To Haiti With Love

I forget at times that I have so many pairs of shoes. 

Most often I wear the same shoes for day to day.

Then there are those that are for certain outfits, activities, and weather.  Can you relate?  Why do I have so many shoes?

While others have only one....or none.

My friends have been to Haiti 3 times and are going back a 4th time.  Bless their hearts, they bring many items to those in need there.  Food, clothing, toys....and now shoes.  

I was able to purchase 100 pairs of flip-flops of all different sizes and colors for them.  What a wonderful feeling to know that these will benefit others.  My friend said that this should be enough to provide 2 orphanages!  This makes my heart so full Ü

Thank you friends (you know who you are) for giving me this opportunity to help others.

10 Things About Me

I was tagged by a friend to do this on my blog....and knowing how you all are just sitting on the edges of your seats waiting to see my 10 things (insert some sarcasm here lol), here goes:

1.  I like mustard on my toast for a snack.  (Don't knock it til you try it!)
2.  I don't like the color purple. 
3.  I can drive a stick shift, but don't like to and will avoid it.
4.  Before bed, I read.  Every single night.  It's how I get to sleep, otherwise I am up all night.
5.  Elmer Kelton is my favorite author.
6.  I met Melissa Sue Anderson from Little House on the Prairie and she was very nice.
7.  My favorite flower is Lily of the Valley.
8.  I have t-boned a vehicle while going 65 mph, and walked (limped) away.  Not my fault, the other driver's.
9.  Spiders don't bother me, but I hate, yes I hate, mosquitoes, leeches and woodticks. 
10.  I whistle all the time when alone, or cleaning, or whatever.  It's a habit I picked up from my Grampa.

Okay, you're next! 

The Little Red Hen Give A Way

See this little beauty?

  It's up for a give-a-way over at The Little Red Hen!  For a chance to win, just post a comment on Bekki's blog and you can get an entry into her drawing!

How cool is that?

                      

Go here to enter to win!!

Over 2000

people signed the guest book for my cousin's funeral.  We don't know how many did not sign ( but we know that some did not), or how many signed for their whole family.  Can you imagine the power of friendship and family he had for that many guests to come?  Amazing.  What a wonderful show of support for his parents and siblings. 

Shoe Shopping

is not one of my favorite things to do.  I will definitely not ever be an Imelda Marcos.  Give me a pair of sneakers and I am happy and ready to go.  Oh sure, I have other pairs of shoes, but I will always go to my tennies and avoid the others like the plague.

Now, shopping for other people for shoes isn't so bad.  In fact, I really don't mind.  For awhile. 

Take tonight for example.

I got the kids new clothes for the funeral we are attending in 2 days.  Not that my kids don't have nice jeans and tops, but dress clothes that fit is another story!  A month ago, sure....today, no.  My kids have grown.  I know it happened overnight.  While they were sleeping.  And I wasn't watching.

We managed to get slacks, dress shirts and belts.  In about 15 minutes.  My kind of shopping!  Things are going my way!!  Now onto the shoes!

After trying on a couple different shoes, we determined that one boy needed a size 7.  He is growing, that's for sure!  His tennies are a size 6, and the size 6 dress shoes had his toes touching the ends of the shoes.  Okay, no problem.  We just find  a size bigger, right?   Maybe dress shoes run small?

Only there is no bigger size.

The boys shoes go up to a 6.  Period.

Again, no problem!

Off we go to the men section and hurray!  Right away I spot the size 7's!  This is going to be easy!

(why do I get excited about little things like this?)

Was I ever surprised to find out that the men's size 7....the next size UP after the boys size 6...is about 2" larger!  2" larger, folks!  2.  Inches.  And since the boy was not fond of the idea of stuffing a sock in the toe part of his shoes until he grew into them, we left without any dress shoes.

Tomorrow we will hopefully have better luck at another store!

Loss

10 *10*10

R.I.P.

Cousin Clint

Last night my younger cousin was riding his crotch rocket, and had an accident with a deer.  He hit the deer, went through a fence and then hit a tree.  He received a lot of bodily damaged and his aorta was injured.  The Dr.s were never able to revive him. 

Such a sad loss.



I know God's plans are not our own,

 and he cares more about the soul,

so I am leaning on the fact that He will come and reunite us one day.

So, until then, rest in peace Clint

until we meet again....

Leftover Vegetables

Who doesn't have leftover vegetables after suppers? 

We always seem to have some, no matter the amount.  Instead of throwing them away (wasteful), I have something that I do to use them up that I thought I'd share.  After supper tonight, we had some peas left over, and since there weren't really enough to add to the 2 meals I made from the meal leftovers, I added them to my "vege bowl".

