Tea Party At Roseann's...

My dear friend Roseann invited me to a special Valentine's Tea Party today. Roseann made all of these delectable little sweets, scones and savories for us. She is a fantastic cook and baker. (She really needs a blog of her own!)

It was Ro, Stephanie, Sylvia and I. Another friend, April, couldn't make it. We are a close-knit little group of friends. I love them dearly. You've seen 'Sex and the City?' Well, that's not us. We're more like, "Kids and the Suburbs." Yeah, that's us. Over the years, we've all been there for each other through joys and sorrows, silly and serious, laughter and tears. I can't even begin to express how much they mean to me.

You can click on this photo to enlarge her lovely menu.


Syl brought a jasmine tea flower. It 'blooms' in the boiling water. Pretty and brews delicious tea. .

Stephanie brought a CD of Jane Austen's favorite music that was recorded in Jane Austen's home! She always finds cool stuff like that.

I know, I'm so lucky. And yes, it was as delicious as it looks! She even sent us home with beautiful Valentine boxes of goodies. Thanks, Ro. I love you with all of my heart. xo xo Cat ^..^

Allie & Zabar

There are times when I open my email and it just makes me happy. This is one of those times. These photos were taken by my friend Daphna Strauss Bernstein of her little gingersnap....I mean daughter, Alexandra and their Corgi, Zabar (Cezanne's Zabar Lox-n-ZZ, UDX, PT) The last one of them laughing is my very favorite. These two best friends have the same expression on their faces! Happy~Happy~Joy ~Joy!

Thanks, Daphna! -CS ^..^

I've got a sharp knife and I know how to use it...

Lord knows I don't need an excuse to go to a dog show. However, should you feel the need to justify how much time you spend at dog shows to family or friends, try multi-tasking :) Occasionally I will bring my good cooking knives with me to have the 'scissors man' sharpen them. On Saturday, I also brought a good scissors that my Grandmother had given to me. They were supposed to be used only for fabric, but somehow they ended up being used to cut paper at Christmastime and they became dull. The scissors man made them good as new. So, now with my freshly sharpened knives, making dinner tonight was a pleasure. Baby portabella mushrooms, elephant garlic and asparagus sauteed in olive oil and served over angel hair pasta with fresh grated romano cheese. Sharp knife + fresh veggies = good dinner! Whew! Dinner is saved, all thanks to the dog show and the Corgis...what would I DO without them? -CS ^..^

Happy Easter to you all!

Everybody's just chillin' out...

Amy in a 'frog leg splat' after a 2 mile walk with John and Laura tonight....she looks like a little chubbette in this pic; but she's really a lean mean Corgi machine! Weebles just hanging out in deep thought...
For some reason, I have my days and nights mixed up lately. I feel like I want to stay up all night and sleep all day if only the Corgis would let me. Hence this 1:00 AM post. I've watched the HBO mini series John Adams at least 4 times, episodes 1 and 2 so far. It is wonderful. The part where they read the Declaration of Independence was lovely and brought tears to my eyes. Paul Giammati is fantastic as John Adams and I love Laura Linney's portrayal of Abigail Adams as well. (Don't you just love that name? Abigail?) I love American history, especially from colonial times. Our founding fathers were truly brave, brave men. By the very act of signing the Declaration they were committing high treason to the crown of England and could have been hanged. Well, I'm signing off to try and sleep. If not, maybe I'll clean out the fork drawer.....CS ^..^