The first of many projects...

I was so tickled I more or less finished the first of many projects.. All I need to do to this bag is make a button hole and add two buttons. I really like this bag but am going to make a few changes, mainly make the strap longer and make the whole bag slightly smaller. In fact, I would like to make one with an adjustable strap but will have to wait until we go to town next week.... Considering I didn't have a pattern and wasn't sure what I was doing, I was really impressed with the fact that it only took 3 1/2 hours to make. Plus it is reversible! Now that I understand the concept (Thank you Michelle) I can see more of these bags in varying sizes in the future.

Snow, snow, and more snow!!

Where did the week go? I had planned to sit down on Monday to post Multitude Monday and well now it is Wednesday! In all honesty, I do not remember much of Monday. Chris was gone most of last week which resulted in me not sleeping more than 4 hours a night. Boy do I miss that man when he is gone!! After 19 years of marriage he is still my best friend and I look forward to every day God gives me with him!! Ok, some days I don't look forward to as much as others but I still am grateful God has given me such a wonderful, kind, loving, gentle man for my husband. I look back and think of how disobedient I was at the time and marvel! As some of you may know I went through a time of rebellion. I'll spare you the details as they aren't pretty... Just know that I wasn't living in God's will and was miserable. Even my dating Chris was rebellious as Chris was NOT a christian and I was.. (We were most definitely unequally yoked!!) However God blessed me... Chris accepted the Lord as his personal Lord and Saviour within 6 months of our getting married and my heart was softened. No I DO NOT recommend this route for others!! But I think it was also a means to turn my life around! I do NOT know where I would be if it hadn't been for those events! When we got married, well it was for life! And it still is for LIFE! I thank God daily for this man I call my husband!

Oh my I digress!! Nothing like a little bit of "soap-boxing"!

It is snowing! It started Monday evening and has been gently snowing every since. At last count I would say we have about 4 to 6 inches of the fluffing white stuff! And... drum roll!! The temperatures are absolutely gorgeous! 25 to 30 degrees!! I try to ignore the fact that it is still October!



This week has been a busy week so far. I've made two breakfast casseroles, a batch of gnocchi, 6 lbs of chicken "nuggets", 4 lbs of barbecued chicken legs, 4 lbs of teriyaki chicken legs (I thought I grabbed the chicken wings on sale but got these by mistake but they were even cheaper at .65 a lb!!), and 4 lbs of shredded barbecued chicken all for the freezer. We also made a nutella filled brioche loaf. Good but next time I think we will shape them as croissants. Did I mention what the "little" dog did last week? Caleb knocked the container of our whole wheat fruit hand pies off the container and ate every LAST remaining one! I mean we are talking a cute little 14 lb dog here and it was 11 fruit hand pies!! I was only gone for 10 minutes and thought I could leave him in the house for that short of a time. Who knew he could jump up and knock them off! So now I have the dough in the refrigerator to make another batch. And no he didn't get truly sick! His belly was beyond FAT and he just laid around for about 12 hours and then was up like nothing was wrong!!

(Yes I know there are those of you who knew of my "no animals on the furniture" policy.. It is the thing he is allowed on, and he is really good about not getting on any other furniture!)

Speaking of projects...

Here are the fabrics for the shopping bags and reversible book bags! The book bags will have denim on one side (BOYS thank you for all the holey "worn-out" jeans!!) and the cool girlie print on the other.




I love stripes, polka dots, and flowers! Once they are completed I will post a picture...







Oh,oh,oh... It looks like we may find out something official this week about the job in Indiana. I feel so bad because we just found out that the hiring official has been out with the flu! Poor thing... I pray she is feeling better now!!

Well I better get a move on as the sewing machine is beckoning me as well as a HUGE pile of magazines. I am determined to get them sorted and find a new home for them, preferably in the hands of someone else who can enjoy them!

Foto Friday: Berries

I must say I was really skeptical about this week's challenge. I mean, where was I going to get berries? Chris was going to Anchorage for the week and I had no plans to drive to town until today. Ok, so I won't be driving to town, Chris will be driving me to town since he is now home! Yes, once "winter" gets here I kindly relinquish all driving responsibilities to him No snow yet (or even in the forecast) but there is the possibility of ice so... NO Thank-you! I'll leave the hill driving to someone else, like my wonderfully capable husband. Who, might I add, has been through a government sponsored/recognized tactical driving course where he learned to drive in CRAZY conditions. Like when are you EVER going to need to know how to ram someones car off the road. Maybe if you live in LA? Road Rage anyone? Ok, I digress!! Where was I? Ah, the berries... Then inspiration hit... Or maybe it was the realization that I still had a 1 gallon bag of wild cranberries sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be processed (where they still wait!) And what about the bags of raspberries in the freezer picked from our garden earlier this "summer".


















Oh so delicious, lingonberries!
(aka lowbush, wild cranberries)





Lingonberries and wild raspberries from our "backyard."

























And LAST BUT NOT LEAST!

THe HUMBLe CACKLE BERRy!



So I hope you enjoy this weeks Foto Friday! Drop on over to Rebecca's at Renaissance to see all the other photos, pick up some great ideas, and possibly even add a submission of your own!

Multitude Monday....Chilly morning....

Woke up to a chilly morning today. I think it is the coldest we have had it so far. It was 9 degress Fahrenheit and at 1000 it has made it up to a balmy 14 degrees. I woke up in the middle of the night and the sky was so clear. The stars shone like twinkling lights in the sky! How can a person look up at a sky like that and still doubt in God? It never ceases to amaze me how stubborn we can be... I thank God daily for having given us the present of His Son to take away my sins. But I do know that without personally accepting that gift, it would be useless to me! Thank you Lord for having touched my heart, even in my stubbornness!!

