What's Up, Doc?

(CARROT BREAD)

When you leave a bag of carrots on the counter instead of refrigerator overnight, you gotta use them up, fast!

I peeled (with some excellent help) and cut them all up & put them in the slow cooker for a couple hours. 

After cooling, I transferred them to the chopper & gave them a nice whirl.

(After utilizing what I needed for the immediate recipe, I measured out cupfuls of the purée and bagged and froze for future use.)

So - again, after tweaking & modifying existing recipes, I formulated one that satisfied my taste(s).

It baked & rose appropriately.

It cooled satisfactorily.

It sliced beautifully.

And, most importantly, it tasted "nummy" with a pleasing texture. 

A time for tears

You keep track of all my sorrows.

 You have collected all my tears in Your bottle.

 You have recorded each one in Your book.

Psalm 56:8 (NLT)

I collect vintage hankies. I love the look & the feel of heirloom fabrics. Sometimes I incorporate one or two into a project. And at times I give them away to others -- for their intended use...

Yesterday I gave away two. One for a special mommy, and one for the big sister of a tiny girl born asleep.

In my vocabulary there are no words of comfort for this tragedy. By the grace of God I've never been there personally. But I can hug... I can stitch...

And I can cry with them...

Goodnight, Lily Grace. We'll see you in the Morning.

things I'm loving...

I ♥ starting a new project

(can't show you the fabrics -- 'cause it's a gift for someone...)

I ♥ finding eggplants in my garden

I ♥ birthday gifts with which to grill my eggplant

I ♥ getting the front porch all patriotic

I ♥ the sunlight on our flag

I ♥ the improvement a little paint makes

I ♥ our house getting a new coat of paint

...been MANY years since the last paint...

I ♥ Paisley Jade & her

mmmmmmmaking mmmmmmmustard

Cranberry Mustard, to be exact. Found a recipe & thought I'd try it out for Father's Day gifts.

I went to Sprouts (because they had bulk foods on sale...) and bought some

 I put them in my jar with

 and

 Mixed them all up

They soaked for a couple days and looked like

 Tossed it in the chopper with a little salt & honey

 Had to try it on some ham

 It worked!

 Bottled that baby up & gave it away










Now I'm going to link up to

Love my Daddy!

He's an amazing man -- a one-armed farm boy turned preacher turned school administrator turned teacher turned principal turned substitute... A regular jack-of-all-trades along the way. There is nothing Daddy cannot do. (Well, since he's "retired", there are some things he chooses not to do.)

He's a mathematician extraordinaire, a hunter, a singer, a tinkerer, a fixer... He does a bit of wood-working in his spare time. Here are a few items from his portfolio:

I treasure the time I was able to spend with him assembling my college graduation gift: 

 There are no words to describe the precious oak cradle he crafted for Harrison:

My boys love their "Poppy" & wish they could spend more time camping with him:

Daddy has always been there to support me - rescue me when a car breaks down, bring my boys home from school... give me away on the most important night of my life:

(...goofing off at wedding rehearsal...)

I love you, Daddy! Thank you for being the most wonderful second-most-important man in my life.

things I'm loving:

WOW! It's been quite a week! Let's look back on it, shall we:

Last night we went to La Piazza for dinner. 

 Guy (Fieri) recommended it to us!

 We ordered two "Italian Stallion" pizzas, one Regina Margherita pizza (with buffalo mozzarella!) one Mediterranean pizza & the Chicken Pesto Lasagna. We ordered their baked spaghetti pie, but it was all gone.

2nd of the Italian Stallions (4 kinds of meat...) didn't stand a chance with Keith & the boys...

 I'm not even going to tell you about the desserts we ordered & devoured...

Wednesday evening we spent with the boys enjoying the breeze, the pool & the full moon.

 Sunday lunch was at the Fish Camp in Huntington Beach. fab.u.lous. (...then we had to drive home...)

Sunday morning we walked Sunset Beach and watch dolphins playing & fishing between the surfs. in.cred.i.ble.

Hubs practicing wicked black-belt moves waiting for the dolphins to return...

Saturday dinner was at Wahoo's! I can't go to the ocean & not have a chance at their fish tacos. I also snagged some fish taquitos along with delicious black beans. ahhhhh.sum.

How wonderful to be in the surf after checking into our room. So glad it was just a little over an hour's drive from Hesperia...

We attended the lovely wedding & delicious lunch Saturday afternoon. The bride was beautiful, the food was yummy...

Our room at the Courtyard by Marriott was quite nice!

The long drive Friday was a terrific time to spend alone with my love! Celebrating 19 years of marriage is a rare gift. Thank you, sweet husband, for treating me to the most fabulous of weekends!

I'm linking all this up to Paisley Jade's weekly gathering of thankfulness: