Happy 2nd day of Spring!

Technically, yesterday was the first day of spring.  After any winter (even one as mild as this past one has been), I look forward to the "official" start of the new season.  (Not so much fall and winter.)

Spring to me means FLOWERS! First came the snowdrops . . .

Then came the crocuses ...

My daffodils are about to bloom . . .

and finally ... the tulips ....

What is it you like best about Spring?

Oh, yum ... corned beef and all the trimmings

Did you have a wonderful (pseudo) Irish meal on Saturday?  We did!  I had thought about trying to make Irish stew, but I couldn't find the right cut of lamb.  So we had ...

Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots . . .

along with Irish soda bread . . .

It was wonderful!

What did you have for your St. Paddy's day dinner?

Hot dog!

The weather has been terrific -- if you're a duck.  No, really, it's been wonderful temperatures, but clouds and sun and a little rain.  But that didn't stop us from hauling out the grill for the very first hot dogs of the season.

I'm a hot dog purist.  Onions and ketchup and that's about it.  Mr. Ivy likes the works.  Can you say sloppy?  But they sure smelled good on the grill the other night.

Of course, hot dogs need other picnic food.  I made tuna-mac salad and we had potato chips, too.  A diet meal?  No.  A healthy meal?  No way!  A tasty meal?  You got that right!

Have you had your first bite of summer yet?

The Change Jar

Doesn't every have a change jar?  I do.  All year long I collect the loose change I get and toss it into my jar.  When junking season comes along, I'm ready.

My favorite thing to do is go junking on the weekends with my two best girlfriends.  We're talking every weekend.  Funny, but we hardly see each other during the winter months, but come April, we're ready.

Of course, first we start out at the local coffee shop to gossip, drink coffee and eat doughnuts, but after that, we're serious--or at least I am.  I usually drive because the other two are too busy gabbing, but that's okay, we're all having fun.

My jeans pocket is full of nickels, dimes, and quarters and I'm ready to find those bargains.

How about you?

Oh, the weather outside ain't frightful

I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely delighted that, not only DIDN'T March come in like a lion, but it looks like the lamb is here to stay.

The forecast for the entire week is in the 60s.  IN MARCH!

Yahoooooooo!

The robins are back.  The geese are flying north.  My daffodils are about 4 inches high.  The calendar isn't quite ready to say spring is here, but I sure am.

How about you?

Getting closer to junking season!

It's already the 5th of March. Just think, in five weeks the garage and yard sales will begin again. My favorite sale in Lyons, NY is only 9-10 weeks away! (I sure hope that family on the bend will haul out their popcorn machine this year--and that the college student who makes fried dough will come home for the weekend. I sure missed both treats last May.)

I liken junking with the anticipation of Christmas. I mean, think of it--there's potentially 24 weekends of shopping and gift-giving. (Um...most of these gifts I give to myself, and a few go to the house.)

Once again I'll be looking for vintage dishware, pictures, and linens.

What are you going to look for this junking season?

What I'm watching . . .

I know I'm not the only one who's watching Downton Abbey.  Isn't Maggie Smith a hoot!

But as I've been watching/thinking about it, I remember other wonderful Masterpiece Theater sagas that I've loved.  Thanks to the Internet, I can order everything I've loved and watch them over and over again, like, Upstairs, Downstairs.

And I've just ordered The Forsyte Saga - The Complete Series. (The original one -- in black and white.)

What are you watching on the tube these days?

PINTEREST and me

A friend (can I really call her that after this???) recently sent me an invitation to join yet another time sink.  This one is called Pinterest.  Where you have a virtual bulletin board and pin all kinds of neat stuff on it.

I'm hooked!

It is sooooo much fun to share some of my favorite pictures of the girly things I love.

Want to find my boards?  Click here!

From lemons to lemonaid?

Mr. Ivy and I love scones.  Our friend Carol knows this, so she gave us a couple of boxes of scone mix (along with a basket of other goodies) for Christmas.  The mixes were for cranberry scones and blueberry scones.

There's just one problem.  We don't like cranberries or blueberries.  (How come she hadn't noticed that?)

But, not wanting to look a gift scone in the mouth we decided to use the gift that was given with such love.  To do that, we had to get rid of the offensive dried fruit.  I hauled out the sifter, dumped the cranberry scone mix into it, and sifted away.  Next, I baked the mix (just add egg and milk) and substituted raisins for the cranberries.

Mmm ... mmm ... good!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Repeat along with me:

IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY!  (Make it a good one!)

Couldn't you just go for . . .

A nice, big mug of cocoa--with marshmallows?

 Or how about with whipped cream?

Of course, plain will do in a pinch.

I mean, it is the end of January, and it's COLD.

How do you like your cocoa?

Cut the cake ...

And since we're on the subject of weddings, what would a wedding be without a cake.

Here's what mine looked like.

These days, I might go for something like this.

Or this.

I'm pretty much a purist.  I'd have white cake. But I've been to weddings where the cake has been chocolate, or had a jelly filling (raspberry), or didn't look like a wedding cake at all.  (One wedding had ten different wedding cakes and guests could choose what flavors they wanted.)



What did your cake look like?

Always a Bridesmaid

To fill out my bridal collection, I decided that not only did I need the bride and groom, but also figurines that represented the rest of the bridal party.

Sadly, this little lass is the only one I've found.  But isn't she cute?

Marriage is a Serious Affair

Look at the expressions of this bride and groom.  They bear out the phrase that "marriage isn't a word, it's a sentence."

I bought these guys for $5 at an estate sale.  They were mounted on a green circular box with faded green crepe paper glued to its side.  That got tossed before I even entered the house with my new-to-me bride and grom.

They look so solemn. I had hped giving them a loving home would have made them happy, but, alas, they will never smile.  I wonder why the Japanese factory worker (for they are maked Napco). gave them such dour expressions.

Care to speculate?

Modern Bride ... okay, just a little dated

I bought these guys at a yard sale in Wisconsin.  They are about 30-40 years younger than most of my collection, but they're still old-fashioned because the bride isn't bare shouldered.

Most brides today opt for dresses that don't cover their shoulders, let alone their arms.  (Whatever happened to the modest, blushing bride?)  Worse, unless the bride is very thin, these dresses show every molecule of fat. And in summer, tan lines.  Can you say "tacky?"

Wasn't Kate Middleton's dress gorgeous?

I hope more brides take a cue from her lovely dress.