Wednesday, January 27, 2010

interesting things...

For a long while I've been wanting to give our place a name. When I started blogging I had another name for the blog but did not really like it. Suddenly, things clicked as this blog title describes my interests and our place. I will soon be doing a series of before and afters of our home, a change that transformed it - most of it simple muscle and 'elbow grease' work.

Any hoo, it suddenly dawned on me that Fleur Cottage is the perfect name of our place! Yesterday, I ordered the sign that will be placed out by the road - I am excited and pleased with the results.
- here is a copy of it -


Last autumn my neighbor up the road stopped by and asked if I'd be interested in hosting a garden tour(s) for a fund raising event for the President James Buchannan's Wheatland Garden Club (whew, long title!), with the tour book titled 'Gardens of the Susquehanna.' This tour runs from March through the end of October and the hosts choose the dates and times that fit their schedule and the best times for their gardens. My dates are one in June, two in July with one of those a twilight tour. Yesterday, the booklet came in the mail...


And lastly, I joined a writing class. Now this is a l-o-n-g-s-t-r-e-t-c-h for me! And no, I'm not writing a book! :) I simply wanted to be able to go beyond my comfort zone of writing - and last evening it did! The first instruction was to write about school recess for five minutes. Sounds simple enough...but since school wasn't a safe place for me it really wasn't a 'fun' project - though ironically, it ended by being a good thing to do, in spite of all the forgotten  memories and emotions it stirred up!


...thank you, Shawn Smucker, for making me look into a dark closet of my life...

...and ye shall know the truth,
and the truth will set you free!
                                               - Jesus -

...blessedness!

ox

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

week end project

...i love the ideas i find on other blogs...
...and thanks to Make Mine Beautiful...
...i found this lovely idea of prettying up a common, ordinary lamp shade...
...isn't this simply cute?
...i would never have thought of taking advantage of the seam and using it!
...and this dressmaker detail?
...j.u.s.t.s.i.m.p.l.y cute!
...so i got my collection of buttons...
 (that came from years of taking off of worn out clothes)

...my collection of laces...
...found cheap shades from lowes...
 
...and started dressing 'em up...
...i used this glue from wal-mart...
...and because i needed to do six shades, i kept it simple...
...earlier, i had tried pom poms...
...and after living with that for several weeks...
...nah!
...much better!
...i added the crystals, booty from a yard sale...
...but only have three, so i alternated 'em on the chandelier...
...maybe, just maybe, i'll find three more sometime!
...any hoo...
...it was a fun, simple and quick project...

...blessedness!

ox

Monday, January 25, 2010

week end musings

...we celebrated Anthony's eleventh birthday saturday evening...


...the ho-ho cake was delicious...
...at least, the part i had -
serena ate the cake - i ate the filling and icing...
...mutual agreement!

                                      ...the girls...                                                                    ...the babies...

************************

Sunday evening was hospitality night for our church where you were either a guest or host - we were hosts this year. It was close enough to Valentine's Day so I chose to do a light valentine's theme. I borrowed the black tablecloths from DIL Martha, who came up with the brainy idea to use at a Christmas dinner. It really looks classy and considering they're single bed sheets from Wal-Mart and are about as cheap as one can get...looks fabulous!
...i know, it's a tad blurry -
and it doesn't really do a good job of the reality...
...but trust me, it was lovely!
...AND...
...it was a wonderful evening of fellowship!

*******************************

- thoughts from the pulpit -

A Life Worth Living

fear keeps us in our comfort zone and we will do anything to protect it
anything that ruffles our feathers or is threatening we reject out of hand
is what i would die for, worth dying for?
would i die for the ideals or causes of others?
am i so busy protecting my life that it's of little value to myself or others?
if i gain the world but lose my soul
of what gain is that?

"For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain."

...dying to myself to gain something else?
what a paradox!

...blessedness!

ox



Tuesday, January 19, 2010

a taste of spring...

...remember this post on winter? WINTER!...


...today was spring-like with temps reaching into the upper fifties...
...now it looks like this...


...yippee!
...i want to believe the worst of winter is behind us...

...blessedness!

ox

week end...

...i have several painting projects going that need to be finished...
...two chairs, a picture frame, a dresser's bust, a chalk board -
all for later posts...

...this is what the basement looks like right now...


...i call it an organized mess!

...in a corner of the living room is my first chalkboard project...

...right now, i'm reserving my opinion on it...

*************************

...from the pulpit...

- Foundations -

What foundation have i chosen for life?
When hard things happen will it stand?
What do the storms of life reveal about my foundation?

A shaky foundation...
- trust in a wrong place
- substituting things for God

Can i take the Bible and believe it with simple faith?

- Safe gurads -

- pray with honesty
- take it in it's context
- get perspective from other's wisdom

                       'On Christ, the solid Rock,
                                                                      I stand,
                                                                                            all other ground is sinking sand!'

...blessedness!

ox

Thursday, January 14, 2010

a freebie

...i, hubs picked up this table next to his shop...
...my intent was to use it for outdoor entertaining...
...but it wasn't weather-proof so everytime we used it, it needed to be put away...
...several days before christmas i decided to place it in the kitchen...
...so...
...i donned put on my boots...
...dragged it in over the 18 inches of snow we had gotten the week before...
(which actually made it easier to bring in)


...pushed it in through the patio doors - snow and all...
(quite messy!)
...moved the round table in the living room for a game table...


