The Needle in a Haystack

What I'm reading...

In between  planting, caring for baby chicks and spring cleaning I have been in quite a reading mood lately. while its not uncommon for me to have two books going at once... it is unusal for me to ahve 4 or 5...but that's how it is... I thought I would share..

First up... The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough I love all of his books. Chris and I recently purchased Truman on audio that we hope to listen to soon

My Mother in Law and I decided to read  Respectible Sins by jerry Bridges I am anxious to have a good discussion on this book when we finish. we have given ourselves a nice long time of 5-6 weeks and then we will meet over lunch and talk about it.

Kristy and I are reading two books together Created to be His Helpmeet by Pearl ( no hate mail please.. I am not drinking hte kool aid and neither is Kristy but there are several good points to take away from the book no matter what your opinion of the Pearls are) and A Confident Heart by Renee Swope.

.. and lastly Coalwood Way by Homer Hickam this is for my Book Across the States project I have been working on for... ummm 4 years now.

 

 

The pollen has been so bad lately that when I am not in the garden it has been good to plop down and read a  bit...

  This morning the daily Bible verse really made me think about our business..

Proverbs 22:1

A good name is to be more desired than great wealth . . .

That is exactly how we want our business to be known, by our good name..

..have a fine day...all day long!

 

A Day @ Duke University..... Book across the States N.H.

Yesterday and today have been simply beautiful here in the Carolinas. We left early yesterday to run errands and take care of some business calls in Durham and decided  a walk around Duke University campus and lunch at the Bryan Center was in order. I love the feel of sitting on the steps of an the old buildings and doing a bit of people watching. Unfortunately ( or fortunately) there was a funeral for the oldest surviving member of the Duke family so only foot traffic was allowed. We were able to eat lunch on campus but this is as close as we could get to the Chapel which was our destination.

We decided to walk a few trails  and just enjoy the sunshine ( and work of the milkshakes :) )

One thing I was curious about was this sculpture

The Scientist and Nature  You can read about it, the commision and meaning  ,here

 I finished the day with my sewing group. These ladies are the sweetest there is! I am 75% finished with my first project and 50% fiished with another. Too fun!

  We had breakfast and a business call in South Boston, Va this morning... then Chris had a service call and I had a busniess appointment  in the afternoon.

  I got home at 5:30 qith NOTHING planned for dinner. With chciken strops, arugala, tortillas, shredded cheese and ranch dressing  we whipped up snack wraps ... just like MC"d's... for have the price ..they were very yummy!

I finished my New Hampshire read .. a Gather of Days..interesting...a young adult reader... but with great content on early settlements in NH and the under ground rail road, I giv eit three thumbs up

 

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

– 2 Samuel 22:17-18 (NIV)

 

Good stuff huh?   Be safe...and have a fine day.......all day long!

 

Jan. 17, 2012

I think I have the most adorable neices and nephews.... all of them..... and today one of those adorable ( or should I say handsome) ones is having a birthday..

  He is such a sweetie....

 

.. Chris and I spent the morning running errands .. one of which was paying the county taxes, which upsets Chris every year when we do it.... Our taxes took a hundred dollar a year jump... so despite trying for the rest of the outing that a steak wrap from our favorite resturant would be just the thing to help him calm down, he drove home mumbling something about beans and rice  and the economy... didn't help that our cable bill notice came and is going up 4% and the electric rates went  5%...AND we had gone by the grocery store and everything in the whole store is more expensive.... We got home and he spent some time burning things in the back yard and then came in and finished the sink in the spare bathroom.. nothing like the state of things to get him a bit geared up...

,,,,, I spent the afternoon doing a bit of sewing...

  I made a few hearts for our themed tree at the shoppe...I used this free pattern @ All ABOUT YOU

I also mastered the  my first embroidery piece on my sewing machine.... I am in love!  It was a simple heart, but really so easy to do and I plan on spending a big part of tomorrow experimenting with letters and words.  It really was fun!

I finished reading Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree    by Susan Albert Wittig.  I have been reading the China Bayless books for years and am so happy that now I have another one of Susan's series to keep me busy .

