Winter's Glory

Yes, I am one of those odd folks who loves Winter.

Uh huh. go ahead and roll your eyes and sigh, believe

me I have heard it before. But I do. I absolutely love this season.

So, if you can, bear with me as I revel in it's beauty

 for just a moment or two.

Winter came down to our home one night
Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed
slippers of snow, 
And we, we were children once again.

~Bill Morgan Jr.

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of

 the landscape—the loneliness of it—the dead feeling of winter. 

 Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.

~Andrew Wyeth

Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments,
embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.

~John Boswell

I may be in the minority in my devotion to this snowy season

but love it I do. Crisp, cold air, candlelight at night.

A roaring fire at home. Baking with the family

on icy evenings. A comforting quilt and a good book. My favorite woolly

sweaters. Hot chocolate and ice skating. Yes, I love Winter.

Stay warm!

Warmly,

Susie Q

The Sweet Busy-Ness Of Life In The Winter

Once again my mistreated blog has been forgotten and put aside...but I

do think about all of you often and miss you when I am unable to stop in

for a visit! Winter used to be a time when I spent

 more time INside but these days

that is not the case!

We have been busy this Winter with Grace and her school's Ski Club.

Before January my daughter had never been on skis but you should see her now!

I am so proud of how she is not afraid to try new things!

In fact, just this past weekend she took a cake class at 

Cake, Hope and Love, a fantastic

local bakery!

She was the youngest in the class and did such a good job!

We also celebrated Chinese New Year in style once again! 

We took a small group of dear friends to one of our favorite places

and indulged in some of our favorite dishes!

Bill and I have also enjoyed some fun evenings out. Last weekend we 

dined at De'Lish, one of our favorite spots in downtown Dayton. How about this?

Rosemary encrusted, chargrilled lamb chops drizzled with a Red wine,

 mint infused demi glace served with a Creamy Risotto studded with corn kernels 

and a sautéed medley of julienned zucchini, squash and carrots. Sound good? It was!

After dinner we headed across the street to see the 

The Human Race Theater Company's production of "Lombardi" 

at the Loft Theater.

It was nothing short of amazing!

The next day we headed up to Columbus to see The Who in concert!

Our creaky knees reminded us we weren't quite the same as 

we were the last time we saw them perform but they still sounded great and 

proved you are never too old to rock and roll!

I also had the pleasure of shooting my first maternity session!

 We had so much fun and their precious daughter is

due very soon! I can not wait to meet her!

Since our son moved to Michigan to work for IBM, he gets home about once a month.

He was here just before Valentine's Day so we went to one of his favorite restaurants, 

Kabuki, to celebrate a wee bit early. Is there any thing better than having

all of your family together? Nope!

Their plates are small works of art!

On Valentine's Day Bill treated me, Grace, my Mom

 and one of my oldest friends, Terri, to

dinner at Savona. 

I had the Caesar Salad and Angus Rib-eye with  Blue cheese compound butter, 

Yukon  Gold potatoes and Cajun onions...yummy!

Our Winston has enjoyed the little bit of snow we have

 had lately. As odd as it may sound to some,

our family loves snow! We all do the happy dance each time the

 wet, white stuff is in the forecast!

Of course, after being out in the cold all day, sitting by the fire with a cup 

of hot chocolate or mulled wine is definitely one of the sweet things about Winter!

Just a quick peek at what is keeping me busy and, mostly, out of trouble

lately! I hope you are all doing well, staying warm and enjoying 

the sweetness that life brings us even on the

dreariest Winter day!

Warmly,

Susie Q

Winter's Bliss

When there's snow on the ground, I like to

pretend I'm walking on clouds.   

~Wild World, 2005

Uh huh! That's what it is! Snow...and since they say it fell in 49 of our

 United States of America over the last week, most of us saw some!

 I am one of those odd ducks who love Winter, love snow and

love to be snowed in. Yes, you may all commence to roll your eyes and giggle now...go ahead! I know you want to!

But I do! I love to bundle up and head out to take some photographs...so much beauty in Winter.

I hope you are staying warm and dry in your lovely homesbut I do hope you are able to delight in a little of the sweet beauty that can only be found at this time of year!

Winter came down to our home one night

Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow,

And we, we were children once again.

~Bill Morgan, Jr.

Polar Bear Cupcakes

Grace and I think these are the cutest things! We found them in Family Fun Magazine (where we also found the mice!). It is a great resource for so many sweet, fun kid friendly recipes.

Wouldn't this be a hoot to make during the Winter? We are going to make some this weekend.

School is back in session tomorrow. I will miss the girl!

We have been putting away Christmas and dusting. So much to do and it always seems a teensy bittersweet to pack it all away.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS: Light-colored cupcakes, 1 regular and 3 mini White frosting Shredded coconut 3 large and 2 small white gumdrops 1 Junior Mint candy Chocolate chips, 4 regular and 4 mini

1. First, frost the top, sides, and bottoms of both a regular-size cupcake and a mini cupcake with white frosting. For each cupcake, frost the bottom first; then use a fork stuck into the bottom to hold the cupcake while you frost the rest of it.

2. Roll the cupcakes in shredded coconut; then, working on waxed paper, set the cupcakes on their sides with the top of the smaller cupcake stuck to the bottom of the larger one to form the bear's head.

3. Add 2 horizontal slices from a large white gumdrop for ears, a Junior Mint candy for a nose, and 2 chocolate chips for eyes. For each cub, frost a mini cupcake and a large gumdrop, then roll them in coconut and arrange them on their sides as shown. Add 2 horizontal slices from a small white gumdrop for ears, a chocolate chip nose, and 2 mini chocolate chip eyes.