...and lived with it for several weeks, flipflopping over whether i really like it...
...i do like the game table in the living room...
...and it's a wonderful place to play games with the grandkids...
...plus, i like the extra working space in the kitchen...
...but those green legs had to go!


...i l-o-o-v-e shabby chic!
(hubs call it shaggy chic)
...so i painted them this week...


...much better, even without sanding it...

...finished product...

...i like it, most of the time!
...and can still use it for outdoor entertaining...

...blessedness!

ox




Wednesday, January 13, 2010

my microwave...

...i've been thinking...
...thinking about my microwave...
...of how it takes up a lot of space on my counter...
...space i could use in other ways...


...i think about the microwaves and small particles of radiation...
...of how it changes the nutrition in foods...
...so...
...i've been toying around with the idea of taking it out of the kitchen...
...today i banished it out to the garage...


...right outside the door in case i go through withdrawal...
(i know, it's kinda ugly but nobody sees it but me family)

...now i have this instead!
...all of these pieces are thrifty finds...

...i like it!
(this is an experiment!)


...blessedness!

ox




Tuesday, January 12, 2010

ice cream, you scream...

on the week end i had a yen for ice cream so i pulled out my electric ice cream maker out of the freezer...yep, the freezer. it's one of those that has a gel of some kind in it and it needs to be frozen. actually, i keep it in there all the time. this was also a GW bargain...you know - that place where you can get all kinds of bargains, esp if one has the patience to wait for 'em!

...here she is...


like i said, i keep it in the freezer all the time so when these sudden urges come for homemade ice cream - ta da - it's good to go! i also keep the paddle in there as well...the colder the implements the better. make your fav mix, pour it in the mixer, place the lid on top and turn it on. i stick around nearby just to make sure it's doing ok. it's finished when it's doubled and is thickened like soft ice cream. remove the paddle  and lick it off (memories!) and eat it right out of the container... :) freeze what's left but is the best eaten right away...it freezes rock hard!

...i like this recipe along with another, which, unfortunately, i can't lay my hands on...

- sour cream ice cream -

1¼ cups cream
¾ cup sugar
3 pasturized eggs
8 oz sour cream
1¼ teaspoon vanilla

combine all the ingredients, mixing well
for creamier ice cream, let set in frig overnight
freeze according to directions

(pst...i used fresh eggs)

...this ice cream has a little bit of a tang to it from the sour cream but i think it's delicious!

- fudge topping -
1 cup semi-sweet choclate morsels
¼ cup cream
2 tablespoons butter
melt and stir together until melted

...enjoy!


*****************************

...from the pulpit...

- the stuff of life -

how do we respond to personal disappointment?
we can pout
act like nothing has happened
or we can allow them to 'grow us up'

what is our response to God in disappointing times?
in our humaness, God doesn't make sense
can we still worship?
we accept good from God - can we also accept the difficult? Job 2:10

what is our response to people who are facing hard times?
do i expect too much out of them?
are my words a blessing?
do i enter into their pain?
(that's really what compassion does - it enters into the other's pain)

- be careful lest we allow disappointment to take us out of the game of life -

...blessedness!

ox

Friday, January 8, 2010

different kinds of beauty...

...beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

...fresh snow...
...from the neighbors where there's gazillions of 'em!
...a thank you from a SIL for an over-night stay...
...stole this idea from another blog...
...i don't wear 'em so promptly got a few from the thrift shop...
...hung it in our dressing room...
...yeah, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

...blessedness!

ox




Tuesday, January 5, 2010

A delightful buy...

...a quick stop at the local GW produced this...
...lucky me!

- two love seats
- two chairs that match 'em
- one round table
- three side tables
- four rounded back chairs

...all for 39.95 - 10%...
...yeah, lucky me!

...you'll see more of these in the summer posts!

...blessedness!

ox

Monday, January 4, 2010

Winter? WINTER!

...winter is can be bleak...
...messy...
...windy as in 'winnie the pooh windsday'...
...anywhoo...
...we are surrounded by cornfields on two sides and on the 'windsdays'...
...this is what happens...

...the fish pond is frozen...
...and this is a faint memory...
...when this is what i see now...

...BUT...
...underneath it all...
...there is a promise of life...

...swollen buds - waiting, waiting...
...daffodil peeking...

...isn't this like life?

...when it feels bleak -
....and nothing's happening...
 and kinda ugly -
- and messy -
...and waiting, waiting, waiting...
...but underneath it all...
...God is bringing about that which He promised...

- finishing the work He has begun in our lives
                                                    - hope!
                                                            - beauty!
  - cleansing!
                                - freedom!
- that good things come from waiting!

*******************

the message from the pulpit was on spiritual cleansing from Joshua 3
...to experience this we need to...

- move from our comfortable place
- sanctify ourselves
- stand still at the river and listen to God's word
- with out fail, God will drive out the enemy
- God will magnify Himself
- God will 'part the water' as we dip our feet in it.

Are you at 'flood stage, afraid to dip your feet?' 
GOD WILL DO WONDERS!

...blessedness!

ox