Just a little post...

I really don't have a lot to talk about, this evening, but I did want to share a couple of things I did last week and over the weekend. 

I found a quarter! 

 Laying right there in the parking lot of whatever store I was at...I think it was probably at Sprouts but anyhow.  I decided it must be my lucky day because I never find anything.  Then, I decided it was a coin from Heaven because my next stop was Aldi and you have to put a quarter in the shopping buggy to use it.  You get the quarter back when you return the buggy to the stall.  So anyway, I didn't have to fumble around in my purse looking for a quarter since I just found one!  Thanks, Lord!  Do you get excited over, seemingly, silly little things?  

Most of last week,I found myself sitting in front of my sweet friend, the sewing machine.  After the post about aprons, I decided to make myself a new Fall apron.  

Forgive this picture!  I am certainly no model!  Why, for pete's sake, I feel just plain silly, but I don't have a dress form and my daughter didn't come by after I finished, so this is all I have but anyhow.  My favorite aprons are very simple in style.  They must have pockets, though! I don't see much sense in making myself a frilly little number when it is going to be used and abused!  Before long, the waist will be discolored and stained, because I wipe my hands there.  I really should try to remember to grab a dish towel but by the time I think about that, it is too late.  Oh well.  All of my aprons are much loved and you can easily see they surely aren't for show!  

Remember all those peaches I picked, last week?  I got enough to make three cobblers, although, some of that will be blended into vanilla ice cream for a different treat one night.

I used a different recipe this time.  It turned out more a pie than a cobbler so I won't use that particular recipe again...at least not for a cobbler.  I was surprised it turned out like this because I've used it for a blackberry cobbler and it worked just fine.  Maybe it was something about the filling.  It was still good but it just wasn't cobbler!  I have a very definite idea of what a cobbler should be and this wasn't it!  Picky, picky!

Just when I am getting used to it being 2019, Christmas is quickly approaching!  That means it is almost quilt making season. I always make quilts for my grandbabies as one of their Christmas gifts.  This year, I decided to also make quilts for my daughter and son-in-love.  Yes, I know!  I better get busy!  I also decided to use fabric I have on hand.  I am trying not to buy any fabric this time around.  At least for for the girls.  I will have to purchase a yard or two for my grandson because most of my fabric is definitely girly.  

This is the fabric for one of the girl's quilts.  I think I want a contrasting color but I don't know what.  Any ideas?  

So there you have it!  We didn't even leave the place, over the weekend, and that was just fine with me.

Grace & Peace,
Pam

Sunday Morning Southern Gospel

**Scroll to the bottom to listen as you read**

I am weak but Thou art strong

Jesus keep me from all wrong

I'll be satisfied as long

As I walk, let me walk close to Thee

Just a closer walk with Thee

Grant it, Jesus, is my plea

Daily walking close to Thee

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be

When my feeble life is o'er

Time for me will be no more

Guide me gently, safely o'er

To Thy kingdom's shore, to Thy shore

Just a closer walk with Thee

Grant it, Jesus, is my plea

Daily walking close to Thee

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be

Life In Black & White

Thank you and blessed...

First, I need to thank those of you who have recently started following this blog.  Linda, Me and Cloth, and my good friend, Jana!  I am so glad to have y'all here!  And thanks to those of you who continue to hang around!

I've had a pleasant day and thought I would share it with y'all.  It started out with me getting to sleep until 9:00am!  Lately, I've been waking up somewhere around 4:00am then spending the next couple of hours laying, there tossing and turning, trying to fall back to sleep.  I'm not sure when this started happening, really.  I take a sleeping pill which should help me sleep for a good eight hours.  It has worked for the past five or six years, but suddenly, it stopped working.  I think the problem isn't necessarily the sleeping pill.  I've always taken a muscle relaxer and two benedryl, on top of the sleeping pill but decided to quit doing that because I detest taking pills.  I didn't quit taking the sleeping pill because I knew the insomnia, that has plagued me for most of my adult life, would kick in and that would be that.  No sleep at all.  There is nothing that makes me madder than not being able to sleep when everyone and everything around me is somewhere off in dream town and I'm wide awake!  Mad as a wet hen, I tell you!  So anyway...last night, my back was hurting a bit more than normal and all week allergies have kicked my butt, so I gave in and took all of the pills...'bout choked to death doing it, too...and guess what!?  Yep!  I slept for 10 hours and could have slept longer but I needed to get up and go to town for "Grandblessing essentials".  I guess, I will go back to taking all that medicine so I can get a decent night's sleep.

This was the view through my windshield this morning when I went to town.   I took the long way, to and from, to see what was happening.  Beautiful blue sky, green trees, and the temperature was a pleasant 78*.   Could have driven around all day but I wanted to get home and do some things around the yard.

