As you all know, “SPARKS” was started by Annie McGuffy of McGuffy’s Reader but ended when she stopped blogging some time ago. It was meant to be a way to start out each week with a meaningful thought – something that spoke to each of us and hopefully everyone else who reads it. Although Annie isn’t currently blogging,  a lot of us who enjoyed her SPARKS decided to keep posting SPARKS of our own.    Feel free to join us even if this isn’t a Blog Hop – SPARKS are fun to find and share and think about and the more the merrier.  Just post a thought on Mondays – call it your SPARK – and perhaps your “followers will follow” !

Well it finally happened – I “snapped” !   That’s right – we had FINALLY rid ourselves of the snow and ice we had for WEEKS then I got one and a half days of seeing my whole yard at long last……. then along comes Sunday and we get snow again.   True it’s not much – in fact the weather gurus say only 1-3 inches but when you’ve been hating that your entire world is icy and slippery and just waiting to break a bone of yours, you do NOT want any snow.    In the interest of my sanity, I decided to SPARK things up a little for this Monday SPARK post.   For your viewing pleasure I have FOUR thoughts about Winter:

There!   Now that I got it out of my system I will confess that I actually do not HATE snow…….I am just ready for Spring.    Never did we have so much ice in our yard that we couldn’t walk in it for two weeks – never did we have a situation where we couldn’t get out to the bird feeder (when they needed me the most!) to fill it so I had to dump seed on top of the ice (which they appreciated) – and never did I think I’d miss the HOT and HUMID Summers we have here in Northern Virginia.    Sigh.    Now that I have all of that out of my system, next week I’ll have a REAL Spark…………….I PROMISE!

Hugs, Pam

It’s Sunday!    Even though it’s yet again snowing (BOOOOO) it’s still Sunday and a little snow won’t hurt us – we made it before and we’ll make it again.   So there.   It’s also Selfie day thanks to our hosts The Cat On My Head.

Mom said she wishes that she’d had her camera with her yesterday because for the first time in over a month we were able to walk around the entire yard without stepping in snow.   I was pretty excited.    I had been restricted to the sidewalk once it was cleared and THAT was THAT.   There were a couple of feet of snow and ice everywhere else.   It was boring with a capital “B”.   Yesterday I followed Mom around the entire house and so I got a nice walkabout and some exercise and my nose was sniffing all kinds of nice things like where the birds and squirrels had been feeding on the seed Mom threw out the back door on top of the ice……..and where some deer had left “you know what” in the backyard……AND I added my own “you know what” to the edge of the woods so all the critters would know that the CATOWNER of the house was back in circulation!!    They had it easy when I was trapped inside but now I’m BAAAAACK.

So here’s the photo Mom took of me for today’s Selfie Hop.    So funny though – when she brought her camera up from the basement where she’d captured me on one of my favorite NAP spots (the “red bed”) and she loaded the photo into the computer then went to bring it from file to this post she said it looked EXACTLY like one she did of me in my red bed before.   I said “so what??” – maybe nobody will notice.    So if you notice, please don’t tell her OK?

Did we do a puzzle for the puzzler crowd?  OF COURSE!   We didn’t jazz the photo up with Lunapic because it’s got great colors.

Click the Mini-Me for the puzzle!!   It’s VERY COLORFUL!

Hope you all have a great Sunday and thanks again to The Cat On My Head for SELFIE SUNDAY FUN………………………….

Hugs, Teddy

The Royal Mom and I Are Whipping Up An INCREDIBLE Meatloaf!

Yes indeed and I’m SURE you’re going to like it too.    I often make meatloaf – something I learned from The Royal Mom who found about a zillion ways to jazz up a plain old meatloaf through the years….. and turn it into something special.   “SPECIAL MEATLOAF” ??   Yes – it can happen.   We’ll show you one of the favorites here at Castle Baconia.

Cheesy Mushroom-Stuffed Bacon Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 8 ounces mushrooms, diced
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 10 slices of bacon
• 1/4 cup ketchup (for topping)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, milk, egg, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well until all ingredients are incorporated.
2. In a separate pan, sauté the diced mushrooms until tender. Let them cool slightly before mixing about a third of them into the meat mixture along with the shredded Swiss cheese.
3. On a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap, press out the meat mixture into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Create a well in the center and fill it with the remaining cheese and sautéed mushrooms.
4. Carefully roll the meatloaf using the parchment paper to help, sealing in the filling. Place it seam-side down in a greased baking dish.
5. Wrap the meatloaf with bacon slices, tucking the ends underneath. Brush the top with ketchup for added flavor and moisture.
6. Bake for 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F (70°C). Allow it to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with sides of your choice.

