I could live in a house for 80 years and still get it wrong!!

I sometimes think the electricians that build houses put the switches in entirely the wrong order just to confuse.

Why can't the switch be the closest one to the thing you want turned on?

Why can't they be different colors?

Why can't I remember which switch is which switch?

My thought for today.

The Valentines Present that Nearly Wasn't!

The Valentines Present that nearly Wasn't!

So today for Valentines day . I told Mike I would make him one of his favorite pies. A Key Lime Pie.

I have made these very occasionally in the past and thought it would be no trouble. I searched through our library of cook books and found one good looking recipe in a Southern Living cookbook. I checked the ingredients and thought that I had them all and so this morning I set to.

First I had to make a pie shell and bake it. The recipe called for a graham cracker pie shell but I changed that to a regular short crust pastry shell as when I looked I didn't have any graham crackers. My pastry making has been so- so lately and I have tried out a few different recipes and felt certain this latest one would do fine . It looked good until I tried to roll the pastry out only to find it was extremely dry and kept breaking up and crumbling but somehow or other I managed to get in on the pie pan in almost the right shape and into the oven to cook.

While that was baking I assembled my other ingredients. I separated the eggs only with one mishap. One of the yolks dropped into the separated whites but I managed to fish it out with a spoon without breaking it. I mixed the sugar and got the lid off the condensed milk. As I took the top off the can I saw it was a yucky brown cinnamon color! Could that be right ? The last time I saw condensed milk it was a lovely light creamy color. I looked at the can but could see no mention of cinnamon or cocoa and also no sell- by- date. I did see that it had an Albertson’s label. I knew that we haven't shopped at Albertsons for about 6 years so probably this can was REALLY out of date. It was the only can I had.

OH big disaster!

Mike did offer to go to the store to get another can but that would take nearly an hour . So I said never mind I'll see what my other recipes say and see if I can fiddle the recipe. Fortunately I found another recipe in my old fashioned pie book which made the filling from scratch using cornstarch with limes and eggs. So very carefully I measured out the various ingredients . It was more complicated as the mixture has to be carefully mixed so it doesn't get lumpy or burn and the eggs don't become scrambled in the mix but it seemed to work okay. The limes didn't give much juice even though I squeezed and squeezed and the grated peel was not enough to make the filling green but apart from that it turned out surprisingly well. Even the meringue didn't shrink like it usually does.

We ate it for lunch and even for supper and both considered it a good Valentines pie but never true Key Lime pie

PS it was delicious.

Doggie Guests at our House

 Doggie Guests at our House

Chloe & Natalie

Natalie and Chloe have come to stay for a few days and these are guest dogs anyone would want to visit as they are absolutely NO trouble.

They are 2 very large sister golden retrievers who despite their size are very gentle, don't play roughly, don't jump up , do what they are told and only bark to let you know something unusual is happening.

They play with our dogs Mocha and Bud and in fact are good for our dogs as they are younger so that makes our 2 oldies join in the play a bit more and get more exercise.

They have been coming to our house since they were tiny pups so they don't worry about coming and fall into our routine quickly. You can see that by the way they stretch out on the carpet in front of the fireplace and watch TV or sleep like the rest of the family.

Mind you, they are also mighty pleased when their owners T & L come back to collect them to take them home.

Nothing is as good as your own bed!!

Looking backwards

Looking backwards  

Spring in 2013 was earlier than 2014

One of the interesting things you can do if you write a blog or a journal is to take time to look back.

We have had such a depressing winter and spring this year I thought I would look back at some of my last years blogs from February and see if what I remember is true.

From the pictures I took last Spring obviously the weather was much warmer and possibly wetter in 2013 as all kinds of things were starting to grow by this time in February.

My bulbs this year are just about poking out through the ground but the frequent below freezing temperatures we have had this year has obviously delayed things a little.

There is absolutely no sign of last years' lily bulbs starting or the trees popping their buds.

However looking back did remind me of the huge job we did in spreading the mulch mountain into pathways which surprisingly enough have lasted very well. Most are still covered by the heavy brown leaves of autumn which will be one on my first jobs to clear IF we get some really seasonable warm weather.

It must come soon.....

Jigsaw puzzle #4 The Fawn

Jigsaw puzzle  The Fawn

This very cold weather we are having, (20 degrees today with snow ) means that we are spending a lot of time inside. Mike isn't working in his workshop and I am not getting up to my studio to do painting.

It does mean that Mike is spending lots of time figuring out his latest puzzle. This one is a charming photo of a baby fawn surrounded by white trillium flowers .I think that's what they are. They grow in Ontario Canada

I can never see a fawn without remembering when my Granddaughter Chrissy was little and we were eating a very special lunch with Chrissy and her family. A friend had given us some venison from his latest hunting expedition. It was brought to the table and as we were just going to eat it we were all discussing this different kind of meat. Then a little tearful voice said, “

But that a baby deer isn't it? I can't eat that!! And then she kept on about the poor dear until none of us felt much like eating it either

It's been a standard joke in the family since then.

Don't tell Chrissy what the meat is !!

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The title and the picture on the cover of this book will give you an idea of the subject matter in this book. Yes, it's about Formula 1 Racing and dogs. But it's a lot more than that. It tells the story of the complexities of a family and a career in car racing through the eyes of the owner's dog, Enzo.

It is extremely well written and easy to read. It has a good , interesting and believable story line and will certainly make you think every time you look at your dog, “Just what is he thinking”.

I loved the concept that Enzo has learned a lot of life by watching television and is convinced that he is learning so much because after he dies he is coming back as a man. What a nice thought!

You also know that Enzo has learned a great deal about car racing as well by following the ups and downs of the life of his owner, Denny. I know I began to understand why all the men in my family are all 'Car nuts” without exception just by reading this story.

The author of the book Garth Stein obviously has been around the race tracks and knows his 'stuff' as he writes very convincingly to explain the thrill and anticipation of driving at speed on the track and the complexities of sponsorship as well as the need for being a great, skillful driver.

For the people who don't appreciate car racing you will still like this book as it deals with the relationship within this young family and the problems they have to work through all told by their loyal and faithful dog.

It will make you smile and also cry.

Get this one to read, You will like it!!

Checking out Old Photos

Old Photos

The Pond in Watford

I find a great satisfaction and curiosity when I looking at old photos.  Many are so interesting and give a backwards glance into times long gone. There are many that that you can look at and just can't believe a person or place has changed so much.

We have a lovely book , called “The Book of Watford” by JB Nunn, that was given to us a long while ago and tells the story through photos and actual written excerpts about the development of the town where both Mike and I spent our younger lives so it has a very special interest for us.

We remember certain places but when we look at this book we can see actual photos of how the place looked before the time we lived there and how it developed. I am also sure if we went now and took photos the places would have changed again.

War time in Watford

These days it is sometimes hard to believe if all photos we see are completely true as so much can be changed by using techniques on the computer but I know when I look at my old book I know that these were the untouched photos.

So I was very happy when I found a very interesting page on the internet called

Retronaut ( www.Retronaut.com). This is a page that collects old photos in capsules of time and subject and are compiled in a way just like my old book of Watford. Check it out  if you want to see very odd. unique and original photos  if you are interested in the past.