everything domestic

A tip for bread-machine baking.

2007-11-13T23:44:00.000-05:00

One good thing to keep in mind with any recipe, is to make sure that the cord to your bread machine is not anywhere near a burner on the stove which happened to be on high just before your sister moved the pot off of it. If you're not careful, the cord will end up on the burner and the insulation around the wires will begin to melt off onto the stovetop. If this happens, remain calm, turn off the machine and unplug it. Carefully clean the melted rubber off the stove as best you can while it's hot. When you can't get any more off because it's too hot to scrub, run down to the basement and get the electrical tape. Wrap approximately 3 yards of tape around the 3 inches of cord that got burned. (It's too bad it's black on your white cord; it can't be helped. That is, if you want to finish this loaf tonight. I'm sure they sell white tape somewhere, but you'll just have to make do.) Remove the pan of dough from the machine, and set it on the stove (not on any hot burners) and cover it to keep the dough warm. Then plug the machine back in and let the cycle run through as many minutes as it had before the cord burned. Then wait for an appropriate pause so you can re-insert the pan of dough to let it finish. Keep a watch for any smoky smells. If you notice something, check it out, but it's probably just flour that got spewed over onto the elements underneath. No problem. Tomorrow when you're sufficiently rested and the stove is sufficiently cooled from today's fiasco, figure out some way to get the last bits of melted cord insulation off the stovetop, preferably without having to resort to turning the stove on to burn it off. Because that would stink. Literally.

Prayer Request

2007-11-05T23:09:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all, I just wanted to ask everyone to be praying for a very good friend of mine. She has some perplexing health issues the doctors are trying to figure out. She's had joint pain and swelling, and some preliminary blood tests have shown her liver enzymes to be 11 times higher than normal-- normal range being up to 40; her's are at 444... We're still waiting to hear back from some other tests, but just keep her in your prayers, that if the Lord wills it, she will be healed from these issues, or if it would bring Him most glory for her to suffer with them, that He will give us all grace to bear it patiently.

Let Them Sing Psalms!

2007-10-28T15:37:00.000-05:00

I long for the ploughboy to sing them to himself as he follows the plow, the weaver to hum them to the tune of his shuttle, the traveler to beguile with them the dullness of his journey. ~Erasmus

I happen to love good hyms. John Newton's are my special favorites. But there is something about psalm-singing that tops even Watts, Bonar, and Newton. Maybe it is the knowledge that these psalms have been sung for millenia by people who love the Lord. The singing of psalms has always been a tool among His people used for comfort, blessing, and meditation.

There is a certain unity among the Lord's people to be felt when you sing the scriptures. True, our rhyme and meter of our psalters are of English-speaking man's invention, but the spirit of the words is a common thread that binds Christians and Messianic Jews through the ages to the living and inspired Word of God.

The French Huguenots found the Psalter to be an invaluable aid for keeping up their courage and strength in the midst of persecution. It was said by a Catholic bishop of the time that, "To know these Psalms by heart is, among the Huguenots, a sign of the communion to which they belong; and in the towns in which they are most numerous the airs may be heard coming from the mouths of artisans, and, in the country, from those of tillers of soil."

How wonderful it would be to dispel the worldly pollution in our homes, cities, and countrysides by the cheerful uplifting of our voices in psalm tunes! Wouldn't it be nice to take a stroll down your street and listen as your neighbors sang to the Lord with joy in their hearts? Perhaps though, it is your neighbors who need to hear your voice singing praises to the God of heaven and earth. What a witness this would be!

Think with me how much good is ours to accomplish by psalm-singing. Not only are we able to alleviate some of the cares of our day by getting our thoughts back onto the law of the Lord (Psalm 1:2), but as we sing audibly, others who could be struggling with their own troubles may hear our words and be comforted by them.

The apostle Paul encourages us to "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16) Singing the psalter is quite helpful for memorizing the Word and allowing it to dwell in your hearts. Many times in my Bible reading, when I come to a psalm I have sung before, I hear the tune coming to mind as I read over the passage. Then, instead of going away a forgetful hearer, the psalm is still with me in song as I go on with the business of the day.

What a treasure we have in our psalters! There was a time, before the Reformation (as many of you know), when the entire Word of God was kept from the common people. But did you remember that congregations of those days were only permitted to listen as members of the clergy sang chants in a language unfamiliar to all but those who sang it? It was not until the days of John Calvin that the scriptures were translated into singable verses with equally singable melodies and delivered into the hands and hearts of lay people. Then even children could have access to the psalms we still sing today.

How thankful we should be to have this continuing heritage of psalm-singing! We have such easy access to the Word of God, not just on paper, but set to music as well! I wonder if we recognize how blessed we are?

********************************************
Here are a few sites you may wish to visit:

Sermonaudio.com Psalter has metrical versions of the Psalms, and piano accompaniment to some of them.

Killearn Free Church of Scotland has mp3s you can download for free. Beautiful a capella men's voices-- with a Scottish accent too! I made myself a CD of these guys.

I have this CD by the Scottish Philharmonic Singers. Very good.

Here is a page about the French/Genevan Psalter. Scroll down to view the psalms they have available.

Do you have any favorite psalm CDs? Does your church use a psalter? Which is your favorite psalm? Mine is 147.

This post is a part of the Reformation Day Symposium on Tim Challies's blog.

Faithful in that which is least

2007-02-17T17:45:00.000-05:00

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much." Luke 16:10a

************************************

As you can see, I'm back on blogger (for now)! 2007 has been a year of incredible busyness and change for me, but through it all I have had an amazing sense of God's direction and provision. My computer time has been extremely limited this year, which is why my blog has taken a back seat. Church work, e-mails, and more important online duties have had to come before blogging, so sorry y'all! It's nothing personal! I think about all of you often, and I try to check up on you when I get the chance. But I don't see that I will be having tons of regular time for blogging in the near future, so I just wanted to let you know what's been going on with me lately and that you probably shouldn't expect to see me on here very often :-( *sorry*... But just put me in your blogreader if I'm not there already and you'll get notified when I post something new ; )

I want to take the opportunity of this post to share with y'all the amazing ways in which the Lord has answered prayer in my life and shown me His love and provision in just these first two months of the year. There are so many things I am thankful for already, that I can't imagine how thankful I will be when Thanksgiving rolls around in November.

The first week of the year saw professions of Christ from both of my little sisters! I had been praying for Katie towards the end of the year, and on New Year's Day she had long talks with my mom and stepdad and came to the end of herself and into the love of our Savior! Then a few days later, my sister Hannah (5 years old) told us that she had been saved too-- She couldn't remember when it was, but "it was at nighttime," and she "asked Him to save her." My mom asked her how she knew that God heard and saved her, and she answered, "because He said, 'uh-huh!'" : ) From the mouth of babes...

On top of those best of blessings, the months of January and February have continued to see heaps of blessings upon me. In so many "little," yet tangible things, I have seen the Lord provide for me abundantly. Here is a list of things I prayed for and received:

1- a new bread machine for $10-$15 (got an almost-new $75 one from Goodwill for $10- works great!)
2- a winter dress coat for under $35 (I found it for $28, brand-new)
3- a ski trip with my friends (the Lord moved someone from church to "out of the blue" give me enough money for both me and my sister to go skiing, and then another person gave us a discount on the lift tickets)
4- a tank of gas, when I was trying not to spend any more money till payday
5- opportunities to spend quality time with friends (two of them)
6- a red sweater in just the right shade, to wear with my gray skirt (found it yesterday at Goodwill in like-new condition, for $3.39)
7- (this one made me feel really special!) a pair of brown Mary Janes!! (I have been looking for a pair since December (I love Mary Janes, and brown ones are so hard to find!)- I've looked through many stores, bid twice for a pair on ebay (never won them), and had to leave it up to the Lord and be content with what I have... Then yesterday at the Goodwill I'm rarely at, there was a pair, in exactly my size, with very little wear- for $3.39!)
8- (this is the funniest one) 3 job offers in one week!! Now granted, I had not been praying for *3* job offers, but I had been seriously considering picking up a few more hours somewhere to try to save enough money to meet a goal I had set for myself to have completed by the time I'm 21.
On a certain Monday, I applied for a job at the local garden center, but they wanted someone to work Sundays... I didn't think they'd be interested in me since I said plainly I wouldn't work Sundays.
Wednesday I get a phone call from a lady in town who picked up my very last business card from the table at the coffee shop across from her shop (she never reads the cards on the table), and saw that I sewed. She called me immediately after getting back to her shop, and said that just the night before she prayed specifically with her grandmother, for someone young who likes to sew, who she could hire and train to eventually take over her custom drapery business! She wanted to meet me that afternoon, and she hired me on the spot! She is a Christian and it is obvious to both her and me that the Lord guided our paths in that way. I was not willing to put out business cards at that coffee shop a few moths ago, but Katie convinced me to just put out three. They sat there for some time, and then the Saturday previous to all this, Katie informed me that they had been by and only one of my cards was left. That one was the card my new boss "happened" to notice on that Wednesday.
That same evening, I had to reserve the skis I would be renting for the ski trip which was going to be on Friday. So before church I went to the ski shop and as I was paying, the manager/owner read the form I had had to fill out to rent skis, saw my age, etc., and told me he was interested in hiring a young woman to run a coffee shop he would be opening up inside the store... He was really interested in getting me for the job, told me he'd pay me more than the sewing lady could, etc, etc, etc... and gave me his business card so I could call him once I had thought about it. (I didn't need to think about it, because I knew I would *not* be interested in working with all the boys that worked for him in the shop!!)
The next Monday, I'm in my car on the way to my first day at the curtain place, my cell phone rings, and it's someone from the garden center, interested in setting up an interview!! I told them I had just accepted another job since I spoke to them last, and thanked them for offering but I didn't need to interview with them at this point... and whew! I've never been so "bombarded" with jobs, when I wasn't really seeking very hard!!
The Lord planted the desire in me for a new job (in addition to my library work, which I'll only be doing on Friday afternoons and one Saturday per month now)... got me ready to look for one, and then threw me a job that is infinitely better suited to me than I could've picked for myself. I had been praying about what to do with my sewing (for business): whether I should advertise more or let it go, and it seems that God would instead have me to primarily sew for this lady, and then help my friends as needs arise. I'll still be sewing for my family at home.
The new job is going very well, and I'm learning a lot about sewing for the home. I've made pillows, swags, jabots (which are *not* pronounced as they look! It's a French word, and boy am I glad I realized what they were talking about and corrected my thinking of it before I had to say the word!! I've only ever read about "zha-BOWS"; never talked about them!!), tablecloths, drapes, dust ruffles, etc... and I love working on the industrial machines! I'm especially enjoying the blind-hemming machine! It's so interesting : )

Pray for me to have wisdom to know how many hours I should work (the lady says she wants me as much as she can have me!), and not to neglect my duties at home, and to have time to do things for my church, and to not be too tired to sew for my family, and to be able to read each day...

Anyway, the point of all this, and the reason I chose the title I did for this post, is that the Lord has been proving to me that He is faithful, that He cares about what I want and need, and that He is utterly able and willing to provide me with everything good, in His time. My God cares about the style, color, and size of a pair of shoes I want- and He gives them to me as an unexpected love-gift at just the right time. My God knows that I have specific goals about how much money I want to have saved at the end of this year, and He has gone before and prepared a way for those goals to be met, by providing me, at just the right time, with a brand-new job not far from home, with Christian women to work with. If my God is so concerned about the "little things" of my life, I have that much more cause to joyfully trust Him to provide for the "big things." He says He will meet my every need, and that is reason enough to rejoice. But then I actually see Him work out even the tiniest of details, and He proves Himself true to His Word, and I can't help but thank Him and trust Him more!

Praise ye the Lord, Who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth!
Shelters thee under His wings, yea so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen, How thy desires e'er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Did you miss me?

2007-02-16T14:43:00.000-05:00

I will be writing soon to account for my long, un-called-for absence (but don't get your hopes up for anything *too* exciting yet)... but in the meanwhile, here's a picture from Susan's visit to my house to prove she really was here, if you were inclined to doubt.
I'll be back soon!

Another Year is Dawning

2007-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Another year is dawning:
Dear Father, let it be,
In working or in waiting,
Another year with Thee;
Another year of progress,
Another year of praise,
Another year of proving
Thy presence all the days;

Another year of mercies,
Of faithfulness and grace;
Another year of gladness
In the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning
Upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting,
Of quiet, happy rest;

Another year of service,
Of witness for Thy love;
Another year of training
For holier work above.
Another year is dawning:
Dear Father, let it be,
On earth or else in heaven,
Another year for Thee.

Frances R. Havergal, emphasis mine
sing to tune "Aurelia," or The Church's One Foundation

Happy New Year to you all!

Complaining, Part Two

2006-12-31T14:20:00.000-05:00

I recently blogged about David bringing his complaints before the Lord, and my thoughts about Christians and complaining. Susan referred me back to one of our favorite books, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, where Jeremiah Burroughs so eloquently speaks on the same topic. Here is a brief paragraph from the first chapter.

[A quiet heart] is not opposed to making in an orderly manner our moan and complaint to God, and to our friends. Though a Christian ought to be quiet under God's correcting hand, he may without any breach of Christian contentment complain to God. As one of the ancients says, Though not with a tumultuous clamour and shrieking out in a confused passion, yet in a quiet, still, submissive way he may unbosom his heart to God. Likewise he may communicate his sad condition to his Christian friends, showing them how God has dealt with him, and how heavy the affliction is upon him, that they may speak a word in season to his weary soul.
~Jeremiah Burroughs, 1648 (emphasis mine)

Satisfaction even in Singleness (and beyond!)

2006-12-30T08:06:00.000-05:00

I recently stumbled across the book, Getting Serious About Getting Married. I was able to read the first few pages of it on Amazon, as well as a review of it on Boundless. But I have mixed thoughts concerning the author's points. Granted, I have not actually read the book, only the snippets I could find on Amazon, and the review, but while I was agreeing with the points I found that she made in the Table of Contents and throughout what I was able to read online, part of me also was rejecting them...

One argument she makes is against the oft-repeated phrase about "Jesus is enough for you, single friend"... but should it be challenged? Isn't it in Christ alone that we can ever find true satisfaction and contentment? Isn't it Christ who will not only give us the desire for marriage, but also cause us to be content when we need to be (since He commands us to be content in all places, times, and situations); and in His perfect time and way, according to His perfect will, provide just the perfect, sin-stained spouse we need? And isn't in Him that we will also always need to find our satisfaction after He grants us our desire for marriage?

We too easily set ourselves up for failure when we start thinking that if I only was married, then I'd be content. Then I'd never worry about anything. Then it would be easy to trust the Lord!But when we do so, we have wrongly shifted our view of the source of satisfaction from our Perfect, Eternal, Heavenly Bridegroom, to a fallen, temporary, earthly one.

I agree that God loves marriage, that God intends it for most of His people, that it is a good thing; but I also know (whether I remember to practice it is another story!) that I am to be content where God has me now, that He knows every dream of mine, and that He has all goodness and power to give me exactly what is good for me. I don't always, no, I never! know what is good for me. But He does. And He is controlling everything in my life. I can trust Him with every single one of my hopes and dreams, and know assuredly that He will fulfill every one that is good and pleasing to Him, and will even bless me more abundantly than what I know to ask for.

So I recognize that I have a longing for something that is good and godly; it is something that God is in the habit of giving to His people; and I even believe it to be His will for me at some point in my life. I have my hopes and plans and dreams- and timetable!- but God has His, and it's infinitely better than mine! He is the One "calling the shots" and I know He hears my prayers and will answer them in THE VERY BEST way.

