Practice Practice Practice!

Buy at allposters.com.

 

“What you want is practice, practice, practice.
...I feel that every time I write a page either of prose or of verse, with real effort, even if it’s thrown into the fire the next minute, I am so much further on.”
 
C. S. Lewis
Author of the Chronicles of Narnia

Just What I've Been Waiting For....

 

 SNOW!

Before and After ~ Mega Greek Salad

Before

After

Doesn't even look like the same salad does it?  It's fun to toss salads with my bright red salad tongs.  Red is my happy color.  

Dinner has changed around here.  We used to eat spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic toast.  Tonight, the main course was salad with just a little bit of spaghetti and garlic toast on the side.  Even the children are enjoying salads and veggies more than ever.  This is the Mega Greek Salad from The Ultimate Daniel Fast by Kristen Feola.  We didn't care for the dressing.  I made it up, and we tasted it.  The trouble is that none of us really like oil and vinegar or oil and lemon juice based dressings.  I've just got to find a homemade dressing that we like.  Ah well, the search will continue.

The salad itself was delicious.  I'll make it again.  Lowell's looking forward to enjoying the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  Salads are my favorite part of eating more plant based foods.

Speaking of plants, some of Hubby's seedlings are coming up.  He's so excited. 

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Shared:

Ducks in a Row

Wise Woman

Terrific Tuesdays

Something to Think About...Words Matter

Grace The Morning Meal

by Rudolph Epp 1834-1910 German

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. All fruits of the Spirit. All available to us through believing and confessing Jesus as our Lord and Savior. All available to us by repenting of our sins, by turning to Him daily, hourly, and moment by moment as needed for a fresh filling of His strength, hope, power, and love.

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Jesus said that all the commandments were summed up into two. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and (love) your neighbor as yourself."

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Love God and love others. Everything we need for success in life and relationships wrapped up in a few words.

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Words Matter.

Just Something to Think About....

~~~~

Laura

Thinking about my words....

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May I suggest...

Do You Find Bible Reading a Challenge?



Warm Hearts

An Icy Snow Day, Family, Cooking, and Sewing!

 The view from our front porch looking south,

and looking north, 

and looking East. 

It's a snow day! 

Schools are cancelled including our homeschool.

Hubby's home from work.

Yay!

I tried a new chili recipe that called for half a cup of chili powder and some paprika among other things.  It was a thumbs down.  After a taste, hubby and I tried to doctor it, but it was a hopeless case.  We ate it anyway with some homemade cornbread for the kids and Daniel Fast corn muffins for Hubby and me.  I am not going to share the chili recipe.

I put up some red beans in jars that I simmered slowly all day yesterday.  I put them in the freezer for a quick lunch.  I haven't gotten my pressure canner ready to use yet.  When I do, I'll probably can some beans to make them recipe ready.  I also put up some strawberries that I got on sale this week.  I froze them individually on a cookie sheet then transferred them to plastic containers.  I'll use them in smoothies.

The kids just finished the dishes.  Now they're bundling up to go out and sled.  Since we have ice all over not just snow, they'll go fast. 

I'm going to stir up a fragrant pot of hot cocoa.  Lowell is putting an extra log on the fire.  Then, I'm going to get out my sewing machine, Miss Singer.  Yay!  I just love this machine.  She's easy to thread, easy to use, and she's sewn through all the layers I've needed her to.   I've been making handbags in preparation for reopening my Etsy shop.  I'll take some photos and share soon. 

Well now, time to get to that cocoa.

So glad you dropped into the Cottage!

Do send me a note.  I love to hear from readers.

Blessings from Harvest Lane Cottage!

Laura

Happy at Home

~~~~~

May I suggest?

A Snowy Mantle

~~~~~

Linked:
Farmgirl Blog Fest

Milestones!

94,000 page views!  Wow!
340 followers!  Wow!
896 posts! Wow!

And to think I told my husband I didn't have anything to write about!
Wow!

Gardening & Canning... 2013 Journey Begins

Gardening...
I am so not that kind of girl.  Dirt, heat, bugs, sweat, spiders, oh my.  The benefits?  Fresh veggies that taste terrific.    Fortunately, the gardening that I find, well, icky, is like recreation to my husband, Lowell.  He's already set up a place to start his seedlings and had his hands in the dirt, not to mention spent hours planning and preparing.  He's a man with a mission.  With our new way of eating lots and lots and lots of veggies and fruits, he's preparing to grow as many as he can.  He's a master gardener. 

Canning...
Well, he's not really that kind of guy.  Cooped up in the kitchen with boiling kettles, cutting up endless fruits and vegetables for hours?  Not really Lowell's favorite way to spend an afternoon.  To me, the challenge and the reward of filling all those little jars and hearing all those little pings as they seal just thrills me with satisfaction.  I just love putting up.  ~smile~  Just yesterday, we opened jars of Pear Honey that I created last summer with pears that Lowell harvested from our trees.  Ooh, talk about a little jar of gold.  On homemade wheat bread. Oh now that was delicious.

Kiwi Jam

Once again, in the LORD's wisdom, opposites attract.  So, we made a deal.  He grows all he can.  I'll can all he grows.  Well, not exactly, but it looked cute when I typed it.  We'll eat all we can, too.  ~smile~  Because it's the LORD who brings the rain and causes the growth, we'll give, too. 

 I will be sharing recipes, cooking, and canning posts here as the year progresses.  I have much to learn, and I look forward to sharing with you as I go.

Blessings to you from Harvest Lane Cottage!
Laura
Happy at Home

~~~~~

May I suggest?

