HELPING HANDS........

  I missed blogging today.....hope everyone had a great Monday!

Just a little note to let you know that I will be in and out on short visits in Blog-land for a few days.........
              My sister-in-law fell and fractured her knee and had to have surgery this weekend....the doctors had to put a plate and pins in her knee to repair it......she has been in quite a bit of pain. She is suppose to come home from the hospital tomorrow and my other sister-in-law and myself have been cleaning and preparing her house for when she gets home. I will be helping her get settled in and will be cooking some meals for her and her family and whatever else I can do to help out.

She would have gotten to come home today but she is having trouble keeping her Oxygen level up..........

please add her to your prayer list for a speedy recovery.

Thank you and God Bless Each & Everyone! 

 Linda

WHAT DO I DO?

I take photos of these critters...........

 BUT...........

                           Enough is Enough!

I love to watch the squirrels playing and chasing each other and sometimes I get lucky and get some great photos of them. They have been very fertile this year........we have way too many!  

"OR"

Maybe its because...............I very seldom would let anybody kill them.

I can not bring myself to kill them or clean them, somebody else can do that job, but........I will cook them. I love Squirrel Dumplings and Squirrel Stew.....Yum Yum!

This year our Oak Trees produced an abundance of acorns (talked about in a prev post) and now the squirrels have enjoyed themselves scratching and digging acorns from the back yard.....and getting fat!

I wish I could train them to clean up their messes.......not a chance!!!

See what I mean..........

 

I guess they thought they were doing me a favor and aerating my yard for me.......

No that can't be it ........Squirrels don't think.

WEDNESDAYS PROJECT

No new light fixtures for me.......

I am not ready to buy new light fixtures just yet...............so what do I do..............I paint them.

A couple of years ago (when I had a paying job) I started replacing some of my light fixtures and bathroom faucets in the house...........

I chose the brush nickel look.

Since I am unemployed at the moment.............can't buy new light fixtures........so for now I am giving them a makeover......

 The first one!

 This is the Before pictures of the one in my foyer area of the family room.....tired of the  brass it is so blah!

I made up this template.........did not want to get paint all over the ceiling.......not in the mood to paint the ceiling just yet.

After picture....not too bad.....closest thing I could find to Brush Nickel.

The second one!

Before picture of the one is in the hallway coming in from the carport.............it has a antique brass finish.

After picture.........much brighter!

 

They are nothing to write home about but you have to admit they do look somewhat better, I think!

This will do for now.....I have an old vintage fixture that I would love to replace the one in the foyer area with.......maybe that will come later when I can get the hubby to wire it in!

GREAT FRIENDS
There are truly great friends in Blog-land.......in such a short time, blogging here at..........

"Nothin But Country Living"

I have met so many New friends.

I feel as though I have met you in person........all of the sharing...........

all of the kind words..........

its beyond words on how it makes me feel.

I enjoy starting and ending my day reading about each and everyones part of their world and the gifts that our great God has given you.

Without him we would be nothing nor would we have all the beauty that surrounds us in our little parts of the world.

God Bless Each and Everyone of You!

Your Friend,

Linda

MAKING ROOM

Soooooo many photos..........I have just about filled up my 500 GB external hard drive...........Again!

I have put it off long enough!

Its a slow process......backing up files from my external HD to DVD's. This is not the first time I have had to do this. I get so bored doing this...rather be doing something else......like painting, sewing, reading or blogging.

Some files burn pretty quick and some take forever!!!!!!!!!

Like now.......I have one of the "Forever" ones burning.

I just need to buy another external hard drive.................this time a much larger one!

I should do what my brother did........get a dual hard drive.......where you have 2 hard drives in-cased and facing each other.....when you copy a file to one it mirrors it on the other one...... if one of the HD crashes then at least you have another copy..........pretty cool!

JUST BEAUTIFUL..........

This is the kind of snow I like......not too much........not on the roads and lots on the trees. This was taken in my backyard this morning........we are so lucky to be surrounded with trees all covered with this beauty that our wonderful gracious God sent us last night!

This is a Dogwood tree in the front yard..........just gorgeous!

This is also a shot of the front yard.

Like I have said before I am not a winter person....do not like the 30 and below temps.   This kind of snow I can deal with because it will be melting today....temps will be in the upper 30's and the next few days we will be having lots of SUN and warmer temps....around 50 and maybe even warmer......Thank you Lord!

Have a wonderful blessed day my friends in Blog-land!

SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT

Pumpkin Bread......just out of the oven.

This is the first time making Pumpkin Bread....my specialty is Zucchini Bread.

Could not wait until after dinner.....so I test tasted and let me tell you it was wonderful...very moist.

THE GREAT PUMPKIN!

Can you believe I still have a pumpkin left from last fall!

Did not know if it would be good or not.......

It is.......yeah! Wish you could smell the aroma.........

All cleaned up!

All cut up and ready to cook!

 

This pumpkin came from a volunteer plant that came up in my front yard......I let it grow and it produced 3 pumpkins....I gave our  2 grandsons one each and I kept this one.

