Wow! I got my box this morning and it sure brightened my day! Carol-what a fun box!! I loved it! Got up sick today and this brightened my morning! I got a green makeup bag with travel size brush, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and lotion in it! Perfect as always going to grandbabies and back for a night or so! 3 pair of earrings -I LOVE Them!! A large black cherry candle in a jar! Perfect! A green lizard "Iggy"-the beanie baby one! Go with my others. Shamrock body jewelry=very cool! St. Patricks Day armband with leprechaun on it. Bag of Almond Roca toffee, ton of mini Twix bars (one of my FAVS!!!!), a box of Liberty Orchards fruit and nut delights! YUM, YUM! Didn't you know I needed to start a diet-maybe next week! LOL! Green And Gold Bead necklaces with gold bell. Green M&M lady stationery-cool! And a pair of sip and wear glasses! If I can get some one to take my pic in them I will send it to you Carol and you can post! Haven't figured that out yet! So cute!And last but not least a ton of seeds! I really enjoyed the box. Was such fun getting all of it out and seeing what was what!! Thanks so much! Melinda

Karen, nice to hear you enjoy the tables and matching buffet pictures. If I had more time at home I would of dug out some of my lime green decor from Christmas to go on here. Not sure what tote it's in so didn't go there.ha I will try to get some pictures posted soon of the new colors. Jeanne, glad you like my razzle/dazzle I add to my decor.LOL You enablers brighten my life too. I can't take credit for the arrangement in the trike. I bought it from Ross that way. I laugh when I think of birds. I think I only owned 3 or 4 a few years ago. My totes are adding up fast. Kath, great to hear you found some Irish coffee glasses. I've never had a problem pouring hot coffee in mine so hope yours are the same. Will be fun to see yours with a shamrock on the stem. Perhaps a bit fancier. Thanks for all the sweet comments ladies. Punk

Tea Brack recipe first, then how to make homemade buttermilk. -Grainlady TEA BRACK (source: Irresistible Irish Breads - magazine article by Deborah Krasner) Brack, an Irish word for bread, is often used when referring to fruited mixtures. Tea Brack is a traditional tea bread which is an easy version of barm brack. Makes 1 loaf. 2 c. dark seedless raisins or dried currants (I use currants) 1-1/2 c. firmly packed dark-brown sugar 1-1/2 c. strong brewed tea, chilled 1/4 c. rum (I use 1/8 c.) 2 c. unsifted all-purpose flour 1-1/2 t. baking powder 1/2 t. ground cinnamon 1/2 t. ground nutmeg 1/2 t. salt 1 large egg, at room temperature, lightly beaten 1. Several hours or the night before baking, in large glass bowl, combine raisins/currants, brown sugar, tea, and rum. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit overnight. 2. Heat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8-1/2x4-1/2-inch loaf pan and line with waxed paper. Grease waxed paper. 3. In medium-size bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Slowly beat flour mixture and the egg into raisin mixture just until combined to form a batter. 4. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Bake brack 1-1/2-hours until browned and cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 5-minutes. Turn brack out of pan and remove waxed paper. Cool brack completely on wire rack. Grainlady note: I use two 7-1/2x3-1/2-inch loaf pans or three 5-3/4x3-3/4-inch loaf pans and reduce the baking time accordingly. This is a very moist bread - more currants than bread, almost. I like the smaller pans so I can cut the bread into thin slices that don't fall apart. If you make it in a regular loaf pan, the slices tend to split and fall apart. -------------------------- I use a large amount of buttermilk when it comes to baking on St. Patrick's Day, so I make a homemade version of it using information from "Natural Meals In Minutes" by Rita Bingham. I use a non-instant powdered milk, but regular commercial milk works VERY well. Homemade Buttermilk To a 1-quart canning jar add 1/2 c. buttermilk and fill the jar with regular milk OR reconstituted powdered milk. Note: You can use commercial buttermilk as the starter, or a reconstituted liquid made from powdered buttermilk, or buttermilk from a former batch of homemade buttermilk - your choice. Stir well and cover (I use a plastic lid designed to use with canning jars). Let stand in a warm place (at least 80°F) until clabbered, about 12-18-hours. Stir until smooth. Refrigerate. Grainlady note: I keep mine in my oven with the light on. The temperature at the opposite side of the oven from the light is about 80°F. You can use homemade buttermilk from a previous to culture the milk for the next batch. Just make sure you use it within 2-weeks. Older buttermilk doesn't work as well as newer buttermilk. If you've ever used reconstituted powdered buttermilk, it's rather insipid, thin, and tasteless compared to commercial buttermilk. The homemade buttermilk is more like commercial buttermilk.

My favorite scone recipe from Bon Appetit Cranberry-Orange Scones 3 c. flour 1/3 c. sugar 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 Tbs grated orange peel 3/4 c. unsalted butter cut in 1/2" pieces 1 c. chilled buttermilk Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, sugar, powder, soda and salt into large bowl. Mix in in orange peel. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mix resembles coarse meal. Stir in dried cranberries. Gradually add buttermilk tossing with fork until moist clumps form. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead briefly to bind the dough ... about 4 turns. Form into 1" thick round and cut into 8* wedges. Transfer wedges onto baking sheet spacing 2" apart. Bake until tops of scones are golden brown about 25 min. Let stand on baking sheet for 10 min. Serve warm or at room temp. ------------------- *I usually cut into 16 wedges as I like them smaller....8 will make giant scones.