Two Years Old

I was going through some old family pictures today and came across this newspaper clipping (at right) of me on my second birthday. Since my birthday month is July, I can certainly understand the context of this picture which appeared in our local newspaper. My mother was a real "shutter-bug" and always had her camera ready for just the right shot.

Nim's Island

Last evening, after going out to dinner, Jim and I came home and watched "Nim's Island" on DVD. The movie stars Gerard Butler, Jodie Foster, and Abigail Breslin. I had seen the movie in the theater, twice, when it was first released and enjoyed it so much that I bought the DVD last week and ask Jim to view it with me. It was just as entertaining as ever!

Here is a portion of the review on the the DVD's dust cover: "Nim's Island takes place on a tropical island paradise where imagination runs wild and adventure rules. Nim Rusoe lives on a deserted island with her scientist father, Jack and her animal and bird friends. But when Jack goes missing at sea and the island is invaded, Nim reaches out via e-mail to the adventurous author of her favorite books, and together, each discovers what it takes to truly become the hero of your own life story."

If you are looking for a good, clean movie to watch alone or with your family, this may be the movie for you. I highly recommend it.

Banana Split Cake

This recipe from Kraft Kitchens was sent to me by email. It looks delicious and would be great as a cool holiday dessert.

Prep Time:15 min / Total Time:5 hr 15 min /Makes:24 servings, one piece each

1-1/2 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
6 medium bananas, divided
2 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Vanilla Instant Pudding
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided
1 cup PLANTERS Chopped Pecans


MIX crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the butter; press firmly onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Freeze 10 min.


BEAT cream cheese and remaining 3/4 cup sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Spread carefully over crust; top with pineapple. Slice 4 of the bananas; arrange over pineapple.


POUR milk into medium bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping; spread over banana layer in pan. Top with remaining 1 cup whipped topping; sprinkle with pecans. Refrigerate 5 hours. Slice remaining 2 bananas just before serving; arrange over dessert. Store any leftover dessert in refrigerator.

A Night At The Movies

Fall will be here soon and with it-- wind, rain, and eventually snow. So I've compiled a list of "must see" movies to watch when the wind is howling past your window and the cold rain is pouring down outside your door. These classic movies can be found on DVD at most movie rental stores and are favorites of mine.

1. Gone With The Wind

2. Casablanca

3. Out of Africa

4. Somewhere In Time

5. The Notebook

6. Sleepless In Seattle

7. Cold Mountain

8. P.S. I Love You

9. Ghost

10. Shadowlands

11. Titanic

12. The Bodyguard

So pop some corn, put on your jammies and slippers and enjoy a night at the movies...absolute bliss!

My Search For Serenity

I've learned many important lessons in my 64 years of living--two of them being: I couldn't be "all things to all people" and the absolute need for relaxation. I came face to face with this reality about eight years ago. I was the manager of a small shopping center, I had a large family, my mother had just passed away, my husband, Jim, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, I was going through menopause, and I had recently been elected to our town's City Council. I thought I could do it all!! But things were going to change and change drastically.....

One Spring afternoon, I went out for a short walk. As I returned home my left ankle was hurting. The next morning my ankle was swollen. The second morning, my left knee was swollen. The third morning my wrist and fingers were swollen--I couldn't close my hands! The fourth morning my arms and shoulders wouldn't move freely. All this continued until I could only get out of bed for brief periods of time--mainly to go to the bathroom or sit with the family. Each day I was spending 18-20 hours in bed. The symptoms became so bad that I couldn't apply my make-up or brush my hair. I couldn't drive the car, I couldn't shop....it was growing worse and I imagined that I would eventually enter the City Council meetings in a wheel chair. All of this had happened, so suddenly, to a relatively healthy woman-- literally overnight.

My doctor ordered tests, which all came back negative. The final conclusion? STRESS. I had taken on too much. I had been too hard on myself--tried to be perfect--expected too much, and cared so deeply about others, that I was taking everyone's pain as my own; hadn't I always considered myself a "worrier" and a "fixer?" I was exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The physical "me" was rebelling. Enough was enough! My body would take no more and told me so, "You will slow down. You will rest! You will accept your limitations."

As I lay quietly in bed, through those uncertain days, I learned to be more caring toward myself and I made a commitment to live life slowly with joy, learn when to say "no" and find time everyday for rest. With medication, I began to get well and I have continued to honor myself as well as others.

My search for serenity had begun.......

Copyright 2008 By-Barbara J. Kirby Davis

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Sundays have become the day my youngest daughter Becka and I get together for an outing. Her husband Tony is usually working on Sundays, so we get to do some girl stuff together.

Yesterday I picked her up at 12:30 for lunch at Red Lobster, then shopping at the mall and afterward we stopped by Starbucks. At 4:20 in the afternoon, we took in a Sunday matinee at the theater-- "House Bunny" was playing and we both had been wanting to see it. After the movie we came home, changed into our biking clothes, loaded the bicycles onto her car and off Becka, Jim and I drove for an evening ride on the river bike path (photos at right and below). It was close to dark when we arrived at the parking lot, so we knew we had to get going or darkness would soon overtake us.

Well.... to make a long story short, the three of us had a great ride and got back to the car just as darkness fell over the landscape. Now that Fall is only a few weeks away, we will need to ride earlier in the afternoon. Even though I love summer, I'm looking forward to cooler days for our future trips alongside the river.

The first five (5) people to leave a comment on this posting will win (with no strings attached) a free gift!!! The gift will be chosen at random (by me) out of my Fatima's Treasure inventory. If you are one of the five lucky winners, you must send your home address to fatimastreasure@hotmail.com. Your home address will remain private.

