2010 Perspective

As I sit and think of this year there are a lot of good things that have happened to me, good changes in who I am. I am very thankful for the changes that have taken place in me.

All my life, I have been very fearful and have let fear dictate a lot of my decisions. A couple of years ago, I realized that fear was a giant in my heart and it was time for it to move out. Consequently, God has so graciously put me in tests to help me overcome the immobilizing fear that had dominated my life. I'm not totally free but I have come a long way. What is exciting to me is perfect love cast out fear so as fear is leaving I know I am being perfected in God's love. God's love for me!

I've also gotten a lot better at thinking before I speak. Is this ever a biggy for me! I've learned that if I'm speaking judgement on someone, it's usually in my life too. Pretty interesting but unfortunately it's true.

I'm learning not to take myself so seriously. To enjoy life and be myself. The key here is "be myself" and not be what I think people want me to be.

I have become more conscious of living in the moment and enjoying it, not thinking of yesterday or wondering about tomorrow. This takes some effort but there is a lot to be said about this. Life is more peaceful living in the moment. I definitely want to perfect this in my life.

One of the perspectives I'm most grateful for is learning that no emergency, irritation, or crisis is worth the regret I feel if I am harsh and rude with my family. I haven't arrived yet, I still have my ugly moments, but overall, my responses have changed. I wish it hadn't taken me 25 years to learn this particular lesson. But what matters, I did see it and I changed.

I am committed to incurable optimism. I am absolutely certain that the best and most glorious moments of my life are yet to be.

It's really been great taking the time to think about this year and the good things that have taken place in my life. I am very thankful for the changes and look forward to this new year.

I started out my blog saying that I hoped I could enrich your life in some way and I hope in some small way I have done that this year. I want to wish you a new year filled with love, happiness, health and peace. I am looking forward to another year of sharing my life with you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

THE GARDEN

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift. Above all, it teaches entire trust.


____Gertrude Jekyll, 1843-1932, English gardener and writer __________

Be a Producer and not a Consumer

The majority of our society has come to a place where they are consumers and they never even consider the idea of how can they produce something. Whether it be growing a garden, making a garment (if you don't know how to sew take a sewing class) I'm taking a knitting class and loving it, make a gift for someone or read a book where you are learning something. We have tons of resources at the tips of our fingers, two hands and an amazing mind that we only use a fraction of.

I would like to challenge you in this new year to start thinking of ways to be a producer. And from the way groceries are rising in price you might want to consider a garden. Don't start with something massive, start with one raised bed and grow a salsa garden. Tomatoes and jalapenos and you have to throw in a couple of basil plants. Who doesn't like salsa? You can make fresh salsa, you could have canned tomatoes instead of buying them at the store. I have also canned tomatoes with onions and okra and it is a great addition for beef stews. I also have a recipe for canned salsa that I will share with you later. With your basil plant, you can make pesto and freeze it. If it's in a good container it will keep in the freezer for 8-12 months. I put pesto in lasagna, on warm pasta, pizza there are a millions ways you can use pesto.

When you start thinking of producing things and doing it, (the key is doing it) you will feel really good about yourself. You will feel creative, it will help you become organized and you will feel like your making your little corner of the world a better place.

Tackle those projects that you have been putting off. I know, if you are like me, I look at a big project and think I need to finish it all at once and I become over whelmed and I never start. But if you will look at the project and say to yourself, I am working on this for 2 hours every day until I get it complete. You will be amazed at how fast you can accomplish something. Again, it can be a sewing project, pulling weeds out of the garden, cleaning the garage etc. We live in the country and we have LOTS of BIG projects. Off and on for about two weeks, my husband and I have been cleaning out our shop (a 25x50 metal building) full of everything. We have thrown away old containers of dried up paint, stuff we have been saving thinking someday we will use it(nope, if we haven't used it in the last year it's out of here). Tools everywhere and probably 5 of everything. We are making up tool boxes for each one of our children, keeping what we need and putting the rest toward a huge garage sale in the spring. You can actually walk through the shop now with lots of room to spare. I stood and looked at how great it looked and wondered why we hadn't done this before now. I'll tell you why, because we looked at what all needed to be done and it was over whelming.

I hope I have inspired you a little to tackle those projects you have been putting off. Remember.....a little at a time, not all at once. And become a Producer this year!!! :)

Festive Cheese Ball

I tried four new recipes for the holidays and these is the only one that was a keeper. I will definitely make it again and it does look very festive for the holidays or any winter parties.

1 1/4 cups whole natural almonds
1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
3 crispy cooked bacon slices, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dill weed, (I had fresh on hand and I used 1 tablespoon fresh dill)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped green onion

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place and spread almonds on a cookie sheet or in a shallow pan, pushing the almonds around until they turn color, about 20 minutes.

Mix together the cream cheese and the mayonnaise. Add the bacon, salt and pepper, dill, and onion. Mix well and chill over night.

On a serving platter, make 2 pine cone shapes with the cheese. Begin to press the almonds at a slight angle into the cheese, starting at the narrow end of the pine cone shape. Do this in rows, continuing to overlap the rows until all the cheese is covered. Garnish with rosemary or fake sprigs.

Serve at room temperature and serve with crackers.

