Weekend Wrap Up & Many Happy Returns

Poof, It's Gone.

My post was just eaten by the computer, so here's a condensed version. The Dublin visitors left this morning. That said, you can imagine we tried to make the very most of the past weekend. 

Some of the things we did included:

• stroll through Prescott Park
• lunch at RiRa
• Friday evening visit across the street in Tom & Joan's driveway
• back to The Bates Estate for a campfire
• lots of laughter and many memories made. oh yes, the stories will be told for years to come.
• Saturday date with a Ralph & Cathryn's Lobster Bake
• Sunday BBQ at The Bates Estate with birthday cake and wish for Harry & Dad

• Made Sangria, Guac and rice/shrimp/caper salad
• Listened to everyone moan and groan over how good the banoffee was, thanks to bil Niall (I'll post the recipe sometime soon and you do not want to miss it....bananas, whipped cream, caramel, ginger snaps...bring on the goodness!) 
• Got stung by a yellow jacket on my thumb. Ow. 
• Sang happy birthday to godson Harry and Dad
• Made scrambled eggs with help of niece Leah
• Goodbye time with our Dubliners

It was a great visit, and hopefully it won't be too long before we see each other again in person. Until then, we're very grateful for Skype. 

Dad's Big Day

It's my Dad's birthday today. He got to enjoy a little pre-birthday celebration at the cookout yesterday, complete with his serving of the banoffee with candles to blow out for wishing.

Here he is serving up one of his specialties....linguine with clamsauce.  He's a heck of a cook. 

He's also a missile test engineer, problem solver, community volunteer (lions club, elks club, and many, many more), skilled woodworker and folk artist, voracious reader, excellent writer, Dad to 5, Grandfather to 8, Great Grandfather to 2, husband for 59 years, friend to many, traveler, go-to-man and man with the microphone....the list goes on.

cake photo via karaspartyideas.com

Hope you have a fantastic birthday Dad!

Thanks for being here everyone.  It sure makes my day.

See you on the flip side,

How Do You Say Chipotle and Freefrom Friday

Taking The Day Off

Our Dublin visitors leave on Monday, so we've taken the day off and we'll be heading to Portsmouth this afternoon. Of course, that makes it sound like a long drive, but it's not. It's only 15 minutes North.  If you've been around for awhile, you can probably guess where we'll end up for lunch. If not, there is sure to be a wrap up at some point.

Last night we were graced with the delivery of a Sheperd's Pie from my mother. Always nice to have dinner delivered to your door. I did do a little cooking yesterday however, because I had a couple of small rotisserie chickens leftovers I needed do something with.....so from last fall's Mercantile Muse files, Chicken Chipotle Cheddar Soup.  I took a new picture last night, to show it off just a little bit better than the original post did.

It looked so good we had a cup as an appetizer. Yummy stuff.

Without further ado.........

Soup Night {Fall 2011 Recipe Files}

It was a miserable day yesterday. Rain galore. Rain galoshes. Whatever way you look at it, downright wet.  G-man worked out in it all day. Figured it was a good night for soup. It turned out delicious and hit the spot.

Disclaimer: this is not a full recipe, rather a guideline.

Chicken Chipotle Cheddar Soup- or Three Cs

2 rotisserie chicken breasts

(you could use one small rotisserie chicken, I just used what I had......update September 2012, I used two small leftover rotisserie chickens for a pot of soup)

5 cups of water (probably used a bit more last night than original, as I had more chicken- say about 1/3 of a stockpot full)

Simmer the chicken for 1/2 hour or longer. Remove chicken from water and remove meat from bones.  Put meat back into water. 

Add:

1 diced onion

1 cup milk (I used 2%)

4 chopped chipotles (canned)

4 diced scallions/green onions

1/2 cup of shredded carrots

1 tsp - 1 tbsp of cumin (we usually go for more) 

vegetable broth........I used a paste (better than boullion which is very good,but salty- fyi) that I had in pantry

brown rice, 1/2 cup to 1 cup

s & p to taste

Simmer for 45 minutes on low. If you'd like it thicker you could ad a little corn starch. I thought the rice starch made it perfect.

