A Dessert for St Patrick's Day

May joy and peace surround you,

Contentment latch your door,

And happiness be with you now,

And bless you evermore. ~ An Irish Blessing

Hello dear friends and welcome back to Rose Chintz Cottage! With St Patrick's Day happening this week, I thought I would share a recipe which I plan to make. I had shared this recipe years ago and I thought it the perfect dessert for St Patrick's Day. 

There are one of two different bottom crusts  you can make for this dessert. I am making the shortbread bottom myself but the graham crumb bottom is the original crust and it is good too. I will share both crust recipes and you can choose the one you please.

Striped Delight Dessert 

Graham Cracker Crumb Crust

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press firmly into a 13x9 inch pan.

Shortbread Crust 

1 cup butter, softened
4 TBSP icing sugar
2 cups flour
Cream together butter and icing sugar. Beat in flour until blended. Dump mixture into the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan and using a sheet of plastic wrap, press into the pan until flat and even. 

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Don't allow it to bake too much. You are looking for a nice golden colour. Cool.

Filling

8 oz pkg Philly cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 TBSP milk
1 small container Cool Whip, thawed {I used the large one because I like lots of whipped topping.}
2 pkgs {4 serving size} Jello instant pudding 
3-1/2 cups cold milk.

NOTE: You may use chocolate, butterscotch, lemon, or pistachio instant pudding. I used the pistachio for St Patrick's Day.

Beat cream cheese with sugar and 2 TBSP milk until smooth.

Fold in half the Cool Whip if using the small container and spread over the crust.

Refrigerate while making the pudding layer.
Using 3-1/2 cups cold milk, prepare pudding according to directions on package.

Pour over the cream cheese layer.
Chill over night or for several hours. 

Spread remaining Cool Whip over pudding and garnish if you wish. Makes 12-15 servings.

NOTE: You may use 1 package {6 serving size} pudding mix and 2-1/2 cups cold milk. Enjoy!

Enjoy with a nice hot beverage. This recipe makes enough for a pot luck or dinner with your family and friends.

I will be back later this week with another posting. See you then and have a wonderful day!

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

No Place Like Home - A Child's Christmas

There's mistletoe; there's holly;

And whispering, and smiles;

There are parcels needing wrapping,

To be sent across the miles.

There are snowflakes lightly falling;

The Christmas season's here--

I hear Santa loudly calling

To his spirited reindeer.

There are candles to be lighted;

I hear sleigh bells from afar;

Then there comes to mind a wee Babe,

And a brilliant, guiding star.

Let our hearts be filled with gladness,

And our spirits lifted high;

Let us breathe a prayer of joy and peace

As Christmas Day draws nigh. ~ Lucile Naylor

Greetings all my Christmas loving friends and welcome to my last No Place Like Home for the season! Thank you to Mrs. T for sharing the poem above in one of her posts. I thought it was perfect for my posting today.

This is a long post so please pour yourself a warm beverage and join me, won't you?

I have written this post in memory of my parents.

Is there any other season that tugs at your heartstrings more than Christmas? Those days of yore when the family gathered around the Christmas tree all a-twinkle with coloured lights and those vintage ornaments lending their charm to each evergreen branch. There was just something special about those days. 

I wonder if I may transport you back to my Christmases as a little girl? 

As a child, we didn't have any more than the average family. After we moved to the Island, I grew up in rented houses and apartments. But when Christmas rolled around, I felt like we were as wealthy as the royals. The weeks leading up to Christmas were always busy ones with Christmas concerts and church festivities, my mother baking, and lots of secrets. My parents worked very hard to make Christmas as special and magical as possible.

My little brother and I would have been mistaken for angels those weeks leading up to the big day!

Mom and Daddy would trim the house before bringing in the big spruce tree. I can still remember the smell of fresh boughs hung over doorways and windows, sparkling with silver glass balls and icicles. Then there was the tree itself. Never was there a more beautiful tree! My mother had a gift for decorating and I always thought our tree was the most beautiful in the neighbourhood.

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, which Daddy built and my mother painted, took his place of honour in the front window and when he was plugged in, his nose glowed red and all along the base were many coloured lights. To us kids, Rudolph was quite magical!

