Simple Beauty

Hydrangeas possess a simple and elegant beauty.  They are a very old fashioned plant known for their showy blossoms.  Their popularity has grown in recent years and there are many new varieties available.  They grow easily in most yards, preferring sun to partial shade.  They do not like extreme heat, so afternoon shade is preferable.   They like well drained soil with deep watering weekly, especially during dry weather.  Soil conditions affect the color.  The more blue the color of the bloom, the more acidic the soil and the more aluminum the soil contains.  The more pink the color, the more alkaline the soil.  Remember those litmus tests from science class?   It is easier to change a pink hydrangea to blue than the reverse.   The color of white hydrangeas cannot be changed.

The lovely hydrangeas in the picture above were cut from a bush on the northeast side of our house.  I noticed the blooms as we were driving past.  I didn't even realize it was there.   We have only lived here a few months.  The color is a really deep rose pink - quite lovely.  I don't think I have ever seen one this shade before.  I had to cut a few and bring them in to enjoy.  

When cutting hydrangeas, you don't want to cut too deeply into the stem as new buds are set there.  It is better to take just the blossom stem where it attaches to the "old wood."  Therefore, stems tend to be rather short.  Short vases make arranging much easier.  I used a short cylinder vase and put three simple blossoms in it.   Odd numbers are easier to arrange than even numbers.  They have been sitting on my coffee table for a week.  Simple beauty simply makes me smile.

Take a pitcher or bucket of water with you when you cut hydrangeas as they wilt very quickly.  When you come back into the house, boil water and pour it into a container.  Place each stem in the container for 30 seconds.  Remove the flowers and arrange in room temperature water.  This process keeps the stem from sealing over so that it cannot take up water.   Change the water in the arrangement every few days, taking a small piece off the stem when you change the water.  Use boiling water to treat the stem each time the water is changed to help maintain the blooms for a longer period of time.  

I can remember the beautiful hydrangea bushes at my great grandmother's house when I was a little girl.  They were creamy white blooms covering bushes about 6 feet tall. She called them snowballs and they were gorgeous.  They make beautiful table arrangements and wedding bouquets.  If you are having a spring or summer wedding and have access to hydrangea bushes, you can make your own bouquets and centerpieces.  Because they are so "showy", arrangements do not have to be complicated.   Simple can be so elegant and beautiful.

Hydrangeas left on the bushes will dry naturally and can be cut in the fall and used for dried table arrangements or wreaths.  One of the most beautiful Christmas trees I ever saw was done by a dear friend of mine.  We worked together in a flower shop and had been friends for years.  He took  dried hydrangeas and used Design Master Floral Spray in gold and tipped dried hydrangeas and tied them together in bundles and scattered them in his tree and on his mantle among Christmas greens.  The effect was stunning!  

When our oldest daughter was married in York Harbor, Maine, I did the centerpieces for her reception with mixed fall flowers that I had ordered and beach hydrangeas that we cut from shrubs around her "In-Loves" home on the ocean front.  They were so very beautiful.  Beach hydrangeas are sort of cone shaped, cream on the bottom variegating to a mauve color on the top.  I dried many of them and kept them in a basket for years.  

Don't forget to use the bounty that nature provides out of doors in your home during the summer.  Fresh flowers add so much texture and color to our daily lives.  It is simple beauty worth enjoying every day that you can.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” — Buddha

A Tribute To My Children's Father

“To produce things and to rear them, To produce, but not to take possession of them, To act, but not to rely on one's own ability, To lead them, but not to master them - This is called profound and secret virtue.” 
-Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu 

Our two daughters and two sons call him Dad.  Our five grandsons call him Pawpaw.  I call him Dan, the love of my life.  We met after Sunday night service when I was 15 and he was 17.  Love at first sight?   I would say certainly.  We dated for 5 years and will be married 42 years this July.  There have been ups and downs, ins and outs, but his unwavering love and  patience have fueled this family for all these years.

Dan taught middle school history for 38 years with the same patience and understanding that he used to raise his family.  He left the house most days without any money in his wallet, driving an old car that I wouldn't have left the driveway in.  His faith and hope got him 15 miles there and 15 miles back every day.  There were a few road dilemmas through the years and the students all made fun of his ride.  Did it bother him?  Not one whit.

