Welcome To The Recovery Week

This is the week in which you catch your breath from the 'winter eating festival'

and get ready for the 'various resolutions week.'

During this week we throw away all the paper and boxes, and all the things in the drawers/cupboards/closets which were replaced by the things in the above mentioned papers and boxes. During this week, also, we make lists/plans of the various excercise changes, dietary changes, method of cleaning changes.

We put the serious-winter-clothing on the easy access hooks, and, after shoveling the driveway again, go to the store for the end of the year sales--which includes more junk food, prettily arranged on a cute platter. Oh, and we enjoy the whole thing all over again. But, for some reason we eat more veggies, with it's appropriate dip (perhaps to atone for all the sugar-based wonders of the previous weeks)

Ok, ladies! Back to basic and healthy foods.

Bread being basic and healthy, because it's made from the bestest wheat on earth.

I'm looking into kombucha. http://www.gtskombucha.com/kombucha.html I bought a couple of these bottles and they are YUMMY! It seems that I could make some of my own if I save some of it. Looked it up on line, but would like to hear from any of you who drink it and/or have made it. I would buy it all the time, except it's $2.99 per bottle. Too expensive for my purse.

I'll leave you with this:

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1Co 10:31

In His hands, ^__^

Yarn, and sunset ahhhh......

I am much more pleasant today, and hold no ill feelings toward all those sloooowww *people from yesterday's* runnings.

Have all the recipes ready for baking, and...almost made pizza today, but DH had his work's Christmas dinner which was catered (very, very nice) so he was not too hungry. Maybe I'll make pizza tomorrow and show you some pictures. We had watery soup--just right, after such an-out-of-the-ordinary big lunch.

#1 called from the grocery store (with a cooking question) and it seems that all those *people from yesterday* traveled all night to get to #1's grocery store, just to annoy her, and slow her down. [I know how she felt!] *those people from yesterday* could be coming to your grocery store in the next couple of days. Be on the alert!

We had a gorgeous, and I mean gorgeoumongously beautiful sunset. The picture could not absorb all the beauty, but you'll get an idea. The snow is all gone, making room for the next 5" we are supposed to get tomorrow night. I think that the weather guy would loooove to see lots of snow, so I would call his 'weathercast' a 'weatherhope' we shall see. By the way, there were 5 snowbirds eating, this noon. Woohoo! {DH took the lovely picture}

The yarn is the 'ugly' sock yarn that I *had* to get at the sale. I think it's pretty. Who knows what it will become? but you'll see it as it develops. Probably socks for DH.

These two red yarns have lots of potential, maybe socks, maybe hats, maybe...whatever. I'll entertain suggestions, give me some ideas.

I took these pictures in the entryway so I could have better light. Not so much.

A domestic note: I organized my pictures in my computer program. It took almost 2 hours, and I enjoyed seeing them all again. I put them in folders, and named them odd names, such as: domestic critters, people of consequence, pretty things, etc. Only I know what I mean, others would have to open each folder to find out. Not everyone in the family cares, pretty much like the rest of you.

I can show you one of the pictures under the label 'people of consequence.' I like to use all sorts of pictures for my screensaver. I really like the chair, in the forground, with the bargello needlepoint seat. I could imagine it being three shades of brick, three shades of green on a mustardy gold background. I should make me a needle roll or a wallet in those colors. Waddaya think?

Hoping to get most of the baking done tomorrow, I'll leave you with this:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Phi 4:8

In His hands, ^__^

Still running around

Am I mad? Who goes to the store this time of year? I mean, really!

The whole world is there with it's out of town company, and they take all their cars, too.
While having to go to the store for 'last minute' ingredients, I ran into most everyone I knew--of course they all had messy hair too (mwaha!) So I did not feel so bad.

When I went to get my goat's milk, I had to park in the icy mud, in which I walked for 100 and a half feet; all the while the 'girls' (goats) were bleating at me, very glad to see me.

*Had* to go to the yarn store, they were having 'ugly' sock wool at 50% off. Got some, and will show you tomorrow. Phew!

Next, I had to pick up the 'last minute' ingredients i.e., peanut butter chips, walnuts, pecans, powder sugar, condensed milk, and other 'secret' things. Then deliver them to the respective bakers.

The exhausting part was waiting in very long lines and excruciatingly slow seasonal cashiers. Ok, that all sounded like a complaint, probably because it was. Did I mention, the parking lots, covered with that pea gravel/salt/sand solution that is just as slippery as ice?

Ok, so other people, in third world countries, don't have peanut butter chips, or any of the (let's forget them) ingredients, and are still happy people. I think third world countries are overrated!

Your humble peasant, who suffers in silence. (ok, at least I don't have sound in this blog!)

