Strong Women

 

"Here's to 

strong women.

May we be them.

May we know them.

May we raise them. "- M. Obama

Your Life

 

"live in the present

launch yourself

on every wave,

find eternity

in each moment..." Thoreau

Take Chances

 

 

 

 "Take chances, take a lot of them.

Because honestly, not matter where

you end up and with whom, it always

ends up just the way it should be.

Your mistakes make you who you

are. You learn and grow with each

choice you make. Everything is 

worth it. Say how you feel, always.

Be you, and be okay with it." 

 

Sunshine

 

"I've found that

there is always

some beauty left-

in nature,

in sunshine, in freedom,

in yourself;

these can all help you. " Anne Frank

Be Yourself

 

"Be yourself.

There is something'

that you can do

better than any other.

Listen to the inward voice

and bravely obey that."

Realization

 

 

" Somehow something deep inside me knew my destiny.  All the things I wanted, that I hoped for in my life came true. Maybe not in the exact ways that I had dreamed  but in small ways the infinite wishes were realized. I kept a diary from a very young age. I dreamed of things, the ways in which I wanted love, the ways I wanted my life to be. I knew that time would give me the answers when things did not seem to turn out the way I had hoped. I knew that time would show me why.  Time did show me. I believe in a greater all knowing God. I have some internal knowledge of life before this one and after this one. I believe in infinite time and how little one life is in the greater scheme of things. We go around and around in experiencing a lifetime. Little grains of sand in the infinite hour glass.  "

Gratefulness

 "Spend time cultivating gratefulness if you want to be happy." -Sri Avinash

 

 

At the center of your Being

 

"At the center of your being you

have the answer;

you know who you are

and you know

what you want."- Lao Tzu

Mary Oliver Thoughts

 

Today’s post: “Early Morning, My Birthday”

The snails on the pink sleds of their bodies are moving
among the morning glories.
The spider is asleep among the red thumbs
of the raspberries.
What shall I do, what shall I do?

The rain is slow
The little birds are alive in it.
Even the beetles.
The green leaves lap it up.
What shall I do, what shall I do?

The wasp sits on the porch in her paper castle.
The blue heron floats out of the clouds.
The fish leaps, all rainbow and mouth, from the dark water.

This morning the water lilies are no less lovely, I think,
than the lilies of Monet.
And I do not want anymore to be useful, to be docile, to lead
children out of the fields into the text
of civility, to teach them that they are (they are not) better
than the grass.

Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems, Vol. 1 (1992)

A Tiny Bird

 "Inside us

All patiently

waiting sits

a tiny little

adventure bird." 

A Night at The Crowe Mansion

 March 6, 2022

Aria with bust of Dante

Daniele with bust of Churchill

Our March Walks

 March 13, 2022

We did a bit of a different walk today. Started off near Schooner or Later cafe and walked by the Crab Pot to Alamitos Bay. We crossed the bridge to the bike path and walked to the now closed Rivers End restaurant . This area is often a bit windy but today it was still and warm and beautiful. Many people riding bikes and boating but few on the beach itself. A lovely quiet Sunday.

 

 

 March 19th Signal Hill

Sunday March 20th the Naples Canals Long Beach

Before This and After This

  "There are moments that mark your

life, moments when you realize

nothing will ever be the same. And

time is divided into two parts,

before this and after this." 

Soft and Chew Oatmeal cookies

 Yesterday I baked a new cookie recipe which I liked. I’ll attach the recipe In the comments section. For a bit of a twist on an oatmeal cookie I exchanged one cup of Heath bar toffee bits for the butterscotch morsels. I added one cup of chopped pecans and just a scant half cup of chocolate chips. I also added a teaspoon of almond extract and a 1/4 cup shredded coconut .

 https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/oatmeal-scotchies/

 Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks; 230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon unsulphured or dark molasses
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups (240g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
• 2 cups (280g) butterscotch morsels

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Instructions

1. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, beat in the oats and butterscotch morsels. Dough will be thick and sticky. Cover and chill the dough for at least 45 minutes in the refrigerator (and up to 4 days). If chilling for longer than a few hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
5. Scoop cookie dough (here’s the cookie scoop I love), about 3 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and place 4 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 13-14 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
6. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more butterscotch morsels into the tops– this is only for looks!
7. Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.

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Spring Break for the kids

 It’s Spring vacation for the Dallas kids. Zio Marino is visiting. They are spending the week sightseeing in Austin. The kids loved feeding and petting the goats on the farm they are staying at. Activities for the week included tour of the Texas state Capitol building, boat ride, bat caves, Univ. of Texas Paleontology q & a, food stop at Magnolia store and lunch at the Silos.

 

 

 

Questions for the Paleontologist at the UT Austin.

Helping collect the eggs at the airbnb

 

One all day sucker for Sofia and one tiny sucker for

lollipop for Bobo.

Wait a minute....

 

this is more like it!

 

 

a stop at the Silos at Magnolia for lunch

Last day of spring break March 20th