A Great Little Appliance You MUST Have

Sometimes I think it's a good idea to share something that can really serve you well. I'm not ALL fluff, ya know, chicks! I do get serious sometimes. But this is my blog and I do it to "help, inspire, uplift and inform" y'all.

My desktop is in the shop and I've been on my laptop most of the past week. My whole life is on my desktop and the guys at the Mac store are listening to me whine, wheedle and cajole them into getting it back to me posthaste. Just about all my photos are on that one so I'm at a loss when it comes to posting on the blog lately. Plus I can't balance my checkbook or enter anything into my Quicken. *Sigh*....... I had several scheduled out but it's getting down to zip, nada, zilch now and I'm gonna have to resort to something else or going out and doing more photos. Oh well, a chick's gotta do what a chick's gotta do. I am cleaning house a bit more and reading a lot but I miss blogging too much to stay away.

I stayed home from church yesterday because I was just feeling a bit blue and didn't want to subject the people there to my "mood." I'll get over it. Just pull up my big girl panties and go through life with my usual zest! I needed yesterday to stay home and regroup! Yep, I sure did........
~*~

I went grocery shopping recently and Albertsons was having a sale on angus and blue ribbon meat - buy one, get one free. I got 4 steaks and 8 large roasts that I cut into 2 each giving me 16 regular size roasts which we'll get at least 2 meals from each roast. So that's 36 meals at least. I paid just a fraction more than I saved. I made a good deal. BUT the best part is this handy dandy little machine: a vacuum sealer. That will keep the roasts for YEARS, chicks, and I mean YEARS! No freezer burn at all on any of my meat since my son bought this for us about 10 - 11 years ago. It simply vacuum seals it and voilà into the freezer with no worries. I absolutely LOVE it and will not ever be without one again in my lifetime. It is absolutely fantastic. Read on...........

These 2 pork chops are from December 2000. They are 8 years old. I buy in bulk for food storage - it's a Mormon thing! - and here it is unfrozen and made into pork barbeque in October 2008 and it was yummy! Didn't lose any flavor, not freezer burned. It has paid for itself many times over in saving my food. It was a gift but they sell for about $100.00 I think. You have GOT to get one.

Yes, I can assure this is the exact true picture and date! Notice how fresh that meat looks after 8 years in the freezer. Incredible!

Being Home #2

Another small passion of mine is writing. Not in the mystery or general fiction genre but just my own concordant musings and ramblings. I'm even putting together a "history" of me to leave to my kids someday - complete with pictures! Absolutely nothing in it is negative. It's just small remembrances about my childhood and some things from theirs also as I remember those little things that pop into my mind as a young mother.

One of my all time favorite authors on lifestyle is Alexandra Stoddard. I absolutely love her books. I bought Living A Beautiful Life over 20 years ago and use it as a coloring book. Yep, that's right, chickees, a coloring book and a guide for living. The illustrations are black and white but this woman is passionate about color. Hmmmmm, go figure. This book absolutely changed my life.

Anyway, it is what has shaped my life most outside of the scriptures. I read it from time to time to see what I can do next to live even more beautifully. I truly think of life as beautiful.

Living Beautifully Together was the second book I bought of hers. Also a wonderful book outside of scriptures.

Passionate Love Letters was a gift to me from a young woman in my Young Women's class at church. (If she was thinking "passionate" maybe I failed her, hmmmm???!!!) But no, it isn't about the physical passion but rather being passionate about someone. The letters were not lurid in their detail, but love letters from Napoleon to Josephine, George Bernard Shaw to Beatrice Campbell, Gustave Flaubert to Louise Colet and Agnes deMille to Walter Prude to name just a few. Inside the book are little envelopes, some extremely tiny, and letters in them copied from the originals. What a delight! But it intrigued me to write. Oh, not passionate letters, just write anything.

Everyday Letters for all Occasions is simply the best book to have around when you can't think of what to write to someone or don't know how to write effective letters. I love this book and have used it for reference over the years. Plus it gives you ideas and good "writing style" with which to develop your own.

Another one of Stoddard's books that I like is Daring To Be Yourself, but I truly try to be as the Lord wants me to be. Oh, that's not to say I can't be chuckly and have a sense of humor but I don't like hurting people for my own self-gratification. That's NOT to say I haven't done it. Not at all. I am, after all, very human; it's just that I try to be ALL I can be - kind, loving, humble (working hard on that one!), charitable and just all around good person. I work at maintaining my individuality also. I'm first and foremost a child of God and then just me - a unique individual/woman/wife/mother/sister/friend. This helps me to do just that but the scriptures take precedence over all of the books I have.

Greenhurst Nursery #9

We'll still be looking at some halloween stuff here. Hey, it takes a long time to go through all the pictures, edit them and make up a blog post, ya know, so just sit back and enjoy! It's gonna get to some really special stuff soon, chicks. :-)

Look at these gorgeous bulbs. I've truly never seen so many different kinds of bulbs anywhere in one place. I'm sure there are Christmas stores but none around here.

