Five Things On Friday

First, yesterday I spent quite a bit of the day creating a new tradition for our Family for Thanksgiving, The Gratitude Tree and then writing a blog post about it for my collaborative blog, Focusing On Life.  It should not have taken me as long as it did, but for some reason Google Chrome would not let me login to the blogsite.  I tried everything, logging out, logging in, turning off the computer, refresh, refresh.  But something just wasn't working so I decided to try another browser.  Foxfire didn't work, but for some reason Explorer did.  Hallelujah for Explorer, a browser I gave up on many moons ago since I have opted for Google Chrome.  But this time Google was letting me down and Explorer came to my rescue. But anyhoo, please visit my collaborative blog Focusing On Life and read about this new tradition.

Wednesday I visited my sweetie.  He is well and was in a talkative mood.  Not sure what he was saying but it was good to see him animated and smiling.  After visiting I drove around the countryside for a while, soaking up the last bits of sun, oh it sets so early with the time change and with the sun so low in the sky our days seem so short.  I spotted this field of rolled hay...one day I am going to find a field like this with the sun setting in the background, but today I had to settle for an old barn in the background.  Used one of Kim Klassen's new textures (Kristin) on the background.

Last Friday evening I went to a dinner at a friend's home.  Mutual friends were in town so it was a good excuse for us to get together and visit.  The hostess made two kinds of home-made soups, both delicious and I volunteered to bring the salad.  I am a big Pinterest Follower and have pinned a bajillion recipes, so thought I would scour my boards for a salad recipe.  I found, not a salad recipe, but a salad dressing recipe from the Olive Garden.  I am a big fan of the Olive Garden salad so thought this would be a good choice.  Collected the ingredients, put it all together, served it and sat back and waited for the applause.  Well, no applause, but it was really good.  And fyi, I added more olives than the traditional 2 that come with the salad.  In fact I added a whole can.

Ingredients:

1 packet Good Seasonings Italian Dressing

(Ingredients needed to make dressing; oil, water, vinegar)

½ tsp. dried Italian Seasoning

½ tsp. table salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. garlic powder

½ tbsp. mayonnaise (no Miracle Whip, please)

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbs. white vinegar

1 ½ tbsp. water

Directions for making this delicious salad dressing.

Prepare the Good Seasonings Salad Dressing as directed on the package.
Pour prepared dressing into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients.
Whisk until completely blended.
Keep in a covered jar for up to 4 weeks in refrig.  Shake well before serving.
Sit back for the applause.

Next on my 5 things on Friday is....just finished reading a really interesting book, that I would definitely recommend....

                                            

Briefly this has been billed as a literary thriller about a retired Orthopedic surgeon that has been accused of murdering her best friend.  Jennifer White is slowing descending into Alzheimer's and cannot remember her best friend, Amanda's death, let alone murder.  But since Amanda's 4 fingers were amputated during the murder, the prime suspect is Dr. Jennifer White who specialized in hand and finger surgery.

This book fascinated me.  It was all told from Jennifer's perspective, her lucid moments as well as moments of not recognizing or remembering anyone around her, including her children.  As I read this, I thought so much of what my sweetie must be thinking and maybe remembering.  Interesting read, recommended.

And finally, the last of the 5 on Friday....I little recommendation for when the cold winter months approach and our lips get dry and flaky.  I tend to get dry lips in the winter time, but last winter I discovered a lip balm that I would definitely recommend.  You can find it at your local drugstore and it is relatively inexpensive, but it does wonders.  It is called C Me Smile Lip Butter, completely natural and organic made by Say Yes to Carrots.  No, it does not have a carrot taste, rather tasteless, but it sure does the trick.  Try it, you will like it.

So, that's it...I have given you a link to a new tradition, a pic of a field full of wheat bales, a delicious salad dressing to enjoy, a book to read, and a lip balm to try.

Sharing with Nancy's Rural Thursday and Kim & Xanthe's 5 on Friday.....

"That's our function in life - to make a declarative statement."  ~  Corinne Jacker

Until next time....

