Happy Homemaker Monday

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The weather outside is::::

promising to be nice... it is bright and sunny... 

a good day to get out and walk which will make my

daughter very happy to read this this morning...

On the breakfast plate this morning::::

fruited yogurt with honey nut granola and a lovely 

cup of coffee

As I look outside my window:::

it is such a sunshiny day, the light is blindingly

cheerful...

Right now I am::::

sitting here in my jammies and house coat awaiting hubby to 

bring me my morning repast.... I love this lil habit

we have created since his retirement..... 

I get to sit and do my morning internet time

and he demonstrates his love for me 

in the most lovely manner!

As I look around the house::::

This are looking better all the time.. everytime I go into a

room I am looking for things that I do not need or 

how to organize things better... I am loving the 

organization storage unit I got at IKea which I have shown 

twice already. Lynn is putting the floor one together

today and I am deciding the items to store in the

wicker baskets.. Ive already removed all of my

Beth Moore study guides from the downstairs book case 

to store in one of them. THis created a ton of space 

on the bookcase... Now I am thinking how I can 

organize the books by topic on that book case.. 

Every little bit is making a huge improvement

in every room.

On today's to do list::::

get the storage unit assembled

continue working in the storage room downstairs

collect items to take to donate

find a few items to offer to a friend whose son

is asking for furniture

laundry

Currently reading::::

The book of Daniel

Beth Moore's study guide on Daniel

research on Ireland for our trip this year

On the TV today::::

              I was watching Penny Serenade last night on youtube and

                didnt get to finish it because Downton Abbey

                             was coming on...What a sweet movie PS is...

                       highly receommended.

On the menu this week::::

barbecued pork loin

chef salad and baked potatoes

kale, cornbread, and navy beans

(Will take this dish to my sweet friend 

in the nursing home)

What I am creating at the moment::::

an organized house

New recipe I tried or want to try this week::::

AMISH BROCCOLI SALAD

This delightful salad with my own tweaks lends itself to some wonderful ideas for variations, so be sure to check them out at the bottom of the recipe! This recipe will definitely feed a crowd.  The Smoked Gouda lends an amazing flavor to the salad and would be especially great served at a barbecue.  The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of sugar.  Feel free to reduce the sweetener to taste, leave it out, or use your own preferred sweetener.

Note:  If you prefer, you can blanch the vegetables in boiling water for 3 minutes to take the edge off the crunchiness (especially for the cauliflower (that's why I suggest cutting it real small).

1 lb chopped broccoli (0.45 kg)

1 lb chopped cauliflower (0.45 kg)

  (chopped into very small chunks)

1/2  lb bacon, fried and crumbled (0.2 kg)

  (about 7 slices)

2 cups grated Smoked Gouda, OR (500 mL)

  Cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup mayonnaise (250 mL)

1 cup sour cream (250 mL)

Liquid sweetener (sucralose or stevia) to equal 1/2  cup sugar (125 mL)

  (this is optional...but the sweet taste is popular in this)

1/2  tsp salt, OR to taste (2 mL)

In large salad bowl or trifle bowl, combine broccoli, cauliflower, bacon and 11/2  cups (375 mL) Smoked Gouda or Cheddar cheese.  In medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, liquid sweetener and salt.  Stir the creamy mixture into the broccoli salad.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.  Cover the salad bowl with plastic wrap and chill before serving

Favorite photo from the camera::::

MY gorgeous orchid my sweet cousin sent me!

Prayers, Inspirational Quotes or Devotionals::::

fear has stopped me from doing

too many things in life,....

all fear is , is a lie of satan...

I refuse to listen anymore

Proclamation: 2015, the Year of Organization

I do hereby proclaim that  during  the year of our Lord, 2015, I  will  organize our home and my life.

 I am posting this   with 

 here!

 because  this is  really a spiritual exercise for me...  getting my house in order.....  our home and my physical  home in which the  spirit of God dwells.

