A Very Grateful Thanksgiving.....for Thankful Thursday

 

I'm sitting here this early morning,

 before all the  activities begin....

 

No, this is not The Prairie.

I have rented a lake house for Thanksgiving.

 

Isn't this a perfect spot for morning coffee,

on this crisp cool November morning ?

 

I am so very grateful for my loving family....

while missing my youngest daughter,

who is studying abroad.

 

I hope today finds you,

my dear readers,

surrounded with the love of family and friends.

 

Happy Thanksgiving !

Meggie Mac

 

Linking today with It's a Small Town Life!

Click HERE

to read her amazing blog and.....

 Thankful Thursday posts.

 

A New Family Tradition with Granddaughter...

 

The past week has been a whirlwind of family,

passing through the doors

of The Bungalow.

 

 

It's results have put the 2015 Thanksgiving Celebration at the top of the list,

 of my all-time favorites.

There is such joy in having all of your adult children home, at the same time.

 

 

My youngest granddaughter is adopted from Guatemala, as is her brother.

She can be described as a "firecracker"...so bubbly and full of energy....

and, eager to be in the kitchen.

 

It was decided that she and I would bake cookies together.

 Here are the results of what I hope will be a new tradition, in our family.

 

 

Wanting to do something a little different, I decided we would give a cookie press a try.

I purchased mine through Amazon for only $10.00.

 

Have you ever used one?

The tool reminds me of a caulking gun...

something I'm very familiar with, using it with my old house renovations.

 

 

 The cookie recipe for Spritz Cookies, is a very simple recipe.

Click HERE for the recipe and decorating ideas.

It is much like making a pie crust.

 

 

The cookie press, made by Wilton, came with 14 different templates.

What I like about the grip handle press is...

 I could steady the press,

while my granddaughter's tiny hands gripped the handle,

 to punch out the cookies.

 

 

In less than 8 minutes of baking,

we had the first batch of seven dozen cookies.

 

 

 

These are perfect cookies, for traveling as Christmas gifts.

Rich in butter...

they literally melt in your mouth.

 

 

I must admit...

the cookie press excited me as much as

my granddaughter baking in

The Bungalow Kitchen.

Meggie Mac

Traveling Through Scotland...One Dessert at a Time

 

The title of my post is laughable, but, oh so true. From day one, I noticed how different everything tasted.

 

Our first menu, in Scotland, was from a small pub/restaurant.

 

 

It was fish and chips....and mushy peas.

 

 

Another side-street café serving lunch.

 

 

With a chill in the air most days, soup was my first choice for lunch.

 

 

And, always followed by coffee and a special dessert.

 

 

There was no resisting with window displays like this.

 

 

For our evening meal, my daughter and I, would decide on a nice restaurant.

 

 

And, of course, another dessert.

 

 

A Scottish Burger, to put all other burgers to shame !

 

 

More soup and their famous fresh seafood.

 

 

Followed by the sharing of each other's dessert.

 

 

No trip to Scotland would be complete without trying Haggis.

 

 

......and, so I did.

 

 

Yes, it was followed by dessert !!

 

 

We even found the food cart, on the train, tempting.

 

 

Nothing like a Tunnock's Caramel Bar for an afternoon pick-me-up.

 

 

After leaving Glasgow, we noticed signs in Gaelic and English.

 

 

No words necessary in English or Gaelic...just point in the direction of chocolate.

 

 

So what shall we order this time....

 

 

Maybe something small ?

 

I've been wondering why my senses seem to peak while traveling in Scotland...could it be because I was on my dream holiday? I do know, it was a very happy time for me.

 

And, the chance to travel with my youngest daughter, only sweetened the experience.

 

Meggie Mac

 

Easter Sunday

Das Kleine Haus Roses

Meggie

A Show and Tell From My Grandmother

After my grandmother died, my mother and I were the family who took care of collecting my Grandparents personal items from their home. This teacup was one of the many items I saved for my daughters.

