Tropical Popsicles and IceTea

Warm weather is around the corner and at our house we start thinking of popsicles. I found this recipe a couple of years ago. It's healthy and we love these popsicles. We are also lovers of ice tea and I cringe when I think of how much sugar I used to put in ice tea. I came up with this idea and we all really like it and it has no sugar, except from fruit.

Tropical Popsicles

2 cups pineapple juice, 3/4 cup fresh orange juice, 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, 4 tablespoons of xylitol, big handful of blueberries.
In a medium bowl combine juices and xylitol and stir until xylitol dissolves. Use dixie cups (small 3 ounce cups) and pour juice into a cup leaving about an inch to one half inch from the top. Put about 6 blueberries in a cup and insert a popsicles stick. I found a large package of them at Hobby Lobby. I sit all my cups on a cookie sheet and put them in my freezer for about 4 hours. It is best to let them sit overnight. When you remove them from the freezer, have a large bowl of warm water. Submerge the cup half way into the water and leave for a moment, just enough to loosen the cup. The cup will slide off and then put the popsicle in a freezer zip lock bag and store in the freezer.
I double this recipe when I make it. I didn't write this down on my recipe card but I'm pretty sure one recipe makes 8 cups.

White Grape and Peach Ice Tea

I bring about 4 to 6 cups of water to a boil and add 4 large tea bags. I let it boil for about a minute and turn it off and let it steep for about 15 minutes. I buy Welch's White Grape and Peach juice. It's 100 percent juice, no sugar. The juice is concentrate but there's no sugar. Pour the tea into a pitcher and add the juice then add 8 to 10 cups of water. I use a gallon pitcher and fill it 3/4 full.

We drink water most of the time and this tea is a nice change. We also mix half water and half cranberry juice for some diversity.

Moment with God

My son recently ran in the Oklahoma Memorial Marathon. It was his first marathon. Immediately, after stepping across the finish line, full of emotion, he had a wonderful teaching moment with God.

In a flash, this is what came to him, "Always remember this race because it is parallel to the race you run in this life. The last six miles of the race almost became unbearable, your whole body was hurting and screaming to stop, just quit, you can't do this, your going to end up on the side of the road. But you kept going not listening to your body but believing; yes, I can do this and I am going to do this. When you are working hard to have faith and to believe and when life gets hard and it will and you want to give up, remember today. Set your heart and mind like flint toward the finish line, believe Me and never never give up! Always remember, ALL things are possible to him who BELIEVES and most of all, remember how it felt to cross the finish line."

I was so inspired when he shared this with me. I wasn't about to give up in my battle but it inspired me to keep abiding and a new word God gave me, "taking" from Him. I'm not entirely sure what it means yet to take from God but I'm anxiously seeking Him to show me.

Cherry Pies

I have been doing a lot of work in the garden these past couple of days. Trying to get all my vegetables planted. We are having company from Texas next week so I wanted to get everything in the ground. My seedlings are coming along slowly. I'm hoping in a couple of weeks I will be able to plant them in the ground.

I had a pie order last week for two cherry pies. I wanted to share the recipe. It's easy and really good.

For a 9 inch pie I use two cans of cherry pie filling. To the pie filling I add 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 3 teaspoons of cornstarch and teaspoon of almond extract. Mix well. Pour into an unbaked pie shell. Cover the top of pie with a sheet of pie crust. Pinch edges. Sprinkle the top with a little sugar about 1 tablespoon. Bake at 400 for about 30-35 minutes.

Your family and guest will be smiling as they savor the last bite.

Remembering Mom

Today would have been her 91st. birthday. She died when she was 64 and that was too young. But I have been at peace knowing that God knew what He was doing. I was blessed beyond words because I had a wonderful mother who gave me a lifetime of great memories. I personally believe that's one of the best things you can give your children....great memories! My mother wrote many things on my heart without realizing it. Her character and integrity, the love she showed others, just the woman she was made a memory in me I'll never forget.

