The Needle in a Haystack

What To Do When the Rain turns to Sun

  It was so dreary this morning, not use to the time change, we woke up late, the animals still had to be fed .. breakfast wasn't made... Chris went tot he shoppe and I stayed at home to putter ...

   But after the good soaking rain it was 71 degrees and the sun was shining in a bright blue sky....so I headed outside to do this...

 
..and with a glass of ice tea and hte sun smiling down... a few hours later... I ended up with this:

  ..and it felt pretty good..... it has been awhile since I have woven a "me " project... and I do think that the next nice free day I will be gathering some honeysuckle and working on a few more projects...

   and you know , God is with us rain or shine...

  Have a fine day...all day long!

Last minute Birthday Gifts

About 4 :00 this afternoon I realized two friends I will be seeing tomorrow at the shoppe have birthdays.. I SHOULD have a gift drawer... but I don't so I went to some old stand bys that I knew would make a great little something

   One friend is a diabetic so I decided  the perfect cupcake for her would be a crocheted one...

  This can be used as a pin cushion aslo... I use the pattern  found at Bittersweet

  My other friend is a crocheter  so I wanted something a little different for her. I rummaged through my fabric stash and found some adorable cupcake fabric.. I decided a sweet little tissue holder was in order..

 I have been making this pattern for a few years. It can be found at Skip To My lou

 

  I guess my resolution about being ahead of things this year hasn't worked out so well...

~sigh~

  GO out and have a wonderful day... all day long...

Carrot Cake, Earwarmer/ Bernard

  Hey Bloggy friends, I had some sort of ear / throat thing going on today so I kept the chore list to a minimum.. ( or perhaps it was an excuse... I dunno)

  It had been awhile since we had one of our carrot cakes, Chris and I usually make a lunch or breakfast out of a big piece of this, whole wheat flour, pineapple, coconut, carrots, its justifiable...

I thought for sure I had written out this recipe before because we ahve had it so many times but I guess I hadn't so here goes"

CARROT CAKE

3 EGGS                                           

3/4C BUTTERMILK ( I use regular milk with vinegar , sour cream or yougart)

3/4 c oil                                   

2t vanilla

2t cinnamon

1/4 t salt

1 cup white flour

1cup whole wheat flour

2t baking soda

2 cups shredded carrots

1 cup  coconut

1 cup walnuts or pecans

8oz can of crushed pineapple with syrup

1cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9X12 pan

Mix flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon and set aside

In a large bowl combine eggs,buttermilk, oil, sugar & vanilla and mix well

add flour mixture and mix well

add the rest of the ingredients and mix well

pour into  prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean

allow to cool and ice with cream cheese frosting

 

... Very very good  with a hot beverage, we had ours for dessert

I undecorated the bedroom today and did a cleaning in there, I hate to see the Christmas decos go... but then I would not appreciate them so much next year would I?

 I made the cutest ear warmer/ headband today using Tam's  @ Coffee n' Crafts  pattern . I needed something to keep my ears warm when we walk in the afternoons... I ahve a hat that is good for super cold days, but this would be great for the windy days too.

I used up a bit of the purple yarn

 I got the yarn on sale and from one skein have two pairs of the purple mitts and this headband with some left over... not a bad haul for 2.00

  As I promised myself I was going to work through cross stitch and other reandom crafts I have started so today I worked on Bernard

 I got his hat and face done today, good grief this is some tiny fabric... might end up blind by the time I finish.. but he is very very cute.

 Tomorrows big plan besides going into the shoppe is to write thank yous, and visit our dear friend who lost her husband right before Christmas I made her a special batch of her favorite christmas candy  to take over. I am sure during the holidays folks were around her all the time, but a couple weeks end the folks clear out and reality sets in. They had been married  over 60 years.

 I hope you all had a great Thursday... that it was full of JOY...

... carry thaksgiving in your hearts always... and have a fine day... all day long!

 

Jan 2, 2013: Truman, crochet and cross stitch

Another  droopy day here at the farm.  We finished up the BBq and cinnamon rolls and spent a bit of time decluttering the outside.  We were hit with a dental bill that we weren't expecting and you know what dave Ramsey says.. " sell everything but the children to avoid more debt".. lets just say the scrap yard took a huge bite out of that bill.. hardwork but we were pleased.

  This evening I tried to crochet  a pair of slippers I had been eyeing  and despite the well written pattern and another tutorial by another bloggy friend  I can't seem to get it.

 The pattern can be found Here, and the Tute can be found at Coffee n' Crafts blog. 

.. and keeping it real... here is my third attempt getting ready for the frogging...

.. I am thinking Epic fail....

.. so I switched to a sweet little pillow I am cross stitching..

 Cute huh?  Well, there is a mistake that is going to require me to frog this one too... not my day for crafts I guess..

