Happy Homemaker Monday

Well, I did my regular HHM post and when I ventured to link up this morning I found that the list of items had been changed up a bit...the new list starting next week will be 

The weather

How I am feeling this morning

On my mind

On the breakfast plate

On my reading pile

On my tv

On the menu this week

From the camera

Looking around the house

Chore I'm not looking forward to today or this week

To relax this week, I will

On my prayer list

Devotional/Bible Verse

Hosted by Sandra!

The weather outside is::::

Blustery, but sunny today but snow on the way!

On the breakfast plate this morning::::

Coffee and fruited yogurt...

As I look outside my window:::

I do not have to look outside to know the wind is howling! Not a fit day for man nor beast!

Right now I am::::

Hubs has Glenn Beck on... Bah! I just do not like talk radio no matter who it is!

SO I am madly trying to get my post up and out of here!!

As I look around the house::::

It is Epiphany, so Christmas comes down and back to the basement!

On today's to do list::::

Thinking hard about my need for as new computer..  may included some going and looking

marketing

Put Christmas away

On this week's to do list::::

2 Bible Studies tomorrow if snow doesn't cancel them

I need to study up on them some today!

Dinner with friends mid week,and church

SOS Prayer group here at our house

On the menu this week::::

No plans

Currently reading::::

Book of James~ Preparing for a new study in Sunday School 

Beholding and Becoming

The Art of Everyday Worship ,by Ruth Chou Simons

On the TV this week::::

whatever catches my eye.. but I did discover the new network for us , a PBS station called Create.. wonderful cooking shows like Ming Tsai, Martha Stewart, America's Test Kitchen.. British Baking ,, I can watch those anytime!!!

What I am creating at the moment::::

Organizing my new year's planner, my calendar stickers I ordered from Dayspring arrive today!! yayayay!

Photo to share:::

I love how the crescent moon and Venus led us to our hotel stop on our way home last week from Boston...I wish the sky had been a tad more clear, for the thin line of cloud shadowed the light just a bit.. But it was beautiful!

Prayers, Inspirational Quotes or Devotionals::::

I found this and I was looking in response to the troubling times we are in...

Unrest in Middle East, as well as here in our own country, need for protection for our troops, prayers for God to intervene in Australia and bring rains to quiet the fires and give hope and respite from the heat and fears, We here in Virginia sit in dread as we wait to see what our legislature is going to do to bring about huge changes to our Constitutional freedoms. God you are in control of all things.. Have your way, May your will be done!!

The Queen's Meme

Hosted by Bev Sykes!

Stolen from The Queen's Meme

1. January usually has ample amounts of snowfall in parts of the world. Did you ever make snow cream as a kid?

As a child when I'd go to Grandma's house on the farm, she would make it  only with very fresh fallen snow!

2. January is one of the months with 31 days. What are you going to do with that extra day?

I am always looking ahead so I'll probably be planning something for Valentine's Day!

3.  What is your favorite magazine?

Victoria Bliss!!

4.  If you live to be 99 years old, what would you like your life to be like in that last decade??

Mobile and pain free.. unlike my poor mother  who suffered so badly  with end of life arthritis. 

5. The great world of Wikipedia tells me that scientists claim 99% of all documented species are extinct. Which remaining species in the 1% category would you really like to see extinct.  And which species in the 99% category would you like to bring back?

Ticks, mosquitoes, snakes, gnats

6. On January 14, 1986 motorists were required for the first time to wear seat belts?

Do you always buckle up? Why or why not?

Absolutely!!

I  want to be safe!

7. Why did the cow jump over the moon?.

To get to the other side

9. Have you said anything in the last 24 hours that you regret?

I'm sure I have   and    I hate to live with regret  so I  pray alot!

10. Have you ever written anything on your blog that you wish you could take back?

I have and I delete it before sending it out into the world.Same with Face book.

11. Are you the blabber or the blabbee? Tell us your most embarrassing blabbermouth moment. I learned my lesson about being a blabber mouth... When I was  a preschooler  at home  my mom must have been having a bad day and  so she made a pot of spaghetti!  YAYA! But as she tasted it   it was so good she kept tasting it until there wasn't enough for supper.  So  she hid the evidence and made something  just so so for dinner.  When dad got home he complained that he had really hoped for something better and so I blabbed. "well, we had a pot of spaghetti but momma ate it all."  Not a good thing to do!  Momma whipped me around the house! 

