Robin's Eggs

Well it is spring after all, and around our house we have robins hopping around the yard, building nests and what not. Inside The Old Parsonage we have Robin's Eggs in apothecary jars.


These are an Easter basket staple at our house. As soon as they hit the supermarket shelves I snatch them up! I bought a 5lb bag at Costco last week when shopping for the party. They are Mr OP's favorite...I'm worried that I may have to buy more before Easter!


I'm posting this early, but my plans for this weekend include hitting the Kutztown Renniger's Flea Market on Saturday - even if the weather isn't the best they have indoor vendors. And, since Jake's Flea Market opens up again this weekend we'll definitely go there on Sunday. One thing that tops my list is a hyacinth - I'll let you know how I make out.

Wishing you all a wonderful Pink Saturday! Stop by How Sweet the Sound to see what everyone else is sharing!

Thrifting

Our local thrift store ran a great special this month. Buy a $50 gift card for $25. Well since I shop there just about every week anyway I snatched the deal right up! When the clerk rang me up and I brought out the certificate they laughed and said, "So you were the person who bought the certificate."


I was the only person who bought one. They offered it again this month, but it expired by March 31st and I still had $18 left on the first one that I bought. My first go-round I bought this gorgeous table cloth. It's very heavy, so maybe it's not meant to be a table cloth after all. I also got the silver plated goblet below and 2 others. I'm using them in my studio now to store bits and pieces of ephemera. Although I love how they looked with the candy. I'll have to snap a few photos of the other treasures to share with you when the sun comes out again.


I brought down some Easter decorations this morning before heading to work. After a good house cleaning this weekend I'll decorate. Really what I want, is some sweet smelling hyacinths ~ mmm. I'm anxious to start planning Easter dinner, there will be 10 of us this year without our Texans. Did I tell you that they'll be coming on vacation with us this summer?!! I'm soo excited!

Hope that you are all enjoying this beautiful week!

An Irish Birthday

My MIL's 70th birthday party went off without a hitch (although it ended up not being a surprise). She was soo happy surrounded by family and friends.



Mr OP and I gave her Irish themed gifts. She has always wanted to visit Ireland, and since we couldn't afford to send her on a trip, her we gave her a wee bit of Ireland on a budget.


I got the Shamrock (Oxalis) right before St. Patrick's Day and prayed that I could keep it alive until we gave it to her:)


I bought a beautiful book on Ireland too, but forgot to snap a photo of the book. So another shot of the plant is what you get. We also contribute to her lawn service for the year. This was the best thing we ever thought of getting her. All five of the kids contribute and it pays for her grass and trimming for the entire summer.




Everyone really enjoyed the food, which was a big relief. Family I wasn't so worried about, but the friends had me nervous. You never know what other people will like or not like. My SIL Amy put together a DVD with old family photos and tear jerker songs.

Needless to say the tissues were readily available. We can cry over a Hallmark commercial:) And some of those 80's hairdo's? Wow it looks like we had stock in Aquanet!

So what did you all do this weekend?

I've been busy trying to make as many things ahead of time for MIL's surprise party this Saturday. Last week I made cinnamon and sugar almonds that are dipped in dark chocolate then coated in powered sugar. Let me just say these can be addictive.


I made a few extra and packaged them up for Bucky. Her Dad had major back surgery a few weeks ago; she and her Mom wanted to give a basket full of goodies to the Doctor's and staff that cared for him.


I made 12lbs of meatballs and 10 lbs of Italian Road Pork 2 weeks ago. Both of these freeze well and will be a cinch to heat up. I'm headed to Costco today for the fresh veggies and other bulk items for the party as well as our household. This is going to be some big bill, I can tell by the size of my list. I love going to Costco if I have time to cruise around without Mr OP. He's always a man on a mission when we go together. My Mum's going with me, so we may be there for quite awhile.

Do any of you shop Costco, Sam's or BJ's?

Wings to Fly!

