C.H. Admirand's Blog, page 8
April 12, 2015
Early Evening Breeze Blowing in our Windows by C.H. Admirand
What a FABULOUS day! The warm and welcoming breeze is teasing wisps of hair across my cheek while I sit and write. A glorious warmth that has been so missing with the harsh winter we had, but all the more special because of it, has returned. Right now as I look to the West, I can see tiny bugs dancing in the air. The peepers are gearing up for another night of revelry (we know why those little frogs sing, don't we VBG) while birds continue to flit about the yard and sing. FINALLY!
For two days in a row, I've had my first cup of tea outside in my rather chilly rocking chair with our two darling puppies and a host of birds keeping us company. This morning, there were no cars speeding around the road at the back of our property ... thank goodness ... just the clear blue sky and bright sunshine above me with snippets of songs from a variety of birds who have been keeping us company this winter while we've kept their feeders full.
Here is the one bird I wasn't sure was going to visit us to eat our Privet berries. The Cedar Waxwing usually comes by in February, but they didn't come until a few days ago. Probably the cold temps we had here.
Aren't they beautiful? I took some pics from the upstairs window and some from the front door. We used to have a flock of Evening Grosbeaks stop by in February every year for about ten years, then one year, they stopped coming ... maybe part of their habitat along their route North changed. I still miss them. ;(Jameson (aka Jamie-Lad) and Reilly (from their corners of the couch) send their best!
Have a wonderful evening, and enjoy the beauty around you ... Nature's gift to all!If you haven't entered yet, there is still time to enter to win a signed copy of my first print bundle ... the Irish Westerns Volume 1 ... follow the link C.H.'s FB Author Page.
I'm also running a contest to win a signed copy of JESSE, book 3 in my contemporary Western trilogy ;)
Good luck! Sláinte!
C.H.
April 11, 2015
The Rancher's Heart Audiobook is LIVE! by C.H. Admirand
Such exciting news, book 2 in my Historical Irish Western Series, The Rancher's Heart, is live! It wasn't supposed to happen until the end of the month, so this is unexpected good news. Here's the link to The Rancher's Heart on Audible.com and the link to listen to a sample at Amazon.com For those of you who have listened to the first book, The Marshal's Destiny, the fabulously talented Elizabeth Cook has once again narrated one of my books. Elizabeth gets right to the heart of the story with her in-depth understanding and narrative of The Rancher's Heart. Plus, I just LOVE her speaking voice and Irish Brogue ;)
We already have the end of August slated to begin production of the third book in the series, Pearl's Redemption. So mark your calendars for early to mid-October for book 3's audio debut!
A HUGE thank you to Ms. Cook for her talent and professionalism during this production of this audiobook. Your tremendous talent and attention to detail brought this book to life! You are T.H.E. BEST!!!
Sláinte!
C.H.
March 19, 2015
Energized, Not Hungry, No More Carb Cravings, and a Contest for Spring by C.H. Admirand
Sounds too good to be true? Well trust me, this old bat has been working her buttski off ever since I saw the infomercial for Autumn Calabrese's 21 Day Fix.
Her philosophy is that it takes 21 days to break a bad habit. My carb cravings and lack of exercise program were definitely a bad habit and slowly doing me in. I decided to give her 21 Day Fix a try and am hooked!
Don't get me wrong, it is hard work, but after a family friend took a group photo of my sisters, brother, and I at my niece's baby shower in February (which I deleted myself out of ... YIKES!), I thought wow, who is that overweight woman on the end wearing my fabulous velvet burnout jacket!?! Sad to say it was me. WAS ... love that word ;)
Her fix is to break the bad habit of being out of balance with your portions of veggies, fruits, proteins, carbs, etc. and not exercising. Filling the color-coded containers each day is a breeze and takes the worry out of counting calories or points; and the daily 30 minute workouts are fun. You do them with or without the music. 7 different exercise routines.
The workouts are not for the faint of heart, but there is a different one every day and after completing the first 21 days, I lost ten pounds and 15 and 1/2 inches! Color me happy. I just started my second round of 21 days because my energy level is up and I feel amazing. I didn't realize just how badly I had been feeling. Weird, right?
I'm keeping up with the workouts far better than week one. Yeah, let's not go there right now. But I never gave up, thanks to her encouragement during the workouts, and the support of my wonderful family ... furry friends, too.
So here's to a healthier, slimmer, energetic rest of 2015!
And now for something completely different ... Have you been to my FB Author Page lately? I'm running a contest March 16th to April 16th, 2015 and giving away a signed copy of The Irish Westerns Volume 1. All entries are welcome. Leave a comment with your email address to enter.Random.org will be picking the winner on April 16th. :)
Happy Reading!
Sláinte!
C.H.
Her philosophy is that it takes 21 days to break a bad habit. My carb cravings and lack of exercise program were definitely a bad habit and slowly doing me in. I decided to give her 21 Day Fix a try and am hooked!
Don't get me wrong, it is hard work, but after a family friend took a group photo of my sisters, brother, and I at my niece's baby shower in February (which I deleted myself out of ... YIKES!), I thought wow, who is that overweight woman on the end wearing my fabulous velvet burnout jacket!?! Sad to say it was me. WAS ... love that word ;)
Her fix is to break the bad habit of being out of balance with your portions of veggies, fruits, proteins, carbs, etc. and not exercising. Filling the color-coded containers each day is a breeze and takes the worry out of counting calories or points; and the daily 30 minute workouts are fun. You do them with or without the music. 7 different exercise routines.
The workouts are not for the faint of heart, but there is a different one every day and after completing the first 21 days, I lost ten pounds and 15 and 1/2 inches! Color me happy. I just started my second round of 21 days because my energy level is up and I feel amazing. I didn't realize just how badly I had been feeling. Weird, right?
I'm keeping up with the workouts far better than week one. Yeah, let's not go there right now. But I never gave up, thanks to her encouragement during the workouts, and the support of my wonderful family ... furry friends, too.
So here's to a healthier, slimmer, energetic rest of 2015!
And now for something completely different ... Have you been to my FB Author Page lately? I'm running a contest March 16th to April 16th, 2015 and giving away a signed copy of The Irish Westerns Volume 1. All entries are welcome. Leave a comment with your email address to enter.Random.org will be picking the winner on April 16th. :)
Happy Reading!
Sláinte!
C.H.
March 16, 2015
St. Paddy's Day and March/April Contest by C.H. Admirand
And will ye be wearin' a bit o' Kelly green in the mornin'?
I will, along with my favorite Leprechaun pin my Grandmother gave to me years ago. My sisters and I each received one of the jointed pins, one played the concertina, one played a tin whistle, and mine plays the fiddle. I also have my Grandmother's shamrock pin, it's lost a bunch of the pearls, but I wear it anyway ;)
I love these pins!
I love adding a pot of Shamrocks to my kitchen greenery. The ones from last year have one or two leggy stems left and a bloom or two, so I picked up this one the other day. ;)
Here's a pic of my happy window. Pixie Daffodils, a bit of Pothos I'm trying to root, and two plants from my Mom's funeral last year, an English Ivy and a succulent ... not sure what it is.
In Honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'm running a contest from today, March 16th through April 16th, 2015 on my FB Author Page - leave a comment with your name and email address to enter to win a signed copy of The Irish Westerns Volume 1. Good Luck!
I'd like to leave you with one of my family's favorite Irish Sayings:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Sláinte!
C.H.
I will, along with my favorite Leprechaun pin my Grandmother gave to me years ago. My sisters and I each received one of the jointed pins, one played the concertina, one played a tin whistle, and mine plays the fiddle. I also have my Grandmother's shamrock pin, it's lost a bunch of the pearls, but I wear it anyway ;)
I love these pins!
I love adding a pot of Shamrocks to my kitchen greenery. The ones from last year have one or two leggy stems left and a bloom or two, so I picked up this one the other day. ;)
Here's a pic of my happy window. Pixie Daffodils, a bit of Pothos I'm trying to root, and two plants from my Mom's funeral last year, an English Ivy and a succulent ... not sure what it is.
In Honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'm running a contest from today, March 16th through April 16th, 2015 on my FB Author Page - leave a comment with your name and email address to enter to win a signed copy of The Irish Westerns Volume 1. Good Luck!
I'd like to leave you with one of my family's favorite Irish Sayings:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Sláinte!
C.H.
February 18, 2015
JESSE by C.H. Admirand and Nook's 28 Days of Romance
I just found out that JESSE, book 3 in my Contemporary Western Trilogy for Sourcebooks is a part of Nook's 28 Days of Romance ... there must have been a glitch somewhere between Nook and Sourcebooks because there are just 2 days left ... February 20th ... and I only just found out!Oh well, better late than never, right? BUT that means that you still have 2 days to snag my favorite book in the series. I loved writing Jesse and Danielle's story, especially where he meets and falls for Danielle's pint-sized pink cowgirl daughter Lacy. :)
I'll let you discover that for yourself. I don't want to spoil the story for you.
Romance, Family, Hearth & Home feature in all of my books. I hope you enjoy the journey.
Sláinte!
C.H.
January 31, 2015
2015 Is Off and Running and So Am I by C.H. Admirand
2015 is off and running, and so am I! Check out the exciting projects in the works so far this year ...Mo Ghrá Mo Chroí Go Deo Series Translation: My Love My Heart Forever Bundled! ~ Available Now!
Irish Western Series Large Print Editions -- for those of us who spent sooo many of our childhood years reading under the covers by flashlight ;) Print Proof for The Marshal's Destiny has shipped ... due to arrive any day! Estimated Pub Date: February 5th.
The Rancher's Heart in AUDIO! I'm delighted to be able to release the rest of this series in audio. I want readers to have format choices that will work for them. Print, e-book, large print, bundled, and audio--what's not to love?!? I'll keep you posted with updates on the project. First 15 minutes approved! Audiobook Completion Date: April 28th.
Irish Westerns Bundled in Print as follows ~ Books 1 & 2; Books 3 & 4, Books 5 & 6 (yes Masterson's story will be released this year) individually in print, e-book, audio and bundled with Flynn's Story. Volume 1 is being proofed as we speak ;)
Masterson's Story ~ Book 6 Irish Western SeriesHistorical Western YA ~ working title Montana BoundAnd for something completely different ... I'm working on a series of Children's books--a project very near and dear to this grandmother's heart--dedicated to our darling grandbabies ... more on that too ;) Version 10 ... LOL ... being colored, but my pencils keep breaking. No, you can't make this up. J.L. Admirand has been instrumental in the creative process and editing of this project. Happy Reading!!
Sláinte!
C.H.
December 28, 2014
Happy Holidays to my FAB Readers by C.H. Admirand
This isn't the updated pic of our Christmas tree. I finally had some extra time on Christmas Eve and popped corn and between my DH and I we strung it for our happy little tree. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the pic until just now and it doesn't really show up as well as the mid-day pic. Maybe I'll remember to take one tomorrow. ;)ANYWAY ... HAPPY HOLIDAYS to my FAB Readers!!! I sent out a Seasons Greetings Newsletter that included a contest for those who responded to my question about their favorite Christmas decoration.
The response was overwhelming and the stories heartwarming. So many readers shared stories of their loved ones that were tied in with the ornaments, and other shared precious memories of loved ones who were no longer with them. I could identify with so many of the stories, but especially with losing a loved one. My Mom would have been 81 on New Year's Day. On February 17th our youngest grandson will be a whole year old ... 11 days later, my Mom will be gone a whole year. It still doesn't feel real not to have my parents in my life. Harder still neither one of them met our grandbabies. That's the hardest part for me. Illness, distance, and being in a Nursing Home made it impossible for my Mom ... and Dad's been gone for 15 years.
I really am getting off track tonight, ANYWAY ... I wanted to send a thank you to my Readers for their openness and heartwarming messages for this Holiday Season and to remind them not to forget Random.org will be picking three winners for my Newsletter Contest. I'll be posting the winners' names on my FB Author Page on New Year's Eve.
In case you missed my newsletter, three winners will receive the e-book version of my recently re-released (and freshened up) Medieval Trilogy ... Mo Ghrá Mo Chroí Go Deo Series, translation: My love, my heart, forever :)
Romance Readers TOTALLY ROCK!!!
May your days be filled with love, laughter, family, friends ... and an overflowing TBR Pile ;)
Sláinte!
C.H.
December 13, 2014
Baking Pies from Heaven with my Mom -- Take 3 -- ;)
It has been a year filled with amazing joy and devastating sadness. Our darling grandbaby Hank was born on February 17th ;), and we lost my Mom on February 28th ;(
I know that to everything thing there is a time and purpose under Heaven, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be easy. *sigh*
Right now as I am typing, I'm listening to Alabama's Christmas Album ... before that we've been listening to John Denver's Christmas Album, White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole's Christmas Album, and started with one of my all-time faves The Beach Boys Christmas Album ... a gift from my darling hubby in 1975 ;)
Soooo ... during the last year, I've signed off of Facebook and Twitter because it was just tooo hard to keep up during the grieving process. There are days when I just cry because I'm missing my Mom sooo. The hardest part is that I just wished she'd made the choice to be happy in the last 15 years, but know that she missed my Dad so much that she just couldn't get past that loss.
Soooo ... I'm going to try not to be bitter and embrace the amazing gifts in my life. There are sooo many. ;) We have three amazing children, all grown now, and a fabulous son-in-law and two darling grandbabies who never cease to make me smile and groan at the same time because it's getting harder to sit Indian-style on the floor where they seem to want to spend most of their time. It was a lot easier when I was younger! LOL!
Anyway, getting back to the point of this blog post, the day before Thanksgiving I was going to bake my usual pie crust when I found my mom's pie crust recipe that I thought I'd lost ... actually, I guess I misplaced it for the last 25 years ... Jeez, right?!?
