Birthdays come so often!

Few words from me - sweet doggies, lovely gifts, out to brunch, all dressed up and for a change someplace to go (and ENJOY!) Sixty four - not a bad age - but definitely not in "middle age" anymore - no way I'll make it to 128! I was blessed for my birthday (and all the days in the year) far beyond what I deserve and I am SOOO grateful! Mostly a garden themed b'day and with an almost blank slate here on Windsor - that is fabulous! It is good on Buhlaland and just a little older.

Bless y'all - it is spring here - loving it!

Mysterious Anonymous and Generous

Actually I know exactly which wonderful generous friend sent pictured bouquet for my birthday. I didn't have a picture appropriate for this blog post and thought I'd share my purdy posies and purple pot with you!

If you are reading this and are the M.A.G. person mentioned in blog post title - THANK YOU so much. What an encouragement (and a little embarrassment 'cause I can't thank you personally) it is for DH and me to receive b'day greetings with a generous cash gift. I mean really - we both got envelopes with our address typed on and no return address. Only hint was on my envelope it had a Midland Texas postmark. I don't THINK it is my beloved brother and his family sending the gifts but if it is - wow - y'all are too generous.

The humility of receiving a gift from someone who chooses not to let us know their identity is inspiring. Thank you isn't quite enough - the current crop of life challenges made these gifts and cards more than welcome.

It is a magical (not in a black arts way - don't git yer evangelical drawers in a uproar y'all) and mysterious (not in an ominous or disturbing way) and generous (in the very nicest way) and very good for the soul here on Buhlaland - hope you have a pleasant surprise soon and see how cool it is! (Yes I'm old - I say things are "cool" just cannot get into saying something is "sick" to mean it is wonderful!)

Cake - ah birthday cake!

Birthday Cake - a wonderful tradition - celebratory baking is my kind of party.

Cake -
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening (I used Crisco)
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons flavoring (I used vanilla paste)
3 eggs

Oven 350 - grease, flour, I also use parchment in pans -two 8 inch round pans. Put dry ingredients into mixer bowl, add shortening, 2/3 of buttermilk and flavoring. Beat 2 minutes medium speed -will be stiff batter. Add rest of buttermilk and 3 eggs - beat until thoroughly mixed - scrape down sides of bowl - beat again for short time. Pour into pans - bake until tests done (trusty toothpick test). Cool layers, frost with your favorite frosting - we used penuche (recipe below) but think I'll try s

omething different next time.
Penuche
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup milk or cream
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients except vanilla in saucepan. Stir over low heat until comes to a rolling boil - stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute (reach 220 degrees on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and beat until lukewarm - stir in vanilla - beat until a smooth spreading consistency.

We were celebrating my dear fella's birthday this week - cake was what he requested so cake is what he got. Used to think our age range was "OLD" - now thinking it is clearly mature - or ripe whichever you prefer. It was tasty and highly caloric here on Buhlaland - and for a birthday that is good.

June? how can it be June??

Graduation celebrations, a ton of June birthdays, a garden not planted (tiny tomato is still in the planting POT not in soil), spring blooming wildflowers fading.

Big oak trees fully leafed out - mustang grapes so big and round just tempting birds and raccoons to come get'em.

June

In Texas - how can I fail to mention sky - sky getting cloudy, sky with jet contrails streaking across as if there is a crack appearing (no folks - no sky is falling believers here!). Sky looking as if God is about to peek through the clouds and His Shekinah Glory is already breaking through.

It is really June here on Buhlaland - and so very good - DH is doing reasonably well, we are blessed beyond belief by friends and prayer warriors and big unpredictable skies!

Perspective - or depends on how ya look at it!

NOTE - sorry for the odd spacing - good old Blogger was not cooperative today.


Looking down on this luscious three layer coconut cake - you see such pretty primary color decorations. No particular significance to it - just yumo cake.















The other side is a dead giveaway - yep - it was a birthday cake. A Buhlaland - three layer buttery fluffy birthday cake. Was it for DH? Nope - his birthday is in January. Was the cake for a visitor? No - a permanent resident.