Enjoying little bargins

Everything in the picture is from a garage sale except ,of course, the flowers and candles. The platter was from a friend. She gave me a box of stuff she didn't want. I was so excited.....I love old platters. The vase, toothpick holder and votives I picked up at garage sales. This little grouping sets on the island in our kitchen and I will switch out napkins and flowers for the season. I find good deals on fresh flowers at our Wal-Mart and I have had some of the flowers to last for almost 2 weeks. I love fresh flowers and since I spend a lot of time in the kitchen I get to see and enjoy them a lot. I also find great napkins at Tuesday Morning Inc. They have a great variety and great prices.

Another thing that I do in this grouping, is to remove the votives and I have an antique cup that I will put Andes mints into. I have also removed the larger vase put in a smaller one for several rose buds and used a large (pillar) candle. I used cocktail napkins instead of the dinner napkins too. There are a lot of ways you can change the way it looks.

This is just a little touch for your home that brightens things up and it doesn't cost a lot.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole

After spinach enchiladas, I love chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce and then I love cheese enchiladas and then homemade tamales (laughing) I could probably write down everything that is on a Mexican menu. I love Mexican food and I think just about everyone does.

It is so much work to make individual enchiladas and such a mess that I don't hardly ever do that. I came up with this recipe in an attempt to create chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce. My family loves it and I made this for a ladies luncheon that I catered a year ago and I had several women come up and tell me that it was the best casserole they had ever eaten. :)

The picture that I have posted of this casserole is a double portion. This is what I make for my family when we are all together. This will keep in the frig. several days and is really good warmed up if you have any left.

4 chicken breasts, baked and cut into bite size pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 onion chopped fine
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can chopped green chilies, (the chopped green chilies come in small cans but the large
is still small but a little bigger than the small size.)
I don't have one on hand to write down the exact size.
I'm guessing 6 ounces.
1 heaping cup of sour cream
1 package of corn tortillas
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 teaspoon of cumin
3-4 fresh jalapenos
1-16 ounce Monterrey Jack cheese grated
1-16 ounce Monterrey Jack pepper cheese grated

When I make this for my family I boil a whole chicken until it is tender and after it has cooled I remove it from the bone and cut into bite size pieces. I would not cook 8 chicken breast to double this recipe that would be too much meat. If you are cooking the chicken breast, wash off the chicken breast and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees cover with foil for about 45-55 minutes until tender. Remove from oven let cool then cut the breast into bite size pieces.

While the chicken is cooking take a large mixing bowl and put in your chicken soup, green enchilada sauce, green chilies, sour cream, chopped onion, and cumin. Mix well. It the mixture is too thick add 1/4 cup of chicken broth to thin it down a little. When the chicken has cooled add the chicken to your soup mixture and stir well.

Take a 9x13 casserole dish and spray with Pam. Put half of your soup mixture in the bottom of the dish, on top of that tear your corn tortillas into bite size pieces and cover the top of that mixture (about 10 tortillas) then cover the top of the tortillas with some of the grated Monterrey Jack cheese (about 2 cups). Then the rest of the soup mixture on top of the cheese. Cover the top of the soup mixture with the rest of the torn corn tortillas then top with the grated Monterrey Pepper Jack cheese. Slice the fresh jalapenos and cover the top of the casserole with them. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

With the smaller casserole you might get by with an 8 ounce package of each cheese but I love cheese and I always use quite a bit. If your not a cheese lover and your concerned about fat you could get by with the smaller size. Sometimes I use a little more cumin. I will just taste it and go by how it taste.

Peanut Butter Fudge YUM!

This fudge is so good and rich that it will lock your jaws. Really......it's the best especially if you love peanut butter.

1/2 cup butter
5 cups sugar
1-12 ounce can of evaporated milk
1-18 ounce jar creamy peanut butter (I love crunchy so that's what I use)
1-7 ounce jar of marshmallow cream

Butter sides and bottom of a large Dutch oven, leaving excess butter in the bottom of pan to melt completely. Add sugar and evaporated milk stirring well until sugar is dissolved. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture reaches soft ball stage or a candy thermometer registers 235 degrees. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and marshmallow cream. With a wooden spoon beat the mixture until well blended. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish and allow the fudge to cool at room temperature. After the fudge has cooled cover with plastic wrap and do not refrigerate. I have found that putting fudge in the frig. causes it to get hard and I think it ruins the texture of the fudge. It gets grainy. My mom always put hers in the frig. but I stopped doing that and it really makes a difference.

Good Quote

THE HUMAN SPIRIT NEEDS PLACES WHERE NATURE HAS NOT BEEN REARRANGED BY THE HAND OF MAN.

anonymous

Loneliness

LONELINESS........... Our "friend" when it forces us to enjoy the fellowship of God as much as we would the fellowship of others.

I remember the day I received this note card with the Loneliness verse on the front of it. It has been over twenty years ago now, my two daughters had been in a special study for about 3 months and we had been meeting in the home of another student once a week for 3 months. On the day they finished the study, they had a little celebration that afternoon and one of the girls passed out notes to all the moms. When I opened mine and saw that it said Loneliness, I thought why couldn't mine have said Blessed or Cheerfulness why did it have to say Loneliness.