I'll leave you with this:

"Do all things without murmurings..." Phi 2:14a

In His hands, ^__^

Too busy to blog.

Sorry, but I'm very busy with family and seasonal stuff. No pictures today. Had a little less than 3" of snow. The snow birds did their job. The snow is all but gone. It was very beautiful.

I'll leave you with this:

"Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom." Pro 18:1

In His hands, ^__^

Baking and frugal tip

This is the frugal tip of the week: When using a bagged product, I cut a 'strip' the whole length of the bag--about 1". This strip serves as a tie when some contents are remaining in the bag for the next time. This works for things that will go in the freezer or in the cupboard. This method works so that the 'tie' is always there and even, color coded for the times that there are several bags in use, on the counter, at the same time. The bag in the picture is shedded coconut from Aldi.

The ingredients for the Cookie Bars:

1 1/2 cups of crumbed corn flakes

Practical tip: (I crum the corn flakes with my rolling pin)

Place the crumbs in a mixing bowl and add

1 stick of melted (unsweetened) butter

3Tbsp of sugar (I only use cane sugar)

Mix these three and spread them in a 9x13 baking pan.

On top add 16oz of chocolate chips

1 cup of pecans

1/2 cup of walnuts (or any variation of your favorite nuts)

Sprinkle a 13-14oz bag or can of angel coconut--sweetened coconut

Drizzle over these one can of sweetened condensed milk.

Bake at 350F for 30' or until golden around the edges.

I'll have to wait until it comes out of the oven for a picture.

Here it is! Now, I must tell you that I used a can of condensed milk that had 'expired' in Oct. '01

When I opened it, it tasted good and looked a light caramel color. It also stayed on top rather than distributing itself throughout. With a regular and 'new' can of condensed milk, you could see the coconut, chock chips and nuts individually, after it's baked. It was still boiling when I took the picture, so I will let you know tomorrow, Lord willing, how it tastes.

This is a beautiful scripture. It sets in my hutch that #2 (the drawer cabinet) and #4 (the tops shelves) made for me a few years ago. I love it and wish I had one in each room. They did such a beautiful job. #4 made the Israel star which is in the nesting dove (a picture is worth a 1000 words) I made the doily and the thermometer (it's 64.0F) courtesy of my techy DH.

This little table is right outside the dining area of the kitchen. Those who have not been here in a while, especially the little ones who see this at eye level, will see that I've not changed anything. The basket underneath contains my gloves and 'sleevelets' that I knitted to keep, the space between the gloves and the coat sleeve, warm.

Sleevelets (my name for them, there may be an official name for these)

Well, it is snowing. We got about 1 and 1/2" last night and are supposed to get about 2" more. It does not look likely, we'll have to wait. It began snowing again about 15' ago--little tiny drifting flakes.

My friend told me that her Momma knew how many inches it would snow by counting the number of snow birds (juncos) that would feed on the ground, right before a snow. I must tell you that, more often than not, she has been right.

All morning long there have been 4 snow birds feeding in our back patio (with other birds) I will let you know tomorrow if my 'snow forecasters' were correct.

I'll leave you with this:

"For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth" Job 37:6a

It's beggining to melt before it snows

That dot is a picture that I already posted and did not know how to delete. Now, stop laughing and leave me a comment.

We took some pictures, and thought you might want to see the beauty that the Lord used to decorate our trees. The 'night' pictures DH took in the morning before he left for work. Those gourd we grew in our garden and DH drilled holes on the side for wren houses, but the wrens have not found them yet.

While I was looking at the Pussy Willow in our back yard and seeing the icicles formed along all the branches--every inch or so there was an icicle--I reflected on the wisdom of God. If all the water would dribble down to the end of the branch, instead, it would form a massive icicle at the end of every branch which would be too heavy for the branch to bear. All the branches would break and there would be no more trees. But God in His wisdom, makes the water form these short, evenly distributed icicles; which, bear the load equally along the branch. I saw this phenomenon on all the trees, except for the evergreen, which, by nature are sappier than deciduous trees, and are able to bear the load of all-over ice in a magnificent way. The evergreens do droop all the way to the ground, but are quite resilient.

In this picture I caught some geese. The are about the middle of the picture, above the space between the two cars, and by the chem trail by the tree tops.

I wish you could see the hundreds of 3" icicles that have impaled themselves on the ice covered ground. They glisten in the sunshine. (sun is shining for the first time in 9 days)Also noticed, that since the ice 'storm' there has not been any wind. Again, the wise goodness of God. If there had been wind, the very tall trees would have come crashing down on houses, out buildings, cars, and people. But, no wind. This fact is truly amazing!

This one is my favorite looking very much like a 'Charlie Rose' shot. The birds were at the feeders a few minutes after DH took this one.

