Harvest Lane Cottage

Read other daybooks.   My Daybook August 31, 2015 Outside my window... It's sunny and pretty. I am thinking...  about how to make life run more smoothly around the house. I am thankful that...   a sweet friend gave us a gift that will help ends meet. From the kitchen... I will be doing inventory of all our food today and making some menus. I need to make our food money stretch. I am wearing... my purple and black top and black shorts. Gasp! I rarely wear shorts or slacks. I will change to a dress before going to the grocery store later. I am creating...   a new dress.  Women's Panel Dress  from Common Sense Patterns.   I need to  hem my new dress. I'm nearly finished after all these weeks! I am going... to the grocery store and to pick up my husband at work this afternoon. It is much more peaceful now that my son is not working on Mondays. I feel so much calmer than I did just a month ago.  I am...

I read a bit of a blog a few minutes ago that made me feel rather sad. It was written by a lady living in reduced circumstances. I understand reduced circumstances. They are what our family has lived in since 2004. When it's hard to make ends meet, and you have to go without things you want to give to your loved ones or you cannot do things you want to do, it's tough. I know. What made me feel rather sad was the gloomy feel to what she had written—the hopelessness. The dependence on the government to change her circumstances. I feel down about our circumstances, too sometimes. But I am never hopeless.  Why? My hope is not in a government program, or even in my husband's employment, though I do hope that his work situation improves. My hope is ultimately in Jesus Christ. If it weren't, I don't know how I would cope with life. Being of a melancholy temperament, I'm sure that despair would overtake me. Honestly, sometimes it threatens to. BUT GOD.  ...

Good day dear reader,    I hope today finds you happy and content. God is yet good no matter what our circumstances. Ours have been lean for a couple of weeks. It gives us great incentive to be thrifty and save money. It's birthday season. That means we have extra expenses that must be absorbed into our grocery budget. We're still paying some medical expenses for our eldest son until he starts getting paychecks from his new job. It will be worth it, and he'll pay us back. It's just tight until then.   Meals have been...shall we say creative? Filling but unusual? It's all part of using up what we have on hand. This quote from Teddy Roosevelt has served our family well over the years. Here are some of the thrifty and frugal things we've done this week.... ~ We rented a movie on Sunday for $.75 at our local video store. It's their Sunday special. ~ Leftovers for supper Sunday ~ I planned a potluck dinner for Saturday night. ~ I reviewed a book tha...

Join us at The Simple Woman! Dear Ladies,    Good day! So soon a week has passed again. I'm feeling the crisp promise of Autumn in the air. I get just a little over-the-top for Autumn. It's my favorite season. So many wonderful things to do, to make, to feel. I adore it!    I overslept this morning a bit. It can happen on chilly mornings. I had set my alarm for 6:20 a.m. I planned to oversleep a tiny bit. ~smile~ What I didn't realize is that it was set for Tuesday - Friday! So I woke up at 7:08! Oh well, I must have needed it. Now if I can just move a little quicker so that the day won't be all off! So, a quick little Daybook this morning is the result. Have a terrific week, and do let me know what you're up to and if I can pray for you.    May God fill you with His perfect peace and an intense awareness of His presence and His love for you this week.  Laura Outside my window... Bright cheerful sunshine after a weekend of rain and a f...

Hello! It seems this thrifty week centers around food. Perhaps that's because food expenses are the most flexible of spending categories.  In our budget, it's the only flexible category, because nearly all our day-to-day living expenses must come out of it. Do you find it that way at your house, too? ~ I saved a bunch of money by purchasing some curriculum on ebay. Harvest Lane Etsy Shop ~ I saved my husband money because the things I bought totalled about $110 and didn't cost him a dime. I used my PayPal credit that I earned selling things from my Etsy shop , my ebay , and Homeschool Classifieds. Thank you Jesus! ~ I served red beans seasoned with cumin, garlic powder, oregano, minced onion, and chili powder for supper. I added a can of tomato paste about an hour before serving. A pan of cornbread and butter rounded it out for my family. ~ Amy and I made 7 1/2 pints of Dill pickles with a $2.50 mix and some vinegar and water. Amy grew the cucumbers. Noth...

Harvest Lane Cottage in the Winter Harvest Lane Cottage in the Spring Summertime at the Creek Getting in the Wood in the Fall I'm looking forward to seeing The Cottage in the Fall again! We had low temperatures today in the '60's! That's unheard of here in Southwest Missouri in August. I sure did enjoy it though. It put me in the mood for the crisp Autumn mornings and cozy Autumn evenings. Hope you have a beautiful day.... Laura Hoping for the Future ~~~~~ May I suggest? Thoughts of Autumn and Fall ~~~~~

Join us at The Simple Woman! Dear Ladies,    Hello again! Thank you so much for visiting me. I know your time is precious. I hope you'll take a few extra moments and say hello. I love it when readers "talk back".    Do you have a prayer request, I would be happy to pray for you. Remember, Jesus said, "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven." Matthew 18:19    May God fill you with His perfect peace and an intense awareness of His presence and His love for you this week.  Laura Outside my window... A gray morning.  I am thinking... I need to continue to plan for the coming school year. There are still a few subjects I don't have ironed out. Speaking of ironing, I have a bunch to do! Never mind. I don't want to think about that right now. My to do list is always much longer than my day and my energy. We have a fresh blank slate to beg...

Join us at The Simple Woman! Dear Ladies,  Hello again! I am honored that you are interested in my daybooks. Each week I wonder at the many ladies that come and visit my humble blog. I am thankful. May God bring you strength, patience, hope, and perseverance during the days to come as many of us are preparing school lessons, preparing to send our children to school, or even sending a child off to college or trade school. The summer heat has been beating hard, but in another month or so, it will have to yield to the cooler temperatures of September. Fall is coming ladies! Hang on! Outside my window... It's pouring down rain. I was awakened early this morning by thunder rumbling. I love rainy mornings and rainy afternoons... well, as long as there isn't too much, I just love rain! Why? Well, actually, I remember years ago, waiting at the high school for my mom to pick me up after choir practice, and watching the rain pouring down through the window. I thought it was mis...

Sometimes I happen to look at the sky and realize that it's been there all along...just being beautiful...while I'm so busy I don't notice.  It's the same way with God. He's always there just waiting for me to notice. Blessings, Laura

I used to go out at sunset with my toddler boy (who now towers over me) and look at the sun setting. He would stand on a chair beside me. With our arms around each other, every night I would say, "God painted that for you!" Now, every once in awhile, at sunset, he'll put his arm around me and say, "God painted that for you!"

Join us at The Simple Woman! Dear Ladies,  Good day to you! I am honored that you are interested in my daybooks. I find it interesting to look back at some of the earlier entries and enjoy the memories or thank God for what He's brought us through. That really is the point you know, being thankful because He always does bring us through . What is He bringing you through? If you'd like me to pray for you, please leave a comment below or e-mail me at lauraofharvestlane at gmail dot com. Now, for this week's entry.... Outside my window... It's dark. I'm writing this late Sunday night. My dear readers know that Mondays are my busy driving days. I want to be sure I don't miss our visit. It's been very hot today. I do hope the air conditioner in the car can keep up tomorrow. ~smile~ I am thinking... I need to finalized last year's school records and continue to plan for the coming year. I am thankful... God has made some breakthroughs in my ...