Blame It On Donald Trump

After watching the premier episode of The Celebrity Apprentice, where the ladies and the men were set up to duke it out over cupcakes, I drifted off to sleep early. However, I woke up the next morning with a craving that must have found its way into my subconcious, even after the foul tasting description given to the cupcakes made by the men. They had accidentally left out the sugar.

Mine, however, have plenty of sugar...

Although the ladies' chocolate cupcakes bombed, they were able to turn it around with a little creativity and a lot of chocolate ganache over the top.

I fortunately did not have heavy cream on hand to make the ganache for my cupcakes.

Anyway . . . I forgive you Donald Trump and I look forward once again to hearing you say...."You're Fired!"

Fetching Shore Finds

"You're Looking Rather Fetching Today"

I remember the father of my best friend in high school always saying this to his wife. Her amused grin told us that was exactly the look she had been going for. I had a sense that in order to look rather fetching, one must possess a somewhat captivating and charming sort of style, the likes of which could not be found at the local mall. Rather, the sort of style that more likely would be found in the most unexpected of places. Such as the place where I found my lovely sea glass pin. A sweet man in his 80's, who sells from a shop in his home over in Blue Hill, fashioned this lovely pin from an exquisite color of sea glass. Beautifully frosted and pitted from the many years only salt water and wind can bestow upon its surface, the closeup below shows it displayed in a natural setting.

Here it is pinned to my favorite winter hat.

I once made buttons out of smoothed mussel shell fragments I found on the shore, for an unexpected detail on a beach coverup I had knit in white cotton for a toddler.

The detail below shows the contrast of the weathered blue and pearl white colors of the shell remnants. I used denim colored thread to sew the buttons onto the coverup.

Here's a closeup of a pretty shell my little 9 year old neighbor Jewelia gave me.

I always wear this shell tied to a ribbon on a crocheted, bolero style vest, over a simple cotton tee.

Last summer while at Jasper Beach, I found this delicate bracelet that looked as if it had been made by a child. Two lovely shades of pink beads stretched onto a thin strand of elastic cord.

It was so unexpected to discover its delicate design fit perfectly around my adult wrist.

I simply adore all these charming little accents fetched from the shore.

Extremes

While I was over at Eagle Lake in Acadia National Park earlier this week I

took this shot

In order to compare it to the shot I took 4 1/2 months ago at this very same spot.

The next morning I made this chocolate creme pie.

Today I made these fruit smoothies to help atone for the pie.

I do not know much about planting or using garden twine.

But I figured out I could use it to knit a new door mat for mud season.

March will be coming in like a lion...here's to hoping it leaves like a lamb.

Downeast Cotton

If Sunday's walk had me seeing powdered sugar everywhere I looked

todays scenery from the after effects of Monday's Nor'easter had me seeing pure white cotton.

The kind you keep in a pretty glass container in your bath.

Or the kind farmers plant in February in Southern states

In order to harvest it in July

But unlike it's Southern counterpart, Downeast cotton is resistant to boll weevils.

The Struggle For Balance

I believe it all started because I spend an allotted time of my day on the computer. I had found this recipe, printed it off, crumpled it up, and then later retrieved it from my trash bin.

After pulling myself away from the laptop, I headed into the kitchen on a mission. Soon, the lovely whir of my KitchenAid Artisan mixer had me completely caught up in the joy of baking a special treat for my husband. Once again being able to fill my tiny glass bowls (a gift from my sister) with pre-measured ingredients, along with the sight of my favorite wooden spoon I would need for making the pastry creme, made me realize I had been missing out on the simple pleasure of baking, by my silly attempt to curb my appetite for sugar.

What a delight it was, to once again use my beautiful pink depression glass cake pedestal that a dear friend gave me years ago!

With lunchtime fast approaching, we headed out a bit earlier than our usual schedule for our daily walk. We noticed the sun had come out, and the freshly fallen snow from the night before was a striking contrast to the darker tones of the surrounding landscape. Strangely, everywhere I looked, began to remind me of of what I knew was back home chilling in the fridge.

.

In my mind, I was seeing powdered sugar everywhere . . .

We had walked nearly 3 miles by the time we arrived at my favorite spot to just sit and gaze. This place was the real masterpiece of the day, and one I was not willing to mess up with my footprints.

24 hours later, 1 portion remains . . .

I look forward to returning my lovely pink pedestal dish to its spot in the cupboard.

MEET SIMON.

One of us is showing off here...

Simon is my blue crowned amazon that for some reason decided to leap onto my arm and climb to the top of my head as I casually passed by his cage in a pet store. If that's not a clear sign for someone to take action and alter the course of their life, then I don't know what is. Simon, known then as "Buddy" became mine a few days later after I successfully convinced my credit union to loan me the $500 that I needed to take this amazing creature home with me.

That was 33 years ago...

Here's a close up of him grooming himself, he has a unique white ring around his eye.

This close up shows off his "blue crown"

Oh, he's getting very sleepy here. When you are originally from a tropical climate and are transported to a place where the view outside your window for most of the winter resembles "cold" . . .

and, you're a bird... someone may be inspired to refer to you as a Fearless Nester.

A TOKEN OF LOVE

Whether one heart

or

two

three




or four and counting

A Moonlit Night

Is For All Who Notice

May You Always Feel

the Love that Surrounds You