Our baby, Benjamin Button.

This hungry baby robin is in the wreath on our front porch.




Kathyb said it needed a name.

Benjamin Button came to mind right away.



Minutes ago.  Benjamin is growing that is for sure.  He still looks sickly to me...but I don't know what is normal for birdie growth.  You can see the other eggs have not hatched.

His momma sits on him and feeds him so that is good.  Momma birds are not always the most attentive moms.

***

Volleyball today.
School tomorrow.

Sophomore in high school.



Oh how time flies.



Encourage one another.
Donna

Slip. Dance.

I just saw this intriguing dance on Facebook and thought you would enjoy it also.
db

Bring a Pasta Salad

Yes.  That's what we were told.  Bring a pasta salad to the volleyball picnic.

Now.  I don't make pasta salads usually except one really weird one that my family makes.
It has hard boiled eggs and celery and green olives, mayo, creamettes and Lawry's.

It's kind of icky and kind of delicious to me.

But I really couldn't see teens liking it.

So I looked on Pinterest for a salad.  I have had terrible luck with on line recipes lately...so I wrote,
Pasta Salad Pioneer Woman.

And this is what I found.
This is what I made.

And I am happy about it.

It is going on the 'make it again list' and' whenever I need a pasta salad list'.

I love how light the dressing is.
I love the spicy pickles.
It sounds weird.
But it is very good!

Try it.
You'll like it.

This is Ree's picture.  

Here is the link to the recipe:

The Best Macaroni Salad Ever

Easy and tasty,

Donna

Big doings for Katie and Ree!

Katie got her drivers permit yesterday morning.  She can get her license on February 25th 2016.
Six months of driving practice.  I guess that's good.  Her dad took her out last night for her very first time behind the wheel.  They drove around a circular driveway at a nearby school; five times around.

The first mini lesson was a success.  :o)





When we arrived home we notices a huge box at the door.
I couldn't remember ordering anything....
I glanced at the return label and there I spied, Ree Drummond.

Oh man!  The box was too big for the newest cookbook....
but could it be some items from her new product line?





The packaging alone was adorable and perfect.





Katie wondered if I was going to take pictures every step of the way.

I might.

:o)







LOOK!!!  Delightful.  Charming. Cheerful.  That's what I say!


I honestly can't believe my good fortune in getting to know Ree all those years ago.  She is really such a generous, kind, thoughtful person.

A sweet story about Ree that people don't know...

Last winter my sister Janet had a kitchen accident.  I can't remember how it happened but all of her cherished Pioneer Woman cookbooks were ruined by water.  Janet loves Ree and stands in line to get her cookbooks signed.  Ree always remembers my sisters when they show up and she makes them feel very special!  (She has a knack of making people feel special.)

Back to the waterlogged cookbooks, Janet posted a picture of her cookbooks on her Instagram page.
Ree spotted them and immediately offered to send Janet new cookbooks!

A month later Janet received all the cookbooks in the mail...all signed.

That's the kind of thing Ree does.

****


So when Ree sends me a huge box filled with her delightful, charming, happy products...
I can't wait to share them!!!  I'm so happy for her success!

Don't you just love the turquoise and red together?
The colors are so happy!
But guess what, one of my favorite items is a creamy white plate.
I have a thing for scallops!




 It's been so fun to watch her become The Amazing Pioneer Woman :o)



On September first we will learn where the Pioneer Woman line will be sold.

Do you have any guesses?


Encourage one another,
Donna

Short Stack Eatery. Madison.

Katie and I went to a really cool restaurant here in Madison yesterday.  It is called Short Stack Eatery and it is right on State St. Katie has actually been there a few times with friends and since I had a photo shoot downtown in the afternoon we planned it so we could go there right afterward.  It was actually next door to the beautiful building I shot at.

The food was perfect!

 I did something that I have never done before...I chose the 'blind special'.
It's a dish that if you don't ask what it is it is 1/2 price.  You can only ask if it is sweet or savory!

The reason I went ahead and chose it was because the first two savory things I wanted were sold out.
Now.  You might think I would be mad about that, but Short Stack is very unique in how they run their place.  The hours are from Thursday at 7:00 am until Sunday at 11:00.  Straight thru.
Isn't that incredible?  So I can understand why they were out of the item.  We were there at the tail end of their week.  So I figured I would try the savory special.