This little china deer was a gift from my mother many years ago. He comes out every Christmas and spends time on the window sill reminding me of the Rudolph in our window so many years ago.

A couple of weeks before Christmas Day arrived, we always got a call from Santa. We could hear his bells ringing in the background as Santa asked my brother and me what we wanted for Christmas. We didn't know it until much later, but Santa was really a family friend, a policeman, who made a hundred calls every year to talk to the children of his friends and relatives. When I grew up and had my own little boys, Santa called them too. The dear man carried on that tradition until he left this earth. Bless his heart! He had been one of my father's best friends ever since we moved to the Island. Lloyd made hundreds of little ones very happy while he was here.

On Christmas Eve, the stockings were hung and the next morning my brother and I would get up to find them bulging with candy canes, fudge, nuts, barley toys, and hard candy of every kind imaginable, including the beautiful ribbon candy that was such a delight to the eyes. In the toe was the biggest and juiciest orange and the biggest Delicious apple we had ever seen.

Did You Know?
The Victorian rule of thumb for filling a Christmas stocking was "Something to eat, something to read, something to play with, and something they need." - from "Christmas Teas of Comfort and Joy" by Emilie Barnes

We always had the best presents because Daddy worked as an accountant at a home and auto shop which had a toy store on the second level.

These little tykes build a snowman every Christmas on my window sill above the kitchen sink.

Did You Know?
It was Queen Victoria's influence that allowed children to play more and work less. The queen held parties at Christmastime especially for children, encouraging them to take part in the festivity of the season. - from "Christmas Teas of Comfort and Joy" by Emilie Barnes

One magical Christmas when I was about six  years old, my brother and I found the most adorable puppy next to the Christmas tree in his brand new dog house which Daddy had built. He was a cocker spaniel and he was the sweetest thing! He had big brown eyes and a sprinkle of freckles on his nose.

That was the best Christmas ever! We called the puppy, Jingles.

This ceramic spaniel puppy was made by my son in High School which he gave to me. The pup reminds me of our puppy, Jingles.

After the gifts were opened we always had a big dinner. The turkey took center stage and all the fixings were spread out around the turkey on the festive tablecloth my mother would use that time of year. Of course everything was homemade in those days. The dressing, rich with onions and summer savoury, sweet and tart cranberry sauce, home made pickles and relish, and the wonderful savoury gravy. What a feast! Dessert was always mincemeat pie with whipped cream or plum pudding. My brother and I always enjoyed both!

In those days, Walt Disney had an afternoon special to watch on TV every Christmas Day. That is when my father would get down on the floor with my brother and me and watch the cartoons with us. He laughed and enjoyed them as much as we did. Lady and the Tramp, Chip and Dale, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, etc. Walt Disney was the icing on the cake so to speak because we knew Daddy was going to enjoy the cartoons as much as we did. If the truth was known, he was just a big kid himself at Christmastime. 
Sometimes Daddy would take us ice skating on a pond or for a drive in the neighbour's horse and wagon. He always made the holidays extra special. Such warm memories of family times! 

My parents.are both gone now and Christmas will be somewhat bittersweet because this will be our first Christmas without both of my parents. Daddy had passed many years ago and this will be our first Christmas without my mother.
But my love for Christmas burns bright because of the legacy my parents left me. 

Christmastime is so very special because of the extraordinary Gift that was given to us over two thousand years ago. 

"....for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger." ~
Luke 2: 11-12

So enjoy the music, the food, the decorations and the presents. Greet one another with kindness and extend good will to all men. And remember to thank Him for it all. For without Christ, there would be no Christmas!

The greatest Christmas gift of all
Was never placed beneath a tree,
But lay within a manger

Beneath a star, for all to see. - Unknown

Thank you for joining me today. If you have something to share, simply let me know in a comment and I will add your blog to the list of participants below. I will be happy to come and visit you.
  