 

 

~~~~~~

Peelings and scraps for the compost pile!!

SEEING OLD FRIENDS

Just wish it had not been at a funeral.......Yes its sad that we only see some of our relatives and old friends at a Funeral. 

It has been a long day........just got in............a relative by marriage has gone to her Heavenly home. At the young age of 52 my sister-in-laws sister passed away Saturday morning from a long battle of cancer...............6 months ago today my sister-in-law died suddenly at the young age of 57. 

Today they are having a joyous reunion..........sisters together again for eternity!

My prayer goes out to the family and friends............may God bless and comfort them in the days to come.

KIDS SAY THE CUTEST THINGS

As you know our grandsons have been visiting with us for a couple of days..........we have had a blast, as usual.

Children can be so funny.....they say the cutest things.....

I want to share a few things that little Caleb (3 yrs) said to me while he was here. I wish I had written all of them down but here are a few anyway.

As you saw in a previous post I purchased a vintage milking stool.......and of course when Caleb saw it he had to know what it was...........I told him it was a milking stool that is used to sit on when milking cows or goats.  

(1) He obvious likes it.......always sitting on it........and at one point in time he got to thinking about it and turned around and said.........

"Grandma do you have a goat?" 

No, I said, why? 

he answered with "why do you have a milking stool then?"  After laughing so hard I told him maybe I will get one just so he can milk it.

(2) While little Caleb was playing around he came up to me to ask for a snack...I noticed he had a little blood on his nose so I picked him up and got a tissue and told him to lay his head back in my lap so it would stop bleeding............

he looked up at me with such seriousness and asked me......

"are you a doctor?" 

I cracked up with laughter gave him a Hug and told him no that I was a mommy and a grandma and I just knew about these things.

(3) It was getting close to lunch time and Caleb asked for a "snack", I told him we had to eat lunch food. He asked for a cereal bar and I said that is for a snack and we have to have lunch food now. 

He went on to tell me he did not want lunch food and then he said........

"I want something or I will starve."  

He was really trying hard to get a snack so I told him I would put him something together and he was happy with that.......

so I combined lunch food and "snack crackers" together, made it appear like a snack and he ate his lunch.......oh what a Good Grandma I am.

(4) We gave Caleb an old TV remote a long time ago....he found it and was playing with it.......like he was turning things off and on.....well he came up to me....pointed it at me and said.......... 

"your turned off"

All I could do was laugh......he is our little stinker!

(5) I was reading some blogs this morning and little Caleb was watching his favorite cartoon "Caillou" and he came over to me and said............

 "Grandma put that on pause and come watch TV with me, please"

 Now who could resist that.........so I put the computer on pause, if you know what I mean.

DECORATING HELP!

I love the Cottage look even some Victorian thrown in, mostly Cottage, I have lots of  magazines and I have looked at ideas on line but I can not seem to put it all together. 

I need suggestions! 

BIG problem..........I in-vision what I want my house to look like but I have trouble getting it to look like I want.

 I am on a very tight budget, as most of us are, so it must be done very thrifty.

I have lots of fabric from my years of sewing and I lots of misc stuff to decorate with.

The area I am concentrating on right now is my very large living room..........has neutral colored walls, very light beige, I have a beautiful white mantel and my furniture is mostly cranberry and dark blue. 

Left of the fireplace...door goes out to large covered deck.

Right side of the fireplace......window looking out onto the large covered deck.

 This is another area in the living room with my settee. My main couch is solid cranberry.

I do know I want my ugly carpet gone....I want hardwood flooring put down.......when I get the money.

I have found and looked at several great Cottage Blogs.........

my question is.........

 where do I begin?

I AM SO LUCKY!

Yesterday was a wonderful day spending quality time with my guys.......Hubby home because of the ice and snow......so we took our grandsons down to the end of the property to see the lake. I was hoping to see it froze over but it only had a skim of ice on it........still very pretty.

 

 On the trail....Kelby on his bike and Caleb stopping to play.

The snow was so white and fluffy.......I told the boys it reminded me of Marshmallow Creme, you know that wonderful sweet melted gooey marshmallows that you eat between graham crackers....yum yum.

When we got back from our walk I fixed hot chocolate and I guess all the talk about marshmallow creme......it made little Caleb hungry

 He asked me to make him some graham crackers with marshmallow creme to go with his hot chocolate........yep, sugar high all afternoon!

Grandmas are allowed to do this!!!!

Kelby found lots of ice crystals on the side of the bank.....

he is our explorer.

Caleb picking up logs....he was actually trying to find a stick but decided on a log instead.

We had a wonderful day and ended it watching Bugs Bunny until little Caleb fell asleep and then we watched Home A Lone 3 with Kelby............cute movie.

JUST FOR MY GUYS!

Home-made biscuits for my guys.........

Hubby home because of ice and snow and we have the two grandsons here with us........

lots of fun today!

I love my new cast iron biscuit pan............it makes great biscuits!

MORE SNOW!