So, the weather guy said it should reach 39F this afternoon. We are planning to go the the membership warehouse grocery store after dinner. We are 'out of everything' [you know that is an affluent society exaggeration.] We need some basics, and MILK, and could survive the rest of winter with the canned and boxed stuff, plus all the 'soup bones' in the freezer.

I did not go to get my goat milk today, for the third week in a row. I would not make a good mailman. DH can manage walking or gliding on the ice, but not I. When I was in 10th grade my friends took me ice skating. Having not, ever, ice skated before, I fell many times while the other girls glided over the ice like a graceful ballet troupe. There I was, bruised and ache-y. They were kind and helped me up many, many times. The following week I could not go, and the week after that I was reticent, and embarrassed. Thus, ended my ice skating ventures. Now I know that I should have gone that second time with a get-back-on-the-horse type of attitude, but...oh, well! I also do not roller skate. DH does. I am such an all-around peasant! I walk on the ice in my bare feet, which melts the ice, just enough to give me the traction I need. I should get a pair of golfing shoes, maybe the cleats would give me traction.

I'll leave you with this:
"Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? "Job 38:29

In His hands, ^__^

Ice glazing, and chili-with-cornbread talk

Since blogger appears to be having trouble with the header pictures, I'm posting it here. (not my original idea)

Ok, I think the worst of the ice storm is over.
The Lord showed us His mercy, in making the temperatures right above freezing, so the rain fell as water and not as freezing rain.
So, it looks like 1/4" of ice on everything. The trees look like a post card--the entire city, nay the entire midwest. If we could have a satellite picture...maybe it would show as white something.
The ice fell on 3" of snow and the rain fell on that. The rain did not wash away the ice, as it washes the snow. But, it is almost winter: 10 more days-or so-it will be the shortest day of the year, the beginning of winter, and the official start of the chili-soup season.
Yes, chili with corn bread [made from scratch, not the Jiffy stuff--we like that too] and chopped fresh onions and lots of grated cheddar cheese.

Also, some of our children, love cinnamon rolls with chili. By the way, I DO NOT like beans--only green beens from our garden, so 'my' chili does not contain any kind of bean/bean flavour/bean extract, or any other sort of bean derivative.

Well, our neighbours across the strees have no lights on, none of them. Wow!

Better post and get off the computer, just in case.

The lights just came on, Thank YOU LORD!

I don't have pictures today, so I'll leave you with this:

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psa 27:1
In His hands, ^__^

More frozen precipitation...sigh, let's knit!

Church was cancelled!

This morning, one of the elders called to let us know that the service had been cancelled due to the dangerous road conditions.

It's 18F and very calm. It seems that 'everyone' is home and not going about in the ice.

Had to post this note on the door, so that no one trips on the door hug. (some have tripped on it, I'm not saying who)

When *they* open the door, *they* don't look down, and trrrrripppp...It's not as if *they* didn't know that the door hug is there, but...oh, well. [yes, I have to paint the threshold and door jam]

Moving right along: I sketched the sweater for gs2* (who now is 1e) in my knitting binder. This is where I keep notes and sketches on all the things I've knitted since the late 80s.
We'll have to have some of these, later with some spiced apple cider. [sorry about the blurry picture, but you get the idea] We can have these because they are organic.

This is the Aspen Mulled Spices, this is our last carton, and need to get more. I use 2Tbsp per qt. of clear apple cider.

By the way, on our way home from groceries, DH got me this, and we'll have the left overs for lunch, but don't tell anybody. DH wanted Campbell's tomato soup (?!?!?!... I'm not saying what I'm thinking, 'cause some of you, also, like tomato soup) So I made the tomato soup and a grilled cheese 'sammich' aka sandwich. He loooooved it.
On the upper left of the picture is a little jar of fetta cheese that I diced and put in basil and olive oil. I used dry basil and IT DOES NOT TASTE THE SAME AS FRESH! On the right side is my 'cooking odor eliminator candle' from the Vermont Country Store. It really works.

*Anouncement!
Be it known unto all, that from here on our grandchildren will be refered to as letters--in birth order after the # of each of our children: i.e., 1a, 2a. and so on.
This idea is the SOLE PROPERTY of 1a--who is brilliant--but that's just my opinion.[actually, they all are brilliant, each one in his own right]
Those who know us, know who I will be referring to, the rest of you will know it's one of our gc.

I'll leave you with this:
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Gen 1:26

In His hands, ^__^

Snow, freezing rain, and God's goodness.