The last several years of my life I have been necessarily caught up in  caring  for and  interceding for my  aging parents  and their business....  as well  as  various and sundry  church activities that  have basically  drained the lifeblood from me.....  in order to attend to business I had to let  many things go.... myself.... my home,,,,  primarily..... I have posted recently   that my mom  passed  away right after Christmas,   while My dad  did  right before Christmas of   2013...  so this chapter of  my life  is closed and I intend a fresh start  in 2015!  My daughter and I  spoke  about  these things quite a bit while she was  here  a few weeks ago, and  since that time, I  have made  some  changes already....  I am cutting  back on  obligations   at church  a bit....  I will  follow  through with  my commitments I had already made,  but   there are  areas   which I have  cut  out  entirely  for a time. but the biggest change  for me personally  is the great satisfaction I am having  regarding   my   decision to organize the house.  I am committed to doing one    project everyday....   great and small.
Vocabulary words relatively new to me are:

Purge........... Donate............ Throw away...................Repurpose

It all started  with  the Christmas decorations....  I  had about4  plastic bins... after purging the   worn out, tacky, and  out of style/tired  items I  have  room to bundle up all of my Christmas linens into  bags and pack away in the bins as well... That  made me so happy to find   that  empty space in my  hutch and linen closet!

It seems that  suddenly I found I enjoyed throwing away  stuff... like Amanda   told me,   regarding books,   If you cant   imagine yourself reading it again... or ever.....   donate!  I have  donated  4 bags so far and have  another  bag  ready to go.  

Now I can    find  bookshelf space for all the books I had lying all around the house!

I also  found purging old Christmas cards  fun!    That was a very novel thing for me...I mean I  retired from teaching 11 years ago...  I hardly think  I could ever really repurpose  those any more!

 Getting the  house   decluttered  as we  are  deciding  what else we need to do to put it on the market  as we are downsizing....  I  really needed to  organize  my paperwork....

Ikea  helped me  greatly with  that.

 Yesterday's project was   clearing out   all of my   silk flowers  from the  basement storage room  ...  goodness  they  were  stuffed away in various  boxes,  bags,     a royal  mess....    This    project meant quite a bit of  throwing out  the sad and  broken,     donating   flowers  that  do not match  my home anymore.... ( I used to   go  Victorian with  pinks and mauves  about  15 years ago)   does this qualify  me  as a hoarder....  aha... no more!!! Now they are  assorted seasonally   in  labelled tubs  ...   that was part I.  The storage room itself needs more  decluttering and   arranging to make space for  new  shelving....  that will come a bit  later...

Today's project involved  something  Lynn inherited years ago from his brother...

he had been wanting to    get these pennies  in sleeves  forever so long...  because of the nasty weather  and our desire for a low key project today... we   did just that....

 We rolled  126 rolls of pennies.....  wow  $63.00... and grimy fingers.... yuck! I guess you could say  we  repurposed those pennies into  hard earned cash!

 I think  my daughter is delighted with this   resolution I am  determined to keep... this proclamation to  reinvent  myself  and  my home!

Ne'er the Twain Shall Meet

Last fall when we were in Newport,  we stayed in the most charming B&B...  and  I  fell in love with the decor..

I shared in  a recent post about how I was completely charmed by the    faux  stag head,  and the  use of  antler on the mantel....  I had been noticing    a popularity of  antler in table  settings  recently and  I  was  looking everywhere  for a way to  get my hands on some short of   asking  one of my hunter friends... but I understand  they value  antler as  great  trophies of  their  endeavors....HAHA.....Anyway,  I did find  the  faux  stag  and     put it on my Christmas wish list....
Well, sometimes,  Christmas   comes   in a little late,   and so did  a  nice  package   on my  doorstep!
My lovely   faux stag head....

I  absolutely  adore   this   lovely accent piece....   but  my next  dilemma  was  to  find a home for him...

my family seemed to think  it was  more  a den  piece,  so   upon reflection, it seemed perfect..

