PICK YOUR FAVORITE EASTER TABLE SETTING!

 Well, I can't let Easter slip by

without doing a

PICK YOUR FAVORITE 

EASTER TABLE!

So- You old timers 

(and I am NOT talking age here-just 

OLD readers-NOT talking age)

know the routine!

Pick ONE table to sit at with 

anyone of your choice.

I know SOME OF YOU have a hard time

picking just one---
but please try.

So---here we go!

#1

BIRD NEST NAPKINS

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#2
MELLOW YELLOW

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#3

FEATHER MY NEST

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#4

PINK & PRETTY

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#5

COLORFUL CARROTS

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#6

 WOODLAND WONDER

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#7
A POP OF PRIMARY PASTELS

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So, there you go!
You know the drill.
Pick one table and let me know your favorite.
I'll be back with the results after I tally the votes.

Speaking of table settings....
Look how tickled little Anna Ireland 

was over a table setting.

 Maybe she is just praying before the meal, huh?

NOPE!
Sound asleep!

We are SUCH  a BORING bunch!!!

I sure do miss those baby days!

I will be back around soon.

Bear with me as I try to keep up

with your blogs. 

Life/health has been a bit crazy here.

GOOD-BYE ST PATRICK'S DAY-HELLO EASTER!

It has been a long hard winter here for us. 

 I am going to try to get back to 

regular blogging. 

Bear with me as health and 

family issues are at play. 

While I love 

St. Patrick's Day and 
all things Irish
it is time to drag

 the Easter stuff out 

of the basement bins,

and then to move things

around in the china hutch,
and then to bring my
bunnies out of hiding...

Why?  Well, because

 we all know that

ONE THING LEADS

TO ANOTHER,

don't we?

Why-oh-why-

in the midst of all that is going on

do I do this to myself?

Anyway,

It is time to 

bring out a couple of

bunnies to 

dress up the center of the table.

Look at their cute little faces!

They look so cute there

I think they should be surrounded

by other lovely Spring pieces-

like beautiful napkins.....

And then, of course, I must

drag out my old dishes

that I haven't used for several years.

Garden Party by Pfaltzgraff.

You know I have had these for almost

30 years and I still love them.

I always used them in the 

Spring and Summer months
but they have been packed away
for a few years now.

The ruby thumbprint glasses

belonged to Gramma Hazel.

Not wanting to be hidden away
 another little sugared bunny 

jumps in to join the fun.

Sweet peeks of what is to come.

A little close up of the florals.

Now-Here is 

QUESTION #1~

HOW LONG DO YOU THINK

it will take 

SOMEONE to discover that

there are 

M&M's in the flower base

that rests just below the bunnies?

QUESTION #2~

When do you think I will discover 

that they have all been eaten 

unbeknownst to me?

So-there you have it.
Just a touch of Easter here--
but we know here is a lot more to Easter
than bunnies, isn't there?

What are you doing for 
Easter or do you bypass
Easter decorating and go right for
Springs Things?

Have a wonderful day~
I'll be around to visit as I can.

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY -BAKE A CAKE!

 March is half over already!!

How can that be?

AND 

tomorrow is 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Even all you

NONE IRISH

pretend to be

 Irish  

just for a day.

Well, except for a few of you

English that wouldn't

lower yourselves to do so.

You know who you are,

but being the

loving people we are,

we forgive ya,

and God Bless ya,

all the way to the

Blarney Stone and back.

I grew up in a small

Irish Community in Pennsylvania.

I believed in leprechauns

until I was at least 12...

well...maybe older...

hmm..matter of fact I'm

pretty sure I might

STILL BELIEVE

in them.

So, today I am going to

give you a little recipe.

You have a 

a whole day

get your butt to the store

for the ingredients so

you can make it for your family.

Your family will lay down

in your path and let you walk on

them after eating this.

Ready?

Now please don't be asking me

where I got this recipe because

the truth is

I don't remember.

So, if anyone has the source for it

I will be glad to give credit.

I THINK it came out of a

Taste of Home magazine but

I'm not betting my 

IRISH CHINA

on that fact.

Crème de Mint Cake

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box

2 teaspoons mint extract

12 drops green food color

2 jars (16 oz each) hot fudge topping

1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Thin rectangular crème de menthe chocolate candies, unwrapped and cut into pieces, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour.

Make cake batter as directed on box, adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of the mint extract with the water. Reserve 1 cup batter. Stir 3 drops of the green food color into reserved batter; set aside. Pour remaining batter into pan.

