MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2011: A Special Occasion Dinner

Having dinner at a favorite restaurant brightens up a winter’s night like firecrackers in July.

We had the opportunity recently to go to our Number 1 favorite dining spot, café Adam in Western Massachusetts, at the invitation of a dear, life-long friend . She gifted us with dinners in honor of our 37th wedding anniversary! What a splendid present that turned out to be!

(You can read another post done on this fine eating establishment by clicking this:http://writingstraightfromtheheart.blogspot.com/2010/03/cafeadam-in-great-barrington-ma.html)

 

We were not the only diners who braved blustery, icy cold winds and single digit temperatures to drive to the restaurant. The place was nearly filled to capacity. Given the weather, that’s the sign of a top notch dining establishment, wouldn't you say?

As soon as we sat down, the waiter brought us glasses of luscious, bubble-filled champagne. Then, the owner, Adam Zieminski, sent out a basket of tender calamari with zippy red pepper sauce. Luscious!

 Adam, by the way, is a graduate of Johnson and Wales Culinary School in Rhode Island. His masterful cooking sure does that Alma Mater proud!

Tables are covered with white cloths and silverware is wrapped in black napkins. It's a very classy, sophisticated look.

Salads came with big chunks of succulent blue cheese. Breads got dipped in rosemary tinged olive oil. You'll see only a portion of a piece of bread in the photo below because, well, you know why.

My husband ordered tenderloin steak with fried potatoes that came interspersed with slender onion sticks.

My scallops were tender and luscious, perched in mounds of parsnip puree. There was spinach on the plate, too, and every morsel was lush. This was the kind of entree you wanted to never disappear from your plate, it was so yummy.

For dessert, my husband had the decadent chocolate tart with a goat cheese topping and blueberries, shown at the top of this post. Apparently, it was the creation of Adam's mother, Christine.  Guiltily, I took some nibbles of it and nearly keeled over with its deliciousness.

It was a memorable meal for a very special occasion. Think we’ll go to café Adam at anniversary time for the next 37 years.

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARIES?

Traditions from Childhood Remain With Us Forever

In church this weekend, my thoughts strayed from the sermon at hand.

I felt removed from the people around me. Despite being surrounded by people, I felt alone.

The church of my grandparents and parents remains my church but now I go to services alone. So many of my beloved family members have died and gone to the other realm of life.

Looking around the familiar surroundings, I  felt the presence of loved ones who are no longer with me. In one sense, it was heartbreaking to know they are no longer her to talk to and to hug. On the other hand, however, I felt  grateful for the gift of faith bestowed on me by my parents and grandparents. It was, no doubt, their greatest gift to me,  the most valuable inheritance anyone could ever ask for.

Glancing up at the stained glass windows, I felt in awe of their beauty and intensely grateful for the gift of eyesight in order to see them.

Life goes on after we lose those we love. Years pass. Children grow up and leave.  New babies come and suddenly we find ourselves the "older" generation.  Where did the time go? How could it be that life is speeding by with the fury of a runaway freight train?

No matter what is going on around me, there is comfort in the familiar.  The old stained glass windows from my childhood remain as beautiful as ever.

Today, my heart is at peace and I wish each of you the most wonderful of days today.  May you be immersed in light and warmed in love.

Remember the gifts of your own childhoods and may your hearts be filled with gratitude for all good things.

WHAT IS ONE THING FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD YOU ARE GRATEFUL FOR?

Antiques Shop in Miniature!

Weekend!  The very word lifts up our spirits and makes our hearts beat just a tad faster.

Whether one plans to stay blessedly home to putter around or go on a day trip, out to lunch with friends, or to a concert, the movies, or the library, weekends rock.

On the weekends, many people in blogland zoom to thrift shops to go treasure hunting. Antique shopping is also a blast, although prices are often higher than the thrifties.

Would you like to browse through the antique shop shown in this post's photos?

