Monday Monday and Celebrations

It's Monday again!  The beginning of another wonderful week! I hope your Monday is going well wherever you are and whatever you are doing.  I am trying to get some housework done today as we begin preparations for a big event here next Monday, Labor Day!  But first things first!

Yesterday after church we celebrated our #1 son's birthday as promised:

Here's the birthday boy Benton, enjoying his steak dinner.

Thankfully our #3 son Scott came and grilled the delicious steaks for us, which our DIL Rose brought for the occasion:

She also brought some shrimp so we had "surf and turf", baked potato, salad and Hawaiian rolls.  I noticed the price of the Hawaiian rolls had gone up considerably, so I only bought one package  and told everyone that was it, so don't go crazy on the rolls! Our son Scott, who is the Hawaiian roll "connoisseur" quipped it was the high cost of shipping them all the way from Hawaii that did it!  LOL. Funny...I guess everyone took me seriously because there were quite a few rolls leftover, so I sent them home with Scott to enjoy. He will create interesting sliders and other mini-sandwiches with them for a few days. He loves them so much sometimes in the past I have given him his own package of them as a gift. LOL. 

So after dinner was over we sang Happy Birthday to Benton. Can you tell everyone is singing here?

Rose baked a delicious yellow cake with Lemon Curd Buttercream Frosting. It was very very good. She was frustrated because her oven decided to malfunction in the middle of baking the cake, and she actually ended up having to bake a second cake because the first one was ruined. The second one still had issues while baking, but she managed to get it done enough and actually it was very good and moist. However, a new stove/oven is on the shopping list for them this week. Rose loves to bake, and not having a decent oven is not a good thing. 

Here is the traditional birthday blowout picture. Everyone has to have one, regardless of how goofy we may look! LOL. Actually, we had to do this one over because the first time he blew them out I didn't click the camera quickly enough and missed it...so we had to relight the candles and do it again! LOL.

Here's our sweet grandpuppies Sugar and Spice, watching the festivities and wondering when they would get some cake? LOL. (or maybe it was the steak they were wanting...)

Here's a family pic with me in it...thank you Scott for doing the honors, but we should have figured out how to get the whole family in at once. We usually do, but it takes perfect "timing". 

Next came the opening of gifts. I didn't get pictures of everything, but this one was "fun" because he's over 50 now and his body is breaking down...especially the knees! Hopefully the Dr. Scholl's inserts will help.  Oh, he did get the Fuller Brush electrostatic sweeper for Dixie Cottage, but I forgot to get a picture of that. I'll have to take one at the store next time. 

I guess that's all the pictures for now.  But next week on Labor Day we are having a big "Shindig" here (who remembers that word and TV show?  You'd have to be my age at least to remember that!)  I may have mentioned before that our extended family has a lot of August birthdays and anniversaries, and so we decided to get together on Labor Day here at our house to celebrate.  So that's why I'm starting my housework projects today since we will be working at Dixie Cottage all the rest of the week in the mornings, and by afternoon I don't feel like doing a lot of "hard work", so I'm trying to do a little bit each day and hopefully everything will get done that needs to be done. Of course, the danger is if I clean too much now I'll have to do it again before Monday! LOL.

So that's about it for today. 

What kind of plans do you have for your week and/or Labor Day? Oh, we will be having a sale at Dixie Cottage this week, everything in the store is 10% off, and some items are also marked down lower. So I expect we will be busy. 10% may not seem like much until it is large piece of furniture or some other more expensive item...then every "penny" off really helps. 

Okay, that's it. I think.  

Some thoughts about how marvelous it is that God created us and we have birthdays to celebrate:

from Psalm 139:13-16

"For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them."

Saturday Review

Let's start at the end of the day and work backwards, okay?

We had a surprise thunderstorm this afternoon and afterwards this lovely rainbow:

This was taken from the parking lot of our grocery store. After it stopped raining we headed to the store to pick up a few things that we need for tomorrow, like ice-cream...why? Well, because tomorrow is our son Benton's birthday!  And he and Rose and our other son Scott will be coming to our house after church for dinner! Thankfully Rose is baking the cake and also providing the steaks. I will take care of the potatoes and salad and of course ice-cream! Hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures to share with you tomorrow night (or Monday probably as I'll be too busy/tired tomorrow).

After the rain the sun came out and just glowed on Still Waters Pond. It was so pretty and fresh and glorious.

Here are some thoughts from Psalm 33, which we've been reading portions of in our morning devotions this week:

Psalm 33:1-12

"1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!