My bowl isn't anything fancy, just a butter bowl I use over and over.  Anything would do. 

Each time I have veges left over after a meal, I simple add them to the bowl. 

After the bowl is full, I made homemade vegetable soup!  Yum!  The butter, and seasonings I add to my veges when I cook them, really add to the flavor of the soup, too!
So far in this bowl, I have corn, beans and peas.

Try it, tell me what you think!

Crazy Beautiful Roses

When I went to the local greenhouse a few years ago (okay, 5 years ago), this plant was in the throw out pile, because it was near death.  I bought it for $1, took it home, planted it and said a quick prayer for it to grow.

                Fast forward to this huge Rose bush that never, ever fails to grow, no matter what I do to it.

              

 I have moved it at inappropriate times from one garden to another while I changed my flower beds around.  I have cut it down to nothing when a local gardener told me that was best and nearly killed it with that trim (I haven't done it since).   I've over watered and under watered.  When mowing the lawn and goint to near to the flower bed, it's been trimmed accidently a couple of times.  So many of the kids balls have ended up in the middle of this plant, that it's a wonder it hasn't been busted repeatedly.

And yet it grows.

This plant is one strange plant, though.  The first time it blooms, it is a deep burgundy shade.  Then, a while later, it blooms in a dark pink.  Next, it blooms in a pale pink and includes some white flowers.  Now, why does it do that?  Here is a picture of 3 of the flowers when they were in their pink phase.

Aren't they sweet?  I just love this plant, and hey, it's also the only one that the dogs don't bother!

Squash and Sore Hands

One son brought home some squash that I think is Kobashi (?) pumpkin and I don't know what to do with them.   They were green, with lighter green lines, and round, yet sort of flat on top.  I didn't get a picture before I prepped them, and a vege that I haven't had before except as a decoration.   What I have done to prepare them, is cut them in half, took out the seeds, baked them until soft and then I scooped out the flesh.  Now what?  So far I have them in the fridge until tomorrow when I can find a recipe idea online.

My hands have been very sore the last couple of days, but after scrubbing rooms and vaccuuming and preparing veges today (I also did up some acorn squash), my hands are too sore to write much.   I have done Advil, no improvement...Tylenol, slight improvement.  Tomorrow I hope for relief.  I have so many things to make to sell in my online shop, and supplies and vintage items to list also.  Besides work at home, I have a lot to do at work also.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Leftovers

Something that is really frustrating to me is having to clean out the fridge.  Oh, yeah...... and finding tons of once good leftovers now shriveling away and to the point of disgust.  Relate, anyone? 

When I think of how much I have thrown away, it's not a happy thought.  Remember your parents telling you about those starving children in China who would love to have your food?  I have friends who right now have just returned from Haiti where they are in the process of adopting 2 children.  They have been to Haiti 3 times now, and the stories they can tell about those kids who actually are hungry all the time, is so incredibly sad.  I'd love to have them all over for dinner and fatten their little bellies up, that's what!

But, since I can't really do that, I can at least take care of my leftovers and do right by them, right?

Obviously we aren't the quickest or the best at eating up left over food, and I have taken action.  Now, after supper, I package up the leftovers into meal size dishes and freeze them for later.  I do have a food saver and use it quite often, but hadn't used it for this purpose before.  Since I don't plan on keeping these meals in the freezer for long, I find that the cheapo Glad containers are fine and suit my need just fine.  Also, I used some tv dinner trays that I had.

This is our last meal I froze:

Marinated Chicken, Seasoned Rice, and Baked Beans

 Yummy.

I filled each little compartment of these little tv trays for the kids':

Then I covered with aluminum foil, wrote on the top what's inside:

 I have enough different meals like this frozen in the freezer, that a few different nights we can all have "Homemade TV Dinners"!!  How great is that?  Each of us will pick out which meal we want, I can pop them into the microwave and Voila!  supper is served.

Now that's the kind of easy I like.

Fruitful Thoughts

"As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so [is] my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit [was] sweet to my taste."

The Song of Solomon 2:3

These 2 beautiful apples are the first apples on either of our apples trees planted 2 years ago.   I waited and waited for fruit, and never even saw these, they were so hidden in the tree.  My husband saw then first and by the time he did, they were this big and half red.

Do you see them?  One up and one down...

God provides.  He always does.  These may be 2 apples, and may not seem like much, but they made me think of how he gives us what we need, and how grateful I should be.

After giving Thanks, we shined them up, sliced them and divided them for everyone to share.

                                                         And they were delicious!