A Perfect Holiday..........

Memorial Day we took a BBQ

picnic to Suttle Lake.......

A wonderful time with

family and friends!!

Sign of Spring.....

My neighbor friend sent me this picture of her new

babies!! They are sooooo adorable.

Saturday we had our Titus 2 Group meeting.

This time our Bible Study was about

"Becoming a Titus 2 Woman"

How that requires a focus and different

lifestyle than we might otherwise choose without

that as our goal.

Whether we are striving to be all Titus 2 implies

now as we raise our children, love our husbands

and learn to stay home.....

or even as we are striving to be that

older woman for others in our life.....

Either way, it involves abandonment.

We must abandon our desires, hopes, dreams,

family, friends......etc. Wrap them up in a

blanket and lay them on God's doorstep!!

Walk away.......the new owner (God) will

now take care of

those abandoned things......

this does not mean we will never have

a life......it only means we are not in

charge anymore. :)

"Others may surrender......

we must abandon."

Then we talked about planning our

gardens and growing more this

year, and growing enough to feed our

families and even be able to put some up

for over the winter. How soon we can

get started on that...trying some cold hardy

crops now with plastic on them.

Then off to Gramma Belle's for more

crocheting!!

It was a good day.

Today......

Today is restful compared to yesterday!!

Yesterday was full of bread making and canning

and making several pans of Enchiladas, some

for the Shepherd's House on Monday

and one for our dinner and one for

a freezer meal (yay!! love it when that happens!!)

Today...I am blogging....studying for our Titus 2

Group tomorrow....this afternoon we get to go to

a friends for our monthly "Sewing Circle" (no one really

sews anymore, but sometimes.....)

Then come home take a "homemade" pizza crust out of the

freezer, spread it with some of that "homemade" spaghetti

sauce, top with "cheapo" pepparoni from Costco that is in

the freezer and some cheese that

is already grated and in the freezer.

WOW!

How easy is that?!?!?

My kind of day. :D

I ran across this quote this morning...it is so good for so

many circumstances in life, I just have to share it....

it is from an old magazine from 1993...

I think that word "inconveniences" can be translated to

mean anything that we are dealing with...

it could be something in our past, it could be illness,

unemployment,.....anyway, here it is.......

"God uses all those inconveniences to plant

tender seeds of endurance when

you are not even looking.

And before you know it, tiny sprouts of

perseverance and contentment

begin to crop up where resistance

and impatience used to thrive. You hardly

notice itin the beginning, but one day there it is -

the sweet flower of long-suffering

bloomingright there in your very irritation.

God has us here inthis flower garden of

patience, long-suffering,

and perseverance."

Have a great weekend!! See you Monday!!

Christmas Blessings........

"What do you do? You're just a housewife and slave, aren't you?

A nursemaid to a bunch of kids?" ~ "NO. I have a

fantastic job, a terrific career! I am a curator in a

museum ~ a museum of memories!!"

~Edith Schaeffer, What is Family. (Very good book by the way:)

That is what I have been up to....a very, very busy

week creating memories!!

Even though my children are all grown, it is fun to still
make memories. I have been sewing up a storm!! Making a
couple lap quilts, PJ pants and I am about done. :) We
basically have no money this year for gifts...so it has been
such a BLESSING to see God provide just what I needed out in
my "stash" of fabric. God is so Good and I feel richly Blessed!
I will show you some pictures of what I have done after
Christmas, just in case anyone "peeks" at this blog before
tonight. :) Our children are all here tonight for a very healthy
fish dinner....mmmm, can't wait!!..... and gifts and tomorrow we
go to my hubbies Uncle's house for Christmas dinner. We were
just going to hang out here at home and not do a big dinner
Christmas day, but with the snow and the storms, his aunt
and uncle will be alone since they cannot get anywhere and
their family cannot get to them. :( So, we are happy to spend
the day with them, they are the only "aged" family we have left
that are like my children's grandparents, we
have many happy memories with them.

Hope and pray for you all today.....Peace to you as you

go about your preparations....May Love and

Joy and Peace abound in your homes

tonight and tomorrow and always!!

My Lazy Afternoon.....

Last Saturday a friend and I went to Lark Gardens......

it was the Grand Opening of their little store!

There chef (who, by the way, had a very ENGLISH accent:)...

was tossing things around in the kitchen and

giving us samples in order to taste

the vinegars made at Lark Gardens.

I bought one small bottle to try. He had it on kale with shallots

and garlic (also available in the store).

We tried it the other night and it was GOOD!! You just splash some

vinegar in a couple times during sauteing....

YUMMY!!
They had different vinegars on plums, potatoes, strawberries.....

WONDERFUL!!

They also have little starts in there greenhouses and in the

winter will have fresh greens for sale in the store.

And speaking of greenhouses!!! One of them had citrus

trees!! There was a lemon just about the size of a football!!

We all decided we needed a greenhouse like that attached to our

house that we could just leisurely wander in to, but with glass

ceilings in order to see the sky......maybe your hottub could be in

there or just a spot for tea and reading!!

I also brought home Organic lollipops for those who

stayed home that day. :D

Tea Time!!

Turns out I do get to do the Nutcracker Tea

this Friday......sooooo much to do!! Food to prepare....

