Harvest Lane Cottage

Welcome to another thrifty week at Harvest Lane Cottage. I am honored by your visit.  Each week I share my thrifty and frugal projects, ways of saving money, and my blessings from God.  I am so glad you dropped in for a visit today—or tonight! ♥♥♥ Well, the big news this week is that we bought a van. We got it yesterday, and I haven't taken any photos yet. It's black and in good condition. The second big news is that my son's new-to-him truck has a lot of problems. It won't pass state inspection until he gets most of them fixed. We won't know until tomorrow what that will cost. Ah well, God will work it all out. I love it when y'all leave comments, so I can meet you and see your blogs, too. ~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~~ Here's my thrifty week: My husband and I bought a van. It's a used van, and we bought it from a Mennonite man who has a small car lot east of our town. He gave us a God deal of a price for it. Lowell told him what he...

Do you love a homemade Christmas? I do! Everything just seems like it means a bit more when you've put your time, effort, and care into it. Homemade, handmade, heartmade, thrifty, money saving gifts can be a blessing to the giver and the receiver. It doesn't happen overnight though. Okay, I admit it. I've been the crazy mom sewing on Christmas Eve and trying to finish wrapping. I don't want to do that anymore! July is the perfect time to start brainstorming what you want your Christmas to be like this year. If that is to include homemade gifts, it's never too early to start. Here are some ideas to get you going. Homemade Gift Ideas Paper Craft ~ decorated recipe cards (could add recipes and ingredients) ~ homemade greeting cards ~ scrapbook From the Needles ~ tribbles ~ dishcloths ~ aprons ~ mittens ~ doll clothes ~ skirt ~ tablet stand ~ camera bean bag ~ key chain ~ Christmas stockings ~ hair baubles ~ casserole hot pad ~ drawstring bag...

It's the season for bridal showers and weddings.  Have you ever found yourself feeling a bit awkward when you give or receive a duplicate gift? Do you ever find yourself wondering what to give the bride—especially if this is the sixth wedding you've attended this summer? We all want to show our friendship and support of the bride with a thoughtful gift, but sometimes it's difficult to know just what to give. Let me help! These are my top ten wedding shower gifts that no one else will bring. Ingredients for recipes with recipe cards Laundry basket filled with homemade cleaners and recipes Ingredients for homemade laundry soap and recipe card Knitted or crocheted dishcloths and dish soap Gas card Apron Totes Embroidered pillowcases A bag filled with spices... even Aldi spices A cloth grocery bag filled with flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla, chocolate chips and my chocolate chip cookie recipe The key here is that these are practical i...

Welcome to another thrifty week at Harvest Lane Cottage. I am honored by your visit.  Each week I share my thrifty and frugal projects, ways of saving money, and my blessings from God.  I am so glad you dropped in for a visit today—or tonight! ♥♥♥ Can you believe the weekend is here again? Can you believe I've written seventy-three of these thrifty week posts? I never imagined when I started just how popular they would be. Well my need to be thrifty hasn't changed, so I'll just keep on sharing my thrifty weeks. It's so neat when you share how you've been thrifty, too. We all need to save money, so any frugal tips are welcome. I love it when y'all leave comments, so I can meet you and see your blogs, too. ~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~~ Here's my thrifty week: I stayed home nearly all the time! I sent supper leftovers with my husband for lunches. We ate tomatoes and lettuce from our garden. I made plans to reuse some of my children'...

"Pray as though no one else is praying." Word from the Holy Spirit  through Jack Hayford at Azuza Now worship rally in April You Might Also Enjoy: God's Perfect Timing Sometimes Life Isn't Very Happy Saving Money With Jars... Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Christian Blogger Link-Up

I sewed baby bibs this week. I had some leftover fabric from a couple of dresses I'd made. I bought some cotton batting with a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby and a gift card I got for my birthday.  I will have gifts for my baby niece, a friend at church who is expecting, and extras for my gift box. There's something about sewing that is so calming for me. It's as though God meant for me to do it. Sadly, I have neglected it for most of my life because I always thought there was something else I should do. I hope to make it a new habit. A habit of joy. Laura Blessed to be a Blessing Featured at: I Made It Monday

For God so loved YOU  that He gave His ONLY son so that when  YOU believe in Him  YOU shall be saved. That's my interpretation of John 3:16 for you this morning. God's not waiting for you to be perfect. God's not waiting for you to have your act together. God's not waiting for you to wash away your own sins. Those things are what Holy Spirit does best. Come now. Humble yourself. Give your life to Jesus right now. Just as you are. Right now. Even if you've already prayed for salvation, you still need Jesus right now. Whatever in your life is causing  pain or strife or confusion or agony, give it to Jesus. Pray and leave it to Him. He is willing and able to take the weight* of it for you. Come. Now is the time to worship. Be blessed friends. If there's anything I can pray with you about, please leave a comment. If you'd rather I not publish it, please tell me. Father God, bless thes...

