Esperanza Rising...

Esperanza Rising is the semi-autobiographical story of the author's family who came from Mexico to the United States as farm workers during the very difficult depression years of the 1930's. The book details Esperanza'a days of picking the different crops that must be harvested and taking care of her mother who becomes very ill and Esperanza's efforts to become educated and to maintain some kind of gracious life even while the family suffers extreme poverty.

The book covers political issues that face our country even today, while at the same time being a very personal story of the author's grandmother and inspiring in the way that so many immigrant stories are.

I love this book. It is a beautifully written tribute to the author's grandmother. I also think it is an important book, one that can open not just the eyes of children, but our own eyes to another world that exists here in our own country. I would recommend this book to children over the age of 8.

Cinco de Mayo...table...

I always use this serape that my friend Brooke brought home from Mexico and gave me as a birthday gift one year as my Cinco de Mayo table cloth. It is wool, but it washes up beautifully. I never put it in the dryer however. On the menu was the chicken enchiladas below, corn bread, green salad and lime rice and limeade. Not on the menu but very much missed was our favorite roasted chili salsa from Que Pasa and their homeade (actually restaurant made chips). :( If we had been able to, we also would have loved to have had some baked butternut squash with sea salt. Yummo. :)

Chicken Enchiladas...

Chicken Enchiladas

8 tortillas

1/2 cup chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 8-ounce carton dairy sour cream

1 14-ounce can chicken broth

1 4-ounced can diced green chili peppers

1 cup shredded Monteray Jack cheese

1 pd grilled chicken shredded

sliced pitted olives (optional)

chopped tomatoes (optional)

sliced green onions (optional)

In a saucepan cook onion, garlic, coriander, and pepper in butter till onion is tender. Stir flour into sour cream; add to onion mixture. Stir in brith and chili peppers all at once. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese.

For filling. Pour half of the filling into a bowl of shredded chicken. Stir. Then, in a lightly greased 9X13 fill each tortilla with about 1/2 cup chicken concoction. Once the pan is full pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and bake at 350 degrees for 35 min. Then cover with remaining cheese and return to oven for 5 min. Garnish with olives, tomatoes and green onions.

This recipe was originally published in the 1989 edition of Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. The above recipe reflects only a few minor changes. It is not necessary to grill the chicken, it just tastes extra good like that. Also, I have made this recipe gluten-free using just corn tortillas instead of flour and a bit of corn starch to thicken the sour cream rather than flour. They are delish this way as well.

Viva Mexico!

I have never been to Mexico and it is one of the places that I would dearly love to visit. My husband served his LDS Mission there and passed to me a great affinity for Mexican food, culture and people.

I made these boxes several years ago and they are the boxes we set out for our Cinco de Mayo celebration at home. Inside the lid of the large one is a portion of a favorite poem by the poet Francisco De Quevedo, "My soul won't leave its memory of love..."

The second box has a quote by Benito Juarez, the man who led Mexico to independece from French occupation... the reason Cinco de Mayo is celebrated, "Respect for the rights of others is peace."

During the coming week, I would like to share with you a few of my favorites from Mexico...

Cherry says something exciting makes a comeback...

Cherry.

Kipper My Love...

I love Kipper. What a lovely little dog he is. I am one of those people who feels strongly that media very much influences the behavior of children. I am often disturbed when I see that some children are learning their etiquette from Bart Simpson rather than their parents. I believe in the Eliza Doolittle concept; you are a princess when you behave like one.

This is why I give Kipper videos as baby gifts these days and for birthdays through age 6. Kipper is a prince because he behaves like one. Exposure to Kipper is a wonderful influence on a small child. If your child takes to watching Kipper like mine did, you might find them speaking with a bit of an English accent... but it sounds just lovely especially when they are using words like "please" and "thank-you."

Light From Heaven...

It's over... right people.. There are no more books in this series? Oh sadness. I truly loved it. These books were just very sweet. I loved the ending, but I won't spoil it just in case I am not the only person in the world who hasn't read these books.

I purchased a souvenir. I bought the book Patches of Godlight, Father Tim's Favorite quotes...

"Why don't you get a haircut? You look like a chrysanthemum." P.G. Wodehouse (love him!)

"What you do when you don't have to, determines what you will be when you can no longer help it." Rudyard Kipling

"Lord, purge our eyes to see within the seed a tree, within the glowing egg a bird, within the shroud a butterfly. Till, taught by such we see beyond all creatures, thee..." Christina Rossetti

By the time you get to book three, Father Tim is a close friend... if you haven't read these books... don't miss hanging around with him. :) This is actually the only long series like this that I have ever finished...

