A Major Award!

So, well -- the last thing I would ever call myself is stylish.  And my blog, being a pretty good reflection of what I am, might be quirky or eclectic, but stylish?  When pigs fly maybe.  But, in the goodness of her heart, dear Cathy from A Bit of the Blarney, one of my oldest blogging friends, has honored me with this Stylish Blog award. Oh, my stars!   I feel like Sally Field with her Academy Award.  Thank-you, Cathy!  Right when I'm on the verge of quitting the blog, something like this perks me back up again... and helps me remember that this blogging thing really is fun; you meet the most wonderful people -- and sometimes you get prizes! But, anyway, enough blabbing -- here are the rules of the award: I have to share seven things about myself if I want to post the coveted award button  -- then I get to honor five other bloggers. I think I can do this!  :)

And, since it happens to be a Friday, and there just happen to be seven points required, I hope the awards panel doesn't mind if I also make this a Seven Quick Takes post!  Run over to Jennifer's at Conversion Diaries for lots of Quick Take links!

So, sharing now.  Here goes:

1.  I was invited to take a family trip to Denver this weekend, and I said, "No stinkin' way!"  I've traveled enough over the last five months to last me for quite some time. So, Dan and children numbers six, seven, eight, and nine (Theresa, Cathy, Anna, and Gabe) are heading down to Denver without me and William this weekend.  Dan's company, Ameribotics, is hosting an educational camp over on that side of the mountains -- and so the kiddos old enough to go are getting to participate.  They'll be interacting with a world-renowned roboticist, Jacky Baltes, learning about the basics of robot-building and programming.  But mostly they'll be having fun -- getting to make the robots dance to music and stuff like that.  But, William and I. . .  William and I are going to have our own kind of fun all by our own selves this weekend.  Fun having to do with things like chocolate and Pixar movies and playdough. . .  At home.  Beautiful, wonderful home.

2.  I love Jack Johnson's music.   I have a Jack Johnson station on Pandora, that mixes beautifully with Ingrid Michaelson and Matt Kearney and artists of that ilk.   I listen to my "Jack" station when I need something upbeat to wake me up.  Then, when we need something more calming around here, I tune in my Rachel Portman Pandora station, which lilts with the talented Ms. Portman's gorgeous soundtracks, mixed with light-hearted classical music.  Sometimes we have to flip back and forth:  The Curious George song with the little boys' dancing around, bouncing off the walls, followed by Rachel Portman's Chocolate, and the theme from Fairytale, which puts us to sleep, so we change stations to Matt Kearney singing "Oh Mama!"...  Etc.  And then Theresa gets on the piano and plays Enya.  You get the picture.

3.   I have bifocals but I never wear them.  I know I should because they were not inexpensive, and I loved my first pair -- but my second pair (a stronger prescription now) has a weird curve in them that goofs up my peripheral vision.  I cannot get used to them.  But, I love my bright red reading glasses.  I can live without seeing the eye of the deer that's crossing the road a mile ahead -- but I Icannot live without reading.  And threading needles.  And shading in tiny things with colored pencils.  I'm not shy about my reading glasses.  I am a grandmother, so I have every right to wear them, right?  But here's the question:  Is it over the top in dorkiness to get a set of beaded glasses cords to wear around my neck, so my readers will be nice and handy?

4.  I lost thirty pounds about two years ago, finally shedding most of my last-baby weight. (Huzzah!)   But in the last year and a half  I've gained it all back.  (Booo....)  So, I've signed on to two programs that I know can be successful.  I hate going to Weight Watchers meetings, but know their sensible program works, so I just today signed on to their online weightloss center.  We'll see how that goes.  And, a trusted fellow mom-of-many, Wendy Cukierski, of the Cukierski Family Apostolate, has lost an amazing amount of weight (You have to see her before-and-after pictures; she looks fabulous!) using some natural remedies.  You bet I'm going to try that.  I also have a gym membership now -- which would be great if I ever actually got over there.  After Dan and the kids get back Monday, I'm going to try to get into that habit.  So, anyway....  Here's to the effort!  Pray for me!

