thecedarsofpittsburg

Visions of Winter

2012-01-27T09:32:00.000-08:00

Peace and Plenty

I'm sure glad I got out and took some pictures of our teeny tiny snow we had a couple of weeks ago, because it sure hasn't felt much like winter since then!

Come on in!

I'm trying really hard to embrace this whole winter thing......snowflakes...sparkly fake snow...

I'm doing all I can to move this season along, but nothing seems to help. I am pretty sure though, that as soon as I take all of these winter decorations down and put up something green, we will have a foot of snow on the ground!

I don't know why my pictures all turned out so blurry, I'm going to blame it on the old camera and be glad, because this way you can't see how dusty everything is! Hope it wasn't too hard on your eyes!

I am thankful we are not dealing with fires, flooding, ice storms and some of the other mayhem that is pouring down on other parts of the country! In spite of all my whining, I am thankful for my cozy, warm, and dry home, and hope you are all cozy and warm too!

Better get back to my real life...getting ready for my brunch girls tomorrow is good motivation to clean up a little and bake some goodies... a Mexican casserole called Huevos Rancheros Casserole, Sopapilla Cheesecake, Tropical Fruit Bowl,and Chocolate Banana Bread. What a way to spend a cold dreary rainy Saturday...with the sweetest bunch of young stay at home moms, a morning full of glad chatter and food!

Have a wonderful winter weekend!

C'mon Winter!

2012-01-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Well friends, today is the day.

I will be taking down my real Christmas tree.

When my hubby asked me a couple of days ago
whether I thought it was time...

I had to look long and hard to find

a few branches hanging down.

Just a few.

This is one of the nice things about a Frasier Fir..

they keep thier lovely shape for weeks.
(Don't worry, I havn't had the lights on for a long time! Don't want to burn the house down!)

I had stuck several of the left over branches in jars with fake berries
and they still look great!

But alas,

It's time to move on.

I will leave the greenery and some berries up through February
and add the snowmen who don't look like Christmas decorations

to get me through winter.

I think it's fun to save the snowmen for winter decorating,
to keep things from feeling too bare
in January and February.

Snowmen and sparkly snowflakes!

It's been hard to get in the winter groove around here lately though,
The temps have been up into the 60's , with sunny mild days that found me

out in the yard pulling baby grass out of the flower beds
and turning the compost pile!
Outrageous!

I had to keep reminding myself that

It's Winter

It was very tempting to start dreaming of spring
as I sat on the ground, running that soft black dirt
through my fingers!

So I say, COME ON WINTER....let's get this over with!

Here in Kansas, things are known to change quickly

You know, flip flops one day....snow boots the next!
I need some consistency!
If it's January...act like January!

The good news is...January is almost half over and that means

Winter ...your days are numbered!

I think I'll see how many great new soup recipes I can find...

...homemade bread anyone?

How about a head start on next year's Christmas gifts????

I will definitely
READ MORE BOOKS!!!!

The winter afternoons between 3 and 5
are my favorite,
because the sun beams in and makes all of my sparkly winter decorations
SPARKLE!

and then I get to see this

from my great room window!

Wherever you are
I hope you're enjoying winter...

embrace it!

You'll thank me later!

a clean slate

2011-12-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

It's New Year's Eve and another year is about to end. I've been thinking about fresh starts,

new calendars
new planners
new goals
new resolve

Over Christmas break, the kids were taking personality tests,
trying to figure out how to describe themselves in personality test terms.

I decided that I am too old to care what number I am,

but I am not too old to change.

I want more grace.

Grace to forgive,
grace to love the irritating,.
grace to endure whatever the new year throws my way,

grace to grow old gracefully..

Grace to admit what needs admitting.

Grace to keep my mouth shut when it needs keeping.

Realisticallly speaking,
I am unable to be this graceful...

That's the good news - I don't have to try and do it on my own.

God of the universe cares and hears my franctic calls for grace,

He is the Master of the Clean Slate.

the Fresh Start

the New Beginning

the Do Over.

I'm so glad I don't have to start the new year without His

Amazing Grace!

He's there waiting for me to ask for it..

You too!

Happy New Year!

Christmas Comes In

2011-11-27T19:02:00.001-08:00

In a few days it will be December

and the season

Love

Joy

and Peace

will be upon us.

Years ago, I realized that things like love, joy and peace

don't just happen because

Tis the Season.

Every year,

somewhere in the midst of

the hustle and bustle,

the stress of getting all the teacher's presents

the grandparent's presents,

and the kid's presents bought,

the children's pageant rehearsed,

some random regional attempt at the Nutcracker attended,

the cookie exchange cookies baked,

and the white elephant wrapped,

I tend to really dislike what Christmas has become.

What I have let it become.

What I have made it.

I become tired, bone tired.

Distracted and grumpy.

Until

Christmas Comes In.

Some years it is a memory.

And some years, a song

or a sweet act of kindness

when least expected.

A hug.

A verse.

It's like the whole mess has no meaning until that moment-

that magical moment when I remember

the beginning,

the wonder

and

the reason.

Christmas Comes In

I never know when it will happen

but in the weeks to come,

I will be watching for it,

and hoping for it

for you too.

In that quiet moment,

I hope you feel the

peace,

joy

and love

that we have

because He came.

When Christmas Comes In.

So Thankful!

2011-11-15T09:56:00.001-08:00

I'm so thankful that

the weather is so mild and mellow right now, mild enough for us to sit out on the deck and drink our coffee. Jim spied an 8 point buck charging across the road yesterday morning while he was out there.
A flock of about 25 geese have been visiting our pit for the last couple of evenings too.

The smell of wood smoke is in the air.

On a really still day I can hear these guys practicing from the deck...

and the Gorillas are now MIAA Div II champs and I will get a couple more chances to hear and see this band perform! GOOOOOOOOORILLAS! Go Pride of the Plains Band!!!!

And in a very few days,
most of my family will be gathered around the table, giving thanks for each other,
for loved ones far away,
for another year of blessings,
for health

for growth and change and traditions that draw us together.

We will eat.
We will shop.
We will watch football.
We will slap up my Christmas decorations.....

And I will begin packing for a very special trip.
I will get to hold this baby...
for days and days on end.
And kiss him for days and days on end.

And in between those hugs and kisses, I will be chasing this precious little girl and reading her stories enough to last for the next year. Maybe we will do a craft, or go for a walk in the park, or take a nap together.
God willing.

I am so blessed and thankful!

Giving Thanks!

Have a wonderful day.....hug your loved ones....count your blessings!

XOXOXOX!

Comfort Food

2011-10-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I knew how to do this.

Make pie dough.

We discussed this last year around Thanksgiving time,

and not much progress has been made.

I've been busy.

(Man that's embarrassing to look at!)

My Daddy had some great blackberry patches,

He would pick those berries and freeze them,

knowing that sooner or later

I would come down and bake him a bunch of pies.

I made pumpkin pies too and froze them whole

and have since read that

pumpkin pies do not freeze well.

Whatever.

I have just finished the best book.

American Pie

Pascale Le Draoulec

It is about so many things,

things that I love and think I would love...

pie.

girls in an old car

on a road trip

searching for pies

and junk.

and recipes!

It has just turned cold and rainy here,

and I am in a mood.

A mood for pie!

What I am about to share with you is two recipes.

The pie one I made up.

I wanted the taste of my Mom's apple dumplings,

but without having individual apples wrapped up in dough.

I found a GREAT recipe on the Internet

that involves taking a frozen pie, thawing it, and placing the pieces in a 9x13 baking dish,

then pouring this heavenly sauce over it all and then baking.

I have taken this to several church dinners and turns out, it serves more folks than

a regular pie would, especially if you sit a container of good vanilla

ice cream right by it!

It is out of this world!

One day I wanted this stuff BAD,

and wouldn't you know it....

no frozen pie in the freezer!

If you have issues with cutting up a perfectly good frozen pie

and redistributing it in a pan,

then this recipe's for you!

It's also cheaper this way, even though it doesn't serve as many.

Seriously, have you noticed how expensive frozen pies have become?

I use Plush Pippin because it's the cheapest and in my humble opinion,

the best out there!

They use tart apples, which is good because

the sauce you are going to add is very sweet!

It just so happens that I had a refrigerator crust

and placed it in a square pan, which was a little smaller than

my deep dish pie pans.

I peeled and sliced 6-8 Jonathan apples

placed those in a large saucepan,

added this heavenly sauce and

cooked the apples for about 10 minutes,

or just until tender.

Pour the apples and sauce into the

pan and let the dough kind of fall over the apples

around the edge, giving it kind of a

Rustic Tart look.

Sprinkle generously with walnuts or pecans

Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350

Keep an eye on it, you don't want this thing to burn!

Voila!

Apple Dumpling Tart!