Slimming Down

I have been busy slimming down...unfortunately the body hasn't slimmed down, but the amount of e-mails I receive daily has been reduced considerably.  There was a time that I felt the need to subscribe to all decorating sites, scrapbooking sites, photography sites, rubber stamp sites, travel sites etc. and because of that my inbox was swamped daily with emails that were never read and went directly to the "trash" box.  But sometimes I would forget to send them to "trash" and they would accumulate in my "inbox" until it was over-flowing (literally) with junk mail.  For the last week every time one of these emails that I so strongly felt I NEEDED but now no longer WANT lands in my inbox...I immediately perform an "unsubscribe".   Oh it feels good and my weighty inbox has certainly slimmed down, oh wouldn't it be nice to hit the "unsubscribe" button and lose a pound or two?   Now, if I could just do something about the mailbox, altho now that the "vote" is over, the political ads will stop.  Oh what better ways that money could have been spent than on ads that stuffed my mailbox and ended up in the trash?  I don't want to even think about it.

The crab apple tree in the side yard has certainly slimmed down....very few leaves or "apples" left on the tree.

And because of the frost, the roses are almost gone from the bushes...hopefully the last of the buds will bloom if the sun ever shines again.  So gloomy.

Sure hope the sun is shining in your corner of the world.   Sharing with Deb's This or That Thursday and Nancy's Rural Thursday.

"Make each day your masterpiece."  ~  John Wooden

Until next time.....

A Few Things I Love About Fall

Love me some sunflowers any time of the year, but especially fall....

Honey Crisp Apples....good eatin, especially with crunchy peanut butter.

Pumpkins in any color....

Don't ya love that font...it is called Sketchy Times and you can find it here (free)

Leaves that turn to gold...

Harvests of all kinds....

What are some of your favorite Fall things?  Linking to:

"If I were absolutely certain about all things, I would be fearful of losing my way.  But since everything and anything are always possible, the miraculous is always nearby and wonders shall never, ever cease."  ~  Robert Fulghum

Until next time....

Worry ~

Yesterday was an exceptional day of rewarding inspirational moments.  Wednesday's Bible study focused on "worry" and who doesn't worry, some definitely more than others.  Sometimes we worry so much that whatever we are worrying about almost becomes bigger than life.  I loved the illustration that was given in our study book concerning how worry grows and how we should keep a realistic perspective on our thoughts.  Visualize a fog, a fog so thick that you can barely see the hand in front of you.  Fogs are common in London and can stop everything dead in their tracks.  A fog bank a hundred feet deep and covering seven city blocks is composed of less than one glass of water.  Divided into billions of droplets, it hasn't much substance.  Yet it has the power to bring an entire city to a standstill.  Now think about your worries, are they as small as a mere glass of water or do we let them grow so large that they can bring an entire city to a standstill.  There is a wise saying that says, "worry is a down payment on a debt you may never have to pay."

• Worry is often unfounded
• Is generalized (can spread to many things)
• You become obsessed with the problem
• It can create more problems (ie health, stress)
• We look to ourselves or others for answers instead of looking to God for our concerns.

These are the things we worry about:

• 40% are things that will never happen
• 30% are about the past - which can't be changed
• 12% are about criticism by others, mostly untrue
• 10% are about health, which gets worse with stress
• 8% are about real problems than CAN be solved

Three concise and practical steps to claim victory over worry

1. Be anxious about nothing.
2. Be prayerful about everything.
3. Be thankful for all things.

If we can adapt these practical steps we can at least reduce the size of our worries into a 1/2 of a glass of water which would reduce the size of the fog to three and a half city blocks.

As we discussed worry I found that most of the younger women are far more worrisome than us "more mature" generation.  I think it is because we have lived through our children growing up and out of the house, we have experienced so much more in life as 60 + year old women vs. mid 30's women, some of us have gone through great loss and heartache and managed to live through it and continue to lead full and meaningful lives.  My worries have diminished over time, and when I do have a worry or concern I seek the help of God through prayer.

"Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear.  All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer."  ~  Colossians 4:2

Linking to Deb's This or That Thursdays and Nancy's Rural Thursday and Leanne's Flower Art Friday.....

