What could be sweeter ...

... than a basket of kitties?



These little cuties are the newest additions to our homeplace. Aren't they precious?

Postscript: For those of you that expressed your concern, though we can't spray and neuter every stray cat that visits us for a while, this Mama Cat does have an appointment with the vet to be spayed after these little kitties are weaned. Looks like she is a keeper for sure! :)

Blessings,
Lea

From My Kitchen ~ Homemade Cloverleaf Rolls

I just love to make homemade bread. I love the way it fills our home with a delicious scent. I love kneading it by hand ~ it just plain ole' feels good! LOL And I really love the way my husband and boys make over me when I bake. I get lots of extra lovin' on bread baking day. :)



But most of all, I take great satisfaction in knowing that I am making something for my family that doesn't contain all the chemicals and preservatives that store bought breads contain.

It is one of my goals this year to create a routine for myself to bake enough bread each week to eliminate our reliance on store bought. And a secondary goal would be to replace some of my store bought ingredients with freshly, ground whole wheat.

Some time back, I purchased a very nice hand powered grain mill from Lehman's Non-Electric. Little did I realize that you must have an extremely solid surface in order to use it. I still giggle a little thinking of the first time I set it up and began to grind. Wheat nuts were flying all over the room and the table was slowly vibrating across the floor. Colton thought it was hilarious while I wanted to cry.



I've debated purchasing an electric mill, but I think I would prefer to keep my non-electric and invest in a solid oak table instead. Still thinking about that ....

Well I'm telling you that whole, long story just to tell you this ... I made some wonderful homemade cloverleaf rolls tonight!

I used a recipe from my dear friend, Mary of And Even If ... And they were wonderful! Mine don't look nearly as good as Mary's but they were so tasty. My family just raved about them. So I wanted to share Mary's recipe with you.



Mary's Homemade Texas Ranch Rolls
(Mary is a Texas girl and I couldn't resist embellishing the name just a bit.)

First, dissolve 2 packages of yeast in 2 cups of warm water.

Then in a large mixing bowl, place the following:
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

Mix egg mixture into the yeast water and stir well.

One cup at a time, add 5-6 cups of flour to the mixture. Knead by hand or use your mixer if you have a kneading attachment until the flour takes on a nice elastic feel.

Place large roll into a greased bowl - I prefer to use butter. Then cover and allow to rise in a warm place until it almost doubles in bulk. Depending on the temperature this may take about 30 minutes or more.

Get your muffin tin already by rubbing the cups with ... you guessed it ... more butter! (You can see why these rolls are so very tasty, can't you?)

Then pinch off walnut-sized pieces and roll them into balls. Place three dough balls into each cupcake cup. Allow these to rise in a nice warm spot until they rise just above the cup. Then they're ready to bake.



Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and .... brush with more butter!

This recipe makes about 30 absolutely beautiful rolls. I split the dough and made 18 rolls and one small loaf of bread for sandwiches for tomorrow's lunch.



Hope you enjoy Mary's recipe as much as we have!

Blessings,
Lea

From My Kitchen ~ Mini Cheesecakes

Sitting down here to write a post today, I feel like I'm visiting an old friend. Life has been bustling around our homeplace leaving little time for so many other pleasures. It's so nice to be back.

Today our family has enjoyed a day of quiet rest at home. After morning worship, I took a leisurely walk to check on all the new life that seems to be sprouting everywhere.

Colton enjoying an afternoon nap.

So many little things that I planted last year (and have forgotten about) are surprising me ~ lemon balm, lillies and the wild roses that I transplanted from the forest which have grown from one plant to three! Just moments ago I picked a small handful of lavendar that has the most wondrous fragrance. If you sleep with a little sachet of lavendar under your pillow, the fragrance of this herb helps to relax your body and promotes a peaceful sleep. I'm going to tie these up and use them tonight under my pillow.

Lavendar springing to life

Luke requested that I bake some cheesecakes for him today. I always make them at Christmas time, but never seem to make them during the remaining 264 days of the year. Why is that, I wonder? Well, Luke (or quite possibly Luke's stomach) reminded me that every day is special and that I need to make them more often. So today I did just that especially for him.