Here's the recipe for the sauce:

1/2 cup water

1 stick butter

2/3 cups sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Heat these all together til the butter is melted

add 1 tsp vanilla and blend it in

Add the apples and simmer gently til apples are tender

Pour over the pieces of frozen apple pie in a 9x13 dish

and top with 1 cup nuts.

I'm not actually making this pie today.

I have about worn this recipe out already

and am moving on to something

more like pumpkin or sweet potato or chocolate.

I am pledging to make the crust from scratch.

None of this refrigerator stuff!

Seriously!

While the pie is in the oven,

I will whip up some of this magic

Facebook Soup

(you have to try this!)

1-2 lbs hamburger, browned and drained

2 cans Minestrone soup

2 cans Veg-All, or store brand equivalent

2 cans chili beans

1 can RoTel

Brown meat, drain; Dump all the other ingredients into pot

Simmer 20 minutes. Eat! Enjoy!

It sounds kind of boring, but

it is gooooooood!

Comfort in a bowl!

New Life for an Old Broad!

2011-10-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

Just look at her ~

She's a new woman!

It's been a long hot summer
and this reno took way longer than I ever dreamed it would.
(see previous post)
I'm pretty proud of the way she came through the transformation,

but now Hubs is insisting that I do the leaves too! arggh.
I don't know if I have it in me....maybe next week!

Lady In Waiting

2011-09-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

I am excited for this phase of the

kitchen table and chairs

transformation

to be over.

Tomorrow I will remove the newspaper

and start staining

the top.

The top that was always covered with a tablecloth,

because the varnish had come off in several places,

and looked terrible.

I figured it would be easy

to get the rest off....

but NOOOOOO!

I have sanded my fingers down to a nub

getting her ready!

The chairs are off together

curing and getting waxed....sounds like a girl's day out, doesn't it?

They are getting impatient.

So is my husband...

He is tired of eating his supper at the bar~

Here is my secret weapon.

It really does cover twice as much

and gives you a very nice finish.

I was trying to show the whole can so that you could see

it's called Dark Walnut.

I didn't count how many cans I used,

but figure 1-2 per chair,

6 chairs,

2 for the table....yikes!

oh well, it's cheaper than a new set, right????

While we're watching the paint dry,

let's have a look around, shall we?

I had never planted this before,

but it went gangbusters here on the east side of the house.

It's called Autumn Sage.

It never stopped blooming \

even in the 100 degree heat and high humidity.

It quieted down for a while,

and now that we are having rains and cooler temps

it is glorious!

The hummingbirds liked it a little,

but the blooms are pretty small and

they had to work hard for the nectar.

I love discovering something new that will

thrive in this hot prairie town!

Here it is with the Double Knock Out Roses.

They almost took over the flower bed!

These plants are definitely Kansas Tough!

That chair up there on the front porch is calling my name...

think I'll grab my book and a big old glass of tea

and admire the view!

See you tomorrow!

Labor of Love

2011-09-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering,

I have been busy.

I have put away the vacation pictures

and gotten back to work.

Children of mine:

Take a good long look

because this chair

going

down!

When I casually mentioned to my youngest that I had been working on these chairs, he gasped

"you mean the chairs we grew up with?"

My children have a tendency to get attached to things around the house

When I sold my tacky metal kitchen canisters in a garage sale,
my dear Blee about had cardiac arrest,
and I was made to feel so bad
that I had to go buy some matching ones
at somebody else's garage sale!
sheesh!

I don't know what Kevin will do when I ditch the sofa,
I'm sure there will be some drama...

I did play with the idea of buying a new dinette set
and moving these monsters downstairs
for a game area.
But these chairs are built strong and heavy,
and I have not seen any new ones out there that could hold up
to my family.

Why spend money on new ones when
you can make the old ones look great,
with a little sanding and some spray paint?
Right?

Did I say a LITTLE SANDING?

I tried the mouse sander, the sanding blocks, stripper on the first one,
and have discovered
that removing 20plus years of grime and wax and dirt
takes a little more than a little sanding!

It has boiled down to this...
hours and hours
of sanding with little bits of 100 grit paper.
Gallons of coffee.
Gallons of sweat.
Entire trash bags full of used bits of sandpaper,
and some very sore fingers, back and shoulders!

Do you see all those spindles?
Do you see all those curves?

Please be patient Grasshopper.
Three down.

And three to go.

I gave myself two days to rest my fingers and shoulders
and today I'm back at it.

Celebrate Labor Day!

Go do something you've been wanting to do
but were afraid it was too big, too hard, too messy.

Go throw yourself at something you've been putting off.

Go give something all you've got.

Don't be afraid....you can do it!

Road Trip part 4..South Dakota!

2011-08-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

Although we didn't plan on being in the middle of

the annual

Sturgis Rally Week,

that's where we ended up.

and tens of thousands of

Harley Bikers.

We really just wanted to see these guys.

And we DID see them!

They are impressive,
and though I enjoyed
seeing them,
I was more interested in
reading about how they were sculpted from the granite
and the tools that were used to do it.

How one man with an idea
got together with the sculptor
and they put their heads together
and said "we can do this!"

One sculptor and a team of men,
ordinary men,

with ordinary tools...

it blows my mind.

Look closely and you can see the carvings.....
trust me, they're up there!

As impressive as this feat was,

it paled in my book,
compared to the natural beauty that surrounds it.

One of our most scenic days by far was the day
we drove through Custer State Park
to get to the Mt. Rushmore site.

Breathtaking beauty up close and personal!

The eye of the needle...

I know now why this is such a magnet for bikers...

The scenery is awesome, the air is cool and clear, and the roads are winding and curvy...
Biker Bliss!

We tried to fit in,
but the only leather between us was Jim's white tennis shoes!
I had bought a do-rag at a truck stop along the way,
but it was just not that flattering,
and you know how fussy I can be about that!

No pictures of that nonsense...you know what they say,
what happens in Sturgis, stays in Sturgis!

We just did silly things that tourists do...

I'm not sure that was flattering either! ;)

Back in Hill City, where we spent our nights
away from the roar of tens of thousands of Harleys,
these two were enjoying a little peace and quiet

me too!
Do you realize how noisy tens of thousands of Harleys are???

Bone rattlin noisy!

As much as I hated to leave this beauty behind,
I must confess
I was starting to get homesick...
and sick of riding around in a truck!

The road called out again,
and this time,
we would really be headed for home!

Next stop...Mitchell, South Dakota!
Who knew SD had so much to see and do???
Not me!

Road Trip part 3...water and rocks and bears! Oh my!

2011-08-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

Are you hot, sweaty and tired of summer?

Well, sit back and enjoy

the breathtaking views

and up close and personal

sights

Beautiful Yellowstone National Park

and

Grand Teton National Park!

Can you tell that we loved the water? Waterfalls around every bend in the road!
Clear, cold , running water. Roaring rivers, meandering streams, and sparkling lakes.
I need a job writing travel brochures!

The second most photographed item in the Yellowstone National Park is...

wildlife.

My husband's biggest regret of the entire trip is
that he couldn't
get the zoom feature on my little camera to work...
when he discovered this friend,
munching berries a mere 30 feet away from him..

(Note: There is a reason that signs everywhere state: Do NOT get closer than 100 feet of wildlife!)

Everyone else had left the area,
had grown tired of waiting
for this guy to amble out of the brush.
They had wisely moved on.

Not easily discouraged,
my hubby waited.
And waited.

His patience was finally rewarded
when this guy's head popped up
from the berry bush,
and he looked straight at the photographer~

My man did not run.
He stood there and fiddled with the zoom button.
They say you should not run,
so he didn't!

Damn zoom!
Oh well,
I know it's a true story,
because my husband
took about 30 minutes
to calm down!

Once his hands stopped shaking,
we moved on.
Hubs took one million up close shots of
Rocks.
Safe, unmoving, rocks.

Massive Rocks.

Rock climbing school seems to be in session...
either that, or they are both taking a pee break!

Ready everyone?

Do you see them?

Let's have some more of that cool, peaceful water - shall we?

Ahhhhhhhhh! We don't see much of this in Kansas.
In fact, we don't see any of this!

I chose to sit right here
and rest while my man
climbed on up to the top.

Thanking the Lord for allowing me to be here, for my family,
praying for each of them, one by one....

I sweet place I will not soon forget!

It was so much fun to see all of the wildflowers EVERYWHERE

Unfortunately, some of the prettiest ones were right on the edge of the road
on a hairpin turn with no shoulder,
where you wouldn't dare stop your truck!

and the luscious plantings EVERYWHERE
something about the dry, cool mountain air .... the flowers love it!

What a wonderful 4 days....
we didn't see it all,
I know we will come back for more someday.

We must move on...
the road is calling once again.

It's Rally Week, after all!

Stay tuned!

Road Trip-A-Rama...Seattle

2011-08-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Part Two.