As for his own children, he welcomed each one with tears in his eyes and love in his unwavering heart.  His sacrifice was total, his support and encouragement beyond measure.  He taught by example, sharing all that he had without question.  There were bike rides and trips to the ice cream stand. We had some crazy vacations.   He sat through every performance and ball game with nothing but pride in his loving father's eyes.  He built sets for plays and umpired ball games when needed.  He did laundry, washed dishes, gave baths and put them to bed because I worked too and couldn't do it all.   Who could ask for more?  He gave up his own wants for us all.  

When there were hurts and broken hearts, he supported and sustained.  When there was sickness, he worried and walked the floor with them.  When there were questions, he tried to answer.  When one daughter and one son wanted to leave New York after 9/11, he rented a van on two different occasions and drove up the first time on Thanksgiving weekend, helped load the van and drove back.  Then, he made the trip again Superbowl Weekend, driving straight through, loaded the van and headed home.  Then, we helped move them to Nashville.  If they need anything, he is there - no questions asked.  

I owned my own costume business for many years.  When our oldest daughter had her second son, he went to New York and helped with her first son while she was in the hospital because I was in Halloween season and could not leave.  I vowed that situation would never happen again, but his big daddy's heart took time off from school and made the trip to help his daughter.  

His lifetime love of music spilled over to our children.  They all have beautiful voices and the two boys play guitar like their dad.  Because we always lived on a pretty tight budget, weekend entertainment was oftentimes family singing jams while dad played his guitar.  Our youngest son and his dad have been working on recording some of their music and it makes him so happy to get to have this experience.  (It sounds really, really good!)  Maybe you will hear some of it on the radio one of these days.  We all still love to get together and sing any time we can.

Our children are all creative and Dad has encouraged each of them to follow their dreams whatever they may be. When most parents were having a heart attack about their children wanting to be performers, actors or artists, this dad always said go for it.  What lucky children.  

As for the five grandsons, Pawpaw is always there.  We have made many trips to New York, Dallas, Nashville and Chicago to spend time with these precious little boys.  There is no one more proud than Pawpaw.  He plays, teases, sings, and teaches - again by example.  These boys are the jewels in his crown and he would do anything for each and every one of them.  His favorite time of the day?  Sharing ice cream or a root beer float with them.  Nothing could be better as far as he is concerned.

Life has not always been easy, but he has supported me in all that I have done.  He has always done the same for his children.  He lives an example of love, patience, understanding, gratitude, sharing and wisdom - always.  Dan posses a profound and secret virtue.  He has never tried to master or posses and he truly has given his children wings to soar.

Happy Father's Day.  We love you.  

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.  Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.  Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.  Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.  Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.  But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.  ~Buddha

Creative Storage 101

After 41 years of marriage, 24 of them spent in our last home, we moved to a different town and downsized.....considerably.  We have a lot less cabinet and storage space in this house so I had to think creatively about ways to store items we use on a daily basis.  Things like bath towels, tea towels and dish cloths -  necessary items unless you don't bathe or wash dishes.  

Years ago I saw someone on a talk show demonstrate how to pack a suitcase in the most efficient way.  He rolled the t-shirts, underwear and socks that he placed in the suitcase and it saved considerable space enabling him to pack many more items.  We have been doing that for years with clothing items we put in drawers.  Why wouldn't that work for our bath towels and tea towels?  So, I gave it a try and it is one of the smartest things I have ever done.  

Our kitchen has much less cabinet space than our former kitchen and I lost our big double pantry.  I have had to do Creative Storage 101.  There are not many drawers for me to store my tea towels, dish cloths and potholders in.  What to do, what to do?  My first thought was to get a small kitchen island for extra storage.  Our kitchen is a galley type design and there was not a lot of room for anything big.  The search was on.   

I was talking with my best buddy Don from back home explaining my dilemma.  Well, he is a super shopper extraordinaire and he was on the hunt.  Low and behold, he called me in just a few hours and said he had seen something at Target that might work and it was brand new.    I thanked him profusely and I was on my way.   There are serendipitous moments in life and this was one of them.  The cart he had told me about was perfect and it was only $29.00!  We made our purchase and hurried home.  Actually, the cart is for a microwave, but I planned to use it as a small cooking prep station and for storage.  I already had a few baskets and I used one to store my tea towels and dish cloths in and all my cloth napkins and napkin rings are in another.  There are potholders hanging on the end of the rack on the hooks provided.  Trivets and a basket of paper napkins are on another shelf.  There is cutting board on the top that is movable.  Absolutely perfect for my needs.  

