Autumn Ambition

Our Autumn Day is rainy and cool as 'Trick or Treaters' parade downtown this evening to show off their costumes store bought, hand-me downs, or HOME MADE.

Autumn Ambition is brewing as I take time to look over past post that have appeared through the years on my BLOG.  

Tea that would be delicious to warm one's soul would be a SPICE TEA.  It's been years since I prepared HOME MADE SPICE TEA, but that sounds heart warming.

May your AUTUMN HARVEST be HAPPY and  HEALTHY.

So glad you stopped by. 

Not a dreary day in sight,

d  

SPICED TANG TEA

Ingredients:

1 cup Instant Tea

14 oz. Tang

1 tsp. Ground Cloves

2 Tbsp. Cinnamon

1 package Lemon Flavored Kool Aid

Instructions:

Mix all dry ingredients well.

Add 1 cup of sugar to mix if desired.

Use 2 Tbsp. of mixture for 1 cup of hot water.

Stir and sip.

WAXING COLD

HOME.
To be at peace with the LIFE I have at my home is where I want to live.  Being honest here....there are times that I still get hung up about the details of running my home and the bills.  I have to pray and remind myself that I am just passing through this world and all the heartache and headaches will pass.  Still I am to be living a more excellent way and that means I am to honor my word and pay my bills.

LIFE is constantly changing and will not stay the same.  Reminding myself.  Counting my blessings and not forgetting God's benefits.  Human as I am...I must recall God's best for me.

I had a waxing appointment yesterday with my beautician and she said when we get to heaven....I chimed in about we will have a glorified body!!!  There won't be anymore waxing chin hair.  Ha.  I about came out of the chair yesterday with the discomforting pain of being waxed.  Ripping off the face hair was intense.  OUCH.  IT HURT.  HURT!  I walked out of the salon looking like I was sun burned.  I wasn't in pain, just looked like I spent too much time in the sun.

I did think of the Lord Jesus when the people ripped his face hair from his beard.  The intense pain would have been excruciating.  Makes me weak to think about.

After Jesus rose from the dead, Mary didn't recognize him.  She thought he was the gardener.  I think she partly didn't recognize him because he wouldn't have the beard that she knew him by.  He would have been without a beard in his risen body.  Maybe I am wrong.  Still, his beard was ripped from his body before he was crucified.  

Isaiah 50:6
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

We know that Jesus fulfilled all of the prophecies from the Old Testament regarding the Messiah (1 Cor. 15.3-4), Isaiah specifically mentions that this would be one of the ways that Jesus would suffer. We also know that much mocking & torture had taken place that was not described in great detail by the gospel writers. In fact, Isaiah even tells us that they beat our Lord so badly that He was so bloodied & battered that He barely even looked human (Is. 52.14).

I'm no man, but think if men had their facial hair waxed they'd know it isn't a pleasant thing to have done.  I have no desire to look like a man, talk like a man, walk like a man, dress like a man, act like a man.  I have NO DESIRE to be a man.  Praise GOD...I am a woman.  I am thankful to be the gender that I am.  Female.  Female.  Female.  Now to work on being more submissive to my husband and respecting him.

I have to go back in a week to have more waxing done.  Can I handle it?  Yes.  My aim is to only have this done every 6 weeks.  At 60, my unwanted facial hair is more than a woman needs to have.  It has gotten out of hand.  I had my tubes tied when I was 24 years old.  I know that this messed up my hormones.  I have repented and asked God to forgive my liberated mind that I had in my youth.  I was lost and didn't know it.  I was a misguided woman that thought I needed to have no more babies and having a tubal ligation was the solution.  I was mistaken and warn others to NOT get their tubes tied.  It truly is unnatural and I believe it is not what God wants for His daughters.