   So, while I pull stitches and rewind yarn I am listening to Truman on audio by McCullough... drinking a cuppa  chamomile/ lemon tea...

..... Enjoy the day... all day long!

A Busy Day @ End of the Road

... yes, it is hot and humid... but every time I start to grumble a bit I think of the folks in this country without power. or fighting fires , or have lost loved ones ....I'm here, I am healthy, I am safe....

  So I kept busy today getting somethings done  to keep my mind and hands busy. C is out of town until Thursday so the house is a bit quiet....

 I finished up a project I started yesterday, a crocheted mesh bag.... for the onions we harvested a couple weeks ago. I loosely used this pattern by Red Heart. This will allow the onions  to get a good airflow through them....  I used a cotton I had laying around and an H hook.

   as much as I love yogurt with frozen berries and homemade granola, I thought it was high time to try  Crockpot Yogurt. I'll let you know how it turns out... its resting on my table with a towel around it now.

 We did a big grocery shopping trip yesterday so I did some groundbeef cooking this morning  before it got too hot and pkged 6  bags to be used in meals over the next couple weeks...

OK, this is not my photo of the taco salad we had for lunch... but ours looked pretty close except I used lots of different lettuces in ours..

 I got the recipe @ six Sisters 

Tiffany @ MY Litter posted what looked like a good one too...we LOVE Doritos but are a bit concerned about additives so we use multigrain chips in ours....

 AND, I finally finished this cutie snowman

  Lots of wonderful patterns @ gazette94. and although the blog is written in French, there is an English translator  which makes it not only easy to read, but helps jar the highschool French memory a bit.

Anyhow, thats where this snowman came from.. and there are about  20 other things I want to stitch from her site. This snowman is headed to one of my nieces for Christmas...

  Our first batch of beans were harvested today... we are anxious to try them out as this is a new bean for us this year. We went with Roma Bush ... they are hearty but I think we are going to have to go with pole beans next year.

  The garden spot we have been nurturing for the last three years is not getting enough sun to make a good crop of several things so after this month we will begin mulching and  preparing  a much larger garden with more hours of sun light. The old spot will be perfect for  sweet potatoes, beens, peas....or maybe just expanding the chicken yeard and adding some rabbits next year....

  Time to go put together some dinner and settle in with a good book. One of the sweetest men at the market , Johnny , who just celebrated his 84th birthday, gave me a book to read  called " Gracie Allen and George's Burns... I still listen to their clips on you tube...

 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.1 Peter  2:15

  Pray for those facing disasters across our country today, pray what you can do to help...serving others through prayers or hands on service is a wonderful way to show the attitude of the GREATEST SERVANT, Jesus Christ.....

Feb 14, 2012

We had an awesome Valentines Day... busy , but great.

Along with planting 100 onion sets, gracoery shopping, delivering a computer, laundry, general sweeping, and animal care....

  our Valentines present to each other...was this

.. an outdoor pizza oven.   Our goal was to not spend more then 20.00 on the whole project and after a scavenge hunt around the property  we came in right at the 20.00.

We had originally found the plans at Garden Fork TV. This guy has so many great ideas and this one was at the top of our list.

we used the top to an old stand that was behind the shed

 We built an insulated well house with our pump enclosed so the old well enclosure worked wonders as a stand.... it was a two man job..

...and now a picture of where I crawled to retrieve the bricks left over from the old pony barn that was on the property when we moved here.. I braved spiders, dirt, and  a gaggle of slugs...not to mention there was some sort of unidentified scat under there... racoon? skunk? velocoraptor?

 Anyhow.. we then began layering brick

We did not have an old bedframe and could not find one at the local dump or resale store so we ended up at Tractor Supply and bought some angle iron...

some of our bricks had holes in them so we had to turn them sides ways on top to hold in the heat..

and there you have it...! We are christening it tomorrow with a pizzapaloza... I can't wait!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1Corinthians 13:4

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

 

 

Feb 6, 2012

...

The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community."  Bonhoffer

 This  quote stuck with me today as we visited a friend in the hospital and then attended a funeral for the husband of another friend.  When Chris accepted the call to pastor the tiny congregation at the Market, we knew it couls never be about us.... the only agenda we were given ...1) preach the gospel... 2) love the people... and I must say we do both. They are our family, and we cry and laugh with them... good times and bad... beacause that is what family does.

  And speaking of family, one of my cousins  was just diagnosed with breast cancer... , being far away is tough because  we all feel like we want to do SOMETHING... but its comforting to know we can pray... and that is the best SOMETHING!

  Despite how tired I was I headed out to sewing group... and I was sure glad I did... such a lively, fun bunch of ladies... and I was able to finish up Cadence's Valentines dress... bad picture.......... but you get the idea!

I think she will be the hit of her preschool party!

For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37

 

... absolutely!... 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!

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!