Alison Krauss...

Do you ever have to listen to a new cd for awhile before you get to really like the songs? I always do... except when there is a new Alison Krauss cd. I always like her music from the first hearing. This cd is no exception. I love it!

A House of a Different Color...

These will both be available today in the Love Boxes Etsy Shop...

Thoughts on Faith...

Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark. ~Rabindranath Tagore

I think faith must be part of the learning requirement to pass through this life. We are born not really mobile, we must learn to roll over, sit, stand and walk independantly. As a new mother, watching my child learn to do these things was very moving to me. She fell all the time learning to walk, but there was never a hint of discouragement, she had faith that she could do it.

When we marry someone, we walk into the unknown... we must have faith in ourselves and faith in our mate and we must remain faithful... part of faith is loyalty.

When we try to overcome those things that set us back and keep us down, we must have faith. I love this verse from Ether 12:27..."And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then I will make weak things become strong unto them."

Emily Dickenson spoke of faith in this way...

I never saw a moor, I never saw the sea;

Yet know I how the heather looks, And what a wave must be.
I never spoke with God, Nor visited in heaven;

Yet certain am I of the spot As if the chart were given.

There is one other bit of wisdom on faith that I truly love... There is a little speech given from uncle to nephew in the movie Secondhand Lions, that goes like this:

"Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good. That honor, courage and virtue mean everything ; that power and money ... money and power mean nothing. That good always triumphs over evil. And I want you to remember this.... that love....true love never dies ! Remember that boy ... remember that. Doesn't matter if it is true or not, a man should believe in those things , because those are the things worth believing in...... got that ? "

Faith is, in my opinion, a spiritual gift, but it is also a choice. In the book of Malachi the Lord says, "...prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Can that be anything but an invitation to choose faith?

Whether choosing to put faith in a person or a church or in diety..to put faith in the things, people and doctrines that are worth the effort, worth the sacrifices, worth the patience required seems like wisdom to me.

*not my image above

7 Wierd Things About Me...

I was tagged by Dolly... Hi Dolly!!!

1. I love sharpie pens... oh how lovely they are.

2. I am obsessed with bright colors... brown makes me a little sad.

3. According to C, I share a strange undocumented sign language with my family that few others can comprehend. (he's learning)

4. I try not to buy books, I try to go to the library a lot... but I cannot help my-self.

5. Books on tape from the library are one of life's greatest things... how wonderful to have someone to read you a story...

6. I get car sick, if I'm not the person driving.

7. The cute little furry pet that you likely have... yes, I'm terrified of it. If a sweet kittycat or even a cute little doggy rubs against my leg, I am likely to climb the wall boards with my finger nails.. Due to allergies I think. I often have nightmares where cute fuzzy creatures try to get me. It's very embarassing.

I am supposed to tag seven people so I tag... Rachel and Aunt Jackie, Shelese and Jenni and Janice and Natalie and Lindsey...

May Flowers...

May is here and that gets me to thinking of May flowers. Little c told me a joke yesterday... what do April showers bring.... May flowers.... what do May flowers bring.... pilgrims... ha! ha!

I really enjoy all the books of Barbara Milo Ohrbach, but since I adore quotes... I love these tiny gift books she does best of all.

"Lastly, love your flowers. By some subtle sense the dear things always detect their friends, and for them they will live longer and bloom more freely than they ever will for a stranger."

Julia S. Berrall

"Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who know me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." Abraham Lincoln

"Green fingers are the extensions of a verdant heart." Russell Page

Alexandra...

The May Newsletter is posted! See it here.

Mo...

Bidding on The General Lee is only up to 2,302,100.00.... just thought you might like to know in case you want to get a bid in. :)

I love a Big Salad...

Elaine: They have big salads.
George: I've never seen a big salad.
Elaine: They have a big salad.
George: Is that what I ask for? The BIG salad?
Elaine: It's okay, you don't…
George: No, no, Hey I'll get it. What's in the BIG salad?
Jerry: Big lettuce, big carrots, tomatoes like volleyballs.

