This Moment

A single picture capturing a snippet in the week. No words, just this moment in time.

Join in the fun with a group of bloggers sharing their moments. The movement started with Soulemama, you can see more moments in the comments section.

Little Library

I had never heard of this until recently and can't get it off my mind. I really want one of my own to share. The concept is so brilliant and right down our family's alley, in other words, we have a lot of books.

The Little Library above is near us, a couple of miles away. The one below is also near us.

 Here's an excerpt from their website to help you catch the vision: “What’s in the library today?” people might ask as they stroll through their neighborhood.   Maybe one library has mystery stories, one has picture books for kids and another has memoirs.  Down the block, an English teacher shares her favorite novels and a historian puts out a new book every month about “the old country” and her Norwegian heritage.  Some fifth grade girls exchange American Girl stories about girls growing up at different times in history.  A wooden bench shows up next to the Little Library in front of Mrs. Argelander’s bungalow.  The nightly walkers, children and elders alike, sit and read to each other.   

I especially like this little red library. I would love to see one in my neighborhood. But, something more quaint would better be suited to my neighborhood.

I hope this inspires you to find a little library near you and share a note or book. 

I would like to give credit to Bookusbinders for the great photos that I found to share here.

I Am Grateful

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it.

Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it.

Hatred darkens life; love illumines it.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Grateful for the love and beauty that surrounds me.

This Moment

A single picture capturing a snippet in the week. No words, just this moment in time.

Join in the fun with a group of bloggers sharing their moments. The movement started with Soulemama, you can see more moments in the comments section.

Another Soap to Share

I have another soap to share today. It is call South Pacific. Why South Pacific? Well, it is a blend of tropical flowers with some orange blossom. It has a blue accord that brings a clean breezy note to the soap. It just smells like a warm tropical evening.

This soap is made with skin loving olive oil, coconut oil, and palm oil. It also has rice bran oil that is rich in many skin loving vitamins. To bring more lather to the soap I included castor oil and some silk to add a touch of luxury.

Icebox Cheesecake, From My Mother's Recipe Box

My mom would make this pie when strawberries were in season. In California it seemed like a very long season most of late winter and all of early spring. Here in Pennsylvania strawberry season is short, you can blink and miss it.

So with a few jars of fresh homemade strawberry jam I decided to break out this recipe and treat my family. I will be honest, we don't often use cool whip. I prefer fresh whipped cream. But since I wanted to make it like my mom did, I caved in a bought a tub of it.

My son whooped with glee when he saw the ingredients. He knew there was a cream pie in his future. "When are we going to eat it?" was his first question. The day was a very long one, anticipating the evening when he would finally able to have a slice of pie.

I used strawberry jam that I made a couple of weeks ago for the topping. I also garnished it with a few fresh berries before I served it. I made an almond crust and used a tart pan. One piece of advice, place the jam on the pie just prior to serving. My mom made a glaze and placed big mounds of fresh berries on top. Do as you choose, either way is delicious.

Icebox Cheese Pie
fills one regular pie crust


2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 8 oz. tub of cool whip thawed
1 pie crust


1. Beat cream cheese till fluffy, add in sugar and combine till mixed well.
2. Add in cool whip and mix till well blended.
3. Spoon into crust and refrigerate for at least three hours or until firm.
4. Before serving add fresh berries of your choice.


Enjoy

A Weekend Full of Late Late Nights

The days full of outside activity and the evenings full of movies and Big Bang Theory. That kind of sums up our weekend.

I picked the last of the bok choi that was hiding near the swiss chard and a lot of kale from the garden. I really need a dehydrator to make kale chips. Most of the tomatoes are staked and have plenty of support.

Sadly I did not work on my scarf. But I did start and finish two books this past week. Night Road.and Sarah's Key, both page turners and quick reads. I'm not sure if I can say if one or another was a favorite. I enjoyed them both. Now on to this book. I have a goal of reading two books a month, pretty achievable as long as I stay on track.

Tonight I am making an ice box tart from my mom's recipe box. I love taking my time with these types of recipes, memories flooding back of my mom, sister, and I in the kitchen learning from her and and just being close to those I love. I hope to share this recipe with you tomorrow.