Hmm just who was the recipient of a cake of birthday celebration?


The chubby little blonde being held still by the best big brother in the world. Yep - it was my birthday last week. The "baby" picture was when I was one - 61 years ago. So we celebrated the anniversary of my birth by being taken out to a fabulous dinner and ice cream evening by our dear friends, The Harper family.





I like my own cakes, I baked one and shared it with our other dear friend - Carrie. She came out on Saturday unaware it was the post birthday date. We enjoyed mexican food she brought and lots of cake. We saved a slice for you! It is good to share cake on Buhlaland and it was a good birthday!

He'd Hate This IF He Ever Read What I Write!

UPDATE: - DH did read this one - he googled his own name the other night and found this - wouldn't you know it? The one time I really break his desire to remain off-blog and he found it - not much was said but I don't think it really bugged him much!

I read bloggers who say their spouses and Significant Others read devotedly each syllable they print. My husband hates it when I write about him on "that blog thing of yours". He really doesn't want pictures of himself on "your blog". Sometimes he might sneak a peak but I don't know 'cause we are a modern marriage and each have our own computers!
Yesterday was his birthday - won't say how many he has had but it has been quite a few (and not nearly enough!). Here he was as a curly haired tyke in Michigan.

Restaurant picture was in Germany on our one big travel adventure several years ago. Picture was taken by our good friend - Yasser and his beautiful wife Mirella.

Our beautiful wedding ceremony on a New Year's Day - we were married in the bed and breakfast we owned in Colorado for a couple of years.

I love the picture of DH walking in our Texas winter landscape with two of our rat terrorist dogs. All our pets love him best - he is a good pet master and a loyal, funny and hard working best friend. Last picture he was literally saying - don't take a picture of me as I photographed him talking on his cell phone (probably to his brother, Roger).

Yes the porch needs repainting and it IS on the list - if you don't die until you complete all the work God has for you on earth - my sweet guy will live to be 150. Happy Birthday -

New Look

DH and I have birthday about a month apart - his in January and mine in February. Since frugal finances and frivolous gifts don't exactly go hand in hand - we discussed and researched a long while before deciding to buy US a gift. WE got a new camera - more complicated than I would normally want and not as complicated (he wanted a DSLR) as DH prefers. Good compromise and the new header is a shot taken this morning.

I'm calling the foggy view of our visiting deer "you cannot see me - I'm totally hiding behind this tree" - because I'm feeling reclusive yet obviously still here.

We are fairly certain the yearling in this picture was our little visitor from last summer. The doe she is with all the time is an injured doe we saw around when the fawn appeared. The doe was badly injured in her left foreleg - and the mother of this deer limps when she runs. Fun to think it is the same one and they feel safe enough to hang around our place most of the time.

I haven't been completely absent from the internet - just not posting much. Our lives keep running into "rough patches" - periods where from day to day it seems difficult - but then with hindsight we can see life is back to our new normal.

Planning to post a picture or two from this weekend's planned birthday lunch on Sunday. Menu will include two kinds of pasta and simple breads, salad and chocolate cake.

Today's visit to Buhlaland's mailbox found a colorfully wrapped pagkage--a new book! I won a copy of Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Ostyn of Owlhaven . This weekend's menu will include her version of Pasta Carbonara . Interesting sidenote is Mary is sister to Sophie .

It is good here on Buhlaland - winter took a sabbatical and we've had 70 degree weather. Deer visit our yard, goats are looking more ready to birth and God is always providing us with new reasons to be grateful. See y'all soon!.

Menu-less?

