In youth from rock to rock I went,
From hill to hill in discontent
Of pleasure high and turbulent,
Most pleased when most uneasy;
But now my own delights I make, –
My thirst at every rill can slake,
And gladly Nature’s love partake
Of Thee, sweet Daisy! ….
~ William Wordsworth
To read the whole poem you can click here.
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy. These are the 4 Bagdanov Sisters. Not the best quality photo but it is full of emotion!
Dear and I are going to be helping cater a rehearsal dinner for 70 people so I decided to start experimenting with Pasta Salad.
The ingredients I chose this time are Farfalle pasta, persian cucumbers, grape tomatoes, fresh basil, red onion, Perlini (small little round fresh mozzarella balls, and Wish Bone Robusto Italian Dressing.
Here’s what the Perlini look like in their container. And here’s what they look like drained and ready to be mixed in with the rest of the chopped ingredients.
I boiled the Farfalle in generously salted water, then rinsed and cooled them off while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.
All the ingredients mixed together.
The salad in a pretty bowl.
We tried it last night for dinner and it’s a keeper. Anyone free tonight because there’s way too much for us to eat. That’s the problem with experiments…
Scroll on down for the Italian Wedding Cookie Recipe…
This is one of several recipes for Italian Wedding Cookies out there. We had these cookies recently at a shower and I decided to share the recipe for Wendy at Ivory Spring and anyone else who might like it.
Ingredients:
5 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup melted crisco
1/4 cup softened butter
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp. Anise
Mix together the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs and sugar together. Add the crisco, butter, milk and anise. Work into dry ingredients. Roll into 1/2 thick rolls. Cut to desired size and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 10 minutes. When cool you can ice them.
Icing:
3 Tblsp. melted butter
3 Cups powdered sugar
3 Tblsp. lite whipping cream or 1/2 and 1/2.
2 tsp. anise
Mix together and if you want to add food coloring to coordinate with your event now is the time. Ice the cookies…
Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see
Bluebirds
Singing a song
Nothing but bluebirds
All day long
Never saw the sun shining so bright
Never saw things going so right
Noticing the days hurrying by
When you’re in love, my how they fly
Blue days
All of them gone
Nothing but blue skies
From now on
“A dripping June keeps all in tune.”
“June damp and warm
Does the farmer no harm”
“St. Barnabas, mow your first grass.”
…the cloudless sky
JUNE
“A cloudless sky; a world of heather,
Purple of foxglove, yellow of broom;
We two among it, wading together;
Shaking out honey, treading perfume.
Crowds of bees are giddy with clover,
Crowds of grasshoppers skip at our feet,
Crowds of larks at their matins hang over,
Thanking the Lord for a life so sweet.”
~ Jean Ingelow
Now for my poetic license with these photos to go with this fun poem. Not the exact plants but some of the right color….
…a world of heather
…purple of foxglove
…yellow of broom
…crowds of bees are giddy with clover
…crowds of grasshoppers skip at our feet
…Thanking the Lord for a life so sweet!
Have a wonderful St. Barney Day and don’t forget to mow your lawn…
I have learned over the years to pamper myself when the time is right. I also can rationalize a dinner out any day of the week. So…because Dear has been in Seattle at a Pharmacy conference since Friday and I’ve been home alone, I decided to have a treat and go out to dinner on my last night alone. I started the eating out alone experience when I was out of town at sports tournaments, etc. I learned that it’s OK to eat out alone. The first couple times it was awkward but I’m “way over it”. I like to eat early so Happy Hours are ideal for me. You can eat at a nice restaurant instead of a Fast Food Joint!
Tonight I hopped into my car and drove a short distance to the Safire American Bistro in Camarillo. The bar has great tables for two for a single person to feel comfortable at. These tables were out of the main hub bub and not real conspicuous. They have what they think are deals on their happy hour menu. I’ve had better deals elsewhere but this was nice never-the-less. (Is that one word?) I ordered their Safire Salad which was wonderful at $5.00. I love that it had garbanzo beans (chickpeas) in the salad and Parmesan shavings. The tomatoes were grape tomatoes and not the scary salmonella tomatoes that are causing havoc across the US right now. Sheesh the $7.00 gourmet pizza was a medium size not a personal size so I brought 3/4 of it home. I suppose $7.00 for a medium gourmet pizza at a nice restaurant is a good Happy Hour price…
Ummm, I wasn’t going to mention it but since it’s in the photo collage the gin martini was $6.00. And since you are eating out alone, only have one drink please. 🙂 Now how do I rationalize this meal that cost me $23.00 with tip you ask, I generally tip 20%. I figure since Dear’s company is paying for all his meals the last 5 days we’re way ahead even though I splurged. Do you see my reasoning?
The pampering didn’t stop with dinner. When I got home I brewed myself a cup of tea and had a slice of Amish Friendship Bread that Willow sent home with me yesterday. Very yummy, Willow!
This is a new brand of tea I’m trying from St. Petersbourg, actually made in France. A Russian blend of China, Ceylon and India teas with natural scents of bergamot, lemon, lime, orange, mandarin, and flowers. (Earl Grey, citrus fruits and flowers). I love the little muslin tea bags.
Dear comes home tomorrow, yippee!
Because I love to see my kids I snatched this from Deena’s blog. I’m going right over there to her blog to confess right now. And while I’m in a snatching mood here they are at the Woodland Park Zoo.
I sure wish there was someone with me when I was taking this shot so I could have a face to go with one of these animals.
The Underwood Farms sell fresh fruit, produce and flowers at this roadside stand. They are also known for their U-pick Blueberries.
While at the Underwood Stand I looked down the road and noticed all these Utility Poles.
On the way home I passed this U.S. Post Office. All they seem to want to send me these days is a lot of USELESS mail and very few meaningful pieces of mail.
For more ABC’s head over to Mrs. Nesbitt.
For more Wordless click here.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 