The Gazebo House

Friday, May 13, 2011

Pink & Green

The original posting of this tablescape went missing when
Blogger went down this week.
I was able to resurrect the pictures,
since they were on Live Writer,
but all my text is missing.
I will try to reconstruct it later today.

I'm joining

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch

for

Tablescape Thursday

and

The Tablescaper, for her

Seasonal Sundays

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful Spring-like week!

Saturday, May 07, 2011

Happy Mothers' Day!

I'm reposting this Mothers Day tribute from 2010.
There isn't anything I would change & there is nothing for me to add.

"The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness."
~ Honore' de Balzac

If you are blessed to be a mother, that will always be your highest calling.
Wishing all the Mommies a wonderful,
love-filled day!

I sure wish my Mom were still alive so I could take her a card and gift

and perhaps out to eat someplace special, too.

I deeply regret that I neglected to do that more often.

I don't think I ever got to tell her how much she truly meant to me.

She was a Saint, honest!

She married my Dad, her high school sweetheart, in September of 1936

and remained happily married to him until she died, almost 60 years later.

And I do mean *HAPPILY*, too.

I never once heard them argue.

I never once heard them speak to each other in

anything but the most loving and respectful of tones.

There was always lots of laughter in our house.

My father kissed my mother good-bye every

morning when he left to go to work.

He also sought her out, wherever she was in the house,

so he could kiss her again when he returned home!

She raised 8 kids, on my Dad's steel worker's salary,
to be honest, hardworking, respectful law-biding citizens.

She made sure we polished our shoes every Saturday and
went to Mass every Sunday and attended Sunday school afterwards as well.

We always sat down to a home-cooked meal together after church.
(she put it in the oven before we left)
We always said "Grace" before that meal, too.

She had 16 grandchildren, 22 great-grands &
I can't begin to count the great-great grandchildren!!

She never worked a single day outside the home
but she was the hardest working woman I have ever known.
The washing & the ironing and the cooking was never-ending.

She made the BEST pies & cobblers!

(my sad attempt to duplicate her talents)

We had sour cherry trees on our property and every summer we all
helped to pick the cherries for her baking.
She and her mother, together, canned tomatoes and made grape walnut jam.
I have tried to continue that tradition.
Click here if you'd like to read about it.

She was always sharing little colloquialisms and quotes to teach us life's lessons.

Shortly after her death on Memorial Day in 1995,

(she passed away 7 years after a diagnosis of breast cancer )

my siblings were gathered around the table and

we started recalling all the little things Mom used to repeat to us, day after day.

If we heard them once, we heard them a million times!

We wrote them down that day after the funeral

and my sister typed them out for each of us to have a copy.

Life's Lessons from my Mom

1. IF YOU CAN’T SAY SOMETHING NICE, DON’T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL

2. IF YOU CAN’T DO IT RIGHT, DON’T DO ANYTHING AT ALL

3. TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT

4. TELL THE TRUTH AND SHAME THE DEVIL

5. PEOPLE SAY A LOT OF THINGS BESIDES THEIR PRAYERS

6. THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE POOR GET KIDS

7. TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE, EVEN IF ONE IS A CABBAGE HEAD

8. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

9. YOU CAN BE DEAD AND BURIED IN THREE DAYS

10. IF YOU DON’T WANT SOMEONE TO GET YOUR GOAT, DON’T LET THEM KNOW WHERE IT IS TIED

11. BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, EVEN A MOTHER SKUNK THINKS HER BABY IS BEAUTIFUL

12. A WILLFUL WASTE IS A WILLFUL WANT

13. PRETTY IS AS PRETTY DOES

14. MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

15. YOU CAN CATCH MORE FLIES WITH HONEY THAN VINEGAR

16. I DON’T KNOW IF I’M COMING OR GOING

17. I DON’T KNOW WHETHER TO WIND MY WATCH OR GO TO THE BATHROOM

18. OH LORD, YOU MADE THE DAY TOO LONG (my favorite!)

19. LORD, GIVE ME STRENGTH

20. YOU’LL WEAR OUT YOUR WELCOME

21. YOU’LL CUT OFF YOUR NOSE TO SPITE YOUR FACE

22. DON’T LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG

23. THERE’S NONE SO DUMB AS THEM THAT WANT TO BE

24. IF IT WAS A SNAKE IT WOULD HAVE BIT YOU

25. CHEER UP, THINGS COULD BE WORSE

26. BETTER DAYS ARE JUST AROUND THE CORNER

27. NOBODY RUNNING FOR THEIR LIFE WILL SEE THE DIFFERENCE

28. SIX OF ONE AND HALF A DOZEN OF THE OTHER

The scary part is that I find myself repeating her sayings
over & over again to my daughter & my 3 grandchildren.

I'm becoming my Mother...

which would be the most
wonderful transformation ever!!