Thanks to the character of Elaine Benes (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), restaurants everywhere have got the idea that the BIG Salad is dear to the culinary heart of every woman, (it is ... right people?!?) We have some really great big salads around here. I love the sweet pork salad at Costa Vida and the Grilled Lime Chicken Bajio Salad at Bajio. If I have to make it myself, I like to make this BBQ Chicken salad. If you want the recipe... you slow cook some chicken breasts in your favorite BBQ Sauce and shred the chicken once it's cooked and then put whatever you like with it... or in my case, whatever I have on hand. It can be fancier with some corn strips, and drizzled BBQ sauce on top of the whole. I like making a pastry bag by snipping the corner of a baggie, or you can just pile the stuff on and eat it.

I have 2 big salad recipes that I make quite frequently. My family is so over them. But, I like them both because it seems like a lot of food, but calorie wise it is really is not. I always use a low-fat buttermilk based dressing and low-fat cheese on the top and then chicken... after that the rest is vegetable material.

The thing is... I wanted a Big Salad bowl. Putting your Big Salad on a plate is no good and I always spill it that way. Finally after years of searching for the perfect Big Salad bowl, I found the one pictured above for five dollars at Kohls. Happiness. (I bought 3 of them, but have mostly used just one... people around here say... "Um.. can I just have my chicken and a little salad on the side.." They don't get the whole.. "Big Salad" thing.

Frontline... The Mormons.

The photo on the right is one of film maker Helen Whitney whose documentary film in cooperation with the program Frontline aired last night on PBS. She is quoted in the Deseret Morning News in an interview with Scott Pierce as saying, "I hope that most of the stereotypes — ideally, all of them — will be blown away. Because so many of them are just based on ignorance. Ignorance about Mormon history, ignorance about Mormon theology. Ignorance."

Last night was just the first two hours of the program, but I was personally very dissapointed in most of it. Atleast Whitney tried to get the idea out that Mormons are not currently practicing polygamy. Polygamy was practiced for about forty years of the church's 200 year history. And then, by only about five percent of the members. Still, she spent quite some time interviewing a polygimist family who are not Mormons. People could get the wrong idea.

While the program tried to show the history of the western migration of the church and it did touch lightly on some important points, I thought it fell short there. In a nutshell, the Mormons had built three different and beautiful, clean and lively communities in three different states. They were driven by persecution from each one. By persecution, I don't mean hassled.. I mean tarred and feathered, murderered, raped and had their property stolen from them. Governor Boggs of the state of Missouri had issued an extermination order against them. Much of the problem the Mormons had in Missouri had to do with slavery. The divisions in the country concerning slavery were rising to a fever pitch. Mormons were against slavery and voted as a block. Those who killed Mormons were not to be and were not prosecuted. Mormons built the lovely city of Nauvoo Illinois out of a mosquito infested swamp land into a city that rivaled the city of Chicago in size and surpassed it in beauty. The prophet and his brother were murdered and the Mormons again had to leave a beautiful place that they loved to go out into the wilderness again where they contracted horrible sickness and starved and froze to death by the hundreds.

I don't know if we can, but try to imagine their anxiety, as they had settled in Salt Lake, and as they had once again begun to build a beautiful city... they recieve news that Johnson's Army sent by President Buchanan is coming to occupy the city.

All of those things are documented in journals and records that have been carefully preserved. I would have like to have had some of the experiences of these amazing people told in their own words.

I understand that we are talking about trying to cover 200 years worth of history in four hours, really a daunting and truly impossible task. And, I understand that there will be loud voices clamoring from both sides to have their views heard. Maybe it will be a starting place for those who are curious to learn about the history of the Mormon Church. While the members of the church are not and never have been a perfect people, there are so many stories and lessons of courage, strength, sacrifice and faith in the history of the church.

In my own family history, I had an ancestor who owned a farm outright in Denmank. She lived in wealth and comfort. She left it all and came to join her faith in Utah. C has an ancestor who carried her little brother on her back a thousand miles across the plains. Why? Becaused they believed. To me, that kind of faith is a sacred and beautiful thing and that above all was not covered in this program.

Still, I'll be watching tonight.

And the winner is...

And the winner is...

Ellie!

Congratulations!

Monday Giveaway!!!

The little blue birdie is back with a giveaway today! The giveaway is a box of my original spring photograph cards, signed and dated and this large size pink rose box. The quote inside the box is one of my favorite Emily Dickinson quotes... "Who has not found the heaven below will fail of it above. God's residence is next to mine, his furniture is love..." Emily Dickinson.

Details about my boxes and notecards and other little things can be found in the Love Boxes Etsy Shop.

As before, any little comment on this post will enter you in Fridays drawing, which will end at Midnight EST. You are welcome to enter as soon as this is posted & and everyone is welcome to enter so if you'd like to tell a friend.. no need to ask permission. I would love it!
Good Luck to Everyone!

Niki's Artichoke Dip Recipe...

Niki has brought this to a lot of fun parties with neighborhood friends, and now that I've made it, I really need to thank her because not only is it really delish... it's also kinda expensive to make. But make it you should because it is soooooooooo good.


1 80z can non-marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonaise
8 oz. cream cheese softened
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic minced
dill weed to taste

Mix together all ingredients except artichoke hearts and beat until smooth. Add artichoke hearts, place in greased pie or quiche pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min. and serve with the Tostitos Flour Tortilla Chips in the post below.

**Notes... Niki says the dill is optional. We had dill in ours and it was great. She also said that greasing the pan could be over-kill. We did not grease the pan and it was great. Lilli made mention that water chesnuts might be delish in the dish, Niki thought so too. We did not have any water chesnuts on hand, but we are trying that next time. Niki actually makes hers in a really shallow tart pan, which looks very cute when she brings it to parties. I was bugged that I couldn't find a tart pan as cute as hers; mine is some kind of casserole dish, but it was still great! Did I say it was great? It was great!

Just a couple of little things...

I got the Artichoke Dip recipe from Niki and I am going to make it and show everyone tomorrow or Monday. I don't know if any of you follow Father Jonathan Morris, C reads his posts regularly and often shares them. I found this one interesting. Lastly, be watching Monday... there is going to be a Mother's Day Giveaway.... also don't forget to sign up for Michelle's giveaway if you haven't already. I have one of those cute elephants and I adore it! Thanks Michelle!

Pink Tulips...

When we experience enthusiasm, we feel a new kind of freedom that can profoundly change our personality. There is an awakening, a light that transcends our consciousness. This mysterious force is a god within. This gift is given to human beings, inspiring us to create a life of significance. Live and celebrate in appreciation of this motivating inner force, this effervescent blessing. Enthusiasm urges us onward and upward. Open, receptive, aware of the highest and finest within us, we "dance to a mysterious tune" that is uniquely ours.

Alexandra Stoddard from her book Time Alive

Tostitos Flour Tortilla Chips... or how I don't get out much...

Just let me ask you now to forgive the next few posts. I sit in my little studio for lots of days and when I finally get out, I get quite excited about some of the silly things I see. This is one of them. We had a few last night with our Taco Salad. They were really delish, but I was thinking what would really be great with them is my friend Niki's Artichoke Dip. MMMMmmmmm.

Purple Pens...

OK... this post should have gone after the next one instead of before, but this is the other really fun thing that I found at Target. Why do I get really excited about purple pens? Who knows really... :)

Circo Bermuda Short...

I had such a difficult time finding age appropriate summer clothing last year for little c. I was so happy when we found these darling girls shorts shopping yesterday. Target has them in khaki, white and denim. They fall just just above the knee and come with the all important adjustable waist. See them here. They cost $9.99 per pair.

More Mother's Day...

Sorry, it took awhile for me to get this box in the shop.. I kinda forgot. It actually has one of my favorite Mother quotes ever... "I remember my mother's prayers...they have clung to me all my life... Abraham Lincoln" See it in The Love Boxes Etsy Shop.

Giveaway at Michelle's!!!

Don't miss. You can get there from here! She also has a fun Etsy shop... visit her shop here.

Big Stone Gap... And Book Club...

Big Stone Gap is just a really fun read. I love Adriana's style and her characters are all so three dimensional they seem like real people, even the minor characters. This is the third Adriana Trigiani book that I have read. I also have read Queen of the Big Time and Lucia, Lucia... I recommend those as well.

I have recognized a common theme in all three of these books. She explores the idea that there may be just "one true love" for each person. Not all of these books turn out happily ever after, so some of the "true loves" are the ones that got away. I'm a romantic and so I love this idea. What do you all think?

Book club was delicious! We have a very bright group and so the discussion is always really fun. Then, Katherina's home was so beautiful. Pale yellow paint with blonde floors and beautiful bright blue and yellow Spode plates decorating the walls. It was like taking a happy vacation to sit around in all that pretty.

She also made us Shirley Temples in beautiful champagne flutes and we had Chocolate Coca Cola Cake.... which we ate with little antique silver and ivory forks and the cake was amazingly fabulous! A grand evening indeed!

