Good morning Folks ~ I hope some of you were able to enjoy the lunar eclipse last night. DH and I did, sitting in our cushioned lawn chairs covered in blankets. A great ending to DH's birthday celebration. It was wonderful to sit out there in the cold enjoying God's beautiful creation and a rare event. We are thankful for the opportunity and clear skies to enjoy this.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was working on an embroidered piece for DH's bday, which was yesterday. Now I know, some of you are going to say 'what? An embroidered piece for your husband?' Yes, and it even has a bit of lace and 4 heart beads. I started on this the 8th of this month, after looking through stacks of old pictures. I was about to give up when I found just what I wanted, a picture that showed the sweetness of our late old Blue Tick hound dog named Blubster, who we called Blub for short. We got him from a local animal shelter when he was just about 9 months old. He was a real laid back dog who wanted to be friends with everyone.
Once I found the picture I could hardly wait to get started on it. I took a picture of the photo, enlarged it in my computer, cropped it, etc. then traced the drawing onto the fabric. Now what? Artist's know how hard it can be to put that first bit of color to the background. I was freaked, because I wanted this to come out nice. I outlined Blub, then thought I'll start with his eyes because eyes are hard, and if I can get them done, the piece will come to life and that's exactly what happened. I was thrilled to say the least.
It is another miniature.
Click on pictures for a closer view.
I was going to keep track of time spent, as I do when I work on pieces, but this one slipped away from me and I didn't. I did work on it in probably 4-5 sittings, this past Sunday morning being the longest and most stressful, as I had to get this done, since the next day was DH's bday.
This was a real joy to do because Blub meant so much to us, but most especially to DH. I could hardly wait to give it to him, and did so after we had had some pre-dinner snacks with a glass or two of white wine. The snacks were multi-grain crackers spread with cream cheese and topped with anchovie strips and capers. I had made up a page of birthday wishes from bloggers and printed it out and he read them first before he opened his gift. He said 'Thank you Ladies'.
As he was unwrapping, he said he had an idea of what he was getting, not because he had seen me working on it or anything, but because he knew it was a needlework, and figured it had to be a pet, but which one, and thought it had to be Blub. (I'd already done a watercolor of our little Pup, many years ago.) I smiled at him and he proceeded to unwrap. He absolutely loved it. It is so Blub. He would sit like this with his head resting on the top of this rocking footstool that DH used and we happened to get a picture one time.
For birthday dinner, I fixed
Ported Mushroom Beef.
1 lb. beef top round steak
2 tbs. butter
1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms (or one small can of sliced mushrooms)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp. crushed marjoram leaves
3/4 c. Port
1/4 c. water
2 tsps. cornstarch
Cut beef into 1" cubes. Saute lightly in butter until browned. Push to one side of pan/ add mushrooms and brown lightly. Add all remaining ingredients except cornstarch. Stir to blend. Cover and simmer over low heat until beef is tender, about 1-2 hours. Remove cover, blend in cornstarch mixed with an additional tbs. of Port. Cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens. Serve over noodles, rice or mashed potatoes. Serves 4.
Recipe taken from the book: Wine and Wine Cooking by Anne M. Logan
DH loved this and thanked me more than once as we enjoyed the meal. It is delicious and we have left overs too. :-) I served it over mashed potatoes with buttered green peas.
For dessert, I fixed
Butterscotch Fantastic.
1/2 c. butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sifted powdered sugar
1 (8-oz.) ctn. frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
2 pkgs. (3 3/4 oz.) butterscotch instant pudding mix
3 c. milk
Combine first 3 ingredients, mixing well. Press flour mixture into a 13"x9"x2" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes; let cool completely. Combine cream cheese and sugar, beating until fluffy; fold in 2 c. whipped topping. Spread over crust. Combine pudding mix and milk; beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer. Spread over cream cheese layer. Spread remaining whipped topping over pudding layer. Chill thoroughly. Yield: 15 servings.
Note: This is definitely fantastic. It is from the cookbook Southern Living 1983 Annual Recipes. I have over 300 cookbooks and enjoy trying new recipes.
So, there was our birthday celebration and a happy one it was.
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Our lives are made up of many moments, and what we do with them is up to us. May we all live in each moment as fully and thankful as we possibly can, good or bad. There are lessons to be learned and joys that make our hearts soar.
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I don't want to get to the end of my life
and find that I lived just the length of it.
I want to have lived the width of it as well.
Diane Ackerman
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Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL
