IS IT SO WRONG?

I'm in a quandry.

I succumbed today to the cheery faces of some pink and yellow primulas.

I've seen them out front of stores for a few weeks now, but refused to plant any til the ones in my garden were blooming as well.

.........which they are. 

I drove twice past the garden centre sign that read...

PRIMULAS.....$.95

and then turned in

.....just for a peak mind you.

I was undone.

They whispered, then called me,

quite loudly, 

and then a dozen of them literally jumped into my arms and prevailed upon me to take them home.

How could I possibly say no? 

"Yes", I said. "I will take you home my little darlings. I will promenade you in my front window boxes. I will sprinkle you with rain water. Your perfume will waft over my garden, your frilly dresses adorn.....

or something like that..
.
It's hard to remember exactly...I was so taken.

I just know that when I got home, they were in the trunk of my car.


And the next thing I knew, they were smiling up at me from freshly-tilled dirt.


Oh,

 but back to the quandry.

You see,

I have friends in cold places.

If they wanted to check to see if their primulas were blooming they would have to remove six feet of snow,

that is if they dared to venture out in the sub, sub, sub zero temperatures.


So

is it mean-spirited to post pictures of my pretties?

Probably.

Would it be construed as excessive gloating?

Most likely.

Could they not try to see that I am proffering a glimmer of hope?

Not even a chance.


It's hard to be so misunderstood.



So.............

 don't look if it offends you

but feast your eyes if you'd like a little treat for your winter-weary eyes.

My mini-daffodils are just set to burst open and the hyacinths have big knobby buds, but the tulips will be a while yet. 

They are my spring favourites. I have hubby trained to pick up bunches at the local market to spring up my home and I love to give them as a little gift.

I take some wrapping paper and ribbon with me to the store so they look extra pretty, and I buy little gift books at the thrift store and cut out the cute pictures and embellish them to make sweet gift tags...tres thrifty.


I hope wherever you live that you will soon get to see the miracle of another spring unfurling. 

It always comes.....

eventually,

and perhaps sweeter for the long wait.

I HEART CHOCOLATE

Well, I started out to make linzer cookies for Valentine's.....you know, the ones made with sugar-cookie dough and sandwiched together with raspberry jam.

We sold a at least a billion of these at the tearoom in days of yore

 But somewhere between the couch and the cupboard, they turned into chocolate sugar cookies. 

The dough for these is amazing. The recipe says ...chill the dough for an hour and then chill the cutout cookies on the tray before baking...yada, yada, yada,,,,,but of course I never do. And seriously, you don't need to. I rolled the dough out immediately on a plasticy thing, with no flour and it was a dream.

I even used a rubbery cookie cutter with no flour!

Once they were baked and in transit from the oven to the counter, hubby snatched one off the tray and declared them delish.

I  casually mentioned that I had been going to sandwich them with some of my homemade raspbery jam, but since he was on his New Year's austerity program  (he of the 150 lb. soaking-wet ilk....arg!!!) I guess I wouldn't.

He hesitated for a nano-second and suggested we try that.

We halved one and declared them very delish!

But then he mused....they would be good with something creamy inside.

Out came the buttercream frosting which had been languishing in my fridge for just such an emergency.

So I slathered on the icing, then the jam and we tried again. 

They were very, very delish, although he did say they could use more icing. 

I was quick to remedy the situation.

Was it wrong of me to then suggest chocolate drizzle on top?

I held back  (hand trembling, lips drooling) as I didn't want to deface the lovely design, but perhaps I could serve them with a side of hot fudge????

I packaged some up for my neighbours

Would you like to be my neighbour?

Here's the recipe.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies:

2 3/4 cups (355 grams) all purpose flour

3/4 cup (75 grams)  cocoa powder

1 teaspoon (4 grams) baking powder

1 cup (227 grams) butter, room temperature (or not... just beat the dickens out of it )

1 3/4 cups (350 grams) granulated white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat butter and sugar in mixer for 3-4 minutes, add eggs and vanilla, then dry ingredients til smoothish.

Roll out, cut and bake for about 12-15 minutes at 350.

I made 24 large cookies or 12 sandwiches.

Serves 2

Ha!

A REAL GEM

Are you still out there?

 I just couldn't get it together til now.

(Unrelenting pain kills my brain cells I think)

But now I have something to say and I hope you give me a read.

(If you don't read any further, then please would you log onto my daughter Feona's new website  www.helpthegems.com ?

and make sure to read the blog on the site as well?)

My girl child turned 40 this month! 

Wha-a-a-a-a-a-a-t???????????????

Aside from  the unbelievability, me being on the youngish side myself, my primary feeling has been one of gratitude.... oh and pride....I'll get to that later.

The gratitude goes to Almighty God who allowed me:

the privilege of at last experiencing the joy of motherhood

for giving me strength, wisdom, provision, confidence as a single mom

for the opportunity to point her to Jesus

for the mutual respect, friendship, love and caring we experience

for sparing her life this past year.

But

 Who would have thought

that her heart would grow so big?

that years of heartache and loss would result in the blossoming of something so beautiful?

that she would be able to give voice to the groanings of her heart to establish a vehicle for others to catch her vision for broken children across the ocean

that she sees and knows what  people twice her age haven't even pondered for a moment in their self-focused lives

I am humbled,

I am proud.

When you look at your kids, and wonder

what influence you might have on them, 

what small, selfless little things you can do that they they might take note of,

 if your heartfelt prayers will make any difference

if your constancy and love will give them stability and wings.......

don't give up.

God works in their lives in ways we would never think of.

We would spare them the pain,

give them the world, tied with a ribbon

but 

He knows better;

that hard things bring clarity

propel us to where we would never have gone,

transplants his heart into ours.


Feona, I am so proud of you for answering God's call on your heart,

 for making a choice to make a difference.


You are a precious gem yourself, reflecting the beauty and love of God.


I can't wait to see what he does through you and "Help the Gems."

Like the stars of the morning
His brightness adorning
They shall shine in their beauty
Bright gems for his crown.

                                               Jewels