Sun Tea in the South

Good morning from Florida.

My son's chore everday is to make the sun tea. When he forgets, we really miss it at dinner and he gets a good brow beating.

This pitcher with the strawberries belonged to my mother-in-law. I love seeing it out in the garden working for us now. It was a cookie jar. Cookies don't last long enough around here to be put in a jar, so it's perfect for sun tea.

Make sure your jar is sterile. Bacteria can be an issue if your pitcher is dirty or your tea gets old. Don't make more than you can drink in a day. We drink so much tea, leftovers aren't a problem. When we do have leftover tea, I just throw it in the garden as soil loves the sugar. :)

We live in the south, so naturally there's gobs of sugar in our tea.

"Ecstacy is a glass full of tea and a piece of sugar in the mouth."~ Alexander Puskin

Be blessed and be a blessing.

"Talk and tea is his specialty," said Giles. "He has come along inside....We'll see if tea and buns can make the world a better place."

~ The Wind in the Willows

May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains."

2 Timothy 1:16

Little Boy has the Flu

My 6'2", 215 lb,
15 year old little boy
has the flu.

A really bad flu.

Princess Peach has the flu as well, but she's 30 minutes away at school and I haven't had as much opportunity to baby her, as I have my boy.

Is there anything more pitiful than your sick child? My son never gets sick, so it's been a long time since I've felt that helpless heartache. *sniff* There is nothing you can do but wait and watch as the virus runs its course, hoping the fever doesn't get too high and doing your best to comfort with Jell-O and juice. Crackers and cool rags. Coddling and quilts.

His fever was so high one night I was afraid to go to sleep. I know he would have been fine, but what if he needed me? Sure my kids can be sick alone, but it's just not as much fun, is it? I always feel so guilty when I wake up in the morning to find my child was sick through the night and they were too afraid to wake us up. What? That's what I live for...to take care of my family. No one is to ever be sick alone in this family. :)

Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home.
Mother Teresa

Be Healthy! Be at Peace! Choose Joy!
((((((group hugs)))))))

Book Mountain

You can tell a lot about a person by the books they read and the messes they make.

What do you see in us by looking at this honest mosaic? LOL Wait...nevermind. Not sure I wanna hear an honest answer.

This is a before picture of the "Library", also known as Book Mountain. My daughter began calling this room Book Mountain after a notorious incident in our home...the day frustrated homeschool Mama dumped all the books out of their boxes, searching for a specific science book. It took me forever to gather the courage to get in there and clean my temper tantrum up.

And I still haven't found that book.

All the books have been removed from the room. The walls are painted. 4 bookshelves will be decoupaged with pages from my antique books. My back is killing me and I'm sick of being slimy and icky with liquid starch all day, but I'm determined. I'm not quiting until the job is done. Hopefully by the end of next week, I'll have it the way I want it.




A book reads the better which is our own, and has been so long known to us, that we know the topography of its blots, and dog's ears, and can trace the dirt in it to having read it at tea with buttered muffins. ~Charles Lamb, Last Essays of Elia, 1833

Be blessed and Be a Blessing.
Hooches and Smugs.
((((((Group Hug))))))))

Didn't mean to take a break

But sometimes life happens and before you know it, you haven't blogged in months. Don't know if I can commit to keeping this up, but I'll do my best to check in more frequently. I've missed my friends.

I started my blog to keep in touch with family and friends, so they could see our life 1000 miles away. Now we're all on Facebook so I've been lazy about keeping my blog when status updates are so easy.

We went to Texas in August and my daughter has supposedly met Mr. Right. I'm in love with him and told her if things didn't work out, to please marry him anyway. She said she would take one for the team. :)~

She's on the last semester of her sophomore year at her little college. She'll have an AA in a few more months. I thought when my daughter went to college, I would be down one kid with one still left to raise. Not the case. She still needs me and I'm more than willing to drop everything and run some cupcakes down to her and all her friends....or whatever they need from a "Mommy".

I've got a sophomore in high school still at home and he needs a lot of motivation (kicks in the butt) to get his homeschooling work done. He's not like his sister who would take her work to her room and come out when she was finished. This one needs his mother........which I really shouldn't complain. There aren't many 15 year old boys who still like having their mom around. He also has a dog sitting job. 5 days a week we have 4 dogs in this house instead of just 2. I have extra dog hair to clean up. FUN!!!!

Did I mention I was working on 4 different quilts last fall? And I crocheted a bunch of scarves for Christmas. And I've been decoupaging and decorating the house like a maniac. We've been in our new home for over a year now and it was time to commit to some paint colors and ideas I've had in my mind for years and make this house our home.

I gotta run and get busy with my day. We're working on the book room right now. I'm decoupaging bookshelves with antique books. It looks glorious.

Here is a photo from yesterday afternoon....my life on the corner of the table.... my glasses, my Bible, my Kindle and my cell phone are the only things missing from this shot. LOL

Hi

Happy New Year.

I'm in Texas with my sister and her kids. We will be returning to Florida this coming Saturday.

Have a blessed new year and be a blessing to others.

Well hello there

Just a note: I'm not dead. I'm alive. Incase you were wondering.

Went to Texas for 2 weeks.
Had to get my daughter off to college.
Had to get my son started on his Sophomore year (yes, we're still homeschooling).
My husband is in Pennsylvania 2 weeks out of every month.

Have had one of my daughter's friends who has an 8 month old baby stay at our home for 2 weeks now.
I'm busy. Working hard on the house, cards, and Christmas presents.



I miss my blogging friends.
Take care.
(((Group hugs)))

Dorothy Belle Seitter Woodruff

This is my grandmother. Isn't she beautiful? I miss the way she answered the phone. She had a sweet, original "hello". I loved her strawberry Jell-O salad. She was gentle and meek. I thought it was sweet when she sat in Grandpa's lap. Grandma invited Grandpa to church and he said he would go for a kiss. :) They were high school sweethearts....and the rest is history.

Does she look German? :) A sweet blessing is, some of her daughters, granddaughters, and great granddaughters have pieces of this face in them. Ally and I have her nose and lips. Other cousins and an Aunt have her eyes.



I found this on Amazon today. Cool, huh?

Read this story about my grandpa serving with JFK in the Pacific

GET OFF MY STUFF!!! (part 2)

So I'm talking about my cat again...Mufasa, Moo Moo, Poopee...his name changes everyday, depending on my mood or his behavior. I guess my blog should be called "My life as a Kitten Wannabe" or "1001 Ways to Show Off so my Master (my pet) will think I'm cute"....something clever like that and just start posting only pictures of my cat.

I'm either talking about one of our pets our my dead mother-in-law. Boring or depressing, either way.

So I'm working away right? Super busy on cards. I DO NOT want the cat on the table and I DO NOT want him touching my stuff or the product.

I keep a bag of tiny pieces of paper which I can't throw away, which I actually use. He loves this bag. He climbs up and lies in it. Something about plastic and paper is so much squishy fun!!!

I gently placed him back on the floor. I move the bag to an uncomfortable place, trying to make it look less inviting. 8 seconds later, he climbs back up and snuggles into the cozy nesting spot.

AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!

GET OFF MY STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm super annoyed and aggravated by this time, ready to punch a kitty...(not really). I'm trying to think of the most evil, the most cruel, the most vengeful retaliation I could quickly come up with.....

All I could think of was to tickle him with scraps of paper. THERE! That will show him! It will drive him nuts and he will leave me alone and keep his nasty fur off my stuff.

Oy vey! Forget it. You stay here, and I WILL MOVE. You win.

(You can see in the last picture, he is REALLY bothered. He rolls over and blinks at me...then goes back to sleep).

Dirty, Nasty Dog, that I LOVE so much

So why do dogs like to drink dirty water? Ewwww.... It just grosses me out when she tries to help load the dishwasher. I know she thinks she's helping me, but my gag reflex is weak.

I have always liked dogs, but I was more of a cat person most of my life. Now I love them equally and no one feels left out or second wheel. :) At night on our bed, there is barely room for my husband and me. Lee Lee thinks she's a cute little lap dog puppy and the cats like to push me off the bed!!!!!!!!

The saddest thing about Lee Lee: she was originally adopted from a shelter and has a chip in her shoulder. We found this out when I took her to the vet. By then we had bonded and my heart was broken. I figured the owners would want her back, she was so wonderful. They were contacted. NOPE. They didn't want her. Praise God for our sake, but I also wanted to go punch them in the face. I think they just turned her out and let her go.

Click on the link below to see her story and see how skinny she was when she came to our back door. JUST MAKES ME SICK to see those pictures, bless her heart. I'm so glad and angel had her back and sent her to us. She's my girl.

Story of finding Lee Lee

SPAY AND NEUTER. RESCUE THE DEFENSELESS AND HOMELESS!!!
With today's economy, shelters are full as people can't afford their pets any more or they are abandoning them as they are having to leave their homes.


"RESCUE POEM"
Arlene Pace
September 18, 1998

Once I was a lonely dog,
Just looking for a home.
I had no place to go,
No one to call my own.
I wandered up and down the streets,
in rain in heat and snow.
I ate what ever I could find,
I was always on the go.
My skin would itch, my feet were sore,
My body ached with pain.
And no one stopped to give a pat
Or a gently say my name.
I never saw a loving glance,
I was always on the run.
For people thought that hurting me
was really lots of fun.
And then one day I heard a voice
So gentle, kind and sweet,
And arms so soft reached down to me
And took me off my feet.
No one again will hurt you
Was whispered in my ear.
You’ll have a home to call your own
where you will know no fear
You will be dry, you will be warm,
you’ll have enough to eat
And rest assured that when you sleep,
your dreams will all be sweet.
I was afraid I must admit,
I’ve lived so long in fear.
I can’t remember when I let
A human come so near.
And as she tended to my wounds
And bathed and brushed my fur
She told me ‘bout the rescue group
And what it meant to her.
She said, We are a circle,
A line that never ends.
And in the center there is you
protected by new friends.

It's "What's on your Fridge Wednesday"

I bet you didn't know that did you? I just invented it. :)

I was digging through some stuff and this turned up. I thought it was so sweet and funny. Don't you just love finding old surprises from your kids? I think my daughter made this card for me years ago. I can tell it's her handwriting.

My son is (was) a great little artist and drew dozens of pictures everyday for years and I would find them all over the house. I miss that.

Kinda sad when your little ones grow up. You miss all the little things they used to do.

It's ok I guess....*sigh*.... Now I'll just enjoy all the NEW little things with my BIG kids. They don't fit in my lap any more, but they're still just as sweet.

If you like the little magnets, they are from my friend, the most amazing artist and human being. Here is one of her websites. Journal Junk

You can buy her collage sheets of her "inchie" work on etsy. Lia's Collage Sheets