TREASURES!

It's a great day when you come home with treasures!  Especially when they are CHEAP!!!

Today, a neighboring town held it's annual townwide tag sale.  What IS that exactly, you ask?  Well a bunch of homeowners have a tag sale at their homes all across the town.  And the frosting on the cake?  The elementary school parking lot... a flea market of sorts with a bunch of junk "booths".  My kind of JOY!

Back in the day, when Dad went into the office Saturday mornings and Mom wanted to sell the kids needed to entertain the three little pigs who forever were getting on her last NERVE...

At the first sign of spring, I would give them each a few dollars and off we would go to THE TAG SALES.  It was a blast.  They loved it because - hell - every tag sale has toys!  I loved it because I was bringing home treasures AND we were bonding over junk rather than flipping out over the loud destruction of the house.  Did I mention LOUDDDD destruction?

Today there were only 2 littles with me.  One had her own $$$ and one didn't - OF COURSE - because he spends every last cent on junk in the school cafeteria...or any other place he can find to spend money or how about dropping a $20 on the kitchen floor and the dog chewing it unrecognizable or losing a $10 bill in McDonalds when the wrestling team stopped to eat there after a meet one night...GRRRRRRRRR.  

Wait - where was I?  How did I get off on this tangent?

Anyway, today - after the 2nd stop - getting NAGGED incessantly by him - I handed him $5 and he was on his own.  My, my, my did he become a discriminating shopper...GOD, I LOVE THAT!!!  Life Lessons!!!

So here's some of my finds!  I'm so excited!  Starting with my favorite:

Isn't she a BEAUT?????  Notice she matches my favorite tablecloth in the whole world?!!

Many of you know that I am a RABID reader.  In fact, I track my read books over there on the right side of this blog -  so you always know a good book you can read if you like fiction.  Anyway - I love tag sales because their books are so cheap!  I picked up a few pieces of fiction and then I picked up the coop da gracie (Shhh - I know that's not how you pronounce it.) which I will show you in a sec.

I will set these books aside for vacation.  You recall I only bring like FIFTY books on vacation...

Here's my STEAL!!!  Only FIFTY CENTS!!!!!!!!
  

50 cents!  FIVE - O!

I know.  You're probably like - oh, The Silver Palette Cookbook.  Big Whoop.  Can't she just buy that on-line?

Well - yeaaaaaa.  But not for FIFTY CENTS!!!!!!!!  I LOVE this book!  I make Chicken Marbella at least once a month.  It's a CLASSIC!  I needed to own this cookbook!  

Anyway - I guess I'm a cheap date because I like the cheap thrills. 

Then I picked up these little gems for my shabby chic screened porch.  

They are PERFECT accents for my color scheme which is of course - some form of the blue palette.  Ok - brace yourself!  One dollar EACH!!!!!!!  Who's better than me, I ask??????

And lastly, I scored this baby.  

Do you see how perfect she is?  Not a scar, not a blight, not an anything!!!  She's PERFECT!

Perhaps now, the MEN in my life will throw their dirty clothes inside the basket instead of on the floor next to the basket?  Why would they change now, you ask?  

Ummmm - I don't know!!!!  Cuz she's perfect?  Let me dream, willya!!!!!  Jeez.  

So.   That was my shopping spree today!  You want to see me catch JOY?  Send me out on a Sat. morning  tag sale-ing.  (Apparently, there is no such word as "saleing".  Someone needs to correct that!  Cuz in my world, there is a huge sale-ing going on!)

BTW - in case you are interested in what my middle monster did with his $5?  Well - I told him if he didn't spend it I wanted it back.  So.  Later in the day, knowing he had only spent a dollar, I asked him for the $4 back.  

Ummmmmm - MOM!  I spent it on candy at the store when Dad stopped for milk after the game.

WHAT-DID-I-FREAKING-TELL-YOU???? 

ROLL-MY-EYES!!!

Soothing color JOY

Randomness JOY

T'was a nice day today.  Caught JOY all over the place!  I'm ending my JOYful day with an icy gimlet in hand, writing (finally) a new blog post.  So if it gets a little random...KIDDING!  This is just an eclectic post, so strap in!

I'm in the midst of making up the 25 + classes I had to cancel since Hurricane Sandy back in November (or was it October?  I can't even remember...)  Anyway - it's a long 9 + weeks.  My regular strength and SPIN classes meet in 6 week blocks with a week or 2 in between for me to gas up, renew, re-motivate, clean the gym, get my sparkle back - so 9 weeks is killer.  I can't even count right anymore.  "Ok ladies, drop and give me 20 - 1, 2, 3, 17" -- SEVENTEEN?  Since when does 17 come after 3???  Where did I drift off to?  Yea - that's how it's gone this week.  Momma needs a vacation!!!

Anyway - I DID have a nice day today.  A little Staycation perhaps?  Taught an 8am class, did some working out myself and then headed out with my "friend" Linda, for awesome Fish Tacos in Mexico - I mean - in a Mexican place in Middletown.  They were so YUM!  And it was a beautiful, sunny Spring day to boot.  Speaking of boots...Still not ready to slip into the sexy open toed shoes that my "friend" Linda was sportin' but soon...soon!