Since I sort of have a hunt theme going on in  there... I found this   lovely painting  at  an estate sale years ago, and  just loved the  it...  It was painted by a   the daughter of  a good friend  and    the daughter just didnt  want it... was  one of her early works.... Well, I     thought it was  charming...

 and now   decades later,  the object of the   hunt   resides  on  an opposite wall,,, 

But, ne'er  the twain shall meet... this stag is much too crafty to ever be    brought down!  For I dont think of    this representation as   a trophy of a kill,  but the  essence of a  glorious  life,  well lived....  a  beautiful wild  expression of God's creation!

Make it Pretty 
A Return to Loveliness@ A Delightsome Life

Home Sweet Home

Thursday Favorite Things

Happy Homemaker Monday

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Today:
dreary, icy and   cold January day!

Right now I am::: 
so pleasantly  excited because  I  saw accomplished every   thing  from the slightest detail to the  most dreaded  item on my todo list  for the last  week or so.... Committee work,  ( year-end close-out),   Lynn found my  cd I got  for Christmas  and  couldnt find for several days....  and we got the  storage unit put together and  arranged today!! It is a grand feeling to  not have these things, or anything  really, hanging over   your head....aw!

Thinking and pondering::: 
I  have been thinking for some time now that  it is  time to  start getting this house ready to sell... I love this home.... but  the stairs arent getting any  shorter and  the years keep slipping by...oh, there is so much to  throw out,  donate,  organize, and  revamp..

On my bedside table:::
Lynn Kurland's new  novel,  Roses in Moonlight.
I know the title sounds  like a steamy  romance,  but actually,   Kurland's books arent at all.  Historical,  time travel romance to  the British Isles....  That  is  just  a lovely  vacation from   reality.... and I havent read a novel in some time....

On my tv tonight:::

sorry...reading 

Listening to:::

 My  new Christmas CD...  love love love it....  so glad Lynn found it in  the  alarm clock cd player...
Hidden in My Heart, a Lullaby Journey through Scripture
(highly recommended)

On the menu for this week:::

menus?????
I find I am not a menu planner

On my to do list:::
 laundry

reading

Bible Study 
now that  Christmas is all   put away and organized....  do a bit  of decorating
organize my  storage room  focusing mainly on the  seasonal   flowers  and  arranging   stuffs

  

    Plans for this week:::

Monday -  
Committee Work
phone calls and  correspondence
Planning meeting for the Sunday School class 

Tuesday
Laundry
marketing
decorating

Wednesday
walk exercise
choir

Thursday
 Sam's Luncheon 
Bible Study 

Friday
Christians United to Prayer meeting

Saturday
 Third Saturday prayer chapel
Soup/ salad/dessert  dinner   

My simple pleasure:::

perusing Zillow looking for  possible houses  in our price range....

Lessons learned:
Drink more water!!!!

Looking around the house:::
IN the last month  we have been revamping  Amanda's old room  to   create  Birdie's space....

I love the  cute  window treatments I made  they truly are  straight but the  ruffles make them look crooked....   I still do have  my little corner  where  I  do my computing and  business

but the rest of the room is Birdie's 

Today Lynn put the  organizer  from Ikea  together....yayayaya   

I have another one  for the floor  we'll master tomorrow!

The reality is though  I still do occupy  my inner sanctum  in my wee little corner....  when Birdie isnt here!

From the camera

Our  dear  girls....  Amanda and Birdie as  they prepared to   jet away home  from Christmas with us!

Prayer List:::

Our  home, family,    church,  and  nation

Bible verse, Devotional:::
 Deuteronomy 33:26
 One of my verses for 2015
"There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor.

 God bless

The Wonders of a Granddaughter

Happy Pink Saturday!

For Happy Pink Saturday  I  am sharing     the wonders of   getting to enjoy  our   wonderful granddaughter, Birdie!! 

Amanda   and family returned to us the next day following the funeral...  what a blessing to us!

Just in time to  help us     redo the christmas tree!

     But then,our Christmas decor  was   mostly forgotten....   just the barest amount of time was spent  relighting  all the   gee-gaws....  we just  revelled in our togetherness!.