At 24, the liberated thing in me was believing a lie.  I believed so many lies.  That having my tubes tied would allow me to be a spontaneous LOVER with my Husband.  The truth was that my Husband and I did not get along all the time, and I thought if I got divorced that I didn't need anymore children.  I might have gone the way of the world and had recreational sex because that is another worldly lie and I believe that I would have continued to not seek God's counsel.  I believe that I would have thought I knew best about everything.  There are consequences to our actions that come from a misguided thought life.  If you separate yourself from God, you will have pain.  Much pain.  He knows what is best for us and if we ignore His wise counsel, we will hurt ourselves and others.  

I never asked God's advice as to what to do about the number of children I should have.  I didn't seek His counsel or advice.  I regret this decision.  I truly do.

I want God's help with making decisions and so I must seek Him out in this department called LIFE. 

The warm wax is therapeutic.  Like the calm before a storm.  Exhale as the linen cloth rips out unwanted hair.  Unwanted.

I've shaved, I've waxed, I've plucked, I've tried electrolysis and cremes.  Haven't tried lazer.  Concerned about scaring.  I am sure that there are more ways to remove unwanted hair that I don't know about.  For now, I will do my best to stick with the waxing process to see if the facial hair slows in growing and I will not have to suffer through this process so much of the time. 

Depending on who you talk to will determine which technique they suggest.  Including medical doctors.  I've asked and asked and asked.  One says to pluck, one says to shave, one says take hormones, one says use this creme, one says once the hair follicle is stimulated hair grows....my beautician said no more shaving.  Her recommendation is waxing.  Oh Lord....please let this work.
  

Every one of us goes through things.  I am not alone when it comes to trials and tribulations.  Not alone.  My earthly body has a heavenly spirit.  Hairy as I may be, God loves me.  I've made some ridiculous mistakes in my life, still I believe that the Lord will help me get through when I repent and humbly ask for His HELP and guidance.

May I not forget, I am a child of the most high God because Jesus, the Son of God, is my personal Saviour.  
Amen,
d



MATTHEW 24:12
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

JAMES 1:21
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

HOME Life Is For Me

Here I sit in the comfort of my HOME.
Doing a lot of thinking.
HOME Life IS for me.

I love BLOGGING.  Love so much about this TECHIE adventure.

I have been surfing the internet nearly 12 years.  Blogging for almost 7 years.  Seems unreal.
The hours I have been on the computer makes me for sure a vintage and well seasoned blogger.

Home Life is for me.

Hours have gone into visiting blogs and admiring the well put together sites.  HOURS of educating myself on decorating, creating something out of nothing, how to save a buck, seeing the interiors of places comfortable for a family, homes that reek with appeal, mansions and old plantations, cooking while baking delights, sewing long ago dresses, cleaning tips, thrifty ideas, religious adventures, political upheaval, health habits, religious power and the list goes on.

I no longer desire to be in the limelight or be well known.
I will quietly listen to the wind blow and say amen.
Gearing myself to be a different kind of woman that has nothing to prove to anyone or anything, but pleasing the Lord.
It is alright to be me with my personality and nobody else.
I need to copy no one, but strive to be like my Heavenly Father. 

This past year has been a very interesting one as I learned the unheard of about secret societies and wolves in sheep's clothing in the religious realm, the emergent church, the ecumenical church.
I am a renewed being almost like being born again.  Time for growth and better understanding.  Christians are to live a more excellent way.  

I sat for hours researching and reading the highlights about ministries that are steeped in false teachings and worship lucifer as they share their false teachings with a different gospel.

God has stabilized me and blessed me with His truth.
Eye opening and well. 

Thankful that I am a Keeper of The HOME.
Grateful,
d

http://www.abidingradio.org/listen/

Some do not have access to a radio station that plays soothing music.

Found this over the computer.

Soothing music 24/7

 Instrumental

Sacred

Kids

Bluegrass Hymns

Seasonal

http://www.abidingradio.org/listen/

HOME Life is for me.

AND all God's people said, "AMEN!"