Don't you just love the peach-colored 3x5 card I typed it up on? I didn't have an electric typewriter back then, hence the strike-over on the 3/4 c ;)
It was definitely a sign that it was meant that I would bake pies with my Mom this year. I cried the entire time I mixed the ingredients and filled those precious pie shells with Blueberry filling, Apple, Buttermilk, and Pecan Pie. It really felt as if she was in the kitchen with me, so I talked to her like I always do ... OK, just roll with it I talk to my Dad, grandparents, and other relatives all the time ... they're up in Heaven too ;)
Every year, I take orders for pie, this year it was sadness because no one wanted a Cherry pie or my Sweet Potato Praline pie ;( But the bright side is that I have a can of Yams in the pantry and Christmas isn't that far away. Pie is one of those special treats that just seems to fit any occasion. IMHO ;)
Josh asked for Blueberry ... and for the first time since forever, I didn't make a happy face on the fruit pies this year. Maybe next year when our darling grandbabies will be here for Thanksgiving.
Phil asked for Apple ... FYI, that's cinnamon sugar on top of the pie ;)
Dave asked for Pecan ... which is actually Buttered Pecan Pie ;) The trick is to roast the Pecans before adding them to the filling. Makes for a very decadent pie with the dark brown sugar.
And I had one more crust to fill when inspiration hit ... I had fresh buttermilk ... Buttermilk pie it is ;) FYI I'm not a big fan of meringue, so I usually leave it off. The recipe I used this year was from the Mennonite cookbook Gram gave my Mom for Christmas in 1978. It was lighter than my other recipe but still yummy.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, so as we talked I realized that the recipe was for 3 pies. With making 2-crust pies, I needed to make up 2 batches of crust. Not a problem--but my pie plate sizes are all over the place as I've inherited one or two, and purchased the others over the years. I'm always losing pie plates, but my darling hubby reminded me not that long ago, that I used one of them in the cracked birdbath. Our birds don't always like standing on the rocks in the stream and pond we've created, so I do keep both birdbaths filled with water. Not an easy thing to do because all it takes is a few Robins, Blue Jays, or one of the other larger birds that visit us taking a bath and the water ends up on the plants around them. Kindof a win/win all around, the plants get watered, the happy birds get to take a bath, and I get my exercise refilling the birdbaths. ;)
The pie shells were full, but kindof shy crust-wise because I was using larger pie dishes and trying to stretch the crusts to fit. Next time, I'm going to have to do the math and divide Mom's recipe into thirds, so I can figure out how much to add to make it a 4-crust pie recipe ;) The good news is that my guys told me that pie tasted different, but really good this year ;)
Growing up my Mom would bake 4 apple pies at a time, but she never did the 2-crust pies, she usually did a crumb topping or no topping, and store them in the oven ... we'd eat them for breakfast ... Yep, Apple Pie, it's what's for breakfast! My sister dropped off our Mom's antique Apple-peeler-corer a few weeks ago, but I haven't had a chance to clean it up and use it. Lord the good times we had watching Dad crank that sucker up and fill up a bowl with apples ready to be baked into pies. The slices were nice and thin and perfect for baking.
Pie ... it's what's for breakfast!!!
This year, I had a hard time getting into the spirit of decorating, but our darling daughter and grandbabies saved the day and decorated the tree for us! Just one problem, one of the strings of white lights wasn't working, so they decided to use the red LED lights so it looked like a candy cane ... really? OK ... it's definitely festive ... and the funniest part is that our daughter laughed and pointed out that the top of the tree wasn't decorated because she couldn't reach that high! I'm not changing it ... leaving it this way is what happy memories are made of, because every time I look up I'll think of the fun time we had with her darling boys decorating. ;)
Family! It's the glue!!!
And although my muse went on hiatus after my Mom died, I have been able to edit, so I freshened up my Medieval Romance trilogy now that I have the rights back, and on the advice of the FAB Sahara Kelly of P and N Graphics, I gave the trilogy a Celtic name to go with the beautiful covers she created for the trilogy: Mo Ghrá Mo Chroí Go Deo Series (My love, my heart, forever). All three books are available right now in e-book, but I'm waiting on the print proof for book 3, A Scot's Honor, so that's not available in print yet, just the first two books ;)
Aren't they gorgeous? I love how she created the covers as tapestries and incorporated my Purcell ancestors motto: Aut Vincam, Aut Periam (I will either conquer or perish!) and the Runes from the first book ;)
PS: I'm reading Nora's BLOOD MAGICK -- Book 3 of the Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy -- and loving it ;)
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!!
Sláinte!
C.H.
