FIRST DAY OF SPRING!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

DALLAS ARBORETUM IN THE SPRING TIME

The grandkids had a great time at the Dallas Arboretum yesterday with their friends. It is such a lovely place in which to see the spring bulbs in full bloom and has lots of play areas for the kids. It is currently working on another children's addition that should be open in a few months.

POPE FRANCIS APPOINTED TODAY

New Pope

The new leader of the Catholic Church is the Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio who has taken the name of Pope Francis.  Bergoglio, 76, is a Jesuit from Buenos Aires and is the first pope from South America.  He is also the first pope to take the name of Francis.  The new pontiff stepped onto the Vatican balcony dressed in white to address the roaring crowd in St. Peter's Square where he humbly and calmly asked for the peoples' prayers.

CREPE MYRTLES

Crepe Myrtle Info

The crepe myrtles are among the most satisfactory of plants for the South: showy summer flowers, attractive bark, and (in many cases) brilliant fall color make them year-round garden performers. Check out this website for gardening advice on them.

STRAWBERRY-BANANA SMOOTHIES

Strawberry - Banana Smoothie

What a great way to start off the morning or have as a light dessert.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen sliced strawberries
1 (11.3-ounce) can strawberry-banana nectar
1 large ripe banana
1 cup vanilla low-fat frozen yogurt
1 cup 1% low-fat milk

In the container of a blender, combine strawberries, nectar, banana, yogurt, and milk. Process until smooth.

MY MOTHER'S DINING ROOM TABLE

I inherited my mother's dining room table when she died. This was a sentimental piece of furniture for me because I remember the family eating our evening dinner on it daily when we lived in a small town. When my parents moved to the country and built a home; it was moved to the basement since we only had a big kitchen which included a large dining area. Through the years it was used for a variety of things. My little brother had it for a few years and "refinished" it. By the time I received it, it had a dark finish and only 2 remaining side chairs. I had a furniture builder strip, repair, and reconstruct the table into two separate desks. The desk shown above is mounted to the study's window wall alcove. It has 2 newly made side cabinets with drawers attached to the desk. The other desk shown below is mounted to a wall shelf unit. The remaining two chairs will be refinished and assembled to complete the project.

I am so pleased to have this re-purposed furniture to enjoy. I hope my mom and dad are pleased with the way it has turned out and that it will be used daily by one of their children.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME IS HERE

HOW TO FROST CUPCAKES BY GLORIOUS TREATS

How To Frost Cupcakes

Have you ever wondered how to beautifully frost cupcakes and which decorating tip to use? This post has a good video tutorial to show you how.

(Left to Right)  Large round tip, Open star (Wilton 1M), Closed star (Wilton 2D), French tip

To frost cupcakes, you’ll want to use a large (sometimes called jumbo) decorating tip.  The four most common shapes (openings) are shown above.  The Wilton 1M and 2D are often available at craft stores, the others you may have to buy on-line.  Glorious Treats likes to use a coupler to hold her tips in place, for these large tips you’ll need a large coupler as well.  Large tips can also be used without a coupler, by simply setting the tip inside the bag, then filling with frosting.

VAN CLIBURN RIP

Excellent Pianist

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE

RED VELVET "STRAWBERRIES" CAKE POPS

If you want to try something unique for Valentine's Day, try these chocolate covered red velvet cake pops that look like strawberries!  Check out the recipe at Lindsay Ann's Dollhouse Bake Shoppe.

MUSTANG RACING IN TEXAS!

The nice spring weather this weekend brought out the Mustangs!  Racing has begun on our street!

ICE CREAM VALENTINE TREATS

Cupid's Ice Cream Treats via Parents.com

Ingredients

•  1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

•  3/4 cup cocoa powder

•  3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened

•  2/3 cup sugar

•  2 large eggs

•  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

•  2 pints strawberry ice cream, softened

Make It

1. In bowl, combine flour and cocoa. In large bowl, with mixer on high, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well blended. Reduce mixer to low, and beat in flour mixture. Divide dough in half. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

2. Line 9 x 13-inch baking pan with plastic wrap. Smooth ice cream evenly into pan, and freeze 1 hour.

3. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. On floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2-1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out hearts, then transfer to baking sheet, 1 inch apart. With tines of fork, prick the tops of the cookies. Bake 12 minutes. Cool 2 minutes and transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

4. Using same cookie cutter, cut out heart-shaped portions of ice cream. Sandwich between two cookies, and place in freezer until ready to serve.

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SPRING IS HERE!

My first iris of 2013!