A New Day

What a difference a day can make. Yesterday the snow was falling. Today is equally as beautiful but in a different way. The sun is shining and as you can see the sky is a georgeous blue. It occurred to me that sometimes life is like that too. Each day brings a different type of beauty. Sometimes we have to look deeper to find the beauty and sometimes it is easier to find. I believe God has a treasure for us each day, it is our responsiblity to search and find it. Today will be another snuggle in day. Church at home. Maybe play some games with our girls. Fun stuff. Family stuff. The things memories are made of. I love days like these. I wanted to tell everyone that I now have a comment link on each post. If you want to leave a comment just click on the link. It is always exciting when someone leaves a comment. Thanks Dave for fixing this for me. I want to take a minute to let you all know what a great son-in-law I have. The Lord did a great job picking him out. He is always ready to help us (no matter how dirty the job). I just wanted you to know, Dave, we’re glad you are part of our family. Okay enough of that, I don’t want his head to get too big. Todays menus is venison roast cooking on the wood stove and also some beans. I think maybe biscuits and fried potatoes would be good with this. I try to cook on our wood stove as often as possible. I think the food tastes better and of course it saves on the electric bill. I’m always for saving money. Well, I think I’ll get busy enjoying my day. God Bless.

January 31, 2010 2

Snow

Well, we did get the snow. It started last night around 8:30 and is still snowing. It does, however, make everything look beautiful. I had a hard time deciding which pictures to use, but finally decided on these two. The first one is from my dining room window. In the second one, I thought I would show you the pond is just as pretty in snow as in sun. It really has been a great day. The snow has fallen steady all day. We made homemade rolls, a homemade cake, and had 15 bean soup for lunch. I think I’ll go start on an apron later or maybe just read a book. Life is Good! I pray your day is as enjoyable as mine has been. God Bless.

January 30, 2010 6

Golden Hills

This was the view this morning from my kitchen window as I washed the morning dishes. Am I a blessed woman or what? We did get to have our Ladies Study today. Hallelujah! The snow has not started yet. They are predicting 10-13 inches. This will probably mean no church on Sunday which of course makes for a long week. However if all goes as planned Jess and crew will be coming up next weekend. She wants us to sew her some maternity clothes. We will be going to a local fabric store called Schoolhouse Fabrics. They have 3 stories full of nothing but cloth. Then we will come home and snuggle in for 2 days of sewing, and of course lots of MawMaw time. I can hardly wait! It is almost supper time. Tonights menu is one of Hubby’s favorite. Fried chicken, gravy, corn and biscuits. I think I’ll throw in some cooked apples too. YUM! Are you hungry yet? Well, I am. Guess I better get started frying that chicken. God Bless.

January 29, 2010 2

Pond

I thought the pond looked very pretty this morning. The sun was shining and the water looks beautiful. We need to enjoy this sunshine while we can. Weather reports are calling for a winter storm tomorrow with significant amount of accumulation. The girls are excited about this. Sledding! Prayerfully we will get to meet tomorrow for Ladies Study. We are going to meet earlier in the day to avoid anyone getting caught in the snow. In the 6 years we have been doing this study, I don’t think it has ever been this long since we met. I counted it up yesterday. This Friday will make 7 weeks. No wonder I miss those ladies. Today will be filled with the usual things. School, house cleaning, cooking, eating. Enjoying the love of family. I pray I never take the little things for granted. They are all gifts from God. Feel free to sit on my porch for a while. Bring a cup of coffe or tea and enjoy the view. Warning though, it can become habit forming. God Bless.

January 28, 2010 0

Dreaming of Summer

I’ve probably posted this picture before, but I thought we might all need a little color today. The Butterfly bush and the Rose of Sharon are always full of brillant color. The rocks came from over the hill on the farm. I got Marvin to bring them over on the tractor. He said this was a first for him, usually people want to get the rocks out of their yard not put them in. I think however it adds to the charm. Today temperatures will probably be in the upper 20’s. They say a chance of wintry mix for Friday. February is almost here though. Somehow in my mind, in February, my thoughts turn to spring, gardening, flowers, sunshine. Winter,however, does allow more time for things like sewing, quilting, crocheting. I am almost finished with Julie’s quilted wall hanging. I will post a picture of it when I’m finished. I attempted to make homemade hamburger buns yesterday. I do not own a hamburger bun pan so I thought I might could put them in my cast iron biscuit pan. Not a good idea. The tasted good, however, they looked like jumbo muffins. We ate them last night covered with cooked deer and gravy and mashed potatoes. No one seemed to mind how they looked. I don’t like to give up though so I will try another approach next time. Well, better get started on school. God Bless.