5.  Because, when she heard I was dieting, Cathy said, "Oh, NO!"  I looked up some funny quotes to prove to her that I'm not going to be grumpy.  At least I'm going to try not to be grumpy.  And when I feel like I'm about to be grumpy, I'll grab a Twinky read some of these quotes instead: 

I tried every diet in the book. I tried some that weren’t in the book. I tried eating the book. It tasted better than most of the diets. ~ Dolly Parton (My Life and Other Unfinished Business)


I tried the Scarsdale diet and the Stillman water diet (you remember that one, where you run weight off trying to get to the bathroom). ~ Dolly Parton (My Life and Other Unfinished Business)

Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart. ~ Erma Bombeck


Obesity is really widespread. ~ Joseph O. Kern II
Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. ~ Mark Twain


Never eat more than you can lift. ~ Miss Piggy


Thank you for calling the Weight Loss Hotline. If you'd like to lose a half pound right now, press 1 eighteen thousand times. ~ Randy Glasbergen


I was a vegetarian until I started leaning toward the sunlight. ~ Rita Rudner


Eat as much as you like--just don't swallow it. ~ Steve Burns
A waist is a terrible thing to mind. ~ Tom Wilson

6. Next year is Dan's and my 25th wedding anniversary and we've decided what we want to do to celebrate.  If the start-up business is booming, we'll go to Ireland; if it's doing so-so, we'll go tour some more Civil War sites; if it's busting, we'll go to Taco Bell.

7. Lastly, I've been pondering this quote from G.K.Chesterton: "There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect."  There are many applications for these typically observant and wise words of Chesterton's.  This fact of the human condition accounts for some of the most beautiful truths and dumbest decisions of our nature:  it causes some people to build their homes in insane places, like on fire-prone mountainsides or beside flood-prone rivers:  it explains why people sometimes make the stupidest choices in mates; it explains why we don't throw the Terrible Two or the Teens out with the bathwater; it's why people on foodstamps own big screen TVs; it's the reason why I will stay up all hours of the night monkeying around with my vacation photos, then wait for decades hours ever while they download onto my blog...  And it's why, since I did that last night I'm not going to do it tonight.  And so, in a departure from my usual habit, I'm going to resist adding any pictures to this blog post.

I can do it.  I can leave this post picture-free.

Sure I  can.

Yep.



Except for the flying pig up there -- and this one...

Gabe and William
They were playing Bad Guys -- hence the "mustaches" and dark glasses...

And I tag:

Ann at Perelandra

Sarah at My Wonderful Life

Edel at The Dreamer's Day

Therese at Aussie Coffee Shop

Bia at La Dolce Vita

All classy ladies with stylish blogs, indeed!

PS:  I have a hard time being brief; it's an illness. Other award recipients needn't blather on like I've done here with their seven points, OK?

I'm Cute, I'm Cute! She Thinks I'm Cute!

Many thanks to dear, cute Marcy for this award!  As a young thing, I remember I hated being called "cute," but as a middle-aged thing, I'll take it!  And, let me tell ya, I need the moral reinforcement.  I was at a thrift store the other day with our friend, beautiful-young-thing, Alena.  She was just ahead of me in line, joking with the cashier about how she wished she could qualify for the senior day 50% discount.  When it was my turn to check out and the young man realized that we were together, he said to Alena, "You should have had her buy it for you!" 

 Sheesh. I'm twenty years short of a senior discount, for crying out loud.

I'm thinking we'll just chalk that up to his being a young twenty-something male with that universal male not-paying-attention-to-something-(someone)-right-in-front-of-him syndrome, mixed with a little foot in mouth disease.

Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket...

If you receive this award, you have to answer the following questions:

1) IF YOU COULD COME BACK AS AN ANIMAL, WHICH WOULD IT BE?
A bird.  One that can talk.

2) SOMETHING YOU COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT
My Faith, my family.

3) WHAT DO YOU VALUE MOST IN ANOTHER PERSON?
Honesty, authenticity.

4) THE COLORS YOU TEND TO WEAR ARE
Green and blue.

5) THREE WORDS THAT DEFINE YOU
Resilient, creative, blessed.

6) A PLACE YOU WOULD TRAVEL TO
My top five: Ireland (and all the British Isles), Italy, New Zealand, Germany, BC Canada

7) YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE FROM A BOOK OR MOVIE

Come a-runnin'? I'm no woman to be honked at and come a-runnin'!
(And this one's for Alena: Is this a courting or a donnybrook? Have the good manners not to hit the man until he's your husband and entitled to hit you back.)

(Both from The Quiet Man)

8) SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO

Gosh, where do I start? Own a jeep and a cabin in the mountains, write a book, grow peaches, learn to play a musical instrument, learn a foreign language, pave our driveway, figure out how to get the children to throw away their own snotty kleenex!