The hard part.
Unpacking the UHaul trailer. ( See previous post.)
. Sorting Kevin's stuff from the girls' stuff,
and putting Kevin's stuff back into the trailer .
Lugging Audra and Sarah's stuff up three flights of stairs.
Hauling Kevin's stuff to his apartment across town.
Lugging Kevin's stuff up three flights of stairs.
Too bad we don't have any pictures of this...I was not in the mood.
Imagine.

By the time we got to the final stages of this day, I was exhausted and depressed.
Kevin's apartment is no bigger than a postage stamp.
No bigger than a breadbox.
No bigger than a walnut shell.
You get the picture. The more boxes the guys brought up the stairs,
the more discouraged I became

I got me an ATTITUDE.

I think this is when the reality of it all hit me.
This was not just a fun road trip,
I was leaving him here to fend for himself
to find his own way.
to find a job
to find friends
to find out what he is made of.

He kept going over to the little windows and looking out at the view and LOVING IT!
All the while,
my mother's heart was not helping me get the right outlook...

So WHAT if he can see Mount Rainier from his window? ???

I could tell Kevin did not want me helping him set things up...he pretty much told me so!
After he undid several drawers that I had brilliantly organized, I finally got the hint,
and left him to do the hard part...I was pretty sure
that we would be hauling a big portion of stuff back to Kansas!

After a hot shower, a nap and a good Mexican dinner,
things looked much brighter.
That night, I had a talk with the Lord and asked Him to kindly
adjust my attitude..ASAP....for Kevin's sake.

And He did.

The next day dawned more hopeful,
and it did my heart good to see that Kevin
had made his tiny little apartment
into a charming little nest.
He had all of his stuff organized,
art up on the walls, and books shelved.
It looks great and he is happy!
And he didn't need me to do it for him!
He just needed me to get out of the way!

We left the kids that day
to sort things and continue unpacking
while we explored the city.
I needed to get my head and heart around this place
called SEATTLE!

My favorite part of the city...Pike Place Market. Love this place!

I took this picture for my friend Lezlie, who creates the most wonderful things.in crochet.....this little stall was nothing but little crocheted hats...hats and more hats! Adorable hats!

Here we have the most wonderful things..I don't even know what they are called but they are strings of peppers, flowers, and who knows what else...I wish I had bought one of these, but I was trying to be so careful not to buy things everywhere I went! This was a very hard task for me!

Aren't they beautiful!

And Oh my goodness such flowers! Huge fresh bundles of the most lovely flowers you have ever seen!

I couldn't get enough of them!!!

Music! These were the most fun to watch...they were really into it!

Seattle is called
The Emerald City.
Everything is so lush and green...when you take an exit off the interstate,
you can't see where you will end up
because of the plants growing everywhere.
They take flora and fauna to a new level here!

And then there's the water.
Lakes. Lakes. and More Lakes.
Boats. Boats. and More Boats!

Who wouldn't want to live in a town that looked this dreamy all the time?

more dreaminess...

not sure what this is like on a cold, rainy, winter night,
but it sure looked dreamy while we were here!

a little neighborhood park with a sparkling lake just a couple of blocks from the apartment...
where you can swim, row, kayak, or just lay around and watch the world go by.
Dreamy~

fresh blackberries as big as walnuts!
and wild ones growing in everyone's back yard????
is your mouth watering yet??

Totem poles galore.

Take a look at those lush ferns at the bottom of the picture.
They grow around here like shrubs.
It's a tropical paradise, without the heat!

And the icing on the cake...

Yes people, I finally got to experience

IKEA!

That day about wore poor Jim out,
but it was the jackpot for Audra,
she found the futon and pillows she wanted
to make her nest complete.

Just look at that smile!

back to more dreaminess.
Think "Sleepless in Seattle."...
I would have liked to see it at night!

And last, but not least,
Mt. Rainier

If you look closely, you can see it hovering above the skyline.
It was a pretty clear day, but you wouldn't know it from this picture!
It's beautiful and majestic every time you see it!

The next day Audra's parents flew home
and we spent the day doing some sight seeing with Kevin

Here's one of the views from the Space Needle.
Awesome!

Jim and Kevin went to the Aquarium and
I went to an antique market...
couldn't resist!
That night,we ate the most amazing clam chowder and salmon
on the waterfront downtown.

There is still so much we wanted to see and do,

There's always next time...
We'll see you again Seattle,

In the meantime,
be good to my boy!

I'll be back!

I promise!

Go West Young Man! part one...

2011-08-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

"Twenty years from now

you will be more disappointed

by the things

you didn't do

than by the ones you did do.

So, throw off the bowlines,

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the tradewinds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

Herein lies the story

of one young man on a journey...

A Kansas boy turns his eyes to the west

and follows a dream and a girl.

Destination: Seattle

How do three young explorers make their way across this wide land?

More importantly,

How the heck do they get all of their earthly belongings there ?

This is a job for

Huebner & Associates

School of Packing.

All four of our children are

Honors Graduates

of the Huebner School of Packing

and this was the most challenging assignment on record.

Daunting, I tell you!

Reinforcements were called in.

Boxberger Inc. added much needed expertise,

muscle and encouragement.

How was all this loot from three different locations

expertly molded into one small trailer and one pickup bed you ask?

Well let me tell you!

You take 6 people

working all day...

loading and unloading,

measuring and calculating...

arranging and rearranging

re-measuring,

stuffing and reloading.

Waiting and watching,

Bake all day in 100 degree heat,

And you have one very

well done

Load.

It's the Huebner way.

Almost....

Success!

Whew!

Did I mention it was hot?

Job well done, team!

What do you do with a car, a trailer and a pickup crammed full of

three people's treasures?

YOU DO A ROAD TRIP!

After a good dinner and good night's sleep,

we headed our little caravan

WESTWARD.

I started out trying to take pictures of Kevin and Audra in each state

that we passed through....

that was fun for a little while.

I'd tell you which states we were in,

but I have no idea....

I think this one was taken in Washington,..thus the mountains in the background!

Somewhere...not in Kansas anymore.

I am now officially in love with the American West.

Twin Falls, Idaho

Three very precious people.

my boys.

I'm glad we stopped here
It was just what we needed to spur us on~

Seattle, here we come!

Treasures from Martha

2011-06-26T16:14:00.000-07:00

Would you look at what I got for free this weekend???

A while back, our friends Kristie and Erich were visiting, and they decided that the old sewing machine
that they inherited from Mean Aunt Martha needed to live at my house. I think this may have belonged to Martha's mother, and it has seen a lot of use over the years.

The drawers are still full of notions....threads, seam binding, needles...I just kept clapping my hands! I don't think Kristie was into musty, dusty what nots. I am so into them! Each of the drawers has this pretty carving on it!

And to top it all off, Kristie threw in a basket full of these lovelies. She was tired of them and knew I would give them a good home. They were pretty dusty so I just unrolled the first layer off and low and behold,
under all that dusty calico......WHITE!

I got pretty excited thinking about covering a few of them with some strips of muslin and other off white textured fabrics in my stash! I have been wanting to make some of these for a while now...ever since I saw the pretty ones that Dawn over at The Feathered Nest makes. These are made of strips of old white sheets and such..no styrofoam balls here girls, these were made the old fashioned way! I tried not to act too excited though, didn't want Kristie to snatch them back!

And get a load of this...three old spools with some really pretty thin yarn wound on them!

. I cannot wait to get these pretties cleaned up and show off their hidden beauty! It's 100 plus degrees in my garage right now, so I may have to wait until the next cold snap, but stay tuned for the big reveal!

Thank you Kristie and Erich for sharing Martha's treasures with me. I will take good care of them. I love thinking of all the many things she must have sewed and mended for her family on this machine!

She is sew sew beautiful!

Tornado Alley

2011-05-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

I live about 35 miles down the road from Joplin Missouri.

I have been pretty restless these last couple of days. The talk radio station that I listen to regularly is covering tornado news non stop and I can't turn it off. All of the stations under the umbrella of Zimmer Radio are reporting wall to wall on news, missing person reports, taking calls and answering questions of listeners, interviewing city and federal officials with reports and updates.

Heartbreaking calls.

Rangeline...driving south

Yesterday, I went with my friend Gerri to Joplin MO, with a carload of groceries and supplies to help a friend and her extended family. They have a set of elderly parents who were sent to the hospital in Miami OK. They both have injuries and her Dad may have suffered a stroke. Rita's folks have lost their home, as did her sister. One son has lost the roof and a wall from his house. Our friend is trying to hold on to her job and juggle all the relatives floating in and out for food and a place to sleep.

It felt good to bring these much needed supplies to feed almost 15 people for maybe a month, but as we were driving out of the city gaping at the damage, that help felt like such a drop in a bottomless bucket!

I felt guilty taking the few pictures that I snapped out the window.

126 people have died. Around 100 are still listed as missing.