With all the rain we had in May and the abundance of sunshine the last month, my one little peach tree was loaded down with delicious fruit.  I picked most of the peaches although they aren't quite ripe.  The ants were getting to them and even though I will have to cut a few bad spots out, I wanted to save what I could.  I picked this huge bowl full and there are still more on the tree.  I'd say I can get two or three peach cobblers from this batch and probably another two or three when I pick the rest.  I love me a good peach cobbler and the only way to make one is with fresh fruit...in my opinion.  I have made them with store bought frozen and canned fruit but it just isn't the same.  Same goes for fresh veggies but since it is only the two of us and this soil around here is not good for anything but weeds, I don't grow a garden anymore.  I usually just buy canned vegetables from the grocery store and while they aren't great, they will fill a belly.

Recently, I found this brand and decided to try it.  I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  Not true southern seasoned but enough so that with a little help from my spice cabinet, they are pretty close.  I like them because the seasoning is all the way through the vegetable unlike most canned goods that are packaged in water with no seasoning.  When you cook those you have to add enough spices to choke a mule and still they taste bland because all those spices are just sitting in a pan of water.  And if you try to cook them longer, the food turns to mush.  Anyhow...these are pretty good for a store bought canned veggie.  I think I will live.  

Can anyone tell me what this plant is?  My daughter gave it to me for Mother's Day but it didn't have the little pick thingy so I don't know what it is or how to care for it.  I thought it was a Christmas cactus but I'm not convinced of that because of the blooms that were on it.  I'm having a devil of a time keeping this baby alive, I know that!

Well, as you can see, my day was very blessed.  Not by anything extravagant or out of the normal.  Just by a simple day, just being alive!  I hope you, too, had a blessed day.  No matter what the day has dealt us, we can always find a blessing somewhere!  Seek one out tomorrow, why don't you!

Grace & Peace,
Pam

Did you know?

From the "Did You Know?" files...

The earliest recorded instance of aprons can be found in medieval paintings starting in the 1300's.

Until the 1500's, nobility didn’t wear aprons, but changing fashions started including fancy aprons with some ladies’ gowns.

By the late 1600's aprons had become very ornate with embroidery on both the body of the apron and on the ties.

By the 1700's “pinner” aprons became popular. (5) The style was tied at the waist, while the upper part was pinned near the shoulders.

The 1920's and into the mid-1930's flour companies, in an effort to make their packaging more economical, introduced the idea of feed sack or flour sack aprons and other garments.

By the 1940's aprons were becoming a fashion statement in their own right, pictured by pattern companies over more plain looking dresses. This trend continued through the 1960's.

By the 1980's the working woman spent less time in the kitchen and new apron fashions weren’t present in stores or in pattern company catalogs as much. 

Then, in the mid 2000's vintage styles became popular again, and many pattern companies began re-releasing apron styles.

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I've made and worn many aprons, over the years.  I have two that I use all the time and they have become quite thin.  I really need to make a few new ones. 

If you are in the market to purchase an apron, my friend over at Henny Penny Lane makes and sells some of the prettiest aprons!  She also makes old fashioned bonnets and dolls made from sticks that she carves.  Those little dolls are the sweetest things!  Check her out!  She is a precious lady!

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I found the following poem about Grandma's Apron.  I believe it pre-dates the one by Tina Trevitt.

Grandma’s Apron

Do you recall Grandma’s big apron;

That covered her clear from her waist to her feet?

With long apron strings so convenient for tying

With waist large or small, it was ever so neat.

Oh, the multiple uses of Grandma’s big apron,

Wiping the tears or a boy’s “runny” nose;

How do we manage with these modern contraptions

With crocheted fol-do-rols and fluffy big bows?

How well I remember my Grandma’s big apron,

Of its many uses modern kids couldn’t guess;

For wiping the tears when one fell by the wayside,

Or held comfortably wrapped while we took a short rest.

How often I’d see her come in from the garden,

Her apron full of good things she had found;

Perhaps it was string beans or maybe some carrots,

Or a nice mess of radishes fresh from the ground.

She would gather the chicks so downy and yellow,

When the crafty old hen had hid out their nest,

And carry them safely in her roomy big apron,

To their new little home where they settled to rest.

How it made a nice wrap and kept so warm

Had we ventured out without a warm jacket,

Off came Grandma’s apron, to keep us from harm.

I could write on and on about Grandma’s big apron,

In my mind’s eye I can picture it yet;

Full of chips for the stove or apples from the orchard,

She watched out for her loved ones,

That I ne’er can forget.