Here's my simple recipe:



Mini Cheesecakes
3 pkg 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C sugar
1 can fruit filling or fresh berries
1 box vanilla wafers
muffin liners (24)



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the softened cream cheese and eggs. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla beating until smooth.



Place one wafter into each muffin liner in cupcake tin. Pour the mixture into each cup until 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 minutes or until done. Cool completely and top with fruit. Refrigerate.

Of course, I had to enjoy one myself along with my favorite little snowman mug that I use even in July!



I can hardly wait to share all that's been happening around our place.

Blessings,
Lea

A Place For Me ~

Linda of Behind My Red Door recently posted about where she blogs. She prompted me to spruce up my journaling spot a bit. I really desired a place that just feels good when I sit down to business and pleasure.

This old computer has been all over this house. I've tried it in every room, but now that Jase has his own laptop, I've moved it into my bedroom where I can enjoy being surrounded by pretty, feminine things while I'm working. So I carved out a small and practical corner in our bedroom where I can do my sewing and enjoy my computer time.



So here is where I sit and visit with you. So many of the little treasures I've surrounded myself with are gifts from my sweet online friends. I love the old tag hanging on my lamp. It says ~ "The Lord bless and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!" It's wonderful to sit down and be reminded of that blessing daily.



Mary created the pinkeep wall hanging and the Grandmother's garden quilt block. The workmanship is just amazing and so inspiring. Jeffrey bought me my own little Beatle Bug matchbox car so I could race with them ~ I thought that was so sweet. Other reminders of my friends are from Linda, Paula, Rhonda and Patricia. Thanks for making my special place even more special.



To my left, I have set up a table for my sewing machine and notions. I completed the stitchery on the wall named "Job's Tears" while I was carrying Colton. It's very special to me because it reminds me of yet another time that the Lord carried me through a trial. The first pinkeep I ever got was the little lady mouse sitting on the stacked boxes. My husband saw it at a yard sale on his way home from work years and years ago and brought it home for me. I've loved pinkeeps ever since.

The little white basket with the pink rose is my latest pinkeep creation. The small chest of drawers is a recent Goodwill find that I hope to paint black sometime in the near future ~ its on my never ending list of projects that I can hardly wait to do! My grandmother's old fruit jars are filled with an assortment of old buttons. Can you ever have too many buttons? And the two little silver containers are recent thrift finds that I plan to repurpose into pinkeeps. Aren't they just lovely?



And to my right, I have set up an antique ironing board. I really do use it for ironing when I'm making dolls or aprons. I don't mind leaving it up like I would a regular irong board. Of course, it is currently covered with fabrics and charm packs that I just can't bear to put away. But I love to look at them for inspiration. You know, I can look at them for weeks and weeks, and then one day I'll look and know exactly what I need to do with it. I couldn't do that if it was neatly place in a box out of sight, could I?

Behind the old ironing board is a very old ladder. I found that old ladder at a yard sale when I lived in Chicago. (I've been thrifting for a very long time!) It was at a house about 10 blocks from my home and I bought it without realizing it would not fit into my tiny car. Well I had already envisioned it with quilts hanging on it and could not leave it behind, so Jase & Luke who were just little guys ~ maybe 10 & 6 years old ~ carried that ladder all the way home for me while I slowly followed in the car. They thought it was great fun and of course, used it well to climb trees before I finally moved it indoors for my quilts. Such a fun memory!



Well now it has been sawed in two pieces and this one holds four old quilt tops that I have found in my treasure hunts. I especially like those that have incorporated feedsack materials. Three of them are all hand-pieced and the bottom one is hand quilted as well. I suppose I treasure them because I know how much work some dear woman invested in creating them. I often wonder why they were never completed and ended up discarded ~ but I take good care of them and their efforts are not forgotten.

So now you'll know where I am when I visit with you. This will probably be my last post for a while. I am hopelessly behind in visiting and can hardly wait to catch up and see what you've all been up to! Maybe I'll get to sneak in some time tonight.

Be sure to stop by Leslie of My Country Home to see what other gals are working on this Wednesday.

