Cocktails With An Owl

The Houston Zoo had a cocktail party to celebrate the reopening of the

Sea Lion exhibit -- a new pool, covered areas for the public, new paint job.

When the zoo celebrates they bring out their Ambassadors and one of them is

this beautiful, female Great Horned Owl.

It was a fun evening.

Thank you to Misty for hosting Camera Critters each week.

Wishing YOU well and a joy filled weekend.

Good Morning!

Enjoy the Little Things

Mina in her favorite toy, enjoying the sun.

 

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” ~Robert Brault

This And That

It's been a wonderful week.

Cool mornings -- finally!

Hot afternoons, but very little humidity -- Yay! 

Good walking weather.

***

My follow-up visit with the eye surgeon went well.

Getting used to the new lens.

My sight changes a little daily as the lens settles in.

Life is so much brighter -- literally!

***

Mail Call brought this lovely postcard from China.

I have a dear friend there on a Fulbright doing research to complete her

PhD in Art History.

This is Peking University where she is taking some classes.

It used to be part of the Emperor's Summer Palace.

Woot!

School in a palace!

***

How about a little needle and hook news?!!

This is a close-up of a shawl I completed for a friend.

 This is a free Red Heart Pattern called Romancing The Shawl. I did not use the yarn that was suggested. Instead, I used Red Heart Boutique Changes in the Granite color (6 yarns in one) and still achieved the wonderful texture. It was an easy pattern to follow and I may have to knit one for myself!

***

Finally finished two squares in the crochet Halloween afghan.

Except, I decided the afghan would be too large for me!

So, I decided to make four lapghans.

I've completed two Jack-O-Lantern squares and started another black cat.

I was happily putting rows together when I realized I had put them together 

basakwards (as my Granny would say).

Well.

What to do?

I have plenty of black yarn, but not a lot of the grey.

Taking it apart is next to impossible. I'm afraid I'm a really good put them togetherer (!!!),

but would really make a mess taking it apart!

I decided to put things away.

Let my new eye rest.

Start again another day!

The Halloween Afghan was designed by Martha Brooks Stein and the pattern has

a copyright date of 2008 by DRG.

Thank you to Beth for Postcard Friendship Friday and Liv Lane for the Little Bliss List.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Good Morning!

Fall Is Coming!

It is time for Vee's Notecard Party.

Fall is almost here.

Every year I walk around the neighborhood and take photos of the fall decorations.

I couldn't pick just four, so here are my favorite fall photos from years past.

"Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns."
-   George Eliot

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. 
So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air.
-  Nathaniel Hawthorne

"No Spring nor Summer Beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one Autumnal face."
-   John Donne

"Come said the wind to 

the leaves one day,  Come o're the meadows 

and we will play.  Put on your dresses 

scarlet and gold,  For summer is gone 

and the days grow cold." -  A Children's Song of the 1880's

"I love fall! Fall is exciting.
It's apples and cider.
It's an airborne spider.
It's pumpkins in bins.
It's burrs on dog's chins.
It's wind blowing leaves.
It's chilly red knees.
It's nuts on the ground.
It's a crisp dry sound.
It's green leaves turning
And the smell of them burning.
It's clouds in the sky.
It's fall. That's why...
I love fall."-   Author Unknown

Wishing you well and much joy.

Keep Calm And Drink Tea

It's been raining.

One of those slow, soul clearing, nice to walk in rains.

Three days now.

Cool temps --- 80s instead of 90s.

Nice!

Perfect for tea drinking and reading.

I saw the teapot on a blog and began the search for one.

Months later I was in Marshalls walking through the clearance section and

there it was.

Grabbed it ... $2.99!

The Royal Worcester cup and saucer is another find from The Guild Shop.

I love the handle, the gold accents, the lovely flowers.

Pretty in the pot!

Two Leaves Tea Company announced a new line of affordable "luxury" teas

from the Paisley Tea Company.

They are traditional English Style paper teabags (no tag or string)

with tea that's organic and fair trade certified.

I was asked by Stephanie at Steph's Cup of Tea

if I would taste test three of the new teas and I said yes!

Today I'm sharing the English Breakfast Tea and Decaf English Breakfast.

I let the kettle come to a boil and then let the water rest for a moment before pouring into

the pot and adding the tea.

I let the bags steep for 3 full minutes.

I thought they were both delicious with a nice full tea aroma.

I added a lemon slice and thought they were even better.

When I taste tested this tea, the weather was very hot and that means iced tea.

It was okay, but I much prefer English Breakfast hot.

 

Thanking our tea party hosts:

Tea Time Tuesday
Friends Sharing Tea
Teacup Tuesday

Tuesday Cup'a Tea

Wishing you WELL, much JOY and a wonderful cup of TEA!

Good Morning!

Living

“It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living.” 

~Eckhart Tolle

My World: Sweet Paris

I promised myself if the *cool* front arrived and the lows were in the 60s,

I would walk into the village on Sunday and have crepes for breakfast.

And I did!

This is Sweet Paris

a creperie and cafe where

they are reviving the art of eating crepes

and no passport is needed!

I arrived early so I could take pictures without bothering other patrons.

By the time I was finished with my crepe and had read a chapter in my book,

Sweet Paris was filling up quickly.

It is very bright and cheerful with French music playing in the background.

They call the decor French Industrial Chic.