Crafts to finish for sale......soooo, I must disappear

for a few days and I will see you after Tea with

pictures of Tea, finished crafting projects

and so on. But, until it is over I must stick to

the task of being ready!!

But first....I just have to share my menu! ;)

A Nutcracker Tea

Scene 1

Stahlbaum's Christmas Party

~Sparkling Cider

~Savory Refreshment

Red and White Christmas Rounds

(Sundried Tomatoe and Basil)

Turkey Relish on Wheat

Saurbraten Tartlets

Then off to dreamland......

Scene 2

Nutcracker battles the Mouse King!!

~Potatoe Cheese Soup

~Sliced Pears

Scene 3

The Land of Snow

~Fluffy Snowy Cream

~Cranberry Relish

~Served with Orange Scones

Scene 4

The Land of Sweets

~Sugar Plum Fairy Tarts (plum jam)

~Spanish Chocolate Truffles

~Arian Coffee Crisps

~Russian Wedding Cakes

~Mother Ginger Stars

~Chinese Almond Cookies

Scene 5

Back Home Christmas Morning!!

~Frozen Cranberry Mousse

See you after Tea....hey....want to join us?!?!? :)

Over the River.....

and through the woods.......

but not to grandmother's house (very sad to say :( )
But only to arrive at the coziest spot I know on

this particular Saturday.....
Camp Sherman Christmas Bazaar!!

A stroll through this very fun sale and then off
for the "Christmas tree hunt!!"
We searched and searched......then it was time for a break....
and turkey sandwiches!!!

It was one of the most beautiful days ever for tree hunting!!

I only remember snow and cold......

My daughter did quite a photo shoot of her own, there

were so many fun things to see. On her blog she

has a very fun display of mushrooms. :)

I thought the needles on this tree were really pretty, although

theyare hard to see here. I would have brought this

tree home,but it was too tall.

Manzanita!!! These branches make a beautiful wreath!!

Finally....we found it!! Trouble is we were getting two trees....

so we had a bit more looking to do.

Wow...a bit scarry if you ask me!!

On home again for some hot potatoe cheese soup with our

leftover veggies from Thanksgiving added....garlic roasted

asparagus and brussel sprouts and

a fun Christmas movie.....

Good Bye Autumn!!

Hello December!!

I Love Autumn and all it's colors and all the Fall dishes there

are to enjoy with squash and nuts and putting things up from the

garden or locally bought produce, I love it all.But I am always

happy to enter December. December is full of so much.

Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ!!

That He came, only to give His life for me!!

Without Him I am nothing!!

e

Giving to those we love and care about as an expression of Him

giving Hislife for me. His coming to earth was a gift

for anyone willing to take it.

e

Taking time to find those people that may be without or not have

loved ones to share with and blessing them in some way.

This of course always depends on how we are doing, this year it

will be homebaked goodsor something handmade. We do have a

neighbor that keeps to himself out here and we take him a plate

of Christmas dinner at the end of the day. He is always

happy aboutthat. He prefers that to sitting at our table. :)

e

Everything is so beautiful in December, I love all the lights!! I wish it could look like that all winter long. In some parts of our town, they do keep lights up through the winter. :)

e

I love the smells December brings, cinnamon

and spices, pine, cedar....mmmmm!!

e

Every year, I try to slow down and focus on why we do what we do. This year that is even easier because we really have $0 to spend.....so I am having fun thinking of things to make

for my family with what I have. I am so happy that

I have a stash to build from.

e

I love creating memories, still today with grown children.....I have so many happy memories from Christmas with my Mom and Dad, I will cherish them always.

e

It is my prayer for you all to enjoy this season and remember to take time to reflect on Christmas's past and the present and how we can share the love of Jesus to those around us.

Bless You All!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I am thankful for family, friends, a home and that

God is Good and Loves me very much!! :D
Hope you all enjoyed your day!

Moving on......

Here are some more pictures of the Anne of Green Gables Tea........

another peek at our store.....

Look at these young ladies all dressed up!!

Look at those "puffed sleeves"!! She made that dress just for this tea...... More decos.......

Autumn Anne Tea..........

As you entered...............

A "plain brown" teapot and "chrysanthEmums"..........

The tables........pumpkin spice votives in glass teacups, fall colored leaves tied around a napkin with raffia for place cards........Centerpieces were fall colored cocktail napkins and on some tables plaid napkins with a tall pumpkin spice candle sprinkled with leaves, cinnamon sticks and dried sunflowers.....

Mmmmm, we served "plum pudding" for our last course.

Lot's of pumpkins, sunflowers, leaves, doilies......all to ad an old fashioned harvest feeling.

Our little store....breads and pies, pincushions and bunnies......

pillows and gloves, jams and jellies, homemade soap......

Then the tea was done....ladies went home......and it was time for a Harvest Party with friends!!

We just left the decorations, moved things around a little and enjoyed!

Later some special music and then some good ol' dancing!!

Just having fun......

some favorite faces....one of us couldn't hold still!! :)

My most favorite face....my very own sweetie!!

I will have more tea pics later.....from friends....some shots of the girls serving hopefully!! I cannot believe I missed them!! One was dressed as Anne and they all were dressed for the time.....also, one of the girls did readings and one played songs from the soundtrack...all and all it was a lovely time!!