I roll my towels in the following fashion to maximize the space in the basket.  We do the same with our bath towels and store them in a big basket in the bathroom as you can see in the picture above on the right.  Here is how you roll the towels:

Lay your towel out flat like this.   Then fold the towel in half, short ends together.  

Next, fold the towel in half again.

Start to roll the towel from the short side, rolling tightly.

The towel will look like this when finished.

You will not believe how much room this saves.  So much better than storing them flat.  This is what the basket looks like up close.

I don't roll my cloth napkins because I press them (yes, I really do iron) and fold them in different ways when I place them on the table.   This is how the basket looks up close.  There are 24 napkins in this basket.

Now, everything is within easy reach when I am in the kitchen.  It is all tidy and organized.  Same for the bath towels.  We lost a cabinet and a huge linen closet in the move, but  now everything works.  

If storage is an issue for you, I hope you will give these methods a try.  It is easy, inexpensive and saves a lot of space.  Also, try rolling t-shirts, underwear and socks in your storage drawers.  Oh, and don't forget to try it when you pack your suitcase.  You will be amazed!  

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself~Alan Alda

Comfort Food

It's Sunday evening, you've had a long week and you are hungry, but you don't want to cook a huge meal.  You want comfort food, something that makes you feel good and doesn't take all evening to prepare.  What do I turn to?  Potato soup - my ultimate comfort food.  The soup mom always fixed for us when we were not feeling well.  She made hers quite a bit differently, but I always loved it.   I fix it when I'm tired and want an easy meal that's quick and tastes wonderful.  It's got potatoes, cheese and bacon.  What can I say?

Now I have to confess, I have never met a potato I didn't like.  Guess you could call me an addict.  I could eat potatoes every meal.  This soup is easy to prepare and tastes so good.  I actually took this soup up a notch by turning it into a corn and potato chowder.  Even better.  Here is what you do.

Ingredients:

8 cups diced potatoes, peeled

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 Tbsp. butter

1 box chicken stock (4 cups)

3 ears corn, scrape kernels from cob

1/2 cup sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

1/2 pound bacon, fried extra crisp

grated cheddar cheese

To make soup, peel and dice potatoes until you have 8 cups.  Chop 1 large onion.

Take 5 qt dutch oven or large pan that you can cover, add 4 TBSP butter, melt over low heat.

Add chopped onions and minced garlic, sweat onions until softened, stirring so garlic does not burn.  Add potatoes and chicken stock.  If stock does not cover potatoes, add enough water to cover.  Place lid on pan and cook until potatoes are soft.  About 20 minutes.  While potatoes are cooking, cut corn from the cob.

Potatoes will take about 20 minutes or so to soften.  Just as they are fork tender, add corn.   Corn cooks quickly in the hot soup.  Add salt and pepper at this point.  Potatoes absorb a lot of salt.  It is better to add salt toward the end of cook time so as not to over salt.  Add fresh cracked pepper.  Let cook about 8-10 minutes and add 1/2 cup sour cream.  Stir to blend, turn off heat, add the chopped dill and replace lid.   Let sit a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend.    The starch from the corn will thicken the soup.  

While the soup is cooking, fry bacon extra crisp.  Drain on paper towels, crumble in a bowl.  Place grated cheddar cheese in bowl.   Serve the potato corn soup in individual bowls, allowing everyone to add as much bacon and cheese as they like.

You may want to serve a sandwich or salad with the soup.  We like to eat just the soup!  This is so good and it is not like wall paper paste which is something I do not like about the potato soup served in most restaurants.  There are actually potatoes in the soup which is another plus.  And, you can control the amount of cheese.  It melts quickly into the hot soup.  Many restaurant potato soups are too cheesy for my liking.  

For me, this is a quick and easy meal that is so comforting, filling, and super delicious.  Give it a try.  You are going to like it I know!  It is the ultimate comfort food.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

The quieter you become, the more you can hear. – Baba Ram Dass

Thankful for The Dearest of Friends

Our best friends spent last week in Florida for a much needed and deserved vacation.  While they were there, Tonya celebrated a monumental birthday.  You know, one of those we don't want to acknowledge.  I phoned her to wish her the happiest of natal days.  We talked for a while, caught up on the latest, and then she asked if we would be okay with them stopping by and staying with us Saturday night on their way back to our old home town in southern Indiana.  Would we mind?  Oh no, we would be delirious if they would come and visit!  We moved here to middle Tennessee five months ago and we have only seen them one time when I had to return to decorate a wedding reception for the daughter of a long time friend.  I was so excited I almost cried.  We talked some more, I wished her happy birthday again and we hung up.  Time to start planning.