Jesus really is enough. He will provide everything I need. Whether what I really need is what I think I need is up for debate-- but I know for certain that He will never fail me. Jesus is enough for me to find satisfaction in as a single lady, a married woman, and even a widow, as He wills. My contentment can't be in anyone else, not even the best man God has picked out for me.

-------------------------------------------

This post is inspired by a lengthy comment I left on Keziah's blog regarding a post on the book I referenced.

These hymns are coming to mind:
Satisfied
None But Christ Can Satisfy

satis= "enough," "sufficient"
My grace will satisfy thee.

Single Women at Home

2006-12-27T19:07:00.000-05:00

Carolyn McCulley has written a very good article about single women, hospitality, and home-making. Please take a minute or two to read the whole thing, but here is my favorite part:

We shouldn’t wait until marriage is on the horizon to cultivate domesticity. In Titus 2:5, we find that older women are to train younger women to be “working at home.” This is one of Scripture’s commands to women. Period. Granted, this passage does assume that most women will be wives, but it also assumes that we need instruction to prepare for that role. We need training to love our husbands and love our children. We need to be taught how to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, and kind, as well as how to be submissive to our husbands. Single women are included in that training. We are to be trained in all aspects, even though we may not be called by God to fill those roles, immediately or ever. In that light, we’re no less exempt from the charge to be working at home than we are from the commands to be self-controlled, pure, or kind.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-23T13:22:00.000-05:00

From Jesse's Stock Up-Springing

From Jesse's stock up-springing,
On tender root has grown:
A rose by Prophet's singing,
To all the world made known.
The rose 'midst winter's cold,
A lovely blossom bearing,
In former days foretold.

This rose then of my story
Isaiah did proclaim.
What God ordained in glory
By blessed Mary came.
The Child the virgin bore,
The world's salvation bringing
Through Him for evermore.

The rosebud small and tender
Gives fragrance every day.
And by its brilliant splendor
Makes darkness pass away.
True man, yet very God,
From sin and death He saves us
And lightens every load.

Since all He comes to ransom,
By all be He adored;
The Infant born in Bethle'm,
The Saviour and the Lord.
Repeat the hymn again;
"To God on high be glory,
And peace on earth to men!"

This is my favorite Christmas hymn for three reasons. First, I love the imagery within the text. Second, the tune is beautiful, even if it is difficult to sing in parts. And thirdly, it is the hymn that my friend (also named Jessi- no "e") and I always would request in youth group carol-sings, because it had our name in it. : )

HT for tune: www.sermonaudio.com

Complaining

2006-12-22T13:03:00.000-05:00

In Psalm 144, David prays for the Lord to prosper Israel so that there would be "no complaining in our streets."

But in Psalm 142, he says that he "poured out his complaint before the Lord," he "shewed before him" his trouble.

We are told to do all things without murmuring or disputing; complaining or arguring... so why does David admit to complaining to the Lord? Isn't complaining "wrong"?

Maybe the sin of complaining lies in to whom we are telling our complaints, and the attitude in which we speak. Do we go around chanting "nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody knows my sorrow," and live in a despondent mood? If so, that type of complaining is done out of rebellion to the Lord. We are not willing to acknowledge that "whatever our God ordains is right."

But David was complaining to the Lord out of trust and submission to Him. He knew that it was only the Lord Who was capable of changing his circumstances. He didn't go around complaining "in the streets" to everyone who would listen; he took his burden to the Lord and left it there.

Mother-Daughter Tea

2006-12-18T11:23:00.000-05:00

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Here are some pictures from a Mother-Daughter Tea we had with our church friends on Saturday morning. We had a lovely time! I had never been to our local little tea room, but it was so cute! It was nicely decorated, and had a cute gift shop... And we got to try on hats and choose one to wear during the brunch! Don't you like the brown one my mom is wearing (Picture 2)?

#1. The entire group, outside the Tea Room. Sorry for the squinty eyes- but the sun was bright!

#2. Table No. 1: My mom (Angie), Sheilah M., Anna-Grace M., Hannah (my sister).

#3. Table No. 2: Katie (my sister), Erin K., Rebecca Y., me.

#4. Table No. 3: Mrs. Kimbro (pastor's wife), Ms. Debbie M., Keri K.

#5. Pastor's wife and two daughters... my friend Jessi couldn't come with us.

#6. My favorite picture of them all. Cute, isn't she!!

#7. Yours truly.

#8. Sheilah, my mom, and me, taken by my sister Hannah.

How it happened

2006-12-18T09:16:00.000-05:00

The post you've all been waiting for!!

Are you ready to hear the story??

Drumroll, please?

*walks up to the stage, takes place at the microphone; crowds cheering*

"Thank you, thank you. Please... please, have a seat. Thank you all for coming out today. It means so much to me." *another round of applause* "No, really, you must sit down. Make yourselves comfortable!

"Thursday night my sister and I had just finished watching a movie with our family. It was after 11:00, and the two of us were sleepy and hyper. You know what that's like!"

*laughter*

"Katie was comparing her height to mine, and finding that she was inevitably doomed to spend the rest of her life being looked down upon by me, she began endeavoring to add a cubit to her stature... Not by taking thought, but by simultaneously pushing my shoulders down while boosting herself up off the ground.

"What she meant as a playful attempt to make herself taller than me, actually felt good to me. She was stretching my shoulder muscles by her weight on them. I told her that I liked it, and said she could do it again." (See where the "shoulders" thing comes in??)

*ooh, oh, we see...* *knowing nods amongst the audience*

"My stepdad, upon seeing our previous 'competition' remarked, 'Katie, I don't think you're ever going to be taller than Jessie. But I still think you could take her if it came down to it.'

"This statement prompted a swell of pride and hope in my sister's heart, and spurred on by the thought of it, quickly shifted her hands from being pressed on my shoulders, to snatching up my elbows and holding my arms behind my back before I knew what was happening.

"There is something you must know before I continue the story. It pains me to confess it... but I must for the sake of the narrative." *reluctant sigh* "I am incredibly ticklish."

*smiles and occasional "uh-oh!'s"*

"So as she grabbed my elbows and held my arms behind me, I was being tickled at the sides of my waist. Katie was not intending to tickle me, and didn't even know she was! But I felt tickled... and in the same way that when a skunk feels threatened, he sprays, when I feel tickled I squirm! I become rather violent when I am being tickled; but Katie had me trapped! My arms were stuck behind my back, and there was no way to escape!! I couldn't get away! My only option I could find in the confusion of the moment, was to jump and try to run and break free!

"However as I jumped, Katie's grip on me only strengthed! Insead of breaking loose as I had intended, my jump only caused me to double over, leaning forward with my feet off the ground! Katie was supporting my entire weight by holding my arms at my back, and my head was now nearer the ground than my feet were!"

*frightened sighs!* *a lady faints in the crowd!*

"Katie finally heard my desperate cries to 'let me get down! Put me down!' 'Stop!! You're still tickling me!' 'My feet are off the floor!' so she let go of my arms... But my feet still weren't on the ground, and my head was almost! Now I began to fall from her supporting hands, and being doubled over as I was, with my hands still behind me with no time to put them out to break my fall- I saw the floor coming nearer and nearer my face, when *bam!* my nose hit the carpet, followed by the rest of me."

*shocked exclamations!*

"After a slightly dazed second, I realized what had just happened! My sister had dropped me! I had fallen on my nose! Is it broken? bruised? Am I bleeding? Do I have carpet burn on my cheek?" (no to all of the above, btw.)

"But my nose! It's getting bigger by the minute!" (or not.)

"So there you have it. That's how my sister dropped me, and I fell on my nose."

*applause*

"Again, thank you, thank you" *curtsies* "Glad you could come out today! See you 'round!"

*more cheers* as I exit the stage, waving...

Neat-O

2006-12-15T16:11:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Jonny for linking to such a fun site!

I've always wondered where all you blog readers of mine come from!

I'll leave this one for y'all to figure out:

2006-12-15T07:45:00.001-05:00

Last night my sister (Katie) dropped me, and I fell on my nose.

Random Thoughts

2006-12-10T22:13:00.000-05:00

If I ever have two male cats, their names will be Hobart and Gilbert.

But Gilbert has to be black and white.

And yes, that's Hobart as in Tasmania.

Shouldn't Americans spell it Tazmania? Like "legaliz(s)e", "materializ(s)e", etc? Just wondering.

I get this way when I'm tired.

Ooh, I just realized I can call them Bart and Bert.

Scrabble- Presbyterian Edition

2006-12-07T07:07:00.000-05:00

"I am glad to tell you that Andrea and I are now working closely with Hasbro, the makers of Scrabble to develop an expanded version of our beloved game that will be known as Super Scrabble the Presbyterian Edition. The SSPE game will have a larger board that is 30 spaces wide, and a custom Presbyterian dictionary that other versions do not include. There will be a longer tile slate that will hold 20 tiles as opposed to the regular 7 tile slate. The regular one minute sand-timer has been replaced with a 3 minute timer for those deep thinking scholars and theologians that want to make epistemologically self-conscious choices regarding placement of their tiles and choice of words. There are of course more tiles to accomplish a healthy game of SSPE. While the regular edition of Scrabble only contains spaces devoted to triple letter scoring, the SSPE boasts 12 quintuplet letter score spaces, 10 quadruple letter score spaces, 8 triple letter score spaces and so forth. Hasbro has a project completion date set for next fall. Perhaps you will even see SSPE available for sale in Vision Forum's catalog next year if it passes product inspection and approval?!?!?!"

Click here to read the whole story- is a blast! Thanks, Kelly and Andrea, for sharing such a great idea!

While we're on the topic...

2006-12-05T22:24:00.000-05:00

How Southern Are You?

This "test" doesn't score based on pronunciation so much as vocabulary. It's interesting anyway. I'm "97% Dixie. Is General Lee your grandfather?!"

How 'bout y'all?

My Voice

2006-12-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am. Now that you've heard Susan's voice, now you can hear mine! Do I sound like you thought I would?

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Skirts

2006-11-27T07:30:00.000-05:00

There are three reasons why I'm writing this post:
1- I've just been wanting to.
2- I'm tired of seeing that picture of me from the post below.
3- I haven't posted anything at all in forever, so it's time for something new. : )

You may have caught the allusion in my title for this post, coming from the title of a book I've never read and movie I've never seen... but working in a public library exposes me to a lot of liberal stuff out there! It just seemed fitting to "steal" the wording of that book, and use it for my purposes.

At Wal-Mart on Saturday I was reminded again of something that is special amongst us skirt/dress-wearing girls. I was in the children's department, holding my 5-year old sister's hand, admiring the baby things with her. I was dressed in a skirt and blouse, with my hair twisted up; Hannah was in a printed jumper and pink turtleneck. Her hair was down, and it's l-o-n-g!

As we stood there, with the rest of my female family members nearby (also wearing skirts), a "skirt lady" and her teenage daughter strolled down the main aisle. I noticed they were dressed femininely, and they had their hair all up and pretty, and the mother glanced at Hannah and me-- and then I caught the knowing nod she tossed over her shoulder to her daughter. There it was- the look that says it all amongst us girls: they're wearing skirts!

My family classifies conservatively-dressed women and girls as either "bun ladies" (the ones who wear skirts and long hair, and are usually seen sporting a Gibson-girl pompadour) or "skirt ladies" (ones who may or may not have particularly long hair, but who dress and live femininely and modestly). Many times we don't complete a shopping trip anywhere without meeting one or twenty. I'm not always sure of their religious background, but when we see each other, we see a kinship, an encouragement that we aren't alone in our stand against immodesty.

Besides the knowing nods we occasionally see, one time in particular that stands out in my memory was once when I was in the grocery store with my family. Another family passed us in the store, and this family was full of little girls in dresses. As they walked by, I heard the littlest girl whisper to her mother, "Look, Mommy! They're wearing skirts!" Even to that little girl, it was obvious that femininity is not popular. She was shocked to run into us at the store, happily attired in girly clothes.

I don't wear skirts because my church tells me to. I don't wear skirts because I just like being different and having people talk about me. I don't wear skirts so I can belong to some sort of "secret club." I wear skirts becase to me, they are the most appropriate way to be modest and feminine. I like being a girl, and that's why I wear skirts.

**This post is not meant to offend anyone's beliefs about the way she dresses. I believe we have Christian liberty to hold differing views as to the standards of women's dress, as long as the biblical principle of modesty is always sought to be honored. The way I apply the principle of modesty may look different from the way you do; this post is only about my application of modesty. These statements have not been approved by the FDA and are not to be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease. I just had to throw that in.**

I've gone back on my word.

2006-10-29T21:54:00.000-05:00

*Oops*

Susan can testify that I always said I would never wear black anywhere near my face because I felt it was too dark for my fair complexion.

But I've broken my own law, since I bought a black hat at Cato's yesterday. It was a really good price and it's pretty; and I had been thinking that if I could find a nice-looking one for a decent price I would probably get it, because a black hat is a black hat- it's a basic standby. Anybody can wear black and it's okay. So I wore it to church today, and thus ends my no-black-near-the-face rule. I'm not quite ready for black sweaters or shirts though. We've gotta go easy on this.

It didn't accentuate my white skin as much as I feared, but it does make my hair look brown in the picture. = ( I don't want to go brown!

Psalm 147

2006-10-19T09:14:00.000-05:00

Click to listen.

1 PRAISE ye the Lord; for it is good
Praise to our God to sing:
For it is pleasant, and to praise
Is a becoming thing.
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem,
And he it is alone
That the dispersed of Israel
Doth gather into one.

3 Those that are broken in their heart
And grieved in their minds
He healeth, and their painful wounds
He tenderly up-binds.
4 He counts the number of the stars;
He names them every one.
5 Great is our Lord, and of great power;
His wisdom search can none.

6 The Lord lifts up the meek; and casts
The wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord, and give him thanks;
On harp his praises sound;
8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds,
Who for the earth below
Prepareth rain, who maketh grass
Upon the mountains grow.

9 He gives the beast his food, he feeds
The ravens young that cry.
10 His pleasure not in horse's strength,
Nor in man's legs doth lie.
11 But in all those that do him fear
The Lord doth pleasure take;
In those that to his mercy do
In hope themselves betake.

12 The Lord praise, O Jerusalem;
Zion, thy God confess:
13 For thy gates' bars he maketh strong;
Thy sons in thee doth bless.
14 He in thy borders maketh peace;
With fine wheat filleth thee.
15 He sends forth his command on earth,
His word runs speedily.

16 Hoar-frost, like ashes, scattereth he;
Like wool he snow doth give:
17 Like morsels casteth forth his ice;
Who in its cold can live?
18 He sendeth forth his mighty word,
And melteth them again;
His wind he makes to blow, and then
The waters flow amain.

19 The doctrine of his holy word
To Jacob he doth show;
His statutes and his judgments he
Gives Israel to know.
20 Of other nations unto none
Such favour shown hath he:
And they his judgments have not known.
Praise to the Lord give ye.

Potential User Pic:

2006-10-04T19:52:00.000-05:00

Accurate vs. Precise, OR Well, but Wrong.

2006-09-28T21:30:00.000-05:00

Recently my dad was talking about the difference in being precise or being accurate. An architect can be very precise in his measurements, down to several hundreths of an inch, but if he's a foot off from where he should be measuring from, his very precise measurement is precisely inaccurate! On the other hand, someone else can be not quite so precise as the first guy, but yet have a more accurate measurement, if this guy started from and ended at the right places, though he may only measure in one-inch increments.

