Saturday at Grandmama's

We made cupcakes this morning, with Eleanor and Thomas taking turns adding ingredients to the batter, then licking the bowl and beaters.

Mixing three colors of icing was also fun, and they had fun decorating the cupcakes, too.

Snow in February

Snow is VERY unusual in central Texas, but yesterday it snowed most of the day. Unfortunately, the temperature stayed above freezing, so it didn't last. Here's a photo from my office window shortly before the university closed for the afternoon.

Here's how our house looked when I drove home.

And here's a view from our front window.

Valentine's Day table

Valentine's Day was on a Sunday this year, and we had my father-in-law over for lunch after church. The menu was sensation salad, seafood gumbo, French bread, and pots de creme for dessert. For the tablesetting, I used a red tablecloth that belonged to my mother-in-law and topped it with a decorative cloth from my grandmother. I pulled out my original (1972) everyday dishes, Royal Doulton's Fireglow, along with my silver flatware, Lunt Belvedere.

Here's a closer look at the china pattern, which I fell in love with as a bride-to-be all those years ago.

February Decor

Here is my baker's rack decorated for February. Prominently featured are the adorable cherry-themed items -- a canister, sandwich tray, coffee cups, and embroidered tray cloth -- all gifts from my friend M over the years. Hanging over the top shelf is a vintage napkin with tatted edging made by my grandmother.

January Whizzed Past

I traveled three weekends in January -- first to Destin for MLK weekend, then to Little Rock to see my parents, then to Indianapolis to visit my son.

In Little Rock, my sister and I had fun helping Mom decorate her entry landing. We found the art at Garden Ridge and hung the narrow ledge to add space for a few decorative items.

There wasn't much snow on the ground in Indy, but the canal next to my son's apartment complex was frozen. It was too cold to walk very far along it!