Several years earlier we had left organized religion and I was still dealing with things not being the way I wanted them and one issue was loneliness. For quite some time, I had continued to pray and seek the Lord on when we were going to get planted somewhere and one morning God spoke very clearly to me through the scriptures. My eyes fell on the prayer of Moses and my eyes landed on this verse. "Through all the generations you have been our home." It has taken years for me to learn the depth of that verse but I did know enough at the time to realize we would never be going back to what I considered church.

When I first came to the Lord I was very shy and easily intimated. Whenever I had questions about scripture or a minor crises in my life my first inclination was to call someone I considered spiritual. It never entered my mind to go to the Lord first. My comfort and my security always came from someone telling me I would be ok or someone giving me their opinion on what I should do. I want to say right here that we do need each other and that God uses other people in our lives but I was totally reliant on man and not God. One day I had a minor emergency and I can remember coming home and trying to call every woman I could think of and no one was home. I finally picked up my Bible and opened it and my eyes fell to the scripture that says "Why do you consider man who's breath is in his nostrils." Once again God was showing me I was not coming to Him first. When was I going to learn!

One of the most important lessons I learned from my spiritual father was to go to God and His word. If I ever went to him with a problem he never gave me his opinion or advice. He always pointed me to God and would always say "you need to get in the Word." He already knew this and I learned this after a while that when God tells you something, it sticks. You know that it came from Him and there is no second guessing. I have gone through many trials and tribulations learning that God is my home and He is the only one who can bring peace to my soul and comfort me.

Well, it's been quite a journey as I think back of starting down the road to finding God as my home. I do cherish my friends and have such wonderful fellowship with them but I can tell you that nothing or nobody takes the place of the fellowship I have with my Father. When something arises in my life it never enters my mind to even call anyone, I'm running straight to my Daddy.

Michael W. Smith has a song that I love and it so expresses my feelings for God. It's called, Deep in Love with You.

Sitting at your feet
Is where I want to be
I'm home when I am here with you
I can't resist the tenderness of you
I'm deep in love with you Lord
My heart beats for you
Precious Jesus
Deep in love with you Lord

Humbled and amazed
That you would call my name
I never have to search again
There's a deep desire
Burning like a fire
To know you as my closest friend
I'm deep in love with you Abba Father
Deep in love you, Lord!

You'll have to listen to it. It's a beautiful song.

My little "Loneliness" note card hangs on my bulletin board in my work/office space and is a sweet reminder of my journey to finding God as my home and that Loneliness became a beautiful part of my life.

Gary's French Onion Soup

I was checking out some of my favorite chefs on the Food Network to see their recipes for French Onion Soup. This is one of my husband's favorite soups and my current recipe is not that good. I wanted to come up with something that he would really like. I took some of their ideas and added a few of my own and this is what I came up with. It was a hit with my husband. Very rich and satisfying. We had a combination salad with the soup.....it hit the spot!

1 Pkg. beef short ribs (4-5 ribs)
5 beef bouillon cube
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
8 sweet onions or 8 white onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick, then ring them
1 stick of butter
2-3 tablespoons flour
1 cup to 1 1/2 cups wine (red or white)
16 ounces Gruyere cheese
1 loaf crusty French bread (long skinny French bread) cut in 1/2 inch slices

Put beef short ribs in about 6 to 8 cups of water with bouillon cubes, bay leaf and Worcestershire sauce and cook on medium to low heat until the beef ribs are tender. Remove ribs and bay leaf from broth.

Now melt one stick of butter and add sliced onion and garlic and thyme to butter and cook the onions slow and low until they are caramelized. It will take 15-20 minutes for them to start of caramelize or turn golden brown. After they are caramelized stir in 3 tablespoons of flour and cook the flour with the onions for about 5 minutes. Now add your wine and stir well. Then add your beef broth from the ribs let it warm up a little and taste it to see if it needs more salt. Then let the soup come to a boil and then turn off the heat.

Take the sliced French bread and toast until golden brown. Ladle the soup into large soup bowls that are oven proof. Put two slices of bread on top of soup and top with at least 1/2 cup of Gruyere cheese. Put under broiler in the oven until cheese has melted and just a little golden. Be sure and don't burn yourself. Those bowls are really hot. Put something under them on your table.

Displaying Christmas Cards

This has become my favorite way to display Christmas cards. It is green flower bed fencing that I picked up at Wal-Mart. I'm not sure if they carry this during the winter months, I haven't checked. But they do carry several types during the spring and summer months. I'm also thinking you might find this at Atwoods or Ace Hardware. I have a brick divider in my breakfast room and I position the fencing down the brick wall. I put some evergreen along the bottom. As our Christmas cards come in I tape them to the wire frame. I leave our winter decorations up until the end of February so we enjoy seeing the cards and pictures we receive from family and friends long after x-mas is over.

Knitting Class

I attended my first knitting class yesterday and loved it! We made a scarf for the first class. Of course, we didn't finish it but we will be able to complete it this week and take it back for the finishing touches next Saturday. Next Saturday will be a dish cloth and the final class is a cap. We will learn all of the stitches by making these three items to get started making things.

