Three Pin Thursday

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Good morning my friends and a very warm welcome to all my new followers!  I am so glad you are here.  Today is Three Pin Thursday!  

I have to say there are always so many ideas on Pinterest, I never know where to start!  

First up, embroidery ... I just LOVE this idea!  So simple yet oh so spring-like!  I might have to dig out some linen napkins and give this a try.  I know I have some somewhere!

Sweet Tooth Recipe

These would be perfect for my kitchen.  I love these towels that hang from the oven handle of the stove.  So very handy and the pattern is free!!! How great is that?!

Tales and Yarns

And these...will be made for my father-in-law on Valentine's Day who is a lover of ANYTHING with bacon!  Some people are just so clever.

The Paper Mama

Have fun pinning and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

from a dear friend

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I will be celebrating a birthday soon.  I don't like birthdays.  Never have.  I do not enjoy being the center of attention that having a birthday brings. 

 

I do however have wonderful friends and family who take the time to wish me the best, send and give gifts or spend some time visiting with me.  I appreciate it all ..... every little bit.

 

 

 

I have a dear friend whom I never met in person.  We met on a frugal website forum and there the friendship began.  We swap stories, dreams and sorrows.  I have 'watched' her oldest grandson grow through the years and 'witnessed' another one being born.  Now she has a third grandchild on the way and I am so excited for her! 

 

She enjoys so many of the same things I do ..... crafting, gardening and living simply.  Although for now our friendship consists of emails, messages and phone calls.  One day I am sure, we will meet in person and it will be as if we had never met.  We call each other our 'kindred sister'.

 

 

Deannie was ever so thoughtful and sent me a lovely birthday present.  Amazingly Deannie does not know what outfits I like to wear or my style BUT she could not have picked a better present.  Actually she had the present MADE especially for me by one of her co-workers.

 

 

Isn't it gorgeous?! I just LOVE it!!!  When I chose something to wear for work, I like to incorporate scarves into my outfit.  I can wear the same outfit a whole week (I don't, but I could! LOL) and it wouldn't look the same just by changing the scarf, accessories and footwear.  So this present was a PERFECT thoughtful gift!

 

 

Thanks Deannie and please give those grandbabies Liam and Rio a huge hug and kiss for me!!  Talk to you soon my friend.

 

Have a wonderful day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch

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So happy to have you here.  Grab a cuppa and join me for 'chats on the farmhouse porch'.

Everyday Ruralty

QUESTIONS:

1.  Do you eat eggs?   What is your favorite way to serve them?

2.  Do you have a favorite that you really like to have around? (a pillow, a chair, a sweater, a teddy bear, etc.)

3.  Is most of the furniture in your home dark wood, light wood, painted, lacquered, or distressed?

4.  Please fill in the rest of this sentence.  "I could write a book about__________."

5.  If money and calendar/family obligations weren't an issue, would you prefer to spend next weekend at a Bed and Breakfast, a posh hotel, a cabin in the woods, or on a sailboat on a calm body of water?  I guess the last thing, the sailboat, would have to be someplace warm. :)  (It's 30 degrees here)

ANSWERS:

1.  Oh yes, definitely.  I love them served every which way...it doesn't matter, I just want eggs!

2.  No, not really.  I do have a lot of things I love but nothing that I HAVE to have around.

3.  Most of it is a darker wood.  I love walnut...it is my favorite.

4.  I could write a book about dogs and cats living in a junkyard which would be a children's book.

5.  I guess it would depend if I had money to spend.  If I did, I would stay at a Bed and Breakfast while hunting for antiques.  I also like the idea on a sailboat as it is extremely cold here lately.....but then I also like the idea of a cabin in the woods.  I don't like the idea of a posh hotel though....I am not that type of person.  :)

So glad you joined me.  Stop on over to Patrice's and see what the other ladies had to say!  Have a great day and remember to give your loved ones a hug.

Gratitude Jar

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I have seen many gratitude jars floating around on Pinterest and on others blogs lately.  After reading One Thousand Gifts and starting my journal, I thought this would be the perfect compliment to "Dare to Live Fully Right Where I Am" challenge to myself.

