Red Velvet

Life is ever so full, bursting with color and sound and texture, with love, and life, and loss.  Valentine's Day expresses much of it.  

My family and I celebrate the holiday a trifle differently than how it is commonly celebrated.  We have the traditional valentines, cards with "heart-y" themes, 

... jam packed with messages of how much a person means to the lives they touch. 

 The hearts may be the same, but making valentines has turned into somewhat of an art in our house, each card made special for its recipient.

The evening begins with a special meal,

with sparkling grape juice,

with homemade rolls, warm from the oven,

with herbed brown rice, and Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Then we retire to the living room to pass out the Valentines.  They bring tears, and laughter, and smiles all around.  We linger so long, that times passes much too quickly.  It took us nearly two hours this year, each person reading their valentine one at a time, while the rest of us, sat, listening with quivering hearts.

Then before the evening is over, comes one last celebration.

 

We gather again around the table, and dessert is served...

Waldorf Astoria Red Cake

Cream together...

1/2 cup  shortening

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

Make paste of 2 oz. (or 1/4 cup) red food coloring and 

2 tablespoons cocoa.  Add to above mixture. 

Add alternately:

1 cup buttermilk.

2 1/2 cups cake flour and 

1 teaspoon salt.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend in 1 teaspoon soda with 

1 tablespoon vinegar

Put batter in two paper-lined 9 in. cake pans.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Ice with cream cheese frosting.

May you be full of joy,

Emma

Note:  Photos #1. and #9 - #16 were taken by Sam Ramsey

Silent

My voice is silent tonight. I am resting the thrumming of my vocal chords for tomorrow's dawning.

My sisters and I will be performing tomorrow, sharing our voices and our hearts, filling the air with songs that are dear to us.  We are singing songs reminiscent of days gone by, when voices like The Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby were heard through the airwaves.

The preparations for this performance have been long and hard, and, in the few short hours that will pass with the night, we shall be standing upon a platform in all our vintage finery, melding our voices to the tunes of  "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time", "On Moonlight Bay", Shoo, Shoo, Baby", and  "Loch Lomond".  If you'd like to know more about it, we have built a new blog dedicated to what we call, "The Ramsey Sisters", here.

The night feels cold, worry stalking our hopeful hearts, telling us disheartening lies.  The chill frightens me.

But the cold of a fearful night can bring a of morning of glorious silver frost, the darting crystals of heaven-sent splendor pulling sharply at our souls, reminding us of his glory.  Just as the sun melts away the momentary jewels left by the cold, God's whisper will melt the cold descent of Satan's lies.

Will you pray, dear friends?  We will be doing our half hour set three times tomorrow, and the taut intensity inside me reminds of the strings on Sarah Anne's violin, tightened to crisp unity before running across the strings.  We all feel that way, holding our minds and hearts still, ready for the opening of the curtain, ready to push our feet across the stage, ready to unveil our months of hard work on whatever audience may stand before us.  May God guide our hands and our feet, and thread his love through the fabric of our songs.

Tomorrow is a new day.  Our hearts await its touch.

Emma

Ever So Awarded

Spring is creeping up on us, with the softness of arriving color.  The rain-clad sky is shading the dull earth with tinges of pink.  Browny-pink knobs dot the ornamental pear tree, awaiting the touch of warmth on their smooth skins to break into bloom.  The deep green moss on the trees is yellow with the damp, and small purple blossoms are sending an amethyst haze over the ground.

I have pushed myself into the enveloping warmth of a living-room chair with a resolution.  I will catch up this blog!

I have always wanted to be awarded, wanted to know my blog was something good, something that other people enjoyed.  I was always on the edge of my seat when I noticed someone with an award, wondering if I'd ever get them.  And then, suddenly, awards began to rush in on an overwhelming flood.  I was thrilled.

Not until now have I had the chance to thank everyone, and post the awards and pass them on. So, without any more chit-chat, here goes.

Everly Pleasant at Clickety-Clack nominated us for the Snowflake Award.

The snowflake represents beauty and individuality. No two snowflakes are alike. This is the way we are in God's eyes-special. And just as he designed each snowflake, he designed each of us with great care, beautifully and fearfully, before we were even "knit in our mother's womb."

This award goes to people who notice "the snowflakes" in life. The tiny, often overlooked, but beautiful and unique things. While everyone else was walking all over snow, caring nothing about snow, Wilson Bentley was appreciating individual snowflakes and photographing them so that they could be cherished for a long time. He said:
"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated., When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind."
So this award goes to those who not only appreciate The Little Things but...

To someone who captures The Little Things before they melt. They record them in words, photographs, however they choose.

We nominate...

