A Great Movie!

A friend and I went to see the movie, The Lucky One, today and it was such a sweet love story!  The story is based on Nicholas Sparks' book by the same name.  Of course, I loved all the dogs in it and especially feel in love with the gorgeous German Shepherd.

I'm taking Miss Arabelle for her second grooming appointment tomorrow.  Hopefully, I won't be as nervous and emotional about leaving her this time.    My girls are grown and I've filled my nest with fur children!  They bring me lots of joy but they keep me busy. 

 

Arabelle the fluff!

The Nest is Empty!

Friday morning there were only two out of five little birds left in the nest on my door.  By the end of the day they were all gone.  We actually saw the last little guy fly out of the nest and up to the top of the big holly tree in my front yard.   My granddaughter and I  heard lots of chirping just before dark tonight and  we are pretty sure it was whole family in an oak tree near my porch.  It looked like they were all practicing their flying maneuvers!

I'm late getting started this year but today I started buying annuals for my front porch and deck.  We had a serious infestation of inch worms earlier this spring and they have destroyed my hens and chickens on my corgi topiary.  This is my favorite time of year!  I love shopping in the garden departments and seeing what new plants are available this year.



Good Morning from The Nest!

I think my little feathered friends will be leaving the nest soon.  I'll really miss them!  My whole family has enjoyed watching them grow!

This past weekend was quite busy at my house.  Sunday I went out of town to visit my brother-in-law who is in the hospital and not doing very well.  It was nice to spend time with family.

I also worked on some sewing projects.   In May I'm going to be a vendor at a show in Manteo, NC, and I'm preparing for that.  I'll share pictures later in the week.

Birds Update

The baby birds are outgrowing their nest.  It doesn't look like they have room to move!  It's amazing how you can clearly see their feathers.

They are House Finches.  The father has some red feathers as you can see from the picture below.  The mom is speckled brown.  The male was on my  porch this morning singing to the little ones and and he is very loud!



Strawberries!

Today a dear friend  brought me  this pan of fresh picked strawberries.  They are so sweet and delicious!  I hope to get the other ingredients and try this recipe in the next few days.

Strawberry Mousse Sugar Cookie Cups

makes approx 30 cookie cups

Ingredients

• 4 oz cream cheese, room temp
• 1 cup Cool Whip, thawed
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup chopped strawberries, plus more for garnish *optional
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 (16.5 oz) tube sugar cookie dough

Directions:

1. With your electric mixer beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth, about 30 seconds. Carefully stir in your Cool Whip. When combined fold in your chopped strawberries.
2. Place bowl in refrigerator to chill for 2 hours.
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 ° and spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Place 1 1/2 teaspoons of cookie dough into each muffin tin.
4. Bake for 8 minutes until they are just starting to golden.
5. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle 4-5 white chocolate chips in each cup. The heat from the cookies will melt them. As soon as the chips are soft spread carefully in the bottom of the cookie cup.
6. Release the cookies from the muffin tin by loosening with a knife. Let cool on a wire rack until ready to fill.
7. When ready to fill the cups, use either a spoon or a piping bag (or ziplock) and fill each with about one teaspoon of mousse.
8. Garnish with a strawberry slice, if desired.

Notes

Store in refrigerator after assembled or until ready to eat. Recipe adapted from Joy's Hope

I had to share this picture with you  of my granddaughter several years ago.  She's almost 13 now.  Isn't this the sweetest little strawberry picker ever?

My Mom's Birthday

Had she lived, my mom would be 101 years old today.  She was a sweet, gentle lady who never drank, smoked or used bad language.  She read her Bible everyday and took me to our little country church every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. 

She had eight grandchildren and they adored her!  When my daughters were teens she loved to jump in the car with them and go out to eat or get yogurt.

She loved flowers and birds, especially hummingbirds.   No one ever came to our house without taking home a cutting from her "lace-cap" hydrangeas or a root from one of her annuals.

She passed when she was 88 and we all miss her!

They're Growing!

The baby birds are growing and changing every day!  My daughter takes a picture of them each morning so we can compare it to the day before.  My whole family has enjoyed this little family and I must admit, I'll be sad to have "an empty nest" for the second time.

I never remember picking strawberries in April but I did today.  A local berry farm advertised on their Facebook page this morning that they were ripe.   My friend and I picked a few quarts this afternoon and they are delicious!

Hope you've enjoyed your weekend!