Katie knew she loved the chocolate chip pancakes.
My blind dish was an omelet and I loved my omelet with fresh veggies and a perfectly dressed delicious salad.

Every thing is fresh and local and nothing is from a box.

I hear the line is out the door on busy weekend mornings and I hear they have the best
Bloody Mary in the world.  

So...next time you come to Madison....go to the Short Stack Eatery!  It's on the corner of Johnson and State St.

I can not wait to go back!  Maybe I will see you there!


XOXO
Miz Boo

JV.

And though she be little, she is fierce.
~Shakespeare


Tryouts for the high school volleyball team were this week!  Katie has worked her little tushie off all year.  She LOVES to play and playing every day is nothing but JOY for her.
But there were not a lot of spots...and it was NOT a sure thing at all.

But she made the team and we are all so delighted!
(JV)


Here in Wisconsin the public schools do not start until after September 1st.
But the sports get going earlier.
The first football game is tonight!

I'm so glad God gave us our little Katie....
It's an exciting, fun time for her....
and us!


Encourage one another,
Donna

Hair and makeup.

Katie gets her hair and makeup ideas from Youtubers.

Yes folks.  It's a thing.  Kids this age follow Youtubers even more than they follow celebrities on television.  This hair is called...the Panda hairdo.  

Emma gets her makeup ideas from the internet too....

Emma is in a wedding in a few weeks. She is experimenting with makeup.  We (Katie and I) think she did a great job...

She on the other hand couldn't stop thinking about this cat.

hahaha

I just tell her not to look at them too long!  

Happy Hump Day!

Donna

Summery fun.

As you know...my life is very quiet.  A trip to Target and drive to school is about it.
But this weekend I had a fabulous time visiting friends and family and even doing a lovely photoshoot.

On Friday night I went out to eat with my dear, long time friend Karen.  We talked and talked and ate and talked.  And we laughed a lot.  Which we always do.  It was a great night out. We ate at a place called Doolittles.  Have you heard of this place? I wonder if it is a chain.  Everything was very good!

Then Saturday I took Katie to the mall to spend some of her hard earned dog sitting money!
It really wasn't hard.  Katie loved visiting with Nala and Niko four times a day.  She didn't have to be she would stay over there for an hour each visit.  They live next door and it was a perfect one week job for her.  (The only hard part was waking up at 7:00 :o)

Saturday evening I had a photoshoot with Emma's dear friend Karishma and her husband from Chicago.  They decided they would prefer a quiet spot with lots of green so earlier in the day Katie and I looked around the area for nice places.  We went to Epic first and actually didn't have to go any where else.  They loved it there!  It was a quiet, beautiful, hot night.

I was so happy they felt comfortable and Karishma had many wonderful ideas for posing.  They were to cute together!

It was really a delightful evening...they loved being out in this beautiful location and I think it shows in their happy pictures.

Then....to top it off, Cindy and Pat came to town so we could have lunch with our darling nephew and 'niece', Wesley and Stephanie, who just moved to town! (Sister Sue's son)

  Wesley is the clarinet professor at the University of Wisconsin.  We are so proud of them.  Stephanie was able to keep her amazing job and will work from home.  They live just one town over from us and we are so excited they are in the area now!

We hung out at the Memorial Union and Cindy made Wes and Stephanie sit in the big orange chair....

because that is what Cindy does!!!

What a great weekend!  So thrilled to be with family and take pretty pictures and eat yummy food with a wonderful friend.  

And boy was it hot.  

:o)

Encourage one another,

Donna

Tiny Camper

I have a dream....

Seriously I have no idea the work that goes in to camping or setting up camp.

And that is why I call it a dream.

It looks so dreamy and romantic and cozy and cool.

This might do.

Tiny. Gorgeous. Paris.

Encourage one another,

Donna

Cute song and a movie post.

This is where I got the title for yesterday's post.

So sweet.


***

I wrote a post about Culinary Cinema for Ree (The Pioneer Woman)...

  I really loved them each story.  Highly recommended.

Culinary Cinema: A Trio


XOXO
Donna aka Miz Booshay

Better when we're together

Emma invited me to go to Ravinia in Highland Park with her to see Harry Connick Jr.

It was a beautiful night. Harry sounded wonderful.  He is an incredibly talented musician and entertainer.    Emma and I had so much fun and I said a few things that we will laugh about for as long as we both shall live!!!

selfie with Nikon

Nice man sitting next to us took this.

