Corner View: Reflection

Sometimes, I like to sit quietly by the lake or the ponds at the forest preserves near our home in the early morning or evening to hear the stillness and to see the reflection of the trees in the water. There is a feeling of peace, watching the ripples of the water and the image of the trees gliding across almost as if they are dancing with one another, not skipping a beat.

A unity of nature, one soft and liquefied another strong and solid. 

During these quiet times I like to reflect what my heart feelings. Some days it is light with happiness, gratefulness and I count my blessings. Then there are times it can be heavy with sadness, as a tear might fall making its own ripple into the water, asking for forgiveness and strength to be reminded of the many blessings. 

Then there are times I see my reflection in the eyes of our sweet Bo and I'm reminded of his love and the simple things of life such as chasing a ball that makes him happy.  

I will even see my reflection in the many petals of a rose. How deep the layers go and are gently peeking through waiting for the moment to open and greet the morning sun. I think it is good for the soul to take time to reflect.

To see more on reflection, visit Francesca's corner.


Have a golden day my friends.
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves,

and not to twist them to fit our own image.

Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them

~Thomas Merton~

Fallen Trees

There is something about fallen trees I find intriguing and peaceful. It could be the bird's eye view to see the many layers and cracks.

Or to see who calls the tree home or feeds off of it.

Either way, I think a fallen tree is one of nature's many masterpieces.

Don't you agree?


Have a golden weekend my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,

We fell them down and turn them into paper,

That we may record our emptiness.

~Kahlil Gibran~

Happy Friday And Great Weekend!

Here's to a golden weekend, filled with beauty, a bit of mystery and magical moments

with a few hidden treasures.
Also, thank you so much for all of your great ideas on the painted piece.
Enjoy!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see

~Henry David Thoreau~

Your Opinion Matters

Help, I need a girlfriend’s input.

I love this cabinet. This beauty came from The Backdrop several years ago. I believe she was built and paint by a husband and wife team in the east coast somewhere. Maybe if Lisa or Gregg read this post, they can confirm.

I am in a dilemma with this cabinet. This is one of those pieces, I think I would regret if I got rid of her, so should I move or paint? I originally had her standing in a corner of the living room, but decided to move her out of this room.

I was thinking of either keeping her in the kitchen, but feels it looks too much like a piece of furniture. If it is decided to keep her in the kitchen I would like to paint her a soft white, but will lose the painted woodgrain. Or  leave her as she is and moving her down to the basement. I have to figure out what I am doing in a couple of days before my sweet Gary gets some extra help and moves her downstairs only to move her back up the stairs.

The reason while I’m thinking of painting her is because she is a deep burgundy/dark red and I have grown tired of having this color throughout our home. My plan is to paint our kitchen and the cabinets a shade of white.  We have a BIG window in our kitchen, but once the trees fill in we get a lot of shade from that window.

THANK YOU in advance for your advice. The actual color of the cabinet is the second and last photo

Have a golden day my friends!

Hugs,

Joyce

xo

I work in whatever medium likes me at the moment

~Marc Chagall~

Corner View: Four-Legged

With today's topic, the first thing that comes to mind when you mentioned four-legged is our Mr. Bojangles. To know how short his life would have been, being in a kill shelter, gives me the chills. Life with Bo is all about playing, going for walks and his weekly visits to Petco.
This is one of his many favorite spots, he shares with his gal pal, Riley.

Yes, Bo has a basket for his toys. If only I can teach him to put his toys away.  As you can see in the background, the basket is half-full. He loves to scatter his toys throughout the house or at my feet while I'm on the computer.

He can be upstairs sleeping and I will tip toe around the first floor picking up his toys and put them in his basket. I don't know how he knows, but he will come running down the stairs and take the toys out of the basket and precisely place them back in the exact spot. A few weeks ago, we had some guys doing some work around the house. I heard them talking upstairs, and one of the gents said, "this dog has more toys than my kid does"! I chuckled, they must have heard me, because I then heard silence.

Regardless of his toys being all around the house, Mr. Bojangles fills our hearts with joy and is indeed a loyal friend.

You might have heard about these pups and their loyalties. Such as the love story of  Greyfriars Bobby and his master. Or seen recently the loyalty between two friend during the horrific times of Japan, HERE


Thank you, Francesca for a wonderful topic this week. To see and read about more four-legged friends visit  Francesca's corner.


Have a golden day my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

Animals are such agreeable friends, they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms

~George Elliot~

Where's The Beef?

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

This sandwich is a favorite of Gary and his buddies. Since, I rarely eat meat, the poor fellas seem to never gets enough beef on their sandwiches. There are no complaints, they just ask for two!

 You can find the recipe HERE.  Do you have a favorite sandwich?

Have a golden day my friends!

Hugs,

Joyce

xo

Life is like a sandwich - the more you add to it, the better it becomes

~Anonymous~

Lingering

With spring around the corner, I see things slowly waking up from the long winter, yet in some spots I see fall holding on for a bit longer.

Have a golden weekend my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better

~Albert Einstein~

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I normally don't post on Thursdays (because of work), but how could I not with the name Gallagher and the city of Chicago's river is dyed green?