All that to say, I just realized that there are several things that I do that are accurately imprecise. Things that I do "wrong", but well:

- For example, I type very quickly and with good accuracy, but I don't type "the way you're supposed to." I just don't do the asdf, jkl; thing right. In fact I don't use my pinkies at all, except for my left pinky, whose sole purpose is to press "shift." (Poor little right pinky never gets to do anything!)
- I also don't write cursive correctly. My "cursive" is neither print nor cursive, yet contains elements of each.
- Another thing that was recently brought to my attention was that I don't tap my fingers correctly. You know, like when someone is tapping their fingers because they're impatient. (But I would never be impatient, of course... Just so you know.) I start from my first finger and end on my pinky, whereas everyone else in my family starts with their pinkies and ends on their first finger. Oh well, what can I say? I remember having to teach myself how to even do it my way! [You may not know, though you should, that I am very uncoordinated, (though I've improved somewhat) so it was a big deal to me several years ago that I couldn't tap my fingers in a run like everybody else! What I failed to notice was the order in which they were tapped...] So now I can only do it wrong. I would have to force myself to relearn it, if I wanted to, to do it "right."
- I also never fill out forms in the right order. I skip around and come back to things, and check over what I've done to see if I missed anything. I've found that when I have to write receipts in our book at the library that I jump all around the page, filling out first one section, then another, but yet I do it in my same mixed-up way every time. Once again, I am being, though accurate (it all gets filled in), very imprecise (it's done crazy-like).

This tendency to be accurate, but not precise, may have something to do with my learning style. I think I'm classified as a Concrete Random... But a lesson I've learned from noticing these tendencies is how important it is to learn something right the first time. It really doesn't matter mcuh how I type or write or fill out forms or tap my fingers, I know. But in more serious areas of life, it is important to learn something the right way, the first time. It's always harder to re-learn something when you've first learned it incorrectly. So kids, listen to your parents and learn to do things the way they say to, and even more importantly, learn your spelling words right the first time! ;-)

A very little ado about nothing in particular

2006-09-23T16:45:00.001-05:00

I just had to let all of you know that I've finally gotten my "to read" blog roll on Google Reader down to just three, read it, three, posts!! Whoo-hooh! And really, it's only one-and-a-half, since I've read parts of two of them, and all of one of them, and I'm saving the latter for a reference to sermons I am wanting to hear. So celebrate with me, dear bloggers, I'm catching up!

Also, I have been meaning to update my sidebar with a link to my family's photo website on sermonaudio.com.

And, just one more thing. More pictures for you. Though I had intented on writing a post about what I did for my birthday, it hasn't happened yet. But I will quickly mention that my co-workers threw me a party Thursday, and you can see the pictures here. My pictures start with the one of a sign, which was placed right at the entryway. The next is of the beautiful cake they bought me!
But be sure to check out the other pictures in the album, if you have the time... Of the six of us librarians, all of us are hitting "zeros" within a year. Poor Karen, she's a "2"... So my boss kicked off the zero celebrations, turning 50 in July (we made her an office for her birthday! You have to remember that I work at a very small county library in the middle of nowhere. Country librarians don't get their own offices. Even if every other boss in the system has one. Sorry, not in our "town"! Poor Jan.), then another co-worker friend turned 40, and she's a big Steelers fan, so I made her a "jersey" from poster board, and then there's me. Up next is one of the other part-timers, turning 70 in December, and after that, there's the other full-time lady, turning 60 in January. So we've got five consecutive decades covered here at the library, except for 30. Though with all of our relatives taken into consideration, we can cover the whole range from 0 - 80! I love my library and co-workers! : )

And you thought Raw Spinach was dangerous!!

2006-09-22T23:06:00.000-05:00

With all this news coverage about the dangers of raw spinach and e. coli, I thought it good to remind you all of another health danger, so common in our polluted lives. Be sure to read the following article (but don't take me too seriously) and check out the website linked at the bottom.

Should I be concerned about Dihydrogen Monoxide?

Yes, you should be concerned about DHMO! Although the U.S. Government and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) do not classify Dihydrogen Monoxide as a toxic or carcinogenic substance (as it does with better known chemicals such as hydrochloric acid and benzene), DHMO is a constituent of many known toxic substances, diseases and disease-causing agents, environmental hazards and can even be lethal to humans in quantities as small as a thimbleful.

Research conducted by award-winning U.S. scientist Nathan Zohner concluded that roughly 86 percent of the population supports a ban on dihydrogen monoxide. Although his results are preliminary, Zohner believes people need to pay closer attention to the information presented to them regarding Dihydrogen Monoxide. He adds that if more people knew the truth about DHMO then studies like the one he conducted would not be necessary.
A similar study conducted by U.S. researchers Patrick K. McCluskey and Matthew Kulick also found that nearly 90 percent of the citizens participating in their study were willing to sign a petition to support an outright ban on the use of Dihydrogen Monoxide in the United States.
Why haven't I heard about Dihydrogen Monoxide before?Good question. Historically, the dangers of DHMO, for the most part, have been considered minor and manageable. While the more significant dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide are currently addressed by a number of agencies including FDA, FEMA and CDC, public awareness of the real and daily dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide is lower than some think it should be.
Critics of government often cite the fact that many politicians and others in public office do not consider Dihydrogen Monoxide to be a "politically beneficial" cause to get behind, and so the public suffers from a lack of reliable information on just what DHMO is and why they should be concerned.

Part of the blame lies with the public and society at large. Many do not take the time to understand Dihydrogen Monoxide, and what it means to their lives and the lives of their families.
Unfortunately, the dangers of DHMO have increased as world population has increased, a fact that the raw numbers and careful research both bear out. Now more than ever, it is important to be aware of just what the dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide are and how we can all reduce the risks faced by ourselves and our families.
What are some of the dangers associated with DHMO?Each year, Dihydrogen Monoxide is a known causative component in many thousands of deaths and is a major contributor to millions upon millions of dollars in damage to property and the environment.

Some of the known perils of Dihydrogen Monoxide are:

Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities.
Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage.
Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects.
DHMO is a major component of acid rain.
Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns.
Contributes to soil erosion.
Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
Contamination of electrical systems often causes short-circuits.
Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
Found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.
Often associated with killer cyclones in the U.S. Midwest and elsewhere.
Thermal variations in DHMO are a suspected contributor to the El Nino weather effect.
What are some uses of Dihydrogen Monoxide?Despite the known dangers of DHMO, it continues to be used daily by industry, government, and even in private homes across the U.S. and worldwide.

Some of the well-known uses of Dihydrogen Monoxide are:

as an industrial solvent and coolant,
in nuclear power plants,
by the U.S. Navy in the propulsion systems of some older vessels,
by elite athletes to improve performance,
in the production of Styrofoam,
in biological and chemical weapons manufacture,
as a spray-on fire suppressant and retardant,
in abortion clinics,
as a major ingredient in many home-brewed bombs,
as a byproduct of hydrocarbon combustion in furnaces and air conditioning compressor operation,
in cult rituals,
by the Church of Scientology on their members and their members' families (although surprisingly, many members recently have contacted DHMO.org to vehemently deny such use), by both the KKK and the NAACP during rallies and marches,
by pedophiles and pornographers (for uses we'd rather not say here),
by the clientele at a number of bath houses in New York City and San Francisco,
historically, in Hitler's death camps in Nazi Germany, and in prisons in Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Libya, Iraq and Iran,
in World War II prison camps in Japan, and in prisons in China, for various forms of torture,
during many recent religious and ethnic wars in the Middle East,
by many terrorist organizations including al Quaeda,
in community swimming pools to maintain chemical balance,
by software engineers, including those producing DICOM software SDKs,
in animal research laboratories, and
in pesticide production and distribution. What you may find surprising are some of the products and places where DHMO is used, but which for one reason or another, are not normally made part of public presentations on the dangers to the lives of our family members and friends. Among these startling uses are:
as an additive to food products, including jarred baby food and baby formula, and even in many soups, carbonated beverages and supposedly "all-natural" fruit juices
in cough medicines and other liquid pharmaceuticals,
in spray-on oven cleaners,
in shampoos, shaving creams, deodorants and numerous other bathroom products,
in bathtub bubble products marketed to children,
as a preservative in grocery store fresh produce sections,
in the production of beer by all the major beer distributors,
in the coffee available at major coffee houses in the US and abroad,
in Formula One race cars, although its use is regulated by the Formula One Racing Commission, and as a target of ongoing NASA planetary and stellar research.

One of the most surprising facts recently revealed about Dihydrogen Monoxide contamination is in its use as a food and produce "decontaminant." Studies have shown that even after careful washing, food and produce that has been contaminated by DHMO remains tainted by DHMO.
What is the link between Dihydrogen Monoxide and school violence?

A recent stunning revelation is that in every single instance of violence in our country's schools, including infamous shootings in high schools in Denver and Arkansas, Dihydrogen Monoxide was involved. In fact, DHMO is often very available to students of all ages within the assumed safe confines of school buildings. None of the school administrators with which we spoke could say for certain how much of the substance is in use within their very hallways.

For more important information about this potentially deadly substance, be sure to click here!

On being twenty

2006-09-15T10:10:00.000-05:00

Some of my favorite quotes:

"Diana and I are thinking seriously of promising each other that we will never marry but be nice old maids and live together forever. Diana hasn't quite made up her mind though, because she thinks perhaps it would be nobler to marry some wild, dashing, wicked young man and reform him. Diana and I talk a great deal about serious subjects now, you know. We feel that we are so much older than we used to be that it isn't becoming to talk of childish matters. It's such a solemn thing to be almost fourteen, Marilla. Miss Stacy took all us girls who are in our teens down to the brook last Wednesday, and talked to us about it. She said we couldn't be too careful what habits we formed and what ideals we acquired in our teens, because by the time we were twenty our characters would be developed and the foundation laid for our whole future life. And she said if the foundation was shaky we could never build anything really worth while on it. Diana and I talked the matter over coming home from school. We felt extremely solemn, Marilla. And we decided that we would try to be very careful indeed and form respectable habits and learn all we could and be as sensible as possible, so that by the time we were twenty our characters would be properly developed. It's perfectly appalling to think of being twenty, Marilla. It sounds so fearfully old and grown up."

from Anne of Green Gables, chapter 30

__________________________________

Lady Catherine: Pray, what is your age?

Lizzy Bennet: With three younger sisters grown up, your ladyship can hardly expect me to own it.

Lady Catherine: Miss Bennet, you cannot be more than twenty, I am sure. Therefore there is no need to conceal your age!

Lizzy: I am not one and twenty.

Pride and Prejudice, A&E

___________________________________

And the most-oft repeated remark to me about my being twenty, after hearing that it's my birthday and how old I am:

"Oh, I got married when I was twenty."

Yes, I know. *sigh* Thanks for reminding me of my old-maidenhood. : )

SUPRISE!!!!

2006-09-15T06:15:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Jessie!
Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!

Yes, yes, I hacked your blog….. but it was for your birthday, so you’ll forgive me right?

Anyway, Jessie is turning 20 today! Boy, the time sure flies. I remember when we were little, and now she’s out of her teens already!

Well, I’ve never written a post before (and considering I don’t have a blog, that makes since) so I’ll quit before I mess anything up.

Oh, and Jessie? I won’t make it a habit to hack your blog and put up posts without your permission. I promise.

~Katie

I've been diagnosed

2006-09-14T19:14:00.000-05:00

I've been tested and the results came back positive, that I am: :: L I Z Z Y ::
You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of silliness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.
Take the Quiz here!

Susan (Jane), you were right after all. I guess that makes you my older sister!

O Thou in Whose Presence

2006-09-10T13:31:00.000-05:00

O Thou, in whose presence my soul takes delight,
On whom in affliction I call,
My comfort by day and my song in the night,
My hope, my salvation, my all!

Where dost Thou, dear Shepherd, resort with Thy sheep,
To feed them in pastures of love?
Say, why in the valley of death should I weep,
Or alone in this wilderness rove?

O why should I wander, an alien from Thee,
Or cry in the desert for bread?
Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see,
And smile at the tears I have shed.

He looks! and ten thousands of angels rejoice,
And myriads wait for His word;
He speaks! and eternity, filled with His voice,
Reechoes the praise of the Lord.

Dear Shepherd! I hear, and will follow Thy call;
I know the sweet sound of Thy voice;
Restore and defend me, for Thou art my all,
And in Thee I will ever rejoice.

Tune: Davis
Author: Joseph Swain, 1762-1796
Musician:Freeman Lewis, 1780-1859

Friday Fotos

2006-09-08T19:36:00.000-05:00

(Sorry for the poorly alliterated title, but it was either that or "Phriday Photos", and I settled on the former...)

I have a bunch of pictures I keep meaning to post on, so my efficient (or wannabe) mind says, Just do them all at once! So I am, and here they are.

Here's the 5-year-old birthday girl! Hannah said she especially wanted "the other Hannah, Susan's Hannah" to see her pictures : ) It's hard to believe she's 5 already! I still remember my fifth birthday party... *sigh* Mine had Barbies and Mickey Mouse, her's has Emily Dickinson and "kitchen" supplies! More to come on my "misspent youth"- and my remedy for it- later. ; )

And here she is again, getting smothered in kisses from her Mommy and Papa. Poor thing, so many people to love her, and only two cheeks!

----------------------------------

Here's a batch of foccacia bread I made a while back. I used spelt flour, and I topped the loaves with olive oil, kosher salt, and oregano. Yum! I saw one of these (made with white flour, of course) selling for $2.00 at WalMart. I haven't done the cost-comparison yet, but I'm almost positive that I have less than that (or $2 at most) in both of these, total. I'll compare the costs when I post the recipe for you here.

----------------------------------

This is what I came home to one day recently after working at the library. I don't know what was going on in my room while I was gone, but I'm thinking it probably had something to do with Matthew and Hannah! It made me think of the picture from The Cat in the Hat... (And I wish I could say that "their" presence accounts for the all of the mess on the bookshelf, but no, sorry, I have to take credit for about 90% of it. The movie hanging off the edge is from them, though...) What are you supposed to do with great big hardcover books that don't fit on your shelves?? Any suggestions?

2006-09-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

And finally, here is the strangest mushroom I've ever seen in my backyard. I think (after a very long, hard search) that it's called the Boletus Illudens. I'm curious to see if it glows (it had a faint glow outside) but I can't find my black light bulb... *arg* I just had it!

-----------------------------------

"Leave the sewing to the women!"

2006-09-05T08:18:00.000-05:00

(I hope you recognize the title as a line from a song in Disney's Cinderella... the mice are singing while they make up her first ballgown. ; ) The next line, sung to the boy mice, is, "You go get some trimmin'!")

I know some of you like to see what I sew all day long, so here's a few pictures of what I've been doing within the past week. Business has been slow, so I'm using this time to get some things done for myself and my family!

Hannah turned 5 on August 30th (sorry I haven't put a post up for her! She said she especially wanted Hannah G. to see her new birthday dress and her birthday pictures, so I'll have to put up a few for you, Hannahs!) and I took her to Hancock's to pick out fabric for a new Sunday dress. I love the tucks around the waist! And the ruffles are made from an old gingham shirt of mine. I stained the front of it (years ago!) but kept it anyway because I knew I'd use the fabric sometime. And here it is. I also added some decorative buttons on the bodice, and they were given to me in a big chest of buttons from my Mamaw.