Drop green batter by generous tablespoonfuls randomly in 12 to 14 mounds onto batter in pan. Cut through batters with metal spatula or knife in S-shaped curves in one continuous motion. Turn pan one-fourth turn; repeat cutting for swirled design.

Bake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Carefully spread fudge topping evenly over cake. In medium bowl, stir whipped topping, remaining 1/2 teaspoon mint extract &  remaining 9 drops green food color. Spread whipped topping mixture evenly over fudge. Garnish with candy pieces. Store covered in refrigerator.

Now, I will tell you that being

St. Paddy's Day

 all the calories

 have all been removed

so you can enjoy every bite.

( Removing those calories

is an Irish trick that I promised not to tell)

I'll be making it to serve

the hubby here in the Heartland.

Let's hope one of the grandkids doesn't visit and

eat all the Andes Mints beforehand

because if they are gone

YOU KNOW
they will blame it on

THIS ONE.

Have a wonderful day as you prepare yourself

for all the
IRISH DRUNKS

that will be running amuck tomorrow.

I won't be one of them because I don't drink

GREEN BEER.

I will be the one sitting in the corner

taking pictures for 

BLACKMAIL PURPOSES-----

and that's all I'm gonna be 

saying about that!

I know I have been gone a while.

I have been dealing with some 

inflammatory issues.  

I have not been able to do much of anything.

I am finally on some meds and praying

they kick in soon.

Bear with me as I find my way back to blogging.

Love to all of you from this Irish lass.

PICK YOUR FAVORITE VALENTINE'S DAY RESULTS!

First of all-

Thank you all so much for playing along.

Let's get to it!

#1- WINE & ROSES

Sandi-wants some alone time at the table to drink juice out of her wine glass-hmmm..Maybe she could come really early--or really late. Jane-loves the setting but will need a hoist to get up from her seat...any volunteers?, Nancy-doesn't want a boost up-wants me to raise the table!, Linda/LifeJournal-deserting MA to sit here, Lorrie-had to play paper/scissors/rock to make her choice, Missy the wino-here for the wine-can't wait to see her paintings after the wine intake, Laurie-bringing her homemade wine-FatCat.HappyDog (yep-that's the name of her wine You will notice she is sitting right next to the designated wino), Karen, Connie, & Pam S.

#2-HEART OF ROSES

A smaller sweet group of ladies-

Amy/ToodyGoo-wants to bring her Cockapoo, Sadie, as a little girlfriend for Scruffy-sadly, Scruffy wouldn't know what to do with a girlfriend if he had one---thank the vet for that!  Marilyn/MountainTop-Really like Table#4 but thought it looked like it was set for a Queen and wasn't sure if she knew which utensils to use at any given time.  So-here she is-safe at #2!  Also here- LisaK, Ellen and Kelly.

#3-TULIPS TO LOVE

Penny, MadSnapper-wants to steal the quilt and asked for hand sanitizer-guess I won't tell her she will be using a port-a-potty for the sanitizing! Ginny, PattyMcDonald-Wants a cushion for the bench...I will get right on whipping one up, Melanie, TerriD-says she is TAKING the quilt with her-I am tacking it to the table so she will need pliers and I will catch her before she frees it, Lynne, Vee, Carla, and my dear Gert.

#4-PINK AND WHITE ALL OVER

Ron-the Cocktail King-thinks it is the classic table, bj missed the fact that Ron was here,  Rose, Doris, DonnaC, Lynda

#5-TULIPS AND POLKA DOTS

Debra/SheWhoSeeks, Denise, Theresa, Julie, Judy/NorthOra, Kim/NutBrown, Kris, Jack & Sherry-our travelers enjoying the Sweet Warm South, Jan/LowCarb, Sandie/Chatty, Jeanie, Pat, bj, & Connie-thinks all Valentine's Day tables should be for two-but guess she will put up with the rest of you.

#6- VALENTINE'S DAY? CHECK!

Diane, Dawn, MA, bobbie-pink makes her barf so please DO NOT WEAR PINK at this table or risk getting puked on, Jettie-who MIGHT behave herself for once, Jan, Jane, Nonie, BillieJo-NOT romantic-but don't tell her hubby-guess she has been fooling him for years. AND Buttercup

AND KATHY-Sorry I forgot you- you can sit at the head of the table.

AND MEVELY!  Wow- Not a good day here.  lol

AND HAPPY ONE! Missed her, too.

