Old Centennial Farmhouse

Cozy@Home: Red Bird Day

2012-02-11T10:51:00.002-05:00

The sun is shining on fresh blanket of snow around these here parts.

It's C.O.L.D!
(This after my hardly needing to wear a heavy coat all winter long so far!)

The wind has swept the snow into beautifully carved drifts.

The snow cheers me up and brightens up my world.

And it also makes the cardinals that come to our bird feeders stand out!

I spotted one this morning so I got the long lens out and did the best I could.

So, I'm starting my Cozy@Home Saturday with a bright, beautiful Red Bird beginning.

How about you?

How's your weather?

Have you seen any redbirds lately?

I see some soup simmering on the stove later and something in the oven to bake. I better get busy!
I also bought some blackberries on sale yesterday and have a batch of jam to make!

Spring Fever

2012-02-08T07:43:00.000-05:00

Dreaming...of

greening grass

scattered dandelions

warm sunshine

fresh breezes

blue skies

birds singing

budding leaves,

and

at the clothesline,

filled with JOY.

Apron Love

2012-02-06T07:00:00.017-05:00

Moms my age wear aprons because we want to, and because we think they're cute. We have a heritage, though, of the apron being the workhorse to help mom along in her day and in her life.

I have a small collection of sweet vintage aprons, like this one I'm wearing, above. Gathered from here and there, I like to imagine who wore them, and how they used them--and most of them are all handmade and totally adorable. Most of them cost me less than a dollar, and are gingham, or like this one, calico, adorned with rick-rack.

A friend shared this apron essay with me, and I'm sharing it with you, just because it's too dear not to.

Thank you, Mary C. for forwarding this along to me. I enjoyed it; and I know my readers here will, too.

***

The principle use of grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few. It was easier to wash the apron than to wash the dress, and they used less material, but along with that it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion,was even used for cleaning out dirty ears. From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes, half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal for hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, grandma could wrap it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen by that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust ion a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields for dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.

--Author unknown

Do you have apron memories, too?

My apron category on PINTEREST.

Simple Pleasures: Bacon in the Morning

2012-02-04T13:04:00.002-05:00

It's rare around here when we can say on Friday night : "There's nothing to get up for, we can SLEEP IN!" My husband works every other Saturday, and lately, he's been working six days a week. It's was a long January.

But how I love that feeling! Tucked in after the basketball game on Friday night, with nothing to awaken for (unless it's that pesky telemarketer that calls at NINE A.M. Ugh!).

So, am I the only mama who gets giddy when she knows that her family is going to awaken to the smell of bacon on the morning?

Why does that make me so happy?

(Have you ever, ever, ever met a boy or a man that doesn't like bacon? I never have. There's a Facebook page called "BACON". It has almost two million "Likes", and I'd bet most of them are men.)

Yes, eating a gigantic bacon, egg and pancake breakfast at noon with your family is one of life's precious little treasures.

There is magic in the ordinary.

Laughing and talking with all those feet together under the old oak kitchen table is priceless.

And for me, imagining their memories later in life when they remember sunny Saturday mornings, waking to the smell of bacon and pancakes, well, that's just a little gift I can give them.

And I gladly do.

Walking Through the Year

2012-02-02T23:43:00.005-05:00

I've been a walker for years now.

And I've been adjusting where, and when I walk to make the most of the time I am out.

I've finally found the routine that will work for me. It took me several years.

I have found that first thing in the morning is the only time that makes sense for me because if I get started working around the house, then I never do get my walk done.

I love walking outside, but the weather is too much of an issue to keep a regular schedule, so now I walk indoors. It works in any kind of weather. My favorite walking shoe is the Puma. It took me time to find that out, too. It's all a process.

Puma, well, all I can say is it's like walking on AIR.

Once I got them broken in, that is. I found mine for an excellent price at TJ MAXX. I should have bought two pair, and next time I will. Because I never want to be without a pair.

My favorite schedule is three days, walking 4-6 miles every other day with weekends off. Some weeks, I may only get to walk Tuesday and Thursday. That's fine, too.

Next week, I start Jury Duty, so I'll have to adjust again.

This year, I began the year by taking time to log the miles and in January, to my surprise, I logged ...

58 miles!

I was shocked!

Now I will be looking forward to the last day of each month so I can total my numbers.

I finally kicked my one-can-a-day, Coca-Cola-on-ice-at-noon habit, too!

I still have a pop every week or two...but not every day.

So far, so good!

So, do you walk, too?

Daring to be Different

2012-02-01T08:00:00.003-05:00

An old farmhouse and barn nearby that dare to go against the tide, and be different...pink house, yellow milk house!

And the leaning trees just left as they are!

Winter: Dreaming in White

2012-01-31T00:09:00.003-05:00

Last winter was the most beautiful winter we'd had in Michigan in years. There was plenty of snow, plenty of frost, and best of all, plenty of FOG.

FOG plus snow equals my MOST FAVORITE combination for beautiful photos in the cold months.

These photos feature a frequent visitor we entertained a lot last winter, one called 'hoarfrost'.

This year has not been fruitful for a lot of photos for consumption by my appreciative blog readers.

So, I had to go back into the photo archives and look to see what I'd missed out on showing you last winter.

It got me to thinking, which I sometimes do.

This is how it is with a garden. Some years, you have a bumper crop of berries or tomatoes, and then the next year, it's a total berry or tomato famine. (Wasn't that deep?!)

That's why you grab all you can, while you can.

Hoping you enjoyed today's photos,

brought to you today by a very generous Winter, 2011.

Inspiration or Despair?

2012-01-30T08:00:00.009-05:00

What inspires you?

I have to say that in life, my favorite things are the simple ones.

And I am glad.

I had always wanted an old farmhouse, and somehow, we got lucky enough to find one so we could do the work ourselves to be able to afford it, and work we have.

This home pictured here, is one that has hooked me from the first time I saw it in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine a few years back.

There are images everywhere for us to look at and sometimes we are inspired, but at times it can cause us despair.

We look and look, and we know that we cannot possibly duplicate.

This can be the downfall of our flitting about from here to there on the internet, perusing blogs, or haunting the halls of Pinterest.

While I cannot possibly duplicate what I see, I can be inspired, and I can enjoy the small ways that I can duplicate the look I see here: fresh, crisp, and cheerful.

I hope to always be able to be inspired--in a positive way, or if we look at it wrong, we could be inspiring envy or despair--not what we want!

For instance: I love the picture above of the white buffet, everything about that, but, if I suggested to my husband that we paint our old buffet? I would lose. I know it. Why? Because he refinished our old beauty with his own two hands. That is not easily getting covered up with paint!

But I can borrow the idea for the top of the buffet, and the wall behind it. See what I mean? I can be inspired without duplicating. And I need to be contented with that.

There are ways to dream...and then there's reality.

Accept them both with realistic expectations and you won't be disappointed!

Have a good Monday, and be inspired, without despair!

Happy Birthday to My Beautiful Girl!

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today is a special day. It's the day I first became a mother 29 years ago.

What a day that was! I still get misty-eyed just thinking back to that wonderful day.

She was my first baby. Everything went according to textbook. She was almost on time, she was due the 25 and started labor that night, was born the next morning, about the time her daddy usually would leave for work. It was love at first sight.

She was so cute when she was born, came out with a hard frown, and looked like she was quite annoyed at those lights overhead, and as if she was saying "Would you turn those lights off, already?! I was trying to sleep!"

Over the next few days we got to know each other better. And I learned she loved her daddy dearly, and she stole his heart, too.

She was a gorgeous baby, with heartbreaking blue eyes, and her dark hair eventually turned totally blonde--platinum.

Before I could turn around it was time for her to start school.

Soon, she broke my heart at kindergarten registration when she told me she didn't need me to help her with her coat, she could do it herself. She could do lots herself, and she always has.

Such an independent little spitfire, that girl. How I admire her spirit and her strength, more than she will ever, ever know. She has made us so proud.

Before I could turn around, she had graduated high school, college, and set out on her own to fulfill a dream she had of living in her dad's home state.

