Sunday, February 24, 2013

Honey, I Shrunk the Bloggers 2013



The yard is coming alive with blooms of buttercups, snow bells, and tulips! I thought today I would repeat one of my favorite posts from March 2010.


Remember that fun movie, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, starring Rick Moranis ?  It is about a scientist who shrinks his children to 1/4 inch and takes them out with the trash?  The rest of the movie is the journey of the children making it back across the back yard, with friendly ants, flying on a bumble bee and surviving giant rain drops! 
            

 That was a fun movie!

Please forgive my silliness today, but I started thinking about what it would be like to take a walk in the yard, but as a little person.  What about it?  Would you like to join me for my walk today?


Do you mind if we get ....shrunk?
Ok, it's done!

Let's start at the snow bell forest. 


















Wow!
Things look different
from this point of view.


.....Beautiful!








I've never even seen the periwinkle ground cover bloom.   And I feel like I could climb into one of these pale pink tulips and take a little nap.


In fact, I feel pretty good right now considering I've been shrunk.  How about you?  Here comes another tulip forest.





























Oh, No!

Here comes Natalie!

Go away kitty!




 Let's hide behind the yellow tulips!




































She can't find us!  Let's run back to the snow bell forest and grow up!



Run!














Run!














Back and ready to grow up!
Ok, it's done!







Thank you for putting up with my silliness today!  I'm always amazed at how different the world looks to little children.  Every once in a while I like to get down on my knees and look at the world ......and I'll
admit it is getting harder and harder to get back up!  Have a wonderful
day!

Love,
Lottie

Friday, February 15, 2013

Valentine's Day Flowers? Yes!

The day before Valentine's Day, my dear husband came home and told me he just couldn't do it!  He just couldn't buy flowers at the grocery store when there are so many beautiful flowers blooming in our yard!  I told him it was the thought that mattered and I would LOVE flowers out of the yard.  I watched out the windows as he meticulously gathered flowers.  Lots of flowers!



Then he arranged them in different vases (notice the buttercups) and lined them up on the hall table.




They were the best Valentine's Day flowers ever!

The only thing more romantic than fresh picked flowers for Valentine's Day is a man in his apron in the kitchen with a grin on his face.  And I know why he is grinning!  He knows he has melted my heart (again) with all the flowers ... and he didn't spend a dime!  

I'm smiling too because I know that my Valentine's Day flowers this year are ...  priceless! 

Hope you are having a great day today!
Thank you for stopping by!

Lottie "-)

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Companions During the Quiet Times

Last month I couldn't get outside for health reasons.  Now I find myself busy again working on a "to do" list and accomplishing goals. Busy, busy, busy!  I have to be honest.  I do miss some of my January companions!

Last month I watched the lovely little sparrows out my window for hours and hours!  I'm amazed at how interesting it is to watch birds.  They keep one eye on me and one on the bird seed.  Birds are much better to watch than television all day!
The feeder at the other window was fun to watch, too!  The cardinals looked like they were stuffed and getting ready for the ice storm.  It's funny how I miss the quiet and beauty of the birds.  I know the birds don't miss me.  "-)

Elizabeth, my cat, is who I miss the most!  She would sit on one rocking chair and I would sit on the other watching birds out the window for hours and hours together.  Maybe I should take some time and just stop and enjoy the birds with Elizabeth again.  I should take more time with my companions during the quiet times.  Maybe we should all slow down and just watch the birds.


Look!  There is another one!

Please take some time today in February
 and enjoy everything around you!
  Have a great day!

Lottie



Saturday, February 9, 2013

Double-Chocolate Brownies

What in the world am I doing a few days before Valentine's Day making brownies?  Well, I'm doing research. (wink"-)  I'm trying to find a brownie that tastes good, that is easy to make, and I can count carbs on a diabetes-friendly diet but doesn't use artificial sweetener. What I wanted was a brownie at about 100 calories and about 15 carbs so I could exchange it as a slice of bread every couple of days. 

I wanted a recipe I could make quickly and always have the ingredients on hand.  Then I could make a batch and freeze individual slices between wax paper for those times when you just want some chocolate!
These turned out pretty good!  They have a real chocolate taste but not a really sweet taste although the recipe calls for sugar.  I froze them and OMG! they were even better!  I'll post the recipe, but you can print it out for yourself.  click here.

