Mommy Daughter Afternoon

Daughter #2 and I had a fun afternoon. I decided this morning that we needed a little pampering -- called to make appointments for us for a pedicure at the local beauty school.

Not quite a fancy as a spa but our toes look nice and we got two pedicures for the price of one!

These cute toes belong to Daughter #2. I snapped this picture with my phone while we were doing some grocery shopping. She was not too happy about having a pic taken of her feet. Oh to be young again and have thin ankles!

Blog Giveaway!

All of these goodies can be yours just for leaving a comment on my blog! I'll leave the giveaway open until August 5th at 6 PM and then draw a name!

Just in time for harvest season is a Kerr Home Canning and Recipe Booklet from the 70's. After you're done harvesting you'll need to get the garden dirt off your hands -- my Gardener's Peppermint Scrub Soap will be perfect for that. Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook will give you ideas for preparing all those delicious foods from the garden.

So get busy, leave a comment, and come back on Sunday at 7 PM to see if you won!!

The Command Post

I talk so much about my front porch that I figured it was time that I posted a picture of part of it! This is the place were I sit every morning to have my coffee and enjoy the new day. Sometimes I'm there in the afternoon to enjoy the cool breeze. I sit and read, stitch, or just watch the many birds in the big open field in front of my house. In the late evening I'm here to rejoice in the cooling of the day and watch the beautiful sunsets. My family, lovingly and jokingly, refers to this space as "Mom's Command Post".

I've had the rocker for about 5 years now. When Daughter #1 owned her store we had a lady come in to consign the rocker. I feel in love with it! She wanted a purse so we bartered. I sewed a purse for her and carried the rocker home in my car.

Last Saturday was a major garage sale day in our little town. I saw the little wicker table and knew it needed a home beside my rocker. Now my little spot is just about perfect. All it needs is a plant for the table.

I Wanna A Cool Blog Banner

I'm whining today. Today is day #5 of the mega antibiotics for the staph infection which has in turn caused other infections that I've had to take more pills for. All of these chemicals in my system are making me feel whiny, to say the least. But the staph infection is better. And I only have 4 more days of antibiotics and then I can start a major detox of my system.

Sorry -- I got off on a tangent! I'm whining because I want a cool blog banner. All the other gals have them (more whining). Dear Tracey from Carpenter Creek gave me some cool pictures for my other blog The Rustic Cottage. Thanks Tracey!! She's the banner and picture queen extraordinaire.

But I need something for this blog. If I could figure out how to make my own I'd have a new one on a regular basis. But I can't. I downloaded a free trial of Photo Shop. Well DUH! I could barely figure out how to open the program. So that one got deleted. I've tried Front Page but can't get that one to work either. What I need is a program that will let me manipulate pictures (more whining). I'm usually not one to let computer programs stump me. I'll keep trying until I figure it out. It's either old age or I'm lazy -- I'm perfectly willing to let someone else figure this one out and then tell me how to do it.

I know in the grand scheme of things this really isn't important. However, a girl does want her home on the web to look good.

On another note -- I'm getting better at text messaging! Read about that adventure here. An Old Dog Tries to Text Message

Okay, I'm done whining now.

Anna

I love this name! It was my maternal grandmother's name and it means "grace". All of my childhood memories are filled with time spent with her doing simple every day things. She didn't buy me many toys, games, candy, or other things. She gave me her time. Time spent learning homemaking skills -- cooking, doing laundry, sprinkling clothes to get ready to iron, and then teaching me how to iron. That was how she made extra money for herself. My grandmother took in other people's ironing. It would be a whole process back in the 50's -- the days before permanent press fabrics. Everything had to be ironed. Granny would lay a plastic tablecloth down on the kitchen table, fill the old RC pop bottle with warm water, then put on the sprinkler top. I'd get to help her sprinkle the clothes. Then we'd roll them up tight like sausages, put them in a plastic bag, and stick them in the refrigerator. That way the clothes wouldn't get sour before we were ready to iron the next morning. The next morning it would be off to the back room to get the ironing done before the day got hot. As Granny would iron I'd color, read a book, and listen to her hum or whistle while she worked. She was joyful in the task she was performing.

