The Stone Rabbit

SURPRISES!!

 

Don't you love it when you are having one of "those moments" when you really, really want something yummy to snack on and all you find are items that just don't seem to satisfy that craving you are having. . . .and THEN you open up one more door or drawer and find  a treat you forgot you had?

OH MY GOODNESS. . . I nearly passed out when that just happened when I opened the freezer door. . . and staring back at me was the awesome YOGURTINI goody my hubby brought home last night.  For some reason, I just took a couple of bites out of it and put it away at that time.

Today, I am thrilled that I made that decision because I am definitely in the mood to devour it.....right this very minute!!

 

 

Finding that surprise put me in such a grand mood that I am even going to share some with THE STONE RABBIT!!

I have something else to share with you. . . .do you see that lush, green ivy plant behind THE STONE RABBIT?  Well, that baby has been on our back patio ALL WINTER. . . and it LIVED to see another summer!!  I've never had a plant survive like that. . . actually, both of my ivy plants made it this year!!

That just tells us what an unbelievably mild winter we had. . .plus I had them against the house, where they were fairly well sheltered.

OK...I have to close as THE STONE RABBIT is eating my frozen yogurt!!  

DANA

PAULA DEEN TO THE RESCUE!

 

I wanted to give a  special little gift this year to friends and family, but couldn't find just what I had in mind until. . .

 I stumbled upon Paula's Christmas magazine.

While thumbing through the magazine at the store, I came across this great recipe called:  ZESTY SNACK MIX!!

SO....with the magazine in hand, I grabbed the ingredients, then returned home to check out my plan with THE STONE RABBIT!  He also likes to give little handmade gifts. . . and I have to say he FLIPPED over this super easy and delicious treat!!

 

 

 

 We had the recipe cranked out in no time at all. . . and packaged in quart jars just as soon as the mixture cooled!

While the title of the mix is "zesty"...it's still very, very mild......so if you want something with a bit more "bite", you can add your own little touches to this really great basic mix!!

(Note:  I don't know why this recipe isn't posting correctly at the moment...and I don't have time to fix it.  I think you get the idea..I hope.  I will work on it later.)

               Zesty Snack Mix

2 (9 ounce) packages oyster crackers

1 (1 pound) package cheese-flavored fish shaped 

    crackers

1 (1 pound) package miniature pretzel twists

1 cup butter, melted

2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning

1 teaspoon dried dill

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 (1 ounce) package dry ranch dressing mix

      Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

      In a LARGE roasting pan, combine crackers and 

   pretzels.

     In a small bowl, combine melted butter, lemon                pepper seasoning, dill, ground red pepper, and                ranch dressing mix.

   Pour over cracker mixture, tossing gently to coat.

      Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.              Remove from oven,  and cool completely.  Store              mixture in air tight container for up to 2 weeks.

   Makes 8 quarts. 

 

We had such a grand time making this first batch of Paula's snack mix. . .  the newest Dancing Santa  was involved in the preparations, too, and was twirling all over the place with excitement !!

Please visit our fantastic hostess, Beverly, at HOW SWEET THE SOUND, for a long list of bloggers who are ready to share their posts with you this weekend!!

 

Happy Pink Saturday!!

 

DANA

Why oh WHY?

 

Why oh WHY do we have such a cute little neighbor girl who was so excited when she came running across our yard and rang our doorbell and waved her order form in front of my hubby's face because. . . .

 

she was selling. . . .

 

THESE!!!!

Of course, my hubby selected the kind he and I both love. . . and, if I hadn't been dealing with a teeny touch of a stomach bug, I would have devoured both boxes in no time at all !!!

 

So, when I moaned "Why oh WHY" one more time, THE STONE RABBIT gently reminded me of the kind neighbors who, when our kiddos were little, were always there to buy the endless amounts of popcorn, Christmas wreaths, coupon books, trash bags, etc. from them!

I'll quit moaning and simply try to resist these temptations for as long as I possibly can.

