Harvest Lane Cottage

  Hello everyone, I do hope you're having a refreshing holiday season. I pray God will bless your new year with good health and that you will seek a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. I hope to get back to writing regularly after the new year. Recovery has kept me occupied lately. ~smile~ I'm blessed to improve daily.  Well, on to some thrifty things lately. It's a short list, because I haven't felt up to much for the last few weeks. Every bit counts though! Staying home saves money! Other than the doctor and hospital visits, I've been homebound for most of the month. Having insurance saves money. I've run up many thousands in doctor and hospital and lab charges since I became sick at the beginning of November. Four of my dear friends brought us meals. Thank you Beth, Joyce, Heather and Tiffany! We went to a viewing of It's a Wonderful Life at the historic Coleman Theater in Miami, Oklahoma. Tickets were just $5 each. I received  The Dress Shop on King ...

Seasons' Greetings ladies!   I wrote the post below back in 2015. We were facing a challenge that year. Looking back over the last few years, I realize that we are nearly always facing one kind of challenge or another. This year it was my health. I became ill early in November, had emergency surgery, and was on home health care for weeks. Now I'm done with hhc, but I still have a lot of healing to do.   Some of you may have your own health challenges, money troubles, a job loss, or like my dear friend, Kim, a loved one moved to heaven recently. Whatever the problem or challenge, I hope you are encouraged by what I wrote a few years ago. Holiday hugs and Christmas blessings to all of you! Laura ♥ Dear Readers, I've had to let go of a lot of my expectations for what I want Christmas to look like this year. It will be a much better month for everyone if I don't fret over it and just accept it. ~smile~ I made my big old  Christmas Bucket List , but I already k...

Just had to share this with you again.   My recipe was published in Gooseberry Patch Hometown Christmas! I have to admit, I was truly surprised when I received a letter from Gooseberry Patch requesting permission to use my recipe in their newest Christmas cookbook.  I've sent in some more complicated recipes, but this one is easy peasy! It's truly a recipe that I threw together using items from my nearly bare kitchen cupboards last winter. I called it Spicy Can Opener Soup.  They changed the name, but the ingredients remain the same.   I was thrilled to receive my very own copy of the book .  Of course, I had to make it up and take some photos to share with you dear ladies. It's simple, quick, and delicious. It's also one of those scrape the bowl clean recipes. It's just this simple. Spicy Can Opener Soup 1 can black beans 1 can Mexican corn with peppers 1 can Rotel type tomatoes w/chiles 1 package of Taco Seasoning Mix and simm...

★★★ ★ ★ Who doesn't love a good Christmas romance? I do, if it's clean, if it's original, if it's creative, if it's not just another cookie cutter story. Carolyn Miller, Amanda Barratt, and Erica Vetsch teamed up to give us a collection of three Regency Christmas romances that just immersed me in the Christmas season. I always love the details that different authors include about the times. I also love happy endings. Most of all, I love novels and novellas that I could hand to my daughter without any worries. These were God honoring stories that showed the power of love and the power of a little gentle nudging from perceptive friends and family. ~smile~ Buy the ebook now, and you'll have time to read all three stories before Christmas time is over! God bless you all, and enjoy every moment of this season and this year. God is good all the time no matter our circumstances. Just keep praying! God is faithful. Christmas blessings, Laura I give this book five stars....

Once upon a time, long long ago, I wanted to be a writer.  I began blogging in 2007. It was actually because my husband pushed me into it. ~smile~ I had always wanted to write, but I didn't think I had anything to say. I'm wasn't an expert on anything. My very first blog post was about Christmas and how we celebrated in an unconventional way because of circumstances. That was my first post .  I ended up writing a lot about homemaking in the beginning and just what was going on in our life. I found writing about trials, and how God and ingenuity and making do helped me through, became a common theme. I chose honesty in my writing over trying to create a persona or a perfect life illusion. That's continued through job losses, loss of a home, homeschooling, and breast cancer. Sharing our family's struggles, while keeping hope and faith alive, seemed to hit a note with ladies. There is something about being authentic that makes one approachable, believable, trustable,...

Lowell Lane My Life Long Love Things I love about my husband: He was my first  and only love.  He is a godly man. He encourages me to do the things I enjoy doing. He has stayed faithful to me since 1981 when he asked me to go steady. He gave me the privilege of staying home and teaching our four children for 25 years.  He is trustworthy. He is a giver. He cares for others. He has a servant's heart. He works hard for our family. He protects me. He is fully committed to me. He is optomistic even when I'm not. He puts gas in the car so that I don't have to. He always takes care of the lawn for me. He takes out the trash for me. He helps the kids with their FAFSA applications. He does our taxes and our kids', too.  He tells me I'm beautiful.  He loves me even when I'm unloveable. He works even when he doesn't feel like it.  He figures out hard stuff that I don't understand.  He has taken care of me through a dozen or more surgeries. He's my endle...