Try This Book

             Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry, a book recommended by another blogger I sometimes follow is well worth the time it takes to read this small volume. I was not familiar with Berry's writings which also include That Distant Land and Jayber Crow, but I'm looking forward to reading others. It's a simple story of a woman's love, sadness, grief, and perserverance  in a world turned upside down by World War II and beyond. Berry is very adept at hitting the bullseye of emotion with the lives of ordinary men and women. He weaves this tale through Hannah's memories. I highly recommend it.

Fresh and Easy Dinner

The beautiful weather on Friday prompted me to quit the sewing room and get outside for the afternoon. Our yard was in sore need of beautification and I worked mowing grass and cleaning flower beds until it was too dark to see. Needless to say, I was worn completely out and still had supper to fix. Our asparagus bed has begun to yield (after planting it two years ago) so that was the only start to some semblance of supper. A recipe I gathered from a electric coop magazine last summer beckoned as a quick and easy remedy for our hunger. I have relied on this dish a couple of other times and it has become a go-to recipe in my notebook.


I tweak it to fit whatever fresh ingredients I have. Here's the tweaked version I used this time. I have also used browned Italian sausage in place of the shrimp.
The fresh asparagus and tomatoes made it look so pretty that I wanted to share it with you.

Chef's C's Healthy Tomato Basil Pasta
1 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c.. chopped onion
4 c. fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 T. fresh basil, chopped or 1 T. dried
1 T. fresh parsley, chopped or 2 t. dried
 l t. sugar
1/4 t. each salt and pepper
3/4- 1 lb. shrimp
1/2 lb. or more of asparagus, cut in 1 1/2  inch pieces
4 oz. dry Barilla Plus Angel Hair pasta, or any angel hair pasta

On medium-high heat, add oil to saute pan. Add garlic and onion and cook until translucent,
approximately 2 minutes. Add asparagus and tomatoes and cook uncovered about 7 minutes.
Add shrimp, spices and sugar and cook until shrimp is pink.
Boil pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain. Serve the sauce over pasta.

Sunroom Redo



The colors aren't as true as they should be because of the late afternoon sun.

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Elaine and I just wrapped up an interior redo for our client's sunroom. Choosing paint color for her brick, beautiful fabrics for windows and upholstery, rug, and accessories took time and effort. But it was, oh so fun, to see it all come together. She was thrilled with the results.

Here's the before.

Good News Club

A Good News Club meets at every elementary school in Laurens School District 56 and I help with the club at Clinton Elementary. We meet every Tuesday afternoon right after school hours. Good News Club is a program developed by Child Evangelism Fellowship and it depends on volunteers from area churches to implement it. Many of the children who come to club are not affiliated with any church. The program uses songs, games, and Bible stories to introduce the children to Jesus Christ. The adults build relationships with these little ones throughout the school year and, hopefully, plant seeds of truth in their lives. I count it a privilege to be a part. And as a group, we are so thankful to God that our school district allows us to use their factilities to host this club. The administration at the school level and the district level make it easy for us. There's only one more meeting this semester. I'll miss it.

You've Got Skills!

It's always a joy to bring Hamilton home with me for a few days and I'm constantly amazed at how he changes from time to time. At 20 months old he's exhibiting all kinds of new skills and he feels quite proud of himself for his accomplishments. While visiting with the Morgans on Thursday, he showed me how well he can put together multiple piece puzzles--I'm talking two to four piece large puzzles not the thousand piece variety. (He's brilliant, of course, but not quite that advanced. He gives himself a hand when the pieces fit in.

He's also a book lover and stops, every now and then, to look at a book or have you read one to him. Right now The Little Engine That Could and The Cat in the Hat are his two favorites.

Can you tell we think he's just the cutest thing ever!

Kitchen Appliance Magic

Shortly after Christmas I bought this present for myself. I have never owned a toaster oven until now and I didn't get it primarily for toast as our four slice pop-up was still working. I wanted it for baking and broiling on a small scale. I struggled with this decision for months, researched different models online and looked at them in several stores. I couldn't decide if I wanted the thing to take up counter space in the kitchen and I certainly didn't have room to store it away. I also knew that I'd be giving up my pop-up toaster for its space. I stopped the contemplating when I was in Wal-Mart one day and found this white Black and Decker model that wasn't too big or too small, but just right, as Goldilocks would say. I've loved it ever since and with just the two of us, I hardly heat my big oven. I've baked biscuits, broiled fish, cooked cornbread in a skillet, baked white and sweet potatoes, made pecan pie and tons of toast. Dale calls it my "easy bake oven." I'm probably the only one of my group of friends who would get so fired up about a new kitchen appliance.