Quote of the day

 

Sometimes in the craziness of the day to day living in this world, it is easy to forget what makes me happy.  Truly happy.  I need to make the time to revisit those things.  That is all. 

Recipe of the Day - Creamy Tuscan Shrimp

 I wanted to try something different with shrimp, so I went searching on the internet for something new and came across this recipe.  Pretty much anytime a recipe has the word "creamy" in its title, I'm going to at least read it!  It sounded good so I figured I would give it a try.  We really enjoyed it and I will definitely make this one again!

Creamy Tuscan Shrimp

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

1 pound shrimp, deveined and tails removed

salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

3-4 cups baby spinach

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 grated parmesan

2 Tbsp basil

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Once the butter has melted, add the shrimp and salt and pepper, saute for one minute.  Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.  Add garlic, tomatoes, and spinach to the pan.  Saute for one minute or until garlic is fragrant and spinach is to your desired degree of doneness (I like mine on the wilted side).  Stir in heavy cream, parmesan cheese and basil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is slightly reduced, about 2-3 minutes. Return shrimp to pan and stir to combine.

Would be great served over rice or pasta.  We used cauliflower rice and it was delicious!

*instead of fresh basil, I used dried so only 1 Tbsp was needed.

Remembering those walks

 The other day, I was sitting out on Lois' porch for our porch time which we try to do several times a week.  It was a beautiful spring day and very relaxing.  At some point, a woman and her two grandchildren came walking down the street.  They were holding hands and having a good time.  We all waved to each other and Squirt, of course, had to bark.  They were people, after all, and he just could not resist the urge to make his presence known.  They disappeared down the street and came back around the corner a little while later.  It looked like they had been to the grocery store around the corner.  They were not holding hands now because the kids hands were occupied with candy and drinks.  But they were all still smiles and having a grand time.  Again, we all waved and Squirt barked.  It was a nice exchange.

It brought back some wonderful memories from 40 plus years ago.  Walking around the neighborhood with Grandmother.  On warm spring nights, she would sometimes like to just get outside and go for a walk.  We would hold hands for both comfort and safety.  Because we lived on a dead end street, our route was shaped like the letter "p".  And there were always people out either walking as well or out in their yards.  And Grandmother always knew people we would come across in our walks.  Usually it was a church member or a bridge club member.  If Jim Reich, our minister of music, was out in his yard we would always stop for a chat.  I remember he always wore a white hat when he was outside.  Little did I know at the time he was bald as a cue ball.....he always wore a toupee at church!

Sometimes our duo would grow as we walked.  Being that there were lots of kids on our street, sometimes Amy or Alissa or Blair would join us, always with their parents' permission.  Grandmother loved those girls and they were always welcomed with open arms.  Sometimes we'd spend the walk singing the entire time.  Those were my favorites.  I don't really remember those songs from childhood, but I do remember that singing together was a favorite activity for me and Grandmother then.  It was always a fun time for sharing and being together.  

Some days we would take the long way around the block, which just meant that the "p" was about half a mile longer.  Or we would veer off of our course and go down to Virginia Smith's house to see her amazing gardens....there were paths and even a bridge there, fun adventures for kids!  But when the sun began to set on these beautiful spring days, it was time to head back home.  Still singing, still holding hands but homeward bound.  And the comfort of home was always waiting for us at the end of these walks.  I hope that the trio that Lois and I saw walking were having as grand a time as I used to have.  And I hope that they created memories to last them a lifetime from this simple pleasure life has given them.  Oh, what I wouldn't give for one more walk around the block with Grandmother.

That is all.

Finding places for stuff

 One of the things I am going to work on this year is to find a place in my house for as many things as I can.  All the while trying not to make the house look too overcrowded.  This is not an impossible task but it is also not a quick one.  It's going to take some time and there will be choices to make.  Sometimes they will be hard choices, but they must be made. Yes, I have a lot of stuff and yes, I love my stuff.  I just like it when everything has a place it needs to belong and I know where it is.  

This is another way to hopefully downsize some.  Now this is not to say that I'm going to give everything I don't find a place for away. I will give some of it away in one way or another, but not everything.  I just need to have things more organized so that they are easier to find when I want or need them.  For example, my collections of stuff.  I have some fun collections of things that can be displayed such as Tom Clark gnomes and music boxes.  What I would like to do is get them all at least stored together so that I can rotate them out and enjoy the different collections from time to time.  That way they will not only have a specific place in the house to go but a specific place out in the garage so that I know exactly where to find them.  

I am very bad about making piles around the house.  Everywhere I look there is a pile and it's time to clean them up.  There are piles to donate, piles to sell, piles to put out in the garage, etc.  This is one of my downfalls.  I make the piles with the best of intentions and then take months to follow through with that.  Time to speed up that process.  These piles all have specific destinations and it's time they go there.  Another downfall is the imfamous "well, one day I might.....".  We all do this.  That one day almost never comes LOL  It's a great excuse, though, but I really need to think hard when I say that to myself.  It's a comfort technique because it can be scary to let go of things even though I know that I feel better afterwards.  A fine line to walk there.

Well, I have a basic idea of what I'm wanting to do.  It is now a matter of making myself do it and making the time to do it.  And it can be done!  I look forward to the challenge.  And I will try not to get too much more stuff for myself in the process.  Good luck with that one!

Prayers for the Easter weekend

 Just a few prayers I found to enhance this beautiful Easter weekend

Maundy Thursday

Good Friday

Easter Sunday