The teachers are young, talented, and very patient :). I was very impressed. The shop is beautiful with all types and colors of yarn from floor to ceiling and comfortable seating. Several nights a week, after hours, knitters get together at the shop to work on their projects.

I am taking the class at L&B Yarn Co. in Norman. The classes are very affordable and the price includes your supplies. If your interested in knitting check it out!

Fruit Salad

I made a fruit salad last night for dessert and it was so good. My husband had a sore throat and was fighting off a cold and when I went to the store I was trying to think of something sweet and healthy since it was his birthday. I had already decided not to fix any kind of dessert because you know the information about sugar. I can't remember exactly but it's something like your immune system drops to nothing for 24 hours after you eat sugar.

Arrived at the grocery store and they had wonderful fresh pineapples. They were so sweet you could smell them. The light when off "fruit salad". So I got a couple of Granny Smith apples, a couple of oranges, some bananas, the red grapes were also huge and very sweet, a pomegranate (my new favorite fruit), coarsely chopped pecans. It was great and he loved it.

There are different times of fruit salad but I almost like the fruit salad in the winter better than the fruit salad I make in the summer but I think of those fresh peaches and I guess I really like them both. :)

Anyway, just wanted to remind everyone that during this time of the year when we are bombarded by sugary treats remember to stick in some fruit salad and give your body a treat and a break.

Happy Birthday to my Dear Husband!

Today is my husband's birthday. As I sit and think about him, I know how blessed I am. I always enjoy remembering our story and how God brought us together. I was in the seventh grade and he was in the ninth grade. Back then, it was called junior high school. He was a starter on the basketball team, very good looking, popular and most of the girls I knew had a crush on him. We would stand outside the school on the lawn in the mornings and wait for the bell to ring so we could go inside and start school. I remember standing there with my friends and seeing him walk up the sidewalk with one of the cutest girls in his class. She was a cheerleader, very petite and cute and I remember thinking you will never have a chance with him. I was in pep club and I can still see him in that gym running down the court playing basketball and me yelling for him to make the basket. He never knew I was even alive. I admired him from a distance for many years.

The next year he went on to high school and I had two more years in junior high. During the next two years I attended several high school football games where once again he was a star football player. And again he had another pretty girl on his arm.

The summer before I went to high school my first job was working in a Diary Queen. I was working in the back cooking which I didn't like. I wanted to make the ice cream cones and malts. :) Anyway, there was a small window in the kitchen that looked out into the front of the Dairy Queen. Someone had come in and ordered a foot long hot dog and I just happened to glance through the window and it was him (my future husband). I was so excited that I was getting to make his hot dog. I kid him now and tell him I dropped the wiener on the floor before I put it on the bun. I started to high school that fall and saw him many times. Always thinking I would never have a chance with him.

After we were married I found out that during high school he lived behind me. Our backyards were adjacent to each other. I never saw him and it's probably a good thing I didn't know that.

He went off to college and then Viet Nam. After he was out of the service, he was good friends with my best friend's brothers. We ended up going out on a blind date with my friend and her boyfriend. We were married in about a year and a half after that.

We our best friends and he is still the love of my life. I am so thankful that we have grown together through the years and not apart. I don't know what I would do without him.

I want to wish him the Happiest of Birthdays today and I want him to know that through the years the sweetest days I've found I've found with him.
I love you!

Inexpensive Christmas Gifts

This is an inexpensive Christmas gift but one that is full of love. I did this years ago for my husband on Valentine's Day but you could do it for a special friend or your children or your husband. This is a great idea for any occasion.

At the time, I bought a heart shaped jar, it was red and had a good sized cork in the top. I went to a pharmacy and bought empty glycerin tablets and wrote him little notes of why I loved him, there were notes for a foot rub or back rub,a special breakfast (he loves breakfast). You can use your imagination and come up with all kinds of ideas. Then I carefully folded the note and put in the the glycerin tablet. My jar had a little tag hanging from the top that said love pills take one a day. Okay, I know it's a little corny but he enjoyed it.

For Christmas you could use a canning jar and tie some raffia around the top and tie a cute little x-mas ornament dangling down from the raffia. You could write your notes on red and green paper and it would look all festive.

These are some things my children have done during the years when they didn't have any money for gifts. They would make a coupon and put it in a birthday card or whatever the occasion was and it would be to clean the house for a month or do the dishes every night, cook dinner once a week. I'm sure you get the idea.

This time of the year can be stressful for families who are struggling just to make ends meet. With the economy in the state it's in be creative. Give some thought to things you can do this season for others that won't cost a lot. Think of some things you would like someone to do for you. I think you'll find that you will end up being closer as a family, you will be giving of yourself to help others and the holiday will be a happier time.... less stressed without a pile of debt when the season is over.

Thought for the Day

Thought from my devotional this morning.

One tiny violet of encouragement will mean more to those with whom we live today than will acres of orchids when their pulses are stilled in death.

Lavish your friends and loved ones with love and encouragement that is in your heart because too often we leave words unsaid that could brighten and even turn around some one's day.

I saw many years ago in my life how I would often look at my children or my husband and think oh, my husband looks handsome this morning, or my daughter looks beautiful in that dress or your hair looks exceptionally good today, or I'm proud of the way you responded in that situation. I thought it but was asleep to the fact that I needed to speak it. Little things that seem insignificant can so brighten and turn around some one's day if we would only remember to say it or do it.

