Menu Plan Monday for March 31

Monday again! It's still very snowy and wintry up here -- we had snow today! -- so I'm still incorporating a lot of soups and other hearty meals into my menu plans. As usual, my plan for this week includes some repeat meals that didn't get used last week. I'm late getting my menu plan posted, but decided it was better to post it late than never.

MONDAY: Magic Mountain Soup, Whole-grain Biscuits

TUESDAY: Apricot Beef Stir-fry, Rice, Spinach Salad

WEDNESDAY: Magic Mountain Soup (leftover from Monday), Bread/Biscuits

THURSDAY: Country Pork Chop Supper, Coleslaw, Multigrain Biscuits

FRIDAY: Spinach Tortellini Soup, Focaccia Bread

SATURDAY: Baked Fish Chowder, Multigrain Bread

SUNDAY: (potluck at church) Italian Sausage with Vegetables, Broccoli Salad, Dessert (yet to be determined)

If you would like to see menus which others have shared, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out the links. Usually well over 100 people share links to their weekly menus. You'll find some great ideas and often recipes too.

Show & Tell Friday for March 28

For Show & Tell today, I'm going to share a couple of things that are on the walls in our upstairs bathroom. I have a few other small items hanging on these walls, but these are my favorites.

First, this cross-stitch of one of my favorite verses -- "This is the day which the LORD hath made" (Psalm 118:24) was made by my good friend Marilyn. I love this because it's the first thing I see every morning while getting ready for my day. It's such an excellent reminder that even when the day doesn't look particularly joyful, I can rejoice and be glad in it because it is the day the Lord has made!

And then there is this neat wall hanging which reminds me that a true friend is always praying for me. I bought this with my friend Terry in mind, but then found out that the colors were totally wrong for the RV which is her full-time home. We agreed that I would hang it here (where the colors are perfect) and think of her when I look at it. And I do! It's a good reminder to pray for her.

That is all I have to share today, but I hope you have enjoyed seeing these things. They are special to me!

To see what others have shared for Show & Tell Friday, head on over to There is No Place Like Home

and check out the links. Happy Show & Tell Friday, everyone!

Menu Plan Monday for March 24

Another Monday! They certainly do come around quickly! It's still very cold and wintry up here, so I'm still incorporating a lot of soups and other hearty meals into my menu plans. As usual, my plan for this week includes some repeat meals that didn't get used last week.

MONDAY: Ham & Bean Chowder, Anadama Bread

TUESDAY: Apricot Beef Stir-fry, Rice, Spinach Salad

WEDNESDAY: Crab Salad Croissants. Veggie Bean Soup

THURSDAY: Chicken Pineapple Stir-fry, Bow-Tie Pasta

FRIDAY: Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

SATURDAY: Baked Fish Chowder, Multigrain Biscuits

SUNDAY: Spicy Lemon Chicken, Brown Rice, Asparagus Stir-fry Vegetables

If you would like to see menus which others have shared, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out the links. Usually well over 100 people share links to their weekly menus. You'll find some great ideas and often recipes too.

Vintage Easter cards

Kelli is not doing Show & Tell today because of the Easter holiday, but I have been wanting to share images of my vintage Easter cards, so here they are. I have just a few from the 1950s-1960s.

This first one was sent to me and my siblings by a friend of our family when I was a child. I'm not a cat lover, but these little kittens in their Easter bonnets are sort of cute.
I love how the violets on this card have a three-dimensional effect.
Isn't this Easter bonnet pretty?
These last few are not actually Easter cards (to my knowledge) but they have a springtime look, so I wanted to share them. These are quite old, from the 1890s or so. I was fortunate to inherit a whole shoebox of these neat cards. Many of the others have Scripture verses on them, and I want to share some of these at a later date.

Here is a scene of crocuses. I think perhaps this shaped card was meant to be used as a fan.
This one, with its basket of flowers, is definitely fan-shaped.
And this little Victorian miss is wearing such a pretty spring outfit!
Hope you have enjoyed this look at some vintage Easter cards!