Not a great day at table#6!

#7-PINK & GOLD

Linda/Life&Linda-set a very similar table last year, Pam K, Sue/PearTreeFarm-bringing a sweetie-hope her hubby knows, Leena, Bless, Michele, Ann-afraid she will slop on the table. It's okay Ann-I have a LOT of grandchildren so I am used to messes!

SO-there you have it-

Another Pick Your Favorite results.

I apologize for anyone I missed.

I go back and forth from FB responses to comments on the blog, to emails so I sometimes miss someone.

If I missed you-PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

I wanted to get this done before 

VALENTINE'S DAY 

but I will still be away for a while.

We are in a new place of life after losing my brother-in-law, Steve.  So, bear with me for a bit.

Love you all and 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

See you soon!

RIP STEVE KOSMOSKI- YOUR EARTHLY TRIAL IS OVER

 This afternoon

my dear brother-in-law,

Steve Kosmoski

passed peacefully 

from this world to the next.

He is beyond all pain and sorrow

and, if you are a believer like me,

I believe he has entered a grand new world

called Heaven.

Steve is the oldest son in the middle,

John is the middle son, on the left,

Paul is the 'baby' on the right.

They are all 18 months apart.

That picture was taken just after John

was declared cancer free after his

third bout with cancer.

They also have an older sister

that lives in New York.

John and Steve were going out to see her

last Fall but never got to make the trip.

Please keep his wife, Carol,

in your prayers as she walks

the new path she finds herself on.

Widowhood is not easy.

She is going to miss her constant companion

and the love of her life.

Thank you all for all of your prayers

and well wishes and healing thoughts.

They are much appreciated and 

I love you for taking the time to 

visit here and leave your comments.

I will be taking a few days away

from blogging but will be back soon.

Love to all of you~

REMEMBERING MY BROTHER, CHARLIE-----MISS YOU EVERY DAY

 NINE YEARS AGO TODAY

my brother, Charlie,

walked into the hospital ER

because he wasn't feeling well.

On February 5th,  2013,

 4:04 pm he left the hospital.

He didn't leave the way we hoped,

nor the way we expected.

He went to a different home

than the one he left that last Tuesday.

He developed a very rare cancer

that affects less than 1% of

cancer patients.  It is fast moving

and there is less than a 1% chance

of survival.

I  struggled trying to figure

out why this has happened.

Then a peaceful thought came to me.

Our little granddaughter,

Anna Bella, 

needed an Uncle

to keep her company.

A great-uncle.

Great in more ways than one.

Wasn't he a cute little boy?

We knew that last morning that his

time to be with us was to be

short-lived.

They put him on a morphine drip

and he gently drifted away

without pain.

What you don't know about

my brother is that he was a 

joker-He loved to make

people laugh.

He was the "smiliest" person

I ever knew and he

dearly loved a good joke.

You know, even in moments of 

blinding pain there are

sparks of laughter,

After we said our good-byes and 

gave him permission to go "home",

we were all sobbing.

I told him: "You are so, so loved here

and Mom & Dad

and our grandparents and 

uncles and cousins and family

are all waiting for you-waiting to

welcome you to Heaven".

My sister-in-law added...

"And Snow White".

What? I asked.

Maybe you read a different

Bible than I do cuz I don't

think Snow White is in Heaven.

Everyone in the room erupted

in laughter.

In the burst of laughter

my brother, Charlie,

took his last breath of

life on this Earth.

We knew then that he 

was free to go because

in spite of our sadness

there was one last smile for him.

I'm betting that right now,

up in Heaven,

he is setting our little Anna Bella

up to some mischief

just like  I my father used to 

set him up.

He passed so-so peacefully,

with nary a complaint.

You did good, Charlie,

very, very good.

Now I feel like I have a 

GUARDIAN ANGEL

that watches over me.

As a family, we have moved on,

walking different paths than the ones 

we were on and that is okay.

Happy memories keep us company

on those days when we mourn

our earthly loss.

Take a moment today to 

tell someone you love them.

If there are rifts in your family,

mend them while you have time

for tomorrow is never guaranteed

and there are no "do-overs"

when death comes to visit.

Have a wonderful, blessed day.

I hope YOU have a 

GUARDIAN ANGEL

in your life!

As I write this, my hubby's brother,

STEVE

is drifting towards heaven.

Please pray for a peaceful passing 

for him and comfort for his wife, Carol,

and siblings.

ps.  Snow White?  She was Charlie's cat.