And it turns out, that it's a good thing that she is strong, and independent because she lives far, far from her family.

Now that she's a mother herself, she is calling on that strength and independence every day to get this important job done that she's so glad to have.

But how I would love, love, love to be there with her today and spoil her a little and love on those beautiful babies she's got.

Jamie, have I ever told you you are my hero?

Well, you are.

And I love you.

I love you dearly and wish you a beautiful, magical, yet ordinary birthday. The only wish I have is that we could be with you to celebrate.

Reflections...

2012-01-21T08:00:00.002-05:00

I (finally) got the tree down last weekend, and while I was un-decorating on a gray, rainy, perfectly awful, ugly day, I noticed something beautiful.

It made me stop and look...

And smile.

So, like other times in the middle of something I am doing, I get distracted by a tiny treasure, a jewel there just for me to snap up...

With my camera.

All around us are little treasures like the lights I saw reflected in the windows on a perfectly awful gray day...

Do we take the time to notice...?

Winter Walk in the Woods...

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Bailey is my sister's family dog.

The snow was so heavy on the trees, and it was just so beautiful that my niece and I just had to go out and do some shooting.

She enjoyed walking with me over the weekend when I was visiting my sister's home.

Isn't she just the sweetest girl?

Shadow Shots: Aprons & Sun

2012-01-13T08:06:00.001-05:00

I edited my apron rack to just reds. Makes me smile every time I pass it...

Well, well, well!

We finally have some snow covering the ground!

Yippee! I hope we get more, just an inch or two so far.

I am heading out today to walk five miles, do some errands, and I will be lugging the camera along with me in the truck, and I do hope to see an hour on some back roads.

I hope you have a wonderful Friday!

Got any plans for the weekend?

PS: Christmas is almost all down and put away!

Restless Patriot Speaks: Moms With Guns

2012-01-11T13:08:00.005-05:00

This is my heat-packin' daughter who is married and a mommy herself. She got her CCW years ago, when she had to work and drive in a very undesirable location in an old industrial part of town. She learned to shoot from dad; since she was a little girl.

“I wouldn’t have done it, but it was my son….it’s not an easy decision to make, but it was either going to be him or my son. And it wasn’t going to be my son. There’s nothing more dangerous than a woman with a child.”

--Sarah McKinley as told to KOCO

ABC Affiliate

Oklahoma City, OK

By now, I’m sure you have all heard about the young Oklahoma mother, Sarah McKinley, who recently shot and killed an intruder to protect her baby and herself.

This was widely reported in the media, and in spite of hundreds of stories that are negative in the mainstream media about “guns killing” this story was, astoundingly, reported in a positive light.

In addition to being a story that the common criminal might take notice of; it’s also an inspiring story which might make every mother listen. Why? Because we can also protect our families. In fact, we must.

This young mother had no husband there to protect her and their baby, her husband had tragically died of cancer on Christmas day.

She was the only line of defense for her baby, herself, and her home.

The criminals, two men, one of which were armed with knives and were trying to break in--she was alerted by the family dog barking at the door. She picked up her shotgun, and she picked up the phone and asked for permission to shoot--after putting her baby in the bedroom and gave him a bottle to keep him quiet.

It took the man a while to kick the door in.

The men were greeted with a shotgun blast.

The police called the shooting justified.

Our forefathers knew that armed citizenry is sometimes the only thing that will keep a government (and a roaming criminal!) honest.

Oklahoma is one of thirty states with a “castle doctrine”.

She was her child’s first line of defense.

Actually when you think about it, this also happens to be the case with most mothers in most homes across the country on a daily basis.

We are the first line of defense for our families.

What a responsibility!

Who spends the most time home with the children?

Mothers!

Fathers are usually out of the home during work hours and home invaders these days use the daylight hours just as much as they once used the nighttime hours. It doesn’t bother them to break and enter in the broad daylight.

You, as a mother, have a right to have a weapon and use it to protect your family, yourself, and your possessions.

You, as a woman, also have a right to carry a weapon. Each state has their own laws, but for any law-abiding citizen who is willing to take the classes and become certified, you can also carry a weapon and go almost anywhere with your confidence carried in knowing you have the pistol tucked into your purse.

I took my Concealed Carry Weapons class from a police officer. This class lasted for 8 hours and was about $150. It started with teaching, learning, testing and ended with a time on the gun range, proving that I could shoot, hit the target and shoot from a standing position, a sitting position, a kneeling position and a laying position.

I will never forget the officer telling us that the average response time to a 911 call is more than enough time for you and your whole family to be killed.

A good officer is pleased, happy and wanting law abiding citizens to be carrying. This is music to their ears. WHY? Because they need all the help they can get.

And in an age of budgets being cut and forces growing smaller in number, you are the best line of defense for your loved ones and yourself.

In a concealed carry class, you will learn:

1. About the safe usage of firearms, consider whether or not you are capable of using deadly force, and learn what the mental mindset of using deadly force in a confrontation might be.

2. A person must have a willingness to personal protection during a violent encounter, know what the different levels of awareness of these dangers in your home or when you are out, you must be an alert person, and know when a situation is appropriate to be alarmed.

3. Learn how to shoot accurately for self-protection, and what center of mass is, shooting from behind a “cover”, when NOT to shoot if the perpetrator is concealed, and laws pertaining to guns and the use of deadly force, to know what the laws are concerning the use of a handgun in self-defense, and to be aware that you can be arrested anytime you use a handgun.

4. What makes a home attractive to a criminal, and how you might be feel traumatic stress disorder if you do need to use your firearm to protect yourself in a violent confrontation.

5. How to store your personal guns, and the ammunition the biggest rule of all: know your target and what is behind it.

So, ladies, learn and know your guns, and know which bullets fit into it and where they are kept and know how to shoot. All you need to aim for is the upper torso.

A mother truly is very dangerous when it comes to her children.

“I would do it again,

not because I’d want to,

but because of my son.”

--Sarah McKinley

Think about it.

Beauty in the Rough: Reclaimed Barnwood

2012-01-09T13:34:00.007-05:00

This was the old barn...it had to go because it became very dangerous.

It was very sad to us, but we saved the wood siding and a few of the beautiful beams that were hand-hewn--before we pulled it down.

But now, we can see it repurposed, reused!

The guys are working behind the new barn we put up to take the place of the old one. None of the character, but it's bigger, has power, and the stuff in it sure stays much more dry! :0)

Recently, I've been sifting through my photo files and I've found several stories I never told you.

And this is one of them.

Taking this big pile of old barnwood siding and making it into usable wood for projects for us is my son and husband tackled one really, really, really hot summer afternoon. (In fact, it was so hot, when I took the camera outside from the central air in the house, the lens immediately fogged over and I had to wait several minutes to warm it up!)

He'd bought a new planer and wanted to try it out.

He set up his work area and got busy.

I had to watch!

I loved watching the wood smooth out and clean up.

Even Luke got in on the action!

Isn't it beautiful!!?

So much potential!

The top layers of the wood are very dry, and very splintery, it's difficult to use that way.

Getting at the beauty underneath the dried out surface is where we want to go.

I love the smell of the fresh layer of wood coming out.

The places where the animals chewed up or rubbed are especially wonderful to me. The wormholes, the knots, all of the marks are beautiful!

The piece above here is obviously from a stall inside the barn, and is in very good shape for the barn being at least 115. I love that.

I have uses in mind for this wood, and can't wait until we can see some of it put to use.

We've done one project so far, just a small one; a picture rail.

I can see a beautiful farmhouse kitchen table out of this. I've found some projects online.

(Pinterest is a wonderful place for keeping track of project like this--so you can find them when you need them; have you discovered this crack cocaine of the internet?! WOW!)

Below is the first project we want to do:

Toddler bed

(For Levi when he graduates from his crib!)

Source: Amazon.com

And....here are the tables I'm looking at.

Simple and yet beautiful, and even more special because it would have come from our old barns.

Source: ETSY

Harvest Table: source "Soule Mama"

These are such exciting possibilities!!

I hope to soon be able to show you the results of our work...which table would you choose?