Sew Crafty Friday for March 21

For Sew Crafty Friday today, I thought I would share something I made several years ago. This unusual cross-stitch was made for my daughter in remembrance of her dear friend Emily. Emily died not long after their high school graduation. I saw this design in a stitchery catalog and longed to make it for my daughter, but the kit was beyond my means. The saying reads, "They thought we were sisters... but we were closer." I loved the colors and the scene itself. To me, the buildings in the distance look like a university, perhaps. The two girls met and became friends while at boarding school, so it just seemed to fit. One day I joined a craft book club, the type where you can choose several books for $1 or so each. One of the books I chose featured on its cover the very design I had wanted to stitch for my daughter! Needless to say, I was elated to find the design so inexpensively. I stitched it on Aida cloth rather than linen (otherwise I'd probably still be working on it) to save even more money.


My husband made the frame, as the design was an unusual size. I told him how I wanted the frame to look and he produced it for me. Then I painted it with metallic gold paint to get the look I wanted. This photo shows the completed stitchery hanging in our daughter's first home in SC.

If you have managed to accomplish or even start any crafting this week, then head on over to Waiting for Him and share your projects. Shereen and others will be eager to see what you have to share.

Happy Crafting!

Favorite Ingredients Friday for March 21

With Easter this weekend, my thoughts turn to brunchy foods, and I thought of these wonderful pastries. This recipe is too good not to share, so here it is. This is sort of a long recipe, but you can divide the work over 2 days, since the dough needs to chill 8 hours or overnight. It's much easier than the usual Danish pastry recipe. My family has always loved these pastries, which I sort of invented by combining 2 different recipes. They do freeze well, and I would often keep a bag of them in the freezer to reheat individually on busy school mornings.

CHEESE DANISH

2 envelopes active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar, divided use
1/2 cup warm water
4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
1 cup cold butter or margarine, cut in small pieces
1 cup milk
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 beaten egg (for glaze)

In small bowl, stir 1 tsp. of sugar into the warm water. Sprinkle yeast over; stir and let stand 5 minutes or until foamy. Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine the flour, remaining sugar, and salt. Add the butter; cut into flour mixture with pastry blender until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add milk, eggs, and yeast mixture. Stir with wooden spoon to make a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours, or overnight.

1 1/2 hours before serving:
Grease 2 baking sheets (or line them with parchment paper or teflon liners). Remove dough from fridge. Punch down; remove 1/4 of the dough and place on a lightly floured surface, turning dough to flour all sides. Return the bowl, covered, to the fridge. Cut removed dough into 6 pieces. With floured hands (you may need to keep flouring them), roll each piece into at least a 12" rope. Coil each rope loosely on the baking sheet, tucking end under. Leave at least 2" between pastries to allow room for rising. Brush with beaten egg. Repeat with remaining dough, using 1/4 of dough each time and returning bowl to fridge each time until all the dough is used.

Let the pastries rise, uncovered, at room temperature 25-30 minutes or until puffy.

Heat oven to 350º. Using floured finger or wooden spoon handle, make deep indentation in center of each pastry. Fill indentations with cheese filling. Brush dough again with beaten egg. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to cooling racks.

Cheese Filling:
2 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tblsp. grated lemon rind
1 egg

Blend cheese, sugar, and rind. Gradually add egg, beating until smooth.

If you like, you may make some plain confectioners' sugar icing to drizzle over the finished pastries, but they are wonderful without it.

To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.

Rejoicing in God

As I continue to work my way through the study Finding God's Path Through Your Trials, I'm finding that God is bringing all sorts of encouragement to my heart from His Word about dealing with trials. Today I turned to March 20 in the wonderful classic daily devotional Streams in the Desert. The reading fit so perfectly with what I am learning that I wanted to share some of it with you.

The verse for today is 2 Corinthians 6:10a -- "As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing."

And here is part of the reading for today:

"Amid manifold trials, souls which love God will find reasons for bounding, leaping joy. Though deep call to deep, yet the Lord's song will be heard in silver cadence through the night. And it is possible in the darkest hour that ever swept a human life to bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have you learned this lesson yet? Not simply to endure God's will, nor only to choose it; but to rejoice in it with joy unspeakable and full of glory."

What a blessing to me today! I pray that it will also be an encouragement to each one of you.

"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
"Yet the LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life." (Psalm 42:7-8)