Resting for awhile

This morning I realized that I have been missing some of the best part of fall, my favorite season of the year.  Looking out the window at all the leaves on the ground I was discouraged because I have yet to take a walk through the woods and enjoy all the blessings He has given me.  I need to remind myself that I am a human being NOT a human doing!  It's time to rest, play and and enjoy being.  I'm not going to blog for a while.  I may not even come back to it.  I'll leave it up just the same and follow my heart.  I want to leave by encouraging you to pick up a yearly devotional called:  Jesus Calling, Enjoying Peace In His Presence by Sarah Young. Walmart carries it but you can find it online also.  Find that joy and peace in each and every day regardless of the difficulties......Take Joy, Take Peace. 

Early Thursday AM....

Plans

People can make all kinds of plans, but only the Lord's plan will happen....Proverbs 19:21
This morning my plans were to drive the Amish crew to work, come home and get a load of wash out on the line, fill the wood boxes for this weekend (30's at night), run to town and fill the gas cans so we could finish mowing, hook on a rug in progress, etc. etc.  "My plans".  His plans:  drove the work crew as well as run a couple errands for them, arrive home and received another phone call to drive to Maryville, MO (about an hour 15 min away).  Took a teenage Amish girl, Wilma and her mother to the hospital.  Stayed while they ran tests, etc and Wilma had appendicitis.  They stayed and I came home.  Not sure if she went in to surgery yet this evening or it will happen tomorrow.  I dropped by and left word for her father.  He was unable to go.  Arrived home shortly after 7 pm.  Tomorrow?  Well, there is no certainly.  I can make plans but even good intentions and plans may change.  I'm going to embrace them!

Paring down

Just saw a news cast on NBC and Brian Williams was reporting the surge in paring down and living in less space.  They interviewed several people who have chosen to live in "tiny" spaces, about 300 sq ft and less.  It seemed as though Brian could not come to grasp with living in that small a space.  I would love to be in that space right now!  Everywhere we turn there are seductive voices urgin us to overspend. " Buy this!  You won't be complete unless you own this! " We each have to learn when enough is enough and in our own time.  I would rather enjoy what I already own.  Try not to buy anything for a week and see how simple you can make your life.  Take time to enjoy loved ones and God.  Take peace that only He can give.

Don't have time for homemade? You might want to rethink it...

Most days we convince ourselves that we don't have enough "time" to make a meal, bread or alot of different foods from scratch or homemade.  Well, here is some food for thought:  A friend of mine left a new loaf of store bought bread out on the counter for over 6 weeks.  This was a name brand of that white and soft stuff and after 6 weeks there was no sign of any mold at all.  Nadda. Yikes!!  Do you ever stop and wonder WHAT they are putting in that bread to give it such a long shelf life?  She said it was still white and soft!  A loaf of homemade bread will only last a few days on the counter or you can get a couple more if it is refrigerated.  I realize that the majority of women that I know work outside in the real world in full time jobs but what about a bread machine?  Next time you are in the grocery store buy an extra loaf and leave it out on your counter and give it a test.
My Amish friends grow everything organically, no chemicals at all.  Recently they were able to get 50 lb bags of wheat flour that another  Amish farmer ground from wheat he had grown and harvested.  I was surprised that I could tell the difference in taste and texture in bread made from that flour and wheat flour purchased through an English company.  Hope they can continue to get it.  Homemade wheat bread, it's a good thing.

Oh baby....

While I was in Sparks, KS at the flea market these little babies were hatched.  Some might consider it a miraculous birth since we do NOT have a rooster!!!  lol  We had a hen who INSISTED on setting on the eggs in a nest.  Every day I gathered the eggs from under her but she was persistent.  She wouldn't leave the nest even if there were no eggs.  So I took a dozen eggs over to Amish Lillian and traded for a dozen of her eggs.  They have several different breeds of free range chickens AND they have a rooster.  Brought them home and put them under the hen.  No clue what all these are but they are sure cute! 

Sheep Shed

Life is for....

I love this except I would want MIDNIGHT FULL MOON WALKS.....Taking joy and peace in just the simple things of everyday life.

Pumpkins and cats

The weather has been unseasonably cool and that put me in the fall mood.  I always think of cats and pumpkins for fall.  The patterns for both are from Chris Mathis of www.walnutridgeprimitives.com  Check out her patterns as they are all delightful and enjoy the thought of coming fall.

It's a sign...............

