Super Bowl

Any Super Bowl fans out there? We aren't really into sports much and don't watch it. I do usually know who the two teams competing are though. And, I do get in a mood for Super Bowl snacks! I'm going to have to go out and buy some onion dip and potato chips! I never eat that, but I'm craving some now! I'm not into "wings" either, I don't care for hot and spicy food. I also have sort of a tradition of making soup on Super Bowl Sunday, get it? "Soup" on "Souper Bowl" day!! LOL! I'm planning to make some Amish white bean and ham soup. We are having more chilly days here so it's a good time for it.

Sometimes I do turn on the TV to the Super Bowl just to try to catch the commercials, they are usually pretty cute and different. I've been hearing there's some controversy about some of the commercials, and one about "vegetables" was banned! I saw it on FoxNews, and it was rather raunchy, I'm glad it was banned!

What are you doing tomorrow afternoon on Super Bowl day? Sounds like a good day to go to TJ Maxx, or a fun place like that, huh?


Katherine

Show and Tell

Time for Show and Tell, go here to Kelli's for lots more sharing!

Today I'm sharing a few of my Tea For One sets. These little tea pots sit on top of the cup. They are three pieces, the pot, the lid, and the cup. This one I bought in Branson, MO, I like the outdoor cafe scene on it. Below is the back of the set. I guess if you are left-handed, it is the front of the set!

I bought the tea for one set below because it has yellow roses on it!

Close-up of yellow roses

To tell the truth I don't really like to drink tea from these because the cups are so large and the tea cools off too fast, so they are just decorative. I prefer very small cups because the tea stays hot longer in them.

I bought this set because it is so pretty. It isn't practical though because the cup has three
little feet and the cup isn't steady. I have had these on top of the kitchen cabinets, but took them down Christmas and put others up there. These are displayed in the breakfast nook now.


Many blessings to you and your family this year!!

Katherine

Pillow Talk

While we were in Knoxville recently I bought this pillow at Kirkland's. It is now in our family room. I would like to show you a few more of pillows in our house, but first I want to show you our two-year-old grandson, Caden's, new "big boy bed" and his monogrammed pillow. How cute is that!


And below, is Caden's parents bed with their monogrammed pillows! Very pretty!

The pillows below are on the bed in our guest room.

This pillow is made from a vintage towel and stuffed with lavender, it smells heavenly!

I mentioned my "Grits" pillow recently, Grits is "Girls Raised In The South."

The pillow below is made from an old quilt, with a doiley sewed on top.

Pillow below has an embroidered tea towel sewn on top.

Below is an embroidered and smocked baby pillow cover.

The yellow heart is made from chenille, the pillow on the left is the back of the "Grits" pillow.


This tapestry look pillow, below is made from a table runner. I just wrapped it around a small travel pillow and sewed the ends together.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the pillows in our house.

Many blessings!!

Katherine

Blue Monday

I'm going to cheat a little here and use the same post for Blue Monday! I have a few blue things in our house and I hope to start to participate in Smiling Sally's Blue Monday posts. When I used this painting on Show and Tell Friday I was thinking I should have saved it for Blue Monday. Since I wasn't able to post anything else all weekend, I'm going to use it for my first Blue Monday post. Go here to Sally's for lots more Blue!

I don't think I have ever shared this painting. It is in our guest room which is yellow, but I have some blue things there as well. This painting was done by a friend back in the 70s. She was moving and wanted to sell some of her things. I bought this painting from her and the antique iron bed that's in the guest room.

She never told me the story about the painting, but years later I saw a greeting card that was identical, so she must have painted it from one of the cards. She did a wonderful job!

I have always loved this little girl and bird in the painting.

The name of my friend, the artist, is Jan Arthur, I haven't seen her since she moved away.

Many blessings to you this year!!

Katherine

P.S. - I hope to have a new decorating post tomorrow!

"A Day in the Country"

This is "A Day in the Country" the shop we visited in Hendersonville, NC.

It was cold and raining, but my sweet hubby went out in the rain and took these pictures of Ro and me on the porch!


Ro's sweet hubby also went into the rain and took this one of us below!

Here we are having a most delicious lunch in the Cafe on the Veranda. I loved the turkey sandwich with cranberry chutney!

Ro and I are happy after lunch and shopping!

What a fun time we had with Ro and Tom! Thanks so much to our new dear friends, who drove
on a very bad day to take us to this wonderful place!


Blessings to all of you this year!!

Katherine

A.S.A.P.

While visiting in SC recently Ro and Tom took us to a neat gift shop and restaurant where I found these cute tea towels. Even though I don't have this color scheme I had to have something with this a.s.a.p. logo on it, since I'm originally from the South.

