I  have been using Vaseline Lip Therapy for at least 15 years if not more...I recently found this Vaseline Lip Therapy while doing an online search for streamlining your purse of all things...as far as I know it isn't available in stores in the US but you can order it from Amazon here:  Vaseline Lip Therapy Rosy Lips.  It is more expensive than the vaseline lip therapy that I normally buy at Wal-mart for $.97, but it has a slight pinky rose tone to it so I can use it in place of lipstick/lip gloss.


Scones....yum....

A great recipe if you like scones...

I make mine with chocolate chips but you could add whatever you wanted to this recipe:

350 degree oven

    3 1/2 cups flour
    1/2 cup sugar
    2 1/4 tsp baking powder
    1 cup butter (cut up into small squares and put in a small bowl in freezer until you are ready to blend it with the dry ingredients)
     2/3 milk or half and half (we use half and half)
     2 tsp almond extract
     1 large egg
     1 cup (more or less) chocolate chips

      small cup of milk to brush on top of scones
      small amout of sugar for sprinkling on top


     Pulse first 3 ingredients in a food processor (or you could mix by hand and then cut in the butter with a    pastry blender).  Add butter to food processor and pulse until the butter looks the size of small peas.  Mix  the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and then add all of them in a larger bowl and mix just until the dough comes together (don't over mix or you will melt the butter which you don't want to do).  Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured silpat mat or counter and then use biscuit cutter or small drinking glass to cut out.  Place on baking sheet and brush with a little bit of milk and some sugar sprinkled on top.  Bake in oven for 15 minutes.  Let cool for a minute or two then transfer to cooling rack.

getting started.....
this is one of the best investments I have ever made...recipe holder
dough....

His and Hers...coffee....


We take our coffee STRONG around here, we only like the strongest, boldest, darkest coffee.  Because we use two different coffee makers - a Mr. Coffee 4-cup drip maker (for him) and a Bialatti Stovetop Espresso Percolator (for me).   True coffee connoisseurs grind fresh coffee everyday but we usually grind a few days worth at a time to save time in the morning when we need caffeine...now.  The Bialatti needs a finer grind and it makes a very strong coffee, it is probably not a "true" espresso but it is strong enough for me (of course I add sugar, and half and half just for fun).

The process.....
My poor Bialatti, I dropped it on our tile floor and it is all crooked and the lid won't close proper but that is okay because I keep the lid open anyway so I can see when the coffee is done!
My jar, his jar and our canister that holds his jar (just because I think it is cute and I want to use it)

Bike Trip

Today for my Saturday bike "trek" I decided to stop by one of the strawberry stands near my house. I love, love, that I can just drop by and pick up fresh strawberries.
Posing with my ride....

Here is the strawberry stand (notice the fields right behind the stand)


The view from my bike

Beautiful flowers!

My successful Winco adventure

I ventured out to Winco (our local grocery store) to see how much I could load onto my cruiser. Not bad for a quick trip...

Here she is all loaded up...
The Lofthouse pink cookies are safe!

The bread didn't get smooshed...

I had to use a "complimentary" grocery bag to house my chips (precious cargo)


Here is all my haul on the counter...it is a lot when you look at it this way.

Man, it felt so good to go the grocery store on my bike, lock it up, pack it in and ride it home.

I want to ride my bicycle...

We bought a new bike for me a few weeks ago and have reaquainted myself with an old love...bicycling. My daughter and I went for a ride yesterday after the fog cleared..

Snow Day

We decided that after Christmas we wanted to head up to the Sequoia's to see the snow and boy did we see snow, it was so beautiful up there, we decided to purchase an annual pass to the park because we like going up there for day trips because it isn't too far from us (about 2 hours).
We met a very nice family from Paris who was there visiting their parent's who are living in L.A. and they all decided to drive from L.A. to see the mountains. I heard the mom speaking French to her young son who was about 4 years old and I was so excited because I am teaching Mikayla to speak French. I realize it isn't a very useful language around here but I love the way it sounds. Anyway, I asked for their e-mail and home address so that we might correspond and perhaps I can learn the proper way to speak French and when we visit Paris (yeah right) I will know someone there!

You really can't take a bad picture here.

Another beautiful view

Mikayla hugging the "snowman" that she and Greg built (mom was in the car getting warm after her cheap tennis shoes got wet).


On our way home we pulled off the road to get this shot, unbelievably gorgeous!