Hannah's 5-year Birthday Dress

This jumper is made from a skirt I made my mom a year or two ago, and she has "ungrown" it. : ) So I took it apart, and using the scraps from when I made the skirt the first time, plus the skirt itself, I came up with this. It's a "magical growing dress," as I said to Hannah. The straps button in the back, to the bodice, and there is extra room on the strap to move the button down as she grows. But not only that, there is hidden length in the hem! You know that if you just undo a hem and press it back out, there is going to be a crease from the oringinal hem. Well, here's the solution for that (at least for little girls!): Turn under the unfinished edge of the dress, and go ahead and stitch it down once (about 1/4" will be turned under). Sew rickrack around the lower edge of the dress, centered along the line where you intend to have the first hem length be (a few inches above the actual edge). Then, (here's the trick) flip up the long hem to the inside, along the stitching for the rickrack that you just sewed down. Now you should see just the points of one side of the rickrack from the outside, and inside you see all of the rickrack. (Does that make sense? See the picture below. You can click on it for a larger view.) Now blind-hem that extra deep hem (mine's about 3-3 1/2") to finish it off. Next spring, when you want the dress to be longer again, undo the blind hem stitches, turn down the extra length, and now the rickrack is going completely around the outside of the dress a few inches from the bottom, and you see all of it. Now just make a small, new hem, either blind or stitched. Voila!

Hannah's Jumper, made from a skirt my mom "un-grew"

And finally, here is my "I Love Lucy"(so Katie says) half-apron I finished recently. My friend came over to sew with me, and we decided to make aprons. She gave hers to her grandmother (and I didn't get a piture!). I used a Butterick pattern here, and as always, I didn't follow the rules exactly! It called for ruffles above the pockets, but I'm not a very "ruffly" kind of girl, so I just did a contrasting band. Then I used baby rickrack, in a matching navy blue, along the pocket edge and above the bottom ruffle. The white fabric (tone-on-tone print) I got as a remnant from WalMart, the navy fabric (with little white dots in a diamond pattern) was given to me by aforesaid Mamaw, and the rickrack is from my great-grandmother who donated some of her sewing supplies to me. (I love grandmothers who sew!)

My retro apron

Current and upcoming projects are nightgowns for the girls, a jumper for my mom, and cute khaki corduroy overalls with a little lion applique on the front bib pocket for Matthew. (You can tell I'm excited to start that one ; ) )

What about you girls? Any fun projects for you lately?

The Color Purple

2006-09-01T14:17:00.000-05:00

I snagged this from John's page. What color purple are you?

I think it's ironic that lilac is my next-to-favorite color. I'd like to hear you guess what you think my real favorite color is! Go ahead, leave me a comment!

You Are Lilac

You are a very innocent and pure person. Ethics matter to you.
Your friends consider you a great listener, and you often play therapist to your friends.
You are good at drawing out truths in conversation, however painful they may be.
Non judgmental and patient - people feel like they can tell you anything!

What Color Purple Are You?

The Book-Meme I haven't forgotten about ; )

2006-08-25T23:38:00.000-05:00

1. One book that changed your life: Female Piety: A Young Woman's Guide by John Angell James
2. One book that you've read more than once: Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss.
3. One book you'd want on a desert island: I don't know a specific title, but I would want a book about Foraging for and Cooking with the Foods Naturally Occuring on Desert Islands, with additional notes about which plants are either Poisonous or Medicinal, by Some Guy Who's Been There and Knows What He's Talking About, E.D.I.S. (that stands for "Expert Desert Island Survivor. Tom Hanks would make a nice substitute.)
4. One book that made you laugh: Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
5. One book that made you cry: God Knows My Size by Harvey Yoder
6. One book that you wish had been written: The Diary of My Great-Great-(etc) Grandmother Who Was a Duchess in Wales in the Fifteenth Century, with engravings or period attire, living arrangements, and maps, as well as Her Favourite Recipes, by Said Great-Great-(etc) Grandmother (sorry, I need to contact my family-historian aunt to be sure of her name. But you can be sure it's really neat.)
7. One book that you wish had never been written: Forever... by Judy Blume (please don't go look this one up if you haven't heard of it. eew it's bad.)
8. One book you're currently reading: The American Woman's Home by Catherine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe
9. One book you've been meaning to read: So Much More by the Botkin sisters
10. Now tag four people: Samara, Sabine, Kelly, and Andrea.

The (Ex-)Planet Formerly Known as Pluto

2006-08-25T22:11:00.000-05:00

So if Pluto's been kicked out, then shouldn't Jupiter be as well? If a planet can be too small, then couldn't a planet also be too big? And anyway, Jupiter's actually a gas planet... so it's "different". I vote we get rid of Jupiter. And while we're kicking out the gas planets, let's get rid of Saturn (it's got rings!) Uranus, and Neptune (it spins sideways!) too! (Sorry, nothing particular unique comes to mind about Uranus... But we might as well boot him out with the others, just to be "fair".)

And besides- "dwarf" people are still real people. Disabled people who use walkers or wheelchairs are still people. So can't a "dwarf" planet who has a wobbily orbit still be a planet?

I'd almost buy one of these...

Something must be wrong with me

2006-08-22T10:38:00.000-05:00

I'm posting two days in a row!!
Some blogs on Homeschool Alumni got me thinking about this, and I decided to give it a try. And Susan, I haven't forgotten that you've meme-tagged me for your's!! It's next : )

This is the Google-Meme where you type in your name and a phrase, in quotes, to see what other people have said about "you." Silly, I know. But it's still kind of fun!

1. I don't think Jessie looks like Mary Poppins. (I don't think so either!)
2. "Jessie looks like an old man," Zeon said. (I- I- I do?? Why didn't someone tell me?!? and anyway, who's Zeon, and why is he talking about me?)
3. Jessie looks like she will fulfill her dream of becoming a writer. (I never knew I had such a dream!)
4. But Jessie looks like a weirdo. (Thanks, pal.)
5. Jessie looks like part Dobie & lab. (So which is it, the old man, the dog, or a weird old man dog?)
6. Jessie looks like Ashley (only, you know, attractive). (That's nice to know. At least somebody things old man dogs are attractive!)
7. Jessie looks like a duck, which he kind of does. (These people can't make up their minds.)
8. Jessie looks like a witch man. (*sigh* I do not.)
9. Basically, Jessie looks like any golden labrador out there. (Here we go again!)
10. Jessie looks like her mother, but they don't smell the same. (Some people do say I resemble my mother, but I'm not sure what that last part means!!)

Okay, you see how silly that was. But it was kind of fun. Kind of. Maybe not as much fun as I was hoping...
Something that I think is a little more fun, is to type your first and last names, in quotes, in Google, and see who you are!

(I'm running for State Senate in Minnesota; I have music for you to download; I'm an actress in B movies, my latest being "Hello Earthlings!" (2004); and I'm also on the Linguistics Departmant Faculty at Northwestern University. Oh yeah, and I'm a 6'1" volleyball player at Fresno State. Who knew?)

Interesting Additions to my "Hope Chest"

2006-08-21T22:53:00.000-05:00

Perhaps I should back up here before I begin and say that the most interesting thing about my hope chest is that I don't have one. Susan says she's run out of hope; I say I've never had any! But lately I've picked up a few interesting things to add to my stash located throughout my room in various forms of boxes, drawers, and vinyl zipper bags.

Item number one is one of those big foldy-downy boxes that are made to transport wedding cakes in. Last June a friend of mine got married, and on the Sunday following his family gave us some leftover wedding cake in the big aforementioned box. I told my mom that I wanted to keep the box when we finished the cake, and she asked how I intended to store it. Well, it unfolds out flat, into a big rectangle. *lightbulb* "I can fit it behind my tall dresser, against the wall!" So there it is, to this day, and maybe if I decide to make my own wedding cake (?) I'll already have one box ready. : )

Item number two I bought at Goodwill for a whopping, gargantuan, death-to-the-bank-account sum of... $2.00. Any guesses what it might be? A hint: A quick price check revealed that similar items go for anywhere between $50-$60+ (on ebay!). No idea? It's a beautiful, near-perfect quality, A-line crinoline that fits me perfectly! Storage for this one was an easily-overcome challenge. I folded it up as best I could, shoved the bundle into a gallon freezer bag, sat on it to push out all the air, and sealed it up. Now this nice little bundle fits quite easily into a dresser drawer, and I didn't even have to buy a SpaceBag!

Item(s) number three I picked up a couple of years ago- guess where? At a yardsale- on the side of the highway- in West Virginia- of all places! We were travelling up to Pennsylvania and happened to stop here to stretch and look around. Much to my delight I came across a whole boxload of these dishes , with no price attached. I asked the lady what she would take for them, and with a shrug, she replied, "Oh, $15.00?" I snatched them up right away for that price! They were in almost perfect condition. Later my stepmom helped me get some more pieces from ebay to add to the collection, and now I have service for at least 10, although exact numbers escape me for the moment. The pattern is "Honorine" by Arcopal, which is unfortunately discontinued. But people are still selling pieces on ebay so, for now at least, I am still able to get more pieces.
The dishes look like real china, but they are actually like Corelle in weight. They're so pretty! I love blue and white kitchen decor, with yellow walls and white cabinetry...
These dishes are stored, layered between fabric scraps, paper towels, potholders, and bubble wrap, in an otherwise empty drawer in another dresser. (I have two large dressers in my room that were my mom's when she was a child. I don't have near enough clothes to fill them all up, so I use them for lots of other things too. I think a good three drawers alone are dedicated to "hope chest" purposes.)

Let's hear from you! What interesting finds are/were in your "hope chest"?? If you don't have a real hope chest, what do you use instead?

Dilemma...

2006-08-18T22:51:00.000-05:00

Should I make myself a white skirt??

I see them everywhere, especially in eyelet and ruffles. But the question is, should I spend the time and money to make myself one, when I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I will either stain it the first time I wear it (if not while I'm making it!) or spend every minute of the time I wear it wondering if I've stained it?? But they're so pretty and feminine! With a lightweight pink cardigan and a white shirt under it, ooh, it would be beautiful!

Should I do it?

She's really real!

2006-08-14T13:34:00.000-05:00

I got to meet Susan!

And she's real : )

Left to right: Susan, me, Hannah (my sister), Hannah (Susan's sister), Katie (a.k.a., Miss Shirley)
Not pictured: Any of our brothers or parents.

My family was in Georgia overnight this weekend for a wedding we were attending, and in God's providence there was time enough for Susan and her family to travel down to meet us for an early supper at Ruby Tuesday's. When we got the invitation to the wedding about a month ago, I immediately ran down to the computer (I know, I should've just used an atlas. After all, I am a librarian...) to see how far away the wedding was going to be from Susan's town. To my delight I found that it was only about 30 miles away!

I wanted to e-mail her right away, but I still didn't know if we'd actually be able to attend the wedding. Until I knew for sure that we would indeed be going to Georgia, I didn't want to mention it to Susan, in case it didn't work out. So I had to send and receive several e-mails throughout August-- and not mention something I was really excited about wanting to happen! But finally, the week before the wedding, we had all of our plans squared away, and it was a fact, we were going to be in Georgia for the wedding! I ran down to the computer and replied to one of Susan's e-mails, throwing in just a line or two at the end asking if she would be busy on Saturday the 12th. The next thing I knew, I had a message from her saying that they were actually free that day, after several days of traveling and visiting in Kentucky. Hooray!! After almost a year of corresponding, we were actually going to meet face to face. How fun!

I called her from the hotel on my cell phone, and got to hear her voice. She had told me earlier that it wasn't "particularly high or feminine," but I would say it was just perfect for her. Quite feminine, and very pretty. (And she has very good enunciation. My grandpa would've been proud of her for that : ) As a music and choir instructor, he would always remind us to "e-nun-ci-ate when you speak.")

We pulled in the restaurant to see her family climbing out of their van- and Susan said that they had driven by our hotel and had seen us getting in our van : ) I'm glad now that I posted that picture earlier of my siblings and me, so she was able to easily recognize us!

Our visit was unfortunately very short, since we were on a very tight schedule to make it to the wedding on time, but I'm glad we had as much time as we did!

Head on over to Susan's to read a bit more about how our friendship began : )

______________________________________________________

PS- I almost forgot! Here is the official report you've all been waiting for!!

Susan Garrison does not, I repeat- does not have cataracts OR gappy teeth, no matter what her profile image may lead you to believe.

Katie Shirley

2006-08-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

Well here she is. : )
I only accidentally deleted these pictures from my post about 20 times! (No, really, only twice. But still!) Be sure to click on each of the thumbnails to get a better look.

YAY! Blogger uploads pictures now!

2006-08-08T21:20:00.000-05:00

(At least right now it does.)

This is a picture of Tim (Jessi's boyfriend), Jessi, and me, taken on August 4th.

Jessi's family and my grandparents got together with us to celebrate Katie's 14th birthday. Her best friend Erin (Jessi's sister) spent the night and Saturday with us.

Now my next blog-project is to get those pictures of "Katie Shirley" up here!

Life on a Davidson County Farm 100 Years Ago

2006-08-04T08:19:00.000-05:00

I found this very informative article written about daily farm life one hundred years ago from the area I live in... Thought you all might be interested too!

"The farmer who bought a farm or inherited a farm was careful as he went about selecting a site for his home—to—be. It had to be a place that was well—drained, among trees, usually near a spring or stream of water. Often it was on a conspicuous knoll, overlooking the fields, meadows, and woodlands where the farmer and his family would carve out a way of life. The materials for the building came mostly from the acres of woods, and from the red clay of Piedmont, North Carolina. The brick for two or three large chimneys were made right there on the place, unless the builder chose to use stone (native) for foundations and chimneys. Neighbors, friends, relatives came to help with the hard tasks of building. These people swapped work. Building anything was often an excuse for social gatherings, too.

"As to the house, there was more or less a typical plan for these old-timers. The main part of the house had two large rooms downstairs and two large rooms upstairs. Two halls, one above and one below, separated the rooms and ran from front to back. Stairs, some of them decorative while others plain, ascended from the lower hail to the upper. Built to the back of this main part was an ell of at least two rooms——the dining room and the kitchen. If the family was unusually large or the farmer either affluent or pretentious, there would be two bedrooms upstairs in the ell, over the dining room and kitchen..."

Click here for the rest of the article.

Anne Shirley, aka My Sister Katie

2006-08-03T10:31:00.000-05:00

Katie will be turning 14 tomorrow, so in honor of her birthday, I thought I'd share a few of the (hundred or so) pictures I took of her a few weeks ago.... But that was until I just now tried to upload pictures to Blogger (and now I'm beginning to believe all the bad things I heard about Blogger before!)
We dressed her up in an old-but-not-antique blouse (given to me), costume jewelry earrings from a grandmother, my $5 skirt I got on clearance- with no sales tax- when I was in Delaware, and a flower plucked from the luscious, blooming fields of a Dollar General. : ) (I did buy it, just so you know. I wouldn't just pluck flowers from any ol' obliging store!)
It doesn't sound like it would be so good, from the description above, but you'll have to be patient until I can get the pictures up, and then you can see for yourself.

______________________________________________

I'm moving the link to my survey to the sidebar, so it will stay upfront. Big Thank You's to everyone who's participated!!

Potential cookbook in the works- I need your help.

2006-07-20T18:42:00.000-05:00

To all my blog-friends out there- I need you to take my quick and easy survey. Your answers are all anonymous. I will be using the information I gather from this survey to determine what kind of market there may be for a cookbook that I've always dreamed of publishing. **

Please comment here to say whether you prefer digital cookbooks (e-books) at a cheaper price, or hard copies for a higher price.

**This is by no means a guarantee that I will be publishing a cookbook, in any form. I'm just toying around with the idea, trying to see what the market is like. Thanks for your help!! Keep a look-out for a survey about another potential book/e-book about making your own cleaning supplies, too!

7/21/06 UPDATE- to all my non-American blog-friends out there! I have updated the survey to include you who don't live in the States. Feel free to take this improved version! Thanks for your time!

Hallloooo!

2006-07-19T13:21:00.000-05:00

*you few out there who check up on my blog, tapping on the other side of my computer screen*- Is anybody in there??

*me, in a very small voice*- yes?