Welcome to another thrifty week at Harvest Lane Cottage. I am honored by your visit.  Each week I share my thrifty and frugal projects, ways of saving money, and my blessings from God.  I am so glad you dropped in for a visit today—or tonight! ♥♥♥ Hello again! It's so hard to believe that it's already the weekend again. I'm sure I just wrote about my thrifty week! Life just spins by so fast. Catch all the joy you can my friends. Love God and love others! That pretty much sums up the commandments and the law. My husband continues the search for a vehicle for me. You can read about last week's miraculous provision here. I've put a few things in my Etsy shop and my Ebay this week I love it when y'all leave comments, so I can meet you and see your blogs, too. ~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~~ Here's my thrifty week: I baked a turkey on Sunday morning while we were at church. I found it in the deep freeze. I must have bought it on sale last Than...

Recently, I found out that my van has a problem which we will not be able to fix. It renders the van "dead". Once again, I must learn to live without a vehicle. God was so good. I went to pick up my son at work. The van began to get hot, but didn't overheat. After he got in the van, the red warning light went on. He was able to help me get the van home. The praise is that I was not alone. I was not on I-44, a major highway when it broke down. We were able to get it home and to the repair shop (where we found out it would be at least $2000 to fix it... it's worth less than $1000 and has other issues). It happened on the last day that my son had to work in another town. My Emily is at camp for a month. My husband will be able to take my Michael to his new job early and drop him off, then pick him up on the way home daily. Emily and Michael will not require me to give them rides for the month of July. Amy will just have to stay at home with me. Just...

Join us at The Simple Woman! Dear Ladies,  Hello!    It's Monday again! Last week was a difficult week that ended in blessing . God has been so good to us. It's quiet here. I hear my daughter practicing piano and the hum of the air conditioner as I click away on the keyboard.  Last time I wrote a daybook entry, I mentioned making another  bucket list . I did it. Here's my summer bucket list if you've not seen it. The point is not to do everything, it's to keep ideas fresh in my mind so that I do something. ~grin~ It's too easy to be lazy in the summer heat. Thanks for dropping by!  May God grant you the desires of your heart as you delight in Him. God bless you! Laura ~~~~~ Tiger and Penny being lazy after a little tussle match ♥♥♥♥♥ For Today... July 11, 2016 Outside my window... Blue skies, 82° with a high in the lower nineties today.  I love the shimmer of the sunshine on the leaves as the breeze blows through the bran...

A Startling Update! This afternoon, I received a call from a local appliance dealer. Someone bought and paid for a washing machine for me! The lady wouldn't tell me who it was, but she gave me a hint.  She said if I do anything online, say thank you. I talked with my husband, and we think the blog is the only place it was mentioned online. So... THANK YOU  FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART DEAR ANONYMOUS BLESSER! You just can't know how this has touched my heart.  My hands, arms, and back thank you as well! Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! ஐღLauraღஐ  Blessed to be a blessing ...doing what I can  with what I've got where I am  on a short shoestring budget! ~~~~~

Welcome to another thrifty week at Harvest Lane Cottage. I am honored by your visit.  Each week I share my thrifty and frugal projects, ways of saving money, and my blessings from God.  I am so glad you dropped in for a visit today—or tonight! ♥♥♥ Hello again!  It's been a rather challenging week here at the cottage. You may have read last week that my old van has been declared irreparable. It had about 240,000 miles on it—most of which I've put on in the last four years. It's served me well. I prayed over it regularly, and God kept it going longer than the mechanic expected. Now to wait and pray for a replacement. As you can imagine, it's been a different kind of week here. Fortunately, my son started his full-time summer job, and my Emily is away at camp this month, so I don't have nearly so many places to go as usual. It's been good to be home, but it's an adjustment.  God knows I need a vehicle before school starts so that Emil...

I'm feeling a bit out of sorts.  I think I'm going to take a break  from blogging this week. I need to spend some extra time in prayer. I'll be back Friday with another Thrifty Week post. Have a wonderful week. Laura

Happy Independence Day weekend dear readers! Please enjoy some of my favorite posts about the 4th of July and America. Remembering Respect   An Independence Day to Remember Drip Drip Drip Boom! Independence Day Memories