Most importantly of all, Jase is doing very well. His spirits are high and he is keeping busy with school and work. I can hear him down the hall laughing with his brothers ... life is sweet!

Blessings,
Lea

Frugal Handsoap

If you're like our one-income family, frugal living is not just fashionable but often a necessity. We're always looking for ways to live a little simpler, a little less expensively and more environmentally friendly.

Have you noticed that all my photos are taken on this same counter? Someday when Colton outgrows his school table, I hope for a nice hoosier-style cabinet with lots of drawers and extra work space ... but until then ...

This frugal hint is one that meets all those criteria and is very simple to implement.

In our family, we use store bought liquid hand soap always buying the jumbo size bottle to refill all the small hand dispensers in the house. Recently, I've found a way to make the jumbo size bottle last well over 10 times longer.

Just purchase several of the prefilled foamable hand soaps from your local store. After you use up the soap in them, simply reuse the foaming handsoap dispenser by adding 2 teaspoons of the liquid handsoap and then slowly fill the individual hand dispenser with water to about 1/2 inch below the top of the bottle. Invert the bottle several times to mix the water and soap ... and you're ready to go with a whole new bottle of foaming soap.





If you like your foaming soap a little thicker, just add an extra teaspoon of liquid soap to the water. I like the foam because it doesn't slide off little hands and right down the sink. It sticks making it easier for little ones to wash their hands successfully.



I love this idea because in it not only saves money, but also reduces waste. That's ten less plastic bottles that will be filling our landfills! Multiply that by the number of bottles of soap you will use a year ... and multiply that by years ... you can see the impact that this one little change can make.

Of course, you can use this idea with your favorite liquid hand soaps from Bath & Body and make them last much longer as well.

Enjoy,
Lea

Blessings Abound Even In Trials

Jeffrey & Jase on our Sunday walk

Friday was a tough day for us all. I think we were all a bit shocked to find that Jase's EKG was abnormal. Somehow deep in the recesses of my heart, I wanted to believe that each family is only allowed so many trials in their lifetime and if that was true, surely we had met our quota! I suppose I was having a bit of a pity party. In reality, I know life holds no such guarantees and trials will remain a part of the journey until its our time to go Home.

Well, we visited the doctor to gather Jase's records and were asked some astounding questions that I can't even bring myself to repeat. I felt a bit faint myself, and Jase was so scared. We returned home and while the boys busied themselves with some game time, I turned on the computer and was just overwhelmed with the prayers and support and scripture that so many of you shared with me. It was just exactly what I needed. I closed my door and wept and prayed and finally scooped myself up with renewed strength.

Yes, there will be trials but I KNOW God is right here to hold our hands and lead us through the dark. He has given me a peace (the kind that surpasses understanding) and strength that I truly did not possess three years ago when our family was confronted with its darkest moment with Colton's health battles. Sadly, I did not handle that one with grace. And I know that any strength or grace that I now possess is from God alone. It is a blessing that I would not have gained had I not traveled that difficult path. And so though I would not choose to repeat it, I find my heart grateful for the blessings that arose from that challenge and choose to view this next challenge as a path to something much greater. And though I don't know the outcome, I do know that my character and Jase's will be further refined by the fire and that we'll emerge on the other side victorious and stronger still.

And each of you, too, are gifts from the Lord. Thank you for bathing Jase (and me) in prayer. This morning, our family gathered around the computer and read aloud your prayers, scriptures and encouragement. It was such a blessing to us all and I know that Jase was encouraged as well.

And God has already answered one of those prayers. We were able to secure a new appointment with a cardiologist for Jase at Vanderbuilt in Nashville. We are now scheduled for February 25th ... much better than waiting until late March.

Jase was in much better spirits today. We enjoyed some family worship time and then headed to the woods for a hike to enjoy the little hints of springtime that are beginning to appear. Jase was teasing and being his silly self which was good for my "Mamas heart" to see. It was a happy day.

Jase taking a moment to "chillax" in the hammock.

Luke in his handmade fort.

Colton & I showing off our nature treasures that we collected.

If I could, I would stretch my arms from Washington state to Australia and give you all a big hug. (I'm a hugger!) And though I am truly never at a loss for words, I struggle to express how much I appreciate your care. Somehow I hope you'll know.

