A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Renoir, Rain, Umbrellas and a Couple of Days in Byron

Auguste Renoir(born 1841 - died 1919) A self portrait.

I had Paris on my mind today....Here is a favorite painting of mine and umbrellas seemed to be on my mind too. The Umbrellas, painted about 1883 or perhaps even slightly earlier. The artist Renoir. This shows a bustling Paris street on a rainy day.


May 15th...There's nothing better, that I can think of , like waking up on a rainy day and having a whole day ahead of me...with no particular thing to do. May 14th...It's Spring and we are all so busy getting our yards in order and our flower beds planted. Today we are up very early...Laddie was to go to the Vet's and have his teeth cleaned. He had to be anesthetized and stayed there most of the day. We had to stay home, so we got to work early. Tree branches were down yesterday, due to a windy night. Endless trips to the woods with branches. Putting some statuary in the front garden and planting around it was on for today. New neighbors came across the street and visited in the front yard. Heavy rains caused the gutters to overflow...so hubby was on the ladder cleaning them (I am at the bottom of the ladder to assist).Decorative lights were placed in strategic spots across the front of the house. Darn those tree branches (they were blocking the sun for the solar lights)...so out came the saw and more trips to the woods. Then dinner was prepared and eaten...kitchen cleaned up and then some housework. We picked Laddie up and he was fine...but very lethargic. We all fell asleep in front of the TV while it was raining cats and dogs outside. We went to bed early and slept like the dead.


Now back to the beginning of this post. May 15th...Not much to do today. It's raining again and we will be home today...doing nothing....just the everyday stuff that we always do. I will read, watch TV, cook, and start a painting for a birthday gift. We need days like this during the Spring. We just can't keep up the pace like we used to. Here we are May 16th...We are still going to take it easy. My little neighbor friend brought me seeds to plant. She wants to plant pumpkins...Oh Lord...where will we put them? I asked her Mom to fix a large pot and we would plant them at her house. It's supposed to be really cool tonight...so I will be covering the tender things that I foolishly put out already. I knew that I should wait, but we are having mulch spread next week and we want everything planted by then. We go to Mass tonight and then out to eat. Guess I will go get busy....but not too busy!


Balisha
Here is something that I thought I'd share. I don't often put recipes here...there are so many wonderful food blogs, but when I make something that people really like I like to share. We eat a lot of salads in the Spring...Here is a Spinach Salad Recipe to try. I sent it to Church yesterday and later in the day they called and asked for the dressing recipe...several women liked it.
Spinach Salad
1 1/2 bags of baby spinach
about a cup of orange segments
about 1/2 red onion cut into thin rings
sprinkle with raisins
sprinkle with salted pecans
Spinach Salad Dressing....this is what made it so good!
4 TBS extra virgin olive oil...a tasty one
5 TBS fresh orange juice
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 TBS honey
1 TBS brown sugar
Mix the dressing ingredients in a small shaker and put on the salad.
I have even added some whole cranberry sauce to this dressing and substituted the raisins with dried cranberries.

4 comments:

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

Sometimes the rain is a blessing, it not only waters the garden, it gives us a break so we can catch up on a little rest.

Balisha said...

Hi Keewee,
That's exactly how I feel...lots of time people are complaining about the rain and I am grateful to be able to rest a bit. Have a nice weekend.

Judy said...

Hi Balisha, It has rained here to 2weeks. I am all rested up, tired of reading, and ready for some warm sunny weather! It is supposed to clear off starting tomorrow and be pretty all week. I can't wait!
The recipe looks wonderful. I will have to try it.

millie said...

I know what you mean about rain. The riding lawn mower needed some TLC and I spent yesterday behind the walk behind trying to get the best growing grass cut before the rain. aaand now the rain. It still is nice. The house will get some TLC now. I love art and literature and blogs that share their favorites are favorites of mine. Hope you don't mind.