Lemon Square Gems

   I was at a banquet recently and one of the ladies there named Merle brought this wonderful dessert! It was to die for. I watched her cut it ever so carefully into squares in the kitchen. When you see someone handle food like it is a tray of museum quality, rare gems, you know it is probably going to be good, and it was. After a while, I made my way to the dessert table, weaving my way through 150 people, determined to get one of those gems before they were gone. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more…my kind of dessert….rich crust on the bottom….a cream cheese mix center and the pudding/whipped cream top…I was in heaven….especially since I am on a diet! The next time I saw Merle, I mentioned that I would like the recipe. “Oh….are you talking about the Lemon Square Gems?” …she says with an enamored breath….dragging out the words. Yes! So…the other day, her husband asked me if I got my recipe in my husbands email? Nope….haven’t seen it? I mention it to my husband….he doesn’t think so? So….we search the deleted files and usually they all get deleted but this time there must be 75 there. He knows how to narrow that down…..He’s the Computer Mechanic after all! We find what we think might be it…..the subject says RECEIPT……what are the odds it might be RECIPE?…..yup…..that was it…her husband spelled it wrong. My husband gets a lot of emails and he thought it was just another junk mail or forward. I thought I would share the recipe with you…..they really ARE called LEMON SQUARE GEMS: Enjoy……and let me know what you think?

First Layer:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup softened butter

3/4 cup finely chopped nuts

Mix first 2 ingredients together and stir in nuts. Press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2 in. pan. Bake at 350 for 15 min. Let cool.

Second Layer:

1 pkg. 8 oz. cream cheese softened

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 cup frozen whipped cream

Blend sugar & cream cheese, fold in whipped cream, spread over cooled crust.

Third Layer:

2 pkgs. Instant lemon pudding

2 1/2 cups of milk

1. – 9 ounce container of cool whip minus 1 cup

Beat pudding mix and milk until thick & creamy, spread over layers, top with cool whip, cover and refrigerate.  Cut into squares.

Make sure you hide a couple of squares for  yourself somewhere….you’ll regret it if you don’t!

Enjoy!!

A Contented Life….

   I have a friend who grew up very poor. She married a man who ended up being disabled and he gets a small disability check each month. They live from check to check and only have the basics in life. She still uses a ringer washing machine and she has never had an electric dryer. She loves that ringer washer and would never replace it with a new one! They live in an old school house with a beautiful stone foundation that originally belonged to her folks. The outside looks very quaint and typically New England. The inside needs a complete overhaul but they manage on their little income each month. She has been using an old vacuum for years and years, and it is so old, they no longer make it. Recently, they stopped making bags for it. She told her husband it was time to get a new one. Now mind you, we are talking about 25 to 30+ years here. “Next month, when we get our check, I’ll buy you one” he said. Yesterday was the day. She picked out an upright dirt devil with all the bells and whistles and at a good cost of $59.95 and a 2 year warranty. Her husband decided to kick in the extra 5.00 for another year of warranty, making it 3. Now, for a lot of us, this would not be a very big deal….getting a new vacuum. For her, it is huge!! There was a message on my machine this morning, I couldn’t hear what was being said, but what I could hear was this enormous excitement!! It didn’t even sound like her. I called back to find out what all the hurrah was about? Here is how it went…..”Oh my God Debbie….I took it out of the box and put it together. It doesn’t take any bags….it has a cup that collects all the dirt! It has an attachment for everything….including my stairs! Guess what?! It has a headlight! I can vacuum in the dark! Not that I want to….but I could! You wouldn’t believe the dirt it picks up. My old vacuum was so loud, it sounded like a tractor and the cats always ran for the hills. I turned this one on and they didn’t move! Can you believe it? I have vacuumed the whole house and I am still in my house coat!”…she said.  I was so happy for her and realized that for some people, it does not take that much to make them content. When you are poor, you are grateful for the little things. How greedy a lot of us become in life and want more and more, when in actuality, we have everything we need. Whenever I have something I don’t need any more, I try to see if she might need it. She is always so excited to receive a gift but never have I heard her as happy as today! It occurred to me that I have many “wants” in life, but probably everything I need already. It was so cute to hear her so thrilled about this new item. I kidded her and said……”well, well,……what’s next!?”  Without skipping a beat, she said, “next month….A Crockpot!”…..and she will get it too.:)

An Inner Light….