Love,

d

Temper Tantrums

Ever get so tired that it's really easy to feel sorry for yourself?  
Speaking from experience which makes me well seasoned at this. At times it seems like I have entered my second childhood because I want to CRY.  Whahhhhh.  Throw a fit, fall to the floor, kick and scream like a toddler.  Not really, but wouldn't that be a sight to behold at 60, middle aged, over weight and over tired.  THROW a hissy fit.  Perhaps this could be considered a way to increase stamina and be a legitimate form of cardio work out. 

Being ran down and over tired makes it much easier to become overwhelmed.  I know.  If you were in my shoes, you might trip 'cause I have large feet.  grins.  SO guard your heart.  Hear that Deanna...guard yo' heart.

Please do not tell my doctor that I am overwhelmed.  I know the routine all too well....let's put you on an antidepressant.  The buzz word is OVERWHELMED.  Avoid this word at all cost if you know it is a phase and will pass.  This MOOD will not last.  

It takes a village?  No.  It sometimes takes more than one person to get things whipped into shape.  Family helps.  Friends help.  A hired crew would help.  

I seem to be spinning my wheels at keeping a messy house.  I cannot get to the bottom of the messes before illness strikes.  The past ten days have been with illness and though I am doing better, I am still coughing and am ran down.  I forgot...I was ill all of September with sinus infection and before that my thyroid numbers were off and I was one exhausted Lady without a thyroid.  Okay.  I think my patience is being TESTED. 

Is she lying?

Waiting for my cleaning crew to get off their coffee break and get this house whipped into place hasn't happened yet.  I am human and get worked up and start complaining that we have too much stuff and not enough places to go with it so what are we gonna do with it?

GIVE IT AWAY.

THROW IT AWAY.

RECYCLE IT.

PACK IT.

STACK IT.

Know the drill? 

Am I being realistic?  Where did this fine junk come from?  Yes, I know the answer to that question.

I have lived the last 41 years collecting our treasures and started down sizing about 5 years ago.  41 years to collect and hopefully not 41 to down size.  I feel like it is taking forever to thin through stuff. 

First, I went through our clothing.  That took clothes to three years to thin out before I had to stop and give it a breather.  Then I went through drawers, more drawers and more closets.  

Thinned through hundreds of videos two Summers ago and musical tapes this past year.  Dishes and glassware are a on going process. The garage got attention last May....that was a big EVENT. Artwork, books and magazines gone through.  Not finished with the books. Paperwork and files. Nic nacs, dolls, children's childhood articles.  Christmas decorations last month.  Linens, bedding....am I just slower than a turtle on this stuff or am I really making headway with more to do?  

A little of both.

I thought if I hauled a trunk load of goodies ever so often, I would have order faster.  My attitude needs tweaked.  It is a very slow, drawn out course of events thinning through years and years and years of accumulation.  AM I making too big of a deal out of this? 

Probably.  

Just roll my sleeves up, take a deep breath and plow away. No looking back.  Am I in bondage thinking that I am making a mistake getting rid of this, that and the other?  Yes?  Trying to be a better steward of what I have.  Trying.  Trying really hard.  

Last night I loaded the trunk up with boxes of things to be taken to charity.  Hubby placed a heavy tub full of things in the back seat of the car as well.  Today, I drove to Manhattan and unloaded the goodies at the thrift shop.  More to go.  This has become my HOBBY.
  
Lord, help me thin through these belongings and down size. Please. The sooner the better.  Please.  I am tired.  I am slow.  I am human.  I know you're compassionate with me and patient.  Please help me be successful in this endeavor.  Please....and thank you for my dear Husband who does so much for me.

This past week-end, my Husband fixed a gas leak in the mechanical room.  He said it was a small leak.  Thankful he fixed it, but guess what he found curled on the window ledge.  Guess. How Mister snake got into the house is a mystery that needs solved.  Husband is my hero, again.

Today as I drove across the prairie the Kansas winds were dangerous as they blew with vicious power.  Made me a tad bit nervous driving my car beside semi-trailer trucks.  