12. How important is a cell phone in your life?

I use my iphone  for its camera...    and when I'm out away from a phone.Hubs never has his turned on so its pointless to call him in an emergency!

13. A "cuisine" is typically influenced by and named after geographical regions and cultures. Pretend your blog is a country. What is the name of your cuisine?

Buffalo Eagle Wingdings

I'm  afraid  I'm going to be arrested for  serving this! So   I am really  using  turkey wings,  Don't tell! Unless it is the police!

14.  You are the Blog Paparazzi! Which blogger's real photograph are you most interested in getting?

Too hard.  I have to think about this one!

15. Are you always on time or just a tad late?

I am usually a tad early.

16. Can you think of a time when you were late for something and it was REALLY a big deal?

I used to be late a lot  for my 8:00 classes  the summer of  1971... I had decided to  do  summer quarter  and lo and behold my  fiancee came home on leave that summer so I spent a lot of time here at home(1 hour  away from campus counting parking and  running to class)

  Even with 70 MPH speed limits I  was  mostly going 80 up I81 to Radford..  and many times in fog  where I couldn't see 5 feet in front of me.. only by the grace of God....these were my senior year  education classes like Philosophy of Ed..oh, my goodness!

17. If you were on your way to work and had five minutes to get there, would you stop in the road to rescue a crossing turtle?

To tell the honest truth probably not..  I'd have    measured  that against a room full of wily  third graders left on their own!

18. When you are having a really good day, what usually makes it good?

The sunshine, great music, sharing some loving kindness, and   God's grace

19.  What is the most annoying Christmas song?

I saw Momma kissing Santa Claus and  Jingle Bell rock, and Grandma got Run Over by a Reindeer I like the barking dogs better

20. You are Snow White. Which dwarf is your favorite and why?

Happy,  He just so cute!!!

Saturday 9 Keep Me Warm

Keep Me Warm

Welcome to Saturday: 9.

Hosted by Samantha!

Saturday 9: Keep Me Warm (2014)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

Here's our first Saturday 9 of 2020!

1) Are you feeling warm and cozy as you answer these questions?

Not really..  Sitting here  against this  granite counter  at my computer  in a  cool kitchen,  I am  trying not to think about  how I am actually feeling.. Hubs  brought a space heater in here and it is  beginning to  make a bit of difference.  

2) This time of year is important to college football fans. Are you watching/have you watched any of the Bowl games this year?  No, I would have watched the Virginia Tech game, but had another   engagement.  Since they lost I guess I'm glad  to have missed it!

3) Crazy Sam's been cold/flu free so far this winter and credits the Echinacea she takes every morning. Her brother insists she's wasting her money. Do you take any herbal supplements? I do.  Tumeric, mainly.

4) In the video for this song, Erin Bowman is singing in front of lights and ornaments. Are you sorry to see the decorations slowly disappear? Or do you think they should all come down right away? I always wait until   Epiphany..  And even then, I only take down the obvious.. the  trees and things that  scream Christmas,  but I still keep the wintry  items going.. my snow village will remain on the mantel with the twinkle lights and my seasonal tree will remain.  I love  lights around the house!

The greenery comes down  the  village stays up!

5) She sings about socks, a scarf and a sweater. Tell us about your favorite sweater.I purchased a heavy cable knit navy zip up sweater  from Land's End that I love... I wore it as my  outer wrap  during cool fall days,  but now I bundle up in it  when I don't feel cozy warm!I used to  run  hot natured, but no more!

6) Erin credits her 8th grade choir teacher for believing in her and giving her a solo. That helped give her the confidence to go into performing professionally. When you were in 8th grade, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up?

I knew I wanted to be an elementary teacher and  joined the future Teachers of America.  But I, also, loved home economics and  I joined   the Future Homemakers of America..  I had dreams of being a home decorator,  but I was so shy  I  never thought I would actually  get there..  When I went to college I still held on to that dream and they offered it at  the teachers' college I attended,  but at the last minute I switched to teaching!

7) This song has been used in commercials for McDonald's and Turner Classic Movies. What commercial have you seen recently? Was it on TV or online?

