Steeples Rising to the Sky

When America was being settled, there were numerous churches in every town. 

They represented various ethnic groups.  

In my own hometown, I know, for a fact, there was the French church, one for Italiana, and one for Polish immigrants.  

As the decades flipped by, most of those closed after melding with two parishes. Sad but true.

In the day, those churches were magnificent and majestic. 

I loved looking at their interiors and outside, staring up at the steeples.

In today's post, the old church in the photos is in western Massachusetts.

Today, in my hometown, the Polish and one other Catholic church have been turned into apartments. (Talk about walking on Holy

 ground!  Yikes!)

Here is hoping your Sunday will be absolutely awesome! 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN AN APARTMENT THAT WAS ONCE A CHURCH?

Keep It Simple

One sure way to assuage loneliness and add a bit of cheer and color to life  is to refuse to remain alone by inviting in a friend or family member.

It's important to have a social network, even if it's small.

One of my cousins and I have a nice arrangement. Once a month, we get together, usually over breakfast.

She comes to my apartment when it's my turn to host and I go to hers when it's her turn.

It works out so nicely and I love looking forward to seeing her.

When it's my turn for her to visit me, I like to serve breakfast items on the beautiful Old Country Roses dishes my daughter bought for me one birthday.

This month, (my turn), I kept it fairly simple.

We had a combination in bowls of  Greek yogurt with granola, pecan halves, and maple syrup; orange wedges, and later, rhubarb scones and coffee.

Simple, sufficient, and delicious.

Iced water with a thin slice of lemon made the water taste refreshing and helped keep us hydated on a hot morning.

I love large square shawls in eastern European patterns and designs because they remind me of my maternal grandmother.

They can easily be used as table coverings. 

The one I put on this cousin visit was black with primarily deep pink flowers with black fringes all around the bottom of the cloth.

When it comes to friends or family members, don't let worrying about what to serve them prevent you from inviting them over.

With a few minutes of planning, you can pick up things needed, get everything ready in advance, and enjoy a leisurely and laughter-filled visit.

Best of all, no more feeling lonely....

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO SERVE TO GUESTS?

Scones from Heaven?

Scones are a type of baked goods, similar to biscuits but much richer.

They are often served at tea parties with strawberry jam and clotted cream and are popular in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Once a person bites into one, life will never again be the same. They are intensely delicious. I love them with plain, unsalted butter.

One of my very favorite YouTube vloggers is a man named Kevin Lee Jacobs.  

He is a master baker, cook, floral designer,  gardener, interior decorator, and more.

I've watched dozens upon dozens of his videos and his warm and caring personality makes me feel like he's a kind of brother that I never had.

I tried one of his recipes for rhubarb scones (Kevin pronounces them the Scottish way.....scons),  and they melted in my mouth. 

Please check out his website if you want to have a pleasant experience and find some fabulous recipes.

Shown in this post are photos of rhubarb scones I made this morning. 

While it looks like a lot, many are for gift-giving.  

Rhubarb scones from Kevin absolutely rock!

DO YOU LIKE SCONES?

The Angel Got Her Horn

 

Some followers may remember the beautiful angel sculpture found a couple of years ago in a thrift shop for about $10.

Sadly, from the get-go, it looked like the angel once held a horn but it was now gone, among the missing forevermore.

She came home with me anyway.

A touch-up with gold paint enhanced her appearance and the angel has remained on a small buffet in the apartment's living room ever since.

My thought was that I'd find a Christmas ornament in the shape of a horn that could fit through her hand but no such object has ever been found at yard sales, thrift shops, etc.

So I decided to take matters into my own hands at last.

First, a chop stick was measured to fit near angel's mouth and extend through her held up hand.

Then, with a kitchen knife, I cut the stick. (Not an easy task.)

Grabbing some trusty Sculpey clay, the "bell" of a horn  took shape and fit perfectly into the end of the chopstick.

The horn-to-be was then popped into  a 200 degree oven until the clay bell hardened.

Luckily, a small, unopened plastic bottle of metallic gold paint came into view from a side cabinet of the buffet.

After one coat was applied to the horn-to-be, it was set to dry overnight.

The morning turned out to be quite splendid because the former bamboo stick-turned-horn fit perfectly through angel's hand and touched her mouth.

The new horn is far from perfect but what is?  At least it's better than none at all, right?

Today, angel got her horn! 

Mother Nature's Finery

The weekend tended to be crammed with activities both on Saturday and Sunday.

So today it was "stay put" day and attempt to create some order around the apartment, along with things like washing bathroom rugs, getting caught up on written correspondence, and so on.

While at a luncheon on Sunday, outdoors on the patio of a sister's lovely cottage, I looked around and found some of Mother Nature's finery in nearby gargantuan trees.

Oh my goodness, those trees must be more than 200 years old. They go so far up into the sky that it's almost unbelievable.

Birds perching in those upper branches sure have a view of the world the rest of us don't have.

Guess that's where the term "a bird's eye view" of a situation originated.

The trees are so majestic. 

It was fun even leaning back in my patio rocking chair and looking up!

Another sister made goulash that we ate from little bowls as well as fruits and icy drinks.

My heart felt filled to the brim with gratitude for everything, including the  trees!