Dropping In For A Moment

 

It is after lunch for me and that means that I usually sit in my favorite chair for about a half an hour and read.  The book I am reading is the last in the Papa's Wife trilogy (Mama's Way) and I just read something that I NEEDED to share with all of you.  Here it is:

"How strange life would have been and how empty even now if I didn't believe in Him (God) that way, if I was not assured that He was there beside me.  How terrifying would be the thought of bombs and new weapons of destruction if I didn't know, without a single doubt, that the world is in God's hands and He holds the reins and that men can go just so far and no further.  Just a whisper from Him and they are gone from this world like a vapor, and they are no more.  For life on earth is measured in years and no matter how good or beautiful, how wicked or destructive, people are, there comes an end to their years and only the things that they have done remain."

I've re-read this over and over as a reminder, once again, that everything that is going on in this world is in God's hands and He really is in control and we need not fear "the terror of the night, nor the arrows that fly by day" and just trust that He is here with us and will never leave us.  I pray this gives you encouragement and peace.

God bless you.

August Newsletter Part 2

 

A lake in northern Minnesota - the water was like satin. : )

Well, I have to admit that I hesitated in writing this post because, really, not much has happened between now and the last time I posted!!  But I've been here at the computer for a good part of the day writing other things so I thought......why not!  

I know that to complain about the weather is not very uplifting, but seriously I'm weary of hot and humid days.  My gardening mojo has completely left me because there is no joy going out in 90-degree heat to pull weeds.  The water bill is going to be substantial along with the air conditioning bill.  There are already severe weather watches out for this evening and I don't want that either!!!!  The fires throughout the land desperately need a good dousing of rain and we are praying for that.  What an odd year.  

Anyway.  I got that out of my system.  Thank you for hanging in there with me.  : )

What I'm really finding in other blogs nowadays and even in some podcasts is the need to bring a little light into a dark world.  And the ones I watch and read are from believers in Christ and they know that, first and foremost, He is the light we need.  And then we, as women in the home, extend that light into our own homes and for our families and for our friends.  The importance of stability in the home should be what our aim is.  As we all know, there is instability right now.  All around us.  So the job of homemaker is now as important as ever.  We continue to make our homes a shelter - providing comfort, good food, a clean house, laughter shared, plans made, holidays celebrated.  No, it doesn't change anything on the outside of these four walls.  All we can pretty much do is continue to pray.  God knows everything that's going on and we can't keep saying that He's in charge and that He is Sovereign over all and then worry and fear (difficult, yes).  But I do think that we can provide a home that, temporarily anyway, can provide a respite.  How blessed we are to even have these four walls!  

So I encourage you to make the most of every day.  What needs to be done right now?  Does a room need to be deep cleaned?  Is there a new recipe you want to try?  How about some baking?  Is there a craft or sewing project you've been putting off?  I don't know about you but sometimes when I'm bombarded with bad news I look at the stuff that I want to do and just think it's a waste of time - how could that be important in light of what's going on?  But, it IS important.  Write that list of to-do's and begin - if not today, tomorrow!  : )

As always, I think pantry.  Stocking it and keeping it stocked is very important. I haven't always done this but last year made me more serious about it.  It is very pleasant indeed when you have a pantry well-stocked and you can shop from it.  The money you spend in the beginning is well spent when you realize that your grocery bill is shrinking because you already have what you need.  And it's not always food that should be stocked up - think vitamins and medications that will get you through the winter; think cleaning supplies - a lot of cleaning can be done with just baking soda and vinegar.  Another thing that I've been doing is to keep my eyes open when I'm going through our recipes (if you remember, I'm organizing them) and seeing what staples I would need to have here at home in order to make something without having to make a special trip to the store.  This is kind of odd but I've been finding out that quite a few of my recipes require BBQ sauce!  Strange but true.  I love my homemade sauce recipe but I definitely make sure that I have a few bottles on the shelf.  Thinking about substitutions is important as well although I don't have many recipes that require ingredients that are odd or unusual.  I'm pretty basic in my cooking.  

One thing I'm getting kind of excited about is a trip to South Dakota!  I was born and raised there and I still have some family there and we'll be going soon to see them.  We have a little 19-foot camping trailer that will provide the home we need.  It has a little kitchen and bath and beds.  It's been a few years that we've been out in it!!! So this gives us the perfect opportunity.  It will only be for a few days but just to get out of our county will be a thrill.  LOL!  The reason behind our going is this.......

My mom's first husband was killed over in France in WWII and is buried over there - together they had 4 children.  Later, she married my dad and there are 5 of us - so 9 altogether!  : )  My half-sister (who lives in SD) found out that SD has a program called "Bridges for Heroes" and she submitted her dad's name a couple of years ago and almost forgot about it.  Well, she received a call and said that her dad's name was selected and THAT is why we are going out!  There will be a bridge-naming celebration in the town selected to honor him and then we will all get together afterwards.  I hope I can share some pictures for my next post in September.

So, this weekend will be all about cleaning the camper and getting it road-worthy and then figuring out the food.  When we travel, we like to take our time and mosey.  If we see something that we want to look at (whether it's an antique store or a museum) we like the idea of just pulling over and take a look.  At first we were going to take a different direction to get out there, but this is the year where I need the old familiar roads that we've been taking all these years - going through the same little towns - until we get to the place we've always ended up.  The hard part for me is that mom and dad aren't around anymore to greet us.  I don't think I'll ever get used to that part.