Some of the things I remember most fondly is being ill and her making sure I had a cool wash cloth for my head, that I was tucked in bed and covered up good and the best part was the strawberry milkshake she would always get me from Dairy Queen. All the fun birthday celebrations and the wonderful holidays. Waking up on Thanksgiving and Christmas morning to the smell of turkey and dressing cooking in the oven. Getting up to a beautifully set table, the house festive and ready for the day. The anticipation and excitement of the arrival of grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. It would be a day filled with laughing, joking, games, playing outside, if the weather permitted, lots of scrumptious dishes. In the evening, my mom would pull out old picture albums and we would look at pictures of loved ones who were not with us anymore and there would be funny stories told by some of the older relatives of times gone by.

In the spring and summer my mother always had several bouquets of fresh flowers throughout our home. I remember my ninth grade trip to an amusement park in Texas. It was midnight when we returned to the school and there waiting in the parking lot for me was my dad. He took me home and I remember walking into the house. It was the middle of May and the windows were open and there was a light breeze through the house. The fragrance of roses, lilacs, peonies, iris and daisies mingled together to create the sweetest fragrance. The house was spotless. Mom had cleaned house that day and washed the sheets which hung on the line to dry. After a warm bath, I can remember slipping between those wonderful smelling sheets, the moon shining in my window and the faint sweet smell of flowers flitting through my room as I fell off to sleep. What a memory!

In looking back over the more than fifty years to things that happened when I was a small girl, the indelible memories are there, reminding me how blessed I was to have not only a wonderful mom but an equally wonderful dad.

All that I am I owe to God. But He used my mom and dad to smooth off the rough edges and help Him start the shaping and molding of my life.

These things I am writing about today, I never even thought to thank or mention them to my mom. Your children do notice the little everyday things you do for them. Taking your children on wonderful vacations are the obvious memories you think they will always remember but having a home, a place of peace and love, are the memories you may not hear about but these will endure in their hearts forever.

Decorating with Dishes

I really do love old things! In our den above a large window I have an arrangement of old platters, plates, cups, an old cream pitcher that was great grandmothers, my grandmother's sugar bowl and a saucer that was from my great grandmother's china. In our formal dining area next to my china cabinet I have hung an old china cup on a satin ribbon and in our breakfast room I have my maternal grandmother's old sugar bowl hanging from a ribbon in a large grouping of pictures. I can't do this in my formal dining area but I have always imagined a formal dining area with a buffet and the wall behind the buffet with old antique platters (huge ones to medium size ones) and maybe a couple of old antique pitchers covering the wall.

Good Quote

THE WORST SORROWS IN LIFE ARE NOT IN IT'S LOSSES AND MISFORTUNES, BUT IN ITS FEARS!

One of the things I tell my children, "Great love and great achievements involve great risks. Don't be afraid to take risks."

Gardening Tip

When I was redesigning my herb garden I wanted to transplant two well established herbs but I was concerned that I might lose them. I thought about it and decided to do it. I made sure I had a large root ball and dug deep and stayed away from the roots. The two herbs was a large lavender plant and a marjoram plant. I watered them a lot after transplanting them and have watered them several times since moving them. It has been about 10 days now and they look wonderful. I am like everyone else, I worry about transplanting things if it's the right time of the year or if it will kill it etc. These particular herbs did well and wanted to pass along the information.

Go Little Plants Go

I transplanted all of my seedlings yesterday into 2 inch pots. I ended up losing more than I realized from Clarence's (my cat) nap on top of my seedlings. There are about 3 varieties that I only got about 3 plants. The plants are a little wiry. I didn't put enough heat soon enough and I didn't start using a fan as soon as I should. I will know next time! I still think they are going to do great and I am going to have a ton of tomatoes. I have a safe place for them outside and I am going to leave them outside now and bring them into an outside building at night. I will do this probably a week and then I will leave them outside all the time until I plant them in the garden.

