Outdoor Wednesday...house finch w/ a sweet tooth

Hello & welcome to another Outdoor Wednesday...hosted by one of the friendliest bloggers I know, Susan @ Southern Daydreamer. If you're a little shy & hesitant to join in one of the blog parties then Susan's is the perfect one for you to start out on. She has a wonderful knack of making people feel welcome & liked.

I haven't been to many blogging parties lately...mostly because they have all gotten so popular, w/ so many participants, that it's hard to visit everybody. So I am going to start limiting myself to no more than 2 parties a week.... hopefully I'll be able to get around to all of the players but it may take me a few days to do do. I'll skip around to each party & plan on doing each once a month, instead of weekly as I have in the past.


For today's post, I wanted to share an unusual visitor I recently had to my window hummingbird feeder...a male house finch! I've seen orioles @ hummingbird feeders but never a house finch, have y'all?

Checking to see if the coast is clear.

This pic shows that he wasn't just confused & hoping there was seed in this feeder...he drank from every portal he could reach & returned for more several times over teh next few days, then he never returned. ????

Maybe he needed a temporary sugar rush to keep us w/ his young'uns! ;o) House finches are probably my favorite birds (it's so hard to pick a definite favorite!)...they're beautiful, have a lovely song & a sweet temperament.

There are always lots of interesting posts in the Outdoor Wednesday parties...come w/ me to Susan's to see what everyone else is up to!

Foodie Friday...jeweled jello squares

Hello everybody & welcome to another Foodie Friday, hosted by Michael over @ Designs by Gollum. For today's post, I'd like to share a recipe I recently made for the grands...jeweled jello squares. If you like jello (who doesn't!) & sweetened condensed milk (I could eat that stuff w/ a spoon *blushes) then you'll like this dessert, even if you are not a kid. I found the recipe @ Gourmet Mom on the Go...she has a great blog w/ lots of wonderful ideas guaranteed to bring out the kid in you.

Jeweled Jello Squares

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Ing.-

4 small boxes of jello (different flavors & colors for best result)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

water

Directions-

Dissolve each box of jello separately into one cup of hot water. Pour into individual containers (small tupperware bowls work great) & chill overnight.

Ready a 9 by 13" pan & cut flavors of jello into small blocks. Mix together carefully in pan. In a separate bowl, dissolve gelatin packets in 1/4 cup of cold water. Add dissolved gelatin to 1 & 3/4 cup of hot water & condensed milk. Cool.

Pour cooled mixture over jello & chill overnight.

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Be sure & stop by @ Gollum's to see all the other food porn & bring an appetite!

3 or More Tuesday....bisque cherubs

Hi y'all! I know I've been neglecting my blog lately but frankly, my heart just hasn't been in it. The anniversary of my son's accident was this past week & it has been weighing heavy on my mind. I honestly don't know if I will ever enjoy the 4th of July again. Hubby & I were talking about how surreal it was last year. Clifton's accident was just the day before & there we were, sitting in that hospital waiting room, watching the TV & seeing the celebrations. It just felt so unreal! How could the world go on when our's had stopped? I was afraid that the feelings of "impending doom" would continue on through the summer, repeating my feelings of last year but I felt as if a weight has been lifted as soon as the 4th was past & I'm ready to shake off the lingering feelings of horror & take control of my emotions back.

For today's 3 or More post,hosted every Tuesday by the very talented Tam over @ The Gypsy's Corner, I'd like to share my collection of Lefton bisque cherubs. These are in my bedroom, paired w/ a collection of rose paintings, which I will share soon in another 3 or More post.

This one is my favorite...LOVE the expression on teh face! I have had this one for years & then came across a pair of them on eBay...I kept the single & gave the pair to my granddaughter, Caralyn, on her 1st birthday.

If you have a collection you'd like to share, link up to Tam's blog...it's always fun to visit & see what everyone else is sharing.

School's out for summer!

My first grandbaby has graduated from elementary school....I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday that I was at his kindergarten graduation & here he is in middle school already. Before I know what's happened, he'll be graduating from high school. *sniff sniff*

I attended his graduation party yesterday (I haven't missed many school parties over the years....my mother recently commented to me that my life hasn't changed much in 25 years...how LUCKY am I?) & was able to steal enough time w/ him to shoot this short video. He really was happy about it although you can't tell by his attitude in the video...he's trying to play it cool for his friends. ;o) But once school was out & we were in the car, he played the videos I took over & over again.





I haven't had much time for blogging lately. With 2 grands in baseball & their teams going into the play-offs, it's a busy time for us. But Caeden's team lost in the 2nd game of the tournament this week & Connor's last game is tomorrow (the championship game! keep your fingers crossed for him!!!) so I should have more time soon. The baseball games are fun & I get to spend lots of time w/ the family but it sure eats up everybody's free time.