The fancy people sitting in front of us. Their food was gourmet and they had candles.  

We had crackers and summer sausage.

Ours was better.

Thank you Emma for a beautiful night!

I will treasure it in my heart.

Love Mom

Have you been to Ravinia?

Who did you see?

Encourage one another,

Donna

giggles

I can't help it.  I have to look.

Have a fantastic weekend.  I'm off to Chicago to have fun with Emma.

I will tell you all about it on Monday!

(Katie and Patrick and Ginny will be holding down the fort here in Wis.)

XOXO

Donna

Tolkein. The Good Parts Version.

Everyone has seen The Princess Bride....but only if you have read the book do you know the real back story.   William Goldman writes about the summer he forced his son to read The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern.  It was the book his father read to him when he had pneumonia as a child.  He wants his son to read it and searches all over to find the book.  When he finds it he sends it to his son via mail.
When Goldman returns home he asks his son how he likes the book.  The son is vague.  Says it's just way too long and boring to read.  Goldman can not believe this as it was the most wonderful, exciting book.
He takes a look at the book and sees it IS extremely long and detailed and boring and he realizes that his father read to him only the good parts.

William Goldman proceeds to write The Princess Bride (the good parts version).

All this to say...

Emma is reading The Hobbit this summer (or is it The Lord of the Rings...is this even the same thing?)

I am not big on fantasy.  Except for The Princess Bride.
I think when I was in high school I opened The Hobbit and could not get past the first paragraph.

Emma LOVES it.
As does practically everyone else I know.

Emma tells me she will read it to me out loud one day.
I would love that.

As long as it's the Good Parts Version.

I forgot to add this link to Emma's blog.  It's very sweet.

To My Hobbits by Emma Boucher




Encourage one another,
Donna

p.s.  I do love the Tolkien quotes!

She said yes!

Our oldest son Patrick asked his long-time girlfriend Shelby to marry him,
and she said yes!

We are so happy for them.

They have been together for nine years!  Patrick has heard 'it's about time' a gazillion times.
They are a fun couple and have been there for one another for a long time....
and now it's 'for as long as you both shall live'.

Way to go!
God bless you!

My whole heart for my whole life.
~french saying...in English.


Much love and happiness,
Donna

Before/After. Katie.

Katie bought some new mascara at Target...she was so happy with how it looked so I took some pictures for her.  The top picture is SOOC or straight out of camera.  It is filmy, isn't it?

All I did was sharpen and run a contrast action on it at 100%.  Oh, and crop.

The second one I added more contrast.
Basically the contrast is just adding black.
Why this makes the filmy look go away I don't know.
But it really is crucial to use some type of photo editor to get such nice crisp, clear results.
(Especially backlit with sun glare issues.)

Anyway.

This little girl started Drivers Ed this morning.

Say it ain't so.

Encourage one another,

Donna

August is here

August.
The sprinkler twirls, the summer wanes, the pavement wears Popsicle stains.The playground grass is worn to dust, the weary swings creak creak with rust.The trees are bored with being green. Some people leave the local scene and go to seaside bungalows and take off nearly all their clothes. "August," a poem by John Updike

XO

Donna

Colbert

I


I just loved this!!
Steven Colbert with his friend Fr Martin.

Enjoy!

Love
Donna

Sweet Ginny

Ginny got into this sweet position without any coaxing.  Katie was feeling exhausted and Ginny could tell Katie was not feeling well.   We both think that Ginny is very sensitive to our little sufferings.  If we bang our hands against something, stub our toes or even if Gin's big foot steps on our delicate feet and we cry out...she immediately knows.
She will come over and lick our hands or feet.  Her ears will go down and she will come close.

It is very endearing.  We love her sensitive nature.

“People love dogs. You can never go wrong adding a dog to the story.” 
~Jim Butcher

Encourage one another,
Donna

One more from Hayward Wi/ The Pose

There is something familiar about this pose....










Katie always has her chin up and her arms out.
It was too cute to see Emma do this at her DePaul graduation.





I mean it I have a hundred pictures of Katie with her chin in the air..and usually with jazz hands...
but in this one she is swirling her skirt.








As I was saying...








Believe me now?

haha


I could go on....

How does that song go?

My heart will go on.

My girls share my mom's happy spirit and excellent posing skills.

Genetics Rock!

XO
Donna