9) YOUR MAIN STRENGTH/FORTE

It's much easier to tell you what my main weaknesses are...  But, upon thinking on it, I'd have to go back to resilience -- which means: 1 : the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress (Just try being pregnant ten+ times!  I'm not a size 8, but I ain't doin too bad...)

2 : an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change (Both of which we've had our share of)

I can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'... &:o)

* You are also supposed to send this on to seven "young" blogs and seven blogs of wisdom, but, being pressed for time this morning (gotta get school rolling here), I'm just going to pass this on to a few who are both young in heart and old in wisdom, regardless of their age or blogging years:

 Bia

Linda

Kim

Cathy

Abbey

Sara

Loyal Friends

Suzy from Sailing by Starlight, and Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney, two of the dearest people I know on the internet, have graciously offered me the Loyal Friends Award. I think I have known both Suzy and Cathy as long as I've known about blogging and they're both truly loyal friends and inspirations. I feel blessed to know them. Thank-you, dear friends!

Some more people I feel blessed to know and to whom I'd like to pass on this award:

Bia, at La Dolce Vita -- because she is bright and fun and full of inspiration -- and because I love getting glimpses of her wonderful big Italian family.
Marcy, at Blessings Each Day -- because she has a contagiously loving and exuberant spirit --and because she makes me laugh every single day.
Joann, at Ten Kids and a Dog -- because she is the queen of creative, fun homeschooling -- and she takes the best photos of her gorgeous family.
Laura, at Catholic Teacher Musings -- because she is so hip and young and so wise at the same time -- and because she is the queen of good bad haikus.
Kim, at A Dog and Pony Show -- because she is so wonderfully genuine and kind -- and because she said she'd buy me some Starbucks and help me fold clothes if she could.

And there are many more dear, sweet ladies, old in-real-life friends and new friends that I'm just getting to know here. I wish I had time to add everybody. In fact, if you're reading this, please consider yourself on this award list!

Now, here are the rules:
1. Copy the loyal picture above and post it on your blog.
2. Pass it on to who you think who is/are deserving.
3. Leave a message to them
4. Pass as many as you want.
5. Message back or leave a comment to the owner.

Efficient Procrastination: Art or Vice?

OK. So I'm behind. And it's my own fault. You see I have a bad habit: I tend to take the things most important to me, the things that I want to spend time with, and set them aside until I have the proper time and attention for them -- which I never have. This might explain, my dear friends, why it takes me so long to answer your e-mails. And why we have no pictures in our photo albums. I'm sorry. I'm working on this problem. (And trying not to set it aside until I can give it my full attention.)

The important blogging detail that I'm catching up on, though, is the acceptance and passing on of two very sweet awards. I have to admit I always feel a little self-conscious doing these awards posts; I know I'll trip up the steps as I'm coming to get the button. But this time, I'm going to try to be unselfconsciously gracious -- like Gabriel.

If you give him a gift or compliment, my five-year-old knows no shyness, just gratitude: he grins from ear to ear and says "Thanks!" And sometimes he'll say, "I'm so lucky!"

So, here goes:

I received a wonderful nomination from sweet Marcy at Blessings Each Day for the the buttonless Charming Award.

Thanks, Marcy! I'm so lucky!

"This is how the award works: This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

The award also asks that I tell 7 "random" things about myself.

OK, Random Things:

1) I love any shade of green and don't particularly like yellow, but I didn't realize how much I had been shunning this color until we were talking about colors with three-year-old William this spring and couldn't find anything to point out when we came to yellow. Not a yellow thing in the entire house. So, I got some silk sunflowers and made an arrangement for the top of the computer. There. Now we have yellow.

2) I love to write with the finest tip black pens I can find. They're the best for doodling.

3) My husband and I have been arguing about the color of my eyes since we first met. I say they're green, he says they're blue. Over the years, we've arrived at a compromise of sorts by saying they're either bluish-green or greenish-blue, depending on who has the upper hand on a given day. (His are soft golden brown and not up for debate.)

4) I rarely paint my fingernails. My hands are in water so much that it wears and chips off almost immediately. But, I paint my toenails every Wednesday night during sandal-season while I eat popcorn and watch Ghost Hunters in my room. Alone. Dan plays goalee outside the door every Wednesday night, deflecting would-be invaders of my night off. And on those nights he's allowed to say my eyes are blue if he wants to.