For praise from the upright is beautiful.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp;

Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing to Him a new song;

Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4 For the word of the Lord is right,

And all His work is done in truth.

5 He loves righteousness and justice;

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;

He lays up the deep in storehouses."

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

The plans of His heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

The people He has chosen as His own inheritance."

These last few verses in particular give me comfort when I listen to the news and see what is going on in our world these days.  Just something to think about.

So what did we do today? Well, we spent most of the day at Dixie Cottage, which is becoming our usual routine Tuesday-Saturday. Thankfully we had Thursday free this week to give us a chance to get caught up with other things.  I'm not complaining. I actually enjoy being at the store and meeting new people. It was very busy today.

I was enjoying looking at some of the fall decor that one of our vendors has in particular:

I like that! "Give 'em pumpkin to talk about." LOL.  

These wreaths are so beautifully made. 

These little crows are fun:

Now, on the other side of the store the lady who makes such beautiful vintage glass birdfeeders and birdbaths brought in a few new things:

Isn't that a fun and unusual birdbath?  

And speaking of fun...these are called Redneck Wine Glasses:

Here's the description:

This lady also listened to one of my suggestions and made a couple of teapot garden decorations:

Aren't they pretty and unique?  I'm trying really hard to control my spending at our own store! LOL.

But today I did give in to a little splurge and bought this wreath for our front door.  I prefer a smaller wreath for the door because we have a glass storm door and when you close it if the wreath is too big the door won't close properly. So this small wreath was just right, and it was on sale too!

So that is my first fall decoration that I've put up. I usually wait until after Labor Day to begin my fall decorations, but this was so pretty I just didn't want to wait.

And so with that I will say good night because it is getting close to my bedtime.

Tomorrow will be a busy and special day with Sunday School, Church, and then the birthday party for our #1 Son. (#1 meaning he's the firstborn!)  Hubby and I are also going to sing a duet in church so I need to get some rest so I don't sound too croaky tomorrow. LOL.

Here is the song we are going to sing:

1 I trust in God wherever I may be,

Upon the land or on the rolling sea;

For come what may, from day to day,

My heav'nly Father watches over me.

Refrain:

I trust in God, I know he cares for me,

On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;

Though billows roll, he keeps my soul,

My heav'nly Father watches over me.

2 He makes the rose an object of his care,

He guides the eagle through the pathless air;

And surely he remembers me,

My heav'nly Father watches over me. [Refrain]

4 The valley may be dark, the shadows deep,

But oh, the shepherd guards his lonely sheep;

And through the gloom, he'll lead me home,

My heav'nly Father watches over me. [Refrain]

I hope that you know that your Heavenly Father is watching over you, no matter where you may be or whatever is happening in your life.  We can trust in God because He will always be there for us.  

And with that I will say

Good Night, and May God bless you and keep you always.

 

Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

Hello dear friends! It's Thursday evening already...time sure flies when you're having fun! LOL. Not that I'm having that much fun, but the time is still flying! 

Today I am thankful that while time may be flying, I'm not a bug flying out there over Still Waters Pond today.  I don't know if you can see it or not in this picture, but there is a spider web stretched from the trees on the right to a pine tree on the left that is out of the picture, and it looks like someone is riding a zip line down the spider web "rope".   Look carefully and see if you can see it.

Can't see it? Well maybe these close ups will help you get a better idea of what is going on out there:

Yes, that is the same spider web, and on the left is a captured leaf. On the right is a captured Cicada.

I am afraid he is not able to zip line out of that web. He's caught pretty tightly, and spin and twirl though he might, he cannot release himself from the web.

I felt sorry for him, but there was nothing I could do for him. The spider knows his business well, and this web was too high for me to reach anyway.

I'm afraid that cicada won't be doing much singing tonight.

Sometimes we need to be careful where and how high we fly, lest we be caught in a "spider's web".

Well, let's see on a brighter note, today we had the day free as one of Ben and Rose's friends was "minding the store" for the day. She comes every other week for one day to give them a break, and now it gives us a break too.  We did pop in for a few minutes to see how she was doing because we were in the neighborhood, and things were going quite well! God has been blessing our little store, and we are very thankful indeed.

I also got a much needed haircut today, but it is a bit shorter than I expected, so no photo for you! LOL. Even my hubby said when I came out to the car, "I thought you weren't going to get it cut that short again!", and I said, "We were so busy chatting away that I didn't pay attention to what she was doing, and apparently neither did she..."  But the good thing about a bad haircut is that in a couple of weeks you won't know the difference. LOL. And besides, what was I going to do? Ask her to put it back? LOL.

