My Most Expensive Peaches EverrRRRrrr!!!

Ya see this jar of peaches? That is the most expensive jar you'll ever find. Let me tell you why.

A couple of months ago our Stake President, our local church leader, put forth an edit. He told his High Council to tell each family in our stake (about 2,000 people on average) that each family should can a quart of peaches. Now, this might sound easy to some of you but it was a challenge for this chick. I didn't need any peaches and I have food storage as directed by our church leaders so I was in a quandary. For me it was about obedience to our stake president. I try my best to be obedient, especially on the "easier" things. ;-) I mean it's not hard to be good on the "harder" things, just a bit more of a challenge with daily living. Sooooo, what do I do? Hmmmm.......

My canning supplies are up in an attic that Love Bunny made over our 3rd car garage. It's pretty hot here in this western desert so I couldn't subject him to go up there in 100+ degree heat rummaging around for the canners or he'd likely die and I'm pretty fond of the fellow by now. Soooooo, I thought well, I could buy another can of peaches but since peaches aren't thought of fondly in this household and I have my fruit supply I decided against that. What to do, ohhhh, what to do??!!

I decided that I'd volunteer to help someone can peaches in their home and ask for a quart of peaches for helping them. I'd return their jar to them of course. But just in the nick of time the woman in charge of our women's group in the ward decided to get together with a group of women and can peaches that were given to us, the ward, by our orchards. (Our church maintains orchards for the purpose of supplying the needy.) Wellllll, let me tell you that was an answer to prayer. It was scheduled for wednesday, August 27th, and I signed up to be there.

The best laid plans...........right???? Yep, our mantel was to be delivered by FedEx on Tuesday, August 26th. I waited until 8pm that night and decided to check it on line and it had a sort of "caveat" or "change of plans" according to the FedEx tracker. They rescheduled to Wednesday, the 27th. So I had to be home to receive this huge package.

I decided to do this: I'd call the woman and say I could NOT make it but I'd donate some lids and rings if I could have just 1 jar of peaches. She said that it wasn't a problem. (This is a very sweet, nice lady but I think I throw her into shock a bit when I call her and refer to her as "Sweetpea" or "Chickee"!) So early wednesday morning before most people were up I ran to the market (this was "avant" I showered or fluffed my hair and would be quite scary to anyone trudging through the market at such an early hour!) and bought a package of 12 lids and rings and then arranged for someone stop by to take them to the "canning" event. I was on a roll, I tell ya!! ;-) It lasted about an hour and a half and they canned 70 jars using a couple of outdoor camp stoves and and the kitchen stove also. Twenty or so minutes after the FedEx arrived a woman from the ward arrived with my one jar of peaches still boiling hot from the canner! I was thrilled because I was able to be "obedient" to my church leader and get my "one quart of peaches"! Cost of lids and rings - $5.24!! The costliest quart jar of peaches I've ever "bought/canned/or eaten"! But I was OBEDIENT!!

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Just a thought.

I had a little candy dish that I loved, but during our move in 2005 it got "crunched" - a word I like better than broken - and I waited and waited for my sweet hubby to fix it, but he is so busy that I just gave up. The lid survived and was intact though. I didn't want to throw it away as it has roses on it. And if you know me or have been reading this page or my blog you KNOW how I feel about roses! So instead of throwing it in the trash I hung it on the wall in my office behind my desk. It has a little "lip" that make it just perfect for hanging. If you love something enough just find a new use for it if part of it gets "crunched" and is beyond repair. Look at it and say, "hmmmm, can I hang this?" Give it a new use.
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Mantel Starting to Look Good!

Again, this post is being written on thursday to be published on sunday.

I've spent the better part of the day working in this family room of ours. Still a ways to go with the mantel decorating and behind the sofa, but here's what I have done so far. Nothing is "static" in this house; it's always "kinetic" around here!! LOL

Before. Just put mantel up last night.

This is what I've done so far. I wanted it centered on the wall but due to 2 outlets on that wall it's off by about 2 - 1/2". Eventually I might have hubs change the phone outlet and the electrical outlet on that wall but that can be a lot of work so this may be how it is foreverrrRRRrr on that wall!!! Two and a half inches isn't bad though but to kind of balance it out a bit I'm doing an asymmetrical treatment on the wall. If anyone has any other ideas, please let me hear them. I'm open to any suggestions. This is the best solution I've come up with so far though. This room is a bit more cottage, shabby, chic than the living room.

I've also hung the french antique wire basket on the wall inside the insert area to camouflage as much of the phone outlet as possible. Why do they always put phone outlets in the most inconvenient place in a house??? Could they put 2 or them in a room just in case you change it around?!

Ooooh, and don't pay attention to the tools lying around, pictures all over the place and some behind the sofa and chairs that you don't even see and the rest of it because it'll definitely change between now and next week! That table on the right side with a quilt over it will also be out of that room and in our bedroom before long and more pictures on the right side. Just give me some time and I can change/decorate/frou frou up the world, chickadees!!! Hah!!!
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Just a thought.