At end, add:

one cup of cheddar

It was easy and very tasty.

Equally tasty this fall, as last.

Sunset Meadows

Another beautiful day yesterday, followed by a lovely evening and night. SIL Caragh, me and the kids all had a great swim. We followed that up with a sunset viewing.

Freefrom Friday

Ah, Friday. Please tell me I'm not the only one who loves Friday? Of course this Friday is even better than usual since we've got the day off!  There could most definitely be a little YouTube singing and dancing later, you know that's the way we are. How about something to get the weekend started right....a little dance with a Galway Girl. I'll have to see if I can get one of the lads to give me a twirl to this one later. Click here if you're reading by email.



Have a fantastic Friday in your corner of the world and we'll do the same in ours.



A Day In Beantown

Good Day For One & All

Yesterday was simply perfect. Gorgeous temperature with a lovely breeze. Blue sky against the Boston skyline. The Aquarium. The Marketplace. The Black Rose. Good times with our Dublin family- Gar's brother Niall, our sister in law Caragh, our niece Leah and our nephew Harry. What more could we ask for?

We really seem to luck out weather-wise when we're off to Boston for the day and yesterday was no exception. I only wish I'd been able to pop into my blog pal Amy's new Maison Decor store in Beantown, but it was a day with the kids. (Next time Amy, for sure.)

It started with the the Aquarium which was great, as usual. Even if most of the penguins and the shark were off site while they did some maintenance. Bummer. It was ok though, there was so much more to see.

The seals greeted us upon arrival. The kids got to go face to face with them.

The sea turtles where the indoor greeters since most of the penguins were off site.  The were really big. The picture doesn't really have any scale to compare them too, but suffice it to say, the big one was as big as our dining table and a whole lot heavier.

Leah's favorite were the little Blue Penguins. They were pretty darned cute. They even shook their butts like Shakira. She had to see them twice. 

It was a beautiful day on the Harbor, even the seagulls thought so.  Once we were done at the Aquarium we headed back to the Greenway Carousel and then back to the Marketplace for lunch at The Black Rose.

After lunch we strolled the marketplace and Faneuil Hall. There was a lovely woman, Pamela Means, playing guitar and singing. Her music helped soothe Harry who was getting a bit tired.  Before we headed home though, we had to pick up a box of Canoli to bring home. Can't leave Boston without them!

Super fun day filled with lots of good memories. The best kind of day, right?

ps- While the penguins were Leah's favorite, mine was Isaac with his spikey mohawk.

courtesy New England Aquarium

Apparently, he had one serious itch to scratch.  My second favorite can be seen in the background....the smaller sea lion who loved the hose. He nearly got the crowd a couple of times. Back to Isaac though, he just had great laissez faire attitude. 

May I Have Your Attention

Giveway. 180+ worth of handmade and vintage prizes. Enter here.

A quick shoutout to all the new followers of the Muse. So happy to have you here with all my other blog-pals. I hope you'll stick around, and please feel free to comment. I just love hearing from all you guys.

Gorgeous day here. Will probably be going to the park with the Dublin kiddos later, and we will sure be in the pool while it's a warm one! Got to get it in while we can.

See you on the flip side,

Swimming With Sharks

And They're Off

I'll be pulling a classic recipe post from the files today as we are about to head off to shark central and penguin paradise.  OK, we won't actually be swimming with the sharks, but we will be staring them in the face.

We are off the New England Aquarium with our Dublin visitors. I'm as excited as the kids because it's been a few years since we've been.  If you live in this area you probably already know, the aquarium rocks.  If you don't, be sure to put it on your to do list for when you eventually visit Boston.

We'll also be having lunch at The Black Rose in Faneuil Hall (I'm thinking fish and chips please) and we're sure to pick up some canolis to bring home while we're in Boston too.