5) I've hit upon my non-coffee cuppa for the summer. In venerable Brown Betty (my teapot), I steep three English Breakfast teabags, and either one Celestial Seasons Tangerine Orange or one Celestial Seasons Country Peach teabag. This is good for three to four mugs of hot tea or one gallon pitcher of iced tea for the day. Yummy.

6) Another yummy thing I have no conscience about indulging in whatsoever whenever I get the chance... We learned this from Fr. G., one of the boys' most beloved friends, mentors, and teachers at school: When out to eat at a restaurant where there is soft serve ice cream available at the dessert bar, fill your coffee mug 1/2 -3/4 full of black coffee, then add vanilla ice cream to fill the cup. Scrumptious! We won't think about how many calories are in it, ok?

7) I wore a gold chain anklet to school once during the one year I spent at public school and was mortified when a boy in my art class pointed to it and said, "I didn't think you were that kind of girl." Oh my goodness! I didn't wear anklets for years and years after that, thinking they were a symbol of -- well, of a bad thing, let us just say. It wasn't until I was in my forties that I found out there is no stigma connected to them now, if there ever were -- and now I wear anklets all the time. I've got to make up time, I guess. Or maybe it's a midlife rebellion. Whichever, Dan says he likes them, and that's all that matters. Catholic modesty and Dan's taste are my only two fashion barometers -- which is a little scary when you know that Dan is obviously color blind.

NOW I get to share this award. I'd like to pass it along to:

Kim at A Dog and Pony Show

Sara at My Wonderlife Life

Abbey at Abbey's Road

Linda at Linda Lu's BTDT

Diana at Sunshine on My Shoulders

Aimee at The Mother Load

Alice at A Number of Things

Aubrey at Laughing All the Way

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This next award is from Cathy at a Bit of the Blarney and Squelly at The Dreamer's Day.

Thanks, you guys! I'm so lucky!

True Heart Award

"Those who receive this award are of the sweetest nature. They are kind, friendly, funny, loving, eager to share their love for Jesus with others, and brave in their efforts to reflect Him to this darkened world. They are the kind of folks you're blessed to know, even if it's only in the bloggy-sphere."

I'd like to pass this award on to:

Terrie, my real life friend at Mama To Much

Bia, one of my oldest blogging friends at La Dolce: the sweet life with three sons

Stephanie, another old real-life friend at La Vita e'Bella

Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda, whose was the first blog in my favorites list two years ago, when I first found out what a blog was.

Honest Scrap Award

Many thanks to Squelly at Dreamer's Day for honoring me with this award. This is a good one, and no wonder it was honored to Squelly, because it's about being authentic and true, no fuss, no beating around the bush. I always like to go where I can get "honest scrap" and Dreamer's Day is one of those places -- with a twist, because her scrap is beautiful and faith-filled, too.

Here are the rules:

In accepting this award, I need to do the following: 1) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award. 2) Share "ten honest things" about myself. 3) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me. 4) Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving it.

OK, so here are my ten honest scraps:

1) I love people and love to socialize, but it makes me a nervous wreck, especially if it involves being in a group of more than three people or so. I think it's partly the residual effect of moving around so much when we were growing up (we were Navy) and the constant trauma of always being the new kid at school. (=sigh= Ain't I pittifullll?) But, I also worry that I talk too much. Instead of being shy and quiet when I'm nervous, I'm one of those that jibber jabbers uncontrollably. Like my grandmother used to say, it's like my tongue is hinged at both ends.

2) My hair is naturally curly, but this is not its natural color. (Check the roots for the real thing.)

3) Though I can get up pretty early and be somewhat functional, I'm pretty crabby until I've gotten my second cup of coffee. You're best off not messin' with me much until after 10 am.

4) I have on more than one occasion purposely on-accident not gotten the coffee made before the gang has gotten out the door in the morning. So I could have the whole pot to myself.

5) Since I'm coming clean here, I have to admit, that, though I'm the mother of a house-full of music connaisseurs and I'd like to say I'm a high-brow music sorta gal, I really cannot stand orchestral music. Hate it. I'd rather listen to Shania Twain than Johann Sebastian (and if you know how I feel about country music, you know that's something...).