   There are days especially towards the end of winter that I start to feel a bit closed in. Claustrophobic….shut in…cabin fever…isolation….they are all words that can sometimes mean restlessness, irritability and discontent are sneaking into my life. If I can’t get to Florida or California or one of those expensive island retreats (yah right!)…then I need to find another solution. Today I chose to look within. I decided to get even more quiet and do some reading. One of the books I am reading has an awful lot of spiritual writings and to me that is soothing today. It may not be tomorrow…..but it is today. I try to read something spiritual every day but almost always fall short of that. My own thoughts of the day ahead seem to get in the way. Getting quiet is not that easy. After reading some, I went in search online for more of the same. Here’s something that grabbed my attention…… In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." - Albert Schweitzer  I liked this quote and could really relate to it as I sit at this computer and stare out at about 4 to 5 feet of snow in my front yard. I generally don’t mind winter at all. I don’t like driving in it but I have always welcomed it as one of the 4 beautiful seasons we have here in Maine….fall being my favorite. But….lately…..I have been kind of wishing it away. I guess I have had enough….like a lot of you. That quote from Schweitzer reminds me that people in my life may help with the “winter blues” and how lucky am I to have good friends and family….some of whom are on these great blogs! I believe that God (that’s what I call him) speaks to us all through these people. We are his instruments and that’s a really nice thing. Would you believe I started this blog hours ago and am now just getting home and finishing it! I love that I can do that! Anyway….thank God we all have our own beacons in the storms that help us find our inner light once again…..we are all kindred spirits of some sort….we are really not that different. I will end this with a photo from my garden, of one of my very favorite flowers I plant every year….the sunflower. I try to plant a different variety every year…..there are so many. This one is from the Monet collection a couple of years ago.

March Arrives

The last hurrah of winter and the first whisper of spring. March has arrived at last. You truly would not know it here in Maine, but I have to believe it, the calendar says its so………………………………..

My husband gifted me this wonderful Victorian calendar for the holidays….isn’t it sweet? I love how wonderfully clever those Victorians were. The way they decorated was over the top in every way.

I have not posted in a while because I have been quite busy, but I have enjoyed reading so many of your blogs. I am amazed at how many gifted and talented people there are in the blogging world. I look forward to getting to know many of you. The hard part is finding the time to read, comment, and then blog myself. Some days it seems overwhelming. Does anyone else feel that way? I must admit though, it is very satisfying to keep this sometimes daily diary going. As I get more organized, I would like to share some of my collections of “old things” I have found at various haunts throughout Maine. My little treasures I have here and there are precious to me. I notice a lot of you do the same on your blogs and some sell things….that’s pretty neat. The angel sitting next to my calendar is a find of mine. One of her wings are broken but I still love her.

My new addiction lately is changing my blog look. I have seen more blog templates than I care to admit. My husband is teaching me how to Photoshop and suddenly I see flaws in everything! I am thinking it may need a facelift, better lighting, less red eye, more exposure, the color temperature is off, less tint but more saturation. Does the picture need to be cropped or the exposure adjusted? Should I round the corners or leave them square? I guess you get the picture…..or rather idea….maybe you haven’t gotten the picture yet…..because I am so busy trying to “fix” it! Wouldn’t it be great to have a Photoshop for humans? A magical wand that wipes away the wrinkles around the eyes, lightens up those dark circles under them, slenderizes the nose, makes the lips a little fuller, straightens out that neckline, changes the color of the eyes a bit….wouldn’t that be fun? I’d buy it! Oh I am not THAT unhappy with myself but you know what they say….”Old age ain’t for sissies”.

Enjoy your day and thank you all for your blog writings…I thoroughly enjoy reading them and seeing the creativity you have put into them. Of course I cannot gaze too long at them…..Yup….my new addiction kicks in.:):) I will leave here with some photos of my vegetable garden of 2008….

Purple beans

Deformed rainbow carrots….they really did come out of the ground like this!!…..

Alien Carrots…. gourds & carrots

Makes me want to start planting….