Alright – you can breathe now – I’m sure you all held your breath to see how deliciously easy this recipe really is……and if you are a mushroom fan in addition to a bacon fan in addition to a meatloaf fan (!) this is the recipe for you.    Could NOT be better.    Trust us.

Mom, I’m not giving you a Certificate of Thanks because I know that YOU know how much I appreciate you joining me in the kitchen.   Just know the kitchen door is always open for you.     Now let’s have a slice of this while it’s nice and hot and MELTY!

Try It – You’ll Like It!   Your King

These aren’t new but they’re still FUN…….

Friday!  YAY!   Time to fill in the blanks with our two  co-hosts and have a lot of fun doing it.     Thanks to them for continuing with this FUNNER THAN FUN fill-in fun.

Our family again filled the blanks in and here’s the color code to WHO answered WHAT!

BLUE/MOM

GREEN/TED

RED/DAD

Here are the fill-in sentences for this week:

Hugs, Pam, David and Teddy!

Happy Thankful Thursday which as you know we have traditionally combined with Angel Sammy’s Poetic Thursday.   FIRST our Thankfuls.   We are beyond thankful that we’ve had some rain and higher temperatures and while there is still SOME ice out there, we can see most of our front yard where it’s melted away.    We needed the rain and we wanted the temps and we got what we wanted – THANKFUL?  You best believe it.    Teddy was incredibly thankful for the melting because for the first time in several weeks he got to wanted around the front yard although he acted like he wasn’t “sure” about whether it was REALLY “walkable”.    Kind of funny to watch but it made me realize just how much this guy loves his yard.    My husband made it out to the firewood supply in the backyard so we brought plenty of wood up for the fireplace.   Temps are going to be in the 50s or high 40s during the day but evenings/nights are from teens to low 30s.   I’m thankful for a good dental checkup (at my age that’s a blessing!).     Teddy is going to turn TEN next week and I find that almost IMPOSSIBLE.    Where has the time gone?   He has made our life so much fun – just as his predecessor, Angel Sammy did.

We also want to thank Angel Brian’s family for continuing with Thankful Thursday because we REALLY believe it’s important to think about all we have to be thankful for.

Now, let’s see what Angel Sammy wrote for his Poetic Thursday post shall we?

Hugs, Pam and Ted

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Hello Poetic Friends!

Yes I’m back again to lead the charge on poetry writing!!   Inspired by “interesting” photos, writing poems can be a whole lot of fun.   At least I hope you find it to be.   I enjoy finding fun photos for all of us to use as a “jump off” into the wonderful and challenging world of writing poetry.    Remember, everyone has the ability to craft a poem.   There are so many forms of poetry.   Some don’t even RHYME!

So, here’s the photo I gave you last week and if you’ve written a poem for this, let us know in my comments please – we want to read it!

“Wishful Thinking”

Poem by Angel Sammy Kimmell    ©February 18, 2026

I only had gas enough for ONE TRIP

But now I’m worried my truck will flip!

I wanted to get the job done fast as I could

Now my truck has broken down in this neighborhood

When the load shifts there’s bound to be trouble

I told my mechanic to get here ON THE DOUBLE!

Well, I think this guy definitely miscalculated how much he could pile on his truck……it almost looks to me like he is on the far side of the truck on his knees looking under his truck to see what’s going on – looks like his foot by the  right front wheel.   Anyway, whatever the story is, I’m thinking it won’t be having a happy ending.   But it was a fun one for a poem.     

I’ve found another gem for next Thursday AND I hope you’ll join me again for some poetic fun…………..!   I think this picture will be an interesting one for us to write a poem for……………..

Until next week then I’ll just say have a wonderful week ahead and I’ll look forward to seeing YOU and your POEM!    

Be kind, Be happy, Be YOURSELF

I am the Angel Poet in the green beret…..and I hope you join me for POETIC FUN each week!

Love always, Angel Sammy