Beki's House

Today we visited Beki's new house. She has been living with us for almost a year and we've really enjoyed it. She has babysat so many times and been a sounding board for me many times too. I told her she is going to miss getting woken up by shrieks and gnashing of teeth. She can call and hear fits almost any time of day these days. (sigh)... but that's another post entirely. Her house is around 100 years old and it has a lot of character. Here are some favorite things about it in my opinion. So excited for you Beki! (she's my sister-in-law in case you don't know)

She has a lot of big and beautiful hasta plants.  Love them!

In her dining room she has these little candle lights in addition to a chandelier light.  I'm loving them!  They are so cute!

When I first saw this I said, "is that fat lady yours?" and Beki said, "it is now"... I guess the previous owners left her there.  Love her!  Now I want my own fat lady.

Look at these old timey light switches!

Love these windows!

and the built in "church pew"

This is not functional, but it's interesting.

What a beauty of a back yard she has. 

Music To Hear

My choir is singing this sonnet by Shakespeare and I especially like the last part I've put in bold print.  It speaks of how community or family together makes beautiful music.  I like the idea of Ben and I and the kids being individual strings that when strummed together make a beautiful chord.

Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?
Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.
Why lovest thou that which thou receivest not gladly,
Or else receivest with pleasure thine annoy?
If the true concord of well-tuned sounds,
By unions married, do offend thine ear,
They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.
Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering,
Resembling sire and child and happy mother
Who all in one, one pleasing note do sing: 
Whose speechless song, being many, seeming one,
Sings this to thee: 'thou single wilt prove none.'

Easter 2011

Today Mom and the kids and I went to a quilt show.  This was my favorite.  Lovely!

These are some pictures of our Easter weekend.  With five services that I sang at and an Easter egg hunt, whew... I'm tired.

It is impossible to get us in the right lighting and all looking at the camera at the same time... but here we are!

My dad and Gwen on Easter morning.  She thinks she must wear bracelets on her bicep no matter how many times I tell her otherwise.

Me and Zeke-a-boy. 

Me and my Gwen.  Yikes!  Is it just me or is she looking like a little kid??  She said she felt like Cinderella.  I think every little girl needs to feel like that sometimes.  I think this dress was once a flower girl dress... but she loves it.

Zeke hunting eggs.

Gwen hunting eggs.

We only had to wait in line for four hours for her to jump in here.  (kidding)

Ben's lizard face painting that a kid did.  I'm lovin' it!!  I told him it looks like a green panther.

Zeke and his daddy.

Rabbit Ladder

Gwen drew this yesterday... a rabbit going up a ladder.  :)  Happy Easter everyone!!  He is risen!

Sharing and Hoopla

This is Gwen sharing her ice cream with Zeke last night without being prompted.  SO SWEET!

and this is the arrangement I'm going to do (I think) with my hoops of fabric for my wall.

Real Easter Egg Hunt and Hoopla

 We had an Easter egg hunt yesterday at our house.  Mom brought a lot of candy filled plastic eggs and so we hid them and our neighbor's children came over to help find them.  It irks me that now a days kids just have eggs laying right in front of them and not hidden.  I get why they do it that way... but what ever happened to a true hunt?  Anyway... here are some pictures.

Something about my mom being here has brought on the starting of projects.  I keep going on the butterfly mobile thing at night and now I've started the wall hanging hoop thing. Do you like the bird fabric I chose?  I'm lovin' it!

These are all the different sized hoops I chose and the fabrics that go with them.  I think it will look really neat and just for everyone's info... it all cost $16 including the hoops. :)  (and I have a gift card from a diapers study I did!  Hurray for diaper studies!)

This is where it will go.  Right in my entry way.

Popovers and Butterflies

I started my butterfly mobile with the help of my mom.  We cut the butterflies out with a thing I borrowed from someone called a Cricut.  It's pretty incredible.

Here are the popovers we made last night in my popover pan.  They are like a waffle kind of.  Lots of fun to make with the kids I think.  You can make them in a muffin tin too, but they aren't so big.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it:

1 T butter
2 large eggs
1 C flour
1/2 t salt (less if salted butter)
1 1/4 C milk

Preheat oven to 450.  Grease pan.  Melt butter, set aside.  Wisk eggs gently.  Add flour, salt, milk and melted butter until just blended.  (will be lumpy)

Fill cups 2/3 to 3/4 full.  Bake 15 min and then reduce heat to 350 and bake 20 more minutes.  NO OPENING OVEN DOOR or they will fall.  Remove from oven and pearse on the side so they won't deflate.  Makes 6-10 popovers. :)

What Is This?

I got this from my Grandmother that just passed away.  Obviously it is some kind of cookware, but what is it?  My mom didn't know.  I'm thinking an early version of ramekins?  What do you think?