Double-Chocolate Brownies


Nutritional Info (Per serving):  16 servings
Calories: 113, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 37mg, Dietary Fiber: 0g, Total Fat: 4g, Carbs: 17g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Protein: 1g
 

 

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins (It took me about 10 extra min.)

Ingredients

  • cooking spray
  • 1/4 cup(s) butter
  • 2/3 cup(s) sugar, granulated
  • 1/2 cup(s) water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup(s) flour, all-purpose
  • 1/4 cup(s) cocoa powder, unsweetened
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 cup(s) chocolate chips, semisweet miniature
  • 2 teaspoon sugar, powdered

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat the bottom of a 9x9x2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, being careful not to coat sides of pan.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter; remove from heat. Stir in granulated sugar, the water, and vanilla. Stir in flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder until combined. Stir in chocolate pieces. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Remove from pan. Cut into 16 bars. Sprinkle with the powdered sugar.

Note:  I didn't have chocolate chips but I did have half a Hersey bar hidden away so I chopped those up.
                                                                                                                                                                           
My whole family enjoyed these brownies!  This recipe is a keeper!  Hope you enjoy them, too!

Lottie

Linked to Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday


Saturday, February 2, 2013

Valentine's Day Chocolate Boxes (Empty)

Its funny how men and women see things differently when it comes to romance.

When I was seventeen, my boyfriend (now my husband) gave me a box of chocolates.  I was so happy and we ate two apiece.  The next weekend when he came for a date, he asked about the Valentine candy and I told him it was all gone.  After all, I had my parents and three brothers to share with and I didn't think I was supposed to not eat it unless he was there.  My boyfriend made a joke about buying a smaller box the next year and I was just thrilled that he suggested there would be another year!

I did appreciate the candy.  And I was left with an empty box that I thought I would treasure forever.  I turned the box over, wrote "1973" on it and put it in top of my closet.

  Its not about the candy, its about the box!

The next year we were married and it was wonderful!  Everyday we were on our honeymoon in our little mobile home.  We had lean times but big dreams for the future.  Again, my sweetie (now my husband) gave me a box of chocolates.  The box was just as big as the first one but we ate it all together, two pieces a day.  It lasted and lasted.  When the box was empty, I turned it over and wrote "1974" on the back.  I put it on the top of the closet with the "1973" box and all my wedding pictures.

"Love is knowing you will spend every day, of every week, of every month, of every season, of every year for the rest of your life with this person, and thinking, 
'This is exactly what I want."

The years went by.  We moved across country to new jobs and bought a little green painted house with a big attic.  I continued to save the Valentine Day chocolate boxes and mark the years on the back.  I packed them in brown paper bags and organized them far in the back of the attic.  The years turned to ten, fifteen, and then twenty.

 Then one day my sweetie (my dear husband) was looking for something in the attic and saw all the bags in the back of boxes.  He started looking in the bags and found all the empty chocolate boxes with dates written on them.

 Later that day when I came home from shopping, dear husband said he wanted to talk to me about something.  He pulled down the attic stairs and we went up and sat on the attic floor by the bags.  He gave me one of those "What in the world is this?" looks and pointed to the bags.  I explained how I loved him so much that I couldn't bear to throw away the boxes.


Then he gently explained to me that he loved me, too, and empty boxes didn't have anything to do with how he felt about me.   Then he became very serious and lectured me on how the boxes and bags were a "fire hazard", especially stored in the attic above the kitchen.  He asked me to clean out all the unnecessary paper and cardboard and clutter up in the attic as soon as possible.  And I did.  I carried every bag of empty Valentine's Day chocolate boxes to two metal trash cans at the curb.  And it felt good!

Love is just one of those things!  

My dear husband still buys Valentine's Day chocolates but he added real rose bushes to plant in the yard for a few years.  

One year he bought chocolates and a lawn chair!  LOL! 
It is all good!


Hope you have a great Valentine's Day! 
 And if you don't, always remember that it's all 50% off on Feb. 15th anyway! 

Thank you for visiting!  Hope you are having a great day! Linking with Pink Saturday
Lottie