A quick and sweet lemoney treat!

Living in the south the summer months can become almost unbearably hot. Some days the idea of cooking anything at all is dreadful because of how hot it gets during the cooking. A person has to eat though so as a reward to myself I occasionally cook up desert to eat following my supper. One that I made recently was a lemon meringue pie. It was so tasty and quick that I decided to share it here.

 Ingredients for Filling:

1 baked 8 inch pastry shell cooled or 8 inch crumb crust (I used the crumb crust)

1can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 egg yolks (keep the whites you will use them later)

In a medium sized bowl, combine all the ingredients above blending in the egg yolks last. Once mixed well pour it into your cooled crust.

Ingredients for Mernigue:

2 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 cup of sugar

In a small bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form when beater is raised. Spread over filling and seal to the edge of the crust.

 

Bake in oven at 325 Fahrenheit 12 to 15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.

Place in the fridge for a little bit to let it cool and set up. After it has cooled down serve and enjoy this tasty treat!

A furry surprise

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I got caught up in a mix of life, unexpected furry surprises and a small vacation. In the realm of furry surprises one night when I was outside calling for my kitty I heard a strange unknown meow and out of the darkness came a thin little golden yellow and white kitty cat. Needless to say I was a bit surprised and exasperated by this. I had wanted a kitty to come but it was definitely not this one. After a little more patience thought my kitty actually arrived and after stopping a near cat fight I got her inside thinking nothing further on the strange cat. I had just chalked it all up to a case of funny happenstance and thought nothing of it. It wasn't until the next day my dad mentioned seeing the cat and that it had a nasty head wound that I became curious.

This is Henry and his nasty head wound. Here he is actually pretty happy because he has a full belly of cat food.

The head wound after he knocked off some of that huge scab. He loves to rub it off on my leg. It was not pleasant.

     

The cat was truly a strange case. I had thought it a stray the night before it seemed I was wrong. He was very peoplefriendly ,almost to the point of being a hazard with his constant rubbing, and his front claws were lacking any points almost as if they had been trimmed. It was the large wound atop his head though that was the most concerning. It was obvious that during his tom catting about he had gotten the bad end of a fight earning himself a nasty bite right next to his left ear. Concerned I started to contact people seeking advice on how best to treat him. With much food bribery and hydrogen peroxide we managed to get the wound healed. Unfortunately that just meant he would creep around at night looking for a new girlfriend and be back everyday wanting attention and food.

Fundamentally he is not a bad cat and under different circumstances I might even keep him but the problem he faced was seniority. We have one cat already. My sweet Kitty (yes Kitty is her name she wouldn't answer to anything but that) who is 13 years old is dead set in her belief that our household should be a single cat household. It is bad enough that I have had to keep her pinned up to prevent her from attacking him and doing further injury to him. Knowing this was not far to my cat I set to asking around the neighborhood to see if anyone was missing or cat or would like to have one. Sadly the answer to both questions was no. 

After determining that no one was gone to step forward and claim him I decided the least I could do was to do something to prevent him from creating even more kitties in the same situation as him. I know some people might think spaying and neutering is cruel and unfair to the animal but after volunteering at the Humane Society Spay and Neuter clinic I believe it is one of the most humane things you can do. If you do not believe me go to a animal shelter (one that isn't a no kill) and look at all the dogs and cats. Shelters constantly get an influx of strays because of irresponsible owners who fail to consider the cost that animals may have to pay.

Making himself at home

It has now been less then a week since Henry (that is the name he liked beside kitty and I named him that only as a joke on Henry the VIII who had so many wives) was neutered and had his rabies shot. He seems to be hanging around a little longer into the evening but otherwise their is no drastic change in his character yet. It is my hope by having paid for his surgery that I will be able to more easily find him a forever home. I only hope that anyone that reads this will understand how important it is for owners to spay and neuter their pets.

Pre-neuter but as you can see his head looks much better

Taking the time to enjoy the simple sights of nature

Recently I have tried, weather or schedule permitting, to walk around my neighborhood. On a good day I try to make two trips totaling over 2 miles. Usually I am so focused on finishing my walk and returning home that I hardly take time to pay mind to my surroundings. Yesterday though I found I had time to take my walk at a more leisured pace so I decided to take my camera along. As I walked I noticed many wild flowers and what would be considered more weed like flowers beginning to blossom. I began to walk around taking pictures of wildflowers and fields of mixed weeds earning me quite a few strange looks from neighbors driving by but I really did not care. Just taking time to stop and smell the flowers as cliche as that sounds made me realize how rushed our lives are. Sadly, I think this propensity towards rushing is getting worse with every generation. Everything has to be instantaneous now and it has been deemed quicker to text someone than to call them and speak to them directly. Maybe years from now people will miss the simple joy of getting a letter in the mail or being able to communicate with someone without butchering the English language to save time. Many other things have come back in favor even if only briefly as fad. Perhaps learning to slow down and reconnect with our surroundings will come back in favor but I am afraid it will be short lived fad at best.

