The Life of Mrs. Miles

ROMANCE AVENUE DELUXE DOODLES

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(PLEASE FORGIVE ME!)

Yes... Valentines is just around the corner – isn't it? Love is in the air and all that. Ding, ding – its clicking in for me. Actually it's Valentines Day every day in our household so the formal date the rest of the world celebrates is merely a formality here. Seriously, my heart still skips a beat when I glimpse my fairest. I could not imagine trying to fit all the things we do for each other into just one day. To me, Valentines is a continual frame of mind. I'm going to ramp up the love theme on my blog between now and the official day, for you. I will try to provide some poetry and some good ideas to help you spoil your 'Someone Special' Trust me, the specialler you make them feel, the specialler they will make you feel back.

THE PRESENCE OF LOVE

And in life's noisiest hour,
There whispers still the ceaseless Love of Thee,
The heart's Self-solace and soliloquy.
You mould my Hopes, you fashion me from within;
And to the leading Love-throb in the Heart
Thro' all my Being, thro' all my pulses beat;
You lie in all my many Thoughts, like Light,
Like the fair light of Dawn, or summer Eve
On rippling Stream, or cloud-reflecting Lake.
And looking to the Heaven, that bends above you,
How oft! I bless the Lot, that made me love you.

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

5 BASIC RULES FOR COMMUNICATION

for Husbands and Wives

1. Never repeat to anyone else the things your husband or wife shares with you privately.

2. Give your husband or wife your total enthusiastic attention and listen with interest while he/she becomes more comfortable expressing him/herself. Remember, this may not be easy for your spouse.

3. Do not interrupt your spouse or jump to conclusions about what he/she is saying.

4. Acknowledge that you understand - even if you disagree, and repeat his/her thoughts back so that he/she is sure you understand. Do not let your disagreement sound like disapproval.

5. When you are sharing your thoughts, be careful not to sound as if you are heaping blame on him/her. When either of you goes on the defensive, your communication goes too, and rapport must be reestablished.

1 CORINTHIANS 13:4 -7

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast,

it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects,

always trusts,

always hopes,

always perseveres.

I would like to thank for both Orrinda and Joy for informing me that the beautiful candle holder I purchased is known as a hurricane lamp. I did not know this. I can see how it would be used to shield the delicate flame from the wind, but on the other hand I don't think I would dare walk about with something this glass and fragile in a hurricane...

I'm still hoping for more pajama's pictures... DON'T make me go to the thrift store and snap pics there... no, no, no! So far I have pics from Me, Nina, Paula, Becky, Lucy and a reader from Southern Ontario? (Name please?) - so – Judy, Kristin, Sonya, Gina etc... we wanna see your Jammas, Ladies!


My sweet husband is suffering from a wicked bad cold. He barely made it through the day yesterday – and though he will plays piano at church today he will be unable to sing – ahhh, and how I love to hear him sing! One day I am hoping he will transfer the song he sang at our wedding, oh so long ago now, into a digital format so I might share it with you. I seem to have 'scratchy' eyes and throat so we will see if I wind up with it too, or improve as the day goes along. I hope I do improve as we have a date this afternoon!

ROSE'S ROSE PAINTING!

The only foray I made out during the day yesterday was to drop in on the art show at our local gallery. The current show is called the “People's Choice” and it features all sorts of local talent – a good deal of it for the first time for the artists! My dear friend Rose, and Theresa, who I painted with a short while ago, had paintings entered. I don't know if they placed in the prizes, or not. It was a pleasure to see them, at any rate. I found Rose hanging out at the Library, killing some time before the opening, and I presented her with the sweater we bought for her. You know, it fit her to a “T” and it was completely timely too. Her husband, Ken, had whisked her away for a romantic getaway the previous day, arriving back right when I found her at the library. She was wearing a bulky non-descript sweater and upon receiving her new one she fluttered off to the washroom, like a tiny quail, to don it. It looked lovely – perfect for her appearance at the gallery!

THERESA'S TAKE ON A FAMOUS PAINTING

I want to mention a movie we watched on Friday night – have you all seen the “Lady in the Water”? It was very good – made you use your imagination and kept you on your toes the entire time.

Technology Terms for Country Folk – part 2

13. CHIP: Munchies fer the TV.
14. MICRO CHIP: Whut’s in the bottom of the munchie bag.
15. MODEM: Whut cha did to the hay fields.
16. DOT MATRIX: Old Dan Matrix’s wife.
17. LAP TOP: Whar the kitty sleeps.
18. KEYBOARD: Whar ya hang the dang keys.
19. SOFTWARE: Them dang plastic forks and knifes.
20. MOUSE: Whut eats the grain in the barn.
21. MAINFRAME: Holds up the barn roof.
22. PORT: Fancy Flatlander wine
23. ENTER: Northerner talk fer “C’mon in y’all”
24. RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY: Wen ya cain’t ‘member whut ya paid fer the rifle when yore wife asks.
25. MOUSE PAD: That hippie talk fer the rat hole.

COOL TAKE ON OSOYOOS LAKE

BARB'S HANDY TIP # 187
some REAL tips! Ha, Ha!

I've been gleaning tips out of cooking books so I will throw them together for you. These tips are coming from the book “The New Food Lover's Tip-Tionary” by Sharon Tyler Herbst ( I would highly recommend buying this book)

To give stuffed peppers added support during baking, cut them crosswise (rather than lengthwise), stuff them, then place them in lightly greased muffin tins and bake as usual.

For supercrispy fried chicken, use half flour and half cornstarch instead of flour only. Add ½ teaspoon baking powder to flour/cornstarch mixture and season as desired.

A touch of unsweetened cocoa powder or instant-coffee powder gives chili a rich, husky flavor.

To melt chocolate for decorating: Put finely chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in a small, heavy-duty plastic bag (a lighter-weight bag could melt) Set the unsealed bag upright in a small bowl and microwave at medium (50 percent) until almost melted; let stand for 5 minutes until completely melted. Another method is to seal the bag and set it in a bowl of very hot water until chocolate melted (make sure no water gets into the bag, or the chocolate could stiffen). Thoroughly dry the bag with a paper towel before snipping a tiny hole in a corner of the bag. Pipe a decorative design directly onto the dessert, or onto a sheet of waxed paper for later transfer.