More of Rangeline...

When I make it back, I will try to take pictures of the people we saw helping. I was just too dumbfounded to think of it.

People standing out on the curb holding signs that read :"Free Dinner" at Fellowship Baptist Church

About 15 people wearing t-shirts that read RUBICON - they all looked exhausted and were waiting for their table at The Red Onion downtown.
I don't know who RUBICON is, but I love them!

People grilling hot dogs and hamburgers in open parking lots...
a giant semi and tent...people fixing food and serving the Mo Highway Patrol
.
We did not drive into the residential areas that were hit, where countless people are slugging away at this mess. Search and rescue teams are still searching and rescuing in there.

It felt so strange to see our favorite places standing quiet and normal, and then BAM, nothing but the flat horizon and miles and miles of rubble. Even though we knew where we were, we caught ourselves asking
" where are we?" It really is disorienting!

South Main heading North...

Joplin is my go-to town for a day away from the mundane country life. When I need something special to wear, a craft supply, a nice meal out, a flea market fix, I head for Joplin. On Tuesday I sewed blankets just to keep myself busy

Today I heard that the crazies from Topeka are planning to come down on Sunday during a Memorial service...I wish the main stream media had the wisdom to ignore this group, but it will not play out that way.
I want to stand on the road with a sign that reads

Kansas loves Joplin!
We're with you Joplin!
Keep Calm and Carry On Joplin!

As I was picking up sticks out in the front yard today, it just seemed so pointless. My house needs to be cleaned but I just can't get started on it.

How do you eat an elephant, Joplin?

ONE BITE AT A TIME!

Farther along south Main, heading north

If you are searching for someone, or if your church wants to help, or if you just want to leave an encouraging word..KZRG 1310 AM has a Facebook Page and they are the go-to place for information.

Give blood.
Send money.
Pray!

Thank You on behalf of Joplin, MO.

When my baby walked...

2011-05-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I wrote,

I'm not sure I remember how to do it!

I was hoping I could wow you

with a creative non-violent way

to rid the world of

pesky cardinals.

But the sad news is,

the bad bird is

not only still here,

He /She

has moved on to other windows and doors.

Last weekend when we had family here

for our youngest son's college graduation

bird went straight for the guest room windows.

My little grand daughter reported to her mama

"there's a bird out there nibbling on the window!"

If it hadn't been such a happy weekend

with impressionable children present,

I would have marched out there

and given that bird a piece of

my mind.

No wait.

I have already lost my mind!

As I was saying,

It was a happy weekend,

Here is Kevin as a new alumni of Pittsburg State University

with a Bachelor's of Science

in History Education.

That's Jason, our oldest in the background

looking pensive and wise,

probably feeling like

and old alumni.

So old...class of 2000.

We are through paying college tuition.

Four kids.

Four college grads.

We are extremely proud.

We are so proud of each of them.

But I must say there is something about the last one

finishing this milestone.

For the first time since 1981

I will not have anyone in school this fall.

This calls for a cigar, don't you think?

Days like these make you want to hit the rewind button

and have some do-overs.

You want to slow things down a whole lot.

You want to talk more and play more and try harder.

Instead,

we celebrate

all the things we did right,

and all the things he did right,

and all the things the future holds.

Kevin, the world is your oyster!

What DOES that mean, anyway?

I knew I wouldn't be able to write this post without crying,

so while I wipe my nose,

here are some more peeks at graduation weekend...

Big Sis, Little Bro.

A future Pitt alum????

Silly and Sweet!

You made it Kevin!

You made it Dad!

Congratulations to you both!

So proud.

BUH BUH BUH BIRD BIRD BIRD...BIRD IS THE WORD! (repeat)

2011-04-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

I love birds. I love watching birds. I feed birds. If you looked in my documents file, you would say I have an unhealthy obsession with birds. Birds are everywhere. I decorate with birds.

Bird Overload? Let me tell you about BIRD OVERLOAD...

Somewhere out there in the realm of nature, there is a force. It is called INSTINCT. There is a bird out there

and that bird is hearing the VOICE OF INSTINCT, and that voice is telling him GET IN THAT HOUSE!

This bird has a mate, and that mate is telling this bird....LET ME SHOW YOU HOW IT'S DONE!

How do I know about this? Because I have seen. Because I have heard.

This bird.

This bird wants in my house.

This bird's mate wants in my house too.

They want it bad.

They like this tree...this tree sits right outside of my bedroom window.

My bedroom.

Where I like to sleep later than 7 am.

Where I like to take afternoon naps.

This bird is tough. Tireless. Tenacious. Slobbery.

This is bird slobber.

sorry about this picture...it doesn't begin to show how bad the window looks!

These two devil birds work as a team. One slams into the window, not once, but multiple times at a whack, then flies to a branch to sing while the B-team comes in for a dive. Repeat. Then I come in to try and capture this demonic activity with my camera and they both dart to the ground to eat gravel, then fly away into the cedars just 10 feet away, which by the way would be a lovely place for a nest. I stand motionless by the window, and wait for the next sortie. If I had a decent camera you would get to see this, but so far I have failed to catch the devils slamming their glorious red bodies into the glass. The glass that is so glommy with bird slobber that they don't even see me standing there. The most irritating thing is the way they chirp away, cheering each other on, chirping right through the pain of the assault. I have witnessed this madness taking place from 7 am to 7 pm. Non stop. I stop watching for snacks, naps in the basement where it is quiet, catching up on world news.... They stop for nothing.

I think they have not heard about what happened to the last cardinal who tried to get into my bedroom to build a nest. Not to be deterred by the plastic snake, the window covered with the funny papers, the shooing and shooshing, he came against a force much stronger than NATURE and INSTINCT.

He met my husband, THE BIRDINATOR. Enough said.

I fear that these two determined love-birds are destined to meet their maker before they have a chance to build a nest and raise a little family. It is the way of nature.

It is the way of THE BIRDINATOR.

PLEASE PRETTY BIRDS...

GO AWAY AND LIVE YOUR LIVES IN PEACE.

GO BUILD YOUR NEST AND LIFE THE LIFE YOU WERE BORN TO LIVE...

.GO NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN...YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO DIE!

The End.

The Good Earth

2011-03-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

Finally, we have had a couple of

sunny, non windy days

to get out in the yard and

REJOICE!

Because the earth is

stretching, yawning

and

coming alive!

Just looking around the yard,

I can finally see things are waking up!

This pretty blooming tree is a thorn tree.

Not sure what the official name is,

but those thorns are mean looking!

I'm sure glad we didn't chop it down

when we were thinning things out

along the edge of the woods.

We don't have many blooming trees...

but I hope to get some redbuds planted this year.

It's so encouraging to see

what has survived the cold, hard winter,

and scratch around in the dirt!

Can't wait for the fragrant iris to appear...

This little hen has been busy with her chicks

all winter!

Just a few more sunny warm days,

and this little gal will be a carpet of purple...

Yeah! Both of the little lilac bushes made it!

Mums made it too!!!!

I found two hostas poking their little heads out of the dirt,

and there are bright green leaves on my two hydrangeas!

Woo Hoo!

I doesn't seem like much,

but I really didn't have time to plant very many things last year.

Getting the house finished and moving took over our lives

and gardening had to take a back seat.

I'm happy with what I got planted,

Just enough to make me smile

and give me hope for a wonderful gardening year ahead!

Over the winter I planted some of these....

They really make me smile!

Don't worry, I didn't drink all that booze...

Every time I go to the recycle center,

I dig through the glass bottles and ask nicely

if I can have a couple of the pretty ones.

It's like a treasure hunt,

and I think they sparkle like little jewels

in the evening sun.

The bed they are in is junk dirt,

full of tree roots.

I'm not going to bother trying to make it into real soil...

we have too many other nice places to plant growing things!

So this is my little whimsy bed,

and I can look at it from my desk.

Who knows what else might show up in this bed...

hhhmmmmmm?

Do you all see how green the grass is?

Hubs is very proud!

He is having fun with his new spreader

that he can pull around behind the lawn mower.

He chopped down the big dead elm tree

that has been worrying us all winter.

The little grand girls were pretty impressed with Grandpa's project,

and Livi snagged a big chunk of wood to take home and show

Mom and Dad.

She was more excited about that hunk of wood than

the Barbies I got them!

I'm very excited about not having to pick up all those sticks!!!

Even the first dandelion is a welcome sight!

Hope you are enjoying Spring

in your little corner of the world!

Happy Spring Weekend Everyone!

Rescued!

2011-03-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

Remember me saying just the other day...

ok, it was still Feb....

how I was going to get right on that whole

gather up all the winter decorations

and get them put away?

Well, I lied.

Actually, life just got in the way.

Things happen.

I just got it done yesterday.

And let me tell you people,

that job kicked my rear end!