I know that to everything thing there is a time and purpose under Heaven, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be easy. *sigh*
Right now as I am typing, I'm listening to Alabama's Christmas Album ... before that we've been listening to John Denver's Christmas Album, White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole's Christmas Album, and started with one of my all-time faves The Beach Boys Christmas Album ... a gift from my darling hubby in 1975 ;)
Soooo ... during the last year, I've signed off of Facebook and Twitter because it was just tooo hard to keep up during the grieving process. There are days when I just cry because I'm missing my Mom sooo. The hardest part is that I just wished she'd made the choice to be happy in the last 15 years, but know that she missed my Dad so much that she just couldn't get past that loss.
Soooo ... I'm going to try not to be bitter and embrace the amazing gifts in my life. There are sooo many. ;) We have three amazing children, all grown now, and a fabulous son-in-law and two darling grandbabies who never cease to make me smile and groan at the same time because it's getting harder to sit Indian-style on the floor where they seem to want to spend most of their time. It was a lot easier when I was younger! LOL!
Anyway, getting back to the point of this blog post, the day before Thanksgiving I was going to bake my usual pie crust when I found my mom's pie crust recipe that I thought I'd lost ... actually, I guess I misplaced it for the last 25 years ... Jeez, right?!?
Don't you just love the peach-colored 3x5 card I typed it up on? I didn't have an electric typewriter back then, hence the strike-over on the 3/4 c ;)
It was definitely a sign that it was meant that I would bake pies with my Mom this year. I cried the entire time I mixed the ingredients and filled those precious pie shells with Blueberry filling, Apple, Buttermilk, and Pecan Pie. It really felt as if she was in the kitchen with me, so I talked to her like I always do ... OK, just roll with it I talk to my Dad, grandparents, and other relatives all the time ... they're up in Heaven too ;)
Every year, I take orders for pie, this year it was sadness because no one wanted a Cherry pie or my Sweet Potato Praline pie ;( But the bright side is that I have a can of Yams in the pantry and Christmas isn't that far away. Pie is one of those special treats that just seems to fit any occasion. IMHO ;)
Josh asked for Blueberry ... and for the first time since forever, I didn't make a happy face on the fruit pies this year. Maybe next year when our darling grandbabies will be here for Thanksgiving.
Phil asked for Apple ... FYI, that's cinnamon sugar on top of the pie ;)
Dave asked for Pecan ... which is actually Buttered Pecan Pie ;) The trick is to roast the Pecans before adding them to the filling. Makes for a very decadent pie with the dark brown sugar.
And I had one more crust to fill when inspiration hit ... I had fresh buttermilk ... Buttermilk pie it is ;) FYI I'm not a big fan of meringue, so I usually leave it off. The recipe I used this year was from the Mennonite cookbook Gram gave my Mom for Christmas in 1978. It was lighter than my other recipe but still yummy.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, so as we talked I realized that the recipe was for 3 pies. With making 2-crust pies, I needed to make up 2 batches of crust. Not a problem--but my pie plate sizes are all over the place as I've inherited one or two, and purchased the others over the years. I'm always losing pie plates, but my darling hubby reminded me not that long ago, that I used one of them in the cracked birdbath. Our birds don't always like standing on the rocks in the stream and pond we've created, so I do keep both birdbaths filled with water. Not an easy thing to do because all it takes is a few Robins, Blue Jays, or one of the other larger birds that visit us taking a bath and the water ends up on the plants around them. Kindof a win/win all around, the plants get watered, the happy birds get to take a bath, and I get my exercise refilling the birdbaths. ;)
The pie shells were full, but kindof shy crust-wise because I was using larger pie dishes and trying to stretch the crusts to fit. Next time, I'm going to have to do the math and divide Mom's recipe into thirds, so I can figure out how much to add to make it a 4-crust pie recipe ;) The good news is that my guys told me that pie tasted different, but really good this year ;)
Growing up my Mom would bake 4 apple pies at a time, but she never did the 2-crust pies, she usually did a crumb topping or no topping, and store them in the oven ... we'd eat them for breakfast ... Yep, Apple Pie, it's what's for breakfast! My sister dropped off our Mom's antique Apple-peeler-corer a few weeks ago, but I haven't had a chance to clean it up and use it. Lord the good times we had watching Dad crank that sucker up and fill up a bowl with apples ready to be baked into pies. The slices were nice and thin and perfect for baking.
Pie ... it's what's for breakfast!!!
This year, I had a hard time getting into the spirit of decorating, but our darling daughter and grandbabies saved the day and decorated the tree for us! Just one problem, one of the strings of white lights wasn't working, so they decided to use the red LED lights so it looked like a candy cane ... really? OK ... it's definitely festive ... and the funniest part is that our daughter laughed and pointed out that the top of the tree wasn't decorated because she couldn't reach that high! I'm not changing it ... leaving it this way is what happy memories are made of, because every time I look up I'll think of the fun time we had with her darling boys decorating. ;)
Family! It's the glue!!!