You'd think with all these cookbooks, notebooks of recipes, boxes of recipes on cards, stacks of magazines with recipes - yep you'd think I could plan menus. I do so passionately plan for big events - company coming and I'm all over the lists with an OCD passion. I am confessing now - Linda Sue is NOT a planner. No big surprise for people who've read my ramblings - I tend to be more a pinball than a bullet. I bounce off things and then ding - on to something else. A now increasing need for exercising budgetary responsbility (in other words - quit blowing money) I am considering, seeking guidance and generally agonizing over a simple task of planning MENUS. Yep - write down what we'll eat for days in a row , as in not wait until the day of a meal and think "what sounds good", running to the store (which is such a lie - I don't run anywhere - I get in a vehicle and drive the 6 miles or so to the store) for the missing special ingredients and making more food than two people can eat in two days.

I'm seeking counsel from all you well organized, plan makin', list keepin' folks. How did you get started making menus? How rigid are you about eat this now? Please keep in mind - there are just two of us in the house, I can cook anything, won't eat liver or snails (yes I've tried them) and need to lose some weight. Picky gal aren't I?

Now we're through pretending I'm a grown up - we can go on to more interesting topics. Yes I had a lovely birthday - our dear friends once again decorated the front gate ala last year's surprise . DH took the afternoon off and we went into FW. Did some Costco shopping and picked up prepared food at Central Market and came home to a luscious dinner. Still discussing what to do about next dog. We got excited about puppies we found online at a rescue place only to discover two unpleasant facts - it wasn't really a rescue more of a front to sell expensive dogs and evidently real human people pay $900 for a puppy! Holy moley - I understand there are costs in raising puppies but I am sure most countries in the world raise CHILDREN on less than $900 for their first two months of life. Still researching and discussing. Without my dear tiny MIL in our household anymore (yes we miss her terribly) we want a large dog (couldn't have a big dog due to stairs and canine exuberance being a bad potential for injury)- perhaps a Catahoula. We are planning to see a litter of catahoulas (DH has had one before) next Saturday the 28th - praying for clear guidance from the Lord about what to add to our family. (No children means our 4 legged companions ARE family).

Today might be the day DH is done with cabinetry project he has worked on for so long. Bless his heart the list of projects around here keeps growing. I am interested in keeping egg laying, fertilizer making chickens and waiting to see if he will build a coop this year. My sweet DH is blessed with too many abilities and not enough time!

Garden season totally upon us - today it is too cold and windy to be outside (wimp , yes I am). We have many bags of soil and containers awaiting me in the side garden. Going to use everything capable of holding soil for containers this year, appears we will have a very low rainfall year so it is a good time to do containers.

Ramble much? Yes I do thank you very much. Wanted to express my gratitude for being blessed with reasonably good health at my age, working on spiritual growth and reducing physical growth so much! I have faith, a very good husband, a home I love, great friends and though I see decrease in my abilities each year I am:

Taking Heart
2 Cor.4: 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

'nuff said - I'll appreciate any menu starting ideas - just keep that liver stuff to yourself OK?

New decade - what next?!

I'd been pretty glum for about 48 hours . Anticipation of this day for months - the reality of turning 60 just blew me out of the water. 50 - that was a breeze - I was excited and happy and just had so much fun. But 60 - SIX OH - bleah! I am no longer middle aged - unless I'm planning on 120 -considering my current rate of decline - naw. Turned down offers of b'day party from DH and generally have obsessed over how little good I've actually accomplished and overall I've fallen way short of my goals.
BUT - our dog was barking this morning as soon as it started getting light and out we ventured - look what somebody did for me! That is our front gate - somebody decorated it with balloons and streamers and a sign - how cool is that?
See it isn't the great big gestures in life making a difference(although anyone thinking of giving me a week at a spa shouldn't be discouraged from generosity!)-it is taking your time,resources and spending them on someone else. Making a difference -- I have been caught up with the Compassion Bloggers' stories of Uganda and being convicted I'm not doing enough to help --my 60th birthday makes me focus on the clock -it is ticking. My clock needs rewinding occasionally (I'm definitely not digital) and this gesture of love from someone for my birthday - well I'm ready to go for the next 10 years - Lord willing - and maybe I can make someone else grin as much as I did this morning.
Thank you world - and thank you Lord - Buhlaland is a birthday extravaganza today! It is good.