The only story I have to write about is that I know my grandmother loved pretty things, whether it was a beautiful hat or this teacup. To read more about my grandparents click HERE.

I'm very careful when I handle it because it is so delicate. You can see the saucer has the same swirl design as the cup.

As much as I would like to read the label, it seems impossible. I believe it was in gold and has rubbed off over the years.

Maybe one of you, my dear readers, have a clue as to the country of origin of the teacup.

 

Look at the raised berries to see its' full beauty.

The truth is,  all I really need to know is that it belonged to my Grandmother....

Meggie Mac

Show and Tell Thursday

Large letters, spelling Papa, dominate the side of the vintage lustreware coffee cup.

When I pass this on to my daughters, it will have been in our family for 5 generations.

As you can see, some of the gold has rubbed off the raised letters. Taken the fact that it was probably made somewhere in the late 1800's, I'd say it looks good.

The "Made in Germany" mark is still very clear.










My maternal great-grandparents were born about 1871, in Germany, immigrating later to Texas.

Click on Photo

I wish I had an interesting story as to how the cup and saucer traveled to Texas. What I think about is the number of times, my great-grandmother, my grandmother, and my own mother may have washed and dried this very cup.

There is not much dollar value with these two stemmed goblets. But, they are very special to my heart.  I remember sitting at my grandmother's kitchen table, with iced tea filling the glasses.

Meggie Mac

I want to thank my dearest friend, Elaine, at Pear Tree Log, who is joining me today, by posting a "Show and Tell".

Click Here to read what treasure she has to show us.

Monday's Country Back Roads

While driving the country roads over the week end, I saw this pier on a farm stock pond. Wouldn't it be nice to be sitting on that pier, early in the morning, watching the sunrise?

Click on Photo

This photo gives you a better perspective of the great outdoors surrounding the stock pond. It is one of the many reasons I love living in this area.

Thoughts of fishing from that pier, brought to mind, a painting I did of my son when he was very young. As a family, we were fishing on the Colorado River. It was such an adorable photo, that I decided to turn it into a painting.

I'm reminded, today, how precious life is.....

Meggie Mac

Chapter Two...on the Prairie

There is no shortage of things to write about as I continue to travel the Back Roads on the Prairie.

Click on Photo

Each year the Giant Reed, sometimes called Wild Cane, begins to bloom in August and September. The tall perennial grass will grow to 20 feet tall.

The two foot long, plume like panicles are quite showy, swaying back and forth with the prairie winds.

I try not to take anything for granted in this life that I live on the prairie, including something so common as the roadside plant life. It seems to come back each year so effortlessly.

We all have things around us that seem to be just there. Life has changed drastically for me in the last few months, but particularly the last few weeks.

As you know from reading my blog, the sale of the farm has been impending for some time. You may also know that I lost my mother only a few weeks ago.

This week, the father of my children has also died. My family is in mourning, as am I. Within just a few short weeks, the two people who most influenced the first 42 years of my life are gone.

And in all that sadness, the final papers on the farm were signed yesterday....the passing of the keys.

This Saturday will be the First Day, of Chapter Two, in the life of Meggie on the Prairie.

Life is Good......and God continues to bless me.

Meggie Mac

Remembering my Mother

Where my Mother was born...
A typical style farmhouse in rural Texas

I've been thinking about this post for several weeks, as my mother's health began to fail. I wrote about her birthday in the post, My Mom, the Cowgirl

A very bright eyed child, posing for the photographer.

This is not a very clear photo.....one, of very few photos of us together. I happened to be in charge of a Historical Tour many years ago. We were dressed in turn of the century style clothing, on the day of the tour. If you will notice, I am wearing my Grandmother's Hat, that I wrote a post about. It's funny how you sometimes forget little details like that.

My mom is the last child on the right

The above photo is in very poor condition. The car must have been very grand in those days.

It's important for us to live each day....my mother had 32,754 days.

Meggie Mac