Favorite Photo Friday ~ Hockey Boy

A sweet little face like this doesn't require lots of photo skills to melt a Mom-Mom's heart!
An enthusiastic little boy with flushed cheeks from wearing his heavy helmet on a hot day, a slight cropping to eliminate boring background, a little lightening and slight increase of contrast. And there you have it.
Ready to bring home the Stanley Cup!

Photo Stats:
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Aperture f 5.6
Focal Length: 68mm
Auto flash ~ on
ISP speed: 400
Not posed: just a little guy who ran up and asked to have his picture taken with his beloved hockey helmet.

No time to relocate to more frontal natural light that might have eliminated the horizontal shadows on his face. I just wanted to capture a fleeting moment before he ran off.
Since the shadows don't run through his eyes or mouth, I am not too concerned with them.
I think attention is drawn to his eyes, each framed by the squares in the face mask.

That's a lot of helmet on those wee shoulders!
Know who he's cheering for...
F L Y E R S!
of course!

Come join in and post a favorite photo YOU took this week at Favorite Photo Friday!

Show and Tell Friday ~ Bible Commentary

I bought this two volume set of books after continually borrowing my daughters when she was in college. I found myself running to them frequently with questions I had or help in understanding a Bible passage I was reading.

Sometimes it is helpful to have background information when studying Scripture and this set has been so helpful.

Maybe you are following the schedule for the audio reading/listening plan for completing the Bible in a year. The link is over in my side bar.
It's pretty doable... just 12-15 minutes a day.

This set includes an Old and New Testament volume.

Each book of the Bible section includes an introduction including historical setting, characteristics, audience the book is addressed to, author and date, historical proof for the book, and the book's purpose.

There is a detailed outline of the book, and a commentary on the book.

Time lines too

♥

Joining Cindy @My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday!

May in Review Collage and Baked Beans

It took me until adulthood before I realized just how good baked beans were. It took me even longer to like Lima beans. This hearty baked Lima bean recipe, in a sweet molasses sauce is just so delicious and satisfying it will change your mind too!
(Navy beans can be substituted)

Homemade Baked Beans

Preparation Time takes about 4 hours not including soaking time.

Ingredients

1 pound dried Lima or Navy beans

1/8 tsp. baking soda

2 bay leaves

¼ tsp. minced garlic (refrigerated kind works fine) (optional)

4 slices of lean bacon - cut into 1" pieces

1/4 cup Maple syrup

1/2 cup molasses

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup Ketchup

2 T. prepared yellow mustard or honey mustard

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp pepper

Preparation

Overnight soak: Rinse and sort beans. In a large pot add 6-8 cups cold water. Let stand overnight or at least 6-8 hours. Drain soak water and rinse beans.

Quick soak: Rinse and sort beans. In a large pot add 8 cups hot water and 1/8 tsp. baking soda. Bring to rapid boil, boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain soak water and rinse beans.

Cooking Directions:

1. Add 6 cups hot water, bay leaves, and garlic to drained and rinsed beans. Simmer gently with lid tilted until desired tenderness is reached, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Drain. Discard bay leaves.

2. Put beans in a large baking dish or covered casserole. Mix together all other ingredients except bacon. Add to beans and stir together. Lay bacon pieces over top of beans. Cover and bake at 350º for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 40 more minutes. Stir bacon into beans before serving.

Memorial Day with Family

Lots of laughter and fun on a hot, humid day.

Jamie and family, my sister with one of her granddaughters, Olivia, my mom and Patrick came over for a day of eating and playing and celebrating Memorial Day.

Lots of photos of and for family
(that peek at my blog and never comment ;)

Baby Cambrie

How I love those baby feet!

Most pleasant, happy baby.

The girls

The boys

The family

Little ones

My mom and baby Cambrie.

Abbey & Patrick.

Mom-Mom and little ones.

Toddlers trying to escape.

Feeding the pond fish.

Little Livvy meets Raider for the first time and she's not
too sure what to make of him.
hehe... she's amused!
Delighted..
New friends!

For the rest of the day, toddler toddles and puppy dog follows.
(click on photo above to enlarge)

♥

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

This is the second season for the lavender in my garden and it yielded a couple of fistfuls of lovely flowers. I was so intrigued to come across a few recipes that use lavender as an ingredient.

I chose this cookie recipe because along with the lavender,
it included mint and lemon.

I really did not know what to expect but I have to say,
these pretty cookies are so good!
First of all, they are very buttery. Very tender and crisp.
With a unique and delicate essence of the lavender.
Most pleasant!

The recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons finely chopped lavender. I read on another site that 'a little goes a long way', and too much will make your food taste like perfume and bitter. I scaled back to 1 Tablespoon and thought it was just right.

One other note: the dough was a bit too sticky to roll out and cut with cutters. I even tried to put it through a cookie press. I decided to roll the dough into a log, then into colored sugar and slice into 1/4-inch rounds. It worked well.

I could notice the lemon flavor but the mint was undetectable so maybe I'll add more next time.

And there will be a next time...
they were disappearing off of the cooling rack right before my eyes!

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh lavender
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the lavender, mint and lemon zest. Combine the flour, cornstarch and salt; mix into the batter until well blended. Divide dough into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and flatten to about 1inch thick. Refrigerate until firm, about 1hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Cookie stamps will work well on these too. Place on cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, just until cookies begin to brown at the edges. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Amount Per Serving Calories: 186 | Total Fat: 11.6g | Cholesterol: 31mg

Joining Foodie Friday @ Designs by Gollum.

Remembering...

...with a thankful heart.

Linking to Mosaic Monday @Little Red House