Thanks for stopping by the Gazebo House today.
I wish you lots of hugs and kisses from your loved ones.

fondly,

Thursday, May 05, 2011

Crab Louis Dip

Traditionally, Crab Louis is a salad comprised of

crab meat, hard boiled eggs, olives & perhaps tomatoes,

served on a bed of lettuce &

topped with a dressing made from chili sauce

mayonnaise, onion, sugar & Worcestershire sauce.

I found the recipe (or receipt, if you're Southern!) for this Crab Louis DIP in

the following Charleston Junior League Cookbook

that Cuisine Kathleen showed off last week

I ordered my copy for only 75¢ on Half.com!

Although it called for 8 oz. of crab meat,

I had this pouch on hand that was only 6 oz.

It worked just fine!

Look how healthy it is for you!

"Zero Carbs, High Protein & Zero Trans Fat"

All the other ingredients are ones you commonly have on hand.

Printable Recipe Here

Delicious...
as a spread on crackers or a dip for fresh veggies!

I'm joining Foodie Friday

with Michael Lee at

Designs by Gollum.

Thanks, ML, for giving us a wonderful place

to share our food experiences.

fondly,

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Talavera Pottery

Since we're celebrating Cinco De Mayo this week,

I thought I would post one of the tablescapes that I

set up while in FL this winter.

I used all Talavera Pottery
along with some chunky bubble stemware

in muted shades of green & purple.

I have the information about the flatware
written down but can't seem to find it now.
~~Happens quite often these days~~
*sigh*

Don't you ♥ the dining room chairs &
that wonderful Chinese black lacquer buffet?

These colorful & very HEAVY dishes
are a type of majolica earthenware made in both
Spain & Mexico due to the high quality of clay available
in those locations.

Notice that each plate is just a little bit different
than the others.
You can read about the traditions & regulations
regarding Talavera HERE.

I used both GREEN & PURPLE stemware
since I didn't have enough of either color
to set the entire table.

There are RED ones, too, but I saved
those for a later Christmas tablescape.

Can't you just envision a nice big seafood Paella being served
in this huge bowl?Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
I'd need help carrying it to the table...it was THAT heavy!

I'm linking up toSusan at Between Naps on the Porch

for

Tablescape Thursday

and

The Tablescaper, for her

Seasonal Sundays

Thanks for stopping by & have a

Feliz Cinco De Mayo!!

fondly,

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Cinco De Mayo Celebration!

We're getting ready to have a fun little gathering on Thursday to celebrate

It commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the

French army at The Battle of Puebla in 1862.
It is NOT Mexico's Independence Day, as some people think.

These colorful flowers & their bright tissue paper wrappings
set the tone for the party.

I turned the tissue paper into one big Mexican paper flower.
I made the table runner from some bright floral fabric
in my stash.
Super easy...IF you follow the directions correctly &
are able to convert metric measurements.
~insert rolled eyes~

My goof-up (see the narrow lime green strips?)
turned out to be a nice *design element* though.
I'll explain at a later date & include directions on how to do it correctly.

I'm planning on serving hot mini-chimichangas in the round tortilla keeper.

A few of my other planned appetizers have come from this book:

When Cuisine Kathleen showed off this cookbook last week
I quickly ordered a copy...only 75¢ on Half.com!
I just love any Junior League Cookbooks.
They are always tried & true recipes that you can count on being exceptional.
This one did not disappoint.

It has several recipes in it that I tested for the party.
This one I'm nicknaming "The 5 B's" ...

for "Baked Blue Cheese, Butter & Bacon on Bread"

What's not to like???Oh my goodness, is it gooooood, but only if you ♥ blue cheese!

Its difficult to spread when cold, so be sure to allow it to come to
room temp if you make up the spread ahead of time.

Printable Recipe here.

I whipped up a batch of my baby sister's
homemade salsa.
(The one who lives in Arizona)

It gets better the longer it marinates so by
Thursday, it should be PERFECT!

I know its easy to purchase bottled salsa
but trust me, THIS is the real thing!

Arizona Salsa by Ruth E.

1 can stewed tomatoes (14 oz) Regular or Spanish flavor
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
1 can Diced Green Chilies (4 oz)
1 can EI Pato Mexican tomato sauce (Yellow Duck)
1/2 Onion (diced small) Green onions are great, but others work too
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, dash of chili powder to taste
Splash of Tabasco (optional)

Break up the stewed tomatoes to your size preference.
Add all other ingredients to taste.
Cover bowl & chill.
It is even better the second or third day!
She said you could add 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese
but it will last longer without.
Great as a base for chili, too!

PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE

Another recipe from the cookbook I tried was the Crab Louis.
I had everything in the house to make it...
cocktail sauce, hard boiled eggs, crab.

I'll post that complete recipe for Foodie Friday
at the end of the week.

Super- easy Strawberry Margaritas will be available.
The recipe can be found HERE.

Don't forget...ya' gotta have lots of Mexican beer on hand too!

I had to mix two different types of candy to get the colors right for this.
The green, yellow & orange are fruity flavors that come together.
The purple ones are licorice from a pink, white & purple mix.
I just took out all the purple.
I will be sure to warn folks of the differences
because they don't really taste very good together!
They look cute though, huh?