On the way home, I impulse shopped.  My "friend" Linda lives a way into the sticks and as I drove down her street I see a sign for "The Plant Your Children Killed Last Year" Bleeding Hearts.  I screeched on the brakes and swung in for a Bleeding Heart.  Lush and lovely!!!

Right???

But of course, I couldn't just buy 1 plant.   Nooooo - I had to come home with 3.  Trust me - this is just the beginning.

So guess what?  I have an "anomoly" vacationing in my yard.  Check him (her?) out!!!  (I'm going with "him".)

How cool is he???  A White Headed Robin!!!!

My "friend" Linda took this shot from the gym last Saturday and googled it.  Here's what she found.

The white head is apparently the result of a condition called leucism, a genetic mutation that prevents feathers from taking their normal color, and fairly rare.

Leucism is a condition that occurs in many different species of animals and differs from albinism. With this condition, the eyes are not pink, although the affected animal can be all white, white in spots or just be paler than its normal coloring.

And he's in MY yard!!!!!  I love him!  His name is Snowdrop.  Here's another view!

Ain't he handsome?!!

So it's quite exciting.

So, my "friend" Linda - she's in this post alot, isn't she?  My "friend" Linda came to a strength class the other day and left some goodies behind.  Killing me.  Here I am avoiding sugar and she leaves a homemade eclair AND a serving of the yummiest Lemon Mousse EVER!!!  I, of course, need this recipe.  

My "friend" Linda sent it to me and I vowed to make it today.  But before I did that, I wanted to check out the number of grams of sugar in the dish.  Ummmm - 225.  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...snifffffff

But wait a minute.  Ok - I can have 10 grams of sugar a day.  If the recipe makes 22 servings (10 grams/serving), I'm GOOD!!!!  Linda assures me it makes at least 22 GOOD sized servings.  (That's very important - good sized!).

So, I'm all excited.  I print the recipe.  I squeeze the lemon juice.  I grate the zest.  I separate the eggs.  I pull out the unflavored gelatin - SCREECHHHHHHHHHH.  WAITTTTTTTTTTTT!  Unflavored gelatin???  G-damnit.  Who the hell has THAT in their pantry?  Are ya kidding me??????

Quick!  Text the neighbor!  She's a chef!!!!

  

I'm good.  She oughta be pulling in soon!  Here's the recipe:

YUMMY LEMON MOUSSE

• Time -
• Serves 8

Ingredients

---

• 5 eggs separated
• 1-1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 cups fresh berries

How to make it

• Beat together egg yolks and sugar.
• Grate rinds of lemons and squeeze 
• out juice measuring 2/3 cup lemon juice.
• Add rind to egg yolks then gradually add lemon juice beating all the while.
• Soften gelatin in 1/2 cup of hot water and beat until it is dissolved.
• Allow to cool slightly.
• Whip cream lightly and stir into lemon mixture then stir in gelatin.
• Continue stirring until mixture begins to thicken.
• Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff but not dry then fold into lemon mixture.
• Spoon soufflé into dish and chill in refrigerator until completely set about two hours.
• Serve with berries if desired.

enJOY my friends.  enJOY!!!!!!

PS - there is an "inside" joke in this post that only my "friend" Linda will get.  So don't think you missed something.  Just sayin'...

Beyond JOYfilled

That's me.  Beyond JOYfilled.  So much so that I will not be able to share it with my words.  Fancy that.  Me?  Wordless...

It's the oddest thing.  I am experiencing only this indescribable golden light.

Yesterday began like most Saturdays.  Up at 6, train a class full of awesome women at 7, head to the skating rink at 9:15 -- WAIT! No skating rink!  Nope.  Not yesterday.  

Because YESTERDAY?  

Yesterday, I made the journey I have waited 34 years a very long time to make.  Yesterday - I traveled into the waiting arms of my college sisters, T and Deb.  I can - quite possibly for the first time - sincerely say I was completely present and in the moment, for 6 hours yesterday.  Filled with...you got it... JOY.  

So much JOY that soft, golden light is all I see when I think of our time together after 34 years.  How can it be that you miss someone(s) so much and you don't even know it?  Until you find them again?  Today I truly ache for those missed years. 

I gained access to the internet about 17, maybe 18 years ago and I have searched for these two soul sisters for at least that long.  I sometimes came close, but there was never an instance when I was positive I had who I was looking for.  

Back in January, (in the middle of the Patriots/Ravens play-off game - sorry I wasn't your good luck charm T!!), I hit gold.  I found T. (Maybe THAT'S why I can only experience this golden filled light!  I hit GOLD!!!)  

Amazing Facebook.  Once again - my connection to more than I could ever imagine - on that amazing Facebook!

I am completely unable to put a voice to what yesterday's 6 golden hours were like and meant to me.  It flew like the wind.  The chatter was endless and we are not done.  And the frosting on the cake was re-uniting with Deb's high school/college boyfriend - now, long time husband, Dave - who I love as dearly as I love T and Deb.

Yesterday was one of the most precious days of my life.  I will not try to describe it any more than this.  Pure, unadulterated, blissful JOY.

Today, I remain wrapped in the golden light of that JOY.  I am so happy.   I am just plain - so happy.