So today there was a little excitement in our neighborhood...I've mentioned before that the empty lot across from us has been being prepared for some time for a new house to be put on it. Apparently there used to be a home there many years ago, as there is still the foundation for a porch and a driveway and the well and septic already installed. (actually we are on city water).  I've been hoping and praying for a nice new house with a nice new family/couple... And today we were excited to see that something was finally happening!

Well, can you imagine my disappointment when I looked out there and saw this being moved onto that lot?   That is not a new house!  That is a very old house!  And it needs a good cleaning! (That's dirt and leaves on the roof, not rust, thank goodness). My heart sank.  Our neighborhood is mostly an older manufactured home community, and there are plenty of old manufactured homes in here already...why would they bring in another??? 

I know there is a real affordable housing shortage in our land right now, and the price of homes has gone up astronomically in the past few months. Perhaps this is all someone can afford.  I'm not sure if there is already an owner for this particular house. I think it's someone putting it on the lot to sell. All I can say is I pray they clean it up and perhaps do a total rehab on it before they sell it.  

And I have to check my attitude. I've been praying for some new good neighbors.

Perhaps the people who end up living here will be the best neighbors I ever had.

And besides, once they got the house in place, it is mostly hidden behind that magnolia tree!

(btw, isn't the sky beautiful?)

Once they get the skirting in place and pressure wash it and pretty it up with some shrubs, etc., it will make a lovely home for someone.

This is the back side of it:

So will you please pray with me for our new neighbors? And also please pray for me to have a good attitude and make the most of this situation. 

Our neighborhood is a mixture of retired folks like us and a lot of younger families too.  We bought our home here because of the affordable price, the proximity to shopping and doctors and our kids and church...and this view out our back door:

Still Waters Pond...on a very cloudy evening tonight...waiting for the rain to start

And here are the clouds overhead...

Kind of interesting and beautiful in their own way, don't you agree?   

Yes, if we look for it, there is beauty all around us. It's all in the eyes of the beholder...and the attitude of the heart. 

Here's some verses from Psalm 145 that we've been reading this week during our morning devotions. I need to concentrate more on the greatness of our God and His love shown to us who are so unworthy.  I am so thankful for His compassion...and that He is slow to anger and great in mercy. May I have that same kind of compassion as I reach out to those around me and extend His love to them...

1 "I will extol You, my God, O King;

And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless You,

And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

And His greatness is unsearchable."

8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,

Slow to anger and great in mercy.

9 The Lord is good to all,

And His tender mercies are over all His works.

"14 The Lord upholds all who fall,

And raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,

And You give them their food in due season.

16 You open Your hand

And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways,

Gracious in all His works.

18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He also will hear their cry and save them."

Amen.

The rains finally came, and this is how it looks out there on Still Waters Pond right now. The frogs and peepers are singing their songs. All is well and we are thankful and blessed.

Good Night and God bless you all!

 

Tuesday 4- House and Home

 Good Morning!  Here it is Tuesday already, and time for another Tuesday 4!  But first, I wanted to thank you all for visiting with me yesterday on my Monday, Monday Post, HERE.  If you did visit yesterday, you will recall that one of the calendar pictures I shared (from the Teapot Calendar) talked about having some fresh homemade crusty bread and butter with tea.  Well...yesterday was a kind of cloudy and rainy day and after that subliminal suggestion was made into my brain, I just had to have some fresh homemade bread and butter.  And since today's meme is about our "House and Home", I thought I'd add this little delightful prologue.  

One of the special little appliances that  I have that I love a lot but don't use as often as I should is this Bread Machine: 

My parents gave this to me almost 25 years ago, and it still works perfectly...I just need to use it more often!

Of course it took all afternoon for it to complete this beautiful loaf of bread...

It sure smelled wonderfully delicious as it was going through all of the stages of mixing, rising, and then baking:

And since I had a late start, it was almost bedtime before the bread was baked and cooled enough to slice and eat...but I wasn't going to bed until I had some of that warm bread slathered with butter and spread with some strawberry jam. The only thing that could have made it better would have been if the strawberry jam had been homemade too...and if I could have some with YOU!  

And so with that mouth watering beginning to our day this morning, let us now continue with the real Tuesday 4 "House and Home" selection for today...

House and Home

Hello and welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4

Let's share our home secrets with one another. Maybe you have some ideas other ladies would love to hear about.

