Merry Christmas to all my friends!!

Merry Christmas to everyone of you and all of your families!! I am still here even though you haven't heard from me in a while. It's been crazy in my world for several months, but I am learning to cope better with the changes in my life, I hope..... I wish each of you the most wonderful Christmas with those you love and a year ahead full of bountiful blessings from the Lord above. He is so good to me and patient with my mess-ups.

I am so grateful for a loving family and husband who is my best friend on this earth. We have a new grandbaby we are anxious to see soon. This time we have a BOY to go along with the eight little girls in our lives!! What a blessing grandchildren are!! We watched a Hallmark movie today and one of the characters said that children "force" you to live in the moment because that is how they live. I am continually striving to get better at living in the moment, aren't you?

Schedules are usually begging to be broken so the fun can begin.

I want to work at letting it be okay that I did not do everything on my expected task list every day.

I am grateful that I have a loving Heavenly Father who always has time to fit me into his schedule if I will just show up....

Hope to visit with you more in the future, dear friends.

I will close with a picture of some of the minis I made for our miniature club gift exchange. I really want to duplicate the whole thing in full size too!! There I go again.... making plans.....

Singing His Praises,

Glory to God in the Highest, Peace on Earth and good Will toward Men.

Linda

Heart of the Home

Hi Friends, Welcome to my Kitchen, the "Heart of the Home". We do spend a lot of time in these rooms, don't we girls? I really enjoy my kitchen in this home. I tried to think of everything I could when we were designing it. Of course, the sky was not the limit and as there was also the BUDGET, I think we did pretty well. It certainly meets our needs and is large enough to accomodate our family when the three families are here.


We recently purchased this new breakfast area table and are really liking it! For some time, I have wanted a bar height table, but was concerned about purchasing sooooo many stools and then also finding stools that you really felt like you could sit comfortably for a length of time without a part of your anatomy going to sleep!!!! These are sooooo comfortable and the table has a place to rest your feet, so they don't go to sleep. The center has a lazy susan in it.

It is square, but the little side extensions pop up to make a 60" round table, enough for eight stools, which is what we could accomodate before with the regular table in this area. Some day, I think the possum belly cabinet will move to a different place and probably get painted. I may find something less deep to put in its place on the far wall.


I set the table for you.................I have absolutely no idea what we will be having...........how does tuna noodle casserole sound?

The breakfast area looks out to the new deck that we have so enjoyed this summer and also leads out to the smallish screened in porch. I just love it when the weather changes and I can leave the door open!! We eat out here a lot when the weather is nice, and it is just steps from the kitchen. I can even pass things through the window above the sink...... so handy!



My very old kerosene stove, I have enjoyed having this so much. I got it for $50.00!!! many years ago.

It is green and white, but looks a little bluish in this photo.


Sorry, it was suddenly overcast outside when I took this pic!


Looking through to the porch area.

I chose dark mahogany stained alder cabinets and really like them.
I would like to put some light fabric or paper in the glass-fronted cabinet where I keep most of our dishes. They would really stand out more this way.

My little coffee and beverage area. Glasses and cups are above this area.

The focal point of the kitchen is the mantel over the stove area. I designed this and my DH built it for me. It turned out just like I had hoped. I enjoy putting seasonal decorations on top.


The island is in the center and it is very large with no cooktop or sink in it on purpose. I can spread out quite a buffet on this area!

It also works just wonderful for cutting out sewing projects and hanging wallpaper!!

I chose to paint the island an off white and put beadboard on the ends to make it a little more cottage looking.

No granite tops in the budget, so I chose a limestone looking formica with a stained border and I do like it a lot.

This is the pantry area. Just a peak, as it, er, is not like I would like it to be, know what I mean? ha. We used an old door that we had been carrying around with us for years here. The chalkboard is a recent addition that I put together. Sometimes, I just hang a seasonal wreath on the door and I love that too. I did put up a grasscloth wallpaper just to simply give the room some texture and add a pleasing background.

Wish I had just a tad bit more room here on top of the cabinets.....my only real regret, not using 9 foot ceilings in this room!! The budget came into play. Oh, well, if I had more up there it would just be more to get positively "furry" wouldn't it?

I think one of my next projects will be to paint my very used and enjoyed breadbox an offwhite and add a blue and white knob. Sorry, I have no cake in the dome to serve you!!! Cake doesn't last long around here!!!!

I do have some healthy pretzels in an old jar with a bail handle on it that came from my MIL.

On around the room and back to the pantry door. I asked for a wall oven and a regular stove so that I would have two options..........................BOY, was that ever a good decision!!! It is soooooo much easier when we have company!! If I am in a real hurry when making cookies, I just use them both and am done so much more quickly!!!!