I thought of something today. Being happy and peaceful, especially at home but also in any place where you spend a lot of time, is the goal: stimulating the senses is one way to start. Learn to "tease" yourself into doing necessary and useful tasks by stimulating your senses. Think of the fountain pen squeaking across fine white paper. Smell the fragrance of the ink. Feel the smooth pen in your hand. Have a light bulb ring with the glorious scent of plumeria; you'll think you are in Hawaii. These oils can be bought for very little in many natural food stores or on line or ebay. Put a lovely small french style lamp on your writing table. Have a lovely little antique footstool under your desk for you feet. Set up the task so it will be pleasurable for you.
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Pink Saturday 8/30/2008

I'm doing this post early (thursday) because we're going camping. I'm just so excited you can see the bugs in my teeth from the grinning!! Maiden voyage of the hubs new popup camper. Just tooooo excited for words spending the weekend with the bears, freezing temps, mosquitoes, portable toilet (j-o-y !!) and maybe ever a skunk or two. Whoooooo knoooOOOOooows?!?!?!? ;-)

I was sitting here today wondering just what I was going to post for Pink Saturday and went out to pick up the mail and LOOK what came in the mail today from my sweet friend, Bertie!!! She truly has some of the most fantastic stuff for incredible prices that you should really check her out. Just scrumptious! A tea cozy, a fan, some roses stationery and the biggest bar of french milled soap I've ever seen! I just love this chickee and will forever.
Isn't this bracelet beautiful?!?!?! I cannot describe to you how lovely it truly is. If you want to know who did it email me because she doesn't want advertisement. She's a special little huney to us also. ;-) Please enlarge to see how beautiful her silk ribbon roses really are. That's a decoupaged button in the center. Just exquisite!!!

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Just a thought.

There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Of course, we have special events in our lives, but ordinary days need to be celebrated also. You have power over your daily life; no one else. What you do with it is entirely up to you. Celebrate even the mundane daily tasks. As I've said before, I like to putter. For me that can be taking apart a sock drawer and weeding out the socks with holes in them to discard or the silverware drawer and cleaning out the little crumbs that get in there. It can be re-arranging my office or a shelf in my office or living room or just the pictures and "fluff" on the wall. It can be "seeing the room with a different eye" and thinking "Ah, yes, I can do "this or that" there and a little "tweak" over here. It can be draping a beautiful silk scarf over an end table or coffee table or dining table. Little things make a difference. Whatever it is, look at it differently!
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Mantel Arrived

As most of you may know I post ahead if I have a few minutes to sit down from doing all the things I won't get to finish in my lifetime. Sometimes I'll get 2, 3 or maybe 4 or 5 ready to post for future posting. This one I am actually putting together on wednesday, August 27, 2008 but it won't be posted until 2 days from now - the 29th....MY BIRTHDAYYYYYYYY!!! Now how many of you celebrate the "old" birthdays? I do. Not in a glam or glorious fashion with presents although I do get them from my ebay friends, who treat me waaaaaaaay toooo special, but I love them no matter what. My ideal celebration is dinner OUT! We eat out a couple of times a week anyway but I just want to eat out on my birthday and come home and be with Love Bunny all to myself. I love getting older. Love it!!

Two women were over last night from my church just visiting because they've never seen my home and one is a blogger and has seen it on line but not the actual inside. They were very complimentary and just in awe (meaning "wonderment") looking at the real thing because we ALL know pictures never do something justice. But that's neither here nor there today.

We did talk about getting older. One lady was 73 - near my age - and the other one was early 30s. Each of us said that getting older was not a problem for us and we just loved the "wonder" of aging. Quite refreshing actually to admit it. But we were of like mind on the issue.

Anyway, on with the mantel post. Yesssssssss, it arrived today - wednesday - and I had the FedEx man just "tip" it in the doorway since we know they don't like to bring things in but he probably would have since it was so long and heavy. Once inside I could push it and then open the box and carry each piece out to our back yard to spritzzzzzzzz with my spray can of white paint. It was primed, thank heavens. So here's the first view of my new focal point faux mantel!!! Squeeeeeeeal. How do you like my "painting are and table"?? LOL

I'm almost embarrassed to show you the back yard grass and this area because we've done almost nothing to the yard out there but MOW. It's just too hot in this desert to work out in it but it's starting to cool down and we're going to get some stones for that area in the lower left of photo. That will extend the patio a bit and solve the problem of grass just not wanting to thrive in that area. Hubs also needs to weed and feed the back yard. Our front looks like green velvet but this out back is becoming MY EYESORE!! But I wanted to show you how the star jasmine is thriving there. It's got shoots up twice the original height since we planted it about a month ago. I just love it.

Old Post on Living Colorfully

I've realized that when we have a lot of posts that the older ones don't get perused much after....oh, say, 10 or 20 posts and I have almost 400 so you may not have seen or read this one. But some of them are noteworthy. This one goes back to June of 2007 and I think is noteworthy to repeat. So if you've seen it sorry........just read it again for a reminder of beautifying your home office.

When I talk the talk, I walk the walk so to speak. I cannot tell other people to do this or that if I don't do it! But I always practice what I tell others when it comes to decorating. I love color as you probably know by now. In my kitchen, living and family rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, office - everywhere. So this tip is about your home office. For so many years people thought that their office or computer room had to be utilitarian and boring. Not so today. Femininity, softness and genteelness has entered into our everyday existence in the form of lovely offices. Mine is truly a shabby, chic, girly office. Here I've got a pale birch file cabinet in which I have my household accounts in the top, but the bottom drawer is for my personal files. Again, the file folders are pink and purple No need to have those old green or manila ones when these are available. Then the envelopes also can be colored as seen here. I used pink and purple again, but they come in other colors. Then my daughter bought me some beautiful file folders with roses and strawberries on them. I adore them. So pretty to look at and colorful yet utilitarian. Live colorfully!!
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