Harvest Lane Cottage

Hello!   It's Tipsy Tuesday again. I sometimes have ideas and tips I want to share with y'all. I thought Tuesdays would be a good day for that. The posts will be short, and I probably won't do it every week, but it will give me an incentive to share good ideas. Here's the tip of the week.   Save the shreds from you paper shredder! You can use them in a number of ways: Use them to as a cushion for breakables when you pack when moving. Fill gift baskets in a super frugal way. Put them in your compost (no glossy materials or plastic). Put them around items that you need to pack and mail. Write labels on them, and tape them on jars, shelves, etc. Use like confetti. Line bottom of cages. Feed them to worms if you enjoy vermiculture. Use them as fire starters. Use them as a weed barrier around your plants. Animal bedding Nesting boxes for hens  Just a few of many ways to reuse! After all we all need to use it up, wear it out, make it do or d...

1. Light a fragrant candle by your sink to enjoy as you wash dishes. I like strong fragrances of McCalls' candles. Their fragrances are strong enough to enjoy throughout my living room and dining room. I've shared a couple of nice fragrances below. 2. Listen to worship music, classical music, The Bible or an audio book you love as you work. I love listening on Scribd. It's an inexpensive way to listen to or read as many books as you wish in a month. Try two free months. 3. Clean one room at a time. Declare it off limits when you're finished with it. 4. Take frequent breaks to do something you enjoy for just a few minutes. Then get back to work. ~smile 5. Use cleaning products that either smell great or are homemade. Here's my super easy super quick laundry detergent recipe . 6. Be thankful for what you have. Thank your husband and the Lord for what they have provided. 7. Start looking at yard sales and thrift shops for things tha...

Amy Lane Photography  I am in awe of a Love   that would choose to suffer so much for another.  I am in awe of a Love   that would not answer back to lies and false accusations.  I am in awe of a Love   that is so strong, it would not cry out for mercy when brutally struck and beaten over and over.  I am in awe of a Love   that would be silent when He could have stopped the torture at any moment.  I am in awe of a Love   that would love and ask God's forgiveness for His torturers, mockers, persecutors, and executioners because "they know not what they do." I am in awe because He is awesome.  I am in awe because Jesus is God's Son and He is Love. I thank You God. I thank You Jesus.    There is no way to express the gratitude I feel because I am in awe that You did this for me and for every person who will accept Your death and resurrection as payment for their sins. I...

Hi, Popping in for a minute to tell you Lowell's knee surgery went well. The doctor said he did great. He's in a lot of pain, but he's getting around in the house with a walker. The physical therapist will visit at the house daily M-F for the next week and a half.  Thank you all for praying. I will continue my break. Busy busy taking care of my high school sweetheart whom I married 32 years ago. In sickness and in health.... Happy Easter everyone!

This picture is from our anniversary last summer. I just love how happy we looked. My husband, Lowell, is having knee surgery at 10:30 central time Monday, April 15th.  The surgeon is going to replace his knee. I ask you to pray for Lowell,  the surgeon, the anesthesiologist,  and the staff that will care for Lowell.  He will be in the hospital for three days. I will be taking a break. This is my first time to be the caretaker. I've always been the one having surgery, treatments or hospitalization. I'll try to pop in with an update later this week. I have a post or two scheduled.  Thank you for your patience. I'll be back.  Thank you for your prayers, I know y'all are experts! Be blessed, enjoy your Holy Week, and Resurrection Day! Laura Student Nurse ~smile~

My husband makes great pie crust.  I make great pie filling. We make a good team. Prayer Request! My Lowell is scheduled for knee replacement surgery on April 15th. Please pray for him, for the staff, for the surgeon, and most of all for excellent healing and pain relief!

~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~ Thrifty Things Lately at Harvest Lane Cottage! ~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~ Hello!   I feel like I just wrote about this a couple days ago! How is time moving so quickly? It seems like there's always so much to do and not enough time to do it. We are planning to make a big purchase soon, so I need to start being extra thrifty. But, my husband is also having knee surgery on Monday. So, it will be hard to be thrifty about food. I'll have to give it some thought.  Here's how my family has been thrifty lately I'm listening to Little Women for free on Scribd . (Using my link will give you two free months and me one free month.) I picked up an audio book from the library that I'd forgotten was on my request list. It's about how habits are formed and changed. I must listen to it in the car since I do not currently own a CD player. Eggs were cheap. I bought three dozen. Amy made egg salad for lunch one day. Always a mone...

Just keeping it simple this week. Most of my knitting is on a little Bankhead  hat in the toddler size. It's a free pattern on Ravelry.  It's actually a lighter lavender color, but my lighting is off. My friend, Beth, gave me a big bag of yarn for my charity knitting. Thanks Beth! The 1934 Newberry Medal winner Invincible Louisa is fascinating! I'm reading it concurrently with  listening to Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  Did you know that Louisa May Alcott's   family was friends with Waldo Emerson,  Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne?  Her father Bronson Alcott was a speaker who was a Transcendentalist  and was anti-slavery.   I borrowed Invincible Louisa from the library, and I'm listening to Little Women for free on Scribd . That makes for thrifty reading. Have a handmade, thrifty week!  Laura Laura Lane on Goodreads 2019 Finished Books 10 Fiction 6 non-fiction 3 childrens's  f...

Hosted  by Diary of a Stay at Home Mom As I write ...   Very early Monday morning. The weather....   It was in the upper 70s on Sunday. It's supposed to be warm today, too.  Right now I am...    listening to the fan, water running, and the calm of late night/early morning. Thinking...   God turned our life in a very definite direction last week in a matter of just an hour and a half. A quote to share... ♥♥♥♥♥  "If there's one thing I want you to take away from this study, it's that so much about living an abundant and fulfilling life has to do with your mindset and  very little  has to do with your circumstances." Sarah Coller   Now  Purposeful Steps Toward a More Abundant Life p. 21  ♥♥♥♥♥   On my reading pile...    Little Women Invincible Louisa Murder at the Courthouse Favorite blog post last week...   It is Where We Are ...

~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~ Thrifty Things Lately at Harvest Lane Cottage! ~~~~~ ♥♥♥ ~~~~~ Hello!   Can you believe how fast March went? I don't even know where it went. It just kind of blew through like a lion running wild. ~grin~ April promises to be full of beauty and celebration with Good Friday and Easter coming late this year. Here's how my family has been thrifty lately $2 cheeseburger   on half price burger night at Sonic yum! $2 off coupon for Moe's by filling out a survey Husband got a great deal when he bought me and my daughter new cell phones. It was time.  My daughter and I shared a 3rd hand cell phone for years. It was pretty worn out. Amy's nearly 18, and often had my phone when she was driving. We received a trunk load of clothes from a friend to go through. We found some things to add to our wardrobes. Thanks friend! The rest of the items will be taken to the local rescue mission. I donated a pile of books to ...

Hi Everyone! It's a little backwards, but I thought that it would work better to start with reading rather than knitting this time.  I shared my  Rather Ambitious Spring Reading List  yesterday. I just wanted to add that you may keep up with my reading progress on Goodreads. I update my progress regularly.  If you are a Goodreads member, you can send me a friend request, too.  Please let me know that you're a blog friend. Seeing what friends are reading is a great way to build your want to read list.  📚 📚 📚 📚 📚 I also mentioned that I signed up for a free  trial of Scribd.  I am so excited about  Scribd !  I am really enjoying listening to some of their great selection of books.  My daughter and I are using it for school and for pleasure. We especially like the extensive list of audio books. Currently, I'm listening to The More of Less, Little Women, and A History of US War, Peace, and All ...