Now some of these gratitude jars that are floating around the web are pretty intricate.  

photo credit



Saving Dollars and Sense

but I am a simple person.  So I chose a plain Jane mason jar.  No added decorations, no frills.  Just simple.  Simply grateful.

 

 

I will fill my gratitude jar with notes throughout the year of everything I am so thankful for and for the good things that happen.  Then, on New Year's Eve, I will read all my notes to remind myself of how wonderful 2013 has been.

 

Do you have a gratitude jar?  Do you decorate it or leave it plain.  I would love to hear about it.  Have a wonderful day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Sunday's Blessings

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this week I loved the .....

smell of :  cookies baking

sound of :  my kitty snoring

taste of :  honey and tea

sight of :  sunshine

feel of :  a good book in my hands

this week I am thankful for .....

-  a four day weekend

-  great co-workers

-  the temperatures starting to rise

Have a blessed Sunday and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Saturday's Snaps

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Sharing some pictures this week of years past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful Saturday and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

 

Valentine Tree

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Last Wednesday I  made some little sweet hearts when we had a 'no school ice day' and left you with a promise that I would show you today where I would put them BUT first I had to make it!  It's a Valentine Tree!!!

I got the idea to make a Valentine Tree ..... well really a tree that can be used year round for each holiday, just by changing up the decorations ..... from Leslie over at A Spoonful of Everything.  I thought it was such an adorable idea, I just had to copy it.  I hope you don't mind Leslie!

On my morning walk, I grabbed the pruning shears and headed out the door.  Since the ice storm, it isn't as easy to walk around as it use to be!

Making my way carefully around the property, I searched for the perfect branches that would make up my little 'tree'.  I wanted to make sure I chose some sturdy ones as I am hoping to use the 'tree' for Easter, Canada Day, July 4th ..... you see where I am going with this?

Finding the 'best' bush on the property, I carefully trimmed some branches ..... I don't want to kill the poor bush and headed back indoors where there is no ice that could break a hip or something.

Finding a large enough 'vase' that wouldn't topple once the branches were placed inside, I proceeded to decorate my Valentine Tree. 

 

 

Isn't it just cute?  So easy but oh so festive.  I do however have to make more hearts....either that or make my tree a tad bit smaller as there seems to be quite a few branches!  Now Suzan made a comment the other day to add red lights....oh how I wish I had some!  That would really 'add' to the tree.  I also love the idea that Katie had to hang them from ribbons in the window.  I think I need to make A LOT more!

 

 

Do you have such a thing?  If you do, I would love to hear about it and see it on your blog!  Just leave a comment and I will head over to check it out.  

 

         

Then after seeing Stephanie's Paper and Yarn Valentine Trees over at The Enchanting Rose, I wanted to make one of those as well!  My yarn was quite thick enough so I had to wrap around the paper cone twice to make it appear full. 

 

 

Thanks for the idea Stephanie, although yours are so much prettier! 

 

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Three Pin Thursday

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Time for Three Pin Thursday!  Here are my three picks for this week.  

Valentine's Day Pin - just in time to make for Valentine's!  Just adorable.  I wonder if I have fabric like this in the stash?

made by agah

Pet Pin - how adorable is this???  Paw prints of your pets to decorate your walls!  Unfortunately it is just a picture link.  No link to the creator.

photo credit

Health and Beauty Pin - oh I am soooo going to do this!!  Every. Day.  Watching an hour long t.v. show with 5 commercials ..... you could burn 500 calories!!!  Now I can have my cake and eat it too! 

grandpins.com

Enjoy pinning and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Sweet 'Hearts'

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You know when you take down the Christmas decorations and the house is all cleaned up but it looks so empty?  Well I had to do something to fill up those spaces to make the transition over to 'sparse' less traumatic.  So I headed over to Pinterest to look for quick and easy Valentine decorations.  There are many wonderful ideas and the easiest I found were made with scrapbooking paper.  Well I don't have any scrapbooking paper and that is one craft I am trying to avoid getting sucked into.  I have enough UFO's laying around to last me into the next life so I don't need anymore!

