A Tea Party

Pictures from my visit; Part Two

When I was in Florida, the girls gave me a little Birthday and Mother's Day tea party.  My birthday was in February, and Mother's Day was still to be a week off,  but to me this was the best of holidays, because I was with them, and so blessed by their beautiful party, gifts and precious moments; having these moments together, was the most treasured present of all, and some of my favorite memories.

 Marie made this beautiful Lady Baltimore cake.  Click here for the recipe from Marie's Blog

 It was a wonderful rainy day, and you can see the rain on the windows in the background; what a beautiful table and atmosphere.

 The little boys were ready with tucked in shirts and hair combed back.

 We always seem to love having orange slices with all of our tea parties.

 These beautiful hydrangeas flourish in Elizabeth's yard.

 Some lovely gifts.

 Candles added the perfect light on a rainy afternoon.

 Beautiful to look at and to eat, with orange filling, a glazed  frosting and coconut flakes all over the outside.  Click here for some of Elizabeth's posts on coconut.

 "I'm ready for a little slice of that pretty cake now Mama".

 "Me too"

"Have another orange before we start on the cake".

Treasures....

more treasures...

 I love his little face scrunches.

... and more treasures still...

What beautiful smiles...

"Oh I wonder when we will cut into that cake".

At last....

Slices for everyone...

 Little boys like tea parties as well as anyone.

What a beautiful day this was.  I love to look and look at these pictures, and drink in the sweet feelings and memories of this day all over again.  Thank you my sweet girls for giving me such precious moments.  I hold those moments right here in my heart....

....and thanks everyone, letting me share these moments with you.

Part Three is still to come.

A Monet Garden

Pictures from my visit: Part One

I am home again, and catching up.  I brought a cold home with me, which wasn't really the thing I wanted to bring to Steve and Eddie, but well what can I say, people are coughing all over the world, and especially on airplanes, so it is very difficult to get through so many flights without out that little bug getting ahold of a person.   After a couple of days recovery, and a little un-packing and re-order of the house,  I am feeling my "normal" come back.

I had such a nice visit; I don't think I will be getting over it any time soon;  Those moments with your grown children are so cherished especially when they are hard to come by... and the grandchildren... well, I will try not to be too emotional on my blog but what can I say... sniff, sniff.  I decided to post my trip in three parts, so that I don't inundate you with too many pictures at once.

Part One:

The Monet Pond

  Marie and Elizabeth and their families have had a wonderful opportunity to buy a property with some land and 2 houses.  It is like a little bit of Eden.   On it, they have a "Monet" Pond.  

At least, that's what I call it, because of the beautiful Water Lilies.

 The day we took these pictures, it was overcast, and really such a beautiful day, because it was cool, and felt so nice...

but alas.. the Water Lily blooms were closed.  I wish I had gotten them when they were open, because they were so beautiful.

 But these were blooming, and aren't they beautiful?

It all reminds me of  Monet Garden, and a Monet Pond.

I love the plants and flowers in Florida and North Carolina.

 Too Cute for words

I had to randomly snap as many pictures as possible,

  So as not to miss a thing.

 I could eat them up.

The 3 musketeers are double cousins.  Here's the story if you haven't read it yet. 

 They are almost like brothers.  Many people often think the 2 on the right are brothers and even twins... but they are cousins.  The two on the outside are the brothers.

 And here is  member of Elizabeth's family... this is a famous cat, his antics are known by many.  I have never met a cat quite like him.  His name is Bay.

 And this a member of Marie's family.  Her name  is Mocha... she reminds me of a Meerkat..

Don't ya think?

Goats and More...

And then there are the goats... 

 precious!

 Inspecting the Photographers equipment...

 Another Photographer...

Notice  Bay in the background.. determined not to be left out of the publicity.

 Such a sweet smile.

 "Hi I'm Stafford.  I am Bay's brother...notice the family resemblance".

 Stafford is the Chicken Guard.  He chases all the Hawks away that desire a tasty chicken dinner.

He is very good at his job.

No chicken flock is complete with out a wonderful rooster.  Love how he watches over his girls.

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 this coming week.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Mother's Day Chicken and Asparagus

Before I left on my trip, I got this post ready, but forgot to schedule it.  I just realized it was here and ready to go for Mother's Day, so I decided I would post it now.  This is a favorite recipe that I make every year when all the fresh Asparagus is available.  It is a perfect dish for Easter or Mother's Day, because it has an elegant, gourmet presentation and taste,  and yet it is very simple and easy to make.  The creamy sauce reminds me of a curry flavored hollandaise.   If I make it on a Sunday, I put the chicken and sauce together and bake it on  a low heat while we are at Church.  I make the rice ahead, only needing to warm it when I get home, and have the asparagus in the pan with a little water, ready to turn on.  Then it is just a snap to finish it off and serve it up.

Asparagus Chicken

Ingredients

1 Un-cooked Chicken cut up into pieces and skin removed;  or about 6 of your favorite pieces of chicken (bone in is fine); thighs or breasts or what ever you like....I love chicken thighs better than breast because they are moist, but of course they have more fat; so whatever you like.

1 large bunch of Fresh Asparagus

1/4 cup butter

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup mayonnaise

The juice of a 1 lemon (this is about 2 Tablespoons)

3/4 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

1.      Turn oven to 375 degrees ( or  if you are going to go off for a couple of hours and want to let it cook while you are gone, you can preheat to 375 degrees, let your chicken bake while you prepare the sauce, and then turn the oven down to 300 degrees when you put it back in to cook).

2.     Salt and pepper the chicken pieces and place in a casserole pan.  Put in oven to bake a little before you put the sauce over them.

3.     In a sauce pan, over medium heat, melt butter and add mushrooms;  Saute mushrooms until tender.

4.     Slowly add flour and stir, making a roux with butter and mushrooms.

5.     Slowly add milk, stirring constantly;  Cook gently until thickened. Remove from heat.

6.    Add Mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic powder, curry powder, salt and pepper and stir until well         mixed.

7.     Take chicken from oven. Spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.

8.     Return to oven and bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

9.     While the chicken is cooking, rinse Asparagus.  Break off the woody bottoms of the stems.

10.   Place the Asparagus in a sauce pan with water just partly covering the Asparagus. Bring to boil and steam about five to ten minutes (depending on how thick the stems are) or until the stems are tender, but not too soft.

11.     Cook rice according to instructions. 

12.    When chicken is done, I like to dish each plate up, that way I can serve it plated real pretty.  Here is how:  Spoon your rice. Take up 5 or 6 spears of Asparagus and lay over the rice. Place a chicken piece on top of that. With a spoon ladle up more sauce from your baking pan, and pour around chicken and over Asparagus and rice.  Serve with a salad and rolls.

Enjoy and Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

A Visit

I've been  away a little while,  and this is why:   I have been visiting my daughters and grandsons in Florida, and my son, daughter in law, grandsons and granddaughter in North Carolina.   I am filling up my heart here with them all and will return next week.  I have been meaning to do a post and have some wonderful pictures and updates, but can't manage to get it all ready for a blog post yet, so  I will do it a little later, when I get a minute free. The rose above is from Marie and Elizabeth's rose garden; isn't it lovely?   I will pop over to everyone's blog when I get a chance and see what you are all up to.  I hope you have a great week.