Abi at Being With Joy

Hannah at Honey and Jam

Kami at Content in the Country

Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse

Elise at Ribbons of Light, and the Three Spinsters at Pretty Wit, awarded us this...

The qualifications for this award -- you give this award to five bloggers who:

1. Inspire you
2. Make you smile and laugh
3. Give amazing information
4. Are a great read
5. Have an amazing design
6. And any other reasons you can think of that makes them uber amazing!

Rules of the award are as follows:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing! ***if you don’t have 5 that’s okay.***
3. Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.
4. Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

I know many of you have already been awarded, but nevertheless, we nominate...

Shannon, at A Maiden's Musings

Tiffany, at A High Calling

Emily, at Songs I Sing

Laura, at Actually Laura

Chelsea, at Writer's Blog

Kami, at Content In The Country

And dear Emily, at Songs I Sing, awarded us this..

The Lemonade from Lemons award, for those bloggers who have shown themselves to be handy at discovering silver linings and making the best of bad situations.

Rules: Name ten (or less if that suits you better) sites that reflect this silver linings philosophy.

We name....

Elissa, at Proverbs 31 Woman

Elizabeth, at In My Own Little Corner

Laura, at Actually Laura

Amy and Julia, at For Lack of Anything Better

Thank you everyone so much for nominating us, for blessing us with these gifts!  Yes, I see them as gifts.  It gives me a pleasant feeling down inside, knowing our blog, and the things we share through it, are worthy of praise.  It is not a prideful feeling, but it warms my heart the way hot herbal tea does, rushing through my body and tingling at my heart, sending a fiery flush over my cheeks.

Bless you all... 

Emma 

A Time to Share

I have never shared a recipe before, though they are crowded into my mind the way grass crowds moist ground.  I love cooking, actually, and know for a fact that those who find their way to our table never leave it unsatisfied.

I thought I'd share one of our family favorites, the one always mixed and baked to perfection my brother, James.  This is, actually for the benefit of Hanna, from Honey and Jam, whose wonderful blog has a habit of making me reach for a mixing bowl, drawn by mouth-watering photos and a shared love of good, well made food.

Lemon Squares

3/4 cup butter (softened)

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix butter, flour, and powdered sugar, until well blended and crumbly.  If the butter is not soft you will need to cut it in.  Pat into ungreased 9x13x2 baking dish.  Bake 20 min. at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

3 eggs

3 T. flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 T. lemon juice ( freshly squeezed is best)

Mix well and pour over crust.  Bake for 20 min. at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  While still hot, dust with powdered sugar.  

Eat quickly as these are apt to disappear rapidly.

And, for Genevieve, I am sharing the recipe for the dessert we've served for Christmas dinner 3 years in a row. I don't expect we'll stop serving anytime soon.

Streusel Squash Dessert

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cold butter

STREUSEL TOPPING:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup chopped pecans

FILLING:

1 medium butternut squash (4 pounds), peeled, seeded and cubed

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 cans (12 ounces each) evaporated milk

4 eggs

Whipped cream and additional cinnamon, optional

In a bowl, combine flour and sugars; cut in butter until crumbly. Press into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until edges begin to brown. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans; set aside. 

Place squash in a large saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Transfer to a blender or food processor; cover and process until smooth. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugars, cornstarch and seasonings. Gradually beat in 4 cups squash, milk and eggs until smooth (save any remaining squash for another use). Pour over crust. Sprinkle with topping. 

Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Garnish with whipped cream and additional cinnamon if desired. 

Yield: 15-18 servings.

I hope you all enjoy!  There is something so blessedly wonderful in cooking, and sewing, and, sometimes, even cleaning.  

Emma

Remembering Christmas Day

Christmas Day was gentled with fellowship of friends.  They came to visit us, all the way from San Antonio, TX, the dearest of friends whose distance makes their company quite rare.  Thus, joyous was the day when they entered our house, their eyes and mouth smiling, and ours smiling with joy in return.

We ate another version of Christmas breakfast, a delightful repast.

Nothing goes so perfectly with food as laughter, nor good company to share it with....

Leonor, Nelda, and Richard


Afterwards, the preparation of Christmas dinner commenced.

Whilst we bent over our dishes in the kitchen, Richard played with Matthew and Sarah Anne.

Then the bell was rung, and we all assembled around the long table.



More joy, more talking, more smiles...




The day slipped by, filled with meditation together, worship, wonderful conversations, until we gathered around the table again, to enjoy butternut squash streusel dessert and coffee, and play a game.








And thus comes the end of our happy December.  It was one of the most unforgettable.  January has passed since, rather quietly, and February is in its fullest time.  

Farewell, dear friends.

Emma