  I have managed to stay on task with both my bike and my Bible reading.   They say 21 days to make a habit !

  Tomorrow I will be having the give away for Crystal's Book " Money Saving Mom" be on the look out!

I am off to stitch awhile..

Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

 Proverbs 10:4 (NIV)

Have a fine day.......all day long!

 

Jan 6&7, 2012

So it really did seem like a good idea to give our old lab, Raven, a beanie baby to keep her company while we were at work now that she is an only dog....

           bad idea

..what you can not see in this picture are the 200billion gazillion small plastic pellets that now cover every inch of our living room rug.... they are like Christmas tree tinsel.....or Easter grass....we'll pretty much be cleaning them up for the next 10 years

  We worked the last two days at the shop.  despite that I was able to do a bit of stitching...a couple smalls. The first is almost done despite the short amount of time I had to work on it.

... this is from Sprite stitch

AND today was simply two little snowmen to go on the tree at the shoppe... We decided to do a season tree all year...

.. And keeping up with Pammy Sue's CAL

I was able to finally get to the next color in my ripple.  I have plans for this ripple I do believe a upcoming birthday in the next couple of months... 

Horrible picture... but its late and I am cleaning up plastic pellets..

So, I was able to finish up Mourning Gloria

This is a China Bayless book and I loved it as much as the others I have read...

In my read through the Bible in a year I am up to Genesis 20 and Matthew 6:18

  .One of the great things about our shoppe is the wonderful deputies that do off duty on Sat. afternoons.  They are all friends of our LEO son and we appreciate getting to know each of them better. Craig and I were having a discussion about this verse today... and I thought I would share ( he preaches at his church from time to timeand I know he is a blessing to them, he was to me!)

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,

– 2 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)

Very fitting for police officers I think.. and for all of us!

Hope and pray you all ahve a fine day.................all day Long!

Jan 3, 2012

 After so many beautiful days ..it was just plain COLD today.   We decided to forgo our errands we had planned and stayed inside drinking hot cuppas and working on small projects around here.  All the Christmas decos are packed away except the tree which will stay up til Jan 6th. I really will miss it, a small tree, but so pretty.

 Bible reading today was  Gen . 7-9 and Matthew 3

I finished up two books while on teh bike today. One really doesn't count as it was a book from my childhood collection on Mary Mapes Dodge. It was absolutely one of my favorites when I was maybe 10 (?).. The other was a book in my Book Across the States Project I started way back Jan. of 2009. It was another Debbie Macomber book, Dakota Born.  I really liked the other book I read by her set in WA but this one seemed perdictible.I know there are two other books in the series but I am not sure I will read them.

My cross stitch  start for today was so much fun.  I am already half finished. This will be for one of my neices.

This is a freebie from Gazette94 I love her designs so much. I have done a couple and hope to do a couple more . Pour a cuppa tea and go visit her.... bonus if you read french... un peu...becoming more fluent IS on the bucket list...

 .. and what would a cold afternoon be without a bit of sweetness with our afternoon coffee/tea...

We opted for Energy Bites.   At least we can convince ourselves these are healthy.  Christopher eats them on the way to work or class... or everytime he opens the fridge...

As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.” Genesis 8:22

...and have a fine day, all day long!

 

Jan 2,2012

 One of the treats for the holidays was to have dinner hosted by my brother in law and his wife.  The food was delicious!  To make it easy all the way around Laura decided on breakfast for dinner.

 

  I HAD to have her recipe for the coffee cakes she made. Chris and I made this today for our afternoon "coffee/tea" time.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 ½ c. sugar
½ butter or margarine, softened
2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
¾ c. milk
1 tsp. almond extract
1 c. mini-semisweet chocolate morsels
Powdered sugar

Directions:
Combine 1st 4 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; mix on low speed of electric mixer until mixture resembles fine.  Remove about ½ cup crumb mixture and set aside.
Add eggs, milk, and almond extract to remaining crumb mixture; mix until well blended.  Stir in chocolate morsels.  Pour batter into a greased 11x13 baking dish; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes or until cake tests done.  Cool slightly; dust top with powdered sugar.