Christmas at Pine Hollow Lodge

2012-01-07T10:56:00.005-05:00

Monday I went north to see my brother who was visiting from Great Britain. While I was there, I got a chance that I haven't had in years: to go to my sister's house, Pine Hollow Lodge, to be able to see her house decorated for Christmas.

Although her tree was down because it was so dry and was dropping needles, the rest of the decorations remained in place.

So, I handed the camera to Katie, her daughter and said "Go to town!"...because I thought you might like to see the way she decorates her home for Christmas.

I hope you enjoy all the vintage goodness...I sure did!

Mary LOVES Christmas and decorating for it.

So Christmas-y, the red and green porch lends itself so well to Christmas garland and old fashioned Christmas lights!

Mary is partial to aqua.
I am amazed at how she has worked red and green into that--so beautifully!

Come along for a look...

Oh. My. Shiny Brites!!

Mary's kids all know she loves these and they watch for them at thrift stores in their travels. Her son Casey has found most of these for her in batches here and there at amazing prices. Once he found a nice bag of them and paid fifty cents for all!

He knows nothing makes his mom happier than a bubble-gum bag full of colorful Shiny Brites!

They are treasured and greeted every Christmas with big smiles.

One of Autumn's vintage Christmas trees, a gift to mom.

Vintage indents in a milk glass bowl. (For filler in her displays, Mary uses the iridescent Easter grass, bought after Easter on clearance. It makes a nice soft nest for the vintage bulbs to rest on. Smart!)

These were once called "dimestore houses" or glitter houses.

This house was a gift from Autumn & Clint for a birthday. What a thoughtful thing to do, especially when Putz houses are so welcome in this house!

The snowman here to the right of the silver church was picked out by Mary's daughter, Katie, who spots treasures she knows mom will love when they're out and about.

This was a new find this year at a special shop they visited in Bay City, Michigan, in an old downtown area revived with new shops full of wonderful goodies, especially at Christmas.

And, of course, my favorite corners were the RED & GREEN ones. Just lovely!

Autumn finds vintage Christmas items to create mini-Christmas trees in a vintage feel, this cutie is standing in small milk glass pedestal bowl...this vintage Santa decoration was brand new!

Are you overdosing on vintage cuteness yet?!

Mary also loves bottle brush trees of all kinds.

Mary has a very large collection of vintage Christmas bulbs, and lots of yummy Shiny-Brites!

How about this punch set in red and green!? Adorable.

Mary has the market cornered on Putz houses!! Most are new but some are vintage. She has a wonderful collection.

Now who can resists vintage choir children candles?

And that Christmas carol book? Oh. My.

She used a vintage Christmas "hankie" for a doily, perfect!

This album cover is as cute as it gets!

A kitty curled up in an armchair always makes Christmas seem even cozier!

Mary's daughter, Autumn, painted this cute vintage postcard snowman.

Mary framed it, but first glammed up the frame with paint and glitter.

Oh, how lovely is a pale robin's egg blue with red and green and pink? I love it all.

Mary and Katie, her daughter, made these "shadow box" decorations with papier' mache' boxes found at a craft store. They just cut the centers out of the lid and went to town!

And cute corners in the kitchen...

A cute little vintage-style garland made with vintage Christmas cards printed onto card stock and then mounted on scrapbook paper hangs from the shelf overhead in the kitchen. Red tinsel garland is a great vintage-style touch, too.

Cute vintage-style snowmen in a grouping.

And in the lodge-style room...

I hope you enjoyed seeing Mary's vintage style Christmas decorations! I know I did!

Clothesline? In January?!

2012-01-06T13:46:00.003-05:00

You all know I love my clothesline.

You all know already that I use it whenever I can.

But going out in shirtsleeves?

In January?

With the sun shining?

In January?

With gentle breezes, not gale force winds?

In January?

In Michigan?

Yes.

January.

If I close my eyes, I think it might be early April! I just heard a gaggle of Harley riders roar past the house!

Note to Al Gore: Even if it were true, why in the world is global warming such a bad thing?! Do you have any idea how much money and propane we are saving out here in the heartland?!

An Angel Called Linda...

2012-01-05T08:00:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, an angel stopped by my blog. She read about how I had lost my blog design and that my blog designer had disappeared into the internet.

This angel, named Linda, offered to help me try to get some design elements back onto this page. She said she works with HTML. (Maybe it's something I should learn!)

I had saved a screenshot (which I would recommend if you have a custom blog design, just in case you ever lose yours!) and emailed it back to her after her kind offer of help. And look how she improved my page! I am so impressed!

She will not let me pay her. So all I can offer to her is a sincere thanks and my appreciation and a kind word, and a request that you visit her blog and join as a follower, she's got a nice place on the web, too and has delicious recipes I want to try, has a gorgeous home and is generous with pictures of her beautiful place settings and home decorating. Oh, and last but not least, she is the cutest clogger on earth. I especially love her red white and blue outfit she's pictured in on her sidebar!

So, Linda, I say "thank you, angel!" from the bottom of my heart and you will always have a friend in me. I promise to pay this kindness and generosity forward. You are a great American and a wonderful fellow blogger.

Leftover Christmas...

2012-01-04T08:00:00.008-05:00

Taken last night at twilight.

First, a little business to take care of: I woke up this morning with my blog plastered with "EXCEEDED BANDWIDTH" all over the side bar where my custom design once appeared. I know I have not exceeded my bandwidth. It's the problem with my blog designer, who has disappeared off the face of the earth: Shabbee Chick Designs did a lovely job making this my home, and now it's nothing like it used to be, and I have NO WAY to reach her. So please bear with me while I find a new design/designer...I'm very disappointed in this change and don't like it one bit. For instance, my header is off center, and I can find no way to fix that. If anyone has a blog designer they might suggest, I'd be happy to know about them. Please let me know in the comments section. (Or, if you prefer, tell me to chuck the whole custom design thing and stay with the plain-Jane generic look!)

I still have Christmas-hangover.

(We all know how much work it is for mom to get ready to leave the state on a normal day, then add Christmas into it? Beyond stressful!!)

I'll 'explain....we spent a blissful, relaxing, snuggly time with the babies in Alabama Christmas week. It's a whirlwind getting ready to go and getting there, but it was perfect to be able to de-compress.

We got back from Alabama Friday night.

Saturday, I unpacked, went to de-board the dogs at the kennel, dropped $255 for that. Later on Saturday afternoon, our dogs had a tiff amongst each other--that got too carried away, and the holiday weekend vet bill went over $700 for the damage caused--husband spent five hours at the clinic waiting and for the surgery.

Sunday we went to church, came home and I made an awesome fried chicken dinner, a treat for us to enjoy--slowly. Then I made several batches of jam for gift-giving.

Monday, I packed up and went north to see my brother and his wife--they had flown in from out of the country to spend Christmas and the New Year in the states.

Last night's sunset.

It was a quick trip and I stayed up WAY, way, WAY too late--laughing and talking with siblings...you know how that is! TOo much fUN!

And then I think I slept a couple hours, got up and visited with my sister, Mary for a little bit, then drove home again this afternoon...

Just in time to leave again!

I ran my son to his basketball game, which ends up being a four-hour trip, after sitting through two complete games and a half hour of waiting for it to start.

Came home, straightened up the house, and ate some supper.

Unpacked again.

White barn -- love 'em!

Today we found that the septic tank is acting up....so, as busy as I have been, I am SO GLAD it waited until this week. THANK GOODNESS!

I'm pretty darn tired.

Back to the school routine for today, and I am going back to walking my miles this morning. I'm looking forward to a routine again and the good that walking does me ;-).

I think the tree is going to stay up the rest of the week so I can actually enjoy it!!

How about you? Is the tree down? Up? Lights still hanging on the house?

I totally understand those who have Christmas up for half of January. I really do!

Is It Monday Again? Home...

2012-01-02T08:00:00.023-05:00

"The strength of a nation, especially of a republican nation, is in the intelligent and well-ordered homes of its people."