Maybe you notice my "almond fridge"..... that thing is still ticking after more than twenty years!! When we finish the basement, we will move it down there and get a new white one to go with the other applicances better...... but it really does not look that bad.

Guess you noticed that I pretty much like kind of minimal stuff on the counters, it just makes me happier. But, I can assure you, it does not ALWAYS look this way. It seems my daily quest is to get the clutter off the island and the area in front of the phone. ha. When we were raising our boys, this was a CONTINUAL battle, I'm sure y0u can all relate.

I am so thankful for my beautiful kitchen...... yes, I know that not everything is the latest and greatest, but to me it is beautiful because the Lord blessed me wtih it and I love how it all came together!!

How about an oatmeal fruit bar and a cup of coffee? Thanks for visiting me, dear friends, I enjoyed showing you around so much and now, my kitchen is really CLEAN and uncluttered. ha.

Thanks to Sheila of Note Songs for hosting such a fun party!! Be sure and check out all of the other wonderful kitchens where women love and create for their families!!

Now, I am off to be inspired by everyone else!!!

Singing His Praises,

Linda

The Splendor of Fall

Hi Friends, Hope you all had a lovely weekend as we did. The weather is just getting more and more glorious here and I have to remind myself that the days will go fast and soon it will be too cold to go out and enjoy the beauty of the Creator. I try to pause now and then and have a cup of coffee on the front porch just to drink it all in. Sharing pics of my entry. It is pretty small, so I have quite a bit crammed in a tiny space, but enjoy it. This is a wreath I put together a couple of years ago. It did not sell at my annual Open House, so it became MINE. I love it hanging on our old window that looks into the family room.

I just love geraniums! I know.... a very ordinary flower, but to me a geranium just says "welcome" on the porch. These were especially beautiful this summer and somehow I managed to keep them going even through our long terrible hot spell in August! They will soon succumb as we have already had a few frosty mornings.

The view from my rocking chair on the porch and one of my favorites. In the next couple of weeks, the color will really start coming on the trees.

For most of our married life, we have not had the blessing of many trees, so it is soooooo wonderful to have a few to gaze upon!!

We worked more on the basement this weekend. We are nearing completion of a bedroom and a bathroom. It is soooooo much work and has to be fitted in around our other jobs, but we are making progress little by little. Hope to show you some pics soon. I am using an old buffet for a vanity cabinet and have decided to paint it white, DH gave me his blessing..... what a guy!! Now we have to decide on a countertop that will not break the bank.

Some of my very favorite old post cards and scripture cards. I change them out as the year goes along for the various holidays and such. Got a few new ones on a recent antiguing day.

I am so grateful for all the blessings God has given me and our family. Lately, I have been more and more mindful that I just need to be more grateful. I think the world could use more of this, don't you?

Singing His Praises,

Linda

Morning sunlight

Good morning friends!! Hope you all enjoyed a fantastic Fall weekend as we did! We had an overnighter with our granddaughters and enjoyed them so much, but alas, I did not get any pictures, we just spent time together enjoying the great weather. Watched old episodes of "Get Smart" with them......too funny. I can remember when we watched this show in the 70s. It's corny, but clean if you know what I mean. We had a wiener roast Saturday evening complete with S'mores. Just simple fun time together. Then church on Sunday with everyone. Got to hear our son sing at church which is such a blessing to a mother.

I am loving the early morning sunlight coming in all the windows and decided to take a few shots. Pictures never convey the beauty of sunshine do they? We have a new kitchen table and chairs that we are really enjoying these days. I was about ready to paint my oak pressback chairs after I had already painted the bottom of our table, but was really wanting a counter height table with stools that were actually comfortable enough that you could linger in them a while if you wanted to. This set is perfect and there is even a place to put your feet so they don't go to sleep! It is square, but the little sides flip up and form a more than 60" inch circle, enough to seat 8 people! It was just what I wanted in every way. We will use the other set in the basement when we get it all finished.

A few Fall decorations, I did not go all out this year, kept it kind of simple, but I like it.

I just love how the mantel looks in the morning. I just added faux pepper berries and orange calla lillies to my usual greenery and added a wicker tray and a brown willow plate.


Hope you are all looking forward to an incredible week. Enjoy your Monday, friends.

Singing His Praises

Linda

Miniature Dress Forms

Hi Friends, I have managed to work in a little creative time lately and have been working on miniature dress forms for our miniature club here in town. We each take turns leading the projects each month and it is my turn for September's meeting. So, this is what I have come up with. The bodice is made from vintage seam binding and a length of lace gathered for the skirt. I used fine needlepoint canvas to make the hat by cutting a sqaure of the canvas and wetting it. I slipped it over the "ball" of a ball peen hammer and held it with a small rubber band until it dried and trimmed it up. It turned out pretty cute I think.