6) The only real reason I was hired to be the editor-in-chief for my college paper was because I was the only one who knew how to run all the machinery at the paper -- and because I tipped back in my chair during the final interview. I was told later that the Dean thought my absent-minded chair tipping was a sign that authority figures didn't make me nervous, and he thought that would be an asset in that job. Silly man.

7) I stole a Snicker's bar from the not-so-secret candy stash in the cellar the other day -- if you can call it stealing, since I'm the Mom and technically it belongs to me. But, I zipped past the kids, candybar hidden discreetly in my apron pocket, then slipped in my room, quietly closed the door, and ate it as fast as I could before anyone caught me at it. I felt like a thief. Can you see how I'm covered with guilt? (You've gotta read about this scientific study linking Snickers theft and crime... Yikes!)

8) I did steal a frog, though, when I was in fifth grade.

There was an old house near the river on the Naval base where we lived that had been turned into the Officers' Wives Club headquarters. But all of us kids called it the "haunted house" because it was old and lonely, sitting like it did on the edge of the Officers' housing, its white paint peeling under moss-covered trees. As you can imagine, our little group of friends liked to tell ghost stories about that house and we were obsessed about getting into it. One summer day, after the ladies must have had a meeting or something, we found one of the downstairs windows open a crack, and seeing our chance, scrambled up on each other's shoulders to get in. The long-awaited day had come at last; we'd finally get our chance to explore.

And we weren't disappointed. It was a neat, spooky, old house, and very exciting in a forbidden fruit kind of way to sneak through, but we were nervous as cats the whole time we were in there, and, though none of us would admit it to the others, we couldn't get out fast enough. So when we heard a car that sounded like it was coming close to the driveway, everyone jumped and ran like the dickens for the window. In the upstairs room where I was at that instant, the Officers' Wives had a table full of little ceramic figures that they must have made for a fund raiser or something, and in a split-second decision made by my greedy little hand and not my brain, I think, I snatched up a little green frog as I passed by, stuck it in my pocket, and continued down to high-tail it out of the house with my friends.

But, then, of course, I was consumed with guilt. I went to Confession about it, and, though Father didn't say it was necessary, I did try to get back into the house to return the little frog, but the windows were never left open again. (The Wives must have known someone had been in there...) So, what are ya gonna do?

I kept that frog in a philodrendon plant I had for the longest time, a symbol of my wreckless youth, but it was eventually lost in one of our moves. And then, I grew up, and spent a good many summer Saturdays at garage sales, where a few years ago, I found a little frog that was the twin of that stolen frog. Of course I had to buy it. It's on my windowsill right now, looking up prayerfully at the statue of my kitchen Madonna -- and when I look at it there, it all comes back: a lingering twinge of guilt, yes indeed, but, in the creaky staidness of my middle age, I also remember with a sort of fondness the innocent mischief and the nervous excitement of a hot, humid afternoon, sneaking around in a haunted house by a river in South Carolina.

Oh, to be a kid again.

9) And now for a different kind of guilt. And a different kind of coming clean... I am the guilty owner of barns and bins and closets and corners of unfinished craft projects that I now admit I may never actually find a use for. The hopeful, creative miser of my youth is starting to give way to the realistic resolve of an over-cluttered middle age. (Over-cluttered literally and figuratively, I think.) It's not that I still don't think it'd be really neat to refinish that old china hutch taking up space out in the quanset hut, or that I don't think there really may be some good use for all the little bits and scraps of wood and fabric and geegaws I've hung on to over the past twenty years; it's all honest scrap, so to speak (heehee). But, I think I may have reached the point where I'm ready to get rid of it. There's too much of it to find what I'm looking for, anyway. Maybe if I leave the quanset hut door open, some crazed craft burglar will back her truck up in the middle of the night and take it all away?

Because if I have to go through it all to give away or sell, I just know the Mrs. Thrifty in me will overwhelm Mrs. Efficiency and I'll keep more than I get rid of. It's a disease.

10) And, last of all -- I really do enjoy doing these kinds of meme things, as much as I enjoy reading them from others. They're a sort of indulgence. I think we get so caught up in our work-a-day identities, that we forget about the nitty gritty, silly little facts that make us who we are. I love learning about my internet and e-mail friends through these little exercises, and it's nice, too, getting reaquainted with myself -- as Lisa, instead of Mommy -- every once in a while.

Now, to hand out my own awards!


(Ahem!) I would like to pass along the Honest Scrap Award to the following bloggers, all charming, gracious, and 100% authentic:

1) Kim at It's a Dog and Pony Show (though she may be too busy unpacking at her new home to see this for a while...)
2) Bia at La Dolce Vita
3) Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings (though she won't know about the honor until after she gets back from Hawaii -- poor girl. &;o)
4) Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney
5) Sara at My Wonderful Life
6) Linda at Linda Lu's BTD
7) Marcy at Blessings Each Day

* Looks like my little frog is gazing longingly at that Snickers bar, doesn't it? That was accidental, but somehow appropriate, I'm thinking...

lovely award

Many thank-yous to Esther, Peggy, Cathy, and Marie for this Lovely Award! I'm humbled to be included in this group of especially charming and gracious bloggers. Each of the ladies who thought of me here really is an "exceedingly charming" woman who aims to "find and be friends," just as the award qualifications require, to wit:

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

Of course, you know I have to turn around and offer this back to Esther at Catholic Mom in Hawaii, Peggy at Catholic Notebook, Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney,and Marie at View From the Pews. And, even though the following ladies have likely been nominated already, I'd like to add:

Suzy at Sailing by Starlight

Bia at La Dolce Vita

Mighty Mom at My Wonderful Life

Joann at Ten Kids and a Dog

Eileen at Eileen on Him

Lemons and Lemonade

Many thanks to Aussie Therese for the "Making Lemonade" Award! You are so sweet, Therese!

This one is all about attitude; you know ~ taking lemons and making lemonade. This award, I have to admit, especially pleases me, because I'm very proud of the lemonade we make around here. And I won't even talk about the lemons rolling around our ankles, because that would surely counteract the sugar I keep piling in. &:o)

I'm pleased to pass this award along to some bloggers that always brighten my day with their unique and positive takes on life!

Marie and Ginny at View From the Pews
Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney

Bia at La Dolce Vita

Suzy at Sailing by Starlight

Laura at Catholic Teacher Musing

Terrie at Mama of Many
Aubrey at Prosapia Vita

Mighty Mom over at My Wonderful Life

Just For Fun

The History of Lemonade

(From here)

Lemonade recipes are among the earliest beverage recipes. History records that honey-sweetened lemonade was sold by licensed vendors on the streets of Paris as early as 1676, and it became a favorite beverage throughout Europe.In Canada and the U.S. lemonade was the most popular refreshment in the early 1800s. Not only was lemonade served in homes, but it was the preferred refreshment at sports events, church picnics, and other public gatherings.

In 1838, a French perfume dealer by the name of Eugene Roussel operated a small shop in Philadelphia and sold soda water as a means of extending his trade. Seeking a way to improve the taste of the beverage, he created carbonated lemonade by dissolving sugar in water flavored with lemon juice and adding it to soda water.

Roussel is credited with being the first to discover that sweetened fruit flavorings could only be added to carbonated water as concentrated syrups during bottling to avoid lessening the carbonation and to avoid unwanted fermentation, as the boiling of the syrup killed any wild yeast spores or bacteria present in the fruit juice. Roussel's "lemon soda" became the first fruit-flavored soft drink to be bottled and sold in North America.

Below are several vintage lemonade recipes taken from the days of the old-time pharmacy soda fountain. Some lemonades are made in the basic style while others are fancier, calling for flavored fountain syrups and carbonated water (soda water). You are sure to find a recipe for old-fashioned lemonade that perfectly suits your taste.

Old-Fashioned Lemonade Recipes

These vintage lemonade recipes are taken from "The Dispenser's Formulary or Soda Water Guide" compiled by the editorial staff of The Soda Fountain, published by D. O. Haynes & Co., New York, in 1915.Carbonated water (soda water) can be found in the soft drink section of most food stores.

Old-Fashioned Lemonade

If you're looking for the best recipe for fresh squeezed lemonade, this is it.

Old-fashioned lemonade is still a great favorite with many individuals. To make it at the fountain counter place 2 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar in a 12-ounce glass one-half full of crushed ice. Now cut a lemon in two, slice each section in two or three pieces, add the juice of the lemon and fill the glass with plain ice-cold water. Shake throughly, pour from shaker into glass, and serve with straws. It should be observed that some patrons object to a too great abundance of ice.

Soda Lemonade

Juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoonful powdered sugar, 4 ounces soda water (seltzer water), 2 ounces shaved ice. Stir vigorously in a shaker with a spoon, strain into a 12-ounce glass, fill the glass with seltzer (soda) water and stir with a spoon.