--Lydia H. Sigourney

"To be happy at home is the ultimate aim of all ambition;
the end to which every enterprise and labor tends,
and all which every desire prompts and prosecution."

-- Ben Jonson

"We need not power or splendor;
wide hall or lordly dome;
the good, the true, the tender,
these form the wealth of home."

--Sarah J. Hale

"I'll still stay, to have thee still forget.
Forgetting any other home but this."

--From Romeo and Juliet

***

I've said it before and I'll say it again: home and family is important to me. I want you all to feel "at home" when you stop in here. I want you to almost smell the coffee when you click on the link.

Part of the reason I started this little blog is to "bring my daughter home" when she moved so far away. I wanted to be able to bring her glimpses of us, her house, and the countryside around us. So much of the scenery she saw while here with us, she doesn't see anymore. (This was all before Facebook!)

The holidays and special times are the favorite times I feel I can share with her how we are celebrating, what we are doing, what is going on in the house.

So, one of my most favorite times to share with her are the holidays, starting in the fall with the leaves on the trees and the pumpkins her daddy cuts out of the garden patch...right on up to the time the tree goes up and the porch gets decorated, the house blooms inside with Christmas all around and the baking of cookies and treats going on in the kitchen, I want her to be able to "come home".

Doing this has made me see "home" in a whole new way.

And I am thankful for that.

It's not just OUR home...or us, no. I've come to realize over time, that it's the space around us, the land, the buildings, and the geography--familiar places, spaces and even some of the trees are different...

So...when I see these lovely old barns or in this case, lovely old farm homes she might like seeing, I take the pictures and I will gladly share...especially since I know that some of her favorite drives were down these old country back roads she knew.

Welcome HOME!

I hope you enjoy peeking at my "home" here, too; I just wanted to tell you sometimes why I am so eager to share the scenes, as well as the seasons that meet my eye each day when I travel over these old roads.

"Close your eyes, and tap your heels together three times.

And think to yourself,
'there's no place like home'..."

Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

Thanks again for stopping by our "home"...

We are glad to have you.

For the New Year! Snowmen that will Melt Your Heart!

2011-12-31T09:14:00.002-05:00

It's a NEW YEAR! Happy New Year to all the friends of Old Centennial Farmhouse.

That's a fresh slate, a new, shiny first page on the calendar. A time of new beginnings.

Something to look forward to, while still looking back and realizing all the blessings we've been given over the past year.

I am hoping you have a lovely weekend and special memories to savor from all the holidays the past few months.

I am thankful for so much, and that includes YOU.

Oh, be STILL MY HEART!

Mrs. Snowlady here has a red gingham apron!

Oh. How. Sweet!

Happy, happy NEW YEAR!

(No snow here! Just rain! No hope for snowmen to help say hello to our New Year! How about you? Got snow?!)

So THIS is Christmas!

2011-12-26T23:07:00.003-05:00

"WOW!" That's what Levi said on Christmas morning. We did, too, for it was so much fun watching him that day, I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

When the babies went to bed on Christmas eve, there wasn't much under the tree. Christmas morning, you should have seen Levi's eyes! We all enjoyed watching him enjoy Christmas very, very much.

And we all are getting our snuggling time in with sweet little Audrey, too. Levi is so busy, it is hard now to catch him for a photo!

So how was your Christmas, deLIGHTful?

((My kids bought me a new MACRO lens for Christmas and these photos are a result of the first test drive I took with it. I love it already!))

All the best to you during this holiday season.

SnOw! A White Christmas?

2011-12-23T10:52:00.001-05:00

It's just a little bit, enough to get the ground covered, but it's white and it's snOw!!

Enjoy this beautiful music video...

Corners of My Home: It's A WRAP!! That's Christmas!

2011-12-21T15:51:00.005-05:00

We're down to the "Christmas rush"...those last few days, when we're squeezing in everything extra along with the everyday routines and chores and responsibilities.

We wonder how it will all ever get done.

Somehow it does. And we sleep a little in between all those lists.

We may have to re prioritize our time and eliminate some things we really thought we should do, but now cannot do.

This, too, for moms, is one of "those Christmas things"... we recognize that niggling panicked feeling.

SO much to do, SO little time!

But sometimes, we're so intent on the goal that we miss the scenery on the way by.

Like the excited face of a child...looking at the lights on the tree or dreaming of a toy they want. We remember back to our own childhood how thrilling it was when the lights came on and that meant Christmas was coming soon. What a feeling! May it always be so for our children and theirs.

But when we're no longer children, and we are the ones making Christmas happen in our homes...it may take a little more to get the feeling we remember.

It might mean that we must take notice of the Christmas tree lights reflecting on the window--the way the frost is curling just so around the window to frame it...and we remember that is Christmas, too.

We see the wrapping paper, ribbon, and scraps of paper thrown willy nilly, and remember that, too, is Christmas.

We see the Salvation Army kettle and hear the kind attendant ringing that bell, and that, too is one of the sounds of Christmas that we have heard for our whole lives--if we just stop to notice...

We walk through the grocery store, and notice that the customers are talking just a little more animatedly and have a more excited sound in their voices, and that, too is part of this wonderful season.

The heavenly scent of those tangerines you walked by, the mixed nuts ready to scoop up and take home, all remind you of the scents of your Christmas stocking when you were knee-high to a grasshopper ...

Greetings between friends and acquaintances are just a little more warm, a little more sincere this time of year than any other. That is Christmas!

It's all combined to make a warm, wonderful, light time of celebration.

And as long as we have our family, we're fine. That's all we need.

And somehow, on the day we celebrate, we feel it all come together. And it's all just fine--no matter what may be left undone.

The greeting cards in the mailbox, peppermint, the eggnog, the ham, the sugar cookies, the cute ornaments and decorations your kids made through the years; it all just gently urges us to get us to that ...

Wonderful feeling of CHRISTMAS.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

See you on the other side of New Year's!

XOXO
Joni

Corners of My Home: Christmas in the Kitchen

2011-12-20T09:29:00.003-05:00

Every year it's different.

That's what makes it fun.

That's because some things seem to fade away and new ones come into our lives.

Just like real life.

Change is constant, sometimes unwelcome and often very hard to adjust to.

But it's the wonderful ways we mark our year that make everything come back around again, and we slow down to appreciate what we have, who we love, and to remember what CHRISTmas is...

Not just the decorating.

Not just the buying.

Not just the planning.

Not just the baking and cooking.

Those are all can be wonderful, each in their own way, all coming together to make warm and special memories for our loved ones.

Celebrating a new beginning, a New Hope for the world...

All from a manger: a simple, humble place.

We can all have hope, too, in spite of our simple, humble beginnings, that we can make it to the Most High from access through the Son--a King--that came as we did: helpless, innocent babies.

Only this Baby was different, He was born a King.

Simply amazing.

Corners of My Home: Christmas with Happy Bubbles

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Bubble lights make me HAPPY.

Brightening and bubbling at Christmastime since the 1950's...I've found the perfect spot for my string of bubble lights.

They don't work on my tree too well: they always fall down, but I have this big unsightly window and sill that needs brightening at Christmastime.

It's my most un-favorite window all year, but with these beauties bubbling away at Christmas, I LOVE IT!

How could I not?

To solve the problem of the light string sliding and of the lights not being able to stand up on their own, up the stairs I went to the fabric closet. I found the perfect specimen! A thick piece of Christmas-y fleece folded to fit the sill.

(This old sill is about six inches or just a little less. It's the only wide sill in the house.)

Then I went back up to the attic and took a dive to the back of the stack of bins of Christmas junk and found an old used piece of garland to attach the bulbs to so they'd do their job which is to bubble and make me feel giddy.

Then I added a few old dollar store snowflakes to reflect and shine the bright light...and a few beads to help them out.

These are not the old, dangerous bubble lights. They are just a few years old, Mr. Farmhouse brought them home from the hardware store.

They're happily bubbling away!

I wonder if they'd like the job full-time?

Corners of My Home: CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-14T09:58:00.003-05:00

(I think I do need to decorate that cow up there a little bit for Christmas...don't you?)

