Dreaming Now, but Soon....

 So  the   items are on order and  now I just wait.....   but  they said  it may only be a couple of weeks  and then a couple of weeks for installing   and then, of course, Lynn will   be painting..

 the impetus is  to upgrade our kitchen and  invest in our home....  we figured it was a good way to safeguard  some   capital we  saved for a rainy day....     we figured our kitchen was   better than our mattress...    and  then  one day  when    I  can't stand  going up those stairs anymore   we might be   able to  sell this place and get  a  nice patio retirement home...   but   alas, I get ahead of myself.  

Our  1930's  English Tudor  kitchen  is pretty  much as it   has always been  in the  27 years  we've lived here...

With the exception of  the newer  floor we did a few years ago  and the  newer paint pallette  a few more years ago....  and  I can't help myself,.,. I still love both...  the    eggplant walls  and  the    border...   so  it will remain.  I mean  we should  enjoy what we like,   right? But, that hutch has got to go... to make room for  another wall of  cabinets... with built in desk  for   technology, and you can just  barely see the  foot of the pie safe at  the right... beside  the  furnace flue...  that has to go to make  way for a  floor to ceiling pantry...  YAYAYAYA!

Love this photo of Lynn packing his lunch to go to work...  but, heheh, behind him you can see  just  how small this   1930's kitchen is...   I mean really I have made do with  2 drawers in my kitchen  following  the redo  I will have  3 times as many drawers....Just this   past   new years  during the  appliance  sales  I was ready to  go start replacing  the appliances with   stainless...    and I  fell in love with the  french door   fridge!


But, alas,  the new   fridges  are  so   much bigger now,  the  hole  under  my  upper cabinets   wasnt big enough.. That would take a major overhaul,   so I  still have  the white....and   will   probably keep  them.. They a re all  new  enough and still in great  working  order.  So  yes,   we have new  cabinets on order
  
New  cabinets for   some of the kitchen..
 new doors  on the old cabinets..which Lynn  will paint  Behr,  Rolling Pebble
  sample photo
At this time,   there are  wooden  valances   on the windows on the  other side of the kitchen  with  ugly  recessed  square   lights...  very    vintage  1950...  I am spoiling myself   and replacing them with   these  great lights I keep seeing on HGTV  redo's

  sample photo

  to brighten the whole  room  I   have ordered  this   lovely granite

 which   includes my lovely   deep red  I love so much!

And I   really love my new  updated  hardware..

  and  

So , until  the  end of June, I  am in dreaming stage...  but reality  is   dawning soon.

Make it Pretty 
A Return to Loveliness@ A Delightsome Life

Home Sweet Home

Thursday Favorite Things

Welcome October

                                           

October has always been one of my busiest  months..

 When I was teaching,  it seemed that was   the month I finally juggled all the balls into the air,   and  I spent the rest of the year keeping them all  going in a  mad-hatter  circle about me...retirement hasn't changed that much...  my calendar is so full of  things to do,,,, Bible studies  church committee work,  luncheons,  extra choir practices for holiday  programs,  club activities,    prayer vigils,  because  everything  needs to be completely  saturated with  life sustaining prayer.

But life is  great..  and  each new day offers new challenges and  opportunities...   and then  in the world around us we see  nature   winding down in a blaze of  glory....  something I think   we should  take time to do  as we are able....

Autumn has  such  a  glorious allure...

                                     

                                         the  colors are  radiant 

                 

                 I love this quote from this month's Victoria Bliss...

                 "Autumn burned brightly,a running flame                                 through the mountains,a torch flung to the trees.."

                                                 Faith Baldwin

                                

               Looks like it's time to plan a picnic in the mountains!!!

                              

                              or maybe one in our own backyard!!

                           

Home  and Garden 

 Outdoor Wednesday

Cottage Style Party 

A Hint of Autumn... well, maybe more than a hint!

