Spring's Frying Pan

     As you may know, I seasonally change what I hang on the gate of our Stately Martha (Bear) Manor.*  While some hang flowers or seaside verses, I  say, "Off with the shamrock and up with the frying pan!"  The paint has chipped a bit, here and there, but it has endured the brutal Florida sunshine and not faded too much.  The best part for me is visitors recognize my tall decorative sticks as the palm trees they are supposed to be! 

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Martha Bear (who sees with her heart because she has no eyes), Captain Fancy Patch, himself, and Swiney, his piggy companion

     *Martha Bear is a featured player in my Goodbye Lie  historical romance series set in the late 1800s in Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida.  She makes cameo appearances in the books and is also the star of The Great Amelia Island Sniff Off, a 15 minute story read by Captain Fancy Patch of the Rosie Freckle, anchored off the northern tip of the island.  Click on the link to enjoy the family friendly silly story!

Knife Versus Knife

     I am always making brownies for potluck dinners, luncheons and when we need a chocolate fix.  They are so easy, from a mix, and so yummy when I cut away the crusty edge for myself, plus, they are a hit every time.  The problem is, no matter if I let them completely cool, they are difficult to cut into neat squares.  
     Well, bring in the hacks (formerly known as helpful hints,) from Facebook.  One particular tip said to use a short sawing motion with a plastic knife versus a sharp metal knife and, by cracky, it worked wonderfully!  Refer to the picture.  The neat squares on the left side are cut with the white plastic knife and the chewed-up, rough-looking squares are cut with a metal, even serrated knife.  I tell everybody about this hack that works.  I have the photographic proof right here!

  Happy Baking!

Gone With The Wind

Television screen shot taken with my phone explains the poor quality

   I was watching Gone With The Wind with my twenty year old niece.  She had never seen it before and thoroughly enjoyed it. But, for as many times as I've watched that movie and even attended two GWTW costume balls in Atlanta and consider myself a Windie, that night was the first time I noticed the writing, arched over the front door of the church which reads: Peace be Within Thy Walls. As I've learned from my research, a church and its pews were/are sometimes used as beds for make-shift hospitals in times of war and crisis. How perfect to find these words in a house of love. Yet, it's very ironic that peace is so far away, during that gruesome and very sad time in our country.