I mentioned yesterday that we stopped to see Flyboy on the way home this weekend. He was thrilled and although he'll be home this weekend for my MIL's party I was glad that we stopped. Flyboy got his wings and his first stripes for his epaulets when he got his private pilot's license, but we hadn't seen them. I asked him to put the shirt on, but if you have grown sons, you know why this is all I got:)

A Fab Weekend!

We had such gorgeous weather this weekend that we decided to head to the beach and book our summer vacation.


I instantly fell in love with this cottage. It's just 1 1/2 blocks from the beach on a quiet side street. Dreamy hunh?


It even has a fireplace - not that we'll need it in the summer, but soo darn cute! It's furnished with well loved vintage pieces. Although it does have it's draw backs...


No central air - just window units. 2 bathrooms - but only 1 shower the other bathroom has an old soaking tub. A huge yard with shade and sun - no deck. Mr OP liked another place 1 block over, it was more of a modular home and had more of an open floor plan. So we flipped and I won! Let's just hope I don't get an I told you so...



Just in case you spent all weekend wondering what color polish I choose for my pedicure:) I'm so glad that I got one since we ended up at the beach. It was warm enough to wear sandals all weekend long, even through today. But tomorrow we may get sleet, so I guess I'll have to wear shoes and socks to work.



We decided to stop and see Flyboy on our way home. Can you see what else we saw? It flies too - A BALD EAGLE!!! We could hardly believe it! Mr OP actually spotted it flying and pulled over so that I could snap a photo. It was about 150 feet away from the car - sorry it's not a better shot, I only have a point and shoot.

So what did you all do this weekend?

Think Pink

Yep, that's what I was thinking PINK! As I mentioned earlier, this has been a month of birthdays. These cards were for the girls. I used 1 sheet of card stock for the backs of the cards and only 1/2 sheet of a lighter weight stock for the decorative fronts. Then, yes I used the last of my vintage pink velvet ribbon.


I was sad to use it all, but you know what that means...reason and room to buy more! My MIL's surprise party is next weekend, so I'm not sure how much I'll be around next week. I'm taking off from work next Thursday and Friday to finish cooking, but I feel totally under control.


We're having a small cake and I'm doing a melted chocolate fountain with strawberries, pretzels, marshmallows and lady fingers. I'd still like to have one other dessert. Any suggestions?

The rest of the menu is pretty set - Meatball Sandwiches, Italian Roast Pork, Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo, Potato Salad, Caesar Salad, Deviled Eggs, Veggies and (2) Dips, Chips, Pretzels and Dip, Cheese and Fruit Platter. I'll make most of these items next Friday and Thursday will be shopping for last minute items. If anyone has any suggestions for another side dish I love to hear it.

I'm joining Beverly for this week's Pink Saturday - be sure to pop on over and see what she and other lovers of Pink have going on!

Willie

I'm been corresponding with Vicki (the distant relative who is researching our genealogy) for a few weeks now. I thought that maybe the gentleman in this photo marked "Willie" might be her grandfather. Unfortunately it isn't her grandfather, but she does know who it is.


She has been corresponding with distant relatives in England and it seems that this "Willie" is a descendant of my great grandmother's aunt. I'm finding this so interesting! And to think, that I wasn't even trying to do any research when Vicki suddenly found us! She has generously shared all 12 years of her research.


It's supposed to get up to 75 degrees tomorrow! Can you hear the joy in my fingers hitting the keyboard? I'm going to have all the windows wide open to let the sunshine and fresh air in!!! Woo Hoo, I'm doing the happy dance! I treated myself to a pedicure tonight so that I can wear sandals to work tomorrow.

Hope that the temps are warming up nicely in your neck of the woods!

Cards, Time Change and Spring

I had to make a few more masculine birthday cards. It's not that I hate making cards for men (I love creating all cards), but darn it, I really love playing with glitter, flowers and all the pastel colors that I consider girlie.

I should challenge myself to see if I can use those things and still come up with a masculine card. We have quite a few birthdays coming up in May - 6 to be exact and 4 are guys. Stay tuned...