 

 

It won't be long. . . I fear I may be ripping one of those boxes open pretty danged soon!!   I'm salivating just looking at the pictures. . .and the boxes are in the OTHER room

If I was smart. . .I'd hide them!!!  Right?

Who said I was smart.

DANA

Whew. . . .what a week. . . .

 

On Monday, Patty hosted a wonderful Halloween Brunch at her home for the Breakfast Bunch!

 

Her table was set in just a festive manner. . . putting all of us in the "spirit" of the season!

 

For some reason I decided, in a weak moment, that my hubby and I should host a Halloween Party this year.

Actually, I do know the reason was because for the first time in  years, that weekend was finally open for us and I wanted to actually enjoy a gathering in honor of the occasion. . . and it was also a huge motivation for me to CLEAN MY HOUSE!!!

I have been on a cleaning rampage this week. . . . ceiling fans. . . woodwork. . . .blinds. . . . I even cleaned my oven this week.  OK. . . if you look closely you can see that I didn't clean the racks. . . but the rest of of the oven looks amazing!

I find that I open that door about 22 times a day, just to see the sparkle and glow coming from the clean metal!!  :)

I've really been a slouch about Fall decorating this year.  SO, having a party inspired me to "get with it".

My pal Bonnie gave me some wonderful corn stalks.

 

Yesterday, I had this really great idea to put the cornstalks on the front porch, but I couldn't get them to stand up.

After a bit, I came upon the plan to use a couple of old metal plant stands as  bases onto which I could anchor the stalks!

I pushed the stands against the brick wall on each side of the window on the front porch.  Then I stood cornstalks around the plant stands and secured them in the middle with jute.

I had to enlist the "weighty" help of one of THE STONE RABBIT'S concrete bunnies to help secure the base of the plant-stand.

I added some birch branches and bittersweet, then wrapped burlap ribbon around each group of stalks.

 

Some time ago, Marian and I signed up to take a pie making class on The Historic Independence Square.  Well, last night was the night for that class!

Sally, our teacher, was fabulous!  She gave us such great directions for making the perfect crusts, then demonstrated how to fill a fruit pie and a custard pie.

 

She then turned us loose to make our own pies to take home and bake!

 

I couldn't think of a better item to bake in my pristine oven than the little cherry pie I had created with my own two hands!!

THE STONE RABBIT was really impressed with my new found pie making skills.  It didn't slip by him that I had nibbled away on the crust.  :)

What a wonderful treat. . . .homemade cherry pie. . . .with the perfect amount of pinky-redness!!

Hmmmm. . . .Twiggy was pretty impressed, too!!!

 

Please visit Beverly, at HOW SWEET THE SOUND, for a long list of other bloggers who have Halloween or Fall or PINKS to share with you!

 

Happy PINK SATURDAY!!!

 

DANA

IT'S CERTAINLY FEELING LIKE FALL!

 

It certainly is feeling like Fall this morning!

It's been raining and the temps are in the mid-forties...with highs predicted to be in the fifties!!!

It's chilly in the house, but we haven't turned our furnace on. . . heck, the A/C was running just a few days ago!  It's that transition time of year, isn't it?  We'll have a few days of cool temps, then the 70s return. . . just as they are supposed to do this weekend!

If you look closely, you can seen little rain drops on this pretty mum I picked up yesterday!




Because it's a cool, damp day. . . THE STONE RABBIT suggested cooking turkey tenderloins in the slow cooker!!  I added lots of onions to the pot and later. . . 

some carrots and baby Yukon Gold potatoes will be put in, too!

 

It was also a very COLD morning last Saturday when I ran the 5K portion of the Kansas City Marathon---thankfully, there was no rain!!  

It was in the low forties a little after 7:00 a.m. when the marathoners and half-marathoners took off.  The 5K started about 15 minutes after that.

Do you see me?  I'm right in there some place!!!  :)  My hubby took this picture of the runners heading north on Grand.