I went to bed at 8:00

When I arose this morning at 5 am,

I could barely walk

It is now 9:00 am and I am just now

beginning to feel

like a human bean!

Yes, I did organize it and consolidate and purge.

I even labelled things!

I'm sure I'll thank myself next year.

I havn't even begun the cleaning part yet!

To reward myself for

getting that bad boy checked off the list,

I began dragging up the spring stuff.

Hello.

My name is mary beth.

I am a decorating addict.

I can quit anytime I want.

I just don't want to.

ok, enough about my moral failings.

I've been thinking about

headboards lately,

and wanting to make one on the cheap.

Strolling through flea markets

and antique malls,

wondering

would that work? what about that? you want HOW much for that?

Trolling the blogs,

looking at the creative things people are using

to make their own lovely headboards...

Getting nowhere. Finding nothing. Nada.

Zilch.

Until yesterday.

Right out of Heaven

Right into my lap!

(I still can't believe this)

Get a load of this:

gasp!

what is that I am seeing?

I am driving down the road,

turning into my own driveway.

and out in the field I see...

a new burn pile.

"Trash" from a house we are working on.

( I use the word "we" loosely here,

I have nothing to do with the actual work)

except for occasionally cleaning up after

the guy who does all the work~

anyhoo...

let's take a closer look at the trash pile, shall we?

Yes, my dears,

a lovely old door is laying on the top of the pile,

waiting for the torch to be lit.

A heavy, solid wood,5 panel door.

I cannot believe my eyes!

I rush to the house and change into my mud boots

and charge out to the scene of the crime.

Imagine my surprise and shock

when I discover

THIS...

Not only do we have a lovely paneled door here,

the back of the door is covered with

heavy, tongue-in-groove knotty pine!

one side : lovely panels

back side: knotty pine

Call the paramedics!

Is anyone thinking what I'm thinking here?

Can anyone see the possibilities?

Can you say cottage white distressed double duty two sided headboard????

anyone?

Two headboards for the price on one..

which in this case would be...

FREE!

I rush to the house to stake my claim,

(inwardly grinning, giggling, clicking my heels together)

and beg my husband not to burn this treasure...

He admits that he hoped he could get the fire started before

I discovered THE DOOR.

He knew as soon as he saw THE DOOR out there

that I would be wanting to glom onto it

and he didn't want it in the garage.

sigh.

He has also stated outright that he does not want

THE DOOR for a headboard.

heavy sigh.

fellow pickers and refinishers,

what am I to do with THIS MAN???

Stay tuned...

I have a sander,

and I know how to use it.

Hide and watch!

Is It March Yet???

2011-02-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

Me neither.

I just liked this picture of a happy girl sticking her head out the window

to greet the day.

That's what I'm going to be doing tomorrow,

if tonight's Kansas tornado

doesn't blow us all away.

Tomorrow is the last day of February,

and then we will be

finished with Winter 2011.

Thank GOD from whom all blessings flow!

Then on Tuesday morning

I will stick my head out the window and say

HELLO MARCH!

You beautiful Thang, you!

March.

I have longed for you so.

Tomorrow on the last day of February,

in celebration

of the last day of February,

I . am. taking. down. the. last. of. the. winter. decorations.

The evergreen swags

and the kitchen tree,

and the snow village,

and the snowflakes,

and the snowmen.

They are so outtaa here!

I went out and about the yard this afternoon

gathering sticks and twigs

for a birdy - springy - green

vignette.

The only bad thing about

doing all of this is

I also feel cleaned compelled to

CLEAN.

That's how I trick myself into getting things done around here.

No clean....no fun!

The worst part will be the boxing up of things,

and I swore that this year I would label the boxes and

put things away in an orderly fashion.

Pfffffffffhhhhhhhhttt!

I didn't really mean it.

I'm too anxious.

Giddy, actually.

Trembling with excitement!

March.

Is.

Almost.

Here.

Did I mention that tomorrow is the

LAST DAY OF FEBRUARY.

and the day after that is MARCH?

I just thought you should know

how happy I am about it.

goodbye February.

It's been real.

Hello Beautiful!

2011-02-15T18:26:00.000-08:00

Last week while the ground was still really covered up with snow,

and the temps were below zero for several days....

I noticed a little scuffle going on

out on the deck.

Two little birds were fighting over a sprig of fake berries

from this arrangement right outside the back door.

They had already stripped the cedar branches pretty clean,

and were still looking for something to eat.

Apparently they were scoping things out

for future housekeeping!

I think she likes it here!

Unfortunately hubs went out and moved the furniture around
quite loudly,
and scared the little darlings away.

I'm glad they stopped by,
even if for just a little while.

I just hope they didn't eat too many of
those fake berries before I caught them at it!

Sweet Love Legacy

2011-02-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

Old Fashioned Romance

I finally took down the big Nativity set from the buffet in the entry

(no hurry, right?)

just in time for Valentine's Day.

I really like doing Valentine's decorations

in a vintage way,

and trying to find ways to display more of the special things

from my family's past,

instead of keeping them packed away in boxes all of the time.

I'm sure this group of things will evolve

in the weeks ahead as I drag out more little treasures

to display,

but for today

I thought I would showcase some of the lovebirds

from days gone by.

Kellie, all those sweet doilies and hankies

are tucked in here amongst the pictures and books...

see the garland hanging up on the mirror?

I used the yardage of beautiful lace you found me

to hang the tags on....I love using it that way!

These are the printing blocks used to put pictures in the newspaper

back in the day...

This is my great grandfather and great grandmother

Mr. and Mrs. George Bateman.

These pictures were taken for their wedding announcement.

There's my mom and daddy,

in their wedding picture.

I also dug out some little special things that were found

in my Mom's secretary, like the keys and little notebooks...

I found my Dad's fourth grade report card and keep it in the secretary now,

along with some little notebooks where his mom and dad kept

records of the money they spent to raise chicks

and my Grandpa's preaching dates and notes.

Here are Jim's folks looking like

two little love birds!

I love using the old books that I have collected.

One of my favorites is the one

titled

Guiding Boys Up Fools Hill.

It is kind of a guidebook about teaching boys

how to avoid the wiles of the world.

Good read!

I may need to post on that one of these days.

I feel so blessed to have had loving parents and grandparents

who loved each other and us the way they did.

They were not perfect,

but they did it well,

in their own way.

They loved each other for a lifetime and beyond.

They loved each other through very hard times.

Through tragedies, poverty, and disease.

Through thick and thin.

I'm thanking God for

such a legacy of love in my life!

Happy Day today everybody.

Wherever you are in your journey,

will you leave a legacy of love?

That's what I want to do!

This is the Year

2011-01-24T11:19:00.000-08:00

Dear sweet bloggie friends, I have been having so much fun sharing our house building experience with you all over the past year and a half! I appreciate that total strangers became followers and left such sweet comments to encourage me along the way.

Fellow bloggers - I feel like I have really " met" some awesome people, and have learned so much from you all! Thanks for all of your fun, informative, crazy, and beautiful blogs! You inspire me to read, write, learn and share. Someday I will buy a real camera and learn how to take pretty pictures like you!

A House Building Blog Gone Astray.

Here's where the madness all started...

A barren hill

covered with trees, vines and cow dung.

Just waiting for some suckers to come along and try

to tame it.

fast forward here.

Ive been doing some thinking about this blog and why I started it, and how it has changed. It freaks me out to look at all of the changes and progress and things I've learned on this journey. I started writing and taking pictures mostly to keep our overseas and over Kansas kids in touch with our house building project. Now that the house is "finished" and we are living here, I feel like I need to close the door on that aspect of my life and move on. I still have a lot to say and share, but can I just say right now that

I AM SO GLAD THIS CHAPTER OF MY LIFE IS OOOOOOVVVVVEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!

Don't get me wrong, it was fun..wink wink. but building a house with your husband can be an all- life- consuming endeavor, that may or may not wreck your marraige, your relationship with all your friends and family, and kill your health. Don't do it. At least don't do it twice! Let me also say that I LOVE MY HOUSE AND THANK GOD FOR IT AND FOR MY HUSBAND WHO WORKED HIS BUTT OFF BUILDING IT! Now, that said, I feel free now to embark on other things that I love to do and feel called to do, now that I'm FREE FROM THIS JOB! Thank you Lord!

I've been thinking about what I would like to accomplish this year. This month, this day, this hour!

I've been enjoying these cold winter days, doing more reading, more praying, and more thinking about what God has in mind for me to do. He has planted a few seeds in my heart and I am sorting those out, but in the meantime, I have thought of a few extra things I would like to see happen this year:

Visit Oklahoma Joe's again.

(Not in line in the rain though!)

Eat more of this.

Do more of this!

Do something with this fabric!

(and never look at paint chips again in this life!)

plant some of these...

and these...

Remember what the heck I had planned to do with these...

and then do it!

learn how to play this.

