Tuesday Folder: May 22, 2012

Still trying to catch up on blog posts!

MORE IN MY KITCHEN LATELY...

I'm really enjoying the island in my kitchen.   I have two drawers dedicated to all my baking stuff.   I can store all my baking sheets and pans neatly beneath, along with mixing bowls.   I have about twenty mixing bowls.   And honestly, at holidays, there comes a moment in time where they are all dirty, having been used that day!

PRETTY GIRLS & HANDSOME, FUNNY MASTER T

C gets stopped in stores all the time, as people ask her if she knows who Shirley Temple is since she looks just like her.   This is her new sailor outfit.   It's not going to do much for making the Shirley Temple references stop.   It's so funny that C is more tomboyish at play, but she prefers dresses.

 E is more regal (not just Mama-bias; that's the word people often use when describing her) and lady-like, but while she likes dresses, she prefers wearing jeans and pretty blouses.

Master T always has a smile on his face, it seems.   He is our resident comedian.   He's spoiled.   Rotten.   By his sister, mainly.   I walk in and hear C or T telling him, "You are just the CUTEST thing!"   He doesn't have to do much for himself with his two "little Mamas" around!   He's so affectionate and I can always count on him coming to me several times a day to say, "I love you SO much!" and giving me kisses and hugs.

That's a foldable hamper on his head.   It was part of his superhero costume.   

GARDENING--TEXAS STYLE

When we first moved here, I thought, "These people have no taste when it comes to their yards!"   I was accustomed to the lush beauty of south Louisiana yards.   Then, after a few summers, I realized how important rain and normal temperatures are to landscaping!   We also live in an area with strange soil that (skip this part if you're familiar with this rant of mine) will not allow southern classics like azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas, or gardenias to grow.

Over the years, I've tried to pay attention and learn what plants grow well here.



Texas plants (or at least Texas-friendly) in English garden colors, textures

When we moved in this house the landscaping was bland in design and over-grown from a lack of care.   This year, we pulled out shrubs and started planting.   Each year, we hope to add new plants and trees.   I miss trees.   I really miss trees.   Really, really, really miss trees.



Case in point: before--overgrown holly bush to the right of the porch column




Knock-out roses, esperanza, and plumbago replaced English boxwood



Mama's iron flower cart



With holly bush gone

PARK TIME

My friend, Stephanie, and I have tried to meet more often at the park, after school.   The kids love it and we get some nice time to visit together!   The kids and I are also trying to eat lunch at the park more often.



C on the "'tree swing"  --Why don't I take more pictures?!

BLUEBONNETS

It's a Texas tradition to take pictures in Texas Bluebonnets.   What a wonderful surprise to find a perfect patch for photos behind our house!   If you catch it just right, it appears the subject is in a field instead of a small patch in a neighborhood (I guess I could edit out the street lamp).

SOLD--Bittersweet

We finally sold our house.   We closed a little over a year after we closed on this house.   I am so happy that a sweet young family bought the house.   They loved it and were so excited to find it after looking for just the right situation for over two years.   That's how we felt when we bought it.   We were amazed that we could afford something so nice as our first home.   It would have hurt to see it just become an investment house rented to students, I have to admit.

 It was sad to walk through the final time.   I love this house.   It helps to know another family is making memories in our sweet house.   It also helps to know we only have to pay one mortgage, one utility bill, etc... It will also be the first time since 2005 that we have only one house to maintain and look after, since I've been responsible for taking care of my parents' homes before they passed away. 



Last Look:(   Many happy memories on this front porch, especially waiting for Daddy to come home from work.



Last play in the yard--in the rain:)

TEA FINDS

Here's my favorite hot tea right now:

When it comes to iced tea, I break a little with southern tradition (shhhh...).   I don't drink sweet tea.   I don't even really know how to make a good pitcher of sweet tea.   Janie, a friend of mine, told me she makes a simple syrup (sugar boiled down in water) for her guests so they can sweeten their tea without worrying about the sugar dissolving.    I was raised on unsweetened iced tea.   Everyone else in the family drank sweet tea; Mama always had two pitchers brewed.

I alternate between Community and Luzianne for iced tea.

I can make a good pitcher of unsweetened tea, though, and it just got better.   My friend, Leslie, told me about a person who made great tea by mixing a bag of Earl Grey tea in with the other bags.   I tried it and she was right.   I use two iced tea bags and one Earl Grey.   It's delicious.   For the kids, I also make iced tea where I mix flavored herbal tea bags in.   It gives sweetness without adding sugar.   We're looking forward to lots of sun tea this summer!