(The following two are not vintage)

Lemonade Punch
20 oz frozen raspberry in syrup

12 oz frozen lemonade concentrate

46 oz pineapple juice

64 oz chilled 7-up or Sprite

Place raspberries and lemonade in blender, process till smooth. Strain into punch bowl. Discard seeds. Stir in pineapple juice. Just before serving, add soda.

Grown-up's Party Frozen Lemonade
Frozen lemonade

1 cup vodka
6 cups ice
8 strawberries
1 can frozen lemonade
Throw it all in the blender, mix and enjoy. Serves: 4

** I don't know about you, but all this talk about lemonade has made me really homesick for summer! My mouth is watering for a glass of frosty lemonade in the shade of our back yard cottonwood tree, with clothes hanging on the line and little ones running through the sprinkler...

How many more days do we have?

I'm so honored that Ginny and Marie over at one of my favorite blogs, View From the Pews, saw fit to award AWTY this honor! I'd like to pass it on along to some wonderful bloggers, rich in the true spirit of Christ's birth during this blessed season!

First of all, right back to Ginny and Marie!

And:

Kim at Starry Sky Ranch,

Stephanie at La Vita e'Bella

Suzy at Sailing by Starlight

Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings

Eileen at Eileen on Him...

Joann at Ten Kids and a Dog

Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney

Terrie at Mama-of-Many

Peggy at A Catholic Notebook

Bia at La Dolce Vita

I know many of these excellent, faith-filled bloggers may already have received this award, but, it just goes to show how wonderful they are that they are nominated many times! I love these ladies! Every one of these blogs is filled with the true spirits of Faith and Hope and Charity of Our Lord's Nativity and inspire these virtues in all their visitors.

AWARDS

Many, many thanks to Cathy and Marie for this award. I'm humbled and honored. But, they must know, of course, that I'm turning right around and offering it back to them!
This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day. Both of these dear ladies' blogs truly exemplify these values!

The rules to follow are :
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to another 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment.
Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Fifteen is such a generous number to award this to, but, seeing as it's almost 7:30 and I haven't corrected the girls' math from yesterday, or started breakfast, I need to edit my list to 5, for time's sake. (Some of these blogs may have already received the award, too, but that just goes to show how much they truly deserve it...)

For exellence in sharing such high values, I would like to pass this award on to:

Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda
Bia at La Dolce Vita
Suzy at Sailing by Starlight
Helen at Castle of the Immaculate
Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings

Marie over at A View From the Pews honored me with the commentator award! Many thanks to Marie; her posts are some of those in the blogosphere that are so inspiring and thought provoking, it's impossible not to make comment, just for the sake of rooting her on.

I'd like to pass the appreciation on to: Laura, Cathy, Bia, Suzy, and Kaila. Thanks, you guys, for your enduring support through your always thoughtful comments.

Blog Friends Bouquet

Cathy at a Bit of Blarney, who is such a sweet and supportive blog friend sent over this beautiful bouquet and the kindest wishes! Thank-you, so much, Cathy! I'm sending this bunch of flowers, express delivery, right back over to you ~ and to:

Peggy at A Catholic Notebook

Suzy at Sailing by Starlight (though she's on hiatus now for Lent)

Joann at Ten Kids and a Dog

Bia at La Dolce Vita

Kaila at Ego me habeno

Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings

Marie at View From the Pews

Raulito at Disciple of the Dumb Ox (though he's also on hiatus for Lent, and he has to give the flowers to Mrs. Raulito)

Maryan at A Lee in the Woudes

And, since I know many of you have probably already gotten this award because you really are such good and thoughtful bloggers, and because I'm selfish enough to want my award to stand out from the crowd, I'm sending along some of this:

A Box of Virtual Chocolate

No calories or fat, and it breaks no Lenten fast or sacrifice!

And this

little fellow

is the delivery boy!

(Only eight more days, 'til St. Patrick's Day!)

Go mbeannaí Dia thú!

(You'll have to ask him if he or his buddies want to help with your deliveries, dear friends. Bribes might be in order. My little guy is partial to Guiness and Philly pretzels)

A Sense of Place

The Bloggers of the World Award, originally awarded by Cojito at the blog, Life, way back at the turn of the year, has made its way around the globe to little old me, by way of wonderful Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney!

I apologize to Cathy for taking so long to post this honor. The world (my world) has rather gotten away from me lately! But, I appreciate this award in a special way, truly, because it's the last one I would have expected to get!