Annie's Pumpkin Cheesecake

For several years now I have wanted to try a pumpkin cheesecake. So I finally sat down and went to the Food Network and this is the recipe I chose. They had a lot to choose from but I got a winner. It is very rich and creamy. My family loved it and I'm sure this will become a traditional recipe around our home.

For garnish, the recipe suggested a dollop of whipping cream seasoned with a tablespoon of bourbon. I didn't have any bourbon so I used a tablespoon of dark rum and it was very good. Honestly, the cheesecake is soooo rich you really don't need anything. But for the holidays it's fun to be a little festive.

Because my oldest daughter loves cheesecake and especially pumpkin cheesecake, I'm calling this Annie's Pumpkin Cheesecake.

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 3/4 cups sugar
salt
2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1 15 ounce can pure pumpkin
6 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
2 cups sweetened whipped cream
1/3 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of rum or bourbon


Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Brush a 10 inch springform pan with some of your melted butter. Mix your remaining butter, graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Mix well and then empty into your springform pan. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and up the sides of the pan, packing it tightly and evenly. Bake until golden brown about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a rack, then wrap the outside of the springform pan with foil and place in a roasting pan.

Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of sugar and beat until just light, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the sour cream, then add the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, 1 teaspoon of salt and the spices and beat until just combined. Pour into cooled crust.

Gently place the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out) and then pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake until the outside of the cheesecake sets but the center is still loose, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door briefly to let out some heat. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 more hour, then carefully remove from the roasting pan, taking off the foil from around the pan and let cool on a rack. Run a knife around the edges after it has cooled, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Bring the cheese cake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Unlock and remove the springform ring. To finish, place a dollop of whipped cream on each slice and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

Since it was Thanksgiving, I had two yellow roses left on my rose bush and I thought they would look pretty on the cheesecake with a sprig or rosemary. I pictured our dessert table for Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving

We gathered together today to thank the Lord for His many blessings. It was a good day. The first time in a long time that is was just our immediate family for Thanksgiving. We had a good time and ate tooooo much food!



Happy Thanksgiving!

Hand- Me- Down Table

Our dining room furniture is Duncan Phyfe and it belonged to my mother. I always loved it and she left it to me when she died. It has been the gathering place for many holiday meals and Sunday dinners. I can still see my dad sitting at the head of the table with uncles and grandparents all around the table. My mom always seemed to be the last one through the line so she and my aunts would usually sit with all the children at card tables and T.V. trays. My parents would have around 40 people for our holiday dinners. Wonderful memories!

Being as old as it is the table still looks pretty good. Several years ago the end of the table where my husband sits was really leaning. It's a drop leaf table and that end was leaning pretty bad so he put a support under it to hold the leaf up to the position it needs to be.

Some 20 years ago I found in a magazine a poem about a hand-me-down table and it reminded me of our table. I had someone to do the poem in calligraphy for me and now it hangs in our dining room.

Hand-Me-Down Table

This hand-me-down table
Is special to me
For every Thanksgiving
My mind's eye can see
The chairs filled with people
Who've come to this place
And left all the memories
That time can't erase:

The uncles and aunts,
Our parents and friends;
And once in a while
Grown kids wandered in
With someone they'd found
Who had no other place
To spend their Thanksgiving
(We always had space).

It's a blessing, I think,
That a table like this
Just seems to make room
For one more to fit;
And sure, there were times
When someone complained
(But they were the first
to show up again).

So this hand-me-down table
With it's rich history
Can't be tossed in some heap-
What a loss that would be!
Though it's scratched and in need
Of a little repair,
May the next generation
Want it, too, is my prayer.

These are picture of our hand-me-down table in need of a little repair and then some pictures of our table all beautiful and ready for Thanksgiving Day.

Treasures by the Curb

This is the end of our well house. I was going to paint a sun on the end of our well house. I went shopping with several friends and one bought a sun and moon for her patio. I saw this big sun and thought it was really cute. After I got home, I decide to go back and get this sun and moon and save myself the headache of trying to paint my own. I love the way it turned out.

The black frame is a headboard I found by the curb. I spayed it black and this spring I am going to plant a cypress vine on each end to grow over this frame. I have planted a lot of red tulips that will bloom in early spring in front of the frame. Then I will have the vine with tiny red trumpet flowers and I am going to plant either red petunias or red and white periwinkles for the summer in front of the headboard.

Can't wait to see what it looks like. :)

Paper Whites and Amaryllis

Don't forget to go to your local nursery and buy some paper whites and amaryllis. I got mine planted on Thursday. It's been a tradition with me for years to plant paper whites. It's just part of getting ready for the holidays for me. They are so beautiful....I just love them. They will brighten your day and they are very easy to care for.

I have a lot of natural light in my home so it's not hard for me to find a place to sit them. But they really do best where they can get some good light. You can plant them in small decorative rock or in dirt (the container can be shallow - 4 or 5 inches deep). You just stick the end of the bulb (the widest part) into the dirt or rock. One fourth of the bulb should be submerged. Once a week, water lightly around the base of each bulb.