Had LUNCH with my sweetheart.  Always a treat.  Shopped for a Grandson's birthday gift that we will present to him later in the month as he turns 6 years old.  What a nice age to celebrate.  Went to the Bank and the Post Office.  Drove HOME against the mighty Kansas wind.  Blue skies with comfortable temp.  Took a much needed nap.  

Tonight, we need to move a piece of furniture from the upstairs master bedroom down stairs into the family room.  I cleared the innards out already and placed in a clean laundry basket to carry downstairs.  Through out the week I should replace the things back into the desk.  A great opportunity to thin this lovely stuff out as well.  Mercy.  Mercy.

I do more than just handle "STUFF."  It seems like a second career to me.  I am HOME and that's a blessing, but I don't want this thinning out to be a way of life and all I know.  I'd like to be able to say, "It's completed."  Then remind myself to not get into this pattern again.

The humidifier is puffing vapors into the air.  The small heater unit is running to take the edge off of the chill in the room.  No television is on.  The still of the night is all around our cottage. Husband is on the sofa snoring as I type out my thoughts.

I laundered the red Christmas tablecloths, dried them and neatly hung them on hangers.  Soon they'll be hanging in the spare closet. Ahead of the game.  That helps.  There are some Christmas gifts needing wrapped for my grandchildren.  This should cause me to rejoice that there are gifts ready to go and I will not be panicking that there are no gifts.  This is a cause to rejoice.  REJOICE. 

Today I came across our CHRISTMAS PICKLE which made me smile.  I like to hide it on our CHRISTMAS TREE and let the Kids and Grands try to find it for a cash prize.  A simple treat to watch and make memories.  Now, not to lose where I place it until the tree is up.  Seriously, I will forget and it will me looking for the hidden pickle.

I know cold weather is coming and the adjustment of going from Autumn into frosty Winter gets me worked up.  I don't seem to ease into this changing of the seasons without some aggravation and agitation.  Soon the TIME CHANGE will take place.  Boo.  Hiss. 

That's what's really bothering me...whaah.  Now the deep rooted problem has been exposed.  Not ready for frigid temps.  Ready or not here they come.  Well, I'm not ready.  

I have a good life.  I really do.  Now I don't feel so overwhelmed. Thank Heavens for blogging and being able to whine just a teeny tiny bit.  

AND all God's people said, "AMEN."

d  

Autumn Achoos

Hello from the Flint Hills. 

My hair is a fright.  I look like a wild woman that crawled out from under a rock.  I don't care.  I am sick.  When I think I am starting to feel a whole lot bettah...surprise!  Weak.  Tired.  Wheezing. Cough cough.  Dap the eye.  Blow the nose.  Take some cough syrup.  Clear the throat.  Tickle in the throat.   

Every day I think that I am getting healthier and then I have a hack attack.  The coughing is painful and unsettling.  My exercise comes from convulsive coughing and running to the toilet.  

Sometimes a uneventful day is a blessing.  Quiet.  Slow.  
I woke up early this morning, sipped some coffee with some creamer then went back to bed.  I slept. My chore list grows.  That has to be alright.  I cannot think other wise.

Managed to scour one of the bathroom sinks, pay a couple of bills, read the newspaper, do a little laundry, shuffle through some items, pray, visit with my Husband, write a note to my Brother, tidy some paperwork, wash a few dishes.  

This past week has been a blur.  When I'm ill, I'm ill.  Making myself REST.  This cold has been rough.  Take some more Vitamin C and make do.

Wishing I could go for a leisurely walk down a country road admiring the brilliant colors instead of lying down on a sofa glancing out the window to see the leaves have fallen to the ground. The tops of the trees are getting bare.  

So soon,
d

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Caught cold or the cold caught me…which ever.  Just finished a small serving of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream and it never tasted better than now.  Though I can't taste all the delicious flavor, the cold ice-cream feels great on my throat going down and the crunching of the chunks of chocolate chips is wonderful.  WUNDERFULL.