Christmas is s-l-o-w-l-y coming to our house.

It takes me a while to get cranked up on it, and once I get a good momentum going, it's time to stop what I'm doing and run get my son from school, or back to school to practice, or home from practice, or to a game, etc. Know what I mean?

Then I have to get cranked up again.

So, Christmas stuff has been sitting around for over a week, and I'm just finishing up! I didn't even get a fourth of it out. Something must be done in that attic. I see a big garage sale in my summer 2012.

How about you? Have you Christmas-ed your place?

Hope to show you more corners soon.

Enjoy the day!

Here it is dark, like 5 p.m. dark in the morning, with a drizzling rain. (This is why they invented Christmas lights, people!)

Anywhohow, the blasted dark dreariness has caused me to not be able to take peeectures of said Christmas decorating.

Pah! Where's my snOw?!

It's Fun to Make It: Fleece Fringe Blanket

2011-12-13T00:15:00.008-05:00

I made the all the men in our family these fleece blankets. They love them, I think it's because I buy two and a half yards, plenty to hang over their feet, and go up to their necks, and THEN SOME. I buy two and a half yards of a print and a solid to match.

(The first fleece blankets I made were the recommended one and a half yards, which were just "lap sized" to the men. Again, they love the extra long and think they are awesome.)

Once I have all the fun of choosing the pattern and the solid fleece, I come home, dust mop the hardwood, lay it all out and get busy. Why the floor? Because I don't have a ping pong table or a pool table. These blankies are huge! A pool or a ping pong table would be just dandy for this project. I hope you have one, it will make your life easier when you work on these blankets.

Don't ask me why men go apey over logo fleece, for their favorite teams. It is unexplainable like many things are with men. But it's a guaranteed hit, unless, of course you live in a tropical locale and have no need to sit around on the couch or in the lazy boy in the evenings during the months of winter (also known as hibernation season), with a blanket on you to keep the chill off.

I like fleece logo fabric because with it, it's so easy to please--and for sure will get used.

(Please note: logo fleece is more pricey than regular, you might want to watch for a sale! I got mine at 20% off while the rest of the fleece was 50% off....at least the solid half of the blanket was fifty percent off!)

**For this tutorial, I used a small "kit" fleece blanket, because the ones I make that are 7.5 feet long would be too hard to photograph for this blog. This was a kit I purchased in which both pieces of fleece were packaged at one price.

Please note: For little ones, I buy a yard and a half. For older kids, two yards.

You need something to measure with (yard stick) and something for a square template for the corners and some pins. Cardboard is fine for the corner template....whatever you have.

My square is 4 x 4" and I use it for each corner and as a spacer, too.

(Sorry for the picture quality, the day was dark and I had to use flash...)

First lay your fleece pieces out at the same time and trim up the selvedge edges. Just eyeball it. This isn't rocket science and once it's all tied, everything comes out in the wash,and imperfections won't be at all noticeable! (Unless, of course, someone cut your fabric uber crooked.) Just do the best you can.

Once both selvedge edges of the pieces of fleece have been cleaned up, take some straight pins and pin around the edges about six inches in. This will hold the fleece together while you make all the cuts for the fringe, but won't interfere with your cuts that are four inches into the blanket.

All pinned and ready for the scissors.

I am placing the template on each corner,

And I cut it out.

My ruler happens to be the width of my template for the corners. You can use whatever you have but your corner template will be your spacer. Hold your fabric down with books or something in the center to help keep your pieces in place while you work. Hardwood is nice because the fabric slides around easily if you need to move it.

Remove all four corners.

(The saver part of me said to save the corners to make some bean bags for Levi to toss...so I did. Heh.)

Now we are ready to cut the fringe.

Use your square as a spacer and move it down from the corner six or eight inches and place your straight edge on top of it.

The cuts are made at ONE INCH INTERVALS. That is why a yardstick works well. What I have is used for quilt making, but don't run out and buy this stuff. If you don't have one, you could cut a straight piece of anything and use one inch markings.

Now just cut, cut, cut all the way down one side, sliding your spacer six or eight inches and making sure the straight edge is level each time until one side is completed.

Tie a knot or two at each end of each side (which is each corner of each corner).

I reached the end of the row, so I tied the knot. THIS IS VERY HELPFUL so that your blanket will not get out of line and your fringes stay matched up with each other.

The knot I tie of course, is double, first I tie one direction then the other.

Do each of the four sides in the same way.

Tying a couple of knots at each corner of each corner...

Until all your fringes are cut. There's hundreds.

And now!

REMOVE THE STRAIGHT PINS.

I repeat!

REMOVE THE STRAIGHT PINS!

(Ask me how it goes when you DON'T! Ahahaa!)

THEN...

Take your blankie to the nearest comfy chair, put in a Christmas movie, and tie, tie tie, tie!

Just keep your eye on the fringes so you don't miss one.

AND SO WHAT IF YOU DO.

If I come up with an extra one on the end of a row, I tie it into the previous knot and no one is the wiser! It all looks fine in the end.

REALLY!!

Now wasn't that easy?

Th-th-that's all folks!

Now these are not cheap, but boy, oh boy are they WARM! And no one I've ever given one to for a gift is willing to give it back. In Michigan, we need our blankies when the cold wind blows!

The nice thing about these is that they stay in place while you're using them, the fringe makes each edge of the blanket a nice weight for staying where you put it.

Now I just need to figure out a good way to wrap them.

Girl's stack.

Guy's stack.

GO FORTH AND MAKE FLEECE BLANKETS.

AND THEY SHALL MULTIPLY.

Back Roads Beauty: Dreaming in White...

2011-12-08T21:33:00.008-05:00

I love this unusual window in the peak of this old barn, and the pattern of the siding in the peak.
(You can click on any photo to enlarge...my version of HD!!)

I am sharing photos today from our first snowstorm of the season a couple weeks ago. This wasn't just any snow, it was a snow that clung to everything, and blew straight out of the north in very thick wet flakes. It was gorgeous. And that always gives me the itch to get in the truck and go shoot for an hour or two.

This beautiful snow has long since melted, but the images still warm my heart.

I always have thought that barns best showed their beauty with snow all around them and a wintery blue sky behind them. I hope you think so, too.

This old barn is one that photographs well in any season, but always in the snow it just looks like a post card to me. The tree in front looks just like a Christmas tree.

Sheep live in the barnyard on the back side of the barn. The farmhouse sits right across the old dirt road from the barnyard. The farmer parks his cars in the barn, and the door is always open.

As I drove up to stop and open my window for the shot, the sheep all started to bellow at me, loudly. I loved it so I sat and listened for a minute. I bleated back, just a little, but I sure don't have the volume that they do!

I love the replaced boards in this old barn, showing just a little different red than the rest of the boards.

On this barn, the snow artfully accented each of the pieces of siding, letting each one of them be noticed.

This is an old abandoned farmhouse is not too far from where our own house sits. I like how the wreath was left on the porch when the last occupants left. I always want to go peek in the windows but am too chicken to trespass.

I love... just L.O.V.E! this farmhouse, and can picture it all fixed up, and would love to see a family living in and loving it. I would fix up that wrap-around porch, hang lace curtains in the windows, and see the glow of a lamp in the window at nighttime as a soft snow falls.

Houses like this one can make me dream....how about you?

This red beauty makes my heart ache, just a little.

Simple Suppers: Unstuffed Cabbage!

2011-12-07T18:40:00.003-05:00

Who doesn't need time-savers at Christmastime?

One pan dinners are the best this time of year, for their warmth, their filling satisfaction, and for the ease of preparation and cleanup!

We've got better things to do like string lights and decorate the house, wrap gifts, and make sugar cookies, right?

So....cold outside. Warm yourself up!

My husband loves this. My boys? Not so much, just because they don't care for cabbage. I have to admit that when I was young, cabbage cooking always smelled like old people to me. I guess we are officially old now. Heh. I guess a time or two a year won't hurt to be old.

**Please note: Although the recipe says to assemble it all and bake it in the oven for almost an hour, instead to speed it up, I mix mine on the stove and cook it most of the way and then add the cheese and only bake until the cheese is browned.