Until next time....

A Walk In The Fall

A simple walk around the neighborhood provides me with all the glories of the changing seasons.   

   

Linking to Nancy's "Rural Thursdays" and Deb's "This or That Thursdays".  

"Delicious Autumn, my very soul is wedded to it. and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."  ~  Robert Louis Stevenson

Until next time...

Fall is in the Air....

Apples are ripening on the vine...

Time for harvest....

The fields turn to gold..... 

The leaves change to their bright fall colors...

Signs are everywhere....

Linking to Nancy's

And Deb's

"Think of the world you carry within you."  ~  Rainer Maria Rilke

Until next time.....

We Are All Creative....

We are all creative.

We are all artists of some kind.

Some are better than others,

a few are geniuses.

But we all have a creative spirit.

Allow it to rise up.

Nurture it, challenge it.

Give it freedom.

Celebrate it

Linking to Nancy's 

And to Deb's

                                                   

"Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art."  ~  Konstantin Stanislavsky 

Until next time.....

A New Day

Every dawn brings unlimited possibilities, 

challenges,

hope.

Don't be bound by yesterday.

Look ahead - with optimism

Create your future afresh...

Linking to Deb's This or That Thursday and Nancy's A Rural Thursday.

"Fill your life with as many moments and experiences of joy and passion as you humanly can.  Start with one experience and build on it."  ~  Marcia Wieder

Until next time....

Thursday Stuff...

I heard a sound last night that I haven't heard in a long, long time.  The sound of thunder and rain.  Oh Lord did I love that sound, eventho Toby was on top of me all night long.  As much as I like the sound, he is totally opposite, do they have teeny tiny earplugs for dogs??  The plants and flowers all had happy smiles on their faces this morning, the trees still want more, but are glad they got a taste of moisture.

Yesterday, as I went to Leows and Home Depot still buying stuff for the bathrooms, I had, just had to pick up some colorful flowers to add a splash of color back into the garden.  This heat has pretty much wiped out all the flowering plants, their leaves are crisp and the flowers are a dried-up brown color.  Not exactly awe inspiring.  And because it is late in the season, most are on sale right now if you can find some that are not hanging on for dear life due to  neglect.  But low and behold Leows had some grand multi-colored zinnias and periwinkles that both love the heat and sun.  Hopefully they will add just the right punch that the garden needs right now.

Linking up to Deb's This or That Thursday, Nancy's Rural Thursday, Beyond Layers & LeAnne's Flower Art Friday.

Thinking about this one for my postcard for Kat's Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap....these have to be mailed pretty darn quick so I have to make a decision fast.  I ordered blank postcards from www.The2Buds.com.  They have a sticky back so you just peel off and add your own image.  On the other side they have the regular postcard image address, stamp and place to write a note.  I ordered 50 thinking I could put them to use for myself.

Or I may choose the one with the pony in the field of flowers, or the farm scene, or the hydrangeas in the ball jar...see that's the trouble, it's hard to choose.

Over at Kim's Beyond Layers this week it is fence week...she also gave us a sweet texture to use for today's link-up....I am likin' this one.  Using this also for my Flickr group "Prompt Addicts" for Quote Week...2 birds, one stone.

A little more rain fell on my parade today...after painting my bathroom cabinet two coats of primer and then 3 coats of black paint, my people, you know my people, came back today to finish up.....he was afraid it had not dried long enough and was leery to install the sink base, faucets, and lighting fixture for fear of messing up the paint job. (and it was a fine paint job, I will have to say)  Damn, and I thought today would be the day it would be DONE....but we will continue to muddle on and they will be back on Saturday to FINISH!! If you want to slowly lose your mind, not sleep, make umteenth trips to Home Depot do not, I repeat DO NOT decide to re-do 3 bathrooms at the same time.

Eventho I didn't get my sink in today, I did get the paper lantern hung that I bought over a year ago for the screen porch....it is so colorful...I love it.

Gotta go, have to return some cabinet hardware and buy more.  See what I mean....never-ending.

"No one has every drowned in his own sweat."  ~  Ann Landers

Until next time.....