If Grandma should see what we call an apron,

With no nine inch cross stitching, no voluminous folds,

She’d be just as surprised as the young folks are nowadays,

To learn of the things that her apron could hold.

Or along toward evening I’d see her out looking,

Around near the wood pile or the old cider kegs,

And when she came in with apron a-bulging,

She had busily and happily gathered the eggs.

Many is the day when we were out walking.

Grace & Peace,

Pam

Sunday Morning Southern Gospel

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, 

when sorrows like sea billows roll; 

whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, 

It is well, it is well with my soul. 

It is well with my soul, 

it is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, 

let this blest assurance control, 

that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, 

and hath shed his own blood for my soul. 

It is well with my soul, 

it is well, it is well with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! 

My sin, not in part but the whole, 

is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, 

praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! 

It is well with my soul, 

it is well, it is well with my soul.

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, 

the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; 

the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, 

even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well with my soul, 

it is well, it is well with my soul.

Grace & Peace,

Pam

Life in B/W and verdict...

The verdict on the found home canned veggies and the cake mix cookies?

Nope & Nope!

And that's all I'm gonna say 'bout that!

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My Life In Black and White

Cleaning the pantry

So...hey...how long is too long for home canned food?  I decided to clean out the pantry and way in the back, behind other items that were out of date, I found these...

Three jars of pickled beets, three jars of apple butter, and two jars of pepper sauce!  I know the apple butter is probably 4 - 5 years old and more than likely not any good, but the beets are only a couple of years olf and the pepper sauce is probably about the same.  Do you think any of it is still good?  I don't want to throw it out if it is but I don't want to take the risk of killing myself with botulism or the black plague!  What do you think?  Chance it or throw it away? 

From the "Did You Know" files, which will become a regular series so keep your eyes open!

You can make cookies from a boxed cake mix!!!??? Why did I not know this?  So apparently, you can !  I had this, also in the pantry but still in date, German Chocolate Mix and I going to try it.  I will probably add in some shredded coconut and chopped pecans.  So here is what you are suppose to do.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (15.25-ounce) boxed cake mix

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
   
2. Place the eggs and vegetable oil in a large bowl and whisk until combined. Use a fine-mesh strainer to sift the cake mix into the egg mixture to break up any large lumps. Using a spatula, stir until all of the dry ingredients are moistened and a dough forms.
   
3. Scoop the dough into 2 tablespoon portions.  Arrange on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between each cookie.
   
4. Bake until the cookies are set, about 10 - 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire cooling racks and cool completely.
   
   Note:  You can add in 1 cup of your favorite nuts, chocolate chips, sprinkles, and more!
   
   
   Grace & Peace,
   Pam

My Life in Black and White

Hello, friends!  I thought I would start a new series...actually, I guess it's the first and only series I've ever started but I digress.  Anyhow, once a week, probably on Thursday, I will be sharing a B/W photo depicting something in my life.  It may be a person, place, or thing.  Well, that sounds like a grammar lesson, doesn't it.  I promise, it will not be a lesson in how to use proper grammar.  My gosh, I was born and raised in Texas!  We have our own language and there is nothing proper about it!  Know what I mean, y'all?  

So anyway, I hope this will be a fun series and hopefully, at least somewhat, interesting!  Here is the first picture...Oh, after this, no words allowed!  See, no grammar involved at all!

GENEALOGY...

EXPLOSION IMMINENT !!!

Girly...not a word that describes...

Girly...now, that is not a word that has ever been used to describe me.  I can't think of one person, other than my sister, who would describe me as ever being a girly-girl.  My sister did and still does, probably, only because she is ten times more tom-boy than I.  Don't get me wrong, I love pretty things but as far as the clothes I wear and the decor in my home, it has always been far from "Fuu-Fuu", as my Mama used to say.  Quirky?  Yes.  Random?  Yes.  Kookie?  Yes.  Eclectic? Yes.  Rustic, Country, Cottage, Hippie-fied and at times, just down right weird?  Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes!  But never, ever, Girly.  

The other day, after I daydreamed about my Great-Grandma, and made the pretty, handkerchief table covering, I realized I've been needing a place...a girly place...that is nothing like any other room in the house.  A place I can go to read, do some handiwork, or just sit and daydream.  Something that just says, shabby, girly, Granny!  I mean after all, I am a Granny!  *wink*  

I think back to the rooms in my Great-Grandma's home and my Granny's house, and remember so many tiny things that told the world, this is Grandma's house and you are welcome here.  In my Great-Grandma's house, it was her teeny tiny kitchen, the screened in sleeping porch, and the little corner where she sat in her rocking chair and watched her "stories" or read her Bible.  In my Granny's house, it was her bedroom and one other bedroom that had a pink chenille bedspread and white curtains with pink gingham trim and an embroidered girl in a poofy dress, similar to this.