I do not like to use the word 'hate'.  I think it is a very strong word and I don't want to 'hate' anything or anyone.  One definition of hate is to dislike intensely or passionately; detest.  What does that have to do with the above signs?  I do NOT LIKE painting signs!  But as with all business sales, signage is needed.  I dislike painting signs so much that I even went as far as looking into having something made but you don't see alot of primitive sign makers in this area and I couldn't afford to have a sign made!  LaVern knows how much I 'dislike' painting signs so he was compassionate when I appeared out in the barn where he was working.  I was moaning and groaning about needing something to paint a sign on.  He immediately came up with the door that was on a shed we tore down.  PERFECT!  I struggled but finally got it finished.  I even have some spaces to add more if I need to.  The Shed sign is painted on a board with a faded red barn board.  It is up against the type of tin that sides the Shed so you are getting a sneak peek!  So I have signs (and I think a reminder of God's love).

About learning...

The mind of a person with understanding gets knowledge; the wise person listens to learn more....Proverbs 18:15.   I love widening my horizons and learning something new.  We should all challenge ourselves to do this as that education will help us make better choices in our daily walk of life. 

Catching up is hard to do

                                          This is our yard.............brown, dry grass

                                          Cracks in the ground on the path down to the well

                                           Evening picture of the last full moon

                           We've had a couple brief showers and still love seeing a rainbow
Yesterday was a long day of driving.  Took a couple Amish families to Jamesport, MO which is a very big Amish community, 165 families more or less.  Lots of errands to do and I did alittle shopping at the antique stores while they visited with family.  I left home at 7 AM and got in at midnight!  Too late for this old person!  I have been dragging today and plan on going to bed early tonight! 

Monday is laundry day

I drove some Amish friends to Stanberry, MO today and while visiting at one place I took a picture with my cell phone.  Sorry it isn't better but thought you might enjoy seeing their clothes line.  This is only about 1/3 of the clothes on the line.  It stretched from down at the house all the way up to the upper part of their BIG barn.  It is on a pulley system.  Alot of the Amish in our area hang their clothes out this way.  This particular family has 10 children so lots of laundry.  You can't tell from the picture but all the clothes are either forest green, dark brown, black or a dark grey.  The white clothes on the lower lines are their Sunday shirts, aprons for the women and girls.  Had an enjoyable day but I'm tired tonight.  (I didn't get my laundry done today!)

Serendipity

Written in 1917....Blessed of the Lord...

"Blessed of the Lord be His land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush."     

Trust in the goodness of God

Praying for the people of Aurora that they know even in the darkest of times, God is with them and will carry them through this.

For laughs

                                      "Hot sand, hot sand,hot sand!"

No rain...but still thankful

Thanksgiving

- Ralph Waldo Emerson



For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

Garden fruit

What's for breakfast?  Blackberries from the garden, cooked steel cut oats and honey from Daniel's bees.  Mother Nature at her best!

Heat wave

They are telling us that this heat wave is going to break by Monday and I will be glad for that.  Not up to 100 yet today but it was yesterday.  It is really dry here and the crops are showing the stress.  Even the animals are suffering.  My neighbor Lillian said she lost a couple fryers due to the heat.  I let our hens out fairly early so that they can find cooler shelter in the pole shed.  Put a fan on the floor and the dogs lay in front of it.  I open the house up at night and then shut it up about 9 or 10 in the AM.  It actually isn't too bad as long as you don't try to do anything!  lol  So far sleeping out on the deck is working out well.  I don't think LaVern will be ready to come inside to sleep until fall! 
LaVern had the 4th off so we went to Jamesport, MO. to a huge Amish consignment auction.  I'm not sure how many acres it covered but they had 7 rings going!!!  Long, long rows of stuff and a pickup or haywagon pulled by a team, went down a row with the auctioneer crying.  You can imagine how big it was with 6 rings going at the same time.  The 7th crew auctioned two big circus tents that had 12 hay wagons full and then stuff lined up on both sides of the wagons!  They started at 8 AM and finished the tents at 6 PM!  There had to have been at least 200 wringer wash machines!!  The old kind that my mother would have used back in the 1950's.  Some of those sold for $400!  There must have been 200 pressure canners and lots of butter churns.  I wasn't sure I was going to make it until the end as it was so hot.  About 1 PM I thought I was going to have to quit and come home but I got under a tent, put a neck cooler on and just rested.  Felt better then and stayed until the end.  I took 2 gallons of water, several Gatorades and some soda and LaVern and I drank all of that!  I have been going to auctions every weekend as I need inventory for the next show in September.  I don't think there is anything worth driving to this weekend so I will be happy to stay home and maybe work on some of the things I picked up.  Too hot to be out in the barn so LaVern goes out early in the AM to work on the trailer.  Next week we are to be in the 80's during the day and upper 60s at night.  That will be wonderful and the house will cool down then.  Hope you are staying cool where you are at!