It's filled with all kinds of fabulous decorations. There are plenty of them, too, in every nook and crannie of the shop!  The only drawback to using the things you find in your own house might be that every single thing in the shop is a miniature!  Yep, it's a miniature antiques shop, found in the  The Mini Time Machine, a Museum of Miniatures in Tucson, Arizona.

Miniature enthusiasts just might think they died and went to heaven when they walk into this incredible museum. (At least that's how I felt!) It's a place that will make your imagination shimmer like the sun.  You will feel like a giant in the land of Lilliput as you peer into windows as big as playing cards and squint to see what's inside.

The shop shown today , Corinthian Studios, has hundreds of objects, many of which are no bigger than your baby fingernail!  It's definitely an "upscale" antique shop of the miniature world.

 There are candle holders and desks, lamps, mirrors, pictures, pitchers, tables, vases, and so forth, all ready to adorn some magnificent little dollhouse!

Thanks to my handy little Kodak pixel digital camera, I came away from the museum with a slew of photographs which I hope to share with readers, little by little.  Being a total connoisseur of miniatures, taking photos of dozens of fabulous displays ranging from bakeries and honeymoon suites to toy shops and a wedding shower was pure delight.

If you go thrifting or antiquing this weekend, think of this little shop in a museum in Arizona!

DO YOU LIKE MINIATURES AND DOLLHOUSES?

New Found Treasures, One and All

A trek to a favorite supermarket-sized thrift store, Savers, as well as  finding bargain priced treasures, turned out to be yesterday's highlights.

It's an hour away but worth the drive. Sometimes a friend accompanies me but yesterday was a solo excursion. 

It's thrilling to share the newfound  treasures with readers by joining Linda's Junkin Friday and Cindy's Show and Tell Friday! Be sure to check out Cindy's  blog, My Romantic Home, http://romantichome.blogspot.com/   to see some of the other entries for Show and Tell Friday and Linda's blog, A La Carte . http://ljm-alacarte.blogspot.com/ for Junkin Friday finds! Thanks to both Linda and Cindy for hosting these weekly fun parties!

Now needlepoint is not in the realm of possibility for me to do but I appreciate the immense amount of work that goes into this endeavor. Imagine my absolute delight when my eyes zoomed in on this exquisite pillow, shown above and to the right.

Roses, of course, make my heart flutter and pink roses to boot!  The back of the pillow is a soft pastel velvet.  The price?  $2.99.  Incredible!





A friend of mine is of Ukranian heritage. Now it's almost impossible to find anything from that country so imagine my delight upon finding this vase, made in the Ukraine. It got snatched up immediately for a mere $1.99. My girlfriend will love it!

The color scheme of our remodeled kitchen is blue and yellow with white cabinets so when I saw a trivet in those colors,  it had to be scooped up. The tile is from Mexico and has a rather zany design to it. I love it. Cost? $1.99!  Woo hoo. Isn't it cool?

Also found a very sweet little odd-shaped vase in a delicate lavender shade. I could picture a few wild violets in it or some tiny white spring flowers.  It was a little pricey at $3.99 but because it called to me, I bought it.

Isn't it fun to go treasure hunting? 

DO YOU GO THRIFT STORE SHOPPING? IF YES, WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR?

Simple Pleasure: Morning Coffee in a Pretty Cup

Today's Simple Pleasure truly is something looked forward to every day.

Just the thought of freshly brewed coffee with a splash of light cream in it helps to  propel me out from under the warm bed covers .

The light cream, or sometimes half and half, make the coffee taste scrumptuous. Yes, it's extra calories but a light splash isn't going to break the scale.

Actually, I just switched to light cream. Stopped at the drive-up window of a popular coffee place, I saw the workers using light cream. Always I had wondered why my coffee at home, which is the same brand as the store, never tasted as good. When I saw the light cream going into the coffee, I discovered the secret. 

No plastic cups for me, no siree. Morning coffee has to be poured into something stylish and pretty. Does that make it taste better, too?  Hmmm. I think it does.

WHICH DO YOU PREFER? A PRETTY, DAINTY CUP OR STURDY MUG?