Be blessed,
Lea

Sweet Annies & Pinkeeps ~

Lately, I've been enjoying bits of time in the evening to indulge in some creative sewing. I know that soon spring will be here along with lots of outdoor work and not much time for handwork.

Just last night I put the finishing handwork on these two little darlings. I put some hand-stitching on each of their dresses and made them each a grubby bunny to love.

These little cuties never made it to my shop but have found a home, but I'll be making another soon.

This weekend, I'll be putting them in my Etsy shop or on eBay. I haven't quite decided yet. But I do know that I am going to begin working on one for myself tonight and the boys suggested I make a bunch of bunnies to tuck around the house so I'll probably do that as well.

Then I made this little pinkeep. I find such pleasure in discovering unusual containers to create pinkeeps from. This time I found a tiny teacup painted in blues and yellows. Isn't it sweet?



And here is a pinkeep that I made from a miniature tin watering can.



And finally, here is the paint and the wallpaper border that I'll be using for my laundry room. That project is still on hold but I need to finish it soon. My dad is coming to install a nice shelf for me above my washer & dryer. Don't you just love shelves? I don't plan to use it for practical storage, but want to decorate it with lace and old laundry & kitchen items. Since I spend so much time in that tiny room, I really want it to be a happy place!



Be sure to stop by Leslie of My Country Home to see what other gals are working on this Wednesday.

Blessings & joy,
Lea

From My Kitchen ~Old Fashioned Apple Cake

I just have to share a wonderful recipe that I discovered at Mandy's Mayberry State of Mind. It is a very old recipe and turned out so good that both Jase & Luke declared it "Awesome"! That, my friends, is an excellent review especially since Luke doesn't even enjoy cake. So thank you, Mandy, for adding another recipe to our Family Favorites!

Aren't these just the prettiest little apples? And their taste was amazing. I bought them for juicing but they were perfect for this cake. Every apple should taste so good!

This cake is heavy and dense but the fresh apples add just the right burst of juiciness ~ is that a word? Well, that's what they do anyway.

Miss Earline's Old-Fashioned Apple Cake

3 apples peeled and chopped
2 1/2 cups flour (use self rising, or plain flour plus 4 tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp salt)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Need help peeling those apples? Just get one of these apple peelers and they'll be begging to peel "just one more"! LOL My boys declare it the most effective ingenius invention of the 20th century.

Just dump all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and hand mix. The mixture will be very thick and heavy.

Then spoon the mix into a well greased and flour bundt or tube pan. I used an old angel food pan and it worked great!

I wish I could remember where I got this old, heavy pan. It has more writing on it than a short novel! Even the Department of Agriculture has to get their little statement engraved on the pan too! It says that it is a Re-Kul Pan O Cake ~ Propety of Luker Cakes of Urbana, Illnois. Apparently, they made their Angel Food cake and sold them in the pan which could be returned for a refund within 10 days! It has an address on the bottom where you can send for the free recipe as well. Wonder if the company still exists? I might just give it a try.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour until done.

The finished cake without the glaze drizzle. It was soooo good!

Mandy suggests that if you'd like a little extra sweetness, you can make a sweet glaze from powdered sugar and just a bit of milk to drizzle over the cooled cake. I didn't use the glaze but I'm sure it makes it extra pretty as well.

Next time I make this recipe, I'm going to try to replace a portion of the oil with applesauce and then try replacing the entire cup of oil with applesauce. Applesauce is a great oil replacement in most baked goods. Just replace an equal amount of oil with an equivalent amount of applesauce. It cuts calories and tastes great. After 40, it seems every little calorie counts! LOL

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did! If you give it a try, be sure to stop by and thank Mandy for sharing her old family recipe with us.

Blessings,
Lea

From My Kitchen ~ Banana Bread

This recipe for Banana Bread was shared with me by my neighbor, Jeanne. It makes one loaf of moist bread and fills the entire house with the most wonderful fragrance. It never lasts more than a day around here.

In fact, I didn't tell a soul I was baking bread because I wanted to take a photo before the vultures began circling. But it is not easy to keep this fragrant bread a secret.