And although my muse went on hiatus after my Mom died, I have been able to edit, so I freshened up my Medieval Romance trilogy now that I have the rights back, and on the advice of the FAB Sahara Kelly of P and N Graphics, I gave the trilogy a Celtic name to go with the beautiful covers she created for the trilogy: Mo Ghrá Mo Chroí Go Deo Series (My love, my heart, forever). All three books are available right now in e-book, but I'm waiting on the print proof for book 3, A Scot's Honor, so that's not available in print yet, just the first two books ;)
Aren't they gorgeous? I love how she created the covers as tapestries and incorporated my Purcell ancestors motto: Aut Vincam, Aut Periam (I will either conquer or perish!) and the Runes from the first book ;)
PS: I'm reading Nora's BLOOD MAGICK -- Book 3 of the Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy -- and loving it ;)
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!!
Sláinte!
C.H.
Baking Pies from Heaven with my Mom -- Take 2;)
It has been a year filled with amazing joy and devastating sadness. Our darling grandbaby Hank was born on February 17th, and we lost my Mom on February 28th ;(
I know that to everything thing there is a time and purpose under Heaven, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be easy. *sigh*
Right now as I am typing, I'm listening to Alabama's Christmas Album ... before that we've been listening to John Denver's Christmas Album, White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole's Christmas Album, and started with one of my all-time faves The Beach Boys' Christmas Album ... a gift from my darling hubby in 1975 ;)
Soooo ... during the last year, I've signed off of Facebook and Twitter because it was just tooo hard to keep up during the grieving process. There are days when I just cry because I'm missing my Mom sooo. The hardest part is that I just wished she'd made the choice to be happy in the last 15 years, but know that she missed my Dad so much that she just couldn't get past that loss.
Soooo ... I'm going to try not to be bitter and embrace the amazing gifts in my life. There are sooo many. ;) We have three amazing children, all grown now, and a fabulous son-in-law and two darling grandbabies who never cease to make me smile and groan at the same time because it's getting harder to sit Indian-style on the floor where they seem to want to spend most of their time. It was a lot easier when I was younger! LOL!
Anyway, getting back to the point of this blog post, the day before Thanksgiving I was going to bake my usual pie crust when I found my mom's pie crust recipe that I thought I'd lost ... actually, I guess I misplaced it for the last 25 years ... Jeez, right?!?
Don't you just love the peach-colored 3x5 card I typed it up on? I didn't have an electric typewriter back then, hence the strike-over on the 3/4 c ;)
It was definitely a sign that it was meant that I would bake pies with my Mom this year. I cried the entire time I mixed the ingredients and filled those precious pie shells with Blueberry filling, Apple, Buttermilk, and Pecan Pie. It really felt as if she was in the kitchen with me, so I talked to her like I always do ... OK, just roll with it I talk to my Dad, grandparents, and other relatives all the time ... they're up in Heaven too ;)
Every year, I take orders for pie, this year it was sadness because no one wanted a Cherry pie or my Sweet Potato Praline pie ;( But the bright side is that I have a can of Yams in the pantry and Christmas isn't that far away. Pie is one of those special treats that just seems to fit any occasion. IMHO ;)
Josh asked for Blueberry ... and for the first time since forever, I didn't make a happy face on the fruit pies this year. Maybe next year when our darling grandbabies will be here for Thanksgiving.
Phil asked for Apple ... FYI, that's cinnamon sugar on top of the pie ;)
Dave asked for Pecan ... which is actually Buttered Pecan Pie ;) The trick is to roast the Pecans before adding them to the filling. Makes for a very decadent pie with the dark brown sugar and unsulphured molasses -- the yellow label -- Grandma's Unsulphured Molasses ;)
And I had one more crust to fill when inspiration hit ... I had fresh buttermilk ... Buttermilk pie it is ;) FYI I'm not a big fan of meringue, so I usually leave it off. The recipe I used this year was from the Mennonite cookbook Gram gave my Mom for Christmas in 1978. It was lighter than my other recipe but still yummy.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, so as we talked I realized that the recipe was for 3 pies. With making 2-crust pies, I needed to make up 2 batches of crust. Not a problem--but my pie plate sizes are all over the place as I've inherited one or two, and purchased the others over the years. I'm always losing pie plates, but my darling hubby reminded me not that long ago, that I used one of them in the cracked birdbath. Our birds don't always like standing on the rocks in the stream and pond we've created, so I do keep both birdbaths filled with water. Not an easy thing to do because all it takes is a few Robins, Blue Jays, or one of the other larger birds that visit us taking a bath and the water ends up on the plants around them. Kindof a win/win all around, the plants get watered, the happy birds get to take a bath, and I get my exercise refilling the birdbaths. :)
The pie shells were full, but kindof shy crust-wise because I was using larger pie dishes and trying to stretch the crusts to fit. Next time, I'm going to have to do the math and divide Mom's recipe into thirds, so I can figure out how much to add to make it a 4-crust pie recipe :)
The good news is that my guys told me that pie tasted different, but really good this year :)
Growing up my Mom would bake 4 apple pies at a time, but she never did the 2-crust pies, she usually did a crumb topping or no topping, and store them in the oven ... we'd eat them for breakfast ... Yep, Apple Pie, it's what's for breakfast! My sister dropped off our Mom's antique Apple-peeler-corer a few weeks ago, but I haven't had a chance to clean it up and use it. Lord the good times we had watching Dad crank that sucker up and fill up a bowl with apples ready to be baked into pies. The slices were nice and thin and perfect for baking.