So, since I only have a moment to post, here's a classic.  Chicken Enchiladas.  I made them the night before last night and I'll just say this, there was very little talking during dinner. There were lots of ooooos and aaaahhhhs, but very little talking. This is a go to recipe that I can apparently remember the ingredients for on the fly now. Make it. It's yummier than the pictures lead you to believe.

An All Time Favorite

Is there anyone who doesn't like an enchilada? If there is, they will be swayed by this recipe.  At the mere suggestion of the chicken enchilada bake for dinner, Gar's eyes were swooning and he was drooling.  I was off the store for a quick trip so I could get back for the Bruins puck drop. Well, I thought I was. We were off on game starting time by an hour, so I was actually heading to the store just as they started. Who knew? Obviously not us.

When I got to the grocery store, it looked like they were giving everything away for free. Superbowl Saturday. Probably the second biggest food shopping day of the year.  Have no fear, it didn't deter me from getting the goods.

This is what you'll need (Note: I've always tweaked the recipe to make it lighter and you'd never know). BTW, Celine, you're going to love this one!

1 8 -12 oz block of lite cream cheese (room temperature)
1 can of cream of chicken soup (light if you can find it)
8 oz of non-fat yogurt
1cup low fat milk
3/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar
4 cups cooked chicken breast (I've poached my own  or used rotisserie, both ways are good, rotisserie makes it easier)
1 tsp of cumin (I a little heavier because we love cumin)
1/2 cup chopped scallions/green onions (I use the white and the greens because we love 'em)
Salsa (1/3 to 1/2 cup)
1 7 oz can of green chiles
1 7 oz can of jalapenos
Tortillas- either ten 7" or eight 8" tortillas
fresh cilantro
chopped lettuce

In a bowl stir together the cream cheese, scallion, green chiles and cumin. Fol in cooked and chopped chicken.  Spray or grease a 13x9 baking dish. In another bowl mix chicken soup, milk and yogurt.  Spoon half of that mixture into bottom of baking dish. Wrap tortillas in paper towel and warm in micorwave for 60 seconds or until just warm and softened.  Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture onto tortilla (I place it near the edge) and drizzle salsa on top. Fold ends in and roll from one side to other. Place seam side down in baking pan. When pan is full, pour rest of soup mixture over the top. Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes. Remove foil and top with shredded cheddar and pop back in for another 5-6 minutes to melt the cheese. Sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. That is if you like cilantro. We love it, but apparently it tastes like dish soap to some people. It just tastes fresh to us. Serve over chopped lettuce or on it's own.

Divine. Enough said.

Holy Moly

I'm going to keep beating this drum because I want everyone far and wide to hear. The September Giveaway is ridiculous. Sponsor are extremely generous and that means that there is $180+ worth of prizes up for grabs. Do I really need to tell you to enter now?

Make it one helluva great day. We will, no doubt.

See you on the flip side.



Family Time

Fun Time

Yesterday was the last day of The Bates Of Clonsilla's visit. We took time off to just enjoy the day.

My sister brought our grandniece Sophia over for a swim and my brother's daughter came over again to chill with our Irish nieces. 

Luckily it was a perfectly wonderful pool day at the Bates Estate.

Sophia loved the pool. We all pulled her around.

And around, and around.

She can be a bit timid with new people but she loved playing in the pool with Ali and Caroline.

By the time we got out, we were singing Sir Mix A Lot....'I like big butts and I cannot lie'.

Luckily our family had a late flight so they were able to enjoy the whole day before heading off the airport.

Of course, I had to get our 'traditional' leaving shot of the girls in front of the lilacs. I've been taking their picture like this when they leave since they were very little.

Do not adjust your monitor. That is Carolina's real hair color. She's a Ging. No denying it. We chalk that one up to Granny O'Toole, who nobody knew had red hair because it was gray. That was until one day when Garrett was making fun of the girl next door with red hair and Granny O'Toole set him straight, telling him she had beautiful flame red hair when she was young.  Which he found eventually for himself when his beard grew in red. Just his beard. Weird, huh?

Back to the visitors.

They were all sad to go.  Lucan was sad to see them leave.

Goodbye for now Bates of Clonsilla.