COLDS are rotten to the core.  I'll be thankful when this one vanishes.  Stuffed up nose with watery eyes, scratchy throat and sneezes.  Coughing…achoo.

I'm no stranger to colds…they are not wanted.  Go AWAY.

May you have a sweet time.
God bless you,
d

Rental

Playing house as a newly wed happened here.  I have dreamt about this place so many times I have lost count.  In my dreams it is a place of comfort.  I learned how to run a HOME in this small place in Hugoton, Kansas.  It was a two bedroom house with a nice size bathroom that had a large old fashioned slipper tub.  Upon entering the Living room, you could see straight into the large Dining room and to the left of the entrance was a bedroom.

The Dining room had five openings into it and was large compared to the other rooms.  The tiny kitchen barely had space for two people to stand in.  The kitchen sink was in front of a window that looked out onto a fenced back yard.  Since the Kitchen was so tiny, we started with our fridge in the utility room until the hand me down fridge froze up.  Not good with storing baby food and milk bottles.

We made our first purchase borrowing $400 from the local bank to buy a new Sears refrigerator. Having no checking account, Mister Dudley, the Banker, looked at us as if we were from outer space. Who doesn't have a checking account?  I used money orders and the envelope method.

The new fridge would be placed in the corner of the Dining room.  Our eclectic decorating style allowed our fridge to be right at HOME in the corner of the room that had giant maps for the curtains. We also bought on credit a dishwasher, stove and vacuum sweeper.  Got another car and ate pizza.
    
Remembering the first time I walked into the house after Husband moved all our earthly belongings into it, I had gone to visit my Parents with our Baby Son.  Things happened quickly our first year of marriage.  I'd get pregnant on our Honeymoon making our first year together as Husband and Wife full of changes and interesting events.

We married in Marion, Kansas, Honeymooned in a fully furnished Wichita, Kansas apartment as College students, made our baby, and made the decision to relocate back to Liberal, Kansas where we met at Community College so Husband could earn his two year degree.  I had some comfort thinking that my baby would be born in Liberal where I grew up instead of born in a city hospital in Wichita. Baby was a month old when we moved to Hugoton.  I would be celebrating my 20th birthday during the Summer in this little house in a small town.

Husband and I would be 20 years old and make our HOME here.  It would be where our son would take his first steps, learned to talk and be the reason to work hard at being a family.  Husband would do his best to advance in his job and I would busy myself with the everyday details of being a wife, mother, stay-at-home homemaker and make another baby.

This would be the place that we planted a garden.  Like that saying, I will bloom where I am planted. I bloomed.  It would be here that I grew to desire to be closer to our maker and be real.  It would be here that LIFE was harder than I ever imagined.

Life in the Rental had it's place and I sometimes wish I was still there,

d

BECOMING OLD FASHIONED

Beloved,
You can be just about anything you want to be.  
I know.  I read about it on the internet.  AND everything on the internet is the truth?  Heard this one and also read it….It's never too late to become what you have always wanted to be.  DREAM BIG.

That one made me chuckle, scratch my head and sigh.

Say you're 90 years old and you've always wanted to be an Olympian Swimmer competing with 20 year olds.  Yes, that's the spirit.  How's that going to work out or you?

There comes a time you had best stop being delusional and admit to yourself, others and God that this dream is a dream and needs to be shelved, put in perspective and chill out.

Heavens….isn't it alright to be the new you and be realistic that this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Know the number of your days.

PSALM 90:12
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

PSALM 39:4
LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.

PSALM 1:1
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

FOOD for thought and healthy living,

d

Feeding Your Family For Less

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY FOR LESS 

is still a reality.

The late night cravings hit me and I could stand it no longer.

Talked myself into eating peanut butter on toast.

Licking the spoon wasn't frowned upon either.

Nobody saw me.