Adriana has a fun website, if you are interested see it here.

Busy Day...

I am hoping to make a dent in these and a dent in my voluminous piles of laundry and read the last third of Big Stone Gap for book club tonight... that is a really fun book!

Fishy Dinner...

This is one of my 5-6 quick dinner recipes. It's amazing that people around here will still eat it. But since it takes about 10 min. to make the whole dinner, I thought I would share. You can brush the fish with a little egg white or milk, then you combine a bit of flour (I bet it would work with rice flour for gluten-free... what do you think Michelle?) ... so a bit of flour and a bit of corn meal and a bit of Cholula Chili Lime spice. I bake it for awhile at 350 and then broil it for a few minutes to make a crust on the top.
I garnish it with limes so that everyone will have a lime to squeeze on their bit. I think it makes a fairly healthy dinner with a fresh green salad.

A Present for ME!

Thanks Mom! Love you!

Love this quote....

“Love is the only bow of life's dark cloud. It is the Morning and Evening Star. It shines upon the cradle of the babe, and sheds its radiance upon the quiet tomb. It is the Mother of Art, inspirer of poet, patriot, and philosopher. It is the air and light of every heart, builder of every home, kindler of every fire on every hearth, It was the first dream of immortality. It fills the world with melody. Love is the magician, the enchanter, that changes worthless things to joy, and makes right royal kings of common clay.”

Robert Green Ingersoll

Mother's Day...

This box was added to The Love Boxes Etsy Shop this morning...

inside it reads, "Mother, I love you..."

Pansies...

Where flowers bloom so does hope.- Lady Bird Johnson

Sorry about yet another picture of pansies, I am so in love with them.

Summer Of Love...

Summer Of Love aired last night on American Experience, a PBS program that we always find interesting around here. This program was no exception. It chronicled the summer of 1967 when many young people across the country went in droves to join The Hippie Movement in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco.

I had read several things about this movement before and so I was amazed that many of the people who participated in this movement still had positive things to say about it. Peter Coyote, who is extensively interviewed in the program, makes the point that The Hippie Movement was not able to end Capitalism and Imperialism as it set out to do, but it did accomplish some good things. His list of good things included, organic food, yoga, and alternative medicine.

Some of those things are good things, but the film footage provided makes it difficult for me to judge the movement in a positive way. Film footage of the Haight-Ashbury area before the Hippies cames shows a lovely and well kept neighborhood that quickly became filthy while they were there.

The Hippies themselves were filthy bringing back diseases that had not been seen since Medival times because they had been cured by soap. Venereal diseases were spreading through the area rampantly.

Art Gerrans, a San Francisco police officer durring that time said, "These people were supportive of the anti-war movement, but on the other hand, back in the Haight-Ashbury, where they were living, their culture there -- having sex with minors and committing statutory rape and using dope and murders -- they were violating the law, so we were arresting them. I guess they were rebelling against authority."

The idea of rebelling against Capitalism in reality turned into living with out working. Subsequently, funds soon ran short for hippies. Young people as young as twelve and thirteen were roaming the streets filthy and starving.

One of the women spoke glowingly of what the hippies called, "the free store" where you could go in and just take what you needed. The problem I saw when they showed film footage of this store, was that no-one would want anything in it. It was all garbage. It made a great summation for me of the whole movement.... You get what you pay for.

If you are interested, the next program will be a co-production with the program Frontline. This program airs April 30th & May 1. It will be a four-hour program called The Mormons. You can also learn more about the Mormons right from the source, here.

Trees I Covet...

Lord, the air smells good...
by Rumi

Lord, the air smells good today,

straight from the mysteries

within the inner courts of God.

A grace like new clothes thrown across the garden,

free medecine for everybody.

The trees in their prayer, the birds in praise,

the first blue violets kneeling.

Whatever came from Being is caught up in being,

drunkenlyforgetting the way back.

A Bouquet For Mom...

This box will be in the Love Boxes Etsy Shop today...

This box is still in the shop and is my favorite one of the Mother's Day boxes... Inside it reads... Mother's love is peace... Erich Fromm...
The little house box that was in the shop sold this week, but this one, although a bit different than the other one, has the same quote, "your heart is my home..." and will be added today.

All of these will be included in a small shop update in the Love Boxes Etsy Shop today...

The Princess Academy... by Shannon Hale

... a report by little c.


Brilliant! I think if you click the pictures that you will be able to read the text. She worked a long time to get this put together for the due date this morning. Good job c!