Now that we've "sprung ahead" and it's staying light longer, I actually have time after supper to get a good walk in - 2 miles before it gets dark. It feels really great, but that's more time of my time that's being taken up. I'm still feeling that there's not enough time to get it all done. I know, I know that I will never have it all, but darn it I want more time. Time to concentrate on the house, Mr OP, catching up with the guys, writing and talking to family, cooking/baking, crafting, reading, and last but not least personal me time. I don't want to have to schedule everything all the time. You know me I LOVE to organize, and would still do that, but I feel like I'm squeaking every last minute out of every day.


OK, enough of my rant, it must be the change in the weather and the time. What's new with all of you? I noticed the crocus blooming by our apple tree today. I'm so wanting a hyacinth for the house, the smell is just so spring-like to me. What's blooming in your neck of the woods?

Party People

My SIL Cathy (the oldest of the bunch) turned 50 last Sunday. Her three wonderful children threw her a surprise party. And yes, she was surprised! The Inn where they had it was just gorgeous, all of the stone and original beams were exposed.


The "kids" decided on a 50's theme, so the music was great for singing along to. Zach went out and bought records to decorate with. He found a shop in MD that had 10 for a $1!!!


Cathy loves to garden, so I put together a basket of peony roots, seed packets, gardening gloves and a few other things. She loved it! And of course I just had to highlight the big 50:)

Last week was a busy one with Fly Boy home on spring break. It went too fast... Oh well, he'll be home again for my MIL's 70 surprise party next weekend. Remember, the one that I'm catering? More on that later...

Wishing you sunshine!

Rituals

I love old postcards, but these are extra special because my friend Bucky gave them to me. The greeting on this one is written in a great silver glitter that has a tarnished patina to it. She knows that I love to use vintage ephemera in my craft projects and thought these would be perfect. I love to send and receive cards and letters the old fashioned way. It's the ritual of making/picking the perfect card or note paper for that special person, and taking the time to let them know that I'm thinking about them that makes me happy.


I'm not sure if I'll be able to use the postcards in craft projects though. It's so hard to use the good things - you know. Karla actually had a linky party this weekend on this very subject. I had every intention of joining in, but again life had other plans and I had a lot of things to do this weekend. Attending my SIL's 50th birthday party topped the list. I'll share more this week about the fun we had.


This postcard has blue silk ribbons tied into tiny bows - just darling and French looking to me. The flowers are embossed and feel wonderful when you lightly run your fingers over them.


Another ritual that I love is preparing the coffee pot for tomorrow's brew - the smell of the coffee waiting to drip through is wonderful. It makes things so much easier in the am - at least I think so. I set it up after washing the supper dishes and packing Mr OP's lunch. Do you set-up your coffee the night before? What are your nightly rituals?

Confused?

You all know how much I love Christmas and prepare for it all year long. Well it seems that one of my Christmas cacti is right there with me. It was blooming for February's Rudolph Day (February 25th). I think that it's a little confused. But that's okay, I love the bright pink blooms. Rudolph Day is the 25th of each month. We "Keepers of Christmas" like to plan and prepare for Christmas on the 25th of each month. This helps so much to diffuse last minute Christmas prep.



Our Fly-boy passed his private pilot's test and is officially a pilot! Woo Hoo do the happy dance! We are so proud of him!!! He's home for spring break, so we went out tonight to celebrate. He's taking a commercial pilot course now and is pretty sure that he'll have a 3 month internship with Continental next summer.




We pre-paid our home heating fuel oil last summer for this past season and just ran out. Now we have to pay when they deliver it. We're paying $3.57/gal , so I decided that we could turn the heat down even further. It's set at 58 degrees - brrr... All the more reason to snuggle under the covers:)

Just saw gas prices rise overnight too - $3.55/gal. Thank goodness I only work 5 minutes away from home and Mr OP just 10 minutes. What kind of prices are in your neck of the woods?

So many things...

Sorry that I have been incognito this past week. We had a lot going on... I'll share more this week I promise. Has anyone read this book? I read it over the course of 2 days. It's about a husband who writes a letter to his wife every Wednesday. It was terrific - if you are looking for a good cry.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!