This morning I was reading a Bible study profile of a woman named Anna. Her short story is in Luke 2:36-38. The first part of the profile reads:

"Anna got up and put on her clothes. God had given her another day of life -- another day to worship him and to pray! She was the most fortunate woman she knew. What would he tell her today? Whom would she meet in the temple? Every day was an adventure. Anna loved God, and she loved life!"

Anna was 87 years old. She was a prophetess who spent day and night at the temple. She worshipped God and waited for the arrival of the Messiah. She had been married for 7 years when her husband died and then never remarried. The rest of her days were spent in service to the Lord. This Anna was joyful in the task she was performing too!

As I read this passage this morning my first thought was that I want to be that joyful. Just to be happy for another day given to me by God. Another day to worship him and to pray! When my focus is on those two things the rest of my day will be great!

Now I have another reason to love the name Anna. When I think of that name each morning it will remind of this faithful woman who loved God and loved life! It will remind me to open my eyes and be excited that God has given me another day of life!!

Where Have I Been??

Boy, a whole week has gone by and I haven't posted a thing. Where have I been? What's been going on? Well -- not much. Just doing the usual work thing Tuesday through Friday. I have a nasty staph infection which I got medicine for on Thursday. The medicine is so strong that it makes me feel worse than the infection! But I have to take it so I will deal with it. The staph would be worse -- especially since it could kill me. Not a good thing!

I've been running Daughter #2 around all over the place. Teenagers sure do keep you busy. I keep trying to tell her that we're trying to conserve gas, not see how much more we can use. But since we live outside of town and all her friends live in town -- therein lies the problem. For the first time I said I'd be glad when she finally got her driver's license. Then again????

Daughter #2 surprised me this week. I keep going along praying for her daily, trying not to pull my hair out at times, telling myself that this too shall pass. Actually it's not all that bad. She's a really good kid. Just sassy like her momma! She's had this "boyfriend" for about 3 months. Actually it's a nice young man from Utah that she talks to on the phone and emails. She's never met him but he's still her boyfriend, or so she says. Now before anyone has a fit about this just know that I've checked him out, talked to both of his parents, etc. I'm a very protective parent.

Yesterday she calls me at work to tell me that she thinks she's going to break up with this young man. I was the first one that she called and she actually asked for my advice -- go figure! She said that she liked him as a friend but just didn't want to be involved with any boys for a long, long time. She just wanted to hang out with her girl friends. I told her that I felt the first thing she should do is to pray that God would give her the right words to say and then pray for the young man. Ask that God would comfort him as he was going to be sad. Daughter #1 says "That's really good advice Mom. I'm going to go pray and will call you later." Well you could have knocked me over with a feather. She said I gave her good advice! Is it possible that she's beginning to think I'm not so bad after all?

Anyway, the break up went well. She and the young man are still friends and she says she feels good about the way she handled the conversation. Darn -- I must be starting to get through to her!!

The Garden

My paternal grandmother had this picture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane hanging on the wall in her guest bedroom. I can remember spending the night in that room when I was a little girl. In the morning I would roll over and this picture was what I would see. I was so fascinated by it. A peaceful picture of Jesus kneeling in prayer.

Last night in my devotions I read Matthew 26:36-46 -- the account of Jesus in the garden. What the Bible says presents a very different picture than the one here. When Jesus went to the garden he took three of his disciples with him. He began to be sorrowful and troubled. In Matthew 26:38 it says "Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

I tried to imagine what it would feel like to have your soul be that sorrowful. I have known sorrow in my life but never like that. Jesus was human. He knew what lay ahead. And the human side of him did not want to have to go through it. Verse 39 says "Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Luke 22:44 says "And being in anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."

The peaceful picture does not show this anguish. How hard would a person have to pray to even sweat, much less have it be as drops of blood? My heart was so burdened by what I read. It hurt me to think that Jesus was so sorrowful, that he did not want to be beaten, mocked, and then hung on a cross to die. But even as sorrowful as he was he was in complete obedience to his Father's will. Why would he go through this?? Why would he be so obedient??

For me! For you! He did it for the whole world! He took our sins on his shoulders, carried them to the cross, and shed His blood for us. And the remarkable thing is that if I was the only person in the whole world He would still have obeyed His Father's will and would have died just for me. I am so grateful for that.

Oh Lord, that I could be like you and be so obedient!! That is my prayer today!