I am still here. I've not run away or eloped or anything like that. But my sewing business has really picked up, and when you add picky clients plus part-time library work plus Sunday School preparation plus normal housework plus occasional sibling-sitting plus a few hours of sleep plus a tiny bit of extra exercising-- well, let's just say there ain't much time left overn for kimputerin'. (See what happens to me when I'm not online??? You'd think I lived in North Carolina or something!!) : )
But it feels good to get even this lame little post up, and it will have to do for now. I'm hoping to have more time this weekend to blog a bit. Happy Wednesday to all my blog-friends!

Now, for your literary enjoyment...

2006-07-05T20:32:00.000-05:00

Ode to a Return to Normal Life after you've had a day off for a Holiday.
Sung to the tune of The Star-Spangled Banner.

O, say can you see?
All those mountains of clothes-
Piled so high in the laundry room
Till they come to my nose?
O, say, is that washer or dryer yet free?
For I have to wash some fabric
Before Sat-ur-dee.

-by Jessica (last name withheld by request)

Well, what do you think? It is my lifetime dream to one day be as accomplished and famous as Hannah (you know someone's got to be famous when they don't have to use their last name!)... and I think I may be getting there. If I'm lucky (even though I don't believe in luck) one day Hannah might even ask me to write the preface to her poetry anthology. And of course Susan could include her inspiring works as an epilogue.

All Dressed for Church

2006-07-03T08:59:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share this picture with you all. (Susan, here's that hat I was telling you about : ) )

Pictured L-R is Matthew, (1), me (19), Hannah (4), Katie (13), Aaron (10)

Our Waiting Days

2006-06-18T22:23:00.000-05:00

Our Waiting Days
by J. Danson Smith

Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Nor deem these days--these waiting days--as ill!
The One who loves thee best, who plans thy way,
Hath not forgotten thy great need today!
And, if He waits, 'tis sure He waits to prove
To thee, His tender child, His heart's deep love.

Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Thou longest much to know thy dear Lord's will!
While anxious thoughts would almost steal their way
Corrodingly within, because of His delay--
Persuade thyself in simple faith to rest
That He, who knows and loves, will do the best.

Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
Nor move one step, not even one, until
His way hath opened. Then, ah then, how sweet!
How glad thy heart, and then how swift thy feet
They inner being then, ah then, how strong!
And waiting days not counted then too long.

Sit still, my daughter! Just sit calmly still!
What higher service could'st thou for Him fill?
'Tis hard! ah yes! But choicest things much cost!
For lack of losing all how much is lost!
'Tis hard, 'tis true! But then--He giveth grace
To count the hardest spot the sweetest place.

Thanks to Sarah Ann Eckburg of "Ladies in Waiting" for sharing this beautiful poem.

"Ladies in Waiting" is a monthly e-magazine for single Christian ladies, ages 13 and up.
How to Subscribe
Please write to Sarah Ann Ekberg at
Sarah-Ann@frangipani.org
You need to include your full name, mailing address and e-mail address,
birthday, a picture of yourself, and a verse that means a lot to you.
We welcome anyone from ages 13 and up.

"The Girl Who is Going to College"

2006-06-17T12:02:00.000-05:00

Ladies, you who went/are going to college- were you sure to have all the latest styles on hand before you left?

(I like the skirts, the suit on the right in the middle, and the jacket on the middle left column. Most of the shirts on the other hand, they're a little too "poofy" for my taste ; ) I can just picture Anne packing all of these things in her suitcase before she left for college, can't you!?)

The Pink Seersucker Dress

2006-06-06T07:23:00.000-05:00

Here is the finished seersucker dress I mentioned the other day. I don't like how small the neckhole is, so next time I use this pattern I'll make it a little larger. A girl just needs a bit of room to turn her head!! But otherwise I think it's a good pattern.

I once again made adjustments to the rickrack, placing it a couple inches from the hem and adding it to the neckline, and on the pocket. The only pocket, that is, because I didn't want to use two. : ) Oh, and I used only three buttons instead of four (because that was all I had), but they're so cute! They're little white flower buttons with depressed centers for the thread holes.

Today's to-sew list: Finish a jumper for my Mom; Try to at least cut out the fabric for a new skirt for myself.

M'Cheyne's Calendar for Daily Bible Readings

2006-06-04T21:54:00.000-05:00

http://www.mountzion.org/text/DailyBibleReading.pdf

Click the link above to access a pdf version of a very handy Bible reading calendar. (A tip- for easy reading be sure to use legal size paper and to select that size from the print properties tab- or you can use regular paper and Adobe will scale the image down proportionately, but it will be smaller and harder to read. You can print on both sides of your paper to make a brochure-style chart.)

Click here for a short biography of Robert Murray M'Cheyne. He is the author of several hymns, two being Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord My Righteousness) and When This Passing World is Done, favorites at my church.

Busy with my needle

2006-06-03T20:29:00.000-05:00

Friday I had a really fun day doing some sewing. (More than I usually do in a day- don't think I can sew this much every day! Although come to think of it, I would if I could!!) I was able to make a quilt, an apron, and finish up a jumper I was making for a lady at church.

My littlest sister was sick so for some calm but fun and productive entertainment, we made a doll quilt and an apron together. The quilt is 27" square, made mostly from nightgown fabric scraps : ) The only fabric that I haven't used on something else already is the green fabric going down the diagonal. I bought it years ago thinking I would do something with it, and changed my mind. So here it is, finally being used (a little). I stitched it up on the machine, layered it (with a big piece of white felt leftover from another project for batting), then bound and quilted it. Then, we worked together sewing in little bits of pink yarn in the center of each square and my sister tied them into knots. We had fun and she's been carrying this quilt around with her all day!

Here is the apron I made her, again out of leftovers. I've made myself an apron out of the main fabric-- it has cute, cute! vintage-looking girls on it dressed up doing their chores. And then I trimmed it in blue fabric that has little shiny blue stripes woven in (I'm not sure if you can tell that in the picture.) I used Simplicity 4962, child version C, except (and here is how every pattern description of mine begins! I never follow patterns exactly!): I changed A) the placement of the rickrack; B) no pockets; C) an additional band at the bottom so it would be long enough on her. I made the size 3-4, her size, but she is tall for her size and I have to lengthen everything for her!

(Here is "Rosie" snuggled up in the recliner with "Blank" and the new quilt. My sister has a teddy bear and a blanket from when she was a tiny thing, and she slept with them every night. One day when she was about 2 or 3 she informed us that their names were now "Ted" and "Blank." So there you have it : D )

The last picture is of the finished jumper I've made for a lady at church. She had bought a jumper a while back and just loved the fit and style of it. She desperately wanted more just like it, because it was so easy to care for and comfortable to wear. She comissioned me to draft a pattern from the ready-made jumper, and sew up at least four more from it. I've already delivered one to her (and I forgot to take the picture!) and tomorrow I will deliver the second. I'm using rayon challis because it is so soft and flowy, and cool- great for hot Southern summers! The only problem is that it's incredibly hard to find! I've had to resort to buying online, which is a little risky sometimes because you can't really see what your getting... I love this red fabric though, with the tea sets, hats, and fruit on it!

Unfortunately I couldn't get very much detail in the picture. I ought to draw an outline picture of the pattern so you can see all the elements. There are two pockets in the front on either side, and a little bit of gathering below the curved waistline. The bodice has darts and is joined with three buttons, in a v-neck. No ties in the back, although they could easily be added for a different effect. I'm going to use the same pattern to make some jumpers for my mom, and I'm also going to draft short sleeves and raise the neckline to make it into a dress. Fun fun fun. I love this kind of stuff!

Oh, and I just remebered- I also started on another pink plaid seersucker dress for the littlest sister too. Until I ran out of white bobbin thread. By that time I had to put it all away and go to bed, so I didn't wind another bobbin. Then this morning, I got up and wanted to finish the seam I was working on, so I wound up a new bobbin- and finished off my last spool of white thread!! But I was already planning on going to WalMart today, so I figured I'd just get a couple more spools of white this morning. But wouldn't you know it? WalMart was *out!* of white thread!! I had to resort to "Machine Quilting and Craft" thread, which is actually the same percentage of cotton to polyester, and the same weight. My theory is that they just put a new label on the same old thread, so that craft-sewers who don't know what thread to buy for their projects will say, "Hey, I'm doing a craft; I guess I need this thread," when really they could've bought the all-purpose thread all along... And one more thing. Have I ever mentioned how weird a word "sewer" is? On my profile I almost wrote that I was a home-sewer... but read that again, just looking at the words. I don't want to be a home "sewer"!
Sorry this is such a jumbled rambling, but it's late and I don't think cohesively at night ; ) But consider yourselves privileged: You get to know my real silly self tonight!

Maybe I'm just a Jumblie afterall. I love that poem...

(goodnight)

What kind of homeschooler are you?

2006-05-30T22:01:00.000-05:00

I took this fun quiz as if I were homeschooling my own children, not necessarily how I was homeschooled. (My family has learned a lot more about different methods and curricula since I've graduated.) I'd be interested in hearing your homeschooling type, if you care to take the quiz!

Abraham Lincoln

You have a Bible and a library card what more could you possibly need? You prefer the Charlotte Mason Method of reading living books for everything: historical fiction, biographies, real histories, nature guides, etc. No soon-to-be-outdated textbooks for you.
Visit http://www.GuiltFreeHomeschooling.blogspot.com Take this quiz!

UPDATE: Some of my cross stitch charts available...

2006-05-05T21:03:00.000-05:00

Website finished! Click here to view the front covers of the cross stitch charts listed below.

**********************************************
Here is a listing of some of the many cross stitch charts and pattern books I have available to sell. Feel free to read through the list and if you're interested in more than one- let me know and I'll make a special eBay auction for you listing your choices. Hope you're all enjoying your day!

Designs by Gloria & Pat- A Boy's First Sampler (little boys, sailboats)
The Need'l Love Company- Keepsakes (Mother, Sisters, Friends motifs)
Alphabet Blocks- Book 1 (Alphabets)
Alphabet Blocks- Book 2 (All American)
Alphabet Blocks- Book 3 (Christmas)
Alphabet Blocks- Book 4 (Country)
Alphabet Blocks- Book 5 (Holidays)
Alphabet Blocks- Book 12 (The Santas)
Merrily A. Beams- A Bird in the Hand (Sampler)
Merrily A. Beams- Be Not Weary in Well Doing (Sampler)
Merrily A. Beams- Forget Me Not (Sampler)
Merrily A. Beams- Little Blue House (Sampler)
Merrily A. Beams- Prize Your Liberty (Sampler)
Mary Beale- Personal Sampler (Medieval Sampler with space for your own quote)
More Country Scriptures- 12 Country-Themed Scripture verses
Polly Carbonari- Special Samplers to Cross Stitch (quilt blocks, butter prints, hex signs, apples, delft ware, etc)
Sandra Sullivan- Miniature Samplers III (little brick house, alphabets, vines- design your own)
The City Stitcher- Prairie Farm Sampler (House, Alphabet, goats, bluebirds, flowers)
Jean Parrish Needleworks- Family & Friends (welcome friends, anniversary samplers)
Designs By Gloria & Pat- For All Seasons (1 themed sampler for each season)
Artistic Needle- A Stitcher's Home II (alphabets, borders, and "A Stitcher's Home" motto)
Artistic Needle- Needle in Hand Sampler ("With needle in hand the time is mine")
The City Stitcher- A Pastoral Scene: Two Fine Ewes (pretty)
June Grigg Designs, Inc.- The Linen Closet: miniature designs (patterns for household linens for dollhouses!)

Cross Stitch Charts for Sale

2006-05-04T22:11:00.000-05:00

I have almost 50 cross stitch charts I will be listing within the next week or two on ebay. Be sure to check my listings often- and tell your friends! I will be listing individual charts, as well as a couple of lots. Shipping on every auction is free!

I have tons of sampler charts, patterns by Cricket Collection and Prairie Schooler, several "Alphabet Blocks" charts, Christmas patterns (it's never too early to start on your projects!!), and other miscellaneous charts with animals, flowers, etc. Some of these charts retailed originally for upwards of $5.00!

Individual charts....... $1.50 (shipping included)
Lots of charts.......... prices vary (shipping included)

Click here to view the listings!

Protest the Protests!

2006-04-30T14:45:00.000-05:00

Our country is in distress!
President Bush is not protecting our country or upholding the constitution!
Fly your flag upside down tomorrow, May 1, to protest the immigration protests
Also- Please send a letter to the President postmarked May 1, (using a flag stamp placed upside down) in the following format (copy and paste into a word processor, then print):

May 1st 2006

George W. Bush
President of USA
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Bush,

It is my patriotic duty as an American Citizen to write you urging you to take immediate action to stop the invasion of our country by illegal aliens.
Please uphold your oath of office to protect and defend the United States of America by:

1) Immediately dispatching troops to secure our borders;

2) Immediately enforcing our current immigration laws with a demand on Congress for full funding to have our immigration laws effectively enforced; and,

3) Issuing an executive order outlawing Sanctuary Cities in the United States.

Mr. President, do not let us down. We demand immediate action. On behalf of all America's citizens, I ask that you not turn your back on us.

Sincerely,

____________________________
Name
____________________________
Address
____________________________

____________________________

Ummm... no.

2006-04-26T13:30:00.000-05:00

I am definitely not a curly girl.

Wavy, yes.

But who said I wanted to be a wavy girl? My hair didn't look so bad Monday in the picture below. But yesterday and today were quite another story. My hair was all stringy-looking and unkempt. Perhaps if my hair was longer (and didn't need to be trimmed ; ) ) it might be a different story. The good news is that I can always try again another time.

I'll give the book a look-through, and see if I've been missing something. Who knows, I might try again next week and let you see it Monday. Any of you who've tried the program-- should I be giving up now? Is this normal? Should I stick it out?

And Hannah, trust me- you don't want to see what it looks like brushed out! : ) I'll see if I can get a picture of it to show you, but I've already blown my hair straight again and curled it under today... (don't tell Lorraine Massey!)

Am I a curly girl?

2006-04-24T13:31:00.000-05:00

I was reading this article, and I thought I'd give my hair a try. It says that your hair might take up to 3 weeks to get used to the new routine as prescribed, so I'll stick it out for that long... I'll try to post a picture every Monday for you all to see the progress (if there is any).

So far it's basically wavy, but I think the potential for curl is there... we'll see! It used to be somewhat curly when I was little. Besides, "65% of women have curly hair- and don't know it!"

Meanwhile I'm waiting for the book to arrive...

I think she's actually talking on her cell phone.

2006-04-13T21:15:00.000-05:00

"How many eggs did you want?"

What is submission to God's Will?

2006-04-11T20:18:00.000-05:00

"Sometimes God bring about change instantly, while other times it is a slow process. Being submissive to God means you do not have specific expectations other than the goodness and glory of God. So expect great things, but do not determine ahead of time exactly what those great things are. God knows, so you must be patient."
Nancy Wilson, in the book The Fruit of Her Hands: Respect and the Christian Woman (emphasis mine)

Sewing for the Home

2006-04-10T14:10:00.000-05:00

A "New" Bedroom for the Girly-Girls!