I am  so into   my  autumn mood....  I can  hardly stand to  walk through the house without  trying to  bring out a bit of  orange, gold and brown...  a hint of autumn here...   all in the effort of bringing the outdoors inside!

a splattering there...

a splash yet over there!

  all this just in time for the  predicted  change in the weather   coming soon!!!

Home  and Garden  

 Outdoor Wednesday

Cottage Style Party 

Special Luncheon Under Heaven

Today was  an awesome day....   there is nothing  at all  like  celebrating  anything   with  your Christian  sisters..   earlier this week I wrote about a luncheon I  was planning for today   to  meet with  a group of  ladies from my church   who  are partnering with me to do a service project  on Monday... to  give a  fun Easter party to   kids at  an inner city mission, some of which are  transplanted refugees from  the Far East....  what a glorious opportunity to share the love of Christ, especially during this Holy Week!   Since this is  a life journal that I am blessed  that my daughter enjoys  following, I will share that   at 9:30 this morning I had an appointment  to meet with  Good Samaritan Hospice to discuss my mother's care which   wasnt exactly the  best time for me to  be discussing many  difficult topics and then rush home to  cook for   a luncheon for 6,  but  also, because one of those  6 is  a very   special friend, I had already called her to come and help  me,  and my  dearest Lynn helped  so much, too....   So there    was  one  very   amazing blessing of  my  morning..

The menu   was 

Sesame & Ginger Chicken

source

Ingredients

1  pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size strips

1/4 

cup bottled light Asian-style dressing with sesame and ginger

2 

cups packaged julienned carrots

1/8 

teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 

head butterhead lettuce, leaves separated

1/4 

cup honey-roasted peanuts, chopped

Lime wedges

Directions

Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir for 3 minutes or until browned. Add 1 tablespoon of the dressing and the carrots to skillet; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes more or until carrots are crisp-tender and chicken is no longer pink. Stir in red pepper. On a large platter arrange 4 stacks of lettuce leaves. Serve by filling leaves with chicken mixture. Sprinkle with nuts. Serve with remaining dressing and lime wedges.

From the Test Kitchen

Stack lettuce on plates. Top with chicken-carrot mixture. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Serve with remaining dressing and lime wedges. Serves 4

Deviled Eggs, roasted asparagus and  angel food cake topped with maserated strawberries and  whipped cream  rounded out the   lunch!

To maserate  strawberries:

1 pints (2 cups) fresh strawberries, sliced thick

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Thirty minutes to an hour before serving, combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside at room temperature.

Because this was a planning meeting, I had  individual baskets from the Dollar Tree  with the items  the ladies would need at the party at each place setting.. I was particularly  pleased the  varigated tulips opened nicely for me   right before the gathering time!

Inside each basket  were  the elements needed to decorate  Easter cookies with the children,    and  some story projects helps     to  pass out to each  child assigned to each lady! Ratio,3:1

Walmart was  a great one stop shop  for  purchasing all the decorating supplies  along with the  disposable  icing  sleeves so we  can  each have  at least  4  colors of icing in our basket of tricks!

 My daughter, Amanda  inspired me to  decorate the deviled eggs  with  chopped  red pepper, onion tops, and  carrots  to  make it  extra festive,  I also instructed my friend to  follow Amanda's   idea to  fill a baggy with  the  filling,  snip a hole in the corner and pipe the  goody into the egg white  for a super attractive look.....I love  the  special   touch that little  step made... 

         

 The  grocer did not have the butterhead  lettuce,  which  would have made for much nicer    servings....    this Boston lettuce was just  too  stiff and wouldnt roll easily... but  these  marvels were   quite delicious and were a  huge hit!

Oops, I    snapped this shot  before I had   gotten my serving of roasted  asparagus,  but what a   lovely side veggie that is for   this time of year....