I have a "grits" pillow ("g.r.i.t.s" meaning "Girl Raised In The South,") but had never seen the a.s.a.p. logo. Isn't it the cutest!

They had several thing with the a.s.a.p logo, the footstool above was real cute, and the tote bags
were darling. They also had little nut dishes each with an a, or s, a, or p on them.

I hope to go back to this cute place again someday! It was two floors of fun things!

I've lived in Florida 43 years, but some people tell me I still have a little bit of a Southern accent, so I guess I qualify for A.S.A.P!

Tomorrow I'll post more about this shop. It is named "A Day in the Country."

Blessings to you this year!!

Katherine

Anniversary, and Disney World

We enjoyed our three-day trip to Disney World!

The cold weather front here in Florida wasn't so bad, but we did keep our coats on most of the time! (Joe is trying to hide my purse he is carrying!)

I have lived in Florida 43 years and was here went Disney World was built! I remember when the tickets were about $7.00 each, now they are over $70!

Minnie Mouse says hello to all of you!

Mickey went for a ride on Big Joe's shoulders!

We had so much fun we decided to buy season tickets for the year. We are hoping the grandbabies (age 2) will come down and go with us. We used to have season tickets, but it has been almost ten years since we have been to Disney World. We live further away from DW now, almost 2 hours away (with traffic,) we used to live only an hour away when we lived further south and worked at NASA, Kennedy Space Center.

Our 12th Anniversary - January 17th

We also celebrated our 12th anniversary while in Orlando. We went to the restaurant we dined at on our first date! This is Bergamo's, an Italian restaurant with singing servers! The servers (about fifteen of them) take turns singing broadway, opera, and Italian songs. They are very talented, ranging in age from 20 - 35. The young lady below sang opera.

The young man below was a great tenor, he had several requests.

We had heard that the restaurant closed because they tore down the mall it was in, so we were delighted to see they had relocated. We enjoyed the anniversary celebration very much! We also look forward to returning to Disney World in the Spring, we are planning to go to the Spring Festival at Epcot in March.


Blessings to you in 2009!!

Katherine

Reading

January is a good time to read, to help power down after the activities of the holiday season it's good to cozy up with a quilt and a good book when it is cold. It is even cold here in Florida, we get cold fronts that move down from the north, then move on after a few days (hopefully!)

This is the book I started reading a few days ago while on vacation. I’m reading it very slowly. A friend of mine recommended this book, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it, but my curiosity was up because she was so touched while reading it. She would get tears in her eyes as she told our Faith Sharing Group about reading it. She felt God was speaking to her through the characters of this book. She won’t lend her book because it means so much to her, and because she has it highlighted and bookmarked so much.

The paragraph below is from the back cover of the book:

(Mack) Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

The following paragraphs are from a review on Amazon.com by “Homeschool Mom.” I'm not sure that is the correct name as I went back to see and couldn't find it. I borrowed what she wrote so I wouldn't have to type it (remember I have a bum thumb!)


The Shack is not about theology or religion, but about the sweetness of an intimate relationship with God through Christ

Mack is reminded of basic truths found in God's word that he allowed forgot during his great sadness. The truths are given in an unconditional casual conversation format that may make some people uncomfortable. Mack learns that he doesn't really trust God and "Trust is the fruit of a relationship where you know you are loved" (p 126).


Mack discovers that God's desires an intimate love relationship with each of us. He learns God wants him to spend time with Him and intimately communicate with Him, to enjoy fellowship with Him, to trust and follow Him, and to give his life meaning and purpose.


He learns that God can use all things, even sin and evil to develop this relationship for good (Romans 8:28). Mack discovers the depth of God's grace (Ephesians 2:4-5) . He learns that he can not be self-sufficient and realizes he has been made acceptable through Jesus Christ and Him alone.


He learns he will not find God through guilt or condemnation. He understands God is lovingly and patiently waiting on Him to submit (1 Peter 5:7).


Mack is reminded of the two most important commands--to love God and love others (John 13:35). Mack already knows he must forgive others as Christ forgave Him but in the shack he is helped through the process.


Mack learns God works through everything including our brokenness and sadness (Philippians 3:8). When we are separated from our prideful flesh (the carnal, corrupted life) through grace and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us He will gradually bring us to the restful place of humble dependence, wherein we can consistently receive the grace that leads to intimacy. Beautiful, loving intimacy!


Mack learns God wants us to be made complete in Christ (John 6:44-45). God wants us to be of one mind with Him. God wants us to make His ways our ways, His thoughts our thoughts. I came away from the book feeling loved and secure with a strong desire to cultivate my relationship with God through His Word. How can that be a bad thing? Written by “Homeschool Mom.” (Thank you!)

