Notes from Abigail
A friend of mine in San Francisco is involved with this green company. Her name is Camilla Eriksson. She is a talented illustrator and graphic designer.
When you send the eCards for special occasions like birthdays, sponsors make donations to different nonprofit organizations. Its worth checking out and helping people if you like what you see.
When summer rolls around it is time for the best dessert ever! This dessert though simple and kind of primitive because usually one cooks it outside, is delicious. S’mores of course, is what I am talking about. S’mores is the perfect treat after a grilled dinner on charcoal. If anyone is like me and my family, the grilling season is our favorite and we always use charcoal. Charcoal provides a nice smoky flavor to the food. I prefer it on meat rather than vegetables but it all tastes good either way.
Another way that s’mores make the perfect dessert is when I am camping with friends. There is nothing like sitting around a roaring campfire holding marshmallow sticks in one hand and a cold drink in the other while stargazing. I am pretty sure this is my favorite atmosphere for enjoying a nice gooey s’more! For anyone feeling adventurous I highly recommend using chocolate grahams and peanut butter cups in place of the honey grahams and milk chocolate!
About a month ago I received a bridal shower invitation to a bridal shower I was hoping I would not have to attend. The reason for this is because my connection is to the groom not the bride. Therefore, my level of excitement is non- existent.
I contemplated just not attending and sending a gift card instead however; I would feel really guilty if I did this course of action. The second biggest
problem I have with attending this shower is that I am going to be surrounded by strangers and only a few people I am familiar with. I do not enjoy being placed in an environment that makes me uncomfortable unless it is necessary. This situation is unnecessary. For this one time I am going to just “buck
it up” and make the best of the party. I know it will make the bride happy and I would want some “stranger” to do this for me.
Mother’s Day this year was so special. For once in a number of years I had a ton of plans. I love having plans on the holidays even if they are not major ones.
This year I will be attending to family BBQs. I really enjoy BBQs as well, especially with the family. For both events I have volunteered to bring a dish. When it comes to cooking for a BBQ, my talents really emerge. One of them will have a potato salad while the other will have a fruit torte. The fruit torte is truly going to be a masterpiece. This is an expensive treat to make but it is worth it when all is said and done.
Before I leave for these gatherings I also have to be sure that my gifts to the mother’s are wrapped and ready. This year’s shopping was easy because I spotted the perfect gift for both of them a month in advance. In one of my many gift catalogs I discovered a fairy toad house that I absolutely fell in love with. I almost bought one for myself but decided that the expense of the two I was buying was expensive enough. These Moms are going to fall in love with them too. I can’t wait to see their faces when they open them. The look
should match the look when they taste my dishes as well!
Summertime is quickly approaching and I have been dreaming about investing in a pool. Water is very therapeutic and the thought of owning my own is becoming increasingly more difficult from year to year. All of the catalogs advertise pools and pool supplies. They make the pools look very appetizing. The price on pools over the last few years has come down quite a bit. I particularly have noticed the price on above ground pools has been reduced.
If I have to invest in a pool this year I do believe I will invest in an above ground pool. They can be just as relaxing and enjoyable for all who come over to my place to BBQ. Many of my friends have above ground pools. I can especially make the pool more appealing by landscaping the surrounding pool with flowers and a patio set. I am very excited over the possibility that I might be floating in a nice turquoise blue pool with a cool drink in my hand and the sun providing me with an excellent tan.
Recently, while flipping through the TV channels I found this really cool new show. It is called Chainsaw Ice Sculptors. They are some really talented people. This has to be one of the more dangerous hobbies to have.
The artists on this show are very detailed oriented and create some really elaborate sculptures. The sculpture they were
creating on this episode involved creating a horse and carriage with flowers frozen inside it. These artists do multiple weddings and functions. I imagine the price for these creations is scaled fairly high. The labor and skill involved is quite great and they earn every penny! I think it would be pretty neat to have one of these sculptures at one of my BBQs. I will have to see if there is a local artist who does this kind of work. The biggest worry will be the warm weather and the risk of having it melt too soon. Either way it would be the hit of the party for a while.
I received the cutest set of lamps and picture for Easter. As I have mentioned before, my kitchen and living room motif has a woodland theme going on. These lamps are the perfect for the living room because right now I have mismatching living room lamps.These lamps are in the shade of trees and each has three bears trying to climb up the tree in search of honey from a beehive. There is a pot of honey at the bottom waiting for any collection. The shade of the lamp is cool too. It is textured like tree bark and has a leather lacing across the top and bottom, very rustic looking. The picture looks like a painting. There are four bears looking across a body of water at a camp site that has a tent pitched with a campfire. It is nighttime so the moon is shining and the water just glows.
I hung the picture up and plugged the lamps in immediately. Now, at night when I watch my television I can enjoy all three of them. Those three little things set off a mood of relaxation and a true down- home feeling.
Some friends of mine are thinking of moving to the big state of Texas. Both of them are from the North but since the economy has declined, their jobs are in jeopardy of downsizing. They have recently been looking for different jobs all over the country. One of the most important areas to check out besides securing employment is securing a place to live. They have been concentrating on Dallas real estate. The husband is much more concerned about the available of Dallas homes for sale than his wife.
In my spare time I have helped them search as well for not only jobs but for Dallas homes for sale. They are some- what picky about what kind of home them want. the biggest attraction for them is having a large backyard and central air conditioning. I do not think that any home in the state of Texas comes without central air conditioning. That state can be so hot that it is nearly unbearable to anyone not used to it. My friends will definitely will have some adjusting to do because they are used to 20 below winters and 70 degree summers.
Yesterday, I had two sets of fuses trip in my house. I was very surprised! I have a brand new house and couldn’t have imagined that I could overload the circuit in two different areas of the house at two different times. One was totally unexplained but the other I guess was caused by the small little vacuum I was using. And when I say small vacuum, I really mean like a supped –up dust buster.
This has never happened before and I really was unsure of what to do. I decided to call up my better half and ask. He said I needed to go to the electrical box. I did and again to my surprise every room was neatly labeled in the box. How convenient I thought to myself. So I just flipped the switch back over to the “on” position and I was back in business. Later that evening when I came home to find the same thing had happened but in the kitchen, I knew just what to do! I repeated the same steps and it was like magic. I felt quite self- sufficient and figured a day is never wasted when you learn something new!
While shopping the other day I saw the new honey bunches of oats “raisin medley” cereal. I thought it was about time this company came out with a variety with raisins in it. I love raisins in my cereal. They are very healthy for you.
I decided to pick up a couple of boxes and give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised! The raisins were actually soft and mixed with the bunches it was delicious. The only complaint I have that not only this cereal but others has a s well is the fact that they tend to get soggy after five minutes of sitting in milk. Now, I don’t know about you but I hate a soggy rice or corn flake! If there was only some way to fix this problem. Less milk?