Dayle, from the blog "A Collection of This and That" sponsors today's Simple Pleasures party in which Writing Straight from the Heart is participating. Please take a minute to check out all the other simple pleasure entries by clicking on :(http://alittleofthisandthat2.blogspot.com/ ).

Hyacinths, Sweet Smell of Spring and This Blog's 500th Post!

Today on this blog are photos  of a supermarket splurge: hyacinths. 

With the fiercest winter on record slowly receding into past history, (please?),  every fiber of my being is yearning for spring. There are no crocuses sticking their heads up from the earth because it's still covered with several feet of snow.

No buds on the trees since it's still freezing outside!  

There are no farmers markets to go to and no fresh peaches.

However, all is not lost. In the supermarket, they had hyacinths, 3 for $10. It was a huge splurge for me but I did it anyway----put those babies right into the shopping cart before any food ever hit the bottom. 

It was worth it, too. These flowers  make me happy just looking at them.

They sit bravely on the chilly kitchen windowsill, looking out toward the snowy backyard and occasional sun. They are three beauties in white, pink (my fave), and purple.

According to the Internet's "The Flower Expert,"  hyacinths are very ancient flowers, having been cultivated for centuries.  In Victorian flower language, they symbolized sport or play and blue hyacinths, sincerity.

They grew in Europe at the time of the Greeks and Romans and Homer and Virgil remarked on their sweet fragrance.

So, to celebrate the eventual coming of spring, as well as this blog's 500th post TODAY,  woo hoo, I'm sharing photos of these beauties.  Hope you enjoy looking at them!

(Eventually there will be a giveaway, commemorating this momentous occasion of having written and shared 500 posts, with photographs, with readers from many different places! I think you are all great people!)

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR HYACINTH?

TUESDAY POST: Lebanese Dish: M'Shudida

If you are a lentil affectionado, you will love the dish described today. It's a Lebanese recipe called  M'Shudida.

A dear person who married into our family is of Lebanese heritage and shared this recipe with me. Luckily, I actually love lentils, especially when prepared as the recipe calls for.

This is a very simple yet tasty dish.  The spices make is especially yummy by adding excellent flavor.
As a matter of fact, you can make an entire meal of it, if you serve it along side a salad.

Here goes:

                                                                           M'Shudida

16 ounch bag of lentils
2-3 white onions, chopped fine
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
Several Tablespoons of olive oil

Boil lentils in a big pot half filled with water. Boil about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook a half cup of white rice in a separate pot. Make sure you do not use instant rice.

Saute the onions in several tablespoons of olive oil until brown. 

When the lentils are almost done, add 1 teaspoon of salt, a half teaspoon of black pepper, a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon, and a quarter teaspoon of allspice.   Mix well, then add the sauteed onions and cooked rice.

Mmmmmm. This dish is so good!

DO YOU LIKE LENTILS?

Wild Winds Whip New England

Intense wind has been whipping New England lately. Tree branches are scattered helter skelter all over our snow-covered yard and driveway.

Empty containers near the trash cans on the side of the house took off like rockets when the furious wind blasts came.

It sounded like a freight train rolling in as winds up to 45 miles an hour roared through the air.

      "Holy smoke," I said to my husband. "I'm so glad our house is strong and sturdy.  We don't have to worry about the roof flying off."

      Outside on the side porch, a little frog decoration on a swing got a wild ride. 

      Inside, it was most comforting to be hunkered down in a warm home as winter winds rampaged outside.

We couldn't even light a fire in the fireplace as it was way too windy for comfort.

Spring, oh spring, are you coming soon? Think I'll close my eyes and think of this:

WHAT IS ONE PLAN YOU HAVE FOR THE SUMMER?

The Leaning Tower of Picnic

Almost everyone knows about the leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, right?

Do you know about the Leaning Tower of Picnic?

Regular readers of this blog will recall photos of our backyard picnic table as winter unleashed its snowy fury the past few months.