Things I Love About My Husband

~~~~~ 

Ask and You Shall Receive

Got a bit of snow overnight yesterday.  It was beautiful.  No photos, just thankfulness in my heart to my God who gave me a couple of inches for the beauty of it, but it didn't stay on the streets.  I got to enjoy it until just after lunch.  It was wonderfully wet snow, great for snowballs and king of the mountain.  The kids came in wet, cold, and tired to hot tea and warmth.

Thank you God!

Tuesday at the Cottage....

A little Bible...  I'm now listening to Deuteronomy on Bible Gateway.  I keep track of where I'm at by a reading plan checklist on You Version.  I'm ahead of schedule.

A little sewing...  I'm piecing a quilt top as a project with our church quilting group.  We're making them out of out of salvaged  polyester dresses.  I've never sewn with polyester double knit before.  A lady gave us about 250 dresses which we're seam ripping, cutting, and sewing into quilt tops.  We will then add batting and backing and tie them.  The plan is to give them to a missionary friend to distribute among the needy in Michigan.

A little reading...  I've been reading a mystery called Unbreakable.  I like mysteries, but sometimes they just seem well, a little too mysterious for me.  ~smile~  I just want everything to be okay.  Guess that's the momma in me. 

A little patienting...  I don't think that qualifies as a word, but that's what I was doing.  I had a "date" with my Lowell today.  We drove over to a nearby city and each got fillings in our teeth.  We've been without dental care too long.  Now we're paying the consequences.

A little family time...  Spaghetti for supper then a Disney movie called Sky High.

A little crocheting...  Just plain little dishclothes out of some dusty rose cotton yarn I was given.  Chain 21, SC in second chain, SC to end.  *Ch 1.  Turn.  SC in every space to the end. Repeat from * until it's square.

A little read aloud with the kids...  Crispin and the Cross of Lead.  Emily read this time so that I could crochet.

A little computer time...  Email, linking a few posts to blog parties, reading a few blogs, and a little writing.

A few minutes of relaxation, then a little sleeping.

Laura
Living this life a little at a time.

~~~~~

May I suggest?

5 Days of Frugal Eating

Still hoping...

 

FOR SNOW!

Thoughts About Children

"I think a lot of our problems are because people don’t listen to our children. It is not always easy. They’re not always so brilliant that you want to spend hours with them. But it is very important to listen to them." ~Barbara Bush

"Education commences at the mother’s knee, and every word spoken within the hearing of little children tends towards the formation of character."
~ Hosea Ballou

"Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you."
~ Robert Fulghum

Have a wonderful day!

Laura
Happy to be Momma
to my Four

~~~~~

May I suggest?

Be Encouraged Be Strong!

Shared with:

Warm Heart

Look What Came in the Mail!

Little Amy took the photo and the light's not too good, but look at this great little acrylic sewing table!  Amy has been saving her money for quite some time and decided that this was just the thing to help her sew doll clothes.  Shortly after Daddy helped her set it up, I heard the sewing machine humming.  She's just enjoying herself so much.

I've been doing some sewing, too, though not much this week.  I'm trying to get some things made up so that I can open my etsy shop again.  I'll let you know when I get close.  I'd like to make up at least ten items to open with.  I'm stitching through my stash of fabrics.  It's a fun way to declutter. ~smile~

Well, tomorrow is our last Christmas.  We haven't gotten together with my dad and step-mom yet.  The Christmas tree is long gone, but I've got my little Valentine's tree up.  I thought I'd get more heart ornaments made this year, but just haven't gotten to it.  Oh well, maybe next year.

Well, best get the last few things done before bed.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Laura
Happy at Home

For the Love of Salads ~ No Lettuce Needed

No Lettuce Needed Salad

A base of broccoli

topped with

sliced button mushrooms,

chopped carrots,

and

chopped tomatoes.

Loving the variety,

Laura

Happy at Home

Proof that He Loves YOU!

Every time I see a heart in nature,

I know that it's God telling us that he loves us.

"We love him because he first loved us."

1 John 4:19 NKJV

~~~~~
May I suggest?
Cherish  Yesterday ~ Dream Tomorrow ~ Live Today!











Warm Hearts

A Busy Saturday

Things to do today:

• A little e-mail,
• A little writing,
• A little menu planning,
• A little grocery shopping,
• A little sewing,
• A little cooking, Guacamole for the gathering and salad for lunch,
• A little reading,
• A little gathering with couples at church.

Well, I'd better get busy. 
Have a wonderful Saturday.

Laura
Happy at Home

It was a great day.  Amazing, I finished everything on my list!

~~~~~

May I suggest?

 

Plan for Making and Doing This Week & Funny Macaroni and Cheese Recipe