Have you read this book? What is your opinion of it? I’m only about half way through the book. I want to start highlighting it, then re-read it.

May you have a very Happy New Year with many blessings!!

Katherine

We're back!

We are back from our ten-day trip, we were visiting in SC, NC, TN, GA. I'll post later this week about our visit with grandbabies and friends. We also visited Rose "A Hint of Home" she has posted about our visit with them if you want to see. Wow! What a beautiful home she has, and what wonderful hospitality!

I am so ready to get back into my usual routine. I have missed my blogger friends, my favorite TV shows (FoxNews!) etc. I didn't watch TV or read the paper the whole time we were gone! I did read a couple of books, I'll share that with you tomorrow.

I came back to find the good fairies didn't finish cleaning up the Christmas decorations! I had put away all eight Christmas trees and decorations, but left all the Nativity collection out. I still have to pack those up, and the top of the kitchen cabinet decor. Today I was too tired to work, I just unpacked and did laundry.

A friend sent this, it's neat!

Recipe for a Happy New Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous

Take twelve fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor and hate, cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; in short, see that these months are freed from all the past—have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time. Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) but prepare one day at a time.

Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing— don’t do it), prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution. Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.

May you have a very Happy New Year with many blessings!!

Katherine

Show and Tell

Time for Kelli's Show and Tell, go here for lots more fun and inspiration.

Today I'm sharing a project I'm working on, it is also my New Year's Resolution to finish this book.

This book is a testament of my life. I am now working on recording it in this notebook. My goal is to finish it this month! I'm showing it to you before it is completed because you may want to do it along with me!

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The following was in our church bulletin a few weeks ago. I want to do this and started the rough draft. First, I've printed it out and writing down things as they come to me, then I'm going to write them in the book above. I will leave blank pages in between each subject to add things later if I think of new things to say. Would you like to join me in this project?

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From the bulletin:
During the last weeks of the year think about the end of time. The phrase “the end of time” may strike a chord of fear in us. A picture of a fearsome, prophetic looking man with a sign around his neck that says “the end is near!” You better pray harder!” is part of our popular culture.

For us, death is a friend, a gateway to hope.

St. Margaret of Colonna said on her deathbed, “I thank Thee, dear Lord, for having permitted my body to become weak and infirm, so that I could the more freely return my soul to Thee.”

Death is our return to God, our birth into the fullness of life promised by Jesus Christ.

To help us enter into the mystery of the end of time, I would like to share with you a reflection exercise by the Jesuit writer Anthony de Mello, a priest who conducted workshops throughout the world on the subject of prayer and reflective living. This reflection tool helps us to write down the story of our life. Writing down our personal story is the best gift we can give to our families. (Al Esposito)

A Testament

I imagine that today I am to die.
I ask for time to be alone and write down for my family/friends a testament for which the points that follow could serve as chapter titles.

“To reveal myself openly and honestly takes the rawest kind of courage – (John Powell, SJ)

1. These things I have loved in life (things I tasted, looked at, smelled, heard, touched):

2. These experiences I have cherished:

3. These ideas have brought me liberation:

4. These beliefs I have outgrown:

5. These convictions I have lived by:

6. These are the things I have lived for:

7. These insights I have gained in the school of life

( insights into God, the world, human nature, Jesus Christ, love, religion, prayer):

8. These risks I took, these dangers I courted:

9. These sufferings have seasoned me:

10. These lessons life has taught me:

11. These influences have shaped my life (persons, occupations, books, events):

12. These things I regret about my life:

13. These scripture texts have lit my path:

14. These are my life’s achievements:

15. These persons are enshrined within my heart:

16. These are my unfulfilled desires:

Choose an ending for my testament. A poem (my own or someone else’s), a prayer, a sketch or picture (from a magazine, etc.) a scripture text, or anything that would be an apt conclusion to my testament. Set a goal, a deadline for completion.


Every new year I assess the past year of my life. I don't want to remain the same year after year. I try to do something new to make my life better and make my family's life better. My New Year's resolution is to complete this project, hopefully during January. I want to leave this for my children. Maybe they will do the same! Perhaps you may want to join me in this project, hopefully it has inspired you to leave something like this for your children or friends.

Happy New Year to all my fellow bloggers! I'm very thankful for the friendships I have made through blogging. I have learned so much through visiting with you! I have met a few of you in person and I hope someday I may meet even more.

May you have a very blessed 2009!!

Katherine
I am taking a blogger break, going to visit grandbabies!! I'll try to check in a few times if I can get online. I look forward to getting back to normal in a few weeks!