We met Tonya and Jeff when our sons were in sixth grade... middle school, you know that dreaded time in every child's life?  They chummed up and spent a lot of time together.  Craig became another son.  We met Craig's mom and dad, because I liked to know our children's friends and family.  It was instant rapport.  Not often in your life do you meet a couple and everyone seems to like each other.  It was karma as far as I am concerned.  For 10 years we spent a LOT of time together.  After the boys graduated high school and went off to see the world, we both became "empty nesters" because  they were our youngest.   We would meet for dinner several nights a week, or they came to our house when I cooked because I always made enough for an army and somebody had to eat it.  We didn't have to do much.  We would play games, watch a movie, talk, drink coffee, eat something sweet I had baked, talk, drink more coffee.  So many great times.  When they purchased a new house two years ago, we worked side by side with them getting the painting and flooring done so they could move in.  We had a great time.  Their house looked wonderful by move in day.  We are those kinds of friends.   Always there for each other.

We have four children, two of whom live here in middle Tennessee.  One daughter lives in Dallas and our other son lives in Chicago.  Their daughter finished her doctorate in physical therapy and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas.  Our sons who had been friends for so many years, moved to middle Tennessee.  I had owned my costume business for ten years and my husband was a middle school history teacher, retiring after 38 years.  We had planned to move to Nashville, but we all know what happened to the economy.  We stayed where we were for two more years.  Then, our daughter in Nashville had a baby boy in February a year ago.  Nashville was calling.  We would be closer to our daughter and her family in Dallas and our two children here in Nashville.  Our older son who had been living here got a role in a show in Chicago and his family moved there.  (It's like musical chairs when you have this many kids.)  We moved the last weekend in January and Tonya and Jeff were there from early morning, helping load the truck.  They came to Nashville with us and helped unload the truck.  What would we have done without them?  I really don't know.  They spent the night, helped again the next day until afternoon when it was time for them to head back home.  But, it was no longer our home.  One of the saddest days in my memory.  We said our goodbye's and knew we would keep in touch with promises to visit. Finally, it was here.  Their first visit.  We were so excited.  Now, what will I serve?

We had been to the farmer's market and I had a lot of fresh produce and fruit that I had purchased.  I had boneless, skinless chicken breasts also.  I will make chicken salad and serve it on a bed of romaine lettuce surrounded by fruit.   Oh, and some yummy sour cream corn bread muffins.  That recipe was given to me by our daughter in love now living in Chicago.  Time to get to work.  Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 ribs celery

two cups grapes

1/2 small onion, chopped

1/4 - 1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 heaping TBSP sour cream

1/2 cup toasted pecans

a few sprigs fresh thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1 head romaine lettuce

assorted fresh fruits  (I used pineapple, strawberries, blueberries and bing cherries)  

Place chicken breasts in a pan and cover with water.  Cover pan, cook until done.  Dice celery and onions.  Place in large bowl.  Add grapes.  When chicken is done, drain and chop into bite sized pieces.  Add to bowl with celery, onions and grapes.   Start with 1/4 cup mayo and the sour cream.  If you like your chicken salad creamer, add another 1/4 cups mayo.  (I use 1/2 cup mayo)  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove leaves from fresh thyme and add to bowl.  

Toast pecans in the oven at 350.  Place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Watch very closely as they burn easily.  As soon as you smell the pecans, remove from oven.  Remove from the pan as they will keep cooking.  You don't want them to burn.  Add to chicken salad.

I used shallow soup bowls to serve the salad in.  Chop the romaine into thin slices and place equal amounts in the bottom of each bowl.  Place about 1 cup of chicken salad in the middle of the bowl.   Surround the mound of chicken salad with fruits of your choice.  Serve.  Very easy, delicious and ideal for hot summer weather.

I will post the recipe for the corn muffins at a later date.  They are heavenly and a great complement to the chicken salad.  You could also use banana nut bread or strawberry bread.  