Birdie  learned  a new and better  way  for using her new chair....

  what a big girl she is becoming!

Bless her lil pea-pickin' heart!

 Bless them both!!!!

Now,   what can I explore....

 I think I can.. I think I can....

 I did,  I did,     and I like it!!!!

Hm.....   I wonder what is over there??? 

  Then before     I knew it,   it was bathtime and  then   we were off to  Richmond

   to   see  our  girls fly away home!

So    I close the chapter    and   begin  anew!
 Welcome 2015!

Gone But Not Forgotten

Life Legacy

Jean Cox Lineberry, 91, of Roanoke, Virginia, went home to be with the Lord, Saturday, December 27, 2014. She was a member of Fairview United Methodist Church from 1950 to 1972 and helped to re-open the Glenwood United Methodist Church in Galax, Va., where she was a member from 1974 to 1997. In 1997, she became a member of Woodlawn United Methodist Church. Throughout her life her calling was the love of bible study and the desire to bring the Word to people. Her spiritual gift was that of evangelist in her daily walk. She and her late husband, Carroll Lineberry spent their retirement woodworking and presenting with the Virginia Mountain Craft Guild under the name of Jean's Things. She was preceded in death by her husband, Carroll Guynn Lineberry and parents, Roy Thomas and Pauline Higgins Cox....The funeral service will be 12:00 PM Tuesday, December 30, 2014 at Oakeys South Chapel on Brambleton Avenue with Hospice Chaplin Marvin Barbre and Dr. James Tarter officiating. Burial will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Good Samaritan Hospice.

 

Her spirit was committed    to the Lord and    it    is  a  relief to see her physical body  released from  its bondage of pain and suffering....

My heart is with you, Mama!

Joy and Grief

Our family  wishes you  the very   happiest new year...   I know I am late with this greeting, but  this Christmas, much like last  Christmas, has been fraught with  varying degrees of   joy  and grief.  Our   precious   children arrived  on the 18th  and we     spent the next day with my  dearest mother    who was  just barely able to join us   for  a celebration  of  family and yuletide cheer....  you can see in the  photo   her  humerus  which she had broken so severely    jsut a week before was   breaking through her frail  arm.  At  78 pounds she was  just barely with us.  But she was  thrilled to be with  the family, especially  with   Amanda and Birdie!

 Birdie  is one of the joys of   our lives.... so  precious in everyway...   delightfully   bright and happy all the time!

 She loved her new  phone..immediately her thumbs went to work   "texting' just as  she'd seen her mom and dad do so much!  She didnt quite seem to understnad  what the  big deal was with that,  but she loved the phone!

 Another joy is  our  beautiful and  amazing daughter, Amanda, without whom I would never have made it through the  Christmas season this year.

 Our Christmas day was   the 23rd  this year  and  Birdie's  delight in  packages and tissue paper  kept  smiles on all our faces.

 while Amanda and I   relished our annual  fire with its warm and  cheerful glow!

I  loved watching  sweetums    explore her   Christmas toys!

 Soon  the  kids left us to   Christmas with   Joshua's family...  and  we settled in to  just  enjoying the  after glow of  Christmas  2014... then  on  the  27th   we got the call  we had  been expecting   for some time...  Mom's vitals were  very low...   hurry  on over...  but she was gone when we  got there.
Thankfully,   the kids were still in town..God's timing is perfect....   His will  amazing..  His  mercy everlasting and  full of grace!

 Mother   passed away on December 27,  two days after Christmas... she  had  held on   for weeks  just to see  our family together  one last time.  Dad passed away last Christmas.. and now  after 70 years of marriage  they a re   reunited at last!

 My  dear cousin, Pam, released the dove at her   funeral....  Pam   is and was  so dear to mom  because she lived with us for some months  as a child  when her own mother  battled cancer,,,,  praise God   she is a survivor!

  We  were   very blessed that  our children were able to adjust their flight schedules  and remain with us   a few extra days....   I'll  tell more about   those days  in my next post.