Over the years, I have saved the containers from the plants I have bought. I washed them all and let them dry. I used Metro Mix potting soil and rooting hormone. I used a cuticle stick to go down the edge of the plug tray and pop out the seedling. I gently took off the excess dirt from around the root and then dipped the root into the rooting hormone. I used my forefinger and made a deep hole in the 2 inch pot and put the plant into the hole and gently push the dirt around the plant. After I was finished, I carefully watered each pot without getting water on the plant's leaves. I hope the next picture you see regarding my seedlings will be my garden full
of tomato plants.

Have a great day in the garden! :)

Some Favorite Places to Shop

Message In A Bottle "Remember Me Jewelry Inc." - http://www.remembermejewelry.com/
This is Christian jewelry...I really like some of her pieces.

Toby and Max - http://www.tobyandmax.com/ - Cool jewelry with a message.

Sundance Jewelry - One of my favorites but pricey. Also great clothes, shoes etc.
www.sundancecatalog.com

Simple Centerpiece

For an Easter centerpiece this year, I used some things that I had on hand. A pretty cross, a figurine of a lion with a lamb, and a x-mas card I received years ago that I just love. It has Jesus on the front of it and I decorate with that card a lot. I then scattered some tea lights around those things and it looked pretty good.

We had company for Easter dinner and I didn't want to spend the time getting out my china and my pottery looks fallish so I mixed my everyday dishes which are yellow with my grandmother's everyday dishes which are white with light yellow, pink and green flowers around the edge. I used drinking glasses that are green and the other glasses had a yellow tint to them. Napkins were white with an embroidered yellow daisy. Green tablecloth. It all came together. I personally love mixing dishes. I have my mother's china and I like mixing her china with mine. If you are traditional in your decorating and if you are symmetrical in your decorating these ideas won't fit into your box. I decorate for a client quite often who could never do that, it would drive her nuts!

Alice Adella Reynolds

Our family gathered together this morning to remember and say goodbye to my mother-in-law. For the past 12 years she has lived in a mobile home on our property. I am so glad I had this time with her. I really came to know her and understand her. She didn't have the most picturesque life, in fact, it was quite the opposite. The last 12 years has probably been the most stress free and peaceful for her.

As I thought of her, I remembered what an animal lover she was and how she nursed back to health one of our beloved cats. She was a very hard worker, responsible, diligent and industrious. I've never seen anyone who could stretch a dollar as far as she could. She had a very meager income but she was a very generous giver. I saw God's enduring love for her as she battled cancer and suffered none of the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. He dealt with her gently and was very merciful to her.

I have many memories of her that I will always cherish. I am going to miss her. I look out our bedroom window at night now and I can no longer see the T.V. light coming from her bedroom window and when I get up in the morning no longer is the light shining through the window that sits by her chair in the living room. No more afternoon chats or running over to borrow a cup of this or that so I don't have to run to the store at the last minute. It's sad to look at her home and know that she is not there.

She has lived her life and I have entrusted her to the loving kindness of God.

LOVE

TRUE LOVE BEGINS WHEN NOTHING IS LOOKED FOR IN RETURN.
ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY


I still remember the first time God showed me that I had not loved my children unconditionally. I could hardly bring myself to even say that I had loved them conditionally. It was very hard to face that truth. I'm very thankful I was able to admit it and then to learn about love. His kind of love. After raising four children, the best advice I can give a new mother is learn what it means to love unconditionally.

I have always found it interesting as I have thought about 1Corinthians 13:1-3, that we can speak with the tongues of men and angles, have all knowledge and know all mysteries, have all faith, give all our possessions away and even give our bodies up to be burned and have not love.

Think on that one awhile!