Note:
    This is also good made with blueberries in place of the chocolate chips. 

 

It was Day 2 of the Crazy January Challenge and todays project was the January Owl from Oakhaven. He really is sweet but I do believe tomorrow's start will HAVE to be on large count material.

 

Today's Bible reading was Genisis  4-6 and Matthew Chapter 2

Almost finished with My Debbie Macomber book and read more on Mourning Gloria while I was on the recumbant bike.

I also made our laundry detergent for the next 6 months.  We have an He front loader and I was tired of paying the exensive prices for the special detergent. This recipe works fine on about a 1/4 cup in a front loader...

Laundry Detergent

• 1 measuring cup of Borax
• 1 measuring cup of Super washing soda
• 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap OR 1 bar of Ivory soap
• If desired 1 small bottle of fabric softener

I use 1 measuring cup of Borax 1 Cup of Super washing soda and 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap or you can use 1 bar of Ivory soap.  You can find the Fels-Naptha soap at Kroger and also Walmart but it is not in the isle where all the soap is in the laundry detergent isle.

Shred bar of soap with cheese shredder put into sauce pan covering the soap with just enough hot tap water to stir. Cook on top of stove on medium continue stirring soap until soap melts.

Fill 5 gallon bucket with hot tap water add all ingredients stir put lid on  Bucket let stand over night take off lid stir again ready to use I usually fill up one of my tide bottles using the tide lid full for each load washed shake well before each use  . You can also add 1 small bottle of fabric softener if desired .

This will make 5-7 Five gallon buckets minus the bar of soap.

 

  Today a dear sister went to be witht he Lord. I have known her since I was a baby. She and her husband were a part of my life when I was growing up. They were in a car accident and June was killed instantly.  Fred is in intensive care in Morgantown , WV.  June wa sin her 80's as is Fred.  I know June is rejoicing witht he saints, but my heart aches for Fred at the loss of his bride of 60 years.

 Chris chose this Bible verse for us today....... it was a good fit..

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. John 6:44

  Have a fine day....all day long

Jan 1, 2012

 We just finished up the dishes from our annual New Years Day feast of pork roast, sauerkraut, collards and blackeyed peas. Usually we have several folks for dinner but this year it was just Chris, Christopher, Daniel and I.  We have had such a great holiday but boy are we tired!

  Chris spent the day doing inventory for the business and besides doing a bit of laundry and cooking this is what I did most of the day...

  Each year I decide on a reading plan or study guide for my Bible time.  This year I will read the Bible through again using Bible Gateway Reading Plan . This will come to my kindle to read everyday.

 so today was Genesis 1-3 and Matthew Chapter 1.

No secret I am a HUGE China Bayles fan. I am finishing up another one in the series this week. I have a few copies signed by the author and am looking forward to the new one coming out in April.

   So for some crazy reason I decided to join the cross stitch Crazy January Challenge 2012 (a yahoo group). The concept is to start 15 new projects for each of the first 15 days of Jan. Then stitch at will until they are finished. Some ladies are going for 31... but I am at least a semi realist... It is fun to see what others are doing and share stitching stories from lovely ladies from all over the world.

 I decided on Bernard a Wee One: from Heart in Hand  stitched on linen

    I think if I continue to work on linen I will need a stitching magnifier....but I love the look!

and finally, I couldn't go the day with out a little crochet.  Chris and I decided to keep the tree up at the shoppe and just change out the decoration according to the season.  We are going with snowmen and snowflakes for Jan.  I thought a herd ( gaggle) of these little fellas were in order.

 

This is a free pattern from DapperToad

 we decided to keep our tree up just a few more days... its so pretty and we all enjoy it.

 Chris and I want to pray a most blessed New Year for each of you..

There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 ² a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecc 3 1-8

..have a fine year...all year long!

The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine

I have been reading Money saving Mom for some time now and was more then honored to review Crystal's upcoming book for her.

  I must say it was a very easy to read informative book with several catagories of easy to apply principles.