This picture reminds me of my mother's old Electrolux cannister vacuum sweeper! 

I remember using it many many times growing up.

1. What household tool or appliance do you rely on a lot?

That would be our Fuller Brush Electrostatic Sweeper:

It is quite handy when you don't want to pull out the big vacuum cleaner for a few crumbs or sand, or whatever. It will pick up dirt on hard floors as well as on carpet. I actually used to sell these for a living! I was once a "Fuller Brush Man"...well, Woman...and was even the District Manager for the western Ohio district many moons ago...I recruited and trained other salespeople how to sell these sweepers, along with all of the other great products. Yes, they are still in business, but I think they do more sales online than door to door these days. As a matter of fact, I just ordered another one of these sweepers for my son for his birthday...well, it's for Dixie Cottage...because we keep having to pull out the big vacuum cleaner to keep the floors clean after people come in with dirty shoes on the carpet...and this would be such a big help. Shhhh! don't tell him that's what he's getting for his birthday. I wouldn't want to spoil the "surprise". Ha ha. Actually, it's his own fault. He came in the other day with dirty shoes after being out in some mud somewhere, and tracked up the whole store.

 after we had just vacuumed. So that clinched it! This is what he's getting for his birthday! LOL. 

2. Which laundry detergent, fabric softener, and dish detergent work best for you?

I use All Free and Clear laundry detergent.  I am sensitive to a lot of fragrances have to stay away from most scented laundry soap or fabric softeners.  

I have recently started using these "fabric softener balls" in the dryer. These are the rubber kind and they just bounce around in the dryer with your clothes and somehow they make the clothes soft without chemicals. They help with the static cling too, but not quite as well as I'd like. Yet still, this is better than the chemicals that are in fabric softener sheets or liquid, and no annoying overpowering fragrances. The only problem is they keep getting caught up in a pants pocket or something and you have to play hide and go seek with them in every load of clothes. I am missing one ball somewhere...it may be under the couch or still stuck in someone's pants or shirt somewhere. LOL.

I use Dawn dish detergent. I love it. I use it for many things...like a degreaser on clothes before I throw them in the wash if we get a grease stain or tea stain on them.

I also use this dish washing wand to wash dishes with. We don't have a dishwasher and I find this very helpful to get into glasses, cups, pots and pans and everything, so I don't have get my hands in the water quite as much. 

And these "Super Eraser pads" are great. Like the Mr. Clean Magic erasers. They clean up pot marks on the white sink, and stains on the counter top, tea stains in the tea cups, etc.  They can be used for so many things and really work very well! I buy this brand at Dollar General.

3. What soap do you like to use? Where do you have soap in your home... bathroom, kitchen,

 shower?

I am so glad you asked.  This is the soap I use for my face and body (shower). I used to use Dove soap, but my face would break out every so often. I have never had that problem since I started using this goat milk soap. It is wonderful!!  We also sell this at Dixie Cottage, but I was first introduced to it at the flea market in Salt Springs when we lived there. The lady who makes this wonderful Goat Milk Soap lives in Salt Springs and had a booth at the Flea Market. She raises her own goats and makes this in her home.  After we moved away from there, I was making a trip down there (30 miles) every so often when I'd run out of soap to get more.  Then when Benton and Rose took over the Dixie Cottage Store in St. Augustine, they decided to carry this soap in the store, so I would get it from them.  And now that they've moved the store here to our hometown, our friend has decided to become one of our regular vendors and so we can keep supplied without having to travel! Yay! I love this soap, and lavender is my favorite fragrance. She has many other fragrances and also makes some lovely scented soy candles that we sell in the store.

She also crochets these scrubby face cloths...

(photo courtesy of Dixie Cottage)

The hand soap I like is a foaming hand soap from Bath and Body Works: Eucalyptus Mint. It's not too strong of a fragrance and has a fresh clean scent.  Although I must admit that at the moment I am out of it and I have refilled this with some Softsoap refill liquid soap and I had to add water to it and make it foamy in this dispenser bottle. I haven't been able to get to a B&BW store in a long time. I need to go restock. I guess I could order it online, huh? However, once again, I am very careful about what I buy from there as most of their fragrances are much too strong for me. This is practically the only one that I can use.