My great-grandmother was raised through the Depression and was in her twenties in WWII. Living in those times, it was natural for her to have learned to sew. But she didn't just make clothing; she was a home-dec seamstress as well! She loved to make curtains, tablecloths, bedspreads, pillows - and even dustruffles!
Last Monday while we were visiting her, she told me I could look through her fabric stash to see if there was anything I could use. Boy, oh boy, was there! ; ) As we were going through it all, she would tell me what she had made from the various scraps. One piece I recognized as being in the living room on the pillows and curtains. She said she had made the curtains up one way years back, and decided to re-do them a few years later. Then she got tired of that style, and made them over again, all using the original pieces of material! Talk about creativity! Today those curtains are hanging in very stylish swags in the living room.
Among other pieces, I came across a set of coordinating fabrics in a beautiful palette of green, beige, and pink. I asked what she had done with it, and she told me of a store that used to be "down by the coast" that sold seconds from a linens company. You could by either finished, but irregular products at a discount, or you could buy their fabrics alone. She had racked up on these beautiful fabrics and even the matching trims, and then picked up the comforter that matched.
Once she was home, she made two pillow shams and started on the dustruffle (all that gathering!!!) but hadn't hemmed it.
I told her how pretty the fabrics were, and she pulled out the bag containing the comforter. I asked if she would be using the set if all the other pieces were made to finish it. If she would, I could finish it for her. But she replied, "Oh, no, I'm trying to get rid of some of this stuff. Can you use it?"
"Why, yes! Yes, I could! The girls would love it in their room!" That was Monday, and by Saturday night my sisters had a "brand new"room- for all of $2. (The two dollars was spent on the pillow form for the neckroll. It was on clearance at WalMart ; ) All that's left is to find a picture for over the bed and to paint the walls a lovely light-light sage green... won't it be charming!)

Here's the full view of the ensemble. (You can see I forgot to move Frances from the headboard. My sister says she's saying "Hey, ya'll!") You may be able to tell that the design on the comforter is of tan vines, leaves and flowers, with a few butterflies scattered across.

The valance is made from three different scrappy pieces of fabric and a lining. The top is made from a striped piece of fabric, the middle panel is made from a huge strip I have, all printed with the vine design. (I'm not sure what it would've been meant for, but it's just the right size for this application. It's about 10" tall, and I have yards and yards of it!) The bottom piece is a solid light sage green; again it was a strip scrap. (That sounds good, don't you think? "strip scrap." I like that.)

You can barely see it in this picture, but here is one of the the shams my great-grandmother had already made, but she had used two ruffles. I took off the first ruffle (which was solid pink) and sewed the striped one back on instead.

Here's the neckroll pillow I made. It's made (thanks to my mom's inspiration!) from two pieces of the panel used on the valance, joined so as to give the view of one stripe down the middle. Then there is green piping on the edges, finished off with a striped ruffle. The ends (which are not in view here) are gathered in the middle and tied with a green bow.

Here is a close up of the pillowcases I made for the girls. I used a bit of green binding at the seam between the two fabrics. Here again I used that vine panel, this time folded in half to make the wide hem for the case.

We plan on buying a solid set of sheets that coordinate with these fabrics so we can decorate them using the other pieces of fabric I have left.

It was so much fun to redo the girls' room last week! What made it nice was that I already had all the materials picked out for me. Not to mention the comforter was already made- and that dustruffle! All I had to do was hem it. It felt very nostalgic to be able to make up a room myself. I think Mawmaw will be proud- Home sewing isn't out of date! (Or maybe it is, but then I am too. That's okay!) : ) I can't wait till we get the room painted...

Hey! I'd love to see pictures of your favorite room in your house, or a room you've recently redecorated! Leave a comment if you post pictures on your blogs!

MISSING

2006-04-08T07:29:00.000-05:00

female blogger

5'7", last seen 23-Mar-06, wearing an apron.
Usually found in kitchens and sewing rooms.
Answers to the name "everything domestic."

If sighted, please call 1-800-GET-BACK-ON-BLOGGER.

Hey- Check this out!

2006-03-23T21:52:00.000-05:00

http://31women.blogspot.com/2006/03/challenge-i.html

Let me know if any of you try it. I'll let you know how much I get done ; )

One of the challenges should be to write/call/e-mail 3 friends you haven't communicated with in a week or more. I'm scheduling time for that tomorrow. (Susan... Jessi... Barbie...)

*lowers head in shame*

Bread Machine Recipes

2006-03-22T08:23:00.000-05:00

Here are the bread (machine) recipes I promised. Each of these yields one loaf. See the post below for my instructions for a "regular" shaped loaf and soft crust. For all of these recipes, place ingredients in your machine according to the directions given in your instruction manual. (Just an aside- I always mix my dry ingredients, minus the yeast, in a separate bowl. I place the wet ingredients directly in the machine pan. Then I add all of the dry ingredients at once, make a well in the flour to add the yeast, and get the machine going. Then I stand there with the machine and help it along with a rubber spatula. I make sure all of the flour is getting mixed in, scraping it off the sides. ) Sometimes I end up having to add another tablespoon or two of flour as the machine is doing the initial mixing. I think it has to do with the humidity and how accurately I measured my water ; ) You be the judge when you make your loaves- I trust you. But I recommend adding only one tablespoon at a time so you don't overcompensate.)

Simply Spelt Bread
(basic setting)

3 1/2 cups whole-grain spelt flour
2 Tbsp. gluten
1 1/8 cup water, warmed to 110*
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Honey
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. bread machine yeast

Spelt-Oatmeal Bread

(basic setting)

3 cups whole-grain spelt flour

1 cups quick oats

1 1/2 Tbs. powdered milk

2 Tbsp. gluten

1 1/4 cups water, warmed to 110*

3 Tbsp. butter, softened

2 Tbsp. turbinado (Sugar in the Raw) -or- brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsp. bread machine yeast

Whole Wheat Bread**
(whole wheat setting)

3 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp. gluten
1 cups water, warmed to 110*
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast

** for cinnamon bread, increase the honey to 1/4 cup;
add 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon to the dry ingredients.
You may also enjoy 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg.
We normally leave those out though.

Multigrain Loaf

(whole wheat setting)

1 1/4 + 1/3 cup whole grain spelt flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp. barley flour (you can use whole wheat instead)

1/4 cup 7-, 9-, 10-, or 12-grain cereal

2 Tbsp. gluten

3/4 + 2 Tbsp. water

2 Tbsp. butter, softened; or olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. EACH honey and molasses

1 1/4 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsp. bread machine yeast

Out and about...

2006-03-18T21:26:00.000-05:00

... not doin' nuthin special.

Susan takes a blog break to make bridesmaid dresses and a (beautiful!) quilt.
Samara takes a blog break and- gets married!
Jessica takes a blog break, and... doesn't do anything much. I've sewn a bit; a skirt for my mom, a shirt and a skirt for myself, a jumper and a skirt for my sister... Planned more things for spring wear... And I'm ever learning about starting/managing/advertising a home business... But I haven't even tried any new recipes! Well, I take that back. I think in the time I've been away I did manage to try a couple of bread machine recipes.

I did a spelt loaf that rose so high, it doubled the height of the pan! Forget the whole "one inch above the top of the pan" thing. This was so high and light and yummy! And I did a spelt-oat bread which had a wonderful flavor. Oh, and a multi-grain loaf made from 10-grain cereal, whole wheat, spelt, and barley flours.

Our bread machine pan is an odd size that makes for a short, tall loaf. Yes, short and tall. : ) Short in length; tall in height. So instead of baking in the machine, I've found that a more managable loaf can be produced if I do the dough in the machine as if I were going to bake in it, and then after the dough is "punched down" (check your instruction manual for this time and set another timer accordingly) I remove it from the machine and shape it, then place it in my regular greased loaf pan. Then I put this pan in the middle of our toaster oven (turned off of course, with the rack removed) and heat two coffee cups of water in the microwave for about a minute. I put the cups on either side of the loaf pan in the toaster oven. With the door closed, this makes for a perfect little bread dough greenhouse. I set a timer for the loaf to rise the amount of time it would have risen in the machine (again, check your instruction manual for your machine's times), minus 10 minutes. When the timer goes off I preheat the regular oven for 350*. Then once the oven has preheated, or ten minutes have passed since the timer went off (or whenever the bread has sufficiently risen!), I -carefully!- place the loaf in the oven, being sure not to jar the pan, and set a timer for about 40-45 minutes. Some breads take longer to bake than others, but I like to check on them all at about 40-45 minutes. Whenever I can smell the bread and the top is nicely browned I take it out of the oven to check on it. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped, and a meat thermometer is helpful to determine if the loaf is actually done. A thoroughly baked loaf of bread should have an internal temperature of at least 200*, and the thermometer should rise to this temperature quickly. If it's not quite done, just another 5 to 10 minutes in the oven is usually sufficient.
Once the bread is done and out of the oven I place it on a wire rack and butter the top crust. Then... here's my super-secret secret for a soft crust: (you ready?)
Wrap the loaf in a dry tea towel (one with no fuzzy terry cloth). Then wrap the loaf again, this time with a slightly damp tea towel. (I dunk a folded towel briefly in clean water and wring and wring until it's damp but not wet.) Then take a fuzzy terry towel and wrap the loaf again. Now place this wrapped-up bread baby back on your wire rack. The steam created in this method allows the crust to soften while it cools. Keep the loaf wrapped until the bread has cooled, which can take up to several hours. Then, and only then, you may slice your bread. Cutting the bread while it is still warm leads to hard, crusty slices.

Make your own herbal cough syrup

2006-02-18T14:53:00.000-05:00

1 cup pure water
6 tea bags*
1/2 cup molasses
1 tablespoon natural sugar (raw sugar, turbinado, sucanat- just please, no white sugar!)

*Use tea bags according to the symptoms being treated. For instance my sister was having a sore throat and coughing, so I took 3 tea bags each of Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat and Herba Tussin. I love TM teas!

Place tea bags and water in a small pot and boil, covered, for 15 to 30 minutes, being careful not to let the water boil out. Then remove the tea bags, squeezing each between two spoons to release every bit of liquid. Strain the tea through a very fine strainer or cheesecloth and return to pot. Add molasses and sugar and boil for at least 10 minutes to reduce by one third. (You want to end up with one cup). Let cool completely and bottle tightly in an amber glass bottle. (I reused a Solgar bottle, and what didn't fit I stored in a clean babyfood jar to be used first.) Store in a cool, dark place, or a refrigerator.

To use:
Children 2 years and older, 1 tablespoon every hour or as needed.
Adults, 2-4 tablespoons every hour or as needed.
Read the labels on your tea to determine if your cough syrups will be safe for children.

Please note!
I am not responsible for any contraindications you may experience as a result of this syrup. These statements have not been reviewed by the FDA. This syrup is very safe, but I just had to put this on here so nobody can sue me if they do something wrong. I am not a medical doctor nor have I ever been to medical school.

Egg-citement

2006-02-17T22:12:00.000-05:00

(Sorry, everyone, that's my corniest post-title ever.)

Last Saturday I adjusted a quick bun recipe that can make hamburger rolls if you make them the right size! That was a fun one for me. The recipe called for an egg (we were out), and I was making it while my stepdad was at Wal-Mart buying the eggs, and I unfortunately couldn't wait for him (if I only had my chickens!!). So I ran down to the computer, did a quick Google for "egg substitutions" and came across a really quick, inexpensive, extra-nutritious replacement for eggs in baking recipes. All you do is take a tablespoon of whole flaxseed, grind it up finely in your blender, and mix it with 1/4 cup of almost-boiling water. "Whip" it with a fork for 30 seconds to a minute and let it cool and thicken up a bit. Then stir it into your recipe as you would a beaten egg. The resulting product has a little more fiber and essential fatty acids, not to mention nice little brown flecks for an impressive "whole grain" appearance! (But of course my rolls were whole-grain to begin with- : ) ) ...Now I only need to see which is cheaper, flaxseed or egg...

But back to the recipe- it takes only 45 minutes, from flour to buns, including rising and baking times! I halved the recipe and made 12 rolls, which had I divided it into 8, they really would've been hamburger buns. So I could make a whole batch, yielding 16 buns, and freeze the other 8 for another day. The texture was just right, and they even turned out with little bottom halves so it was obvious where to cut them apart! They were so cute : ) (Okay it's pretty pathetic for me to get so excited about bread. I won't mention that when I pulled them from the oven I ran around to everyone in the house to show them and exclaim, "I can make hamburger buns with this recipe!! Hamburger buns! See??" *shy grin* I even told the one year old.)

(recipe forthcoming)

________________________

[My apologies to Susan- you've read this before! But after typing it all out to you I realized that I really could post it on my blog too. I'm making up for lost blog-time today. I'm terrible about going through a day thinking, "oooh- I ought to blog about that" and then when I actually have time on the computer (if I have time) I never can remember what it was I was going to say! tsk-tsk]

A Love Letter from my Valentine

2006-02-15T00:08:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful love-note I received today, from my Husband. He loves me so much!

"Dear Jessie,

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, [and] not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children."

Isaiah 54:5-13

Wide, wide as the ocean,

High as the heavens above,

Deep, deep as the deepest sea

Is my Savior's love!
I, though so unworthy,

Still am a child of His care.

For His word teaches me

That His love reaches me

Everywhere!

I've been meme-tagged

2006-02-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.
1) Bright Star
2) Ink and Incapability
3) The Happy Feminist
4) Space Station Samara
5) Everything Domestic

Select Five People to Tag
- Susan of An Old-Fashioned Girl (now you've been double-tagged)
- Amy of Amy's Humble Musings
- Sabine from Sabine's Garden
- Miss Kelly and Miss Andrea of Ah the Life...
- Barbie G., but I don't know if she has a blog. I need to e-mail her again.

What were you doing ten years ago?
- Wishing my then-newest brother a happy one-month birthday!

What were you doing one year ago?
- Hmmm.... finishing up a fuzzy white scarf to match my fluffy hat. I had just learned to knit.

Five snacks you enjoy
- blue corn chips
- peanut (or other nut) butter and all-fruit spread sandwiches
- nuts and fruit
- half an avocado with homemade balsamic vinaigrette
- yogurt

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics
- He Was Despised and Rejected of Men
- Comfort Ye My People
- O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion
- For Unto Us A Child Is Born
- Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates
And most of the other songs in Handel's Messiah. (tee hee) : )

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire
- pay taxes
- tithe/donate money
- buy a new car (nothing fancy, and not necessarily "new," just new-to-me), purchase a ton of books and media, build a car wash (long-standing dream of mine- bet you never knew that!), open a fabric store, and probably buy out that beautiful house I've always wanted to live in, if they'd sell it to me. Oh, and of course, I'd start my farm.
- share with my family and friends
- save/invest the extra

Five Bad Habits
- flitting around between projects ("Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.")
- being in a hurry when I cook, being in a hurry in general ("He that believeth shall not make haste...")
- giving in to my sweet tooth ("Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, who mind earthly things.")
- staying up too late ("It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late...")
- not keeping my room tidy ("Let all things be done decently and in order.")
- (I know, this makes six) Not e-mailing my friends or posting on my blog as often as I'd like to/should. (And I guess the verse for this one is "The [girl] that would have friends must shew [her]self friendly.")

Five things you like doing
- reading everyone's blogs
- poking through other people's bookcases (me too, Samara!)
- trying to live the way people did in the past
- sewing, crocheting, knitting, embroidery, baking, cooking, having a clean house, teaching Sunday School, being healthy, looking at books (sorry, that's way more than five)
- getting as much as I can for as little money as possible

Five things you would never wear again
- blue jeans
- khaki jeans
- black jeans
- any other form of pants meant to be seen (besides ski bibs. I haven't tried skiing in a skirt, though I've seen it done, but it's hard to be immodest in the puffy-fat bibs I've got!)
- skirts that aren't obviously long, or any immodest clothing

Five Favorite "Toys"
- the computer
- the internet
- my brother Matthew
- hmmm, I don't have any more. That's sad. I must not ever get to play... oh well. Such is my life. At least I don't mind. Work is fun, too.
-

Again, why I didn't go to college

2006-01-21T10:09:00.000-05:00

"The modern challenge to motherhood is the eternal challenge--that of being a godly woman. The very phrase sounds strange in our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other kind of women--beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career woman, talented women, divorced women, but so seldom do we hear of a godly woman--or of a godly man either, for that matter.