This one is a little more shabby with bits and bobs of old trims and lace. I molded the form from sculpy and the stand is a cabinet knob.


Another cabinet knob, this will be the base for our project, but I painted some of them all oil rubbed bronze and left some pink so the gals would have a choice.



I can't give credit for this lovely ladies, I had used them for inspiration and they were in my picture file.










So pretty, aren't they?

I am getting better and faster with my job as medical transcriptionist, which is so much better for the creative side of my life! :-) I HAVE to HAVE
some time to create, or I get really unhappy..... I'm sure you all know what I mean.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Till next time, hopefully soon....

Singing His Praises,

Linda

Still Playing House

I know, it's been a looooooooonng time. But I am not giving up!! Still learning to balance my job and house stuff and still have some little bit of time left for my blogging. I came up with a vignette for the mantel and I REALLY LIKED IT. Just a mixture of neato stuff I have around taking up space in other places. I really have enjoyed the little girl bust. do you notice her necklace and tiara? We were sitting watching TV one evening just as the sun was starting to go down, and look what happened!! The sweet little princess is in the spotlight! It only lasted a few minutes and then it was gone. I grapped my camera to try to catch the image.

Still need to do something about the fan, don't I?

Hope you all had a great Memorial weekend. We throughly enjoyed it, but really did not do anything big. Just stayed home and worked on stuff in the yard and our NEW deck. Pictures soon to follow. Darling DH just outdid himself on this one!! It is sooooo beautiful and will be so nice to entertain outside.

I got a painting table set up in the garage and started spraying away all those great thrift store finds. I think I have about four or five boxes of miscellaneous items that need to go white or ORB. So, I got a pretty good start on it.




Most of my planting is done, may add a few more pots to the deck, but for the most part it is finished. The weather was just wonderful and it was so refreshing to just spend more time outside.





Until next time, be blessed and happy dear friends.

Singing His Praises,


Linda

Playing House

I'm linking up to Marty's Table Top Tuesday party. Be sure and visit all the other beautiful collections at A Stroll Thru Life. Enjoy!

Happy Spring Dear Friends!! I have been really busy with my new job and it has not left me as much time for blogging! BooHoo, However, I AM really likeing the work, and it gives me a chance to stay home, which is perfect to me!! Anyhow, I recently changed a few things in the hallway and thought I would share them with you. This little table is a "dresser" that I found for 19.95 at Goodwill a couple years ago. The proportions were great, but it was a little too deep to fit in the areas I had in mind, so my wonderfully talented DH cut about 4 or 5 inches off the back of it and then re-attached the back and the legs. Since it has drawers, those too had to be shortened. I usually have it in the entry way, but decided to put in at the end of my long hallway to see how it would look and I really like it here. I like how the black looks with the picture too. This used to be over the mantel until I changed to my round mirror a few years ago. I need to hide the cord, don't I? Things really who up in pics, don't they? :-) The lamp also came from GW as did the umbrella basket below the table.
I am really having fun with my new hall bookcases too!! Have been doing it all in a Spring look with mostly whites. I will share more of the vignettes later, but this is one of the shelves that is at eye level. Lots of junking finds here: The stand, the little girls bust, the mirror, and see the little jar with the eggs. I picked up the lid about a year ago and knew someday I would find the perfect jar for it. Another find from GW! That place can really make my day!!

Hope Spring has finally arrived. We had 4 to 6 inches of new snow on Saturday, but by today it is mostly gone, and HALLELUYAH, THE SUN IS SHINNNNNNNNNING!!. That makes such a difference in the way I feel. This has been such a gray winter!!

Hope your day is filled with Sunshine Too!!
Singing His Praises,
Linda

Happy Valenines Day!!

Happy Valentines Day everyone. Hope you all have just the best and warmest day with your"forever loves". We went out for a special lunch after church today and enjoyed a warm meal while the snow flakes are flying outside!! Winter is still raging it seems around here. But, our hearts are warm with love for each other, family,and friends. A home to keep us warm and safe. What more could we ask for? My guy built a fire and we snuggled on the couch watching the Olympics for a while.

Thought I would share with you two of my favorite V-Day postcards. Isn't the top one sweet? I didn't get my traditional Valenine heart cookies baked this year. My new job is keeping me very busy, but I am enjoying it. Just nothaving as much time for all the other things I love to do. Are there ever enough hours for all the things we WANT to do?

I did manage to get a little time to visit my favorite Goodwill store and found a few treasures. Some old Christmas tinsel trim, an old angel ornament and some decorative Christmas Carols which would be neat in a Christmas assemblage. Also a pretty blue and white teapot ( like I need more blue and white) but I could not resist. I also found some pretty glass candlesticks to make little cupcake servers.
Love the little brush Christmas tree and look at the neato Bronze picture frams with the base for baby shoes!! The shoes are gone, but I am sure I will be able to come up with something else to glue to the base.