The Bates of Lucan will be arriving on Wednesday for a longer stay.  Yup, Bates of Lucan. It's a town just outside of Dublin's city limits. That's where the hound got his name.

Oh, I almost forgot. The girls got to be the first to put their John Hancock's on our new chalkboard wall. Stay tuned for the chalkboard reveal in the coming days.  Either tomorrow or Tuesday. We'll see how the chips fall.

Monday's post will be my picks from the current Gotta Have It/Gotta Blog It Link Up Party. If you have an online shop or blog, be sure to link up your stuff. If you don't, you're still invited to the party. Have a look around, you never know where it might take you and what you might find.

Sunset Meadows

I've said it before and I'm sure to say it again. We're so blessed to have the most beautiful sunsets right at our front door. I never get tired of them.

What's hot for your Saturday?  I'm doing laundry and general prepping for the next wave of Dubliners. I'll be heading into the pool later, then we're planning on a campfire and burgers if all goes well. Doesn't get better than that.

Ciao for now,

Drum Roll Please.............

Someone's Day Just Got Better

I know how badly some of you wanted to win this giveaway, and I don't blame you.  My sponsors helped make it not-to-be-missed.

There were a lot of entries. A LOT. It would be a scene and a half to pick without rafflecopter. However, with Rafflecopter, it's as easy as pie.

If you are Beth Gal, I'll assume you're pretty happy right now, because you my dear ARE THE WINNER!

Thanks to all of you who entered and visited my sponsors shops and other links. They've all got such great shops and deserve the exposure.

I'd like to thank each one for their participation and support of Mercantile Muse. It means the world to me.

StarlightWoods

Bleu Oiseau Photography

DreamPillowZzz

Lee'sWhimsy

{PaperKeeper}

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Lia Artisan Concrete Design

If you haven't visited their shops, even though you may have missed the giveaway, I'd highly suggest you take a look. It's worth your while.

If you're interested in being a sponsor for the next giveaway, shoot me an email and I'll send you some info. There's an email button right under my profile in the righthand sidebar. I've already got some super things you are all going to want. Would I lie? Look at the stuff Beth just won!

Visitors

Our Dublin family goes home tonight, before the next wave arrives next Wednesday. We've had a great week with them and topped it off last night. My parents came over for dinner, along with my sister Di and my niece Maddie.  My Irish nieces and Maddies have known each other a long time now and are 'across the pond' pals, so they were all happy to get to see each other. 

After we got some pics of Sunset Meadows.......

Maddie, Carolina and Ali

Mom, Ali, Maddie, Carolina and Di

.....we started the Friday night dance ritual a day early.  The girls were teaching us the 'Saturday Night Dance'. Even Gar gave it a whirl.

Lucan wasn't sure what to make of it.

We convinced the girls to give us a step dance like they used to. Obviously my camera was on the wrong setting. Sorry about that. But you get the idea.

My parent's were thoroughly entertained. Again, wrong camera setting. I hate that.

Then Gar gave Ali a whirl around the living room, to which Ali announced..."Gar actually knows how to dance."

Then my Father gave me a whirl around the living room with a little Lyndy lesson to some Glenn Miller. Too bad I'm a rotten follower. However, I'm a wicked leader. We all joined in a parade around the house to When the Saints Go Marchin' In while my parent's got another good laugh. We even did the Hokey Pokey, the Macararena, The Time Warp and sang a song or two, just to make the night complete.

There were a lot of laughs. A good way to end a visit. 

Bon Voyage Bates Of Clonsilla. Until we see you again.

Sunset Meadows

It sure was pretty last night. A big Summer sun going down.

Freefrom Friday

Go on, you know you want to. It's just a jump to the left...and then a step to the rrriiiiiiggggghhhhhtttt.  Click here if you're reading by email.

Get and give it a try. It's Friday! It's silly. It will make you laugh at yourself. Don't forget to bend your knees inside.