Gardening Is Landscape Painting

I am redesigning my herb garden. My herb garden is very close to my kitchen and my veggie garden is quite a distance from our home. So I decided to put all my different lettuces in my herb garden so I wouldn't have to walk so far to get lettuce. In the middle of my herb garden I have a large pedestal with an angel sitting on it. I decided to measure from the middle of the pedestal and come out 4 feet and make a circle around the pedestal and then divided the circle into four sections for four different types of lettuce. I am planting a Red Romaine, a strawberry cabbage lettuce the official name is Sanguine Ameliore, arugula, and an Allstar Gourmet lettuce mix.

I am getting hungry thinking about those wonderful tomatoes and this great lettuce. I can't wait!

Continued Journey of My Seedlings

When the seeds germinate they start out with two leaves. These are the feeder leaves for the plant. Next will appear the leaves for the tomato plant and you will recognize the tomato leaf. You will have one set of tomato leaves and then another set will appear. When the second set appears pinch off the last set and it will cause the little plant to start to bush out. Some of my seedlings have their second set of leaves and I pinched them off and I plan to start transplanting them into a 2 inch pot. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be able to start doing this. I will need to buy a really top notch potting soil. Metro Mix is a great one to get and you can usually find it at your local nursery. I will also need rooting hormone for the transplants. I will dip the end of each transplant into the rooting hormone and blow off the excess before planting it into my 2 inch pot.

The picture of my seedlings looks a little war torn. I set them out in the sun and tried to protect them somewhat from the wind. I walked outside a couple of hours later and my two cats were sitting on top of the seed tray having a very relaxing nap. I went ballistic! My cats took one look at me and took off trying to find a place to hide. After all the tender loving care I have been giving my seedlings I couldn't believe that happened. I did loose some of them but that's ok, I will still have plenty. I have pictured my little darlings for you. Clarence is the big white cat, very lovable and very male and Susie is his girlfriend....very sweet and playful.

My Little Seeds Journey

I am getting around to posting this way after the fact. My seeds started to germinate 5 days after they were planted. They were not all germinating so I called my friend Ann, who is a expert at this and she told me to turn up the temperature on the heating pad. So I went from low to medium on the heating pad and the rest of the seeds started to germinate. It looks like I am not going to be getting them into the ground as soon as I wanted too but I will have tomatoes just a little later than I had planned. She had also told me to put an oscillating fan on the plants when they get up about an inch and I had forgot to do that. The movement of the wind strengthens the plant. I finally remembered that so the fan has been on now a little over a week.

Easy Strawberry Pie

If you are around my age and remember Kip's Big Boy Restaurant this strawberry pie is reminiscent of what they used to serve. Their hamburgers were great and so was their strawberry pie. When I found this recipe I was very happy. :) It's a pie I make quite often during spring and early summer. When I serve the pie I put a big dollop of whipped cream on each slice. I have been buying ReddiWip in a pinch but there is nothing like real whipping cream.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup strawberry gelatin ( that is about 1/2 of a small box of Jello)
4 cups fresh strawberries , halved
1 baked 9 inch pastry shell
sweetened whip cream or cool whip

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened. Stir in strawberry gelatin until dissolved. Remove from heat and chill about 2 hours.
Arrange strawberries in pastry shell and pour gelatin mixture over strawberries. Cover with saran wrap and chill 2 hours.
I have a bigger than 9 inch pie plate so I double this recipe.

Sunday Lemon Pie

This would be a wonderful dessert for Easter dinner. I have made this recipe for a long time and it is always a hit.

1 (3 1/2 ounce) Lemon jello pie filling
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon butter
3 egg whites
2 envelopes Dream Whip
1-9 inch bake pie shell, cooled

Combine Jello pie filling mix, gelatin, sugar, 1/4 cup water and lemon juice in sauce pan. Blend in egg yolks and add remaining water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to full boil. Remove from heat, add lemon rind and butter. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually fold in hot pie filling. Cover surface with wax paper, chill. Prepare Dream Whip as directed on package. Blend one cup of Dream Whip into chilled pie filling and pour into pie shell. Chill for 3 hours. Garnish with remainder of whipped topping and lemon slices.