Hope everyone is staying cool & is doing well!

It's Pink Saturday's birthday!

Today is Pink Saturday's one year birthday! Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound has graciously hosted this fun event, week after week...be sure & thank her for all her efforts.

For today's post, I wanted to share this shot of a song sparrow that visited my backyard last month. No, the bird's not pink (wouldn't that be too cool....my granddaughter Caralyn would be thrilled) but the rose in the foreground is. ;o)

I love song sparrows....the name implies that they have a lovely song & they do. If you'd like to hear one, go here . They're also fun to watch as they will run across the yard like a robin...they just look so comical.

Hope you are all enjoying Spring...summer & the heat it brings is just around the corner!

Time for tea!

For this, the second Tea Time Tuesday, hosted by Barb @ Grits & Galmour, I am revisiting a previous post. It was one of my first, over a year ago, so I don't think many have seen it but it was mine & Caralyn's very first tea party. We had another for her 3rd birthday (@ her request) but Clifton had just gotten out of teh hospital & I had my hands full w/ taking care of him. I could barely squeeze in time for the tea party so I was unable to get pictures.

Somebody on last week's Tea Time post, commented on how her & her grandmother used to have impromptu parties & it gently reminded me that we don't need a perfectly set table w/ lots of fancy food....we just need me & Caralyn sipping tea out of a pretty cup (got lots of those!) w/ maybe some vanilla wafers & strawberries. Anyway, this is my post from last March in it's entirety......

My granddaughter, Caralyn, & I had our very first tea party this past week. I cannot tell you how much fun it was. She was the perfect tea partner. I thought she might be a little young (she's 2 & 1/2) but boy was I wrong...she was born to dine on tea! I decorated the table w/ vintage hats, jewelry, gloves (we played dress-up after the tea) pink depression glass & the sweetest little ballerina. Vintage necklaces hung from the chandy w/ teacup ornaments & we used vintage hankies as napkins. On the menu was Egg Salad Sandwiches (cut into flower shapes), Roasted Red Pepper Soup w/ Orange Cream, gourmet marshmallows (store-bought), fresh strawberries, sliced cukes, cinnamon-apple tea (the only decaf I had) & mini-orange vanilla cupcakes (I just added zest, orange flavoring & vanilla to a white cake mix) w/ orange/cream cheese frosting. I would have made more goodies if it hadn't just been Caralyn & I but I didn't see the point in overloading a 2 year old w/ sugar.


click on any picture to enlarge for details
You can't really tell in this picture but Caralyn & her baby are wearing matching outfits. Don't they look adorable?


The gourmet marshmallows were too die for! We ate them all so I think I may make some homemade ones this next week for Easter.


I practically had to look all over town for sugar cubes! Jeez, this is Texas! Doesn't anyone feed them to their horses anymore?


Of course Caralyn's baby had to come to the party too...so I set her a place at the table! LOL


The Orange Vanilla Mini-Cupcakes w/ an orange flower water/cream cheese frosting ( I didn't want them to have an orange tone so I used flower water instead of zest) were pretty good but I thought they needed more flavor. Maybe some melted white chocolate added directly to the frosting. I didn't want to stress on this party....I wanted it to be all about fun so I garnished very simply w/ white chocolate shavings & picks left over from Valentine's.


Roasted Red Pepper soup.... this recipe calls for a splash of OJ & it really made the recipe. The soup paired very well w/ the egg salad sandwiches.




here's the recipe for the soup....

Roasted Red Pepper Soup w/ Orange Cream

1 tbp olive oil

2/3 cup chopped shallots

1 15 oz jar roasted red peppers, packed in water

1 tsp sugar (I used about double that)

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tbp whipping cream

tbp of grated orange zest

thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Saute shallots in oil for about 5 minutes, Add red peppers (w/ their liquid) & sugar & simmer for 2 minutes. Add broth & simmer for another 5 minutes. Puree the soup using either an immersion blender or in a countertop blender (allow to cool slightly if using a countertop model). Bring soup to a simmer again & add OJ, season w/ salt & pepper. Whisk whipping cream & zest until thickened. Ladle soup into bowls & drizzle w/ orange cream. Sprinkle w/ basil.

I'm embarrassed that my egg salad "flowers" are so sloppy! :o( I used gel food coloring to paint on the centers & even though I did it hours ahead of time, the bread didn't get soggy so that went well.And I discovered that Caralyn loves egg salad...although that may have been because she helped me fix it. Kids always like food better when they've had a hand in making it.

She's really getting into the process now! LOL

She so enjoyed her tea. I should have known she'd like the whole fou-fou'ness.

I see many, many more tea parties in our future! ;o)

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I hope you enjoyed seeing this old post....I knwo I sure enjoyed the memories! Now run over to Barb's to enjoy some tea & some wonderful porches.