After they have bloomed you can plant your bulbs in your flower bed. I never knew you could do that until last year. The master gardener that I listen to on the radio said she plants hers and they will come up. I'm trying it this year. Just plant them at the depth you would plant a tulip.

This year I bought a red and white amaryllis and I planted it in the center of my paper whites. Visualize this, lots of paper whites with the delicate white flowers and towering above them a huge red and white amaryllis. I think it will be beautiful. On those cold and wintery days it will be a beautiful site.

Be sure and do this for yourself! If you love flowers, you will be glad you did.

I'm 60 today!

I want to tell you a little story. About 10 years ago my husband was doing some odd jobs for two women in Chickasha. They are sisters and at the time one was 92 and the other sister was 89. They both have their own homes and lived alone. They are wonderful women and of this writing as far as I know they are still alive. But one Saturday morning in the fall I had gone to the home of the 89 year old to pick up acorns to decorate with. She came to the door that morning in a beautiful cashmere pumpkin colored sweater and grey slacks and had on very stylish glasses. I remember telling her how attractive she looked and she politely thanked me and smiled. It really shocked me to see an older woman dress and look so nice at that age and her sister was the same way. I had 2 different fall workshops for my decorating business and they came to both of them. They were both interested in decorating. In fact, several years after this the 89 year old sister added on to her kitchen by enclosing her garage and had another garage built. The two sisters also alone took off in a travel home to Florida, stopped in Atlanta to hear Charles Stanley. Went on to Florida to visit one of their grandsons. He took them out in sailboat on the ocean and they came back home. The one who drove the travel home is a little frail thing about 90 pounds.

Then shortly after this, I was watching PBS and they had a story about some Asian people who lived in the mountains and at 80 and 90 how they ran business, worked in huge gardens and were very active and productive people. They didn't have the mindset of growing old and retiring.....slowing down.

After all this, I said, God I think you are showing me something. And He really was. He really gave me enthusiasm and excitement about the rest of my life. To still be productive and that I didn't have to get older and look like a little old lady. You're as old as you think in your mind. If I start telling myself I can't do something then I won't be able to do it.

So I said all that to say I'm really excited about the rest of my life. There is great freedom that comes with aging. I am blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn grey and my youthful laugh is forever etched into deep groves in my face. I will walk the beach with a bathing suit stretched over my sagging skin and will dive into the waves of the ocean with abandonment and have a great time.

This past month as I have thought about turning 60 and reflecting on my life I realize what a rich woman I am. I have the most wonderful husband who has loved me and made me a happy woman for 36 years. Four wonderful children who have made me very proud and a host of dear friends and family. I have in my life the things money can't buy...I'm truly blessed.

Today I want to thank the ONE who is my life and for giving me this day 60 years ago and for the excitement and enthusiasm He has given me to live the rest of my life with Gusto! I truly do look to the future and smile. He has blessed me beyond measure!

Truth

THERE ARE TWO MISTAKES THAT ONE CAN MAKE ALONG THE ROAD TO TRUTH. NOT GOING ALL THE WAY AND NOT STARTING.

Really like this quote!

Pomegranates

If you are like me you have probably never tried a pomegranate before. I have decorated with them a lot but have never eaten one until today. In the past, when I was using them to decorate with I would wonder if they were very tasty. I sure never heard anyone mention them. Over the past several years pomegranate juice has become popular and the health benefits of the juice are beneficial.

My daughter, Katie recently called me after she had tried one and was raving about how great it was. So I picked up one at the store about a week ago and today at lunch I tried it. It was sweet and syrupy and wonderful. My husband came into the kitchen to see what all the slurping was about. I just cut it in half and started eating it like an orange. The white pithy stuff in between the seeds is a little bitter but the seeds are wonderful, so sweet. The skin is very thin so they are easily peeled and you can just pull the seeds apart from the pithy stuff. I recently saw a recipe where they made a trifle and used chocolate cake, whipped cream and fruit and they had pomegranate seeds in the fruit and the top of the trifle had whipped cream with pomegranate seeds sprinkled on the top. Very festive!

Well, that's my two cents about pomegranates. They're great and I hope you'll try one. Let me know what you think.

Just Living

Wow, It's been a busy month so far. Finished painting the house......soooo thankful that is done! I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to finish it. But with the help of my dear sweet husband and one of our sons(they did all the high places) we completed it and it looks so much better. I have always wanted black shutters so we are in the process of getting those completed. We have one set on and hopefully during the winter we will get that all accomplished. When you do-it-yourself it takes a little longer. :)

Now I can focus on my other projects. I am going to clear out a spot for a blueberry patch and get it ready so all I have to do is plant the bushes when they come in. I usually do things the other way around which makes me a little stressed. I have a lot of old red bricks and I want to use these for edging around my flower beds plus the usual work in the garden. I will have plenty to keep me busy on the pretty days during the winter. And as always, can't wait to start looking through the new seed catalogs when they start arriving.

When your looking at the pictures of our home. Look closely at the porch area. I added some old metal work on the pillars that I found at a friend's shop in Marlow. I'm really happy with the way it looks. I also used some extra pieces of this metal work as an "L" bracket for a shelf in my breakfast room. Will share those pictures later when I have it all complete.

Looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving with my dear family. We have so much to be thankful for....we are all healthy, happy and we have each other. Do you need much more than that?

Italian Vegetable Beef Soup with Cheesy Italian Bread

This is just a different twist on vegetable beef soup but with the cheesy Italian bread it is great!

Italian Vegetable Beef Soup

1 medium zucchini (cut zucchini in half, lengthwise, then into fourths, then cut into 2 inch lengths)
2 pounds of stew meat (washed and I cut the pieces in half or at least the ones that are big)
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
2-14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano
4 beef bouillon cubes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 handfull of Rigatoni
1 1/2 cups of sliced carrots
1-14 ounce can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 big hand fulls of fresh baby spinach

Wash meat and put in a big soup pot with about 8 cups of water. Add salt, pepper and garlic.
Add tomatoes, beef bouillon cubes, Italian seasoning and bring to a boil and lower heat to low medium and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Then add carrots and zucchini and cook for about 30 minutes or until carrots and zucchini are tender. Then add Northern beans and spinach and simmer about 10 minutes and your done.
I do slice a couple of potatoes in the soup for my husband.

Cheesy Italian Bread

1 loaf Italian Bread (cut in half (lengthwise)
Mix together these ingredients: 1/2 cup mayo, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese or Mozzarella cheese, 1 bunch of green onions sliced thin, little pepper (1 teaspoon).
Spread on Italian Bread and broil in oven until golden brown.

Great Pumpkin Cookie

This is an old time favorite with my family. It's tradition around our house to make these cookies a couple of times during the fall months. I finally made some on Saturday. What's funny is my daughter, Katie came down Saturday evening with a batch of these cookies she had made. So today, some of my neighbors are enjoying our pumpkin cookies. This is a wonderful recipe and I think it will become a favorite around your house during pumpkin season.

2 cups flour
1 cup old fashioned oats, uncooked
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg beaten,
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup Libby's pumpkin
1 cup semi-sweet chips

Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Cream butter, gradually adding sugars. Beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Alternate dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop cookies onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden. Makes about 20 cookies.

I can not stand to throw half of the pumpkin away so I have put all the pumpkin in the recipe and it has turned out fine. I sometimes add pecans too, about 1 cup chopped and that also taste great.

Sour Cream Blueberry Streusel Bread

Recently, a friend was telling me about some blueberry bread that she had purchased and how good it was. It really sounded yummy so I thought I would try my blueberry muffin recipe and change it around a little.....so, here is what I came up with and I have to say it was good. My family agreed.

1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons of vanilla
3 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick of butter, softened

Cream butter and gradually add 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and sour cream mixing well.
Combing 4 cups of flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to cream mixture alternating with milk. Stir in vanilla and fold in blueberries.
This makes 2 loaves. Grease and flour two loaf pans.

Combine 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup flour, cinnamon and 1 stick of butter. Use a pastry blender of fork and work the butter into this mixture until it resembles crumbs. Now take 1/4 of the blueberry batter and put in the bottom of each loaf pan. Then put 1/4 of the crumb mixture on top of the blueberry batter. Now take the rest of the blueberry batter and put on the top of the crumb mixture. Put the remaining crumb mixture on the top on the blueberry batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Insert a toothpick to make sure the bread is done.

AW!! A Cup of Hot Tea

Last year about this time my daughter, Annie and I attended a mini seminar at the Native Roots Market on W. Main in Norman. The seminar was all about tea and it was conducted by The Republic of Tea Company. It was very informative and they demonstrated how to properly brew tea, the times vary depending on what type of tea you are brewing. We probably tried 20 different types of tea. We both really enjoyed it because you see all of these different types of tea and the names sounds wonderful but you don't know if you would like the taste. We received a gift basket with 4 free samples that we didn't try at the tasting.

The Republic of Tea, according to Conde' Nast Traveler, "elevates tea to the status of wine." After our presentation I would totally agree. I never realized the medicinal benefits of teas and what makes green tea different from black tea and then herbal teas different from all others. I bought a wonderful little book that night called "Tea Chings The Tea and Herb Companion." If you are interested at all in tea and its benefits I would recommend it. The book will guide you to the leaves, plants, and manufacture of teas and other botanicals used in making wonderful infusions. It will also tell you the medicinal benefits of teas and herbs from all over the world. What are health benefits of yerba mate', rooibos, chai, and Pu-erh. It's been a great little book.

I started drinking coffee about 10 years ago and I have just one cup every morning. After the first cup, I really don't enjoy the taste that much. I'm not a real coffee drinker but in the winter in the afternoon and evening I really love hot tea. I would also like to recommend a favorite place of mine it's called Urban Tea House on N. May around 70th and sits on the east side of the street. It's the Starbucks for tea. It's a great place to go for a cup of tea and a visit with a friend. She also serves dessert. The owner just opened last year. I hope you try it.....I think you will like it.

I also have pictured the teapot they recommend. It has a cylinder in the middle where you put the tea, you put hot water in the pot and depending on the tea let it set for "x" amount of minutes then push the plunger down through the cylinder and your tea is ready. I found my teapot at Tuesday Morning.

