He Leadeth Me

I just love it when people who are creating play spaces for children know their children's literature. Welcome to Zuckerman's Farm, the setting of the classic children's book Charlotte's Web . Caleb is busy climbing Charlotte's web. Wilbur is looking on as Aaron slides down one of the barn's slides. Charlotte is keeping watch over everyone. This is "SOME PIG". Charlotte is perfect for a little ride. Thank you, Jeremy, Caleb and Aaron for introducing me to this special park about 10 minutes from my house. There is also an Alice in Wonderland  park in the same area, but I'll save those photos for another blog post.

This is what my freezer looks like as we prepare for our 2013 Family Reunion. Several, including family members have wondered why I am doing so much cooking. There are several reasons: #1  I enjoy spoiling my family. #2  I want to be able to enjoy visiting while everyone is here, so if I cook ahead of time, I just have to take it out of the freezer and heat it up. #3  It was fun going through my cookbook and picking out some old family favorites and thinking of those people while I was cooking. #4   THE MOST IMPORTANT We had a family reunion 2 years ago. My family came after my first chemo treatment.  My wonderful oncologist timed my first chemo so that I would be feeling good by the time family arrived. The JOY of being with family at that reunion and the HAPPY MEMORIES literally carried me through my time of recovery. Because they spoiled me 2 years ago, it is my turn to spoil them now!!! Texas Trash They guys especially like this. G...

The card table and chairs that our grandchildren use had gotten pretty pathetic. Not really from hard wear, but from being out in the elements. Once a tear starts, little fingers just cannot help the idea of helping it along.   I had heard that you could use vinyl tablecloths to recover the table and chairs pretty easily. I'm happy with the way they turned out.  Thanks to my sweet husband who helped with putting all the screws back in the correct places.  I did most of them, but he had to step in at the end.  

You have probably noticed that I refer to my grandson Aaron as the stuffed animal boy. He loves any and all stuffed animals. So I knew that a visit to Build a Bear was a perfect  birthday present. He was such a little trooper. The lady who was helping us told him to stand on the pedal which would fill his bear with fur. He intently watched as the fur came out of the little machine. Next, it was time to put the heart in his bear. First he held it to his face. Then he kissed it. He was very interested in watching the lady sew up his bear (with the heart inside). He even helped pull the string. Then it was time to bathe and fluff up his bear. He really enjoyed this part. (Sorry for the blurry picture. He was working fast). Although he had trouble picking out the exact animal he wanted, he had no trouble picking out his clothing. However, Bear still doesn't have a name.  He said he needed to ask his mom and dad. Unfortunat...

When I was visiting Houston, my great nephew, Andrew, told me that he was helping to raise money for a capital campaign at his church.  He explained that they need a new auditorium. He said that he was doing art work to raise money.  How can a great aunt, who needs beautiful artwork in her home, resist that? Originally, he was drawing lots of army type pictures, typical of grade school boys, but his Dad (wise man) told him that women might like flowers more. His four year old brother Nathan, not to be outdone, drew me an angel.  He said it was because my parents "called me angel". Best art purchase I've made in a very long time. Nathan and Andrew, look for your art when you come to see me in July for the Family Reunion.  

I haven't been a very good blogger lately.  I have become enamored with Instagram and it is so easy to post pictures that I often post things there rather than blogging. (If you are on Instagram, my username is karenavengibson). But today, as I gazed out my back window, I got excited about spring  and decided to blog. I spent the week last week in Houston, Texas where the flowers were BEAUTIFUL . When I left Colorado Springs, a few things were blooming, but not much. When I got home, Spring had Sprung. This is a snowball bush that we planted last year. I had never seen this bush before we moved here. I have seen huge ones with flowers that look just like snowballs. Mine is still a baby bush. Purple ground cover. I love the way it grows amongst the rocks. This picture and the next are supposedly the same bush.  Maybe just a different variety??? I love purple, so these blooms make my day. Views from the deck. Hap...

This is by no means a step by step tutorial for making  Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls .   You can find that by clicking HERE . Instead, this post is some random photos and thoughts as I make the rolls. I have had this wooden rolling pen since I got married 41 years ago. It is the GREATEST! I wouldn't want another one. My new granite countertops make a great prep surface. There are just some brands that you have to be loyal to.  For me, one of those is Gold Medal All Purpose Flour . I have lots and lots of different kinds of bowls, but this one is the best for melting butter in the microwave. Ready to go in the oven. There is something so satisfying about making HUGE quantities of food and putting some of it in the freezer for later use.   Yes, this recipe uses butter. LOTS and LOTS of BUTTER!   The Pioneer Woman's recipe calls for granulated sugar for the filling (along with cinnamon). I substitute brown sugar a...