This Psalm was good to pray today:
"Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide". Psa 26:1

Thursday we received 3" of snow, pretty, powdery, and quiet; then it warmed up and the roads were just wet. Last night we received--albeit, did not want it--a sheet of ice, maybe 1/8" which is enough to slide all the way to the end of the world! Well...maybe not that far. The street crews did a great job on the main streets and highways and freeways, but our little street is still slippery. We drove, actually, DH drove, very cautiously and we went shopping for groceries, and came home safely, thank you Lord!

Did not take pictures of the snow and ice 'cause I did not think of it. But here is a picture of snow.
This cute kitty belongs to Lolly, from here, he is expressing what I think: Hey! I got my snow! Lolly is a very prolific knitter with tons of pictures. I really like how she captures her kitty in the cutest poses.

Lord willing, tomorrow I'll post a bit more.

I'll leave you with this:
"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate." Pro 8:13

In His hands, ^__^

Attending Seminar

(Parenthetical/Technical statement--It seems that Blogger had some sort of header-picture-trouble and my header picture is little. I'll change the picture and see if it works better. Not all computers get the little picture)



Now to the Seminar...

DH and I have been attending a Seminar at a near-by church and tonight is the last installment.

It last 4 and 1/2 hours per night. By the time we get home we're sooo tired. Taking notes is very wearing. (actually sitting for 2 hours at a time is very wearing) This seminar includes two different speakers each. The first 'hour' speaker is easy to hear--speaking from the Scriptures. But the 'second' hour guy is FULL of 'another gospel' and it is very heavy on the heart. I believe that the church people are regretting--to some extent--the 'second' speaker. Oh, well...The Lord does say: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. " 1 Jo 4:1


I have not knitted or quilted or sewed since last week. The seminar has occupied the entire evening leaving all the household doing to the morning and afernoon hours.

Enough explanation.

Now, regarding house plants--which live outdoors in the spring and summer. I have found that if the plant is underwatered (sigh...) the leaves become dusty; and who wants to dust leaves?!

I discovered this significant piece of information, because I did not water my upstairs plants as often as I should have. I "had" to dust the leaves, well, because!

Keep the plants thoroughly watered, to avoid this extra chore. To *thoroughly water* place the plant in a bucket of water, or sink, or other container. Fill the bucket/sink/or other half full of water. Place the potted plant in the water. Pour water into the potted plant, so that the water is 'flooding' the pot. At this point the air in the dirt will come up as bubbles. When the bubbles stop, the plant is thoroughly watered.

Better go put the last load of laundry in, and start preparing dinner. We are having left over hamburgers, and potato chips--for a side dish--ok, don't laugh. The hamburger is from an 'organic' cow, the lettuce is green (hm!) and one last slice of our very last tomato! The potato chips are: Ruffles and Art's Originals. We have Hellman's mayonaise and Heinz ketchup, and Aldi-brand-mustard. Those are our favorite *not-so-very-healthy* condiments. We also have Aldi dill slices and Vidalia onions [very thinly sliced]

I'll leave you with this:

"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads" Rev 13:15-16

In His hands, ^__^

I may have to be a Monday-Friday blogger

Until I get this new routine worked out, I may have to blog Monday through Friday.

It was a busy week end. Had to get out the door hugs--what I call those stuffed tubes of fabric, to keep the cold air from infiltraiting the Peasant House. I made this one many years ago. But it has been relocated to the back door, as you see here.

This one I made last year (I think) It is the recycled legs of #2's jeans. These legs had rested for a few years in a basket--I knew I would use them for something one day--until the Lord showed me what to use them for. I made them a little narrower [one narrower than the other, because I did not measure] and joined them together at the 'knee' part with piping. It took one whole bag of stuffing. The piping in the middle was a small scrap of factory quilted fabric. [I liked the color so I kept it] The ankle side of the legs was placed on the ends for 'show' This door hug is for the front door.

Started the sleeve for gs2. I always knit both sleeves toghether, but this time I decided to do one at a time.

Went to the yarn store after getting the goat's milk, last Thursday. #1 requested a Fair Isle hat in Crimson and White. Well, I did not like any of the reds I had, they are too orange for her, so I had a perfectly legitimate reason for going to the yarn store. I got this yarn which is 'yummy' so soft, and spongy. It's Dale of Norway's Dalegarn. Started a little swatch but needed the needles for gs2's cuff. Tonight I'll try a few stitiches and choose the 'best' one for the hat. The hat will be an andean/peruvian style with ear flaps and some sort of cord. Too bad I can't take a picture of what I'm imagining so you could see it.

I'm still behind in bread making. And I also have a recipe for 'water crackers' or 'marine crackers' I've been wanting to make. Lord willing, I'll try tomorrow. But today: errands, laundry to finish, watering the plants, and making dinner.

As far as my binder...working on it. I'll leave you with this...

"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." Heb 3:12

In His hands, ^__^