How do you like my collection? Been playing a bit with Polyvore.com. It's really fun to put things together for no $$$!! We are in the beginning stages of finishing our basement and this is the look I am going for. We are going to do the board and batten walls in off white and maybe a light golden tan on top. I love the casual look of all these items together. There is a very cool shop here called Gallery Classic and the owner really knows how to combine rustic things with elegant things. She coined the phrase "Rustic Elegance". I like it a lot. I plan to use lots of wicker and texture. Some painted pieces maybe in the robin's egg blue with tones of brown, honey beige and sage green. I think it will be restful.

Missing you all, hope it won't be so long between posts as this last one. Praying each of you are enjoying a blessed Sunday with those you love.

Blessings, Linda

Still looking a lot like Christmas!!!

Okay, so this is how our tree looked the evening of the 25th. All ready for our kids and grands to come the next day to celebrate!!!

And this my friends is how our tree looked on January 1, 2010!!!. That's right, it's just the same!! You see, we had a mysterious visitor come to our house on the evening of Christmas and it wasn't SANTA CLAUS!!! No, girls it was Mr. Stomach Flu who came calling, and he left us both sick as dogs for almost a week!! Oh my, this will be a Christmas to remember and not for good reasons!!!! I seriously thought of just packing it all away for next year. Then I could say I was all ready for Christmas of 2010 in January!! But, I guess that really wouldn't really be fair to the granddaughters. We will hopefully get together with of family next weekend.

I have already started taking down stuff and packing it away, except for the big tree, which I will leave for another week or so. It feels good to kind of start putting it all away. This Christmas arrived way before I was ready this year, and the weeks of December just seemed to fly right by. My mother always told me it would be like this and I didn't believe her!!!

I have the "urge to purge" ( maybe symptoms left from the flu)!! Ha. But It is time to go through stuff and weed out what I don't just LOVE and pass on the rest to someone else. I have never liked the word Downsize..... it sounds like I'm ready for the assisted living center or something, but I do feel that eventually the possessions of life can sometimes FEEL like they own us and weigh us down. Is anyone else wrestling with these feelings also? I mean, I really love my Junk, I really do!!! A lot of my friends cannot relate to my love of JUNK anyway, so this is difficult to describe, but I KNOW many of you can relate. I really hate to get rid of something BEFORE I've had a chance to make it into something else. The joy is in the transformation itself!!

Maybe I need to take a lesson from the birds, Just look at them. They don't have a possession in the world and they are taken care of so well, aren't they?

Isn't he so beautiful?

Still enjoying the lights on the house at night. I think the icicle lights are soooo beautiful!! We still have lots of snow and it keeps snowing little bits almost every day. So beautiful!! Was so good to get out to church this morning. We helped take down decorations there too and pack them away for another year. After lunch then went by Walmart to pick up a few items and of course I found a few Christmas items that were 75% off!!! I couldn't just walk out empty-handed could I? So, I managed to pick up a few little things here and there to add to my already overflowing decorations. I am afflicted!!! Is there any hope for me??

I pray that the New Year will bring each of us a sense of His presence inside us and guide us into how much is enough.

Blessings, Linda

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year dear friends!!!!! I hope this past year had been one to reflect, learn, and give thanks for, as we all look on a clean, fresh, piece of paper to write another chapter on!!

Remember when you were young and you got a clean fresh piece of pretty paper to create a work of art on in school? I was always so excited to see what I could transfer from my mind onto that piece of paper. Our lives are so much like that, we are all artists!!! First, we are inspired by a dream of something, and then we sketch it out on paper for just the right proportions before we begin to color it in with the colors we love best. We also have the "Master Creator" to help shape, mold, and color our design. Our lives are filled with these little masterpieces that we and the Father create together. Sometimes He tells us to "go ahead" and do what we want, and sometimes he whispers gently in our ears to let him take over and watch him work, and we are amazed at his handiwork, his knowledge and skill to bring out just what we dreamed of!!!

May you all know the feeling of creating with the "Father" as your teacher as you paint in the colors of your life.

It has been now nearly a year since my first post, and I have so enjoyed this journey on paper!!!. To meet so many new friends and women who "get me". I have drawn confidence from that, to know that I am not alone and not as weird as I sometimes feel in this world. So many kindred spirits that I would have never known, had it not been for taking that first step of putting it on paper. I am so grateful for Dawn at The Feathered Nest for guiding and encouraging me to try even when I didn't know what I was doing. In many ways, I still don't know what I am doing, but I sure am having a good time!!! Thank you for all of your kind comments to me to inspire and encourage me. I really appreciate each one of you who have taken the time to leave me a little comment here and there.

May we all look forward to 2010 with creative anticipation of what we will create together!!

Linda