January 26, 2010 0

Wall hanging

We went over to our friends house today to celebrate her daughter’s birthday. We had homemade pizza and birthday cake. It was delicious. Thanks again Vicki. Then she gave me a surprise. She made me this beautiful wall hanging! I could’nt wait to get home and put it on my wall. I think it looks just perfect in my dining room. To me, nothing says you care about people more than hand made items. I LOVE IT! Tonight’s menu at church is baked spaghetti, salad, bread, green beans, corn, and cake with ice cream. Sounds good, huh. Weather here is rain, rain, and then maybe some more rain. Oh well, at least its not ice. We now have mud everywhere. The snow has melted and the ice has melted and they say there is a chance for flooding. I’m glad the Good Lord is in charge of all this and not me. Well, I better get busy getting those green beans ready. God Bless.

January 24, 2010 2

Ice

Well the forecast for freezing rain was correct. Not as much as they first thought but enough. The first picture is from my dining room window. It shows the accumulation on the trees. The second picture is from our kitchen door. Yes, I know it looks like water running down the yard but it is actually ice. I’m not very good at guessing ice accumulation but I would think at least a 1/4 of an inch. Oh well, temperatures are supposed to get above freezing tomorrow so maybe this storm will be short-lived. More rain coming in on Sunday, though. School has went very well this week. We have stayed on schedule and this always makes school more fun. No bible study today because of the ice. I certainly do miss those ladies. It’s been several weeks since we met. This does happen frequently though in January. I guess I better get busy. No bible study means school day. God Bless.

January 22, 2010 0

daniel

I received this picture from Dave and could’nt wait to put it on my blog. Ain’t he just the cutest thing? Nothing says boy more than a baseball cap and a truck. Temperatures here have warmed up greatly. Highs in the upper 40’s to low 50’s. The girls have spent much time outside playing which of course Jasper (the pup) loves. The forecast however is calling for freezing rain Thursday night and Friday morning. Oh well, it is just the middle of January. Grace did find a dandelion in bloom yesterday, just to remind us spring is coming. Not much longer until we see some flowers in bloom. We normally have some early wildflowers that bloom here about the end of March- blood root, colts foot, and periwinkle. We get so excited when we see them. Only about 6 more weeks to go. In the mountains where I was raised, my Mom always planted lettuce, peas and onions on Valentines day. Can’t do that here. We have had frost as late as the end of May. I guess I better quit dream about spring and garden food and get to work. God Bless.

January 20, 2010 0

Pumpkin Cake

I guess this is why I always gain weight in the winter. There’s just something about winter that makes me want to bake and try out new recipes. This pumpkin cake and cream cheese frosting recipe came from my (and Jessica’s) favorite cookbook. Mennonite Country-Style Recipes and Kitchen Secrets. If you get an opportunity to own the cookbook, it is fantastic. I don’t think I’ve made anything from it that was bad. All has been good. I made 15 bean soup for church last night. It turned out really good. I basically follow the instructions on the bag except I add some browned sausage and hamburger to the recipe. Also instead of canned tomatoes, I use spaghetti sauce. It is a very affordable soup. If I didn’t miss count anything, it will feed about 20 people for about .50 cents a serving. Pretty good huh. I’m always looking for ways to feed my family inexpensively but healthy. Sometimes these two words do not go together. You know, like at Wendys. Do we buy the $1.00 chicken sandwich or the $5.00 salad? Depends on the cash flow this week. Honestly though we very seldom eat out, so the $1.00 chicken sandwich is a big treat for us all. Well speaking of eating, time for me to cook supper. Tonights menu-sauteed (fried) cabbage with hamburger, potatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers, and spinach. It’s a one dish meal, inexpensive, healthy and delicious. Of course a meal like this has to have cornbread with it. Remember I grind my own corn to make the cornmeal, and of course for the dessert, the pumpkin cake. Gotta go, I’m getting hungry. God Bless.

January 18, 2010 0

My Sticky Buns

Well, what do you all think? Not to be bragging, but they look pretty good, huh. Okay so maybe I am bragging a little! They did turn out pretty good though and they tasted good too. The good news is we finally have water in our bathroom. On Wednesday, our temperatures got above freezing, finally. I’m not completely sure but I think we have not been above freezing since Dec. 18 when the snow came. Actually there were many days were didn’t get out of the single digits. I know you all have heard this before, but I really don’t like cold weather. Anyway, yesterday, we got in the lower 40’s. The girls thought it was spring time. On Wednesday we went to visit our friends, the Horn’s. We returned to find no water pressure in the house, which of course indicates a problem. Usually this means a water leak somewhere. After much checking, we discover a busted water line in the little house building (where my wringer washer is). The line had frozen and when it thawed the old pipe just couldn’t take the pressure. This required much quick thinking on part of Hubby, as water is gushing out of the pipe. Thank God for hubbies! He quickly fixed this problem and before the night was out our bathroom thawed also. Thankfully, no leaks. School today as usual. We are not meeting for our Friday Ladies Class. One of our ladies is gone on a trip and the other one has car trouble. Hopefully next week all will fall back in place. I really miss when we don’t get to meet. These ladies are like family to me. Well, I better get to work. Oh, I wanted to let you all know, it is 9:00 A.M. and the temperature is already 30 degrees. WOW! God Bless.

January 15, 2010 1