I thought to share some of the sights I enjoyed yesterday so that others might take a moment to slow down and enjoy the simplicity of nature. Mother nature will never be instantaneous but it makes her beauty all the more enjoyable for the wait.

From Bad Apples to Apple Goodie

I noticed today I had a few apples that would go bad before I would find the time to eat them, so I decided to put them to good use. This is a great recipe for anyone who likes apple treats and it is very easy to make.

I used 4 medium sized apples

Apple Goodie

Ingredients

1 stick of softened margarine          3/4 cup oatmeal -uncooked

3/4 cup brown sugar- packed          1tsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda                              dash of salt

(Flour, baking powder, and baking soda can be substituted by 3/4 cup All purpose baking mix -Bisquick being an example-)

Slice unpeeled cooking apples and layer thickly in buttered or sprayed baking dish.(butter/spray bottom and sides of the dish). Put a dash of salt over the apples and if they are tart sprinkle sugar over them. Mix together the above remaining ingredients until crumbly. Pat the mixture down over the apples and bake in 350 °F oven for 45 minutes or until browned. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Cut apples with dash of salt and lightly sugared

All the remaining ingredients mixed up. I used the All purpose baking mix alternative

Mixture over the top of the apples

After 45 minutes viola!

Finished product with a dash of cool whip on top!

This is a recipe, that has been passed down in my family, I got from my 95 year old grandmother. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

The Orb still reigns strong!

Since I first became aware of the Vivienne Westwood brand I was entranced with the brands signature Orb symbol. Unlike Louis Vuitton or Coach, the Westwood brand is more subtle. It is a fact that the Westwood brand is a well established fashion line just like the aforementioned, but it is not as commonly known as Coach and Louis Vuitton. In my opinion that makes the brand more attractive. It is unique and has a respected reputation but at the same time you are not likely to see six housewives wearing a purse or a bit of their jewelry in the local supermarket. The Westwood brand, like most fashion brands, changes with each fashion season, but thankfully the brand still continues to make the  beautiful orb pieces which I feel in love with from the start. Having recently reviewed her latest collection I wanted to share a few of my favorites from her jewelry collection. They range from classically beautiful pieces to more punk and dark styles highlighting the brands broad versatility.

Pearly Queen Mini Bas Relief Pendant

Feather 3D Orb Bird Pendant

Pearly Queen Choker

Pearly Queen Earrings

Antler Ring

Armour Ring Silver (note the signature orb subtly placed at the first knuckle)

New sewing project started. ~The bonnie lass skirt~

I will be the first to admit I am not the craftiest person in the world. I especially find sewing frustrating and without the guidance of my mother I am positive that every attempt I have ever made at sewing would have turned into a disaster. Despite all of this, I am a firm believer that practice makes perfect. My latest sewing goal will be a ruffle skirt.

A link to the McCall's ruffle skirt pattern

I am still debating if I want to make the third or the second skirt shown in the pattern. Hopefully once I have more time to look at the pattern I will come to a decision. The material I decided to use is a very fun madras pattern. A skirt using a similar print was featured in the fabric stores flyer and once I saw it the sewing bug bit me.

The madras material I purchased. It is a bit bright but I think it will turn out to be very beautiful and versatile.It makes me think of something a bonnie lass would wear.

I will update my progress and post the final result when I complete it. Look forward to it!

The Path to the Fairy Queen

Last summer I traveled with my family all the way up to Abingdon, Virgina to attend the Virgina Highlands Festival. Sadly it seemed at first that our decision to go north forgoing a trip to the beach was a great mistake. The turn out of vendors seemed paltry and the local antique stores had prices much higher than to what we were accustomed. In fairness I think the economy at the time was greatly to blame for this situation. Thankfully, by the end of the vacation we managed to acquire one piece which made the entire trip worth while.

The prize we took home from this trip was a a glass piece created by artist Jonathan McKee. The piece is called The Path to the Fairy Queen and is a clear muted green glass with two Celtic images in the middle. The bottom image is a knotted maze like image while the upper image is a tree with a crescent moon. There was something enchanting about the simple understated colored glass adorned with such beautiful imagery. We debated for some time on whether to purchase it but we kept finding ourselves drawn back to it. So one trip of sore shoulders and arms later we were proud owners of this marvelous piece.

The blue color was accomplished with the aid of a carefully placed LED light above the piece.

 

 

A close up of the maze part of the piece.

Presently the piece has gained a place of honor on the top shelf of our bookcase. We have owned it for nearly a year now and it has become one of my favorite pieces.