My Daybook . . .

Today . . . April 1, 2020.  Today would have been my friend, Eva's birthday, she would have been 102 today.  She passed away 4 years ago...I miss her every single day.  She lived right next to us, and was such a dear sweet lady.  Her old farm house has long since been torn down, the property sold, and is now weeds.  How does that happen!?  The old round metal shed is still there, sometimes you see it in my pictures...Eva is gone...but not forgotten...Happy Birthday in heaven, sweet Eva.

The shed was on Eva's property, the light colored weeds you see by the shed was where Eva's home stood.  I never look over that direction without thinking about my dear friend.

On my playlist . . . I love to hear Jay Ungar play the fiddle, there's just something so soothing and comforting in the sound of a fiddle.

"The music comes from the fiddler's heart, through his strings and straight into your heart." 

~Father John Angus Rankin, Cape Breton musician~

I'm thinking . . . I'm thinking about my granddaughter who's in New Zealand serving a mission.  She's only been out a little over a month, but our church has decided to bring all of the missionaries in that area home because of the Corona Virus.  As of March 20th, the borders in New Zealand have been closed to all non-New Zealanders, coming and going.  The church has to get special permission to charter jets to bring them home...a very long and hard process.  We heard yesterday that she will be leaving on the 3rd or 4th of April.  We just got a notice that they are still waiting on itineraries so they don't know when they will be leaving, maybe quickly or even days from now.  The next few weeks are going to be scary here,  so prayers are very welcome that she will return to us, quickly and safely.

I'm thankful . . . I'm so thankful for a warm home, safe surroundings, enough food in my pantry, enough toilet paper ;0), my good husband, my wonderful family, and my amazing friends.  Although I can't be with my family or friends, modern technology makes it possible to - almost to be with them in their living rooms!  We have only had to go out a few times for prescriptions and a few fresh foods, otherwise, we stay home.   We are very careful when we do go out.  We wear gloves, and thoroughly clean and disinfect anything that comes through the door, including Amazon packages.  I pray that all of you are well and safe.  These are such hard, trying times we live in, but I have faith in a God who loves all of us, and I know He holds me in His hands.

I'm also thankful for this beautiful granddaughter who just had a birthday!!  She turned 14, but it seems like yesterday that she was just a little girl...where does the time go?!  I wish we could of been there to celebrate with her.  Doesn't her coconut cake look delicious!

 I'm wearing . . . Well, I'm still able to fit into my jeans!  Heaven knows that I have had a hard time not wanting to eat all day long!  The weather has been cold and stormy so I am inside almost all day long most days.  I will be really glad when the weather warms up enough to get outside a little more.

I'm hoping . . . Of course the pump in our septic tank went out...of course it did!  We have a temporary fix until the new pump gets here...hope it's soon!!  I'm also hoping that we don't have another earth quake!  There was a 6.5 earth quake near Stanley, Idaho, about 200 hundred miles from where I live.  Some of my neighbors felt the quake, but I didn't feel it.  There are fault lines all over Idaho, so it can be a little scary when it hits that close to home.

Also hoping to get a garden in this year.  We have two fairly good size planting beds that I have put herbs and flowers in for the last 3 years, but, this year, I'm planting veggies in them.  I can't wait to go out and get started!

I'm going . . . Nowhere...my children have put us in quarantine!

From my kitchen . . . You know when you just need comfort food, and only something sweet will do?  That's what I made tonight.  This cake is so easy and delicious!  I should have taken a picture of it when it was in my bowl and ready to eat...too late now!

Before

After

Fruit Cocktail Cake

1-15 0z. can fruit cocktail
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
Whipped cream or Cool Whip topping

Add all the ingredients but the brown sugar in a bowl and mix well.  Pour mixture into a greased 9x9 inch square baking pan and sprinkle with brown sugar on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min.  I cooked mine in a glass pan for 35 minutes, so ovens and times may vary.  Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream or whipped topping.

Outside my window . . . It's cold, rainy, snowy, sunny and windy, take your pick!  I have been able to get out to take a few pictures of our amazing sunsets recently.  Cloudy days are actually better for sunset photos than clear days.  Here are a few of my favorite.

Just sayin' . . .

Be safe dear Friends...until next time...

Hugs and Love,

Barb

Stay safe, XOXO

Hugs and Love,

Barb

My Daybook . . .

 

On my playlist . . . I think this song is so applicable for today.  We sure do have a lot of monsters in our lives right now, and like this song says...we need to keep our faith intact and say our prayers, because the monsters we're fighting today aren't the monsters under our bed...

I'm thinking . . . What a relaxing, fun day we had yesterday.  We had to go to the eye doctor and the grocery store, so on our way home we decided to go find the swans...yup, swans!  They migrate right through our part of Idaho every Spring, and I love to go look for them.  There was a big flock of them right by our house, but they were really hard to see.  They love the big open fields that are just west of our house,  so that's where we headed . . .

And there they were, just like clockwork!  It's really fun to find these beautiful birds.  This year they had pretty slim pickings because of all the snow, but soon enough it will melt, and they will be able to find enough food to get them to their next destination.

I'm thankful . . .I'm thankful that we were able to go help my son on Sunday.  His truck quit him on Saturday while he was ice fishing, never a good thing, right!?  So, on Sunday right after church, we went to help him get it on a trailer so he could bring it home to fix it.  It was a beautiful Sunday drive.

The whole time we were driving, I just kept thinking of the words to the song, America the Beautiful...

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain.

I'm wearing . . . I'm still wearing jeans...and shoes...I can't wait until I'm wearing sandals.

From my kitchen . . . I've been wanting to learn how to make biscuits.  Really good, soft, high. crispy on the bottom, flaky biscuits, not the kind I usually make ;0)  So I've been watching a few YouTube channels to learn how.  And guess what, I did it!  I need a little practice but they were so good.  This is the video I watched.

I'm going . . . I'm going to feed the missionaries tonight.  I'm making a turkey breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, rolls and chocolate cake. 

I'm hoping . . . That the sun continues to shine.  We've had some really beautiful, almost warm days and I hope that continues.  

Outside my window . . . Last night we had a really beautiful sunset.  When I went out to take a picture of it, I could hear the swans in the background, it was beautiful, I should of videoed it.

Just sayin' . . .

Be safe, XOXO

Hugs and Love,

Barb