4. What is the secret to a clean home in your opinion?

Well, that's a good question. I am not the world's best housekeeper. I've gotten really lazy over the past few years.  I think the secret is to find a good housekeeper that doesn't charge too much! LOL. I'd be thrilled to find one that I could afford.  Truthfully, the secret is to keep at it and don't let it get away from you.  I try to keep up with dusting and cleaning the bathrooms on a regular basis. My hubby takes care of the vacuuming, but he's not real big on moving furniture and getting behind things and in the corners, etc. So every so often I have to get up my strength and energy and tackle those jobs, but I am not really physically able to do it very often. Once he sees that I mean business, he will help me...but it's one of those things that I find it's better not to nag about if you know what I mean...LOL. I'm thankful for any help I can get. And yes, he will help me...it's just not something he would think to do on his own.

Now that we are helping at Dixie Cottage almost every day (Tue-Sat) for at least half a day, I am having to restructure my home cleaning routines a bit. Maybe it will actually help me to be more organized. Retirement is wonderful, but I think I do stay up with things better when I have a regular routine.

This is probably the best example of a woman found in the Bible, known as the "Proverbs 31 Woman", or "The Virtuous Woman", or as in this version, "The Wife of Noble Character".  These characteristics are a beautiful description of what makes a good "housekeeper" and much much more...especially verse 30...

Proverbs 31:10-31 NIV

The Wife of Noble Character

10 A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.

12 She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.

13 She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.

14 She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up while it is still night;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her female servants.

16 She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks.

18 She sees that her trading is profitable,

and her lamp does not go out at night.

19 In her hand she holds the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

20 She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.

21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

22 She makes coverings for her bed;

she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,

where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them,

and supplies the merchants with sashes.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

26 She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

27 She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

29 “Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.”

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

And so, there you have the Tuesday 4 meme for this week.  And now I must go have another slice of that wonderful homemade bread...maybe toasted along with an egg for breakfast before we head out to Dixie Cottage this morning.  Thankfully we are only working there until noon each day instead of all day. Our son and/or daughter in law come in for the afternoons...so we can still come home for lunch and take a nap! LOL!!

Thank you, Annie, for putting this together for us each week. I look forward to reading what everyone else has to say about this subject!  Have a blessed week!

Monday Monday...

Here it is Monday, August 22, and I still haven't posted my usual monthly calendar post! August has just slipped right through my fingers with so much activity going on.

There's been no time for me to go swing on a swing like this sweet little girl and her doggy...the caption says "After Chores"...that's probably why I haven't...the chores just keep coming! LOL.

This painting is from my "Country Seasons" Calendar by John Sloane. His paintings always seem to capture my heart. Wouldn't you love to be there too? Oh to be a carefree child again...

Then on another wall in my "Room with a View" I have this Teapot Calendar, which features a different delightful teapot each month.  My dear sister Doris gives me this calendar each year for Christmas, although she said last year they are getting more difficult to find...so we shall see what happens this year!  I save them from year to year because they have so many interesting pictures and stories about teatime around the world...like this one from Rustic Brittany:

Now don't you want to find a delicious loaf of crusty bread and slather it with some creamy fresh butter and have a cup of tea with me?  Let's do it!!

We can pretend we are sitting in this lovely cottage, which was painted so beautifully by Thomas Kinkade...Now that truly would be a delight!

One delightful thing that happened this month was our anniversary, which you already know about. We received this beautiful card from a thoughtful gentleman in our church who makes it his ministry to send out cards to everyone for their birthdays and anniversaries.  Little did he know that swans are especially meaningful to us.  My hubby bought the lovely glass swans for me one year because he remembered that his mother told us that swans were a part of our family crest on her mother's side. And even though I have been unable to verify that claim, it was still a beautiful thought and we have adopted it for ourselves.  So receiving this lovely card on our anniversary was very touching.

Next week we will celebrate our son's birthday on his actual birthday...and then again we will celebrate with the family at large on Labor Day! Family from a couple of hours away will be traveling here on Labor Day so we can actually celebrate not only Ben's birthday, but our nephew Nicholaus' birthday, which is on the same day, just 31 years apart, and also my husband's brother Bill's birthday, which was earlier this month, and also my niece Debbie's birthday, which is a few days after Ben's birthday! Then of course there was our anniversary, and my hubby's brother Bill and wife Peggy will have an anniversary this month as well! August is a big month! Oh, wait! I almost forgot, my niece and her hubby had their anniversary this month too! And their son will have a birthday right around Labor Day...so it will be a BIG celebration!  Everyone is coming here and they all want to tour Dixie Cottage after lunch! It will be a fun fun day!

So moving right along and flying by to say so long, like this pontoon plane that flew over us the other day while we were walking...

I will say farewell for now!

Have a happy Monday!