Digging threw my scrap basket, I found little pieces that I thought would be perfect to use up.  Little bits here and little bits there, cuttings from old work shirts, skirts ..... never waste anything!  

                   

Now I could have been more intricate and when I do make more, I will use pieces of ribbon and lace but seeing that time is running short, I just wanted to fill up those sparse areas in the living room quickly.

                   

I didn't want to drag out the sewing machine and make it complicated.  I wanted them simple.  Hand stitched with embroidery thread was a satisfying way of making these little sweet things.   

A couple of hours later, my little hearts were done, ready to be displayed.  But where?

Come back on Friday to see where I will be displaying these little things!  Have a great day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch

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Good morning my friends.  Grab a cup of tea or coffee, it is time for "chats on the farmhouse porch".

Everyday Ruralty

QUESTIONS :

1.  What was your favorite game as a child?

2.  Have you ever had your own business?  (home business, a shop, ETSY, lemon-aid stand, etc)

3.  How's your spelling?

4.  How are you about going to the dentist?

5.  Do you enjoy board games?

ANSWERS :

1.  I would have to say my favorite game as a child was "Easy, Easy, I Over".  It was a game that consisted of throwing a tennis ball over the roof of our two story home to a friend on the other side.  I usually won! 

2.  Yes, I use to sell crafts at Christmas time at a Christmas store.  I have also sold at various craft shows.

3.  My spelling is atrocious.  I had to look up atrocious FYI.  LOL

4.  I don't mind going to the dentist now that they have that q-tip swab to freeze the gums before giving the needle. I still HATE the smell of a dentist office though.

5.  Yes, I love board games but hardly seem to have enough time to play them.

Thanks Patrice for allowing me to sit and chat with you again this week.  I hope everyone has a lovely day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

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Leftovers.  We all have them and some of us throw them out.  Nothing goes to waste around here.  I try and find any type of recipe that will use them up in a new way.  If there is only 1/2 cup of vegetables left over, I will bag those up in a baggie and put them in the freezer for future stews and soups.  The other day we had a great chunk of ham left over from our dinner a few days before.  We had ham sandwiches already so something different needed to be made and the rest will be put in the freezer.

Looking for something that will be the main part of our meal, I found a Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham recipe.  Yummy!  Just the sounds of it made my tummy rumble.

Ingredients:

4 cups of peeled, sliced  potatoes

2 cups of diced ham

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cups milk

1 cup frozen peas

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/4 pound cheddar cheese, diced

a pinch paprika, to taste, if you wish

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Layer half the potatoes, half the ham, and half the onion to a 2 quart baking dish; then repeat the layers until everything is gone.

3.  Heat the milk, peas, flour, butter, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, it took me about 10 minutes.

4.  Stir the cheddar cheese into sauce until cheese is melted.

5.  Pour the sauce over the potatoes and ham mixture then sprinkle with paprika.

6.  Place the lid on the casserole dish. If you don't have a lid cover with aluminum foil.

7.  Bake in the oven for approximately one hour or until potatoes are tender.

8.  Remove the lid or the foil and continue baking until the potatoes are nicely browned, which took me approximately 15 minutes.

This recipe was easy and oh so delicious!  Sorry I don't have a picture of the final product ..... everyone devoured it too quickly.  Perfect for using up the leftover ham we had in the fridge.  If you ever have some, give the recipe a try ..... I don't think you will be disappointed!

Have a great day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Sunday's Blessings

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this week I loved the .....

smell of :  dinner cooking after a long day at work

sound of :  the furnace starting up on a cold winter's night

taste of :  banana bread

sight of :  a snowstorm

feel of :  cozy quilts

this week I am thankful for .....

-  an unexpected snow day from work

-  a great price on car insurance and an agent who still makes house calls!

-  small miracles everyday

Have a Blessed Sunday and remember to give your loved ones a hug!