We ate, we talked, we talked and we ate.  After the dishes were removed and put in the dishwasher, we all came out on the deck.  It was a beautiful evening.  Dan made coffee and we enjoyed fresh peach cobbler with ice cream and talked late into the night just like old times.  

We went to our favorite coffee shop for breakfast and spent another few hours enjoying each other's company until it was time for them to head home to prepare for a busy work week.  Were we sorry to see them leave?  You bet!  Will they come back soon?  Yes.  When they do, we will take up right where we left off,  enjoying each other's company, talking, eating, and drinking coffee.  It's all about the special bond.  Here's to dear friends! 

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

‎"Each of us has an inner dream that we can unfold if we will just have the courage to admit what it is. And the faith to trust our own admission. The admitting is often very difficult."

"What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us."

- Julia Cameron

My Love of Mexican Food

Do you ever buy those little recipe books that are  placed at the check out in the grocery?  You know, the one's published by Pillsbury and other companies.  They usually cost only a few dollars.  I love these books.  Some of my all time favorite recipes are from them.  You see, I read recipe books like novels.  I love searching for new things to try, many of which have become family favorites  made over and over through the years.

I apologize for the picture, it is not the best.  It does not do justice to this bread that is called "Mexican Fiesta Biscuit Bake" in the Pillsbury Bake-Off Cooking and Baking Contest recipe book, March, 1994.  It is an oldie but a goodie in our family and made the $2.75 paid for the book worth every penny spent.  This one is a definite "request" favorite. 

Our oldest daughter was in college at the time this book was purchased and I made the bread on one of her visits home.  She loved it, wrote the recipe down and took it back to school with her.  She went to a Conservatory in St. Louis.  Their musical theater class was small and they had a lot of potluck dinners because no one had any money and even less time due to the intensive program they were in.  It became an instant hit and was requested every time they had a dinner for the remainder of their time in school.  Many of them moved to New York after graduation and she continued to make it for "get togethers."

  My first encounter with Mexican food was the summer of 1960 when our family took a vacation trip to  Phoenix, Arizona.  It was the summer before my sixth grade year in school.  Our family had our first brand new car, but it had no air conditioning.  We drove to Phoenix, driving Route 66 most of the way.  I have been to St. Louis, Joplin, Missouri, Oklahoma City and it was mighty pretty.  I've seen Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico.  We drove through Salt River Canyon and I have never been that hot in my life since, but it was such an adventure.  One I will never forget.  I can say I definitely would not enjoy that drive today with no air conditioning! 

My parent's best friends had moved to Phoenix.  We spent the week with them and we had one amazing time.  One day for lunch, Bonnie, my mom's friend went to a taco stand and bought burritos, tacos, enchiladas, beans and rice for lunch.  The only word that comes to mind is ecstasy!  Needless to say, our southern Indiana hometown had nothing like this except a guy who sold tamales from a push cart!  I loved tamales a lot, but all these different foods were simply amazing.  We visited many times after 1960, and my biggest anticipation was always for the delicious Mexican food I knew we would get to enjoy.  It was many years before our southern Indiana home town would have the luxury of Mexican cuisine.

This recipe is really good and certainly not traditional Mexican food, but has all the flavors I love.  

Ingredients:

2 TBSP butter1 (17.3 oz) can Pillsbury Grands! refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1 (10.8 oz) can Pillsbury Grands! refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1 (16 oz) jar (1 3/4 cups) medium thick and chunky salsa (we like spicy but medium works too)

12 oz. ( cups) shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup sliced green onionssliced black olives if desired (2 1/4 oz can)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375.  Melt butter in oven in 13x9 inch glass baking dish or non-aluminum baking pan.  Tilt to evenly coat dish.  Separate dough into 13 biscuits, cut each biscuit into eighths.  Place biscuit pieces in large bowl; toss with 1 3/4 cups salsa.  Spoon evenly into baking dish.  Sprinkle with cheese, bell pepper, onions (and black olives if desired.)  Dan doesn't care for black olives so I usually leave them off.

Bake at 375 F for 35 to 45 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown and center is set.  Let stand 15 minutes.   Cut into squares, serve with 1 cup of salsa for dipping if desired.  12 to 15 servings.

Again, sorry about the picture.  We had eaten a lot of the bread when I realized I had not taken a picture.  Oops.  Hooray for all the flavors of Mexico.  They are still my favorite after all these years (and that's been a long, long time).

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

We are all the same, we just come in different wrappers.