Please share any of the following: Cooking and baking, recipes, antiquing, artwork, ceramics, crafts, crocheting/knitting, quilting/sewing, collections, floral arranging, home decor, homemaking tips, hospitality, refinishing furniture, tea time, tablescapes, thrift shopping etc....Maybe there's a new baby in the family or you have a new fur baby you would like to introduce us to. They are welcome too! Anything and everything which makes your HOME more enjoyable to come HOME to, for your family, your friends, and yourself. 

Merry Christmas, dear friends, and God bless you!

Party Participants:
Tea in the Valley
This Beautiful Life
Across My Kitchen Table
Kitty's Kozy Kitchen
Open Doors, Open Windows
Just a Little Southern Hospitality
Karen's Cottage and Castle

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Of Bunnies and Family

Spring had come once more to Green Gables - the beautiful, capricious Canadian spring, lingering along through April and May in a succession of sweet, fresh, chilly days, with pink sunsets and miracles of resurrection and growth. ~ L M Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables

Well, here we are in the merry month of April. Are you glad it's April? I certainly am and I look forward to the earth waking up this month. The grass turning green, a few flowers poking up from the ground, and other delightful surprises await us after the long cold winter. I'm not sorry to see winter come to an end. No, not for a moment.

We had a wicked storm overnight on Wednesday into Thursday with hurricane force winds. The wind just about uprooted our bird feeder but Hubby put it back in place when he got home from work. Today, the wind is much calmer and the goldfinches are happily filling their tummies. I love springtime!

Looking out our kitchen window the other day, we noticed the little brook behind our house was running freely. We also saw a little bunny in our neighbour's back yard feasting on something tasty. This was the best shot I could get because he was a distance away but you can see a few brown patches on his white fur. 

Soon he will be completely brown and we will not recognize him when he visits the back yard again. There are a few bunny rabbits around. The next day he was in our back yard but our next door neighbour's dog started barking and scared our little bunny away. Thankfully, the bunny has been back several times so he braved the barking of the dog. I am so glad we live on the outskirts of the city where we are only five minutes from the shops but nature abounds in our neighbourhood.

I don't share a lot about my family but March brought some wonderful surprises our way.

Two of my grandchildren won medals in their competitions. Zachary won a gold medal in Jiu Jitsu. He is the little guy in the middle.

His little sister Jenna-Lynn won silver with her team in gymnastics/cheer leading. She is the little girl on the far left holding hands with the girl at the top.

These little sprigs are my middle son's children. I love how family traits are carried from one generation to another. 

My thirteen year old grandson drew this picture the other day. He also plays football.

My youngest son just bought his first home and he's pretty excited! 

He left home at eighteen to follow his dream of becoming a Math professor. He began his formal education in Alberta, far from home. After that he went to U of T and then his post doc took him to the US. Last year he achieved his goal by becoming Assistant Professor. He and his little family will be moving into their first home as soon as it is completed. My son has worked very hard for this and we are thrilled for him! He also has a birthday coming up next week; Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Our oldest boy, who has been suffering with that bad concussion, went out to the beach to take a walk on Sunday. It was the first warm stretch of weather we've had although I dare say it wasn't overly warm out on the North Shore. He came across this lovely piece of driftwood on his walk. 

He is coming along but he's still experiencing some rather unpleasant issues. Unfortunately, he will go back to work next week because his benefits have not kicked in yet and he has a family to care for. 

Other things may change us but we start and end with Family. Family is everything! ~ unknown

My beloved auntie had her picture taken last week by my cousin. Doesn't she look lovely! I'm hoping to visit my auntie this summer. We live in  different provinces so I don't see her as often as I like. Miss you, Auntie P!

Before I go, I will pour some tea. I made a cottage pudding yesterday with a nice warm sauce over it. One of my bunnies is joining me. Would you care to join me too?

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely. ~ Roald Dahl


Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

It's Not Easy Being Green!

It's not that easy being green

Having to spend each day the color of the leaves

When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold

Or something much more colorful like that

It's not easy being green

It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things

And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're

Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water

Or stars in the sky

But green's the color of Spring

And green can be cool and friendly-like

And green can be big like an ocean, or important

Like a mountain, or tall like a tree

When green is all there is to be

It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why

Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful

And I think it's what I want to be 
- Lyrics: Kermit the frog; The Muppets

Internet

Hello my lovely friends!
With St Patrick's Day coming up it's only proper that I share some green today. I do have a wee bit of Irish in me on my mother's side, so here goes...