 

Here I am shortly after I'd finished my run!  I had left my gloves at home and my hands were like blocks of ice and so numb at this point, but I was grinning like a fool because I'd just found out my official time!!  I ran the event in 31 min. 18 sec.. . . .which was my personal best time!!!  What I was really happy about was the improvement I'd made over running that same event last year, when my time was 34 min. and 58 sec.!!  The course was exactly the same, so it's really a great way to check progress!

 

Today is a scheduled "run" day for me.  I'd toyed with the idea of getting it out of the way this morning, but when I saw the rain. . . I'm thinking I'll wait and see what this afternoon brings!!!  A serious runner would be out there in the elements. . . so I'm guessing that tells us that perhaps I'm not THAT serious!  :)

Enjoy this Fall day!!

DANA

TASTY PINKNESS!

 

Almost every morning, thanks to my husband, my special glass. . . 

 

gets filled with a delicous protein shake!!

THE STONE RABBIT enjoys them, too.....espeically the PINK ones that are made from yummy strawberries, but. . . 

 

the crow.....well he's picky and that's a story for another day!

 

Be sure you visit our awesome hostess, Beverly, of HOW SWEET THE SOUND.  She will have a long list of other bloggers who have PINKS to share with you, too!!

 

Happy Pink Saturday!!

 

DANA

WONDERS and WORDS on WEDNESDAY

 

SUMMER WONDERS:

 

making mint infused "sun tea". . . .

 

 

enjoying the FIRST homegrown tomatoes of the season. . . .

 

 

watching the Grand Kids share treats their dad bought for them from. . .  

 

 

the eternal "ice cream truck". . . . .

   

 

 

and appreciating our great neighbor who brought us a basket of fresh picked peaches from Lexington, Missouri. . . just because.   :)

 

WORDS:

 

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon:  to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James

 

DANA

"BABY TALK" ON PINK SATURDAY!

 

Bonnie and I recently visited one of our favorite antique malls.  I think we have done this type of thing for so long that "the thrill of the hunt" has taken on a new meaning.

It used to be that finding something we collected or couldn't live without was what it was all about.  However, I've grown to realize that finding the fun stuff.....like this faux authentic Davy Crockett Coon Skin Cap (modeled by Bonnie)  or . . .

this carved coconut "person" with the Viagra clock displayed behind it is much more interesting!!!

Not far from where we spotted the Coon Skin Cap and the Viagra Clock we found this  combination.

First was what appeared to be a GI JOE with a great sign. . . .

 

 

 

made even better when it  "clicked" with us that he was riding GARFIELD!!!

I think we both decided we'd like to meet this vendor because they were on the same page as us. 

And just as we were recovering from our fits of laughter over this little display we spotted this next to it. . . .

 

 

yes, indeedy. . . .we found Prego Barbie. . . and a couple of her friends!!!!!

As the mother of a girl, I have seen a fair number of Barbies in my time. . . Holiday Barbie, Dentist Barbie, Ballerina Barbie. . . . but not With Child Barbie!  Did you notice she was wearing PINK?  :)

We wondered if GI Joe and Barbie had become a bit more than friends after hanging out in the antique mall for a while!

 

Moving on. . . .

Not long after the Prego Barbie, I took this photo  of one of my exercise classes.  I was standing at the doorway of our workout room. . . waiting for class to finish so we could . . . .

surprise our sweet teacher with a BABY SHOWER!!!

She has been our instructor for over 7 years now. . . .and we all love her to pieces.  We are sad to see her go. . . .but very happy that she is about to start her family!!!  

 

One of our members baked these yummy cuppy-cakes. . . placing a PINK flower on the one that belonged to the new mom.

 


Our other exercise instructor prepared this awesome citrus infused water for us to enjoy with the cuppy cakes!!!
 

It was amazing how quickly we could make a "surprise shower" happen right after a class!!

Here we are. . . the Monday Night Step Class!!!  :)  Thank you Stephanie for being such a great teacher. . . we know you will be a wonderful mom, too!!

Did you notice how she wore her PINK shirt. . . just for you?  :)

Have you enjoyed the "baby talk" so far?  

Today, with the super duper hot temps, I thought citrus infused water sounded like a great drink!!!

 

THE STONE RABBIT and I each fixed a glass and headed to the front porch this afternoon.

Did you notice how we added a cherry to our drinks, too?  

We sat on the porch steps,  watching the  Grand Dog Izzie survey her domain while trying to decide if she really wanted to trot out to the yard to do her business in the heat of the sun or if she thought she could "hold off" a little longer.

While we were watching Izzie and sipping our glasses of citrus water,  I shared a great surprise with THE STONE RABBIT.

You see. . . a couple of hours earlier, I was at the grocery store, when I received a text message from my son.  He and his little family were at the Obstetrician's office and . . .

they just found out that they were going to have another BOY!!!!!!

 I  do not care about the gender of the new Grand Baby, we're just happy to have another one on the way. . . . .but  it was great fun to find out ( well, we "think" we know!!! )!!!!

THE STONE RABBIT and I toasted the good news.  

Clink!!!!

This was how we were given the "told" about the new Grand Baby at Easter Time!!!!!  What a blessed gift.

 

Grand Boy #2  will arrive in late December or early January. . .  . . . .     :)  

Now, . . . I hope I can keep up with three little ones!  

That does it for the "baby talk" today.

Please visit Beverly of HOW SWEET THE SOUND.  You will find lots of other bloggers ready to share their PINKS with YOU!!

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY!

DANA

CHARLIE BROWN MAKES ME SEE PINK!

The Grand Boy's 2nd Birthday Party will be held this weekend.  My DIL thought the theme of "Charlie Brown" would be a fun one for that special occasion.

She found this great t-shirt and asked me if I would put the signature Charlie Brown zig zag on it.  

Here  you see it as I had taped the design (made from black felt) on to the shirt.

However, before I stitched it on, I needed to have The Grand Boy try on the shirt, so we could determine the exact placement of the zig zag.

I had picked up these vintage Snoopy items at a recent flea market. . . thinking they would be fun decorations for the party. . . and also hoping The Grand Boy would enjoy playing with them.

So, this week, we met for lunch so I could try the shirt on the birthday boy and . . . .

 

also let him open the little bag that contained the Snoopys!  :)

He was so danged adorable as he carefully pulled the toys from the sack. . . and I was just drooling over all of  his cuteness. . . . that I totally forgot to capture the moment with my camera.  However, I did get this photo of him letting Snoopy "drink water" that had spilled on the table.

 

Here The Grand Girl showed me what Snoopy looked like after The Grand Boy let him nibble on fries and ketchup and his burger!!!

 

While The Grand Boy was playing with his Snoopys and eating his lunch, The Grand Girl was also dining on her burger AND enjoying this awesome PINK Strawberry Shake!!!!!!!!

So many of you guys have commented over and over about her amazing red curls.  This was the first time (since her Wizard of Oz Birthday Party a couple of years ago) that I had seen her sporting braids.  

Her hair has gotten so much longer and thicker since then and with the addition of her mom's headband and the special touch of the PINK hair clip....AND with that tendril hanging over her sweet little brow.......well, that all  just melted my heart, too!!!!

 

 

I couldn't get that vision of my Grand Girl sipping on her PINK shake out of my mind. . . so I just had to show the photo to THE STONE RABBIT!

He loved The Grand Girl's amazing hair and agreed that was a heart melting photo, but that while she looked adorable, the thing he couldn't get off his mind was that SCRUMPTIOUS looking PINK shake!!!

In fact, he finally decided he could not go one more minute without enjoying a PINK strawberry shake himself!  

SOOOOOO......he assembled the ingredients.

THEN. . . .

blended them up and. . . .

 

 poured the finished product  into a vintage glass and added a straw. . . 

 

then realized that if he knew what was good for him, he needed to add ANOTHER straw for ME!!!!  :)

 

Oh my. . . .it was delicious PINKNESS!!!

 

Our hostess, Beverly, who keeps our PINK GATHERINGS going week after week will have lots of other bloggers ready for you to visit!  Please visit her blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND, for the list!!!

Have a HAPPY PINK SATURDAY!!!

 

DANA

PINKS ON "THE SQUARE"!!!

 

The day before Mother's Day was just beautiful in our city of Independence, Missouri.  It was as if the weather had been specially "ordered" for the annual Flower and Garden Sale on THE SQUARE of this historic town!! 

The vendors set up shop around the old court house, giving us the longed for burst of color which, after our Missouri Winter, is always such a welcome sight.

 

Besides the amazing array of plants, you can usually find President Harry S. Truman, strolling around The Square, greeting the  shoppers and . . . .

 

reminiscing  about his unexpected victory over Dewey!!!  In fact, he keeps a copy of the newspaper with that famous headline in his pocket!!

 

 

This year my neighbor was able to attend the sale with me.  She was pleased with the  gorgeous plants she found for her flower pots.

 

 

I ran into my buddy Sharleen at the sale, too.  She was hunting for a hanging plant. . . and was really impressed with the size and beauty of this one!!!

In fact, Sharleen no doubt knew I'd be at the sale, so she wore her PINK jacket. . .just in case I needed a Pink Saturday photo!!!

I've trained my friends well!!!  :)

 

This vendor had such a gorgeous selection of hanging plants!!!

 

I didn't get hanging plants, but did pick up several small pots of Gerber Daisies to use as Mother's Day gifts the next day!

 

Sharleen was pleased with her purchased. . . and the help she had in getting that huge plant to her car!!

 

This is Debbie Kraft,   a local gal and the author of  "Perfect 10 Cookbooks, Family Secrets" .   I saw that she not only had her cookbooks for sale, (I bought mine at another sale)  but she also had added a line of "toppings" which she calls "Island Jamz".   My neighbor and I each purchased a jar. . . I selected Pineapple-Coconut Rum!!!!  I'm saving it to drizzle over some yummy vanilla ice cream one day. . .  very, very soon!!!  If you clink on the link, you can see the amazing selection of flavors. . . and the many uses for her delicious "toppings"!!

 

This is Stephanie Speers. . . another local entrapeneur.

Stephanie creates the most delicious sweet treats.  Her business, called PIN-UP PASTRIES, specializes in cupcakes, cake pops, cookies and brownies. 

Don't you just LOVE how she incorporates so much PINKNESS into her displays and creations?  I sure do!

 

I personally had to sample one of these and . . . .

 

one of these!!!

Somebody had to do it. . . .right?   :-)

They were wonderful!!!!



I feel so lucky to live near our wonderful square that hosts so many great events throughout the year. . . especially the annual garden show.  It's a very special surprise when local small businesses share their wares  at these events, too.

 

Just looking at Stephanie's wonderful cup cake pictures makes my mouth water as I write this post.   Sadly, I don't have any of her sweet delights to satisfy my urge for sugar.  

 

HOWEVER. . . I did remember that I still had the box of PINK Cuppy-cakes left from last week's Pink Saturday Birthday Party!!!!

 

 

Sadly, THE STONE RABBIT reported there was just ONE PINK Cuppy-cake left!

It seems the hubby had been enjoying these little goodies all week long!!!!  Guess I will have to find a better hiding place in the future!  ;-)

 

While these little gems are not nearly as pretty OR tasty as Stephanie's, THE STONE RABBIT and I have to say. . . .

they are still pretty danged yummy!!!! 

 

   

 

Please visit Beverly at HOW SWEET THE SOUND for a long list of fellow bloggers with PINKS to share with you!

 

Happy Pink Saturday!!

 

DANA