We got more snow today............it started coming down around mid afternoon and did not stop for several hours. The white stuff is beautiful and I know it is part of God's creation but winter is not my favorite time of the year.......it is just too cold for me, I am ready for warmer weather.

I don't know how much blogging I will get to do for a couple of days...........

our 2 wonderful grandsons came to visit. 

I will be busy taking photos and more photos...............lot to do when they are here. 
                                          They are such a joy in our lives and I spend as much time as possible with them.

GETTING RICHER!

WAITING PATIENTLY.....................to be taken out.

 Two Full trash bags of shredded paper to be added to my compost piles.

I can see it working already..............you know............

breaking down and making

 

RICH 

compost for my

Lasagna Garden.............Yeah!

Come on look inside................now do you see it?  

So its not Dirt yet.........but it will be soon!

First bag has been dumped........................real pretty isn't it. 

First bag all covered up with its blanket.............now it can do its thing.

Second bag all dumped in a big pile on top ............. beautiful!

Don't you just love nature! 

Wow...see how quickly it works..............

just kidding. 

I covered this one up too with a blanket of dirt..............now it can start working.

Before I know it, I will have a nice pile of RICH compost for my  

Lasagna Garden.......

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

I went on my Hunt yesterday for the lamp shade that I spoke about in yesterdays post.........no luck!

I did find some great bargains.....I ran into the Goodwill store hoping to find that needed lamp shade or at least one to re-cover........instead I found a Like New purse, brown, for $3.99 and a New file organizer still with tag on it for $2.99. WOW! I was very proud of myself.....see I am not into the fancy brand name purses and mine usually come from Wal Mart or I make myself one. I just have not had the time to make one and who could pass up one for $3.99.....not me!

The Best for Last!

I also found this wonderful Vintage Milk Stool............I Love It!

The best part is I only paid $1.99 for the milk stool......now isn't that a BARGAIN!  It is in great shape and very sturdy.  Someone, probably the previous owner, painted over its beautiful wood.............that's ok because it gives it a cottage look.......and that is what I like.

Love the bargains I found...............

now I must continue on with my Hunt for the lamp shade.

GOING ON A HUNT

Yes, I am going Hunting!

.........its not deer hunting! 

 

I am on a hunt for the right lamp shade for this cute floor lamp I purchased for $5.00 at an estate sale. 

 

I know I don't need another floor lamp.....have 5 already.......but I am a sucker when it comes to them. I have 3 working ones plus this one in my house and 2 others that need to be re-worked.

I  Love Them.....I Love Them.......I Love Them!

I need suggestions to help my Hunting to be quick and painless. The shade need not be more than 10 inches in length, do not want to cover up the beautiful red glass globe...... look Victorian, I think.......don't know what color??????  

 It has a marble base and the pole is antique brass.....the pole can be painted, not a problem.  

Did I mention how much I Love Them.........yes I did!

If anyone has suggestions please leave a comment or email me.

LITTLE HEARTS

My Little Christmas Tree will be staying up...........I bought this little 2 foot tree to put up in the boys (grandsons) room this year, they have truly enjoyed it and the youngest whom is 3 years old did not want me to take and put it away. 

I decided to leave it out with only lights on it and decorate it according to the next Holiday or just decorate it with whatever strikes me.....to put smiles on the boys faces. I know..... I am spoiling them........but that is what Grandmas are for!

SURPRISE IT WILL BE!

When they come to visit they will have a surprise...............

 little Heart Ornaments that I made of felt are hanging on the tree. 

Since I have grandsons.....I made some Camo Hearts just for them and I also made a couple of hearts that has an opening in the top so I can fill them with candy..........they will love these!

BISCUIT TIME

My Cast Iron Biscuit Pan Has Arrived!

I have been wanting one of these for a long time......I can't believe I did not get it for my Birthday or for Christmas. What does it take for someone to get the hint? All is forgiven because I found this one on Ebay and it arrived on Saturday. You can find some great bargains on Ebay and this is one of them........Brand new and I got it for a $18.00 and that included shipping. They sell for $30.00 on line and at Cracker Barrel.......so I think I did ok. 

It just came out of the oven after being seasoned.....you have to do this before you use it the first time. 

Guess what is for breakfast tomorrow morning......you got it..... 

Home-made Buttermilk Biscuits! 

IS IT TIME YET???

I don't know about you but I am getting so anxious to start planting seed......matter of fact I found a company on line yesterday and order some seed. This is the first time I have ordered from them but their prices are great and Free Shipping on orders of $20.00 or more, and if you order under $20.00 the shipping is only $2.00..........now you just can't beat that. 

You can check them out at http://www.genericseeds.com they are out of Springville, UT. 

(The pictures are from their site)

These are a few I ordered to get started with as soon as can.

                          Mustard Seeds                          

Seven Top Turnips

Broccoli Seeds

Green Romaine Lettuce

 I ordered these for a little later on when Early Spring arrives.

(can you tell I am really anxious now)

 Lavender Seeds

Italian Flat Leaf Parsley

Little Finger Carrot Seeds

I am not wishing my life away, time goes by too fast as it is, 

but...........Spring can come early!