Quoting a passage of Tea Chings, "whether sage or novice a pilgrimage beckons all to celebrate what has been revered for thousands of years as the drink of humanity."

Cornmeal Fried Onion Rings with Spicy Dipping Sauce

Only for my family! Last night we were having charcoal steaks with a combination salad. One of my sons was inquiring about dinner and when he found out we were having steaks immediately asked about having onion rings with them. This is a wonderful recipe for onion rings, I have tried it several times before but it does require a little more work. I told him that does really sound good, yes I'll make them. It really was a great suggestion. They went so well with the steak and it was a light meal; not like eating a baked potato with steak. We were using the right food combining rules last night. :)

Ina Garten on the Food Network is one of my favorite chefs. The first time I saw her make these onion rings, they looked so good and she made it look so easy I knew I would have to try them. Our family loves onion rings and in the past I have never had a good recipe. This recipe turned out great the first time I tried it. Like I said, we love onion rings and we really like the Bloomin Onion at Outback with the dipping sauce. I found a recipe that is very close to the dipping sauce serve at the Outback with the Bloomin Onion. We love it and I hope you will too.

Onion Rings

2 large Spanish onions or (3 yellow onions)
2 cups buttermilk
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 quart vegetable oil

Peel the onion and slice 1/2-3/4 inch thick and separate into rings. Combine buttermilk and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl and add onion rings and toss well. Allow to marinate at least 15 minutes. (The onions can set and marinate for a few hours in the buttermilk). In a separate bowl, mix flour and cornmeal, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside. When you are ready to fry the onion rings preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Heat oil to 350 degrees in a large pot. When the oil is the right temperature lift some of the onions out of the buttermilk and dredge them into the flour mixture and drop one at a time into the oil. Cook about 2 minutes or until golden. Don't crowd them. Place finished onion rings on baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven. Continuing frying onions until all are fried. Serve hot. They will remain crisp in the oven up to 45 minutes.

Dipping Sauce

2 tablespoons of Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon of ketchup
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon horseradish
1/4 teaspoon paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together cover and chill until ready to serve.

Something that is fast, easy and good!

I may be telling you something you already know but there may be someone out there who doesn't know this yet. Try Betty Crocker homemade cookies in 20 minutes they are really wonderful and you will think they are homemade.

I was a a friend's house for lunch several years ago and she brought out these cookies; peanut butter, sugar cookie, and chocolate chocolate chip and I thought she had been baking cookies all morning. She said "no, they were Betty Crocker." I was shocked that they tasted so much like homemade. Anyway, when you are in a pinch for time and you want a quick dessert and something that is good.....try these cookies. You only add a little water, oil and one egg put them on a cookie sheet and your ready to go. The package only makes one dozen so you might want to fix 2 packages if you have a big hunger crowd! :) The package says 3 dozen but I make bigger cookies than that.

Applesauce Date Cake

This is a wonderful cake for the fall and for Thanksgiving. It is heavy and rich and wonderful with a cup of coffee or hot tea on these cool autumn evenings. Whenever I make this cake I always think of my grandmother, Ellen, she loved dates. She had a wonderful date cake recipe but I didn't get the recipe. :( She also had a wonderful recipe for date muffins and I will share that sometime.

3 cups hot applesauce
1 cup butter, melted
4 t. soda
2 cups sugar
1 cup raisins
1 8 oz. pkg. dates, chopped

Sift together:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
4 cups flour

Combine hot applesauce with the melted butter in a large saucepan. Add soda, sugar, raisins, dates, salt, spices and flour. Mix well. Pour into a greased 9x13x2 inch cake pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Icing for Applesauce Date Cake
1 cup butter
1/2 cup cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. pkg dates, chopped
1 cup pecan, chopped

Cook over low heat until dates are soft and filling is thick. Spread over cake. This cake will serve 20 people if you cut it into smaller pieces. Like I said, it is rich and I don't think you could eat a huge piece at one time. I have never put this in the freezer but the directions say that it keeps well in the freezer.

More Fall Decorating

I love all styles of decorating and I was at the home of a dear friend today and I loved the way she had decorated her dining room table for the fall. I told her I would love to put it on my blog and these are her pictures. I love the simplicity of her arrangement. I think it is very striking.

Little Touches for a Bedroom Makeover

I did some work recently for a client who wanted some changes in her bedroom. She has a maple dresser and one night stand and a black wrought-iron headboard. She had recently made her red floral bedspread and curtains. She had also purchased the saying "Always Kiss Me Goodnight" that you transfer onto the wall.

I centered the bed on the wall and we went shopping and purchased 2 black night stands and 2 new lamps. We also found 2 sconces that I filled with 2 large ferns. I centered the Kiss Me Goodnight above her bed between the 2 sconces. She had 2 pictures that I hung by the window and over the window I hung a black iron piece that she already had.

My ideas for her dresser are to remove the current mirror and to buy a decorative mirror. We saw one while shopping. It had a large metal frame and had been rubbed with red paint and it will look great with her bedding. Also, a pretty arrangement of greenery with some hints of red for one end of the dresser.

She has hard wood floors and I also suggested a pretty decorative rug.

More Fall Decorating

Some more touches of fall in our home.