There are so many things I have to be thankful for but here are just a few for today.

83. no snow on the ground
84. clean dishes



85. family game night

86. a hubby who is only gone a few days each year now instead of the months at a time like in the past.



87. Young people willing to play in the cold for to raise funds for new uniforms!
88. DSL, hmm did I include that one once before? Have I mentioned how incredible it is to have high speed internet?
89. Being blessed to live in a country where I am allowed to gather with other Christians in order to worship without fear of persecution!!
90. winning candles, tealights, and a DVD from Homestead Originals General Store over at Wandering Quail Road , Thanks Melonie!!

I absolutely love the fact that the candles are not colored, have great scents, and come in reusable wide mouth 1/2 pint mason jars.

91. Have I ever mentioned I love "mason" jars! I love the shapes, colors, and designs on some of the "older" versions. They are so fun to fill whether its for gifts, home preserving, or just storage!

Foto Friday: Self Portraits

Well, I honestly say I wouldn't have done this if it hadn't been for Rebecca!! I hate pictures of myself.. but she's right. My family does need remembrances of me, to know that I wasn't gone but a part of their lives growing up. For years I've intentionally stayed out of the pictures, not liking what I saw. Vanity!! Pretty much sums it up in one word. I didn't like what was pictured, didn't like what I had become. The svelt young woman was no longer present. Yes, it hurt my pride to see that I was no longer young, thin, and in control. But you know, the Lord has been working in my heart again. I say again because it is a never-ending process! Again, because sometimes I turn away and don't let HIM work in my heart. But recently I've felt the tuggings and stirrings. LORD, you are doing a work in me, if only I step aside. It can be painful but that pain brings blessed relief! Relief in knowing that I DON'T have to be in control. Relief in knowing that GOD does have a plan and well frankly I don't NEED to see all the details. HE lets me know them as needed. It's taken a while and the process does not end with this realization.. Thankfully God is patient and I know HE will continue the process!!

Enough of my waxing philosophical. Yes, vanity is an issue in these photos. I realized I desperately need to use more mosturizer, drink more water, and pluck, pluck, pluck. Where did all that hair come from? Actually, I know... I can thank my Siciclian heritage! Thank you Grandma Rose!! Hey, its okay they are good strong eyebrows with lots of character... but I think the moustache really has to go. It's a good thing my hubby went to town today. The poor guy is going to get a phone call in a while with a list of things to pick up. But the photos you are about to see are untouched... no makeup, no touch-ups, no editing, no styled hair. The the silly, laughing, smiling me!


I hope you enjoy these brief glimses... by the way there will be more photos posted today. They will be the ones after the plucking, styling, and mosturizing (sorry but it must be done....)

Foto Friday (delayed until Thursday, Water...)

Okay folks this is only 6 to 7 days late but I did get it in before the Friday cut-off!! See we were down in Anchorage for the regional soccer tournament and well, frankly, we were kinda busy... Did I mention we were acting as chaperones and sleeping in a gymnasium as well?

The water shots are of Turnagain Arm... the tidal flats to be exact. The tide was out, more or less. I had hoped for close up shots but we just never got down to the waters edge. Oh there has been no editing done to these pictures either. Our old program died and until today we didn't have the internet speed necessary to use the on-line programs.






Since we were at a soccer tournament I am including some soccer pictures as well. It was really windy on Saturday with gusts up to 75 miles an hour which made for some interesting soccer!! No real actions shots as the wind was blowing too hard to hold the camera steady but a good one of the team any way!



By the way, we now have high speed internet and it is so awesome. No more busy signals, no more dial-up and best of all... No more waiting for 10 minutes for pictures to load!

Multitude Monday turned Wonder Filled Wednesday!

"But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me." Psalm 22:19

Right now this verse pretty sums things up for me! Over the past days it seems as though the LORD is farther and farther away but I know such is not the case. It is so easy to try and rely on my own strength but it fails me every time. So now I am crying out to the LORD to be my strength. Is it easy? No but then the peace comes and makes it bearable again. So now I thank the LORD, in all... The little things, the big things, even the unanswered prayers or make that the not yet known answered prayers! As I sit here meditating on God's provisions, I feel my spirit lightening already! Thank you LORD!

So now Multitude Monday is more like Wonder filled Wednesday

51. crystal clear blue skies
52. bugs flying about
53. an empty refrigerator but a full freezer
54. plants given for free
55. aloe for burns
56. meeting friends in person for the first time
57. yummy butter laced biscuits
58. belly warming stews
59. homemade sweet and sour pork
60. NO leftovers because of hearty appetites
61. pleading for money to buy a book at the book fair
62. a signed copy of "Hank, the cow dog"
63. a new recipe to try with dinner
64. a new recipe to remake into other delicious ideas!!
65. fresh scent of warm laundry just out of the dryer
66. homemade laundry detergent lightly scented with essential oils
67. homemade vanillas brewing in a the cabinet
68. homemade cranberry jelly made from wild cranberries loving picked by young willing hands!
69. the thought of DSL Internet connections...
70. packages to mail
71. cards to make for holiday cheer
72. stationary to make for those I hold dear
73. old magazines to peruse for homemade gift ideas
74. thinking of that just right gift to make for family far away
75. crumbs on the kitchen floor
76. piles of laundry

As I look at my list above I see how God blesses me daily! From the piles of laundry caused by young men playing with abandon to the crumbs on the floor which in and of itself is a sign of God's provision! God has truly blessed me and continues to bless me daily when I only take a moment to step back and look around. 77 & 78. HE has blessed me with a husband who loves HIM and in turn loves me. 79, 80, 81 & 82. Who willingly stays up a little later at night so we can share time together, who stays home a little later in the mornings so he can get the boys up and pray with them before their day begins and he heads off to work.