Snow accumulated on the table top took on startling proportions. The "tower" of white stuff just grew and grew and then grew some more.

A warm day this week resulted in the snowy tower sliding precariously off the table.

Going:

 

Almost gone, but not quite.

The smell of grilling hotdogs and hamburgers can almost be detected in the air!  Can you almost detect it even though spring is still hiding behind gigantic mounds of snow and bare trees and bushes?

Hope, above all else, springs eternal!

What Is Your Favorite Part of Spring?

Come On Now, You Remember What That Season Is Like, Right? Share in Comments.  :)

Tale of The White, Lacy Curtains

A tiny, downstairs bathroom with a funky “step-up” feature has a small window. It had blinds that opened and closed but still kept the room quite dark.

It was my husband’s request to get rid of the blinds.

“This room need more light,” he lamented. Okay, I thought, but what can I put on the window that would allow more light but still maintain privacy?

The bottom half of white café curtains hung in another downstairs window so I removed it. After  washing and ironing, I hung the curtain in the bathroom window. The top half of the small window, complete with old-fashioned panes, now lets in brilliant sunshine yet the café curtain ensures privacy. It was a match made in heaven.

Okay, the next dilemma was what to put on the now curtainless window in front of the treadmill.  Remembering a square piece of some pretty intricate lace, probably meant for the top of a table, I got it out, tucked it around the curtain rod, and hung it. It makes a perfect “curtain” and couldn’t be prettier.

(By the way, you can click any photo to make it larger, to see more detail.)

While on the treadmill, the lacy window cover allows me to see out into the yard. It looks nice from outside the house, too. I love it!

So, the problem of providing curtains for two windows has been solved without a penny being spent. How cool is that?

Next time you are out thrifting, look for lace! You never know when you might need a curtain.

WHAT WAS YOUR LAST DECORATING BARGAIN?

Roses: Flowers for the Heart, Mind, and Soul!

On more  Valentine Days  than I care to think about,  came deliveries of flowers from my son, who lives thousands of miles away.

This year, however, he is a married man and there was no expectation, on my part, of flowers. He has a wife, now, and, rightfully so, she should receive  roses.  However, the doorbell rang on Valentine's Day. The delivery person held a large box filled with multi-colored roses from my son and my daughter-in-law!

Tears filled my eyes and spilled down my cheeks as I looked at their astonishing beauty.  A young couple starting out,  my son and daughter-in-law certainly could have used their money for other things but still, my heart filled with love and gratitude for their sweet and precious gift.

A very dear friend had given me an old-fashioned glass pitcher that she picked up in a thrift store. It would make a perfect container, much nicer than a vase.

So the roses now adorn the kitchen table.  The white crocheted tablecloth placed on top of a red one also came from a thrift store!  See all the lovely things one can find on-the-cheap? No one would ever know any of the things shown in this post were thrifted!

Each day when I come into the kitchen, my first glance at the roses brings smiles and ecstasy to my mother's heart.

Truly, there are so many magnificent flowers in our world but, to me, roses are the number one beauties.

So here are photos of them to share with you, my very dear and special readers, along with a few little sayings about roses.

                                                  "Rose! Thou art the sweetest flower

                                                   That ever drank the amber shower.

                                                    Even the Gods, who walk the sky,

                                                   Are amorous of thy scented sigh."

                                                                       Thomas Moore

"The scent of a rose is enough to embue a woman with wordless, sibylline poetry,

as if she were younger by ten centuries." 

                  Colette

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns;

I am thankful that thorns have roses."

         Alphonse Karr (French writer and editor)

ARE ROSES YOUR FAVORITE FLOWERS?

Joining Linda's Junkin Friday and Cindy's Show and Tell Friday!  Be sure to check out Linda's unique blog, A La Carte . http://ljm-alacarte.blogspot.com/  for great Junkin Friday finds!


Also allot time to stop by Cindy's enchanting blog, My Romantic Home, http://romantichome.blogspot.com/  to see some of the other entries for Show and Tell Friday.