Look at how mean my teacher is...

get one of these and ride down the highway

on a regular basis...

visit more flea market /barn sales with

these two babes!

stop sitting on - laying on-looking at this ...

finish this...

find help for these people...

buy my husband a smoker

whether he likes it or not!

get brave enough to do this...

find hardware for these girls...

visit this store again...

and maybe the Greek Islands and Turkey...

hold this baby again...

learn to shoot a gun...

maybe...

Until the weather changes I also want to:

learn how to: make homemade tortillas, homemade pizza crust, (sorry Jim for all the trials you have to eat)

and in general be a better cook.

So you see, this blog could take any number of changes, go down many different roads, and be a whole new breed of time killer! I just want to warn you in advance, in case you were expecting something predictable.

Stay tuned though, it's bound to be interesting!

Count Your Blessings...

2011-01-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Counting my blessings...
always starts with these 5.

Name them one by one...

Count your blessings,

see what God hath done...

Count your blessings,

Name them one

by one.

count your many blessings,

see what God hath done

Today is Kevin's birthday.

Our youngest blessing is turning 23 today.

He makes us laugh

He makes us cry

He makes us ask ourselves

why.

The sad truth is,

I did not take as many pictures

of Kevin as I did the others.

...but I have lots of pictures

of Kevin

scattered here and there,

doing what he does best...

being Kevin.

Happy Birthday to a very special young man!

Moving On

2011-01-03T09:48:00.000-08:00

This year:

I think I will buy myself an old bike, the kind with the big fat tires and a big fat seat and a basket, like the one I learned how to ride on, and sail down the road with my flaxen hair flowing in the breeze,with nary a care in the world.

I will stop by the roadside and unfold my picnic basket under a weeping willow tree, and have myself a little bread and wine and sleep for a while. I will gather up my white gauzy dress and flit over the split rail fence, to gather white daisies and pet the wild horses in the meadow. I will make myself a necklace of clover blossoms, and pick flowers for my love. Then I will get on my cell phone and call my love to come get me, I have no idea where I am.

No I do not have Alzheimer's, but I just wanted to have that little moment. Since it is obvious noone is reading this blog, except for dear Rosemary over at The Summer Porch.( I love you Rosemary) I figured, what the heck, write whatever comes to mind! If you are reading this blog and do not leave me a little hello, SHAME ON YOU! That is all I have to say about that!

Winter does funny things to me. I like snuggling in for a long winter's nap for about a week. Then I get restless. I start thinking about spring/summer (thus the wistful thoughts) and thinking about plants and dirt and digging in said dirt. And flowers...lots and lots of flowers.

Alas, I did not plant any tulip bulbs this fall.

Drat.

But I did plant some perennials last summer,

and look forward to seeing them again.

Reading Pioneer Woman's post this morning

has inspired me to think about my flower beds

and what I plan to put in them this year.

We are twin sisters, you know.

Even though she thinks in terms of vegetables

to feed the ranch hands and the punks,

I am so over that.

If I can get one tomato plant and some herbs

to produce a harvest,

I will be happy.

It's all about the flowers for me

I submit the following picture

to encourage those of you who do not

have flower beds already established...

This was the only dirt at our new homestead

that wasn't full of rocks, twigs, vines, tree roots

and rocks.

I claimed it and began early

working in compost

( new favorite is cotton boll compost, which I found at Wally World last year)

I worked and worked that dang dirt

and filled it to brimming with

bedding plants.

And then the spring rains came and came and came

and nearly drowned every single plant.

I had to pull quite a few out

they just could not live any more.

I transplanted several and after a few sickly weeks

they took hold and I was able to enjoy them in their new home.

I killed almost every herb,

except for mint, pineapple sage, and basil.

I don't really cook with herbs much,

I just like picking them and smelling them.

I hope to do better this summer!

Back to the flower bed...

Is anybody out there?

Rosemary?

Newly planted bed:

a riot of color in late summer!

pretty zinnias, I love you~

I think this purple lovely is called Angelonica...maybe it's Angelonia...

it comes in several shades of purple, white and pink.

It is HEARTY here in the Kansas heat, humidity and wind!

Hunt this flower down and don't give up until you find it!

This silvery perennial doesn't flower,

but it did well too and I like the cooling effect

of the foliage.

Artemesia maybe?

Are you encouraged yet?

It's not the best bed I've ever planted, but it was very

satisfying to see whilst we trudged along with finishing the house.

There are so many beds to work on this spring...

along the retaining walls in the back,

in the driveway circle,

outside my office window

along both sides of the front walkway...

between the house and the pit...

it could get overwhelming,

but it's what we do.

Come up with overwhelming projects

that take years to complete.

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite (or bed) at a time!

my fantasy garden is full of these...

how about you?

Rosemary? You out there?

A little Linky Love

2011-01-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

A Fresh New Year...

Ok, friends,

you've had time to make some resolutions,

and break them already.

Every year at the beginning

of the new, fresh, clean new year,

I yearn for

self- discipline,

courage,

motivation,

direction,

yada, yada, yada.

I just thought you would be encouraged

by reading this blog entry

by one of my favorite bloggers

over at Smelling Coffee.

I like how she breaks things down for you

into manageable bites.

One of the things I struggle with

Laziness.

I get lots of things done,

but it is mostly in spurts and gushes.

When it comes down to the

things that need to be done in a consistent

daily

over and over way,

like cooking,

cleaning

and

spending quiet time with the Lord,

I am a lazy woman.

I can fritter time away like nobody's business.

So when I read the blog tonight,

I saw myself and had to rethink some of my goals for this new year.

I want to be more intentional,

and focused,

and disciplined.

Again.

I just wanted to share the blog with you,

in case you feel

hopeless about yourself

like I do sometimes.

Head over and read for yourself....

you'll be glad you did!

www.smellingcoffeetoday.blogspot.com

Thankful for new beginnings...

how about you?

smellingcoffeetoday.blogspot.com

Christmas at the Cedars

2010-12-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I have finally found some time to take some pictures

of the very first Christmas

here at the Cedars.

It looks like

everything old is new again...

I made these Nativity figures years ago

from a set that was featured in Better Homes and Gardens,

I enlarged the pattern and Jim cut them out for me to paint.

I had delusions of making the entire set,

but this is far as I got.

It's enough.

They are the first thing you see when you come up the drive,

and I have little blue lights in the trees above them.

Sorry all you blue light haters,

but I love them...

it looks so quiet and serene to me,

I can just imagine that cold manger,

so long ago.

Welcome!

I love living in a place

where I can run out into the woods

and cut greens and berries to decorate my home with~

This is an old wreath with some sprigs

from the Dollar Tree

and fresh greens from the woods.

I already had that lantern

and it needed a home.

A crock that Jim bought at a sale,

filled with more cedar boughs,

the sled that Jim and his siblings played with

ages ago.

another garden pot filled with

greens.

I found this thorn tree back where Jim parks the tractor

and am so glad to know it's a berry tree!

The snowflakes are from Dollar Tree.

Come in out of the cold~!

Jim bought me this Nativity set several years ago.

It's really big, but I love the soft colors

and the details.

It's on a sideboard that I found at the fleamarket last spring.

I love it here in the entry hall.

The little scrolls you see

are ornaments that I made a few years ago.

Each one has one of the many names of Jesus.

Saviour.

Lord of All.

Redeemer.

King of Kings.

Shepherd.

Jesus.

Emmanuel.

Just to the left of the entry

is the Dining Room.

I loved setting up my little village this year...

The buildings are log cabin style,

and it has a country town feel

that I love.

I will leave this up all winter.

This is my mom's secretary.

I always dress it up with simple

things...

this year the garland is decorated

with bits of lace that Kellie found for me

at a flea market in Birmingham AL.

I love this piece of furniture...

It is such a nostalgic piece for me.

There's my mom and dad...

I love those quilted stockings!

I would love to find more of them...

they make me smile from ear to ear!

Here is the little "Kitchen Tree"

in the library.

I love these little

kitchen ornaments!

Here's the great room...

Little bears wanted to help decorate the landing...

This special bear helped out in the guest room downstairs.

Lovely job,

little quilted bear!

This little tree

is covered with ornaments

from General Motors

that Jim received every year

at the dealership.

They are beautiful laser cut brass.

My little helper

learning how to turn the lights

off and on...

she got really good at it too!

It was so much fun dressing our Cedar Home for

Christmas...

It's quiet now,

time for baking and watching some movies,

More family in tonight,

late night services to celebrate the birth

Jesus.

Emmanuel.

Saviour.

Shepherd.

Lord of All.

King of Kings.

Redeemer.

Let Him in.

He was born for you.

He died for you.

He loves you!

Merry Christmas!

For Grammie!

2010-12-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

A Letter to my Grammie

Dear Grammie,

I've just had the best nighty night time

with Nana and Grandpa...