And sure enough after it got really baking there was someone marching through my kitchen every 5 minutes. I even got "volunteers" to help me loosen it from the pan and put it into the basket! Such generous men I live with ~ LOL! No one ever volunteers to help with the broccoli. Luke even convinced me that the photo would look better with one piece taken out. And I think it really does!

Funny, no one offered to wash the pan!

Banana Bread
1 c sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
2 eggs, unbeaten
1 1/2 c ripe bananas, mashed
1 T lemon juice
2 C plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c nuts, chopped
1 t vanilla

Cream the sugar and butter together. Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
Then stir in bananas and lemon juice.

Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture mixing quickly.

Add vanilla and stir in chopped nuts.

Bake in greased 9x5x3 loaf pan at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Cool on rack.


You can use whatever nuts you have on hand. Jeanne used walnuts which was really delicious, but I chose pecans because I have those in abundance. It did change the taste slightly but was really good nonetheless.

Mary at And Even If ... told me that you can freeze overripe bananas in their peeling until you're ready to make bread. I didn't know that. I can't tell you how many bananas have been tossed in the compost heap. It will be nice to have some on hand just when I want a fresh loaf of bread, and to be less wasteful as well.

Enjoy,
Lea

Bloggy wins & weekend chatter

I recently won two lovely giveaways and just wanted to share my gifts ~

From Patricia at Vintage Linen Treasures I received this beautiful hand-embroidered linen. I just love it and will use it in my bedroom redo in April. I am so drawn to vintage & farmhouse accents that I just know I'll be adding more of those pretty things to my home decorating. If you enjoy vintage treasures, you will certainly enjoy visiting Patricia's peaceful journal. Thank you so much, Patricia!



And on Friday, I receive these treasures in the mail from Dena at Crazy Lady Primitives. Each is in one of my favorite fragrances, Pumpkin Crunch Cake. Honestly, I wish you could smell this. Even my boys were impressed. They agree that it smells exactly like the real thing ... so much that I had to bake them some pumpkin bread that evening! LOL Thanks, Dena, for sharing!



Our weekend has been a quiet one.

On Friday, I did take Jase (19) to the doctor. He fainted on Thursday morning for no apparent reason and now the doctor wants to run some tests on his heart. So we'll go to the hospital on Monday for an EKG and then he'll wear a heart monitor for 24 hours to record his heart function. He will not be released to drive until they rule out any problems that might occur again since this happened last April as well. Yet another challenge before us it seems. But God has brought us through some pretty tremendous challenges, and I'm certain He'll carry us through this one as well.

So today we stayed quietly at home. Jase did go to work for a couple of hours but they sent him home early to rest. And while he rested, Jeff & the younger boys spent the day having a "Matchbox Car Challenge." They run this little plastic car track from a table in the living room to the slick floor of the kitchen. Then the cars are sent down the track and they race to see whose can go the farthest across the long kitchen floor. Oh the fun a little gravity can afford!

You would think they were actually racing at Nascar with the whooping and cheering going on. Colton loves it ~ he hums, rocks and flaps at the same time which is a sure sign that he is a happy kid! They have hundreds of cars and they have a name for each ~ names like Orange Peel, Yellow Lightening, The Monkey, Golden Sun, and The Lion. And what amazes me is that they know them all without fail! (And Colton tries to tell me that he can't possibly remember the 50 states???? I don't buy that for one minute.) DH still has cars from his childhood and has bought cars for the boys since Jase was born. It is quite a sight! Just watching them, I feel like I get a little peek at my husband when he was a boy.

Meanwhile, I sat at the end of the kitchen as "judge" and folded laundry, watched some videos on Square Foot Gardening while taking notes and did some baking. I think I've hardly left kitchen all day but it was pleasant nonetheless.

Tonight we're going to watch a family movie. Did you know you can watch movies on-line for free? We only have one channel at home and most all of it is indecent for viewing so I was thrilled when the boys discovered a way we can selectively choose a movie now & then ~ even the old family classics that most video shops don't even carry these days. And I am so hoping that I get to do a little hand sewing while we enjoy the movie!

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend as well!