I usually leave the room at commercials or  do some channel surfing.

8) In 2014, when this song was first released, we lost both Joan Rivers and Robin Williams. What comedian always makes you laugh?

Telling my age here,  but when we go on senior bus trips  we watch comedy videos during the trip...  I love Jeanne Robertson!

9) Random question -- There are two performers in the trapeze act: the one who flies through the air and the one who catches the flier. Which would you rather be? I  get dizzy at great heights..  Neither for me, please!

Skywatch Friday Sunset

  Visit  our host at Skyley.

The evening sunset as we returned home through Pennsylvania last week!

 I love the gradient colors and hues!
Note: The linky would not allow me to use one of these  icons!

Word for 2020~Follow God

“Where He Leads Me I Will Follow.” 

Or begin your morning with a simple “You lead. I'll follow.”

I ran across this,  this morning and it  so resonates with me as I  step into 2020..for  never before in my almost 70 years have I crossed into a new decade or year  with as much trepidation..I am one who  follows  the news  pretty carefully  mainly  to know more  particularly how to pray.. being a prayer warrior  and leader of a prayer group that meets in our home, I feel the compulsion to  always be informed..  But in these days  truth is  so hard to divide..  The only one who  is Truth is our dear Lord and God!    So I  have purposed to keep my eyes on HIm, more and more  in my daily life.  
Our pastor posted the following on Face book and I  want to share it here!

Into making resolutions this time of year? Prayerfully consider the following along with me and ask for God's grace to grant you perseverance in pursuit of these practices (or ones like them):

1. To read more of God's Word than ever before
2. To pray more for those things that matter in eternity
3. To grow more impressed with the Kingdom of God and less impressed with what the world offers in and of itself
4. To better serve those whom God has placed in your sphere of influence with love and grace
5. To be more plugged in and active in a local body of believers striving together for the gospel mission

Such resolutions are lifelong and worthy goals of the developing believer because they result both in a greater appreciation for our great God and a more acute love for those he has created in his image.

This shall Be  God's banner over me this year.. At first I thought Thanksgiving would be my word for the  year..  being Thankful for all I see God doing in the world  keeping my eyes on Him. But today He has fine tuned it to be "Follow"..  Not only watch and pray,  but Follow God!!

Winter's Bliss

I suppose we should be happy to  be enjoying  these   mild days  of winter..    days where we have no idea how to dress, what kind of wrap to choose.  The sun is  low on the horizon, and so bright  one can scarcely see to drive!  And  if driving, by mid afternoon is tempted to  roll down the window a bit to  clear the air in the car!

So what that a year ago today  this was the view out of my window!

Well, to tell the truth. I miss it!  Isn't this the way January is supposed 

to be?..  How it is in all the glorious  stories we love?  If I can't have it in reality I can pretend, can't I ?

I  want to build a snowman.. I'll plant him on the table!  And pile  the snow about him  like  the snow cloud Elsa  provided  dear Olaf!  And then the  a snow village  came into view!

It being such a cheerful room   as we continue to celebrate the full Twelve days of Christmas, candle light sheds its  glow  o'er it all to  illuminate   the town,reminiscient of a Light that glows from on high and in our hearts  during this season and every day!
"It snowed and snowed, the whole world over,
Snow swept the world from end to end.
A candle burned on the table;
A candle burned."
-  Boris Pasternak, Dr. Zhivago  

    

                 

 Winter is best for me...   it is the  solitude.  the quiet hours... the chance to get alone with myself and with God..

"There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you .....  In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself."
-  Ruth Stout

 I love the word "savor".  Whether it is food or an idea, God's perfect Word...savoring takes time  and   it does require a solitary   climate..  I love winter!

So I will create  winter in my home.. a chance, an excuse, to hang on to more of the season!

Those bowls are  crying out for soup or stew  to warm and  strengthen  both body and spirit!

So for me now,  I   can  sit and enjoy a bit of wintry bliss  even if just for a while.  

"Winter, a lingering season, "as it should be" is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour. "

                             -  John Boswell

Even as I hear my neighbor outside mowing up his leaves!  Sigh!

I am joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for  Tablescape Thursday  Grace at Home    with  Richella.