Joyful Things

I'm joyful for this beautiful day even though it was close to 100 again.

I'm joyful that it's cooling off tonight and there is a nice breeze blowing through the windows.

I'm joyful that Stephany did all her chores on the list today without even having to be told. She was so excited that she called me at work to tell me. I told her how proud I was of her. And when I came home from work I made sure to tell her how wonderful the house looked!

I'm joyful that I have a job to go to every day where the people are pleasant to work with and the atmosphere is low key.

I'm joyful that I had an air conditioned office to work in today.

I'm joyful that God loves me no matter how many times I mess up every day.

I'm joyful that I have a nice car to drive so that I can go pick Stephany up from youth group at church -- it's 8:30 and I'm supposed to be there right now.

Bye for now!

A Different Direction

It's time for my blog to take a different direction. In fact, it's time for me to take a different direction. I have used this place to share my joys and my frustrations. I have used my blog to share about my family and friends. But, in all of this, my blog has not been what I would really want it to be -- a place of peace and encouragement to others.

Last night I came across a blog that I feel has totally changed my life. Lives of Simplicity It was as if the Lord was speaking directly to me through this beautiful lady's writing. She has a large family and takes joy in her husband, children, and her home. Her blog is a place where she shares her faith and encourages other women through her writing and a study called Home MAKING.

For so many years I have felt burdened by my life, my family, and taking care of my home. Housework was something that I dreaded and it made me mad to have to do it. My family was an imposition on my time! I have not put Jesus, my family, or my home as first in my life. That's the way it should be!

It will be a long slow process to repair the damage that I've done to the relationships with my family. Luckily it is an instant process to repair my relationship with Jesus. All I had to do is repent and ask for forgiveness! Done, forgotten, and a clean slate is started!! How wonderful if everything could be that easy and that rewarding.

I want this blog to become a place of encouragement, peace, and learning for all those that visit! I'm building a "new" cottage -- please come back often to see the progress!

Love,
Kay

One Hundred and What????

102 -- that't the forecast high for tomorrow! Our average high is 76 for this time of year and we usually don't see triple digits but about once every 4 or 5 years. It's not unusual for mid-90's in late July or early August. We are lucky enough to have air conditioning but many people here don't.

I moved to Washington in 1985. Coming from Illinois, where the summers are hot and the humidity high, one of the first things you ask about a place is if it has air conditioning. When my prospective landlady told me that most people around here didn't have it because it wasn't needed, I couldn't believe it. The second thing you ask, especially if the place is out of town a ways, is if there are problems getting out in the winter. I asked that question because, at the time, the place I was renting was surrounded by empty fields, a barn, and many cows. I did not know that Vancouver, WA rarely gets snow. The lady looked at me like she was ready to call the white coat guys to come and haul me away.

In my defense, the first winter I was here we had a major snow storm of 4 inches -- at least that was major for here.

Now how did I get off on the snow thing when I'm supposed to talking about the impending heat? Maybe it's just wishful thinking.

HAPPY 4TH!!!!

Happy 4th of July! Don't you just love this holiday? I do!! It's just a happy, cheerful day with the red, white, and blue colors. Not to mention the grand finale to end this special day - fireworks!

But it's so much more than that. It is the birth of our country. Our day of independence. No matter what we say about the situations in our country, it is still the best place to live on earth. We are free here!

Thank you to the many who have, and are, serving in our Armed Forces so that I can enjoy this freedom! Thank you to those that gave their lives for my freedom!

God Bless America!!!!

Beautiful Summer Day

What a gorgeous summer day today! Got up this AM to a warm morning with just a hint of a breeze. I played around with the flowers on my front porch for a while -- deadheaded, watered and fertilized them. I planted red geraniums, white verbena, and blue lobelia this year for a patriotic porch! This is an old enamelware canning kettle that I got at an estate sale last year. I was going to use it when canning but it's too big to fit on my stove. So it went to the shed for the winter. When I was getting ready to plant I found it, drilled holes in the bottom and it was ready for my pretty flowers. Hung a load of towels on the line then went into town for a while. I got a couple of basil plants, cucumber starts, and two tomato plants. This weekend the little garden area in the back will get planted. I wasn't going to plant anything this year but the warm weather and sunshine made me decide differently. Plus there's nothing better than fresh basil and pasta!