Love the chandeliers.

The mirror makes this small cafe feel larger.

This is THE FEAST:

two eggs scrambled, feta, ricotta and mozzarella, tomatoes, spinach, and mushrooms.

It was delicious.

They have breakfast crepes, sweet crepes and savory crepes.

If I have a quibble -- they don't serve hot tea. 

Sweet Paris makes a promise:

For each crepe purchased, they will donate one school meal to a child in need through the U.N. World Food Programme USA.

"Eat Here, Feed There"

Thank you to the hosts of OUR WORLD.

Wishing you well and much joy!

Just Around The Corner

I'm looking forward to fall

and right around the corner is

Halloween.

I'd like you to meet Henry Higgins and Eliza Boolittle!

I found them at Tuesday Morning.

They were pushed to the very back of a shelf.

I almost didn't see them.

Good thing they called to me!

You can clean your pantry out with this Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

from Pillsbury's Halloween Best Recipes.

Halloween Best Recipes by Pillsbury 2011

BLACK BEAN PUMPKIN SOUP

Servings: 9

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped (3/4/ cup)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 cups vegetable broth (from 32 oz. carton)

1/4 cup white wine, if desired

2 cans (15 oz each) Progresso black beans, drained, rinsed

2 cans (10 oz each) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained

1 can (15.25 oz) Green Giant whole kernel sweet corn, drained

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1. In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion in oil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add garlic, cumin and chili powder; cook 1 minute.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling: reduce heat. Cover: simmer 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Another good recipe for Meatless Monday!




Thank you to the hosts of Seasonal Sunday and On The Menu Monday.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

This And That

It's very early in the morning and already it is HOT.

It's September for goodness sakes!

One of those BER months that is supposed to mean

NOT SO HOT! 

The weather people have promised a cool front this weekend which means

highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s.

If i get the 60s, I'm walking into the village and having crepes for breakfast!

***

So, what did you do during your August break?

I had a list of things I wanted to do and I didn't get to them.

Several CALs (Crochet A Longs) I wanted to start, but didn't.

BUT

I did read and found I had a theme going in my reading --

FRANCE!

I started off by reading a charming little book titled

JULIA'S CATS: Julia Child's Life in The Company of Cats.

After hearing Martin Walker on NPR, I decided to try one of his mysteries

BRUNO CHIEF OF POLICE 

which led to reading

THE DARK VINEYARD

and purchasing two more!

THE TENTH MUSE is the biography of Judith Jones starting with her life in France

and of course, including Julia Child.

Have you visited with Vivian Swift?

She has a wonderful blog.

She writes books about her travels (or not traveling) and includes her wonderful illustrations.

LE ROAD TRIP is her Journal of France.

That was my unplanned month with France!

***

I had a cataract removed from my right eye this week.

I now have 20/15 vision in that eye.

What is amazing is how clear and bright everything looks.

Having a cataract turns your world brown -- literally.

Guess I don't need to boost the color in my photographs anymore!!! 

The left eye has a date in the future with a new lens.

Wishing you WEll, much JOY and a FUN filled weekend!

Good Morning!

Going Green

I'm going green today.

This is my new Aynsley teacup.

I found it at the Guild Shop -- a thrift shop/granny's attic shop run by the Episcopal Church.

Two of my favorite things:

GREEN and ROSES!

Elegant, isn't it?!!

Definitely a little finger held out at attention when I use this cup!

I found the tea towel with its green background at Tuesday Morning.

It reminds me of some I've seen at Anthropologie.

More favorite things:

the color green, teapots, teacups and birds!

Finally, some green tea with ginger.

Pretty in the pot!

Two Leaves Tea Company announced a new line of affordable "luxury" teas

from the Paisley Tea Company.

They are traditional English Style paper teabags (no tag or string)

with tea that's organic and fair trade certified.

I was asked by Stephanie at Steph's Cup of Tea

if I would taste test three of the new teas and I said yes!

Today I'm sharing the Green Tea with Ginger.

I love Green Tea and I love ginger, but I wasn't impressed with this tea.

It had a wonderful gingery aroma and the color was pleasant,

but it was too medicinal tasting for me.

I cut the kettle off before the water boiled and waited for about a minute before I added it to the tea, letting the tea steep for about 3 minutes.

Perhaps my *taster* was just off.

I kept comparing it to a matcha tea with ginger I had the week before that knocked my socks off.

An unfair comparison, I'm sure.

Next week I'll share reviews of two teas that I loved!

Thanking our tea party hosts:

Tea Time Tuesday
Friends Sharing Tea
Teacup Tuesday

Wishing you WELL, much JOY and a wonderful cup of TEA!

Month At A Glance: August 2012

Wow!

August (or UGHUST as it's known down here on the Gulf Coast) sure went fast!

Here's a look at what I shared here at Twisty Lane in 

August 2012.

1. Pretty In Pink, 2. Around Houston Mosaic, 3. Gal Pals, 4. Pandu, 5. ICAD- Stand Up, 6. Around Houston, 7. Meditation, 8. Cheetah, 9. ICAD Have a Great Day, 10. Shell, 11. Jonathan, 12. Mina, 13. Zinnia Mosaic, 14. The White Iris Postcard, 15. ICAD - Giggle, 16. Cali and Jonathan

Thank you to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.

Wishing YOU well and much joy.