I believe women come nearer fulfilling their God-given function in the home than anywhere else. It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife than to be Miss America. It is a greater achievement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a second-rate novel filled with filth. It is a far, far better thing in the realm of morals to be old-fashioned than to be ultramodern. The world has enough women who know how to hold their cocktails, who have lost all their illusions and their faith. The world has enough women who know how to be smart.

It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure. We need woman, and men, too, who would rather be morally right that socially correct."

From Peter Marshall's Keeper of the Springs essay (1942)

read the whole thing here

Okay. Confession. I've got a funky fingernail.

2006-01-19T10:43:00.000-05:00

My left ring fingernail was broken off way down into the quick about a year back. I was putting a book on the bottom shelf at the library and hit my nail on the edge of the shelf and it broke off about 1/4". (Ouch, needless to say. That is, the nail broke. Not the shelf...) It never healed correctly and I probably got some kind of germ in there since it was so weak and exposed. For a year or more now I've had a U-shaped white part on that fingernail.

I thought I had just permanently damaged that nail and it would never see normalcy again. But the doctor told me it was most likely a type of fungus, which would be very hard to treat. I could buy this prescription stuff that insurance wouldn't cover, that would cost about $100/month, and I'd have to use it for at least a year ($1,200+) and it might work, and it would probably damage my kidneys. Or I could buy the OTC version which was not as strong (and wouldn't be as likely to damage my kidneys) but probably wouldn't work at all. Nope, sorry, I'm just not going for that. I'm not a medicine kind of girl.

But I discovered on my own that tea tree oil is a very good anti-fungal/-bacterial, and at the recommendation of the local pharmacist, I could use that along with iodine twice a day on the nail. Use the iodine first, let it dry, then put the tea tree oil on, morning and evening. I'll be the first to tell you that iodine makes a mess and takes a long time to dry. Not to mention that the bottle quite plainly says that as iodine dries, it makes a seal over the skin to protect it as it heals. So that seal-thing there, doesn't it therefore keep the tea tree oil from penetrating?? Seemed to. And besides, I don't want those germs sealed in there! I want them out!

Don't get me wrong, I love that pharmacist and she has some great suggestions from a viewpoint I agree with (mostly), but that whole program took too much time and I wasn't seeing results. She had said it would take a long time to recover from a nail problem like mine.

Needless to say, I had kind of skipped that regimen and hadn't been doing much to my nail. It was slowly growing deeper. Occasionally I would think to rub a little tea tree oil on it, but I wasn't faithful about it and there wasn't very much progress. But I was beginning to become a little self-conscious about the whole nail fungus thing and didn't like how I was always trying to hide that finger from sight. (Besides, someday (maybe) I might (perhaps) need to wear a ring on that finger, and I don't want to have an ugly nail with a pretty diamond. It just doesn't match.)

Then about 2 weeks ago I developed a tiny spot of ringworm on my left forearm. Don't know how or where I got it, but it was there. I pulled out The Prescription for Nutritional Healing (I love that book!) and when I looked up ringworm, it was classified along with nail infections as a candida-overgrowth. Hmm... connection here? I think so.

As it turns out, candida, which is a normally good bacteria, can become a parasite if it is fed the wrong things, primarily breads and sugars (even fruits) in my case. Yep, good ol' carbs. Actually bread is my biggest weakness, second only to sugars! (I had been trying not to eat so much sugar. But whole grain bread and fruits- that's healthy!! Right?? (Yes, in moderation.))

I had a few other symptoms of candida overgrowth as well, but I would never have guessed that they were related. Cold hands and feet? Who'd a thunk it?

I started looking at some herbal remedies for yeast overgrowth/parasites and came across www.trilightherbs.com which has an article describing in detail a diet and supplement regimen for conquering this. (Not to mention the fact that you can conveniently purchase the products from their site. I didn't do that, though; I'd have to wait for them to arrive before I could even start! I went to some local stores and bought what I wanted in person.)

So for thirty days now while I follow the diet I can't have any fruits but lemons, limes, cranberries and an occasional grapefruit. No breads period, and only millet, quinoa, amaranth, brown rice (and later, rye) if I have to have a grain. No soft drinks (I didn't drink them anyway) or fruit juice. No green peppers, sweet potatoes, no starch, no gluten, no cheese... It's a pretty long list. But I can still have quite a bit of things- vegetables as long as they're not on the bad list, nuts and seeds (except peanuts), plain rice milk (yummy!), and plain yogurt, things like that.

I am supplementing the diet with a lemon juice/water drink first thing in the morning and last thing at night, drinking a tablespoon of ground flaxseed in water in the AM and PM, taking Superfood, garlic, echinacea, acidophilus, oregano oil, and a tincture of black walnut, wormwood, and cloves (a parasite cleanse), at various times during the day. I periodically apply tea tree oil to the nail directly and massage it in and under the nail.

After the 30 days I'll gradually start reintroducing some breads and fruits. I'll try to stay sugar-free (as in, nothing sweet but my fresh fruit), and keep on my garlic pills for another 30 days.

I've been on the diet since Sunday, and the supplement regimen since Tuesday, and I'm already seeing an improvement. The nail is slowly growing back to where it shoud be. I've got a ways to go, and I may need to repeat this process later on, but first we'll see just how much can happen in 30 days.

So basically the allopath (regular) doctor and the naturopathic-minded pharmacist both recommended that I treat the nail itself. Neither suggested that I find a cause for the problem, and get rid of that. (Have I told you that I hate symptom-treating?!?!)

If the problem lies in the fact that I have a candida parasite, which manifested itself in the weakened fingernail, then strengthening the nail alone does not solve the problem. Who's to say I wouldn't (don't) have other problems from yeast/parasites? If I get the root of the problem under control I'll be better off all-around and for a longer time. Treating the nail, keeping the candida, might have led me into a never-ending cycle of fingernail (and ringworm, or worse) problems.

Just so you know...

2006-01-03T07:26:00.000-05:00

Which Betrix Potter
character are you?
Take this quiz at
Sparrow's Song

New Year's Resolutions

2006-01-02T23:17:00.000-05:00

I knew it had been a long time since I blogged anything, but when I sat down to look at the calendar, I realized that I haven't blogged all year!! (he he he...) : )

But of course, after the turkey in November, and the fudge in December, we all get down to resolutions in January. (Just an aside: I'm beginning to lean towards the Puritan view of Christmas celebrations... "For a brief time during the 17th century, Puritans banned Christmas in England and in some English colonies in North America because they felt it had become a season best known for ... overindulgence in food and drink." MSN Encarta. "The fruit of the spirit is... temperance." You know that's the one we always leave off? Love, joy, peace,-- yeah yeah, we've all got those down. But temperance?? What does that even mean, anyway? According to Mr. Webster, in 1828 temperance meant "Moderation; particularly, habitual moderation in regard to the indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrained or moderate indulgence; as temperance in eating and drinking; temperance in the indulgence of joy or mirth. Temperance in eating and drinking is opposed to gluttony and drunkenness, and in other indulgences, to excess." (emphasis mine) I think I'm going to have to do a study on temperance vs. gluttony. I'll do a post on that here when I come to any worthwhile conclusions.)
But that was a rather long aside. Back to my resolutions.

1. Resolved: To begin each day in God's word and in prayer.
2. Resolved: This year to read 2 biographies, 2 puritan books, 1 book by Elizabeth Prentiss, and In My Father's House and So Much More if I can ever get ahold of those last two.
3. Resolved: To eat many more raw vegetables and fruits, and much fewer sweets. (Here's where the whole temperance thing comes in.)
4. Resolved: Not to take any medications this year, Lord willing. Not even tylenol or ibuprofen. Nope. Not even once a month. I'll have to be bringing out my chamomile tea for that : ) If I've got a real, true, no-other-way-around-it reason to do otherwise, well, then praise God for modern medicine. In the meantime, I'll stick with what God gave to us from the beginning.
5. Resolved: To practice good posture, and to stick with a regular exercise routine. Nothing major, but just something to get my heartbeat up and going everyday.
6. Resolved: To get to bed on time (oops. I'm already breaking that one. Don't tell!)
7. Resolved: To blog about all the other resolutions I mean to make, when I remember them.
And lastly, 8. Resolved: ditto to everything here, especially this one (#63):

"On the supposition, that there never was to be but one individual in the world, at any one time, who was properly a complete Christian, in all respects of a right stamp, having Christianity always shining in its true luster, and appearing excellent and lovely, from whatever part and under whatever character viewed: Resolved, to act just as I would do, if I strove with all my might to be that one, who should live in my time."

Christmas Quote of the Year

2005-12-25T22:55:00.000-05:00

4 year old sister: "Daddy, who is that guy??"
Re: A cartoon picture of Santa Claus.

Good for you, girl!
: )

7777777

2005-12-19T22:26:00.000-05:00

Well here you have it folks-- my own answers to the world famous "Seven 7's" quiz. I was first introduced to this on Amy's blog, and now Susan's put me on her list to do the quiz too. Sounds fun, so here goes.

Seven things I hope to do before I die:
have my own sewing business
plant a successful garden
marry a Godly man
have several chickens and a Jersey cow named Daisy
live on a small self-sufficient farm
buy very few things
raise as many children as the Lord would give us (in cloth diapers) ; )

Seven things I cannot do well:
respond promptly to e-mails (right Susan??) : D
play sports
get to bed on time (*ahem*)
live for more than 2 weeks without some minor injury
keep my room as orderly as I'd like
talk about how I feel deeply about things without crying
keep anything straight about LOTR. I just don't get it.

Seven things that would attract me to my future husband:
has blue eyes and sings bass
has strong muscles because he works- not because he works out
helps in the kitchen!
loves the Lord
loves children
is tender and peacable
doesn't think I'm silly for wanting chickens.

Seven things I say often:
"It's so loud in here!"
"West Davidson Public Library, the very best place to start. May I help you?"
"Yes, I will."
"I'm in the sewing room!"
"How much water have you had today?"
"You know, people haven't had ______ but for only __ years."
"You know, (name) said (some item or technique) was good for when you're (sick, cleaning the tub, cooking, etc.)

Seven authors, books, or series I love:
The Bible (Isaiah especially!)
Elizabeth Prentiss
Jeremiah Burroughs
Silas Marner by George Eliot
The Anne of Green Gables series (especially Rilla of Ingleside)
Sue Gregg cookbooks
The 641 and 745/ 746 sections of my library ; ) If you don't know your Dewey decimal system... well then you just need to spend some more time at your library!

Seven movies I watch over and over again (in order of frequency):
Emma
Sense and Sensibility
Princess Bride
Pride and Prejudice
Ever After
Jane Eyre
While You Were Sleeping (fastforwarding through a few places)

Seven people I want to do this:
Samara
Wendy
Crystal
Jessi
Keri
Kelly and Andrea (they count as two)

You can use the comment button if you don't have your own blog to post on.

I'm sorry

2005-12-17T23:57:00.000-05:00

I've been too busy living my life to be able to blog about it lately!!

I haven't forgotten you, my friends, and I plan to get a little more up soon... But in case I can't blog more beforehand--

"A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!"

PS: No, I do not celebrate Santa Claus. Personally, I can't stand the guy. I just think his quote was appropriate there.

"This is only a test"

2005-12-02T18:21:00.000-05:00

I'm just trying to see if I get a new post out here for December and November gets archived, will my sidebar come back up?

It's not fair!

2005-11-28T16:51:00.000-05:00

You can call an unmarried man, no matter what his age, a "bachelor" and never have been offensive or rude.

But yet there are two choices of title for the unmarried woman, and both of them bring insult. Isn't there another way to refer to unmarried women, besides "spinsters" or "old maids"???

What's in a name??

2005-11-19T00:27:00.000-05:00

I'm planning a sewing business I'd like to start in January (in the Lord's will) but I just can't think of a good name. I'll be taking in sewing for people, mainly focusing on modest women's and girls' items.

I made a list of words that apply to what I want to do, and here's what I've come up with:

adjectives:
grace, graceful, modest, modesty, feminine, ladylike, style, tasteful, elegance, winsome (I love that word), simple, simply, pure, purely

nouns:
attire, apparel, dress, dresses, stitches

I'd like to maybe incorporate Tabitha into the name somehow.

Any suggestions are welcome indeed!
When I know what the Lord wants me to call it I'll be sure to let you all know.

I know Susan has taught sewing lessons... anybody else done any sewing-related business? I'd love to hear your stories!

"Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow

we will go into such a city,

and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.

For what is your life? It is even a vapor,

that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

For that ye ought to say,

If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that."

James 4:13-15

Making Healthy Casseroles, Bread Recipes

2005-11-17T14:18:00.000-05:00

This post kind of goes along with the discussion that's been happening over at Susan's. We've been talking about the evils of the Campbell's Cream-of-Salty-Junk Soups, and searching for alternative recipes. This is a quick article on the same topic, and here is a recipe that sounds good. I'll have to try it, maybe after Thanksgiving.

What do you get when you cross enchiladas with lasagna?
Why, Enchilasagna, of course!

2 cans enchilada sauce -- 10 oz. can
1 can tomato sauce -- 12-15 oz. can
1 pound ground beef, extra lean -- cooked and drained
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder (woah! I'm not sure about using that much!)
12 each corn tortillas -- chopped into 6 pieces each
12 ounces black beans, canned -- drained
1 pound lowfat cheddar cheese -- or use jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13 X 9 pan. In a saucepan, combine enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Let simmer. Brown beef, drain and add seasonings and salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/2 of the sauce to browned beef and set aside.

On the bottom of the pan, pour 3/4 cup of sauce and add about 1/3 of the beef mixture and then beans. Next, make a layer of corn tortillas, using 1/3 of what you have. Add more beef, 1/3 of the beans, 1/4 of the cheese.

Repeat these layers: corn tortillas, beef, bean and cheese, till everything is gone. Top with remaining sauce and remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes. Wait 10 minutes before digging in! So now you know what you get when you cross an enchilada with a lasagna--Enchilasagna!

Per serving: 290 Calories (kcal); 14g Total Fat; (44% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 46mg Cholesterol; 552mg Sodium

See how easy that was! It wouldn't be hard to substitute chicken either, or do a veggie version with just black beans. Now you have THREE wonderful casseroles--with nary a soup can or Velveeta hunk to be found!

Recipe excerpted from the book, Healthy Foods: An irreverent guide to understanding nutrition and feeding your family well (Champion Press).

ALSO:
Please feel free to share your favorite homemade whole-wheat bread recipes! I've been experimenting with a few and have yet to find the perfect one for me. (I haven't tried yours yet though, Susan- maybe it's the one I've been searching for!) Any tips on kneading, rising, and the like are highly appreciated. Do you wash your bread pans with soap? I've heard that can make your breads not rise as highly; maybe that's my problem... I'm ready and eager to listen!

help!

2005-11-17T12:01:00.000-05:00

Does anybody know why my sidebar is way down at the bottom?? And how do I fix it?? Maybe this is just one of those Blogger bugs I've heard so much about...