UNSTUFFED CABBAGE

6 c. chopped cabbage
1/2 lb. ground beef (or venison)
1 small onion
1 c. uncooked instant rice
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 can tomato soup, undiluted
1 c. water
1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

**Instead of canned tomato soup, I use my home-canned tomatoes and leave out the water or just add a little.

Place the cabbage in a greased 2.5 quart baking dish. In a skillet cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, drain. Stir in the rice, salt if desired, and spoon over cabbage. Combine soup and water, pour over beef mixture.

Cover and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes until rice and cabbage and tender. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, bake and 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Easy, peasy! Serve with a salad or a nice bread and enjoy the taste of cabbage rolls without taking all the time to roll them!

Leftovers are awesome to send the next day for lunch, it actually improves the flavors!

Hope all is well with you and your Christmas preparations!

(And don't tell anyone I'm old, okay?!)

Levi Says...

2011-12-07T00:15:00.001-05:00

Hi Everybody!

Have you seen Audrey lately?

She's getting so b.i.g.!

And I'm still taking good care of her.

I give her kisses all the time and I share with her, too.

Momma says I am a good big brother.

She's such a sweet, smiley little sister.

Momma sure is busy with two of us to take care of. But we sure do have fun! Momma loves dressing sissy up in pretty dresses.

And I love the Christmas tree, too!

(Hope that all of Nana's family will like seeing our pictures.)

xoxo

PS: Nana says she cannot wait for Christmas this year, it's going to be so much FUN!

Lights of Christmas...

2011-12-06T09:56:00.002-05:00

Guess what I'm doing today? Mmmmhmmm! Love those old fashioned Christmas lights.

Speaking of which...

I am so happy that during these dark and dreary early winter days, we have the lights of Christmas to brighten our homes and yards.

How about you?

What are your favorite type of Christmas light?

C-7's for me, all the way.

:0)

SCENIC SUNDAYS: Whiter Than Snow

2011-12-04T07:00:00.003-05:00

Whiter Than Snow
James Nicholson

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole,
I want Thee forever to live in my soul;
Break down every idol, cast out every foe;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow; yes, whiter than snow!
Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain,
Apply Thine own blood and extract every stain;
To get this blest cleansing I all things forego;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies;
And help me to make a complete sacrifice;
I give up myself and whatever I know;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat;
I wait blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet;
By faith, for my cleansing I see Thy blood flow;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow!

Lord Jesus, Thou seest I patiently wait;
Come now, and within me a new heart create;
To those who have sought Thee, Thou never saidst no;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Source: Hymnal.net go here for the melody.

SCENIC SUNDAYS: Whiter Than Snow

2011-12-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole,
I want Thee forever to live in my soul;
Break down every idol, cast out every foe;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow; yes, whiter than snow!
Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain,
Apply Thine own blood and extract every stain;
To get this blest cleansing I all things forego;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies;
And help me to make a complete sacrifice;
I give up myself and whatever I know;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat;
I wait blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet;
By faith, for my cleansing I see Thy blood flow;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow!

Lord Jesus, Thou seest I patiently wait;
Come now, and within me a new heart create;
To those who have sought Thee, Thou never saidst no;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Source: Hymnal.net go here for the melody.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/408#ixzz1fWnNhbHT

Back Roads Beauty: Wide Open Spaces

2011-12-02T07:00:00.002-05:00

This can be a stressful season.

But it doesn't have to be.

Just get out and look around a bit.

There's a lot to see.

Gravel is preferred for the best views.

And keep it under 40 on the speedometer.

Feel better now?

Dreaming in White...

2011-11-30T22:14:00.007-05:00

We woke to a winter wonderland this morning, reports of anywhere from 4-6 inches. And was it ever beautiful, and it stuck to everything that was wet. It blew straight out of the north and the north side of everything was frosted in voluminous white glitter and everything hung heavy with the weight of winter's first blast.

Winter blew her frosty winds and carved out some lovely drifting for us, too, and today I went on a little trip and did some drive-by shooting on the back roads and I hope to show you some of those shots soon.

Those drives relax me so much, they are therapy. Give me open fields with a couple farms per mile with barns in each yard, and I'm a happy girl. Who needs massages? Time at a spa?

Nah...just give me a truck and some open roads with a camera strapped on my neck. I'm good. Add snow? Ahhh....!

I just roll down the window, travel the gravel, and crank up the heat. And the Christmas tunes, today those were perfect! :0)

Humming all the way . . .

It's not until our big blue spruce out from are laden with snow that I truly notice how huge they've become. We bought these from a tree farmer maybe fifteen years ago or less, and they were 5-6' tall and now stand as tall or slightly taller than our tall house.

It's amazing, and already I'm thinking of the day they might have to go, and I do NOT want to think about it.

They never look better than they do with a beautiful snow cover, making them look just like gigantic Christmas trees.

Our barn was frosted in the icy snow, too, almost completely concealing the big red barn star that hangs on her.

And if you ever wondered what the old farmhouse porch looks like buck nekkid...well here she is in all her unadorned glory.

Heh.

((She tells me she's embarrassed. I bought her Christmas greens today, she should be all decked out for Christmas in a few days here. All will soon be well.))

Shadow Shots: Color Glowing

2011-11-30T07:00:00.004-05:00

Hope your day

is bright and beautiful

and that you have the time to notice

something as it glows

in the afternoon sun.

{{I am terrible about hanging things from knobs.}}

We got SnOw last night! About four inches!

Waddle, Waddle, Bump.

2011-11-29T07:00:00.004-05:00

It's back to walking for this turkey today.

A long weekend of eating, and eating and eating.

Well, that takes its toll on a girl.

SO, hi ho, hi ho, it's off to waddle I go...waddle, waddle, bump.

And no, we don't have snow yet. These lovelies are from 2009. Alabama had snow yesterday, and where I live in Michigan hasn't. Does this make sense? No it does not.

I'm wondering if you've seen any of the WHITE STUFF yet?

I need to see it, because that helps get me in the mood to decorate for Christmas.

A white Christmas is a right Christmas! :0)

Got *SnOw*?

Is it Monday Again? The Magic of the Ordinary Day

2011-11-28T07:00:00.002-05:00

Good Monday morning to you!

Yawn. Stretch. Start the coffee.

Gulp the coffee.

Start the clean up after a long holiday weekend.

I can't help but be happy when I open my dishwasher and the color there greets me.

It sure makes a routine job much more cheerful.

And it makes me glad that when we remodeled the kitchen and I went to pick out the long-awaited cabinet knobs and the dishes and glassware that I chose some color.

So much of the year in Michigan is brown, colorless, gray and dull outside. The snow helps but we don't always have snow. I seem to have the need to see color in my home.

And believe me, in late March when winter doldrums seem to be unending, I'm glad I chose colors that are brilliant and bold.

I enjoy the routine of work on a day that follows a weekend or a holiday. I relive the memories from the time spent together and I enjoy the work that it takes to put things back like they are supposed to be and get the floors done and the beds made. It's a day to gather my thoughts, make my lists, and approach the week with purpose and direction. It's Monday again, and only five of them left before Christmas! Wheeee!!

Corny. All The Way.

2011-11-27T00:17:00.003-05:00

There are a few things about me that you should know before Christmas hits.

I am a cheese ball when it comes to Christmas. Or is it cornball?

I am cheesy, corny, totally traditional.

I must confess.

I am so cheesy/corny that I watch Hallmark movies.

There. I said it.

Don't judge. I bet you eat fruitcake. So there.

And I feel so much better having said it, but now have turned totally red, ending this color with volcanic temps on my my ears which are flaming and painful at the tippy top.

So are you a total cheesy cornball at Christmastime?

Do you go all swoony when you hear the first lines of that famous Christmas tune....."I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..." too?

Go ahead, it's okay. I won't tell anyone if you watch Rudolph, and get all giddy when you see old-fashioned Christmas lights...

I understand, I think we all have our weaknesses.