I will prepare a corn beef meal and have it cook while I am work. After work Gary and I will bring the meal over to our friend's home to celebrate. I'm trying a new recipe with Irish beer, keep your fingers cross it turns out.







































For the last 20 years, Gary and I receive a Happy St. Patrick's Day card with two St. Patty's badges/pins and a handful of cloves from his Great-Aunt Bridie in Ireland.  Needless to say, I have not been lucky to have the cloves grow, but I keep trying.

Do you celebrate St. Patty's Day? If so, what are your plans?


Have a golden St Patrick's Day my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

May God grant you always...A sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you. Laughter to cheer you. Faithful friends near you. And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you.

~Irish Blessing~

Corner View: Communication

Communications comes in all forms some with words, some without, some in body language

some with a little help, such as this little vintage hand mike, that was used to communicate with taxi drivers.

Even with all the great technology of today, I still enjoy writing a handwritten note to communicate.

To see more on communications, visit Francesca's corner. Thank you, FlowTops for this week's topic!

Have a golden day my friends!

Hugs,

Joyce

xo

The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate

 ~Joseph Priestley~

Laugh, Grow And Smile

Gary had my computer for, four days working on it, while I felt as if I was detoxing! I found I had more time on my hands to do things that have been piling up in my corner.

While I'm still going through endless emails, I thought I would share a few of the wonderful word tags made by Lyn.  I clued a magnet on the back of them and passed them out as my birthday handout treats a couple of weeks ago. It was fun coming up with single words for Lyn to use, but just as much fun to pass them out and see the smiles on the faces receiving the magnet tags. You would have thought I was handing out a million dollars.


Well, my friends since I have been taking care of business at home, another corner has been growing, my google reader is over flowing. I think I better get a refill of coffee and start reading. 


In the meantime enjoy your day!
Hugs
Joyce
xo

Don't go through life, grow through life

~Eric Butterworth~

Corner View Theme: Wood

With this week's topic being wood. I though oh good an easy one, but decided to push the button and challenge myself a bit, so, I looked around and came up 

this vintage wooden washboard, I purchased from the Backdrop a couple of years ago. I love the color of the wood and how it splits at the ends. It has multiple purposes and when not in use I just prop it up against the fireplace wall.

As I continued walking around the house I looked down and saw this small bowl filled with wooden nickels. One of my dad's favorite lines was "don't take any wooden nickels". When he passed away I had some wooden nickels printed for my sisters, mom, nieces and nephews as a token of remembrance.

Once I opened my "wooden" box the list was endless, but I will end for now sending you warm wishes for a golden day and one more wooden piece, pencils I had printed with "Have A Golden Day!"


To see more creative ideas for wood visit Francesca's corner . Thanks Isabelle for a great idea this week.

Hugs,
Joyce
xo

A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood

~Chinese Proverbs~

My Quick Go To Dish

I love this pasta dish, it is not only easy, pretty, but simple to make.  Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) is my gal to go to when I'm in a crunch to make something for dinner. 

Gary and I were cleaning, painting and sorting things to donate, when we realized it was getting time for dinner, so I reached for her “Back to Basics” cookbook to make this dish. 

Tagliarelle With Truffle Butter
Ingredients
Kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 ounces white truffle butter (I keep a container of truffle butter in the freezer)

Freshly ground black pepper
1 (8.82 oz tagliarelle dried pasta or other egg fettuccine
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
3 ounces Parmesan, shaved thin with a vegetable peeler
Chicken broth*


Directions
Add 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch saute pan heat the cream over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Add the truffle butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, lower the heat to very low, and swirl the butter until it melts. Keep warm over very low heat.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook following the directions on the package. When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1/2 cup* of cooking water, then drain the pasta.  Add the drained pasta to the saute pan and toss it with the truffle-cream mixture. As the pasta absorbs the sauce, add as much of the reserved cooking water as necessary to keep the pasta very creamy. * I have either used  the pasta water or chicken broth.
Serve the pasta in shallow bowls and garnish each serving with a generous sprinkling of chives and shaved Parmesan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve at once.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Have a golden day my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

Everything you see I owe to spaghetti

~Sophia Loren~

I "Pledge" To Dust, Polish And Clean

We are working on some small house projects this weekend and getting together with some friends for dinner.

If the weather is nice, hopefully we can take a walk too. What are your plans?

Have a golden weekend my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

A new broom sweeps clean, but the old broom knows the corner

~Irish Saying~

Corner View: What Is On My Kitchen Counter

This week's corner view topic is…"What is on my kitchen counter."  I like to keep my counter clean and clutter-free, however, on weekends, I like to adorn it with special treats for those I love.

Over the weekend I made this Praline-Pecan French Toast recipe, from Southern Living magazine. Gary and I not only fell in love with it, but decided it is one of our favorites. You can find the recipe HERE.


To see what our corner view friends have on their kitchen counters visit Francesca’s corner for the list.

A big thank you to Theresa for hosting corner view for the last serveral months, while Jane is busy with her move.

Also, thank you for the birthday wishes. I had a wonderful time celebrating.

Have a golden day my friends.
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast

 ~John Gunther~