Fantastic Friday

Yesterday, Jim and I drove to Spokane for an overnight visit with daughter Linda, her husband Mike, daughter Lori and her husband Joe and our grandchildren Shiloh and Coleman. The weather was beautiful and made for a comfortable trip there and back.

While we were there we ate delicious food, had wonderful conversations and lots of laughter and happiness. In fact, I had the most delicious lunch I have ever eaten--a fresh crab cake sandwich, served at the Rusty Moose restaurant in Airway Heights. I will definitely go back for another one in the very near future.

Jim and I stayed with Linda and Mike on their ranch where Linda introduced me to Beautiful Girl, her gorgeous young Mustang (photos at right and below). Although I've never owned one, I have always been fascinated with horses, so it was quite a thrill to get to know Beautiful up close and personal and to watch their other horses.

Thank you Linda, Mike, Lori and Joe for our fantastic Friday visit!

(Linda's blog is listed in the sidebar on the right side of this page under "Beautiful Mustang.")

A Nice Cool Outing

Yesterday afternoon, with temperatures in the high 60's, Jim and I decided we would load the bikes up and go for a bike ride. It had rained most of the day, so when we saw a break in the clouds around 5:00 p.m. we thought it would be the perfect time for an outing.

We biked along the Snake River bike path, stopping to watch the swift flowing river from time to time. We had a wonderful time and took some pictures which are posted below (scroll all the way down the page to the large photos).

My Favorite Corn Bread Recipe

The weather here has turned rainy and cool, so I'm thinking more about baking breads and making soup than I am about eating cold foods on the patio. In fact, today it's cool enough to wear a light jacket or thin sweater. Why is it we appreciate our kitchens more when the weather starts changing from summer to fall? Rain and snow always inspire me to start getting out the family's tried and true recipes and my favorite old cookbooks.

Today I'm thinking of making a batch of cornbread. We eat it buttered with honey or crumbled in a glass of milk. I make it with very little sugar added to the other ingredients. My family considers it comfort and soul food. Here is my recipe:

CORN BREAD

1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup yellow or white corn meal (I use yellow)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Whisk all ingredients together until blended.

On stove top, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a heavy 8 or 9 inch skillet. Pour cornbread batter into hot oiled skillet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Nesting Dove

Graceful, winged bearer of her young--

flying back and forth,

weaving, stringing together

the fragile, sacred shelter

for parent and offspring.

With unexplained intelligence

she searches the ground

for the perfect tendril--

formed, soft, pliable.

Cautious, watchful, flying upward

through leaf and branch;

anxious, hurried,

awaiting the arrival of the future.

(Copyright 2008 By-Barbara J. Kirby Davis)

"Gifts From The Sea" (Book Review)

I read "Gifts From The Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh many years ago when I was a young wife and mother. As I think back on it now, I'm sure I didn't fully grasp the full scope of her profound writing.... or perhaps, I pushed it back somewhere in my subconscience mind-- the compelling content making up a small part of the woman I am today.

Recently, I picked the book up again and was immediately consumed by the author's opening words: "I began these pages for myself, in order to think out my own particular pattern of living, my own individual balance of life, work and human relationships..." Those could have been my own words--that being one of the primary reasons I began my blog writings!!

First published in 1955, the timeless masterpiece encompasses themes of solitude, relationship and inner peace intertwined with the wonders of the sea.

If you are a woman in search of self, peace and your place in the world, this eloquent book will whisper your name. Enjoy!!
Copyright 2008 By-Barbara J. Kirby Davis

Alone

Alone again-

As the sun rises from it's deep sleep...
As the dove builds her nest
in the dying dogwood tree...

As day fades behind the dry hills
And night lies dark and still...
Alone again.
Copyright 2008 By-Barbara J. Kirby Davis

The Audrey Hepburn Story

Several nights ago, Becka and I went downtown to Movie On The Wall (mentioned in a previous blog) to watch "Breakfast At Tiffany's"--I hadn't seen it in years. Afterward, I became so fascinated with it's star, Audrey Hepburn, that I ordered "The Audrey Hepburn Story" starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, on DVD from http://www.amazon.com/. Not wanting to disturb Jim and his news programs, I watched it last night on my laptop computer with my earphones on. The movie was much better than I expected it would be.

This bio-pic portrays Audrey Hepburn's struggles as a child and teenager during World War II and how she ends up as one of America's most beautiful, talented and successful actresses. It also explains some of the background from "Breakfast At Tiffany's." Even though Hewitt could never be a perfect match for Hepburn (and probably knows it), I was totally captivated by the story and highly recommend it to my readers.

Give-a-way Prizes Arrive

I've been notified by two of the winners of my recent "give-a-way" that their gift has arrived. In fact, one of them posted a photo of the prize on her blog "The Stair Landing" --http://www.thestairlanding.blogspot.com/ . Please go to her site and take a look!

This new venture has been fun and exciting. I will give more away very soon. Keep watching.

My Adventures On Ebay

Five years ago I became a Power Seller on Ebay. I had heard good things about the site and my children often bought items from there. So with the help of my youngest son, Matt, I started selling gorgeous pashmina shawls in just about any color one could think of.

After the shawls became a success, I added a large stock of Red Hat items-- selling to Red Hat ladies all over the world. My inventory now consists of shawls of many kinds, Red Hat items, jewelry items of all kinds including bridal jewelry, tiaras and crowns; scarves, umbrellas, a variety of hats, gloves and beaded purses.

You can find my store on the right hand side of the page. I'll start adding more items now that the summer season is ending and Halloween and Christmas are coming up. I hope you will drop by whenever you are looking for something pretty for yourself or for friends and family.

I will also have GIVE-A-WAYS from time to time, so keep watching for those!