   
I remember sleeping in that bed with it's crisp white cotton sheets, watching those pretty curtains dancing in the hot, Texas summer breeze.  Falling to sleep by the gentle hum of the old metal fan.  Granny didn't have air conditioning in the bedrooms.  She did have small window units in the living room and kitchen, but the fans and those cotton sheets were all the cooling system she had in the rest of the house.  I didn't seem to mind the heat back in those days.  Now days,  it would kill me to not have air conditioning!  I'm old!  I'm spoiled!  I need A/C, people!  So anyways...

It's those little things that remind me of a simple, happy, time.  I want my grandchildren and perhaps my great-grandchildren, to sit and remember the little things that made Granny's house, seem like the best place to be!  After all, as my granddaughter says, "There's no place like Grandma's house!".

I decided the room with my computer, sewing machine, and way too much clutter, would become my Girly-Grandma room.  Just the place to sit and read or do a bit of sewing.  A room where I can rock my grandbabies or maybe watch a favorite television show.  Someplace that will hopefully trigger a fond memory in the years to come.  I also decided I better do it before my sweet grandson got old enough to want his own room at Grandma's house!  We live in a tiny home, with tiny rooms, so when that day comes, it will be my Girly-Grandma room that will become his room.  I won't mind a bit but for now, I'm working on making it pink and pretty.  It is too small to have a chair, desk, chest of drawers, my granddaughter's Memory Chest, AND a bed, so for now it will be a sitting room of sorts.  I decided to work on my bathroom, as well.  By the way...do they even still make those pretty little soaps that were in the shape of a flower and smelled so good?  I haven't seen those in eons!

So, with that in mind, I started looking for things in thrift stores and vendor malls, that are girly and cozy.  I have just a few pictures of the things I bought and where I'm using them, as well as one corner of my new Girly-Grandma room.

I found a tablecloth, napkins, and one placemat, in this pretty pink and rosy design.  It is just right for what I am doing.  The one placemat is going to be a toilet tank "scarf".  Isn't it pretty?  I'm not about to put the napkins on the supper table for my Mister to use!  They are too pretty for his messy hands and besides, we don't use cloth napkins anyway.  I am going to use a couple of them as bathroom curtains.

I don't like the curtain rod so I will be changing that out and I would like to find a pink ruffled shower curtain, as well...and those pretty little soaps!

I'm not quite sure what I will do with the tablecloth, just yet.  It is round so I may be limited unless I cut it but I hate to cut pretty fabrics.  Why, there are times I have bought beautiful fabric and left it uncut for years!  Just couldn't bring myself to do it so the tablecloth may be a challenge for me.  I might can figure out how to use it as a skirt for my bathroom vanity.  I detest that ugly thing but money is needed to replace it so I cover it the best I can.  I may use the tablecloth to cover my desk because it is espresso wood and just doesn't fit in with my Girly-Grandma scheme but painting it is out of the question.  Some things just need to be left alone and that is one of those things.  

I haven't accomplished much but I did get my Mister to get my granddaughter's rocking chair out of the garage attic.  It's been up there for a long time and the paint is chipping just a bit but I'll leave it like it is.  My granddaughter can refinish it, one day, when she grows up and gets her own place.  The quilt is one I picked up, at a vendor mall, several years back.  It is small and has a couple of tears but I love it and knew it would be perfect to hang on the back of the chair.  The seat cushion is one I took off our couch and tucked a pink towel around it.  I'll replace it when I find what I'm looking for.  The white chest is the granddaughter's memory chest.  It has baby blankets, the old - over 200 years old - family Bible, scrapbooks, and things my Mama crocheted before she passed away.  There are boxes of pictures and a few keepsakes from here and there.  Soon, I will begin filling it with things that are exclusively my for granddaughter's memory chest but for now, it holds some of my own memories.  The shelf on the wall has very narrow, short shelves so I may end up putting sewing threads on it or I might start a collection of tiny knick-knacks.  I'm not sure but something will come to me one day.  I need to hang the pictures and find a small foot stool and maybe a pink rug to go in front of the chair.  I'm not crazy about that valance and will probably end up making one.  I have a lace curtain to hang over the window and under the valance.

I'm not about to show you the rest of that room because it has yet to be touched and take my word for it, it is a mess!  I will update when I have finished that part or at least cleared the clutter!  This project will be a work in progress because it is so hard to find pink, girly, grandma stuff, these days!  

I hope everyone had a blessed Independence Day!  We stayed home and enjoyed the quiet.  The older we get the more we stay away from people and the noise!  Just two old folks, is what we have become!  HeHeHe!

Grace & Peace,
Pam