String O Rabbits

The other day we made a string of rabbits.  I don't quite know why, but lately I'm into strings of stuff.  So, Gwen and I painted them. 

I believe this falls under "I turned around for one second and this is what happens" category.

Gwen painting her rabbits

Some of the rabbits drying.

a dark photo of our string o rabbits.

I asked Gwen what to paint on one of them and she said without hesitation "a dinosaur" and I thought it was such a funny reply that I tried to draw one.  I showed it to her and she smiled and said "it's a T-Rex!"

Again

I will be singing this song for Ben's Grandparent's 60th anniversary celebration this summer.  I've been listening to it and the words "we'll have this moment forever, but never again" is haunting me.  So many memories I have cherished and so many to come.  Apparently, Georgia (Ben's Grandma) sang this at her graduation and introduced it by saying "I'm going to sing again" and people started laughing.  :)  Isn't Doris Day dreamy?

Check it out- baby eagles

I check in on these little buddies quite frequently.  I love them!

http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

Greek Chicken and Spinach Casserole

I made this last night and I personally thought it was fantastic!  I hope you do too.  I got it from my local paper.

Greek Chicken and Spinach Casserole

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 C sliced mushrooms (I skipped these cause I don't like em)
1 C frozen, chopped spinach (I used 1 10oz package)
1 C quick cooking brown rice, uncooked (I used some short grain brown rice I had already cooked and also some instant white rice I had and wanted to use) I put enough to equal 2 C cooked rice
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp pepper
chicken breasts, cut into cubes (I boiled it ahead of time with some bullion cubes)
1 C chicken stock (I added more)
1 T lemon juice
2 T reduced fat feta cheese (I added more)
slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray casserole dish with non stick spray.  put oil in skillet and heat on medium high heat and throw in your onions and garlic until they are wilty.  Put in your frozen spinach and turn it over and scrape it sometimes until it's thawed.  Pour that into your casserole dish.  Stir in rice and seasonings and cooked chicken.  Pour chicken stock over all of it until it looks not too too wet, but not dry.  Cover and bake 30 min.  Uncover and drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with feta and almonds.  Bake uncovered another 10 min.

What A Weekend

It has been one busy weekend!  We had a community garage sale this Friday and Saturday.  We had three households combined in my garage and so we had a lot of things to sell and keep up with not to mention the kids.  Even though it has been busy, it was full, full of good times and lots of sunshine which we are thankful for.  Here are many pictures for you to enjoy.

This is Gwen and Zeke taking a break together.  I think it's so cute how they sit together and drink like little buddies.

Today we went to Gwen's friend Clara's birthday party.  Here they are.

When they couldn't find the candles... this was how they solved that problem!  For someone who likes the unusual, it made my day.

After naps the kids put on their bathing suits and played washing the baby.

and swinging on the swing set.  Thank you Lord for neighbors with swing sets. :)

All this action is tiring me out!

Mid play drink

Mom, recognize that bathing suit?

We got out our slip n slide and even Ben decided to get in on the fun.

Jumping on the trampoline.

Zeke wasn't a huge fan of getting in the water. 

But something both kids were a big fan of was this barrel of cheese puffs my neighbors brought out.  We had to pry their little hands off of it to go home and get some real food in their bellies.  :)

My Current Favorite Song

* if on facebook you gotta go to my blog to see video:  www.benmere.blogspot.com

Stuff I'm Learning and Goals

Something I learned yesterday off of a package of Ravioli:  Originally called "rabioli" or "scraps" in Italian, ravioli was traditionally leftovers from previous meals wrapped between two sheets of pasta dough and served hot.

Also, randomly I got sent an Amish calendar from a Christian bookstore advertising their latest Amish fiction author.  The calendar has recipes and sayings and facts about the Amish.  Here are some Amish proverbs I found interesting:

We did not inherit this land from our fathers.  We are borrowing it from our children.

When you're making vegetable soup, you don't ask whether the peas or the carrots are more important.

True humility is neither thinking too highly of one's self, or thinking too little of one's self, but rather not thinking of one's self at all.

It is easy to be thankful for food when you know where it comes from.

Silence should not be broken unless improved upon.

and finally... some projects I've got on my mind that I'm going to do.  I get these ideas and I can't let them go until I do them.  This embroidery hoop art idea appeals to me because I think it would be fun to choose my own fabrics and shapes.  I'd like to put this in my entryway up high under the overlook at the top of the stairs.  It may not be this exact arrangement, but I like the concept.

This is the project I'm doing next though.  I saw this the other night when Ben and I went on a date.  We stopped by a store just to look- Pottery Barn Kids and I loved the idea.  They had the vent turned onto this thing and it looked like the butterflies were fluttering.  I've gotten all the supplies except the punch for the butterfly.  (still looking for someone that has one)  I'll keep you updated on this little project of mine. It will go in Gwen's room.