What is it about green that grabs so many of us? Well, for me, it's always been a favourite colour. I actually have several favourite colours but green is a biggy, always has been. It reminds me of springtime and the freshness of newly budded trees and flowers. I have green eyes so it's a colour that I can wear fairly well. I am especially fond of a rich emerald green. I have always wanted an emerald green velvet dress. Who knows, with green making a come back on the colour wheel, perhaps I will find one.

My mother hates green! The other day Hubby and I visited her and he was wearing his favourite dark green shirt. She commented on his shirt and said she hates green, then she made a face! I laughed and opened up my jacket so she could see my dark green sweater. I said I love green and his shirt is my favourite on him. She was quite perplexed by it all. I have learned to not take her too seriously. 

In colour psychology, green symbolizes finding a balance between your head and your heart. In nature green means growth, renewal, and represents the season of Spring. Whenever your energy seems down-in-the-dumps, look to green for an uplifting spiritual refresher. This is particularly helpful to people living in the concrete jungle. 

So you see, green is good! It's very good.
Having said all that, here is my green today...


My little granddaughter and her daddy made a teapot holder. As you can see, it is green and pink. Just had to share that with you. I understand my son will be taking the potholder to work to set his coffee on. Now if you knew my son, you would get a kick out of that because he is what you would call, a man's man and pink is not one of his colours. He's tough as nails, does MMA, and you don't mess with him. But when it comes to the women in his family, he's a real softie!

Brother and sister enjoying a treat. My little guy is wearing green.

This cup was a gift from my youngest son a few years ago. He found it at the Botanical Gardens in MI one day when he was visiting there. It is an Irish cup as you can see and he's very proud of his Irish roots. Hubby is half Irish. 

One of my favourite colours of transferware is green and this was gifted to me by my hubby for Christmas one year. 

I have two cups and saucers and two dessert plates. The pastoral scene depicted on it just makes it that much more charming.

Tea is instant wisdom, just add water. ~ Astrid Alauda

My teapot is one I don't use very often and I should because it is such a cute pot. It's just a nice size for two or three cups of tea. Isn't the embossed green floral pretty on the bottom half of the pot?

The cream and sugar as well. The cream and sugar has beige on the bottom but they look like a tea set. There is no marker on any of the pieces.

Pretty pink tulips.

We are having Irish Breakfast tea today 

And some Irish Tea cake that I baked. 

This is a naked cake that would be perfect for a shortcake. 

It is actually very much like a cottage pudding I make and serve with brown sugar sauce but this recipe uses butter instead of shortening.

It would be prettier had I added the strawberry preserves, whipped cream, and strawberries on top of the cake before cutting it but real whipped cream doesn't keep well. So I opted to cut a couple of slices of the tea cake, spooned some homemade strawberry preserves over it, added a dollop of fresh whipped cream and placed a strawberry on top. Makes a lovely treat with tea or coffee. I may share the recipe later in the week if I receive requests.

Believe it or not, this is the first real dessert I have made since my fruit cake in November and it felt so good to make it!

Some of you are wondering how I'm doing so I will update you on my latest. I am going to physio twice a week for my arm/shoulder, wrist and hand and now I am able to go without the brace for long periods of time. I think I'm finally going to mend after being in pain with this for quite a long time. Surprisingly enough, I don't have carpal tunnel after all. Everyone thought I had CTS including the doctor but the EMG revealed I have tendinopathy. It is quite painful but I am hopeful that I will have the full use of my hand and arm in a few months.

"A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water."~ Eleanor Roosevelt

I hope you enjoyed my green. Happy St Patrick's Day to all you Irish ladies and to all those of you who are Irish on this holiday!

May the friendships you make,

Be those which endure,
And all of your grey clouds
Be small ones for sure.
And trusting in Him
To Whom we all pray,
May a song fill your heart,
Every step of the way.~ Irish Blessing


I am sharing this with the following parties ~

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 Friends Sharing Tea
 Home Sweet Home


Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi