when the birds came home.......

while being unable to feed my birds ......................... this is what i saw .................. empty feeders ....... no flittering of wings ........ no sweet songs outside my window ..........................

 this is how i feel about my fine feathered friends .................... i missed them ....... their company & sweet songs of encouragement .................................. it had been so long that i am sure they thought i had abandoned them ........................................

i must say .................... they have come back home to me ............. and ............. i am blessed !

on the table.......

i am getting stronger everyday...............during the days when i really couldn't do alot...mr. prairie blue gathered the bead box .....................i have sat at the table for quite a few days making bracelets............at least it is one thing i can do............................hope they sell at least.....

............................................................... i am blessed & bejeweled!

quiet moments......

it has been recovery time ...... surgery was almost a week and a half ago ........ first time i have had a surgery ...... so this has been a humbling ....... let others do for you kind of time in my life ........ thanks heavens it was an outpatient, but more of a surgery than expected ......................... i have been recovering well and hope to be back to normal soon (whatever that is ) .................. i of course am behind AGAIN for our next open house tour ................... but ................. mr. prairie blue has forbidden me to stress and as he says "get jacked out of shape" ................... so i am trying to keep calm ...... working on some mustard seed charm bracelets while building my strength and stamina for stand up, moving around type of things ....... isn't that kind of ironic, mustard seed .... the sign of "Faith"  .... hmmmm maybe i need to listen !

thank you for all of your prayers & lifting me up .......................... i am blessed !

it could be worse.......

just wanted to catch my friends up, that have been praying for me ............. i will be having outpatient surgery on Oct. 6th ............ Dr. says 99.9% sure it isn't cancer ................. but you know we are all human ..... all worry a bit ....... should be two procedures .... "same visit, same nap" the Dr. says ....... just ready to have it all behind me .......................... but so grateful i can put my trust in someone higher than i ................ He has this one ..... not me ....... i am human ....... but will trust !

......................................................... i am blessed !

sitting in a shadow.....

you know ...... sometimes we have shadows in our life ..... sometimes they are there for only a short time ..... sometimes they linger on ....... either way, i think the shadows are there for a purpose ...... to help us reflect ... move forward ....... or to stay to learn ......... at the moment .... i am patiently waiting ...... some test results are back ..... waiting to see another Dr. tomorrow ..... hoping i may know more ............................ i do not think it is horrible ...... praying for peace .... & moving forward ................. HE is the one in control ....... certainly not me ! .......................... thank you all for praying !    

..................................................................... i am blessed !

Autumn thoughts......

don't you just love the crispness in the air ......... even seems to slow down the pace a bit ......... openhouse was last weekend ......... pumpkins ........ fodder shocks .... mums ........ mr. prairie blue even came home to build a fire in the fire pit ..................... perfect ................... all of my favorite things on a perfect fall day ........ i must say .... i have never had more fun ...... nor more relaxed ...... no stress ....... & no explanation .... it makes no sense to me ....................................... i have been having some medical issues lately and have had a number of hospital tests ran ........ one of those things ....... not great timing, but i still pulled it off without stress ....................... go figure ...... i think it is a God thing ! ................... so as of now ... still ..... no results ... hopefully tomorrow ...... hopefully we will know something ......................... i do know that God is an all caring ..... loving ..... comforting God ........ and whatever it might be  ......... HE is the one in control ..... not me ................................ and ...........................

 ........................................................ i am still blessed !

Ready or not.......

well here it is .........that time again for our REAP THE HARVEST TOUR........

 don't you just love this time of year ......... where there is a little nip in the air ....... the smell of woodsmoke drifting across the valley ...... burning your favorite candle .......... the display of God's Glory on every hilltop .......... so ........ this is where i have been this week .................

 hoping to get back on to visit soon ......................... because i promised ................

.......................................................... i am blessed !

Be Still........

isn't it just one of the hardest things ...... to be still...........................be still & do nothing ....................be still and listen to someone else & really hear what they are saying............................be still without the television .....without the radio....................without any other distractions...............and................................just listen......and....................KNOW that HE IS GOD!..........................and................HE has our back.......how long has it been since we just sat...................and listened !

.................................................. i am blessed !

projects........

although not all of my projects are stitching.....or sewing........this photo just reminded me of all i have accomplished in the last two weeks........................i have painted pumpkins...stitched ditty bags...made lampshades....applesauce/cinnamon pumpkins....sugar cones...make-do chopping blocks.....and the list goes on...................my goodness what i have gotten done......................certainly am glad to have some things ready for openhouse.................and i certainly am blessed !

tools.......................

do you ever stop to think of all the tools we use............................from day to night...we pick up objects...go about our daily business and use one tool after the other..........some days more that others.........all i am going to say is....tools have sure had a work out around here lately.......so glad i have them to help accomplish those daily tasks...............................................................

..................................................................... i am blessed !

much to do........

ever have one of those mornings you wake up and think.......oh there is much to do...............well there is much to do.......but.........i promised i would be back and i am trying to do just that...............i am home.....and i am blessed !

where have I been..........................

honestly..........................i don't know where i have been................a short little vacation with our whole family.................a daughter coming home for a week with three little ones & a desire to can peaches & pickles...................a little of this.....of that.......................of posting on facebook occasionaly instead of here....................all of a sudden, i so missed my home here........i longed for coming back, not for a visit....but to reconnect with old friends....myself....and Prairie Blue..................i love it here.....i will be back....i will not stay away so long...............i am home.......................and..............i am blessed!
and............................thank you Mike for helping me get my blogger figured out!

just because..................

i love those moments.........you know the ones i mean.........when for no certain reason....not because they have to............someone just shows you their love......you know it...you feel it....you cherish it.....................thank you Aunt Rosemary......you love me...i know it.........and....i love you too!

............................................................ i am blessed !

blessed in the buttery......

i have worked on this area most of the winter......do a little.....change a little...........you know the process.....over & over we tweak...we play...we rearrange.............................i actually play in the room a little everyday.......there is another area to the right...........this photo cannot near capture the feel of it..................wish you could just come sit with me a spell!

..................................................................... i am blessed in my buttery !

i need to finish.......

welllllllll...............as you well know by now......i have had project after project for weeks now.......then.....i unexpectedly found a twin Jenny Lind bed $30 to put in the "grands" room......well......once again, one thing led to another & i was redoing the bedroom...................add to that, the idea that i had Saturday to move the kitchen table to the "great room" and trade the table in there for the kitchen....then....then...then.........well you know how this story is going.........still at it , one thing to another thing......

but for now........this is a morning sunlight picture of the new buttery area.......my favorite.....morning sunlight...and .......the buttery.......it has been so much fun......................................
....................................................... i am blessed !

memories of bunnies & eggs......

back to a simpler time.........a time of dressing pretty for church........Easter egg hunts.....the Easter Bunny........cuddling with my Mom on Easter morning...........................all the time......not KNOWING.....what Easter really was about...............................so glad i heard THE STORY....the truths that are a part of my daily life................thank you  Jesus, for the sacrifice ! 

................................................ i am blessed !

this day.......................

just stopping in on this beautiful day ....................................just to stop....to wish you sunshine & many blessings.................................................................................

.................................................................... i am blessed !

i'm a thinkin' on it.........

wellllllllllllllllllllllll..............................i have tackled about every room in the house in one way or another...................now.......i think....i may.....................move the flour & meal bin to the middle of the kitchen.......have always wanted to have a small table with lamp & chair where it is sitting.........then......i'm a thinking on making a hanging buttery above that spot.............................................someday when i am finished with everything......i will post pictures of how things look now.....................some rooms got a minor change.......some a little more..............................no paint yet......mr. prairie blue will not let me get on a ladder to do it (too much dizzy, inner ear stuff..ugh !).......so that has to wait......but i could be waiting for years......................so moved on to other things.....................i'm still a thinkin'  !

............................................................... i am blessed !

sometimes.........

sometimes............................i love to do this blog..............................sometimes, i second guess myself......................sometimes..............i realize i am not a scholar..............nor am i a writer.................................i may spell things incorrectly, by accident.....................i am doing this for fun & because i love to do it........................................i love to share things that are important in my life & the things that bring me joy..................................sometimes...................................but..................all the time....

................................................ i am blessed !

it's a lamp thing..................

i love old jug lamps..........................so glad, years ago, that i learned to make my own shades.......................styles have come and gone for so many.....................but mine remains....................give me solid bones of a good old jug..........and bit of linen..............and a few lampshade rings....................................off and running with yet another lamp..........mr. prairie blue likes to turn them off.....i like to turn them on..............................a constant battle..............

................................................ i am blessed !

where have i been.......

sometimes.......i ask myself..............................that very question.......where have i been?....................i haven't been on a lengthy trip...............nor have i been in the hospital......................nor have i been stuck in a foreign land.........................................but..........................i have still been busy redoing things in our home......................it has been so long since, i have jumped in with both feet, doing projects.............and..............i have enjoyed every day....every hour......................................so.......................i got a little sidetracked with my blog...............hoping to be back on schedule soon........................................................................

when i saw this quote................i knew i had to copy & share it...........................this is our main goal, for those of us that are believers....................i hope.....people can see it in me.......................
................................................i am blessed !

when you are loved.......

i don't know about you......but it is the tiniest of little things, that make you know you are loved...................like the moment friends ask you to go along for lunch and a mani.............or the times that someone pays for your lunch in line at McDonalds..............or ends a phone call with "i love you"..............or simply gives you a hug for no reason...................i am amazed at all the ways we can...could...should.........show love to others, whether we know them or not..................not only on this day, but everyday! ..........................................wearing my Granny's black onyx ring everyday....and honoring her today on her birthday!............................I loved her so!

....................................................... I am blessed !

a Sunday.....

just a typical Sunday.....................up early........first to church to open the doors.....turn on a furnace (trying to conserve from the 9 that we have, combining classes).........new views....through new eyes............................when we step out of our box , and look at things through different eyes....it is amazing how the world opens up....................................hearing a young man preach that was in our daughter's class, and feeling so proud of who he has become.....................anticipating the arrival of our new minister tomorrow...............................yes, to some it might just be a Sunday..........................but to me....it has seemed to open a whole new world.......a world of hope....dreams....new beginnings!

............................................................... i am blessed !

I'm spinning.......

i don't know when my fascination with spinning wheels began..................i think when my Mom bought me a make-do spinning wheel years ago.....................................i have several....mostly were my Mom's.....along with yarn winders.................................now the fascination has expanded to spinning wheel photos.......?

 love these........................................and i am slowly collecting parts to old spinning wheels to hopefully assemble some make-dos for the shop......................................

 i find it so amazing.........................................i love them so.......................but do not know how to spin!

 that is next on the list.............................................never too old to learn....right?

.............................................................. i am blessed !

shakin' the "crazies".....

as many of you know......over this past week, i have been knee deep in cleaning....rearranging....revamping the great room....................................................................................

 that means........everything.......including shaking the dust from a stack of 11 crazy quilts...........2 of which were mine......................but the rest is from my Mom's collection..................she loved "the crazys".....this is the stack...after the shake....and before the new home, somewhere in this room..............i cannot bear to part with them.....but on the other hand...can't figure out exactly where they will land......................

 these 2 crazys i bought at an auction, about this same time of year.....standing out in the cold...with two little ones...(i know what kind of mother am i?)..............remember, this is when we had absolutely NO money..........my treasures were $2 each along with the 2 blue & white quilts for $2.....i still remember which four they are.....................................

 this was one of Mom's favorites......................the intricate work is amazing..............................

 and this one.................finished in mostly velvets and lined completely on the back with velvet is the one of the best i have seen..........................................................amazing handwork!

so........in my opinion.......the best way to shake those winter crazy moments...................jump into a revamp of a room and shake out the dust.....................................!

...................................................... crazy...& blessed !

Moody Monday.......

i heard today is "moody monday".............the day when so many people are depressed from bills coming in....trapped inside the house.......a very blue day for some...................................i on the other hand .....am in the "mood" to hook.......snuggled up next to the fire...............mr. prairie blue at home today....couldn't get in his frozen door, and recuping from 10 staples in the back of his head yesterday (whew tired of ER runs).....so it has been a lazy day.....doing the least amount possible and hunkering down.....................

.................................................................................. i am blessed !

the work he does........

i ran across this photo yesterday.................................it made me think of how blessed i am to have a hard working husband......................mr. prairie blue cuts alot of firewood to keep us warm................i do think he enjoys it, but when it so brutally cold, i can't imagine............................i so appreciate all that he does

.......................................................................... i am blessed & warm !

a sewing basket.......

it is no secret that i love baskets............................doesn't matter if they are broken...partly unwoven...filthy dirty.....................................i think my love for baskets began when my Great Grandfather gave me two of my Great Grandmother's baskets....one was held together with a brown shoe string, that i have left in place all these years..................that same year i found one at a yard sale next door, for $3 with a braided rug inside......................................thus began the passion.............................

 this is my most recent sewing basket.............would so love to know what the lady of the house kept in each of the treasure baskets attached inside..........spools of thread.....yarn....some unspun flax..........a tiny keepsake picture of her beau..................................i will never know.................but i can imagine......

.............................................................................. i am blessed !

hold my hand........

looking over this past year........i must say a few of my most touching moments have been while traveling in the car......sitting next to a grandchild.......and them reaching over to hold my hand................my heart melted...............................realizing how important and significant it was to me.........i hope that they might treasure and remember the moment as much as i ................will they know years from now that at that very moment they were loved more than anything else on this earth.......that i would give anything to capture that moment in a jar, bottle it up forever.......keep it close by.........open up the treasure & and know that at that very moment my very world was complete.....................................................................................

......................................i am blessed indeed!