Monday. Rain. Chilly Temps.

After the past week has been looking at 70's and 80's and lots of sunshine, we get this. April is one fickle month.  What do you do with a day like this? 

 You can stop by a little flea market that just opened on your way home from the chiropractor. Aren't these gorgeous ?  And the vase !!  All for under 10 dollars, which I thought would have been a good price for the glass vase itself, considering.

Not a good view of the vase there....here:

Isn't it beautiful ??

  And then there was the lilac candle with a stained glass lampshade on it. I love lilac candles and have a hard time finding them anywhere, so when I find one, I always buy it.

 And some baskets...

  The top long one is a bread basket with a muslin liner embroidered with little vegetables.  The bottom one is a small bushel basket with a heavy wood lid with handles. Lined with blue gingham. A picnic basket, really.

  This one is just a run of the mill basket stained a faint mauve color. I thought it would be great to line with plastic and plant some flowers in for the little table on the porch.

  The baskets were 2.00, 8.00, and 3.00 dollars respectively.  
 I also bought a small golden square shaped vase about 8 inches tall for 2.95.

  And then ...a very small platter  Maybe 7-8 inches long, for 1.95  I couldn't pass it up--perfect for a small plate of cookies.

 Not too bad for spending around 40 dollars, I didn't think.  He was an adorable young man named Jerod who opened this place with his mother. They have lots of beautiful things in there, and I will definitely be a return customer !!  They're called Round 2 Relics, and they rock!

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   Then it was home. We are having a potluck at La Vista tonight for our discussion group ending (we always do this--great way to end a segment!!).  I have some leftover Carrot Ginger Soup from the workshop on Saturday, so I am taking that as my contribution.  Perfect rainy night food, a luscious carrot soup, zinged up with a little ginger and cinnamon.  I also just cooked a batch of basmati rice in my rice cooker and have made a rice pudding, with coconut milk, coconut chips, vanilla, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, a little butter, a little sugar and a splash of heavy whipping cream.  I don't think I'm going to put any cinnamon in it either like I usually do, because it tastes just right the way it is.  Yum.  Not TOO sweet, not TOO rich...a nice clean satisfying dessert. 

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  Feels like nap time. I was on the run this past week a bit...catching up on things, doing things...you know. On Wednesday I went to the hospital to sit with a friend who was later released home to Hospice care. Losing his battle with cancer at the ripe young age of 46.  Thursday I did stay home and putter.  Friday, went to a friends 10th anniversary in AA and then after the meeting a bunch of us went to pizza.  Earlier that afternoon, I made the Carrot Ginger Soup and a big pot of vegetable stock to use  (in that soup) as well as the other 2 soups I was making.  Saturday I went to the meeting I usually attend, my friend followed me back here for lunch, since I had made a big pot of Quinoa Chickpea Soup earlier that morning. That left me with just one more pot of soup to make, and I figured I could do that while we ate and visited.  Urp.  I was almost late  (not for the whole workshop, but for the time I said I be there). But, as always, in the end it was all okay. lol

  The workshop was a rousing success, we had a great time, and all was well with my world.  


  Sunday I made a raspberry pie for my friend who was asking for one (and apparently no one in our circle of friends can bake a pie, lol). Found some fresh organic raspberries on sale and whipped up this bad boy:

 Dropped it off on Sunday afternoon after going to a shop owned by my friends friends, lol., to look at what they thought was an industrial canner (not quite) . I was excited, thinking it was going to be one of those 2 burner rectangle shaped canners that holds like 16 quart jars at a tie (not close).  On the way home after all THAT, we drove on the backroads  and passed a farm where there were 2 cows out of the fence. Not quite in the road yet, but def on their way. I made a U-turn and went back to the farmhouse to tell the farmer (who was watching the ballgame). He came flying out with his boots on, jumped on his Gator and we drove down the road and stopped where they were. The Irishman got out of the car and I stayed and watched. lol  The farmer opened the big gate and the 40-50 head of cattle still INSIDE the fence all came running. While he chased them all back up the hill, the Irishman was waving his arms around and stamping his feet to stop the other two from their journey farther away from the gate. LOL  Eventually all cows were where they were supposed to be, and we helped him tack up the piece of fence where they had gotten through.

  And now it's Monday, and I've seen the chiropractor and bought some pretties and come back home. I've finished the rice pudding, started the soup to heating, had an almost hour long phone conversation with a friend who's having some family problems.  5 PM and I didn't get a nap in. Oh well...tomorrow's another day, and I don't have to leave Honeysuckle Hill at all if I don't want to. 

 BTW--the honeysuckle is coming back and greening up !!!  Trees are leafing out some and as soon as this cold spell is over--I'm gardening !!!!!





Namaste.