Ciao for now,

Traditions & Rituals

A SkeeBall Throw Down...Almost

One thing about growing up at Hampton Beach is that I certainly know my way around an arcade. Well, old school arcades I guess. There's a honky tonk vibe to our beach, not the sand part of the beach, but the strip. It brings back many good memories.  When our family comes to visit from Dublin we have a tradition of going to the arcade (Funarama to be exact and make it no other), to have a little friendly skeeball competition, earn as many tickets as we can and come away with a new stuffed lobster for Lucan.

I usually beat the Gar man, simply because I've had more experience working on my skeeball off-the-side-bumper-delivery which gains me more tickets. Winning at skeeball is one more reason to practice my snoopy dance. So Saturday, our nieces Caroline (who I call Carolina because that's the way I am) and Ali were hankering for our arcade tradition.

Of course, in order to be ready for a competition like this, you must fuel up first so we were off to the 401 Tavern to see the our friend Desi, The Mad Cuban. If there are any Cubans reading this, this is not a dis to your nationality, it's simply an extremely appropriate name we gave to our friend Desi. He's Cuban and he's mad. It's that simple. He's also the host with the most.

Of course he had to let the people at the next booth know that these girls had been visiting him since they were yay-high. 

Then we had to get down to business. Gar was on a mission. He knew he had to fuel up to have enough stamina to win at skeeball.  Of course, after several days spent in the well, he deserved a king cut.

Everything was fabulous. Gar nearly finished that baby.

When we were good and full, we were off to the beach.

Oh yeah, we filled our pockets with quarters and headed for skeeball. I passed this guy along the way and had to get a picture. Number one, he's carrying tequila on his rump and you know how I love margaritas, and number two, my other brother in law and I have an ongoing donkey joke.

I'm sorry to report, I negelected to get any pictures of skeeball. I'll have to wait for Ali to download them from her camera. I was busy trying to whoop some butt. Then we forgot to keep track. Honestly, what kind of competition is it if you forget to keep track? Then this little boy stood next to me with big sad eyes. I said, don't you have any money? He hung his head low and shook his head no. I gave him a quarter....this was classic....he started to walk away. I said, 'hey hey hey, you gotta play that quarter in the skeeball'....'but I don't know how to play'. I coached him through it. The kid nailed a 50 on the first roll. Then another 50, then a 100. By this time, his family had gathered around him to cheer him on. Oh yeah, another skeeball maniac in the making. He did so good I gave him all my tickets too. He deserved them. He was so pleased with himself, you should have seen his face. His Mom was so thankful, it was too cute.

Then we changed modes. I couldn't walk by the pacman game. I had to see if I still had it. I can honestly say....I've still got it. Oh yeah. Don't mess with me Mr. Pacman.  Then onto air hockey. I was beating Gar good and then swooped the puck into my own goal three times in a row. So Gman was winner winner chicken dinner and had to next play his niece. He was taking care of business.

Until he got to his older brother. The girls looked on while...........

they're Dad won. Poor Gar just couldn't keep his winning streak up.

All in all we scored a good bunch of tickets to cash in.

Then the girls had to decide.....a lobster or something else. Then we spied a honey badger. We thought Lucan needed the honey badger for sure.

Alas, the counter girl couldn't find the honey badger out back so Lucan now has a new friend. Leo the leopard.

Our mission was complete. If only Lucan wasn't scared of his new friend. He's a little on the big side and he thinks it's alive. I am not kidding. It's freaking him out.

Of course, before we left we had to do the photo booth thing too.  I think maybe bil John and Gar got an eyeball in each shot, or part of a forehead but that was about it. Those booths are smaller than I remember.

Do ever get to do the old school arcade thing? What's your favorite game? Skeeball? Air hockey?? Pacman?  Or something completely different? 

We spent the rest of the weekend in the pool for obvious reasons. It was hot and it was there. Oh, and enjoying sunsets.

That's the way we roll at Sunset Meadows. 

If you're participating in the Photo Challenge (open to everyone!), tomorrow is the last one. Get me your submissions by end of the day today so I can included them in the final post!

Hope you're having a great Tuesday.

Ciao for now,