We discovered that it is a lot more fun

when Mommie and Daddy go out on dates

and leave me here alone with them!

It has been a busy, busy day!

Mommie and Daddy talked at church this morning

and after church we went to the deli again.

I hope you have some fun plans for Sundays after church,

because they go to the deli

every stinkin Sunday,

and I'm getting kind of bored with it.

Today, to entertain myself

while all the grownups visited,

I practiced flopping my head back

in kind of a lounging position,

and looking at things upside down.

Tonight, Mommie and Daddy went to a concert

with Kimberly and Kevin

and left me home with the Grands.

Grandpa fed me my supper while

Nana fiddled with the Christmas lights.

Then we played on the floor for a long time.

I banged my head on the end table,

so I let Nana snuggle with me for a long time,

then we played some more.

Oops , let me check my lipstick..

Then Grandpa let me climb

up and down the stairs

while Nana fiddled with the Christmas lights.

While I was downstairs,

I pulled an entire series of children's history books

off the shelves.

Twice.

Then Nana put me in my jammies and

I let Grandpa snuggle with me for a long time.

He wanted to hold me while a drifted off to sleep,

but Nana wouldn't let him do it...

She thinks things have to be done just like Mommie and Daddy do it.

Pooh.

I wanted to sleep on Grandpa's lap.

But she put me to bed and I went right to sleep.

I am sleeping right now.

I want to tell you now

that you need to plan as many of these "dates"

for Mommie and Daddy

as you possible can

because it is a lot more fun when they are not here.

more lipstick.

I am not whiney and fussy

when they go on dates,

and I love to snuggle.

They do not need to know this...

let's just keep it to ourselves, ok?

Can you please just figure out some fun places for them to go

without me,

so I can hang out with you and PawPaw?

I forgot to tell you that today

I also learned to pitch my head

from side to side in time to music

and am working on shaking my bootie at the same time.

This is something we can work on together

while Mommie and Daddy are gone out together.

See you soon... zzzzzzz

Nighty Night!

Don't Rush Me!

2010-11-29T07:13:00.000-08:00

I think I am the only one on the planet
who is not ready to
move on...

into Christmas, that is.

I had such a lovely Thanksgiving weekend,
I am not ready to move on just yet.
What's the rush, everyone?

My Cinderella pumpkins
still look glorious!

My house is really dirty
There is a day's worth of laundry to do...

And so,
I am just moving slowly through this
quiet fall day...

Enjoying my memories of these things...

Beautiful Anniversary roses from my
husband of 37 years...

A fun family photo shoot.
We had hoped to get some great pictures outdoors,
but it rained cats and dogs just as the photographers arrived,
so we shoved the furniture away
and they did the magic here in the great room.

It is hard work getting 11 people to smile and look forward
all at the same time!

My favorite son-in-law cleaning out the gas grill
whose insides have rotted out.
He and hubs rigged up a way to use it as a charcoal grill
for our anniversary dinner

Here they are building a new thing-a-ling
for the grill...
I have no idea what that was,
but they did a great job!

Here is the steak mister at work!
Man those were some honkin big steaks and
mmmmmmmm good!

Kellie and her assistants decorated the table
with black and silver,
pretty framed pictures of us and the family
from years gone by...
rose and candlelight,
so romantic!

Meanwhile,
in the kitchen,
these two hooligans
decided to wash their feet in the kitchen sink.

I have no idea why this became necessary,
but that's how we roll around here....

These two are Trouble, I tell you!
Trouble!

Kimberly and Olivia working together
on the ultimate surprise...

Tiramisu Cake!
This was Heaven on a plate folks!

There is none left.

This makes me very sad!

A moment of rest inside
Annalie and Olivia's fort.

I had no idea how tired I was
until I layed down in there!

Everyone loves to take a turn with this little bug...

And then there was the food.
Glorious thanksgiving food.
Favorite foods.
Pretty foods.
Rich foods.

My whole family
around the table
at once.

Bliss.

Yes, we did shop on Black Friday,
it's a girl thing with us...
it's more of a lark for some of us than others,
but some of us had lists and
did knock down some great buys.

We did manage to stimulate the economy.
We like to do our part.

On Saturday we all went to our favorite breakfast haunt,

Otto's.

It's a ma and pa place downtown
where hubs and I eat together
almost every Saturday morning.

It's the best breakfast food in town.
Hands down.
They are celebrating their 65th anniversary in business.
That ought to tell ya something!

I got my first guitar lesson from Matt...
I have always wanted to learn,
and we have two guitars just sitting around here,
gathering dust.

It's on my bucket list.
And I am doing it.
So there.

He is not yelling at me to
get my hand in the right position.
He is a very patient man.

Look out Janis Joplin!

I am also working on the hair thing...
I am hoping he can teach me to strum and do the splits at the same time.

I'll get back with you on reports on that!

It was a very lovely weekend,
and I am in no hurry to move on....
just yet!

I am enjoying the Christmas decorating you all are doing,
all over blogland...

I promise I will get my rear in gear very soon.
Really.

but for now,

I am remembering.

Why This Is Not A Food Blog...

2010-11-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is right around the corner

and I am in the mood for Pie.

It's really when all the great pie recipes come forth

to tempt us .

Doesn't this look tempting???

I get together with a bunch of young moms twice a month

for fun, fellowship and food.

I am not a young mom any more,

but I cook breakfast for them now and then,

so the let me be in the group.

My friend Lezlie and I

got our heads together and decided

that it would be fun to practice making pie dough together.

Lezlie is a great cook and likes to make things from scratch,

so I figured that at least one of us would know what to do!

I have been curious about the shortening vs.lard vs.butter debate,

and decided to bring along some lard to see what would happen.

Time always seems to get away from us at these gatherings,

and I didn't get to actually bake the batch I made,

so when I got home I whipped up two more batches,

one using lard and the other using shortening.

I had no recipe that told me what temperature to bake the

single, empty crusts,

so I just went with 375 and waited.

And waited,

and waited.

I finally took them out after about 1/2 an hour

and was not a happy camper.

As you can see, they are not pretty.

They shrank.

They are pale

and unappealing.

Apparently, the planets were not even remotely

lined up that day,

because

I even managed to scorch my favorite chocolate filling,

aka Betty Crocker red cookbook!

Blechkkkkch!

I asked my youngest son Kevin to do a taste test for me

and let me know which dough tasted better.

Note to self: ask somebody less honest!

The next day,

Kevin: Yeah, about those crusts...what exactly happened?

Me: I baked them too long at too low a temp.

Kevin: Yeah, they both sucked.

Me: Right.

Note to self: make sure he knows never, never, never to say those words

to his wife, fiance, casual date, or even his sisters!

As you can see from this pathetic picture,

there are many many problems with these crusts

which tended to distract me from the original question,

which was "which is better, lard or shortening?"

I felt compelled to do some research and

settle these other issues for my own peace of mind.

And also world peace.

Note to self: Next time do online research BEFORE you try to demonstrate

something you havn't done in years!

Ahem!

There is a lot of info about pie crusts on the internet.

Unfortunately there is a lot of disagreement about pie crusts too.

Some of the ladies swear by lard.

Some of the ladies swear by shortening.

Some of the ladies swear by BUTTER.

Some of the ladies say No No No do not use Butter!

Some of the ladies swear by Butter AND lard!

Also there are many blogs that failed to tell me what temperature to bake

the single crust (officially known as a "blind crust")

(Now don't you feel culinary?)

and for how long

I still don't feel real confident about that question!

Anyway,

after hours and hours of studying and searching various food blogs,

I feel ashamed that I went into this whole pie crust gig

with so little knowledge!

There is so much to know!

Let's look at my pathetic pies again, shall we?

Do not bother to comment about the lack of topping here,

I was so disappointed with the crust,

I didn't want to mess with it,

and really, my family knows where the Cool Whip is!

That whole shrinking down to half it's size really irked me!

Just look at them...so puny and small!

Infuriating!

That's not a pie,

that's a tartlet!

That's a chocolate pizzalet!

I learned that the key to avoiding that is THIS:

once you have placed your dough in the pan and crimped it all up nice and pretty,

PUT IT IN THE FRIDGE AND TELL IT TO CHILL OUT FOR ABOUT 1/2 HOUR!

I also learned that it's a good idea to chill the dough in the fridge about an hour

before you even roll it out.

Almost everyone said to do this,

so it must be pretty important.

The experts also stressed the importance of

chilling the shortening

chilling the butter,

chilling the lard...

one lady even said to chill the flour.

This must be all about the chilling!

They also said to work fast.

Keep plenty of flour on your work surface so the dough won't stick

Add the liquids a little at a time and if your dough

doesn't hang together when you roll it out, add more liquid a T at a time...

I just globbed mine back together and rolled it out a second time and it looked great...

maybe not a good idea,

but I wasn't about to pitch it at that point!