Pie ... it's what's for breakfast!!!
This year, I had a hard time getting into the spirit of decorating, but our darling daughter and grandbabies saved the day and decorated the tree for us! Just one problem, one of the strings of white lights wasn't working, so they decided to use the red LED lights so it looked like a candy cane ... really? OK ... it's definitely festive ... and the funniest part is that our daughter laughed and pointed out that the top of the tree wasn't decorated because she couldn't reach that high! I'm not changing it ... leaving it this way is what happy memories are made of, because every time I look up I'll think of the fun time we had with her darling boys decorating. :)
Family! It's the glue!!!
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!!
PS: I'm reading Nora's BLOOD MAGICK -- Book 3 of the Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy -- and loving it :)
C.H. Admirand
I know that to everything thing there is a time and purpose under Heaven, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be easy. *sigh*
Right now as I am typing, I'm listening to Alabama's Christmas Album ... before that we've been listening to John Denver's Christmas Album, White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole's Christmas Album, and started with one of my all-time faves The Beach Boys' Christmas Album ... a gift from my darling hubby in 1975 ;)
Soooo ... during the last year, I've signed off of Facebook and Twitter because it was just tooo hard to keep up during the grieving process. There are days when I just cry because I'm missing my Mom sooo. The hardest part is that I just wished she'd made the choice to be happy in the last 15 years, but know that she missed my Dad so much that she just couldn't get past that loss.
Soooo ... I'm going to try not to be bitter and embrace the amazing gifts in my life. There are sooo many. ;) We have three amazing children, all grown now, and a fabulous son-in-law and two darling grandbabies who never cease to make me smile and groan at the same time because it's getting harder to sit Indian-style on the floor where they seem to want to spend most of their time. It was a lot easier when I was younger! LOL!
Anyway, getting back to the point of this blog post, the day before Thanksgiving I was going to bake my usual pie crust when I found my mom's pie crust recipe that I thought I'd lost ... actually, I guess I misplaced it for the last 25 years ... Jeez, right?!?
Don't you just love the peach-colored 3x5 card I typed it up on? I didn't have an electric typewriter back then, hence the strike-over on the 3/4 c ;)
It was definitely a sign that it was meant that I would bake pies with my Mom this year. I cried the entire time I mixed the ingredients and filled those precious pie shells with Blueberry filling, Apple, Buttermilk, and Pecan Pie. It really felt as if she was in the kitchen with me, so I talked to her like I always do ... OK, just roll with it I talk to my Dad, grandparents, and other relatives all the time ... they're up in Heaven too ;)
Every year, I take orders for pie, this year it was sadness because no one wanted a Cherry pie or my Sweet Potato Praline pie ;( But the bright side is that I have a can of Yams in the pantry and Christmas isn't that far away. Pie is one of those special treats that just seems to fit any occasion. IMHO ;)
Josh asked for Blueberry ... and for the first time since forever, I didn't make a happy face on the fruit pies this year. Maybe next year when our darling grandbabies will be here for Thanksgiving.