I couldn't agree more... (continued)

2005-11-17T11:55:00.000-05:00

(continued from previous post)

How much time did you spend at home, caring for it? How often did you show hospitality? Did you sew your own clothes? Did you dress femininely? How much time did you think about having a husband and how you would love and care for him? Did you dare even dream about it in the politically correct environment of the University? In however number of years you spent in that institution, was your importance based upon how you would lovingly decorate your home and how faithful you would be to your husband, or was value placed on your degree? Was your laundry caught up? Was your room clean? How often did you bathe or take a shower? Did tests and research papers take priority in your life? Did your college experience increase your yearning for a happy marriage, home, and a family of your own?Compare your education to the real life of home and family. How much of it really applies to the way you live in a home? I spoke to a 40 year old woman the other day, who just came home from work, and is trying to adjust to managing her day at home and being a homemaker. She confessed to me that she would have been far better off to use all those years in college to learn how to run her home efficiently and learn to take care of her husband and children. Her years in college prepared her to work away from home; they did not prepare her for all the things that would confront her in homemaking. Homemaking is often mocked and scorned by the college elites. She told me that when she was in high school and she was asked in a class what her plans for the future was, she said she wanted to be a wife and a mother. The teacher said, "You have to be something. Being a wife and a mother is not a viable career." Many a young girl, full of natural hopes and dreams about marriage, is humilated and discouraged by the educational "experts," and forfeit their right to have a beautiful life at home. The other thing that prevents young women from pursuing marriage and homemaking as a career, is regulation. If they've gone to schools all their lives, they are used to getting up in the morning and going somewhere else. There, they are regulated by bells and time schedules which are imposed on them by someone else. They grow dependent on having someone else regulate their lives. The same thing happens at work. Life is regulated by hours, lunch breaks, shipments, order, and the like, and rewarded with paychecks. Home is another matter. Instead of head knowledge, it requires heart. The heart is not something that is educated much in colleges. People are admired for their smarts, not for their hearts. We need to educate our girls not so much to earn a living but about good living. Peter Marshall, the US Senate Chaplain during the Truman presidency, said (click here for the article) It remained for the twentieth century, in the name of progress, in the name of tolerance, in the name of broadmindedness, in the name of freedom, to pull her down from her throne and try to make her like a man. She wanted equality. For nineteen hundred years she had not been equal--she had been superior. But now, they said, she wanted equality, and in order to obtain it, she had to step down. And so it is, that in the name of broadminded tolerance, a man's vices have now become a woman's. Twentieth-century tolerance has won for woman the right to become intoxicated, the right to have an alcoholic breath, the right to smoke, to work like a man to act like a man--for is she not man's equal? Today they call it "progress"...but tomorrow,oh, you Keepers of the Springs, they must be made to see that it is not progress. No nation has ever made any progress in a downward direction. No people ever became great by lowering their standards. No people ever became good by adopting a looser morality. It is not progress when the moral tone is lower than it was. It is not progress when purity is not as sweet. It is not progress when womanhood has lost its fragrance. Whatever else it is, it is not progress! We need Keepers of the Springs who will realize that what is socially correct may not be morally right. Our country needs today women who will lead us back to an old-fashioned morality, to an old fashioned decency, to an old fashioned purity and sweetness for the sake of the next generation, if for no other reason. Girls going home to grandmother's house may sense that there is something different about these homes, but they think it might be because Grandma has old fashioned tea cups in a china cabinet. They don't realize that the peaceful retreat of Grandmother's house didn't get there by grandmother's education or her dedication to the business world, trying to climb to the top of the ladder. She came by it through diligent effort. It takes years and years of living at home, oberving how the family operates and watching their ways, in order to figure out how to create this peaceful retreat. Homemaking requires a woman to be self-motivated. There will be no bells, tests, paychecks, or special motivational meetings. Your education doesn't count, when it comes to creating a schedule that suits your family. No one is going to tell you when to get up in the morning, when to rearrange your furniture, and when to do the laundry. Home requires a completely different mindset. The way you approach the work at home is dependent upon your love for your family. " 11/13/05 8:25am Now isn't that inspiring?

I couldn't agree more.

2005-11-17T11:53:00.000-05:00

This is a portion of a post I found this on Lady Lydia's blog and I absolutely love it. Note especially Peter Marshall's comment in boldface.

"Why do young women shun the prospect of marriage, home, and family? Why is it boring to them? Why do they want to pursue careers instead? Why are they willing to endure the insufferable repitition of factory work, office politics, or industrial labor, instead?

I invited a young couple to my home once, for dinner. The young man was tired after a day's work at a paper mill, where he had also become responsible for a certain department and the employees. His wife stayed at home and educated their two children herself. She was also tired, but not as in need of encouragement as her husband. Because many of his co-workers were women, the subject turned to that of women working outside the home.

As he related to us his observations of the women in his department, his voice got louder and louder, and soon he began to shout.

"WHY OH WHY do they want to work, when they don't really have to?

" My job is hard and it is exhausting. If I could stay home, I would. So why won't the women stay home? There is less stress for them there. They function better there. Men need to come home to a real home that is a peaceful retreat. If the wife is gone all day, the home is anything but a retreat, for she can't put the atmosphere into it that makes it so.

" I can't understand why the women WANT to do this, when they can stay home. I don't LIKE going to work every day--why do they like it?"

Somewhere in all this ranting and raving, was some simple reasoning that always stuck in my mind. I have my own ideas about why women don't want to stay home, don't like it, are bored by it, and don't plan on becoming homemakers and leave the working world to the men. The first is education. Excuse me for daring to touch such a sacred entity, but there you have it.

While it is wonderful that women have the opportunity to be educated, to read and write and cipher, one thing I learned from homeschooling my own children, is that one has to be discerning about what one reads or listens to.

Learning and reading can be used for good, or for ill. That is basically the difference between government education and private education. Education can be a detriment to a girl's life, when it directs her into things that distract her from the things that should come second nature to her.If she spends four years in the University studying marketing, she isn't going to be inclined to be a homemaker. As the twig is bent, so the tree will grow.

Women naturally love the home, until they are trained out of it by education. Little girls play house, folding little blankets for their dolls, and playing with their little tea sets. If a girl spends many hours in college, she will either be shamed out of these early instincts or trained out of them. She will not come away from that experience more determined to have a lovely home, manage it, and guard it. She will not feel the challenge of having a good family and helping her husband in his life.

I know a woman who married a man who had nothing but a bicycle. Although she never pursued outside work, she helped her husband and encouraged him so much, that today he is one of the most successful farmers in the area that they live. He has modern barns, nicy shiny tractors and hay balers, his own gas station to fuel his farm machinery, and a brand new house with floor heating. If they chose to give it all up, they would still have enough to keep a small home and have future security. Her fulfillment was in forging a life together with him, raising their children, and pursuing her own talents. More about her, later.

For this reason, I find college education for girls very distracting, and very subversive. Sorry about that, girls, but those of you who have gone to college, let me ask you about your college days.

(continued in the next post)

Elizabeth Blossom Peterson, 1919-2005

2005-11-13T23:55:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Elizabeth Blossom Peterson, 86, the widow of Paul W. Peterson Sr. and a resident of Salemtowne Moravian Retirement Community, died Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005. The daughter of Fred Willis Blossom and Claribel Glass Blossom, she was born Aug. 21, 1919, in Syracuse, N.Y. She spent her early life in upstate New York where she was educated. She met her future husband, Paul W. Peterson, who was her church choir director, and married him after World War II. They moved to Winston-Salem in the summer of 1946 when Paul joined the music staff of Salem College. Mrs. Peterson was secretary/treasurer of the First Presbyterian Church Kindergarten Program before retiring as a secretary at Wake Forest University in the Classical Language Department. A member of Home Moravian Church, she was very active in the life of the church. Mrs. Peterson is survived by two daughters, the Rev. Carol P. North and husband Fred C. North of Connecticut and Mrs. Jean P. Fanning and husband John Fanning of Florida; a son, Paul W. Peterson Jr., and wife Wendy of Cary; seven grandchildren (that's me); four great-grandchildren; and a sister, Ruth Eddy, of Florida. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at Home Moravian Church, with the Rev. Scott Venable and Chaplain Linda Brown of Salemtowne officiating. Burial will follow in Salem Moravian Graveyard. Memorials in memory of Mrs. Peterson may be made to Salemtowne Moravian Retirement Community, 1000 Salemtowne Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, or Home Moravian Church Music Department, 529 S. Church St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101. (Vogler & Sons Main Street Chapel)

Will He find us watching?

2005-11-08T19:26:00.000-05:00

Last night I dreamed I was getting married. The thing was, though, I was sitting in the pews. And only when I heard them start playing "Here Comes the Bride" that I jumped up and said to myself, "Oh! That's ME!!!" Then I rushed out of the sanctuary to get dressed and the poor musicians had to pass the time figuring out something to play... and I didn't have my hair fixed (it was in a ponytail!!) and my dress didn't fit- and oh, it was awful!

I can't help but think of the foolish virgins, who weren't ready when the bridegroom came. Let's all be wise virgins and faithful servants, waiting and watching for our Lord's return.

When Jesus comes to reward His servants,
Whether it be noon or night,
Faithful to Him will He find us watching,
With our lamps all trimmed and bright?

Refrain
O can we say we are ready, brother?
Ready for the soul’s bright home?
Say, will He find you and me still watching,
Waiting, waiting when the Lord shall come?

If, at the dawn of the early morning,
He shall call us one by one,
When to the Lord we restore our talents,
Will He answer thee—“Well done”?

Refrain

Have we been true to the trust He left us?
Do we seek to do our best?
If in our hearts there is naught condemns us,
We shall have a glorious rest.

Refrain

Blessèd are those whom the Lord finds watching,
In His glory they shall share;
If He shall come at the dawn or midnight,
Will He find us watching there?

Refrain

(PS: For anyone interested, I can't remember who the groom was in my dream. It was someone I know, but I just don't remember now. Sorry. : ) )

Light in the Darkness

2005-11-03T22:19:00.000-05:00

Last night when I got home from church, the motion light didn't turn on like it was supposed to. I got out of my car slightly perturbed that I would have to fumble for my keys in the dark.

But once I was out, I couldn't help but look up and study the Milky Way flowing above my head. Since the light wasn't on I could see millions of stars, and Venus too. I stood there in amazement for several minutes and watched as, much to my delight, a shooting star whizzed across the sky.

Now if the light had been on like it "should" have, I wouldn't have seen the shooting star.

Isn't this how God works in our lives? He allows certain things to cross our paths, that at first- and sometimes for a while- seem to be bad. But it's during those dark times, when things don't seem to be going right, that the brightest blessings come along "to cheer me on my way."

I need Thee precious Jesus, for I am very poor;

A stranger and a pilgrim, I have no earthly store.

I need the love of Jesus to cheer me on my way,

To guide my doubting footsteps, to be my strength and stay.

Reformation Day Recipe

2005-10-31T10:07:00.000-05:00

We celebrate Reformation Day at my church. October 31 is the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, which was a major catalyst in the revival God was bringing about in the 1600s. I often wonder if God didn't plan for it to be on the 31st just so Christians could have something worthwhile to celebrate on this day... : )

Tonight is our traditional Reformation Day Church Dinner, and I'll be bringing some pumpkin cookies for dessert. They really are cookies, but they're very cake-y and don't smooth out in the oven like other drop cookies do. Hence, they got officially dubbed "Pumpkin Lumpkins". You can leave the chocolate chips out if you want. (I like them, but everyone else says they'd like them better without.)

Pumpkin Lumpkins
yields about 7 dozen

1 cup transfat-free crisco (yes,.. I used crisco. I'm sorry.)
3/4 cup white sugar (yes,... I used that too. Sorry again.)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
2 cups whole wheat flour (I won't use white)
2 cups oat flour (grind oatmeal really well to measure this much)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground cloves
1 cup chocolate chips, optional. You could use raisins if you wanted.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.

Cream together the shortening and sugars until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin until well blended. in another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Stir this into the pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips, if using.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges begin to brown slightly and the bottoms are golden brown.

Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.

Dependence

2005-10-27T18:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we got a note on our door from the water company telling us that we needed to be prepared to have our water turned off. But it might be today, or it might be Monday. And we can't tell you what time we'll turn it off... And we don't know how long it may be off (if we turn it off). So, draw yourself some extra water (before 9 am!- that's important, of course), turn off your water heater, if you leave the house, be sure all your faucets are off, and ... have a nice day. If you have any questions, feel free to contact yada yada yada.

Needless to say, our water was not turned off, and we did everything they told us to (well, we left the water heater on) and we'll probably do this all again on Monday. And they may not even turn it off then!

Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to rely on "them" for all of our stuff? Wouldn't it be nice to just grow our own food, bake our own bread, make our own clothes, teach our own schoolchildren, gather our own eggs, milk our own cows, power and heat our own houses, have water from our own well, and not have to be so dependent?

Everyone is dependent on something, even the most "liberated", independent-minded free spirits out there. The difference is- on what are you dependent? You can be dependent on society, government-- other people, our you can be dependent on the all-sufficient God of the universe. But the best part is: you can (and should) depend on God even if you do still have to run to the grocery store and deal with fickle water companies.

"Great is Thy faithfulness." ~Lamentations 3:23

"Unspeakable Consolation"

2005-10-26T06:05:00.000-05:00

"Learn to sing unto Him a new song, to despair of yourself, and to say to Him, 'Thou, Lord Jesus Christ, art my righteousness, and I am Thy sin. Thou hast taken what was mine and hast given me what was Thine. What Thou wast not, Thou didst become, in order that I might become what I was not.' Beware ... of pretending to such purity as no longer to confess yourself a sinner; for Christ dwells only with sinners. He came down from heaven, where He was living among the righteous, in order to live also among sinners. Meditate carefully upon this love of Christ, and you will taste all its unspeakable consolation. If our labors and afflictions could give peace to the conscience, why should Christ have died? You will not find peace, save in Him, by despairing of yourself and of your works and in learning with what love He opens His arms to you, taking all your sins upon Himself and giving thee all His righteousness."

~Martin Luther (emphasis mine)

pp. 49-50, The Triumph of Truth: a life of Martin Luther
Jean Henri Merle d'Aubigne
Bob Jones University Press, 1996

Matthew is One!

2005-10-25T21:26:00.000-05:00

My littlest baby brother is one year old!
(You can see the cream cheese frosting (recipe below) on his "muffcake". That's a muffin we pretended was a cupcake.)

Honey-Sweetened Cream Cheese Frosting

2005-10-25T11:03:00.000-05:00

My very own almost-good-for-you icing...

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
6 tablespoons honey
1 tesaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons dry milk powder

Blend together cream cheese and butter in mixer on high speed for 2-3 minutes till it is creamy and smooth. Drizzle in honey and vanilla. Add dry milk powder and continue to beat until the milk powder is worked in and there are no lumps.
Chill for about 30 minutes before using.

Serve on your favorite carrot cake recipe, and enjoy!

Kindred Spirits

2005-10-22T10:16:00.000-05:00

I just "met" Kelly and Andrea, aka "Professional Daughters". Two more blogging buddies! (Notice the similar format of our blogs... great minds think alike!)

A simple click on "aprons" in my profile turned up two new friends for me. God moves in mysterious ways... even on Blogger!

Now I need to go introduce myself.

I've been a newbie on ebay...

2005-10-21T14:43:00.000-05:00

...what's the word for a first-time blogger?? Whatever it is, that's me. I've toyed around with the idea of a blog before (mainly because I so enjoy reading Amy's) and have even been known to compose a virtual blog post in my head before... so it's only natural that I take this official leap into the blogosphere.

The title of my blog describes my enthusiasm for home and home life. If it has to do with homekeeping, I like it. And as much as I hate to admit it, I like Martha Stewart. I don't like her business policies, but I have to say I like her style and her ideas!

So far I've got sewing, crochet, knitting, cooking, and child care under my belt, and I'm polishing up on my organizing and cleaning routines and ever learning about nutrition and natual remedies. Come spring I have to work on a better garden (so far it's been cursed earth:2, me:0).
My newest endeavor is in soap/toothpaste/lip balm/shampoo making.

An added bonus: If I find any really good recipes I'll post them here.

See ya 'round!