Here Kitty Kitty - Day 208

"A cat has absolute emotional honesty:

human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings,

but a cat does not." ~ Ernest Hemingway

Wordless Wednesday - Day 207

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday over at MMB

Hope to see you there!

Letters to a Friend - Day 206

A friend is someone

who knows the song in your heart

and can sing it back to you

when you have forgotten the words.

Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things. 

First Shoots! - Day 205

I know it doesn't look like much, but it is green, it is in my yard, and someday it will be a flower!!

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

Let There Be Strawberries! - Day 204

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant"

Gift for a Friend - Day 203

A friend is someone who understands your past,

believes in your future,

and loves you just the way you are.

Light - Macro Friday - Day 202

Checking in for Macro Friday with Blogging From Bolivia.

Hope to see you there!

We are each gifted in a unique and important way.

It is our privilege and our adventure

to discover our own special light.  ~Mary Dunbar

My Husband, the Chef! - Day 201

The following is my husband's family motto.  You should know that chili in our house is judged by how much it makes you sweat.  Every year, his family has a chili cookoff, and without fail, the entry that wins is the one that I cannot eat.  Personally, I prefer chili that I can taste!  (But don't tell his family that!)

"Next to music,

 there is nothing that lifts the spirits

and strengthens the soul

more than a good bowl of chili."

Rhubarb - Day

I went outside today and received a wonderful surprise!  The rhubarb was coming up in the front yard, between the pine trees.  We do love our rhubarb.  It reminds me of summer pies and jam.  I can almost taste the coming of spring!

I love spring anywhere, 

but if I could choose, 

I would always greet it in a garden.  ~Ruth Stout

Yard Work - Day 199

Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world. 

–Virgil A. Kraft

Spring Cleaning - Day 198

My second favorite household chore is ironing. 

My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. 

 ~Erma Bombeck~

The Moon - Day 197

The moon shines brightly

And bathes the world with soft light

bringing quiet peace.

The Band Concert - Day 196

Another concert for one of the girls (Miracle) to showcase her talent.  She had a solo and did an amazing job!!  One of these days I will figure out how to download a video.

"The most exciting place to discover talent is in yourself."  Ashleigh Brillant

When I stand before God at the end of my life, 

I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, 

and could say, "I used everything you gave me."  Erma Bombeck

The Ballet - Day 195

One wonderful evening, I took the girls to a ballet.  It was about Fairy Tales.  There was a party at the beginning to give all the little princesses a chance to meet the ballerinas.

They twirled

They posed.

They talked and laughed.

During the intermission, all princesses were invited to join in a dance on the stage.

Ballet Haiku

Daringly Brilliant

Twisting, turning, leaping high

Arms outstretched in joy.

Five Minutes to say Good-bye - Day 194

All taken within a five minute period of time.  I had to pull off the road to catch these fabulous shots.

Courage doesn't aways roar. 

Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day,

saying, "I will try again tomorrow."

Mary Anne Radmacher

"Finish each day and be done with it. 

You have done what you could. 

Some blunders and absurdities no doube crept in,

forget them as soon as you can. 

Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely"...

Ralph Waldo Emerson

One day at a time--this is enough. 

Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; 

and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. 

Live in the present, and make it so beautiful

it will be worth remembering.

Science Project - Day 193

My daughter had a science project to do.  She chose to focus on making music with wine glasses (no surprise as music is her life!)  She had to measure the liquid and determine how much to add to change the notes.  There were experiments and data and just plain fun as she "played" the glasses for the family.  Who know that science could be so fun??

Music isn't just learning notes and playing them, 

You learn notes to play to the music of your soul.

Katie Greenwood

Delicious Goodness - Day 192

Some wonderful friends of ours introduced or family to the wonderful world of Ebelskivers.  These round pancakes have become a family favorite.  All the girls love them and we make them nearly every weekend.  You can eat them with syrup, powdered sugar, cinnamon, honey, or even jelly.  The jelly is our favorite and the girls love to try different kinds.  This week, they were especially fond of the berry jams that we made last year.   

The batter is very similar to pancake batter

The pan is cast iron and has all these round holes in it to cook the ebelskivers. 

We use wooden skewers to turn them over so that they cook all the way through.  

My husband makes these and he wanted a better picture than the first one!

Oh, we do love them.  

And my girls can never seem to get enough.  

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.  ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

Wild Hair Day - Day 191

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.  ~Stacia Tauscher

Waiting for Spring - Day 190

Expect to have hope rekindled. 

Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. 

The dry seasons in life do not last. 

The spring rains will come again.

Sarah Ban Breathnach

The Long Road Home - Day 189

"The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. 

Proceed, and light will dawn, 

and shine with increasing clearness on your path."  Jim Rohn  

Macro Friday - On Ice - Day 188

It is amazing what my girls can find after an ice storm.  We thought this would make an interesting Micro Friday shot for my link up with Blogging From Bolivia

This is the macro of the branch.

This is the back side of it.

This is the front side and you can get a better idea of the true size.  

And the quote to go with all of these:

If you are walking on thin ice, you might as well dance!

They Wanna Bounce! - Day 187

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."
-  Hal Borland 

Wordless Wednesday - Waiting to Play - Day 186

I am participating on Wordless Wednesday today.  I hope you love it. 

"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush."
-  Doug Larson

Winter Gardens - Day 185

"March is a month of considerable frustration - it is so near spring and yet across a great deal of the country the weather is still so violent and changeable that outdoor activity in our yards seems light years away."
-  Thalassa Cruso 

Buried in Snow - Day 184

"People say they 'find' love, as if it were an object hidden by a rock. But love takes many forms, and it is never the same for any man and woman. What people find then, is a certain love. And [he] found a certain love with [her], a grateful love, a deep but quiet love, one that he knew, above all else, was irreplaceable."

-Mitch Albom (The Five People You Meet in Heaven)

Wonderland of White - Day 183

"Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough."  Earl Wilson 

Barrel of Snow - Day 182

Kindness is like snow.  It beautifies everything it covers.