Phil asked for Apple ... FYI, that's cinnamon sugar on top of the pie ;)
Dave asked for Pecan ... which is actually Buttered Pecan Pie ;) The trick is to roast the Pecans before adding them to the filling. Makes for a very decadent pie with the dark brown sugar and unsulphured molasses -- the yellow label -- Grandma's Unsulphured Molasses ;)
And I had one more crust to fill when inspiration hit ... I had fresh buttermilk ... Buttermilk pie it is ;) FYI I'm not a big fan of meringue, so I usually leave it off. The recipe I used this year was from the Mennonite cookbook Gram gave my Mom for Christmas in 1978. It was lighter than my other recipe but still yummy.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, so as we talked I realized that the recipe was for 3 pies. With making 2-crust pies, I needed to make up 2 batches of crust. Not a problem--but my pie plate sizes are all over the place as I've inherited one or two, and purchased the others over the years. I'm always losing pie plates, but my darling hubby reminded me not that long ago, that I used one of them in the cracked birdbath. Our birds don't always like standing on the rocks in the stream and pond we've created, so I do keep both birdbaths filled with water. Not an easy thing to do because all it takes is a few Robins, Blue Jays, or one of the other larger birds that visit us taking a bath and the water ends up on the plants around them. Kindof a win/win all around, the plants get watered, the happy birds get to take a bath, and I get my exercise refilling the birdbaths. :)
The pie shells were full, but kindof shy crust-wise because I was using larger pie dishes and trying to stretch the crusts to fit. Next time, I'm going to have to do the math and divide Mom's recipe into thirds, so I can figure out how much to add to make it a 4-crust pie recipe :)
The good news is that my guys told me that pie tasted different, but really good this year :)
Growing up my Mom would bake 4 apple pies at a time, but she never did the 2-crust pies, she usually did a crumb topping or no topping, and store them in the oven ... we'd eat them for breakfast ... Yep, Apple Pie, it's what's for breakfast! My sister dropped off our Mom's antique Apple-peeler-corer a few weeks ago, but I haven't had a chance to clean it up and use it. Lord the good times we had watching Dad crank that sucker up and fill up a bowl with apples ready to be baked into pies. The slices were nice and thin and perfect for baking.
Pie ... it's what's for breakfast!!!
This year, I had a hard time getting into the spirit of decorating, but our darling daughter and grandbabies saved the day and decorated the tree for us! Just one problem, one of the strings of white lights wasn't working, so they decided to use the red LED lights so it looked like a candy cane ... really? OK ... it's definitely festive ... and the funniest part is that our daughter laughed and pointed out that the top of the tree wasn't decorated because she couldn't reach that high! I'm not changing it ... leaving it this way is what happy memories are made of, because every time I look up I'll think of the fun time we had with her darling boys decorating. :)
Family! It's the glue!!!
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!!
PS: I'm reading Nora's BLOOD MAGICK -- Book 3 of the Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy -- and loving it :)
C.H. Admirand
August 18, 2014
Five Years of Photos Gone in a Flash by C.H. Admirand
It's been almost a month since the unimaginable happened. I always backup my writing, and now and again remember to backup my photos. I have--make that had--five years of photos of our gardens, family, feathered friends who visit our yard, walks in the woods, writing conferences and events, and favorite recipes baked. But by far the most heart-rending loss is the loss of Wedding pictures for our darling daughter and her hubby and grandbaby pictures.
It all started with my laptop crashing, not once, but three times. I'm usually diligent in backing up everything, but somehow this last time, I didn't get my photos on my memory stick. I'm devastated.
I do still have the fab camera that my darling boys surprised me with at Christmas, but I keep getting these twinges and find myself grimacing when I remember all that I've lost. It's like that roll of film we took in 1985 when we drove to Nashville so that our oldest (and only at the time) son could meet his great grandmother. When we got back I took the film to be developed and something happened in the processing and the negatives were corrupted. I was heartbroken then too.
But, I'm here, and I can take more pictures. No, I cannot recapture those precious firsts, those milestones from birth to nearly 3 years old for our oldest grandbaby, or from birth to six months old for our youngest grandbaby. But I do get to hug them still and try to snap pics of them ... but as they are constantly moving, I've got a 50/50 chance of actually getting a pic that's focused. ;)
I'm tired of being afraid that technology will let me down again. I'm tired of cursing my laptop. So I'm going to trust that when I upload a month's worth of photos that I've taken that they will make it onto my memory stick.
Fingers crossed ...
It all started with my laptop crashing, not once, but three times. I'm usually diligent in backing up everything, but somehow this last time, I didn't get my photos on my memory stick. I'm devastated.
I do still have the fab camera that my darling boys surprised me with at Christmas, but I keep getting these twinges and find myself grimacing when I remember all that I've lost. It's like that roll of film we took in 1985 when we drove to Nashville so that our oldest (and only at the time) son could meet his great grandmother. When we got back I took the film to be developed and something happened in the processing and the negatives were corrupted. I was heartbroken then too.
But, I'm here, and I can take more pictures. No, I cannot recapture those precious firsts, those milestones from birth to nearly 3 years old for our oldest grandbaby, or from birth to six months old for our youngest grandbaby. But I do get to hug them still and try to snap pics of them ... but as they are constantly moving, I've got a 50/50 chance of actually getting a pic that's focused. ;)
I'm tired of being afraid that technology will let me down again. I'm tired of cursing my laptop. So I'm going to trust that when I upload a month's worth of photos that I've taken that they will make it onto my memory stick.
Fingers crossed ...