Well......I think that is it for this post!  That's why I warned you in the beginning that it wasn't going to be anything of great importance.  Just a few notes I wrote down and a few thoughts I had.  I don't have any new podcasts for you and I'm still reading the "Papa's Wife" trilogy (REALLY enjoying it!!!!).  Since it's hot I'm still knitting and crocheting and actually embroidering some dish towels for Christmas gifts.  

I hope I can bring you more in September!  Can you believe it.........September.  Wow.

Thank you so much for dropping by and taking the time to read.  I appreciate you and I hope that you will enjoy your home this weekend.  God bless you all!  : )

A new batch of turkeys in the front yard.  There were more off to the other side.

August Newsletter

 

Our little "Chippy" who lives under the bushes in the front yard.  There are about 5 more in the back yard!!!!

Hello!  It's August!!!  I know you know that but I find it hard to believe when I say it out loud.  It continues to be hot and sometimes humid, both of which I don't do well with but I've run into so many people who try to gently remind me that it could be 20 degrees below zero with 2 feet of snow on the ground so................

The thing that I am pleased about is that it is early morning and the rains (which we have not had in a while) have come.  When I woke up at 5:30 this morning, it was already thundering and lightning and then the rain.  Beautiful rain.  It makes me want to go out and dance in the street.  But since I still have my pajamas on I don't think that would go over too well with the neighbors.  : )

I actually don't have a lot right now so I may have a Part 2 later.  Since I last wrote I've been getting a lot of reading done from the books I received for my birthday in July.  One of the Charles Spurgeon books is finished, the Nancy Drew book is finished, and I just finished one of the Agatha Christie books (I always think I know who did it, but I'm always wrong!).  I am now reading this:

this wasn't a book I received but it's a book that I found at a thrift store for $1.99 - it was recommended to me by a blog friend and I am enjoying it.  : )

I've also been crocheting, knitting, working on English paper piecing, and sewing yo-yo's into a little something for a table.  Lately, I've been working on organizing old and new recipes.  That is quite the chore for me because I love to collect recipes but I always forget what I've collected so now they are in a shoebox with categories in which to pull from.  The old recipes are being re-written into a kitchen notebook for easier access.  It was just really bothering me so I just jumped in and did it.

Which brings me to the point of.......when you see something that needs to be done, do it!  It was while I was in the kitchen that it just came to me.  I was preparing a meal and I reached for a spice in the spice rack (I have a spice rack hanging up and then I have a spice drawer too) and I noticed that I hadn't cleaned off all the little bottles in a while, so I finished up what I was preparing and then when that was done I began cleaning the spice bottles instead of leaving it for later (which I sometimes do and then forget about it).  That is point number 2 - if you can't get to something right then at least write it down so that you don't forget.  In the morning, I try to bring a small notebook out with a pen or pencil so that throughout the day when I think of something I can write it down but I am finding that if I can just do what needs to be done immediately then it's done.  : )  That same morning I remembered that I hadn't cleaned the coffee pot in a while so I did that too - feeling quite pleased with myself.  : )

I don't know if you know how to clean the coffee pot so here is how I do it:  first, fill the reservoir with white vinegar and let it brew through.  Discard the vinegar and now fill the reservoir with water and let that brew through.  Empty the pot again and then fill the reservoir one last time with more water and let it brew through emptying the pot afterwards.  It should be good to go for a good pot of coffee.  : )

Because of time spent in the kitchen and sitting down to crafting/sewing, I find that I like to have my favorite podcasts on YouTube (not all that thrilled with YouTube nowadays because of their choosing to censor what they don't like but they do continue to keep podcasts that aren't "threatening" to them).  Anyway............here is what I've been streaming non-stop lately:

*My Life as a Hutterite by Giselle Waldner 

*Girl in Calico

*The Domestic Geek

*Parkside Church/Alistair Begg/Truth for Life

Our daughter-in-law just had a birthday and we had them over to celebrate.  It was a fun evening together.  I wanted to share something that I served that ended up to be quite fun.  It was a Frittata Bar - during the day I cut things up such as cooked ham, cooked bacon, green onions, spinach, cherry tomatoes, two kinds of cheeses, and put them into individual bowls.  I then scrambled a dozen eggs and put them into a pitcher and refrigerated everything until it was time to eat.  I sprayed a muffin tin, poured the eggs into each cup (2/3 full) and then everyone put in what they wanted.  They baked in a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes and they came out beautifully.  SO yummy.  Oh, yes.....I also set out the salt, pepper, turmeric, Himalayan sea salt, and seasoning salt so everyone could control the seasoning part of it too.

This was served with potatoes, watermelon, salad, and muffins.  It was something different but good.  We are the kind of family that loves breakfast-type foods for supper so it worked for us.  : )

I think that's about it for this little post.  I'll leave you with a few more photos that I randomly take when I think it's something worth taking a photo of!

I did get out to a few areas to do a little weeding and these were looking so pretty.  This has been my surprise this year in the garden.  These are Zinnias which I planted along the driveway in really poor soil so I didn't know how well they would do.  They have been thriving!  And with the drought they haven't wilted (although we do try to give them water when we can).  Here are a few more photos of them:

Yellow and white is what I planted.

I started to take cuttings from a few plants like I had mentioned in the last post - from left to right it is a Geranium, Mint, can't remember the purple flower!, Basil, and then a different Geranium.  The Begonias are continuing to grow so I hope I will be able to pot these up as well.  I'm planning to buy a shelving unit for my craft area since I have a south-facing window and then I'll be able to over-winter these (hoping anyway!).  : )

There.  I think that's it.  Thanks SO much for dropping by!!!  I appreciate all of you and I hope you have a wonderful homemaking day ahead and weekend ahead as well.   God bless.