Was a very filling snack just before bedtime.

I sleep better when I have a protein packed snack 
before going to bed.

Don't have to fill up with guilt when filling up on peanut butter.

Extremely affordable and nutritious.

You can feed your family for less.

Still ways to stretch the FOOD BUDGET.

Hubby and I are inching our way to RETIREMENT.

It may not seem like it, but I am filing away ways to feed us 

when the cash flow won't be flowing.

Eating for less is right up there on the charts for 

FEEDING YOUR FAMILY FOR LESS!

Peanut Butter on Toast is great for after school snacks, 

mid-day PICK ME UPS, breakfast or late night treats.

My apologies if you are allergic to peanuts.

Peanut Butter on a celery stick 
is a mighty crunchy appetizer as well.

AND all God's people said, "AMEN."

d

October

October has arrived with all its might.

Already the first 7  days have awakened my senses 

to pumpkin flavored everything.

GOD bless you.

Home Life is for me,

d

Autumn Of My Life

SUMMER disappeared.

Disappointed that SPRING didn't stay long either and now SUMMER has vanished.  

AUTUMN is demanding some attention.

AUTUMN falls across the landscape with a space heater at my feet.  


AM STILL COLD.  Weather is suppose to warm up this week before dipping again.  Looking forward to this.

We went to a country wiener roast Sunday night.  I cannot remember the last time we did this.  Too long ago.  Came home satisfied smelling like a campfire.  As we drove Main Street, I could visualize Christmas lights on the downtown lamp poles.  Right now as cold weather creeps in, all looks so bland.  One of the nice things about Christmas decorations is the festive beauty.

It doesn't seem possible that a year has passed since orange Harvest/Halloween lights showed up.  Will be shopping for a turkey and ham to store in the freezer until needed in November and December.  Cannot believe how quickly this year has flown. 

Warmer weather encourages opening the windows to listen to the birds as leaves twirl downward toward the ground.  Taking a leisurely walk around the block.  A casual drive with the windows down.  Sweeping the front porch off and putting pumpkins out to celebrate AUTUMN.

Sigh.

Okay, I have to fold some laundry, move cook books out of here, make up the bed with clean sheets and rest.  This past week-end took it out of me.  I look forward to the week ahead and getting out of the house for the day.  No doctor's appointments this week. 

Praise the LORD.

I'm not going to do things the same way I did as a young woman.  I can't and the desire to do so is slipping away from my old body.

AUTUMN. 
This is the Autumn of my life,
d 

Rocking The Night Away

              

GRAND Turns One

When my children turned one, my Folks gave each a rocking chair for their FIRST BIRTHDAY.  Continuing the TRADITION I gave my Grand children rocking chairs for their firsts.  

This year was VERY challenging to find a child's rocking chair. When furniture stores don't carry them, you know you're in trouble. Hubby and I went to 12 stores between Topeka and Manhattan before a very nice salesman asked me, "You do know where they have them?"

Duh….I simply shook my head no.  I'm glad he told me because if I knew I would have gone straight there instead of wearing myself out looking for one.  All the gas, miles, time, wear and tear on the auto…I simply would have gone there first thing and saved face.  Anywho…not to be snotty.

He told me CRACKER BARREL in Junction.  I thanked him and off we went.  Drove the distance to find 4 children size rockers on their porch.  I learned the hard way that Cracker Barrel also has very nice large ladies clothing that are stylish.  Now I know where to go to check for some beautiful threads for large ladies and rockers.

You know when you have to look for a while for a certain gift, the little ones have no idea.  They could care less.  I started to get shook when we had already been to half a dozen stores and there were no rocking chairs.  It was too late in the week to order on line and I didn't want to have one sent to their address without knowing what the rocker looked like first hand without a inspection.  I prayed.

We celebrated Babee M's first birthday this summer and it was wonderful to be there first hand.

~PARTY TIME~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

LOVE YOU VERY MUCH,

Grandma