Happy Homemaker Monday

 Hosted by Sandra ! 

♥ ♥ Weather ♥♥ 

After a very cold weekend, the temperatures are moderating   and we are back to  our  typical  weather we have  experienced in January, unseasonably warm weather.
Monday - sunny, 56/31
Tuesday - cloudy 58/45
Wednesday -cloudy, 63/48
Thursday -rain, 6 2/49
Friday - cloudy, 60/39

Saturday-partly cloudy, 48, 38

♥♥ As I look outside my window ♥♥ 
  I am almost blinded.. the sky is so bright. it was like that early this morning, as well. I suppose it has been so cloudy lately I wasn't prepared for the sun!

♥♥ Right now I am ♥♥ 
I am trying to catch up with my Monday  chores.  I like to begin with  blogging on Monday, but  today I am slow.  For one thing I have a terrible sinus headache which has  me in rather a funk.   I think I need to drink more  water!!

♥♥ Thinking and pondering ♥♥ 

I have a lot of prepping the house  for the Valentine Tea this Saturday. Everything is planned and,  mostly,  prepared as far as  table setting  plan and the poems  printed out that I  am using at each   setting. I will have to  wash the  setting elements and reset the  table  after we clean,  vacuum and dust the room.  I gave the bathroom,   all vacuuming  and the sunroom to Lynn to  clean.  I will  work on the  main rooms down stairs.   That is  three rooms,  as well. Cooking  prep will begin on Thursday!  So it is a full week, indeed!!

♥♥How am I feeling ♥♥ 

Yesterday was horrid.  Arthritis in my back and hips,  so when I got home from church I took  an Aleve to start the  healing process and  it really helped  I called and set up an appointment with an orthopedic doctor today.  At my age  I think it is time to  start   being  looked at by  such a doctor!  I think my hips are in need to HELP!!

♥♥ On the breakfast plate ♥♥

Dearest,  as always  prepares our coffee and fruited yogurt,  then mid morning I had  left over   cinnamon pancakes and a strip of bacon!    Always  so  perfect. Lynn loves to take care of breakfast!

♥♥ On the dinner plate ♥♥

Tonight we will be having tacos and salad

♥♥ What I'm wearing ♥♥ 

I am wearing a pair of  jeggings and the  cute  peasant blouse Amanda gave me for Christmas. I wore it to church yesterday for the first time and it is so comfy and warm!

♥♥ On my reading pile ♥♥ 

I am sort in the middle of  books I've finished and those I  want to read next, so I am not sure!

 ♥♥ On my TV this week ♥♥ 

As always, All Creatures Great and Small.  Oh, what will I do when the series is over. 
Lynn and I are  rewatching the series, Foyle's War. We absolutely love that one!
Then I  watch  Youtube shows like   British Love it or List It, Kirstin and Jeorg, Fairyland Cottage, Daily Connoisseur,  Bob and Brad  Therapists, and Poetry of a Slow Life

Creative Update:

I have been doing a bit more sketching in my sketchbook.  Over the weekend I  attempted to do some portraits.I  still have  some  major work to do on these. 

This is our youngest granddaughter, age 7.  We had  just enjoyed our tea at Glamis Castle, so she was quite dressed up.  I think once I add color it will come more to life.

This is me.  Believe me it looks  so much better than the one  I did in ink.  Once I did a bit of shading it was horrible.  Again, color and a bit of  work around my wrinkles and flabby areas  might help!  Oh, me!!

And Poor Lynn.  I need to erase about  and third of it and try again  Some parts are really good  but it is much t0o  large,  his face is  much more narrow   so  in comparison that nose has got to g, too.  Well, about  a third of it!   We will compare  next time!  Ha ha, ha!  But practice is what I need-  daily practice!

♥♥ Looking around the house ♥♥

Things are picked up,  just a wipe, dust, mop and vacuum needs to be considered!!

♥♥A Favorite Vlog ♥♥

♥♥ To Do List ♥ ♥

•  I do need to  bleach out a few  spots on my thicker  cotton tea  napkins,   then a dry and an iron
• mop, dust, vacuum
• wash the teaware and  reset the table
•   clear away  research items on my  desk here in the kitchen,  finish the marketing
•   On Thursday we will do the  meringues, and I will  cook the compote, I think.
• Friday, the fruit tarts,  and madeleines, clotted cream
• Saturday, the scones, and smoked turkey   dainty sandwiches

♥ ♥ From the camera ♥ ♥

I do not remember if I shared this,  but   I love our new sconce we bought off of Facebook Marketplace.. My first purchase there... we got this for only 20.00 and I think it looks great with my   painting of Partick Bridge in Glasgow  we loved so much in Scotland! Below, is the  Amaryllis I planted for Christmas,  but even when we returned fromBoston, it still had not started to  budge. But that is fine because it  has grown now and I love the color. Plus there are three more blooms to come!

♥ ♥ Devotional♥ ♥

from  Gospel Coalition

Loving the LIght Monday, February 06 |  1 John 2:7–11 On the Go? Listen to Today's Devotional

The Phos Hilaron is one of the oldest hymns we know. As lamps were lit at evening, the early Christians would sing: “O gracious light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven, O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed! Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behold the vesper light, we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” John says that as believers, we need to walk in the light and not in the darkness. This is a helpful way to think about the two spiritual realms or kingdoms: Darkness is known for its lies, death, spiritual blindness, and evil, while light is marked by truth, life, spiritual vision, and righteousness. These distinctions will always be true! Truth is never accompanied by death but always by life. Lies are never accompanied by spiritual vision but always by spiritual blindness. Similarly, love and obedience always go together. The command to love is both old and new (vv. 7–8; John 13:34–35). How is it “old”? Not only did Jesus and the apostles teach love, but it was also the greatest commandment from the Old Testament. How is it “new”? Because perfect love is seen in Christ and, by extension, His church. Love is not an abstract quality but a Person. Because of Christ, “the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.” Exactly as Isaiah prophesied: “On those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isa. 9:2). When we love, we prove that we’re walking in the light (vv. 9–11). If we say we follow Christ, our actions must show love for our brothers and sisters in the faith. If we really are in the same family, we’ll act like it! >> Today’s illustration comes from Bryan Litfin’s Wisdom from the Ancients: 30 Forgotten Lessons from the Early Church. This book will help you learn more about church history and how it applies to our lives today.

Pray with Us Even we who love You can still struggle with anger, resentment, or bitterness. Even when we want to forgive and move on, we don’t always know how. Father, teach us how to love and forgive our brothers and sisters unconditionally.