Tea & Talk Tuesday

To coin a phrase from Joan Rivers, "Can we talk?"

I'm hopping on the Tuesday Train. Every Tuesday, I try to pick a topic and list my top 10 things for that topic. This week, my list will be

Top 10 Exciting Things Going On

1. Mr. Mailman came to the door today with a package from Book Sneeze. It was my first book from them for me to review and write about on my blog. I can't wait to start it tonight. It's Fresh Brewed Life by Nicole Johnson.

2. Mr. Mailman also left a bigger box with SIX books by Franklin Graham that I received for free from Samaritan's Purse. Lots of great reading in the days ahead.

3. Saturday is my Thirty One party and I am so excited. I love when the girls come over. I'm looking forward to earning some great benefits for hosting the party. If everything works out right, I'll be able to purchase their $32.00 Brown Parisian Pop 5 Pocket Clutch for just $5.00. Talk about a bargain.

4. The Fed Ex Guy is expected today to bring a box of goodies from Pampered Chef. I love seeing the different items everyone purchases, not to mention my freebies for taking up the order. I am collecting their bamboo serving series and my sister loves wooden spoons so I got us each a set of the Petite Bamboo spoons.

5. I love storms. Not the bad kind that cause lots of damage or harm. Just the ones with some minor wind, a little thunder and a good rain. We had one rumble through yesterday and it cooled the temperature down a little. There were some pretty good winds with it. These are some of the trees out front during the storm.

6. I'm looking forward to October. My sister and I are going to meet up in Jonesborough (Tennessee's oldest city) for a day of antique shopping. They have the best antique stores and the prices are reasonable. Their cobblestone streets and horse & buggy rides make you feel like you are back in time. And the buildings have all been either kept up or restored so they have the old plank or brick floors. This will be Sis's first time there and I'm looking forward to spending the time together.

7. When we go to Jonesborough, we are going to the Cranberry Thistle to eat. I love that place. Hubby always gets the beans and cornbread. It's hard to tell what I'll eat this time. I change it up every time we go.

8. Fall is just around the corner. I love this time of year. Football time; the changing leaves; Halloween is just around the corner. And our exciting Trunk or Treat at church. I am itching to drag out my fall decor; but, alas, I must wait a few more weeks.

9. With the onset of September, I get to look forward to my annual trip to Carver's apple orchard. We'll be heading over there to get some new Rome apples for our annual apple butter making.  I'm getting low on what we made last year so I'm having to cut back on it and make it stretch out.

10. I'm looking forward to supper tonight. I always love when we have breakfast for supper. Tonight's breakfast will be scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits, breakfast fried potatoes and a side dish of apple butter. Yum. Doesn't that make your mouth just water? As a matter of fact, leave me a comment if you would like to win a jar of our homemade apple butter. It is made with lots of sugar and cinnamon from a recipe that has been in Hubby's family for generations. I'll give 3 jars away to 3 different winners on Friday. Just leave a comment asking to be entered in the drawing.

I'm riding the Tuesday Train.

A piece of parchment, a picture frame and a promise...

I found this little beaded wreath Saturday and this little cardinal at a Primitive store in Gatlinburg. I had no clue what to do with it, but I love cardinals and just had to have it.

Sunday morning, I got a call with some bad news about the health of a dear friend of mine. I couldn't seem to put her situation out of my mind. So I decided to look around the house for a place to put my little cardinal before I went to church.

My favorite verse came into my mind..."Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10. So I gathered up some parchment paper and headed to my printer. I typed up the verse and added a couple little dogwood flowers. I printed it and cut it up for the frame and rearranged some things on the bookshelf by my reading chair. Here is the finished product.



My friend is not doing well and I ask that you say a little prayer for her. The Lord knows the situation and knows who she is. She is a good Christian woman and needs are prayers.

Isaiah 30:15
.....In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.....



Where have the years gone....

Today is a bittersweet day for my family. My nephew, Jake, leaves for Parris Island. He is becoming one of the few, the proud...a United States Marine. As we proudly let him go, there is a part of us that wants to cling to him and keep him safely home. But we must let him grow up and lead his own life. I can't help but reflect over the years to the little boy he was and the wonderful young man he has become.

He was an adorable baby and very much loved by his big sissy, Tara. He was always laughing and happy.

He loved his Papaw Luke and was always tagging along with him. I remember in his pre-school days, he was always cutting up and you never knew when he opened his mouth what was going to come out. When I would go in for a visit, I would go out to my brother's house and take the kids and go pick up Gino's Pizza. One time when Jake was about four years old, we ran into the local pharmacy that was beside Gino's to pick up some Pepsi and M & M's. There was a young man in front of me with one of those suitcase size packs of beer. Jake kept staring at it and looking up at the man then back down to the beer. He turned to me, his little lips parted, and I thought "Oh no." Sure enough, in his not so quiet voice, I heard "Boy, he must be planning on drinking a lot of beer." I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. But I couldn't help but laugh under my breath.

He's always been such a vital part of the family. He is a loving cousin.

An awesome big brother and role model for his little brother Coy and his nephew Acey.

He is an avid fisherman and hunter. And has a deep respect for God & Country.

He is looking forward to his career as a United States Marine and has spend the last few months preparing for his journey.

My brother is very proud of his son, but is also dreading the trip to the bus station this morning that will take his baby boy farther away from home than he has ever been. But it is what Jake wants and we are very proud of him and very thankful for the journey he is taking that will truly show his love for his God, his country, his family and his friends.

A little smile for Saturday.....

Things that have made me smile lately.....

This cute little necklace from Etsy. I love everything in her shop. Check out ZigZagz.

I love Garfield. When it comes to dieting, he nailed it.

I was recently blessed with winning a Michael's gift card from Leslie at Spoonful of Everything. I've been hanging onto it for a few weeks while I think through my upcoming projects. Since one of my great loves is yarn combined with birdhouses, I have decided to make a series of bird houses out of plastic canvas...one for each month/holiday. So I made a list of what colors I need and marked off what colors I had. So armed with my gift card and a coupon for 20% off my entire purchase, I headed to Michael's this morning. Check out my new yarn....and I still have $2.06 left on my card AND a coupon for 20% off my next entire purchase. I got mostly Red Heart because it makes the sturdiest canvas items. But I couldn't resist a couple of the Vanna Line.

I am really loving this shade of blue. I need to get these buttons from Little Red Cottage.



I am on the last book of the Chesapeake Shores Series by Sherryl Woods. I hate for it to end. I think there is a new one coming out at Christmas that I'll be getting for sure. When I finish a book series, I feel like I'm saying good bye to dear friends.

 

And the winner is.....

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE........

I normally use Random.org, but for some reason could not get it to work. It just kept the selecting a blank box as the winning number. So I decided to be adventurous and try something a little old fashioned, but it always worked in past years...an actual "drawing".

I wrote everyone's name on pieces of paper. If you blog or Facebooked for extra entries, you received an extra entry for each extra post you did. I put all the slips in my little basket and shook them up real good.

Then I reached in and drew out a name. And the winner is.....

Congratulations to Tiffany. Tiffany will have 48 hours to respond by emailing us her address to mamawsplace@gmail.com. Thanks to all who participated and stay tuned for more giveaways on down the road.

The Welcome Door.....

I am fanatical about welcome signs on the front door. When we moved in back in 1999, our next door neighbor changed her welcome sign with seasons and the holidays. I, too, had a variety of signs so it became a friendly competition of who would change their sign first when a new season or new holiday approached.

 I would leave for work thinking "I'm going to change my sign when I come home tonight." Only to return home 8 hours later and find Pat had beat me to it. Other times, she would be contemplating getting a different sign up only to walk outside and see I had changed mine. It was fun to see which one of us would get to it first. But we never cheated or jumped the gun by rushing a holiday or season. She moved about 5 years ago and we've had three different renters as neighbors since then.

Lady #1, hung a welcome sign and I thought "Yay! Somebody new to race with." But, alas, it was generic and she never changed it so the thrill was gone.

Family #2 had a small child and the dad worked out of town a lot. I must say, I got very attached to the young neighbors and when they moved to Wisconsin, my heart broke. We still stay in touch. She, too, loved her door signs. When I saw her hang her first one that was a seasonal one, I thought. Oh, yes. This is it. It's on. But, again, there was no competition. She told me she never knew when to change her sign so she just waited until she saw I had changed mine before she changed hers. I did not want this to be a Follow the Leader game. I'm competitive in a fun way and was missing the challenge.

Lo and behold, when they left Family #3 moved in. Day 1, she hangs out an Easter sign. I'm thinking "This is good." After Easter, I was busy and running behind on putting up my Easter stuff. I came home one day to find that The Mom had taken down her Easter and put up Spring. Woo hoo! Could it be? Can we get a competition going? Do I have someone who is with me on this? Come June, I put my beach one up and a few hours later, out came her sailboats. Alright! This is looking good. Fast forward to the end of June...the fourth of July is approaching...I'm getting my decor ready to change...she's outside getting ready for a yard sale...I walk over to say "hi"...she drops a bomb shell "We are moving." Well, there goes my competition.

So here it is the 3rd of August. The new tenant is due to move in any day. But I am going to kiss my competition goodbye. Alas, it is a HE. He is single and he is in law enforcement. For some reason, to me, I don't think he'll move in thinking "Let me get my welcome sign hung."

Oh, Pat, my dear sweet friend....WHY did you have to move!

Hodge Podge

Today I'm joining Wednesday Hodge Podge over at "From this side of the Pond". Thank you Joyce for some thought provoking questions.

1. Share a favorite song lyric.

I don't have a problem thinking of one; I have a problem thinking of WHICH one. I love music so I have many favorites and they are ever changing. But right now, my favorite lyric and one that really reaches down and touches my heart and soul is from a gospel song titled On the Banks of the Promised Land by Karen Peck and New River. My favorite line says “Hallelujah, what a morning, when I reach for His nail scarred hand. I will go from grace to glory on the banks of the promised land." Nothing picks me up and gives me hope faster than those precious words.

2. When was the last time someone yelled at you?

Well, that's a hard one. I don't come from a family of "yellers". I worked for a company about 3 1/2 years ago who hired a CFO who thought all the employees were redneck hillbillies and he was constantly yelling at everyone because he did not like anything we did. That was the catalyst that caused me to quit after 9 years and start my own business. We should have went to the labor board, but he was the owner's son and we new nothing would be done.

3. Money, fame, happiness...are they mutually exclusive?

I don't believe you need one to have the other and I don't believe that having the money or the fame would lead to the happiness. Money is what it is. You adjust your lifestyle to live within your income. Fame, to me, is something that I do not strive for nor would I want. As long as my family loves me, that is all that I need. As far as happiness, one of my favorite bible verses says it all "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:" - Philippians 4:11. I am a firm believer that life is what you make it and that we can bring happiness into our lives or we can roll around in the doldrums all the time. It's our choice.

4. What is your favorite dish to prepare for family and friends that doesn't require turning on the stove, oven or an outdoor grill?

Well, I don't cook, but I do manage dessert. So my favorite dish for family and friends would be no bake banana pudding with instant pudding, vanilla wafers, and bananas. See, told you I'm no cook.

5. The first week of August is National Simplify Your Life Week. What is one thing you could do this week to simplify your life? Will you do it?

I did not know this. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to think about how I can simplify my life. I am one of those "on the go-always something going on" people and I love it. But one thing that I am struggling with is staying focused and organized on the task at hand. I am the Queen of Lists. I think I will simplify my life by accomplishing at least 5 things every day on my to do list. My list is ever changing and with owning my own business there are always "Things To Do." So if I can knock at least 5 things off my on-going list every day, my life would be much simpler. And yes, if I think I can do it. If I tackle the toughest projects first, the rest will be a piece of cake.

6. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being 100% and 1 being not at all) how tuned in are you to your country's national political scene?

I'm ashamed to say I'm a "middle of the fence" person, so about a 5. Do I care about what's going on? Yes. Can I change anything? No. My hubby stays on top of it all and keeps me posted. If I'm in the living room when the news is on, I might listen to it, but I am more than likely apt to go do something else.  Some people criticize me for my lack of interest in politics. But I have never been a big follower of the political scene.

7. What are your final parting words to the month of July?

Goodbye, Goodbye, my sweet July.

Can you please take this blistering heat with you with you go?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My random thought is "Why can't we all just get along." The world if full of enough grief and pain as it is, why inflict others with hurtful words, unkind thoughts or malicious gossip. If we would be kinder, gentler, more loving, more forgiving, we would all lead much happier lives and the world would be a better place.