And glitter. Glitter goes with Christmas. I literally go weak in the knees over it, collecting tubes of it like candy in a stocking.

What do you go all cornball for?

Oh...and one more thing, I can totally get lost in little scenes like these on Christmas cards. Especially snowy ones.

After all, it's a "Marshmallow World"...who could resist?

You?

An Easy $5 Thanksgiving Centerpiece

2011-11-24T13:13:00.001-05:00

I washed then hollowed a pumpkin we grew in our garden, not too big, not too small, just right.

Set onto a fall plate, I filled the bottom of the pumpkin with water and trimmed off a $5 flower pack from the grocery store to make a centerpiece. Simple, colorful, and easy to do while getting ready for dinner!

Come Ye Thankful People, Come!

2011-11-23T20:10:00.000-05:00

Don't Skip Thanksgiving!

2011-11-18T10:38:00.006-05:00

I know it's the trend these days to skip right over Thanksgiving.

As soon as Halloween is over, the stores are stuffed with Christmas. Sometimes, decorations are up and lit as soon as Halloween is over.

It sickens me, to be honest.

I think that it's sad to rush it.

Because one of the very best, warm, beautiful holidays of the year is Thanksgiving.

I have a rule here, that we don't do anything about Christmas until THANKSGIVING is over.

And if getting "ready" for Christmas means leaving Thanksgiving in an insignificant heap, then I'm just doing too much to get ready for Christmas, that's all there is to it. I won't do it.

ThanksGIVING is such a meaningful holiday, a time of reflection and a time of recognizing the harvest, the sustenance of LIVING.

ThanksLIVING is THANKSgiving.

Our pastor preached a sermon once about the lack of thankfulness being the root of much of the sin in our lives, and I would apply that to our country, too.

SO, in this house, I WILL NOT skip Thanksgiving, as a mere bump in the road on the way to CHRISTmas.

I want to savor the flavors, the golden light and the colors of this meaningful holiday.

And I refuse to let this culture tell me to just skip it.

Oh. No, I won't.

Are you with me?

And I truly hope you have a beautiful day next Thursday, it's a special, beautiful time, a simple time with the best food there is. Even getting ready for it is fun, relaxed, a treasured time.

Make extra, enjoy the leftovers and the warmth the memories will bring.

Let those warm and cozy times linger in your thoughts, remember Thanksgivings past, and remind yourself why our forefathers thought it was so important.

Nothing in LIFE IS GUARANTEED.

We must stop. Pause. REMEMBER.

In the country, harvest time is drawing to a close, the tractors are lined up in rows, with the plows, out beside the barn, beside all the the grain heads for the combines; the grain bins, silos, and corn cribs are full.

Fields of winter wheat are green and ready for that blanket of snow to cover them over.

Long hours are put in on the combine, getting the last of the corn in and trucked to the elevators. Someone is staying up late to get that dirt in the field plowed in preparation for next spring when the cycle starts all over again.

The stuff it takes to bring food to your tables is being cleaned up and stored to bring out again when it's time to take on the hard work of raising another crop.

Reflect on that, on the trust a farmer must have to put those millions of seeds into the ground, the worry and the work he and his family must put into each and every field.

Savor the transition from a season of life, of growing, of maturing into a season of quietness, and rest--that is winter.

We can all get to CHRISTmas in due time, but let's not skip THANKSgiving.

Instead, make it thanksLIVING.

Have a wonderful time with your family, and I'll see you here again next week after Thanksgiving is done. I'll be counting my blessings and I'm sure you will, too.

Joni

Farmhouse Kitchen: Apple Pie Filling For Gift-Giving

2011-11-17T20:49:00.003-05:00

2010 Apple pie filling day.

This Saturday is my day reserved for a whole long day of making canned apple pie filling for gift-giving this Christmas.

I have a bushel of Cortland apples. I have the jars, and I have the red gingham lids.

I will make one huge mess for one whole day, and then later on closer to Christmas, will assemble the toppings for each jar of pie filling and bag them up in brown craft bags, and add a twine bow to each.

Here is a photo essay of last year's apple pie filling day and the later photos from when I assembled the gift bags.

A delicious caramel sauce, without using one bit of butter! Amazing!

**Please note: after using the apples done with the apple peeler/corer/slicer, I decided I like the hand peeled, hand cut, chunkier--I guess what you would call more primitive looking apples in my pie filling.

I do NOT like the uniformity of the apples sliced this way, so I no longer use the peeler/corer/slicer for this job. I would only use the peeler/corer, and leave off the slicer, and then chunk my apples up in a more homey way than the slicer does it for me. The end product is also MUCH better.

Little E patiently watches the whole process!

Me & my sis!

Here's the recipe:

APPLE PIE FILLING

(To can)

20 Apples washed, peeled, cored, and sliced

(let slices rest in a bowl with water and 1 T. lemon juice to prevent fruit from browning)

In a large saucepan bring the following to a boil and stir until thick and pours like a thick sauce from your spoon, approximately ten-twelve minutes.

10 c. water

5 c. sugar

1 c. cornstarch

2-1/2 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

1 t. salt

Once the sauce is done, remove the pan from heat and add to it

3 T. lemon juice

Pack apple slices into jars until almost to the top of the jar.

Ladle hot sauce over apples within 1/2" of jar top.

Seal with lids and rings and process jars for about 20 minutes.

Remove from canner and cool completely and make sure jars are sealed before storing.

(This was done using a regular canner, not a pressure cooker.)

Yeild: 6 BEAUTIFUL Quarts!

If a jar does not seal, keep it in fridge and use it sooner rather than later!

AUTUMN APPLE CRISP RECIPE
(This recipe for a delicious topping on one pan of apple crisp (using a glass 8 x 8 or a pie plate) using one jar of my canned apple pie filling, recipe above.)

3/4 c + 1/2 T all purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 stick cold butter, in chunks
1/2 c. chopped pecans, chopped
2-1/2 lb. apples, peeled and
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/4 maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. For the topping, put 3/4 c. flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and butter in a food processor and pulse to form moist clusters. Mix in pecans.

2. Cut the apples into 1/2" chunks and put them into a buttered 9-1/2", 2 qt. pie pan (or use an 8 x 8" pan, I used glass). Add cranberries, maple syrup, and 1/2 T. flour; mix. Scatter on the topping.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until bubbly and top is crisp along the edges. Serve warm, at room temp, or chilled. Can be reheated in the microwave and served with a petite scoop of vanilla ice cream, as shown.

Serves 10

This apple crisp is delicious and I think it's important to use the old-fashioned oats, and the chopped pecans are PERFECT in a crisp topping, making it more crisp than usual! I ripped the recipe from a recent copy of the PARADE magazine that comes in Sunday's newspaper.

Since I have canned my own apple pie filling, I am able to skip the peeling and chopping of apples in this recipe, and just mix the topping, and I did not use the maple syrup.

I had a card made that I used photos of the filling and the finished product, with the recipe for using the topping on my canned apple pie filling. As shown in the photos above, I individually assembled the recipe for the topping in a bag with instructions to add the butter and baking instructions. I kept the dried cherries or cranberries separate in case the recipient didn't care for them.

If you have any questions, please say so in the comments and if your email is not enabled on your account, watch back in the comments section for your answer to your question, I will do my best to answer!

(I frequently hear from those I give this delicious filling and crisp topping to as a gift that they absolutely loved it and look forward to getting this as a gift. The older I get, the better I like giving consumables as gifts, if it's not salsa or homemade jam, it's this pie filling and the topping. And it's always a hit!)

It won't be long now!

Simple Pleasures: Dancing in the Kitchen

2011-11-16T12:14:00.004-05:00

I am a woman of simple tastes.
And I married the man with the same inclination.

I don't need a lot of dates, a couple times a year is fine, a movie, or dinner, but never both at one time, except for a rare occasion.

I enjoy drives in the country, and appreciate his patience in stopping to let me take pictures; but the best thing in the world, for me, is an occasional slow-dance in the kitchen to the tunes on the radio.

No one can make me as sentimental as Alan Jackson when he sings "Remember When"...