Does this say it all or what?!?!?! CHOCOLATE.......yeaaaaahhhhhhhh!!

Candy and truffles. My absolutely fav candy - TRUFFLES.

Huge cookies, too........

Another scrumptious display during the transitional period in the store.

Strawberry door mats.

A "witchy" cake or cupcake plate! Cute.....

I never knew they had "halloween" bulbs for Christmas! I guess if your fav color is orange then these are for YOU.

If course, who in the world could pass up these pink and brown stripe boxes.

I kinda like the orange, pink and purple together. I could deal with that one for a time. Orange is my least fav color though.

Okay, till next time.................... SMILE cuz I love ya chicks!! ;-)

Greenhurst Nursery #8

Is this lamp gorgeous or what?! I think it's stunning. I'd definitely put it in my house even if it isn't shabby chic or roses. Yep, I sure would. Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh

This is where I pay for my purchases. It's always calm there with the music playing and treats sitting on the counter.

This area near the checkout stand is awaiting decoration. It's the only time I've ever seen it this bare. Usually stunning vignettes abound here. But I do love the old time clock hanging there.

This is just to the right of the above photo. As you can see. this is the "pet" area. Just adorable.

This is back in another section of the store. We'll soon be coming to the french country, italian, Christmas areas and the "kitchen" area. Are you gals in for a treat!!! I'm sooooo teasing ya! :-) But look at that chandelier. Gorgeous! And the harvest table and all the faux veggies

Just a picture of their cloches and pretty jars. Much more available but this is it for now.

They have a very respectable book section with all kinds of gardening book, candles and paper items.

Also little hanging signs are all over this place with just about any style you could want: seasonal, lifestyle, cutesy.......anything.

Some darling veggie tassels.

And my favorite: paper lanterns. I was tempted but I've got 2 in my office/computer/painting room and have absolutely no place else to hang one. :-(

I am soooo NOT a halloween person because orange is prevalent during the season and it's my least favorite color. But this little table is just adorable is you're "into" that holiday.

And lastly, another rose struggling with its demise of summer. Still beautiful though.

Being Home #1

I was recently talking on the phone to a good friend who was a bit down and lives about an hour away. She's a stay-at-home mom - 4 kids, one boy on a mission, one daughter newly married and girl, 14 and boy, 17 still at home. She's feeling the soon-to-be empty nest syndrome and fretting about it somewhat. She's one of the best moms I've ever seen. She's very diligent and one child is her trial in life! Hah..... I know that feeling. But she's trying to figure out how to make her life mean more or as I put it to her the other day: finding her passion. And that's not yet within her reach or grasp - that Passion.

I talked with her for about an hour throwing out suggestions but she kept saying "no, that's not it." She paints in watercolors and is very good but that isn't a passion. We never did hit upon it and I know her pretty well. She doesn't give herself enough credit even when her wonderful hubby DOES. He loves her being home for their kids.

I have many passions. I think the strongest passion is decorating my home to be a refuge from the world in the coming times. My second biggest passion is painting a rose. Ooooh, I'd like to paint just about anything but roses were a true passion! I've finally produced one that I can "live with" (my old english teacher would cringe at that clause - ending with a preposition!).

But that got me to thinking about a lot of things I do.

I love being home and love having my time mine. Well, I do for the most part. When hubby went to San Diego for 4 days I missed him - especially at night. But my days were free from having to stop doing something and get dinners, etc. While pondering on this today I thought I'd post a little about "being home."

I love the freedom being here gives me. I didn't realize this until I chose to stay at home when we moved to Idaho several years ago. It's absolutely a choice I'd make again! I do realize it isn't for everyone, but I absolutely love it after all those years working at a job and trying to keep up a home while hubby and I shared duties and child raising. But bear with me for a little while, my sweet chicks.

Ironing. I love the sereneness it gives me. While ironing is a chore I put off until I absolutely have to do it, it still brings me pleasure. I love the iron gliding over the white shirts and pillowcases (when I iron them), the steam rising up from the iron and the way it looks in my linen closet. And the pride I get when I look at a "job well done." And the pleasure it gives Love Bunny when he puts on a crisp white shirt. I love the look of freshly laundered clothing hanging in our closet and peeking out at me from the shelves in our armoire.

Okay okay, so it ain't so neat; live with it!!!! ;-)

He's very picky about his collars since he's a retired Marine. *Sigh*............

You can see here I'm a very "colorful" chick. :-)

Okay, truth???? His white shirts that he only wears with a suit I only iron the collar and front. He never takes off his suit jacket so no problem here and it saves me time.

Fresh sheets with fabric softener just smell so good in the closet. Mmmmmmm....

I love the blue dials on the iron. I select things for color if at all possible and was fortunate here.

I think I am going to do a series of articles on this and what I do each day so you might want to stay tuned.