   One of the main objectives for me reviewing hte book was to find an "all in one" type book to give my son's future wives, my dauther , and daughter in law. I was not disappointed.

    Crystal's book tells of her early days of marriage when her husband was in college and the "team work" they applied to graduate debt free.  There are menu tips, orgainizational tips, work sheets , and the grand finale of encouragement of paying cash for their first home. I think every young lady should include this book in their pre marital reads. I know this will be one of my favorite wedding shower gifts not just for our own family but other young ladies as well.

  Not that its for just the young folks!  I too have benefitted so much from what Crystal calls the Drug Store Game .  There is a chapter that spells out how to clip the coupons and work the sells so you never have to pay for toilitries again!  I know I started doing this three years ago and have a nice stock pile of essentials to use and share that didn't cost a dime except for my initial investment.

.....Can I encourage you to add The Money Saving Mom's Budget to your 2012 reading list.  You will not be disappointed!  As a bonus, all the profits from the book will go to Compassion International, a charity near and dear to Crystal and Jesse heart.

 You can pre order Crystal's book   By clicking Here, at Amazon.com.

 

Proverbs 1:7 Respect and obey the LORD! This is the beginning of knowledge.  Only a fool rejects wisdom and good advice.

   And have a fine day....all day long!

December...Already?

 So Chris and I were eating dinner last night and we both sort of had this ah-ha moment like.." It's Thursday, where did this week go?" ..and then we took a couple more bites and we looked at each other and it was  ... Goodness Gracious!  It's Dec.   So we haveno idea how this week flew by so quickly... I know we planted all of our trees finally, apple and fig, did some pre Christmas cleaning, worked a bit of the spare bathroom  and I kicked elf mode into over drive.  Fortunately I started early , made less things this year, and spent some great time bartering and trading with fellow vendors at the market.   Today we decorated the shop and put up a 4 ft tree there.  I took a handful or ornaments over but the tree is completely full .  It was sort of like Stone Soup.  Several vendors gave us handmade ornaments for the tree and it really does look so lovely and full.

 If you have littles... or even semi littles I highly recommend this book. YOu can get the book for free from the internet but I love the illustrations in a couple of versions  from Amazon or Walmart ( I am not an affiliate).  One of the fun things I did with my children was to make stone soup. They would search for the perfect tock which we would wash and scrub and that was the base of our soup. Each child added a differnt ingredient and we usually made bread to go with it.  a great way to keep little ones busy on a winter day .

  Chris finally got his birthday/ Christmas present this week.  a firearm he has wanted for YEARS.  This way he will be able to go to the range and not have to borrow one of Josh's . I personally am not the greatest at firearms of any kind.  I learned to shoot because we live in the middle of no where and it is something I might need to know.  But the range time and target shooting is definitely the guy thing. I am more then happy to stay home and pull out my hooks/ yarn/ DMC  and material.

BUT!!!

Since one of our goals for 2012 is to learn new skills... My Christmas present will be here hopefully Monday.

I have been wanting this little number for a few years too. Not only does it sew but it does embroidery too. Cyber Monday 1/2 off was all it took for me to empty out my sewing machine envelope ( yes, we use the envelope system) and add a bit to it to get the machine.  I am so excited! I even signed up to take a class in Jan. at the local community college so I can learn abit more about it. I am VERY anxious to get started on it!

   Today at the market two folks came up to me and shared somethings that touched me ... both enabled me to be honored to pray for them. Another shared a testimony of God's protection always  for his people... I was humbled by each conversation.

...nuf said................have a fine day....all day long!

Book Across the States .. "Counting on Grace"... Vermont

I know, it seems everytime folks think I have forgotten about this project ( yeah..its been three years since I started), I finish another book.

   This time I went to late 1800's Vermont with a young adult book " Counting on Grace", based  on a true story of a 9 year old girl stuck in a mill family.  The book shows day to day life before child labor laws... the frustrations, pains and upsets .

   This is the first time I had delved into this portion of history and as disturbing as it was I am very glad I did.

  Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop is my Book Across the States selection for Vermont.