 We enjoyed our dessert with  robust cups of  Arabica coffee...  Quite a lovely dining experience  today,  but   more importantly, to share  good food with  Christian friends  is  the best gift  under heaven.... 
The conversation was saturated with  what I truly believe  were  Holy Spirit inspirations   of  ways   to serve in the  church,   Benevolent  ideas  to explore,   warming  experiences  shared  and some that  were  just deeply personal revelations  shared in  the purity of  the safe  environment of trust and  understanding   One friend  summed it up this way,   "Today was  the church  in action lovingly  doing the work of the Lord." Our  stomachs  and our hearts and spirits were  filled to overflowing  today!

Home and Garden Thursday

Grace at Home

Cottage Style Party

The Charm of Home

Make it Pretty 

A Return to Loveliness

Martha’s Favorites 

Tea Time Tuesday 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Teacup Tuesday 

Friends Sharing Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things

In Lieu of Halloween

Our dining room  seems to be the heart of the house.... it reflects the  seasons  and family activity...

If it is autumn the black and white  linens are  usually   prominent...

The contrasting colors  just   brighten  every  tablescape...repeating colors     are echoed in the kitchen...



My inherited antique chicken  reminds me of  childhood gatherings around my mother's kitchen...
it's no wonder I  have  also inherited my mom's   love of  roosters.... like this fine fellow

  both these items   find their way into autumnal  vignettes  around my house..  simple  treasures   that  remind me of   family,  hearth, and home!

A Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Cottage Style Party @ Lavender Garden Cottage
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Favorite Things Thursday at Katherine’s Corner
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home on Thursday.

July is Here!

Good morning, and Happy July!....
I  am  so honored to have been featured   this week on  A Return to Loveliness

I must say, Im not so unhappy with the turbulent summer weather we've experienced here in SW Virginia.... Thankfully, the storms  havent been too damaging, but they surely do keep the temps down, which I really love,,,

and the flowers are heavy in bloom!



This is the fabulous view from my morning porch where I enjoy my first cuppa and meet with the Lord!!!



I am reading the Bible through in chronological order and to be honest I have fallen behind, so this morning I spent my time reading through almost the entire book of Proverbs..... We need to reread this book often to keep our minds fixed on Christ likeness! Anyway, that brought me up to June 17th which is making me f eel somewhat better about being behind!!!



So today seems to be a catchup kind of day..... life events have taken a toll on our time lately and I have taken time now to get in the Patriotic Spirit!



Having the sunroom table ready for what may come seems to keep me in good stead....

of course, I wash  everything prior to dining, but keeping it set motivates me to be more hospitable and prepared for good times with friends!




I love my flower vase I picked up in Williamsburg.... so easy to arrange summer flowers in and makes a patriotic statement, as well!





Our wonderful Old Glory is the most beautiful standard in the world.... may it ever wave!

A Lil Birdie Told Me

A little Birdie told me or should I say inspired me....ever since we found out  our daughter is having a little girl, our first grandchild,  we've  referred  to   wee one as lil Birdie,, and oh, how that sweet name has  grown in my heart.  Every  birdsong  speaks to me afresh now, every bird that soars  across  the lawn    catches my eye,      and  Im noticing just  how prominent   lil birdies are  becoming in my home. 

 In particular,  this bird family   I found at one of my favorite  local  boutiques....Plantagenet Rose...

Mother bird  looks so    beautifully  preening in her bath ever watchful of her   darling  chicks nearby... 

Lil Birdies keeping  their eyes on mother,  hoping one day to be able to fly up to the   bath and join her! 

Ah, what is this,,,  another  clutch of eggs   in her nest  wondering  why  there is a sudden chill...  aw,   wee ones,  mother wont be away too long... 

I love for   decor  to tell a story about   our lives..or else,   what purpose does it serve,,, otherwise, it  just seems like a lot of stuff!
  Along this theme I  found this    very  fun blog  full of   wonderful   projects   for  family and home..
Little Birdie Secrets.

  I am sharing on  these   weekly   parties.... A Return to Loveliness@ A Delightsome Life

Inspire Me Tuesday@ A Stroll Thru Life

Cottage Style Linky Party@ http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com