patience rewarded

up from the ground again soon

yellow dreams live on

Winter. It is grey, white, and cold.  I do NOT like it.  Okay, I can take brief amounts of it, but it is starting to get to me. The cold makes me achy. It makes me crabby. It makes me a hermit. Did I mention I did not like it?

The irony in this? I would LOVE to spend a Christmas in Vermont during a heavy snow.  It would be brief and I could leave it behind though. I think of winter in Vermont as romantic and dreamy.  Here in Oklahoma, it just isn't.  We are not prepared for the nastiness that follows. There aren't any pretty scenes in the city. Our time comes when the crocuses start to bloom and the daffodils start forcing their way through the soil.

I was thinking the other day about the hundreds of bulbs that I have planted in my front yard. Tons of tulips, crocuses, and my favorite daffodils were planted in the cold of November.  I knew they would bring me out of the doldrums of winter and give me hope of sunshine and happiness. The birth of a new spring, yet again. 

And, then after Spring...may I skip to fall?


Lemon Bars are one thing that just taste like sunshine to me. They taste cool, refreshing, and scrumptious.  I have been making this recipe since high school.  Every year the FHA hosted the Second Congressional Art Competition at our high school. I made and planned most of the refreshments.  This was always a favorite and I have been making them for over twenty years. You can make them with bottled lemon juice and they are okay. However, if you make them with fresh lemon juice and the zest of half of a lemon they are over the top. They will make your grey day a sunny day.

Enjoy....Reflecting Hazel

Lemon Bars Deluxe

30 servings

2	cups flour, sifted
1/2	cup powdered sugar, sifted
1	cup butter
4	eggs
2	cups granulated sugar
1/3	cup fresh lemon juice
1/4	cup all-purpose flour
1/2	teaspoon baking powder
	powdered sugar to dust

Sift together 2 c flour and 1/2 c powdered sugar. Cut in butter until mixture clings together. Press in 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake at 350° till lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes.

Put eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in blender. Blend until thick and smooth. Sift 1/4 c flour and baking powder and add to blender, blend to combine. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Pour over crust. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool and cut into bars. Makes 30.