They also suggested using weights to keep a single crust from shrinking.

Lay some parchment paper in the crust,

fill with beans, or pie weights

(one lady uses pennies)

bake for 20 minutes, then take the paper and weights out

poke a bunch of holes in the crust

and bake for 10 minutes more.

Another thing that I didn't like was

the pale, pasty color of my crust.

I think when I try my experiment using butter,

it will have a better look.

The foodies also said that

you can brush the crust with milk

or a beaten egg and water combo,

to give it that lovely golden glow

that we have all seen in pictures.

Just not my pictures!

Even after I had baked my sorry crusts for 1/2 hour,

they were still pale,

even though I almost scorched the bottom of one!

I have learned a lot about pie crusts

and the internet,

and woman's quest for perfection.

Just Google "flaky pie crust"

and a whole new world of

opportunity lies at your fingertips.

I am eager to try the butter/lard option.

I'm pretty convinced it will actually taste good.

My daughter keeps sending me pictures of Pioneer Woman pie recipes

that she wants us to bake for Thanksgiving Dinner.

And I want to!

I want beautiful, golden, tasty, flaky, tall, proud pie crusts!

Pie crust that would make the Pilgrims proud!

Me: If at first you don't succeed.....

Kevin: Pie, Pie again!

Happy Thanksgiving friends!

I hope you get PIE!

Creating a Backyard Water-feature: Tutorial!

2010-11-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

My husband is a visionary.

When he told people that we were planning to

dig out and extend our pit so that it ran across the back yard,

they would give him "the look".

OK.

Whatever.

What?

What I am about to show you

is the result

of his planning and scheming.

All of you doubters, take note.

When my husband gets a good idea in his head,

it's only a matter of time.

I must confess here and now

that I was one of the doubters...

but once I saw the machines start rolling,

I knew there was no going back.

Might as well pull up a chair (or boat) and

watch the magic!

First, you get yourself some really big machinery

maybe even two big ones, and a dump truck is also helpful...

Freddie Van kept a steady stream of these dumptrucks coming

to haul off the muck.

Note: Several days of dirt moving have taken place prior to this day's events,

many, many tons of dirt were moved from the bottom of the pit

to build the dam at the far end.

At this point, the main event is the final dig..

taking the dirt out of the middle so that the water can flow from the existing pit

into our new little cove.

Many people have asked us

how in the heck were we going to get the dirt out of the middle to

join the two areas.

A lot of digging and dumping is required.

They could have just dumped it out onto the side bank,

but hubs chose to have it hauled off rather than try to level it himself.

So thankful he made that decision, because you know who

would have been out there mucking clods next spring?

Dig and Dump,

repeat...

Move over,

Dig and Dump.

Here's the dam,

all ready and waiting to hold water.

that hole -looking spot is a hole.

Somebody got stuck there the other day.

We're not anxious or anything...

Still more digging and dumping...

Working from the other side

more digging and dumping...

Finally,

the water breaks through!

We even had little rapids for a while,

as the water spilled into the new pit!

Machines kept right on digging

and dumping

Boat ride anyone?

Digging Digging Digging!

Jim put some big cedars that had to be taken out

into the water near the dam

for fish shelter...

They are almost covered up now.

In a couple of days they will dig out the right side a little more...

Then you smooth out the sides with a box blade,

plant a little more grass seed,

and wait for the rains to come and finish the job.

Stay tuned for

our grandaughter's maiden voyage on

Cedar Cove!

the great wall...

2010-11-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

What's new with you my friends?

I've been away

decorating

and eating

bon bons.

But have no fear,

the work goes on

and my man

continues to amaze me with his

endless skills.

While the weather was lovely,

he started on the patio retaining wall.

Here are a few scenes from

Side One of The Great Wall...

These pictures do not in any way capture

the endless thinking, planning, plotting

heaving, tamping, sitting

sweating,and swearing

that took place .

Isn't it looking fabulous dahling?

I really do not know how he knows how to do this kind of thing...

but he does.

He had it in his head the whole time.

And now there it is, ready to hold back the dirt

and I cannot wait til planting season when

I can get my hands down in that dirt!

A craftsman admires his progress.

Unfortunately, this man has a habit of

working way too hard and long at a time,

and at the end of the day

managed to his loose his balance,

twist his bad knee, bang up his hip

and knock a hole in his head.

It all worked out great in the end

because we had a whole passel of guests

on the way,

and I needed him to rest up for that.

Since the stones are so heavy,

I didn't get involved in the rock wall building.

(darn)

I was just kidding about the whole bon bon thing,

I was really busy doing other things...

here

and here...

admiring Grandpa's new grass...

and here...

Documenting the comings and goings

of Herself

is a big job...

Hard work, but

somebody's got to do it!

Just For Adam

2010-10-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

My friend Adam has been fussing at me lately
because he misses the construction type updates
that made this blog famous.
He wants me to knock off the decorating and get back to
the get down and dirty stuff.

Hey Adam!

Get a load of this BAD BOY!

He is waiting his turn...

waiting for the weather to cooperate...

waiting to dig in the dirt...

Let's call him Brutus, shall we?

This is what they will use to dig out our end of the pit and extend it along the back of our yard.
It rained a few days ago, so Brutus will have to wait til things dry out a little.

Meanwhile,

this bad boy was spotted

in many places

all day for

several days,

stirring up dirt,

everywhere he went.

Can you see him?

Where'd he go???

He was here a minute ago...

Found him!

See all that dirt?

It was full of rocks, sticks and bits of glass.

Guess who got to pick it all up?

Mwah.

Yes, in between numerous coffee breaks

and errand running

and laundry,and cooking and other life-essential tasks,

I picked up several truck loads of 5 gallon buckets

full.

of.

R.O.C.K.S.

Sadly, there are no pictures of this phenomenon.

You're going to have to trust me on this one.

I had a cold too.

Sniff, sniff!

The end result is stunningly smooth, even and ready

for the little green seedlings to push forth from the earth

as the gentle fall rains drizzle down.

Adam, you will be pleased to learn that
work on the retaining wall was begun today.
Feel free to stop by and help my poor tired achy husband
shovel, tamp, heave, level,
Repeat.
For the next two weeks.

I will be inside eating bonbons
and decorating my fool head off!

Junk Bonanza Kansas Style!

2010-09-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Here we are on our way

to an Arts and Crafts sale that we

just missed by one week last year.

We vowed not to let this happen again,

and marked our calendars

for the 3rd Saturday in September.

We are excited for a fun day together

in search of some treasures

and junk.

Emphasis on junk.

Hillsboro here we come!

Boy did we ever find some fun junk!

Before the main event,

(the arts and crafts fair)

we headed to a small town nearby

where we had heard of a fabulous

Barn Sale.

Those were the magic words for us

being the junky gals that we are...

Imagine our excitement

as we spotted these lovely barns,

brimming full of treasures

and this is only half of the buildings!

As far as the eye could see,
a bountiful field ...

row upon row of
crops just for the picking....

We had to be very careful.

This was just the outdoor loot,
and we still had 4 barns to peruse,
plus the craft fair in another town!
Oh my!

My mama used one of these except it wasn't this cool green.

Somehow Lisa managed to look glamorous
in the hot sun
and I just look like old lady picking through rubble.
It was very hot and dirty work

but these two are not easily deterred!

Just look at it!

I wish I had taken some pictures of the inside of the barns,
but I was busy,
trying to take it all in
and keep my pile of loot manageable.
I promised myself I would only spend the cash I had with me...

Note to self: Next year take more cash!

Fast forward to the end of one very hot but fun day:

We did manage to cram a lot of junk into the back of my car...

Isn't that a fun little cabinet that Kimberly found in one of the antique stores?
Lisa has a new cart that she is going to spray paint a fun color and use as an end table.

At least they have plans for the stuff they bought!
I just have to keep my husband from throwing my stuff away!
Here's what I scored...

two pretty blue jars...
one dolla each!

a rusty thing- a- ma- bob.

A chippy old ceiling tin.
I think I want to paint it a color,
but I don't want to spoil it..
any recommendations?

An old board
sprinkled with the prettiest
aqua paint chips.
(Probably lead based, but pretty all the same)

plus a nice, heavy, large, round mirror that I forgot to take a picture of!
6 bucks!

My hubs just asked me if I would like him to take this board downstairs
and sand off that old paint.....

Seriously?
funny guy.

I don't regret not buying one of these big fellas,

but I have been wishing I had snatched up that
pretty little sewing machine base...

oh well,

I did learn a few important things to remember for next year's trip...

1. Take cash and lots of it!
2. Take hand wipes, water and soap.
3. Take sunscreen.
4. Take more pictures
5. Take a picnic lunch and save money for yummy drinks and funnel cakes
6. Remember to buy funnel cakes
7. Take husband's truck.

I can't wait to do this again, girls!
Hilsboro Kansas, here we come!