How about you?

iPhone Pictures: Travel the Gravel & Foggy Sunrise

2011-11-15T11:36:00.002-05:00

When I drive Luke to school, it's just under ten miles.

Out here where we live, the roads are laid out mostly in one mile grids, all perfectly straight for the most part.

On the way home from almost anywhere, I can take any number of back roads to get there. I just have to be willing to travel on some gravel.

Sometimes, the back roads soothe the soul, and treat the eye at the same time, and the dirt doesn't bother me a bit.

I don't know about you, but it helps me to slow it down to less than 55 mph and really look at what's all laid out in front of me.

Some mornings are ho-hum. And some are spectacular.

On the mornings when I can tell it's spectacular, I grab the big camera bag.

This morning, I saw the fog, but forgot the camera bag.

All I had is my iPhone, but that didn't matter. I could still do plenty of drive-by shooting with this little pencil-lead sized lens. It's amazing what it will do when the light is right, and the scenery is simple.

Sometimes, I'm shooting blind, like in this shot, the sun was burning through the fog so brightly, I literally couldn't tell if I had the cattle and horses in the shot or not, but knowing the lens was pointed in the general direction, I thought I might capture it. I did, but it took uploading them to find out. I could barely wait to get home to find out!

It was agony to go and make myself walk three miles and then run all my errands this morning. When I saw this shot, I did a little gulp. So beautiful, just from a little iPhone. I find this astonishing, I know, I'm old school...and usually big lenses are involved in something this pretty.

A slow travel on some gravel is how I started my day.

And it's just hard to have a bad day after starting it out this way, my friends.

I hope there's some time in your life to travel some gravel...

And let your eyes see the wonder of it all!

I hope that wherever YOU are, that there is sunshine! ;0)

Is It Monday Again? ...On Tasks Finished

2011-11-14T11:26:00.003-05:00

Washed and ironed: stacks of fresh dinner napkins that I use as place mats on the dinner table.

My husband and son took off for a long weekend on Thursday morning. You should see the list I made for myself, thinking of all the things I wanted to accomplish while I had the house mostly to myself (I still had my older son's dogs to watch during most afternoons).

They were big jobs, like cleaning closets, cleaning the entry way, deep cleaning the kitchen (I did get the stove done, oven and all, but not the rest!) and some sewing (got the shower gift finished), movies to watch, (I did watch two)...and more.

Well, as usual, I over-dream, and my lists are too long. Less than a fourth of the items were checked off.

This morning, they're heading for home and I am trying to remain positive about what tasks I DID accomplish--rather than the list of unfinished items.

Do you do this, too? Us list makers, we are a disappointed lot sometimes, aren't we?

So today I'm trying my best to not beat myself over the head too hard with the un-accomplished tasks still left to do, that will, of course, take three times as long with people in the house once again!

Sigh...well, Water For Elephants was a good movie, and I congratulated myself on being able to operate the DVD player without having another person in the house to help me, the dogs didn't know what they were doing! Haha!

BURP!

2011-11-12T12:00:00.004-05:00

*BURP*

'scuse me! Did I do that?

{{{giggle}}}

It felt good!

No, not the burp!

I just got done with a shower gift.

It went quick and was fun.

And the good thing?

It's simple for even the most novice stitcher.

What you need:

A package of CLOTH DIAPERS.

(Mine were 7.99 at TJ MAXX.)

A yard of FLANNEL.

(It was on sale at Joann's this week for $2.99, they have a great selection!)

Your SEWING MACHINE

THREAD to match fabric

Narrow ELASTIC

A little BASKET to make a liner for, and FABRIC to line it with--

that coordinates with the burp cloth flannel.

(I got my basket at Joann's on clearance for 60% off, it had some nasty looking

fall liner in it with leaves that looked like marijuana leaves! Seriously!)

This can be done "assembly line" style.

1. Pre-wash and dry the diapers.
2. Take your yard of flannel as it's folded at the store. Cut it all the way up the long fold.
3. Fold in half, and cut again. Fold in half and cut, etc. until you end up with strips of flannel whose WIDTH is slightly larger than the thick center of the diapers.
3. Fold the yard in half the other way to make the proper LENGTH.
4. Fire up the iron and fold every edge and press.
5. Pin each strip of flannel to the center of each diaper.
6. Top stitch each strip, and trim all threads when done.
7. Take the ugly liner out of the basket, cut it up for a pattern.
8. Cut out the bottom and the four sides.
9. Cut out "handle holes" and hem so it looks nice on the outside.
10 Stitch liner together, and hem edges, and then sew elastic along underside of liner so it will grip the basket.
11 Make a "burp!" tag and hang it from one handle; this can then be used on the changing table as is. I covered my "burp" tag with clear contact I already had here. The tag was made using my scrapbook paper and supplies.

*If you'd like me to do a picture tutorial, let me know. This project seems easy and straightforward to me, but if you want me to break it down into visual steps, I can do it. I just had to get this done quickly and didn't have time or the right light yesterday to get the camera out.

This shower is neutral....the couple isn't finding out what baby is until he or she is born. YAY for them! It makes "birth day" a real exciting surprise!

Let me tell you--there's not a lot of neutral baby fabrics out there anymore to choose from. I went into the mom's baby gift registries to find out what her other items were and what "theme" she might have, and it seemed to be mostly zoo animals so I got the only fabric that closely followed that theme.

(I am giving a new "Little Golden Book" instead of a card or gift tag.)

I am all ready to go! Hope she likes it!

They Make Freedom Possible

2011-11-11T07:00:00.002-05:00

Today I honor our veterans. I want to thank them for all that they have sacrificed for our freedoms. Both small and great, they've all given up a lot to make sure we are safe. Some even made the ultimate sacrifice for you and for me.

How can I best honor our veterans? By doing my best to live a Christian life, and being a responsible citizen, and by raising a family to love and care for their country, and by upholding American traditions.

Today I honor my dad (who is now deceased) for his service in the Army during the Korean conflict, and my son in law who served in the Army and was in Iraq for the beginning of the war over there.

Please feel free to leave a comment telling of veterans you would honor today in your heart and in your thoughts.

(Stop the playlist before playing videos.)

May God Bless America

Old Centennial Farmhouse

Cozy@Home: Red Bird Day

Spring Fever

Apron Love

Simple Pleasures: Bacon in the Morning

Walking Through the Year

Daring to be Different

Winter: Dreaming in White

Inspiration or Despair?

Happy Birthday to My Beautiful Girl!

Reflections...

Winter Walk in the Woods...

Shadow Shots: Aprons & Sun

Restless Patriot Speaks: Moms With Guns

Beauty in the Rough: Reclaimed Barnwood

Christmas at Pine Hollow Lodge

Clothesline? In January?!

An Angel Called Linda...

Leftover Christmas...

Is It Monday Again? Home...

For the New Year! Snowmen that will Melt Your Heart!

So THIS is Christmas!

SnOw! A White Christmas?

Corners of My Home: It's A WRAP!! That's Christmas!

Corners of My Home: Christmas in the Kitchen

Corners of My Home: Christmas with Happy Bubbles

Corners of My Home: CHRISTMAS!

It's Fun to Make It: Fleece Fringe Blanket

Back Roads Beauty: Dreaming in White...

Simple Suppers: Unstuffed Cabbage!

Levi Says...

Lights of Christmas...

SCENIC SUNDAYS: Whiter Than Snow

SCENIC SUNDAYS: Whiter Than Snow

Back Roads Beauty: Wide Open Spaces

Dreaming in White...

Shadow Shots: Color Glowing

Waddle, Waddle, Bump.

Is it Monday Again? The Magic of the Ordinary Day

Corny. All The Way.

An Easy $5 Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Come Ye Thankful People, Come!

Don't Skip Thanksgiving!

Farmhouse Kitchen: Apple Pie Filling For Gift-Giving

Simple Pleasures: Dancing in the Kitchen

iPhone Pictures: Travel the Gravel & Foggy Sunrise

Is It Monday Again? ...On Tasks Finished

*BURP*!

They Make Freedom Possible

BURP!