Blessings,
Lea

My Favorite Things ~ Fresh Eggs

Fresh eggs directly from the hen are most definately one of my favorite things. I spent all my life dreaming about a simpler life, and now that I'm finally here, it really is everything I had hoped for. I don't think I'll ever get over the thrill of walking outside early in the morning to find breakfast freshly delivered, free of hormones and chemicals.



Not everyone shares my endless enthusiasm. I walked into the kitchen this morning cradling those 3 warm eggs in my hand and announced to Colton in my silly sing song voice, "Look what I have for breakfast!" He smiled very sweetly and then said, "Mom, you do this every morning!" LOL Guess he is just not as thrilled as I am. But let me tell you, he sure does enjoy his country breakfast.

I hope to post soon about some frugal and green homemade cleaning products that I've been using. I really enjoy spending less and feeling good about having eliminating chemicals in my home and environment. I've been using a soft scrub and a spray cleaner that are working marvelously and costs just pennies to make. I'm looking forward to sharing those soon.

Well I'm off to town now. Jase needs to see the doctor today and while we're there, I hope to treat the boys to an ice cream. It's a sunshiney, warm day and I'm looking forward to the country drive. It won't be long before the daffodils will begin making their appearance. I can hardly wait!

Be blessed,
Lea

The Anniversary Quilt

Long, long ago in a time almost forgotten, I began a sampler quilt! LOL In fact, it was 12 years ago. I can't believe I actually admitted that ~ so embarrassing.

I had carried Colton for 3 months when premature labor began. The doctor ordered complete flat bed rest for the remaining 6 months. During that time, Mom came over every day and stayed until Jeff returned from work. She cared for me and Jase (8) and Luke (3), cooked our meals, kept house and kept me company. (Such an angel!) It was during that trying time that I began to piece these sampler blocks.

I've averaged about .75 blocks per year (don't laugh)! But this year, I have decided that this project needs to be finished, and it will be a gift for Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary. I WILL hand-piece the remaining 3 blocks before spring.

Here are the ones that are completed:

Sunshine & Shadowsmy favorite block with 115 pieces.

The School Houseanother favorite

The Flower Basket

Card Tricks

FriendshipIn the center of this block I'll stitch the date and a message to Mom & Dad

The Monkey Wrench

Flying Geese

the Log Cabin

Grandmother's Fan

The remaining 3 blocks of this sampler quilt are The Bear Paw, Sunbonnet Sue and Grandmother's Flower Garden which I'm still not certain how to accomplish yet. But I am determined to have it done this year! You girls hold me to that, okay! LOL

Wishing you a day filled with joy,
Lea

Stars in the Snow Little Quilt ~Whatcha Working on Wednesday?

I have envisioned the hallway of our small home lined with little quilts ever since I picked up my first Little Quilts book ~ "Living with Little Quilts". It is a delightful book showing how to make and use little quilts to warm and decorate your home. (Psst ... you'd really like this one, Nancy Jo!)



When we lived in Georgia, I was so fortunate to live very close the Little Quilts Shoppe and was always inspired. The ladies there were so kind and helpful, but somehow I never did get around to making one.

This year, however, my goal is to create at least four little quilts for my hallway ~ possibly one to represent each of the four seasons. And "Stars in the Snow" is my very first to represent Winter. The book I'm using now, "Little Quilts All Through the House", shows this particular pattern with the stars in red against a white background. It is really pretty, but when I saw this blue fabric sprinkled with snowflakes, I thought it a better choice for me.

Here are my six little 5 inch blocks:



Here it is assembled with a border:

Measures 15" x 19"

While I did hand-piece the entire little quilt, I'm an amateur quilter so they are quite imperfect. I realize now that I pressed some of the seams the wrong way on them so the white shows through a bit. But even in their imperfection, I am quite happy with them ~ especially the way the white contrasts with the blue.

For now I have to put it aside for a few days while I complete 2 quilts blocks of a UFO sampler quilt that I began some years ago. It is an anniversary gift for my mom & dad, and I am so excited about it!

Be sure to stop by Leslie of My Country Home to see what other gals are working on this Wednesday.

Blessings & joy,
Lea