I'm contentedly provincial, very untraveled, especially planted in one spot. The farthest I have ever traveled is Spain, and that's only because I was a Navy baby, born where my Dad happened to be stationed at the time. I was back in the states again before I was two years old, lived between Maryland and South Carolina for the next twelve years, and ventured west with the family when I was fourteen, when my Dad retired.

Many happy memories and many of our extended family members still live in the southeast, but I consider myself a Coloradan. I love this place. I love it because it's where I learned to drive a car, where I grew to be an adult, where I met my husband, where my children were born. I love it for its rugged history and I love its incredible natural beauty. Anyone who's ever been here knows that Colorado is God's country.

Or, well, at least it's my country.

It's become a part of my identity, being a Coloradan. So, if a sense of place makes you a Blogger of the World, I think that might be something I do have. Thank-you, Cathy!

And, I pass the baton on to:
Ann at A.R.T. Servant, because, as a military Mom, her heart is all over the world,
Margaret at Minnesota Mom for her sense of place,
and Marie at Big is Beautiful because she lives clear around the world from me in Australia, but her concerns are close to home.

A Very Sweet Award

The rules on this one are:

Use Ukok’s ‘You make the world a better place’ image in your post (above!)

Link to Ukok’s Place

Award 5 bloggers

Many thanks to SuzyQ at Sailing by Starlight for this high honor! I don't think there's a nicer thing to say about a person. Suzy's blogs are so incredibly uplifting, I have to turn around and send this award back over the Atlantic right back to her! Also, I'm daily inspired and uplifted by Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight, Bia at La Dolce Vita, Patrice at A Moment of Beauty, and Cathy at A Bit of Blarney. I know that all of these ladies brighten up the world on and off the internet!

An E Award!

Marie and Ginny over at View From the Pews are so sweet! They've honored me with an "E" Award! To be honored for excellence from such excellent bloggers is a high honor, indeed. Thank-you, so very much, ladies! Once again, I'm humbled by the kindness of my fellow bloggers!

Now, I get to pass it along! Oh, my, oh, my,oh, my.... So many excellent blogs out there! How do I narrow it down to just 10?! Please know that any blog I ever look at I consider excellent in some way or another. But the rules (listed below) say to pick just ten, so here goes:



Matilda at Waltzing Matilda
Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight
Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney
Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings
Red Cardigan at And Sometimes Tea
Nutmeg at Life in a Nutshell
Bia at La Dolce Vita
Suzy at Sailing by Starlight
Peggy at A Catholic Notebook
Danette at A Crocus in the Valley

The rules: By accepting this Excellent Blog Award, you have to award it to 10 more people whose blogs you find Excellent Award worthy. You can give it to as many people as you want but please award at least 10. Thank you out there for having such great blogs and being such great friends! You deserve this! Feel free to award people who have already been awarded…

Spreading the Love

Cathy, over at A Bit of the Blarney has so kindly honored me with this award.

Aside: OK, Y'all have to know, that I can't say that phrase ~ I can't even think it ~ without going into Darren McGavin mode (You know, Ralphie's Dad in A Christmas Story) "I've won a MAJOR AWARD!" Sorry. I just had to get that out of my system. I'm so very glad this major award is not a plastic leg lamp.

All joking aside, I am very humbled that Cathy felt I deserved this recognition. I started blogging as an outlet, a chance to exercise long dormant writing and design aspirations and to document the life and times of our family ~ mostly for my own enjoyment. I signed on with the Catholic Mother's blogroll with the thought that others might read what I write, but I'm still amazed when I find out that some actually do. People who aren't even related to me! But, I feel like I'm the recipient here. All the people I've gotten to meet through this blog have truly Spread the Love to me!

Now it's my turn to pass the award on. I wish I could just put my whole Favorites list on here, as I'm enriched by so many blogs I get to visit during the week. That being impractical, I'm awarding it back around to the first five (even though I think the prescribed number might be ten...) that come to my mind. I understand this award can be received more than once, so some of these bloggers may already have received it... Hugs going out to: Suzy Q at Sailing by Starlight, Eileen at Eileen on Him, Bia at La Dolce Vita, Alice at A Number of Things, and new mama, Maryan, at A Lee in the Woudes. And I'd pass it right back to Cathy at A Bit of the Blarney, if I thought I could get away with it... Thanks, Cathy!