Grace Called My Name - Kathryn Scott

Accent or Drawl...

Hello,

Hope your day went well.  :)

My day went pretty good.   When I came home for lunch today, I took a few pictures.

Do you remember, last year when my ornamental pear tree was damaged in a storm?  It lost a big limb which left one side stripped bare.  Yesterday another side of the tree split.  I guess it did so because of the heat and dryness.



Here it is split...

Here it is cut and diced.

Then I took shots of some of my pretty flowers.  Here is the moss rose... this picture does not do them justice, as the colors are so vibrant to the naked eye.

The marigolds are loaded down...

and I got this pretty butterfly too.

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CHANGES....

As you know there have been quite a few changes at work in the past year.  The changes are still happening but I believe for the good.   I found out yesterday that we will be scheduled off all of next week.  I hadn't planned on that, but I plan on enjoying the time off just the same. :)

I also found today, I have a new supervisor starting the week we return to work.  I look forward to that case as I understand he has a lot of experience in environment, health and safety.  I'm taking a 30 hour OSHA course online, but also hope to learn from a more experienced person.  

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INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Every journey has an end... but when it does, a new one begins.

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NOTE OF SILLINESS

 

 My daughter informed me, today, there is a National Speak like Sean Connery Day.  Now being a Sean Connery fan, I had to look that up and sure enough, there happens to be several.

Go figure.

The one that makes the most sense to me is the one on his birthday, August 25.  Though I won't participate due to the fact I cannot get the accent... yes I have tried ... (there's the silliness for you).  If God wanted me to talk like that He would planted me in beautiful Scotland instead of the southern part of the United States with its southern charm and drawl.  :)

I have been a fan of Sean Connery since my childhood.

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I guess that's all I have this evening.

Have a terrific Thursday!

God bless and keep you,
Sonia

Scorchin' Hot!

It was a scorcher today and it's only beginning.

We were in the 3 digits today.   Here is the thermometer under my carport.  I took this picture around around 5:15 p.m. 

What better way to beat the heat than with some good cold watermelon?

I had to go to Fort Smith this evening for more yarn, for a baby blanket I'm crocheting, and got home around 9:30.  My desktop weather bug said it was 102° and it definitely felt like it.

Okay, enough about the heat...

The other day on the way home (I wasn't driving); I was playing with my camera, and caught this pic. 

It made me think of how easy it is to get focused on what is right in front of you.  When you are consumed by whatever has your interest at the time. You go along focused mainly on that one thing and it seems the rest of the world flies by, only to discover that it is you flying by a world going at its normal pace.  When you finally do slow down, you look around and wonder how much you missed.

Did you miss the beautiful sunrise or sunset, a child's smile, a cooling breath of fresh air, or the whisper of a calming voice saying "Be still, My child"?  

There are times, I go through life in a blur and when I do finally slow down and catch my breath, I realize I have failed my God, myself, my family and my friends, missing out on the important things.  

It's then the precious words spoken long ago, surface, reminding me that though I may falter and fail, my God is constant. He does not falter and loves me anyway. 

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  

He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters.  

He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou are  with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.

Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anoints my head with oil; my cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

God bless and keep you, 

Sonia

Good Medicine

Hello,

The tomatoes have started coming in.

Its time to make salsa!

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GOOD MEDICINE

It's always good to have a silly moment from time to time.

After all, laughter is good medicine.

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Have a marvelous Monday!!

God bless and keep you, 

Sonia

We Have A Winner!

Hello,

Let me begin with saying thank you to all those who participated in my Orangcha Glad It's Summer giveaway.  

THANKS!!

I had 31 entries.

I asked my husband to pick a number within the range of 1-31.   He got a calendar, turned to the month of May (it has 31 days), laid it on the floor, then turned his head and dropped a quarter on the calendar.  It landed on the 12th day of the month.  So the twelfth entry was the winner.

Let's give Mimi a round of congratulations!

MimiJune 14, 2012 10:45 AM

I am a follower - thanks for the chance!!

Mimi, please email me your snail mail address so I can send you your prize.  :)   Congratulations!!

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Here's wishing you all a Fabulous Friday!!

God bless and keep you,

Sonia

LAST CHANCE

TODAY'S THE LAST DAY, THE LAST CHANCE YOU HAVE!

Don't forget to put your name in for the giveaway!   You can leave comments and entries on this post today, I will add them with the post from last week.

ORANGECHA GLAD IT'S SUMMER GIVEAWAY!!

 I will post the winner on June 21st.

Here's what you get...
1- Skinny Stax (8 pieces of 9" x 21" 100% cotton fabric)
3 - spools of coordinating Presencia cotton thread
6 - tickets with your name and address, to go into a drawing for the Butterfly Quilt, the Logan County PieceMakers Quilt Guild will be giving away in October. (pic of it below)

So what do you have to do to be entered?

1.  Be a follower or become one and leave a comment letting me know.

If you do any of the following and leave a comment for each you do,
you will get an extra chance for each one.

2.  Share this giveaway on your blog
3.  Share this giveaway on Twitter or Pinterest
4.  Share this giveaway on Facebook or Google+
5.  Share one thing you love about summer

GOOD LUCK!!

Lil' Camera Ham and PieceMakers

Hello,

I've lots of pics tonight.  :)

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Lil' Camera Ham

I got to see one of my nephews yesterday.  He will be 3 on Monday.  Here he is making faces for me.  I always have a smile when he is around.

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Logan County PieceMakers

There are quite a few pictures this time, so I'm just showing you what I saw this evening. :)

First... The Hoffman Challenge. ( I did not get mine done in time and will have to show it later. )

Then the Show & Tell...

                         Then the Pin Cushion Exchange....

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Sew... what have you been up to lately?

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Have a wonderful Wednesday!

God bless and keep you,

Sonia

HFD, etc...

Hello,

Let me begin with...  

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!

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Here's the result for the poll I had for Ms. Owl...

Creepy looking	1 (11%)
Primitive looking with modern colors	7 (77%)
Other - please leave comment on blog of other.	1 (11%)

Thanks to those who participated!

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There are just a few more days left to enter my giveaway!  

The last day is this Wednesday, June 20th. 

Check it out at 

http://aquiltingsouthpawsthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/06/orangecha-glad-its-summer.html

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Have a great week!!

God bless and keep you,

Sonia

Mmmm... Blueberries!

Hello!

As promised, below is the recipe for my hubby's Blueberry Pie.

I want to tell you it is delicious!

I have made a commitment to climb back on to the wagon and cut out the sugars, sodas, fried foods and leavening's.  I made my start date today, so that I could have some of David's pie.  Yes... I did enjoy two slices of it... last night.  :)

The first couple of days are usually the roughest, when I start behaving myself again and cut out all the stuff that taste so good, but is not good for me.   After a few days though, I'll start feeling more like myself and feeling better.  Though it may take a little longer this time, since I've been off the wagon so long.  lol

My daughter, told me "Mom, you talk like you're a drunk".  Well, the way I look at it, an addiction is an addiction.

Okay... enough about that...

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RECIPE OF THE WEEK

David's Blueberry Pie

4 cups fresh blueberries, cleaned and de-stemmed
Juice 1/2 lemon
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 unbaked 9" pie shells

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. In a saucepan, boil 1 cup of blueberries with water and sugar, the liquid will turn blue/purple.  Strain.  Add the cornstarch to the liquid and boil until it thickens.
3. Pour the rest of the blueberries in a large boil.  Add the lemon juice to the thickened liquid and pour over the berries and mix.
4. Pour blueberry mixture into the unbaked pie shell.  Prepare the other pie shell to be the top crust.  Make four slits to vent the pie as it cooks.  Crimp the crust edges to seal the pie.
5. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes.  All ovens differ, so keep a watch on the pie to get a golden color.   
6. Serve with homemade whipped topping

Whipped Cream Topping

1/2 pint heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Chill a metal bowl and add cold heavy cream
2. Whip until it has soft peaks
3. Add the sugar and vanilla while continuing to whip.
4. Whip until it has firm peaks.

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If you haven't entered my giveaway yet, please check it out at
 http://aquiltingsouthpawsthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/06/orangecha-glad-its-summer.html

And check out Ms. Owl and vote on my poll at the top.

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2526434180823253950#editor/target=post;postID=7521935908201221630

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That's it for this evening.

Have a Fabulous Friday!!

God bless and keep you,

Sonia

Orangecha Glad It's Summer!

Hello!

Earlier I tried a new recipe, planning on sharing it, for this week's Recipe of the Week.

"Are you going use it?", you might ask.

Mercy No!   It was one of those recipes where you think it will be good, but when its done and you taste it, you realize you were strongly mistaken.  I'm not even going to give you the name of it, because I don't want you to take a chance with it. :)

However, my dear hubby is in the middle of preparing a blueberry pie as I type.   I will post it as the Recipe of the Week when it is done.  I taste tested the syrup David made (in the pic) and it is yummy!

That is one of the blessing for me to be married to my best friend, he is a great cook. :)

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Though it feels like summer already to most of us, the official first day of summer is eight days away.  So in honor of the much loved season I'm having a giveaway.

ORANGECHA GLAD IT'S SUMMER GIVEAWAY!!

It starts today and ends June 20th.   I will post the winner on June 21st.

Here's what you get...
1- Skinny Stax (8 pieces of 9" x 21" 100% cotton fabric)
3 - spools of coordinating Presencia cotton thread
6 - tickets with your name and address, to go into a drawing for the Butterfly Quilt, the Logan County PieceMakers Quilt Guild will be giving away in October. (pic of it below)

So what do you have to do to be entered?

1.  Be a follower or become one and leave a comment letting me know.

If you do any of the following and leave a comment for each you do,
you will get an extra chance for each one.

2.  Share this giveaway on your blog
3.  Share this giveaway on Twitter or Pinterest
4.  Share this giveaway on Facebook or Google+
5.  Share one thing you love about summer

Okay... so it begins now!  GOOD LUCK!!

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Don't forget to vote on my poll to the left about Ms. Owl.
You can see her at http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2526434180823253950#editor/target=post;postID=7521935908201221630

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Have a wonderful Wednesday!

God bless and keep you,
Sonia

Ms. Owl...

Hello,

Today has been a day of rest and spiritual rejuvenation.  It is always a good way to start a new week.

I finished my owl this afternoon.  My hubby told me she is kind of creepy looking.    To me, she's more primitive looking with modern colors.  :)

What do you think?

Creepy...
Primitive with modern colors...
Other....

Please vote on my poll to the left and leave a comment.

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 Check out Mom's Monday Mingle!

http://naptimeshopper.blogspot.com/2012/06/moms-monday-mingle-7.html


Check out I Love My Online Friends Monday Hop!

http://www.thethingswefindinside.com/2012/06/i-love-my-online-friends-monday-hop_10.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheThingsWeFindInside+%28The+Things+We+Find+Inside%29
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God bless and keep you,Sonia

Believe...

Hello,

It's been a busy week.  Hope all has gone well with you.

Early in the week we were blessed with some much needed rain.



When I woke this morning, I had a list of things I needed to work on today.

1. Work on crocheted baby afghan
2. Christmas block of the month
3. Weekly recipe
4. Owl project
5. Hoffman challenge

What did I get done?

1. Worked on crocheted baby afghan... have 17 blocks done thus far.
2. Finished Christmas block of the month... this is block #6, you can see the instructions by clicking the AQST Block of the Month tab.
3. Cooked the weekly recipe.  It is posted below and will be on the Weekly Recipes page (click tab above).
4. Started on Owl.  Had to draw out and plan my pattern, but got most of it done... Still need to stuff it and finish it up.

So, I was able to accomplish a little today.  I plan to finish the Owl tomorrow, that way I can work on my Hoffman challenge next week.  I need to have it finished in time for the quilt guild meeting this month, July 19th.

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I've been needing to replace my worn out tennis shoes and getting a new pair of jeans.  Yesterday, I went shopping.  I prayed earlier in the day asking my Heavenly Father to show me the shoes and jeans I need at a price I could afford.

So I went shopping for shoes first.   I try to buy Asics with duomax because I need very good arch support. The shoes usually run $70 or more.   So I'm looking through the shoes and I find a pair for $79.99, $144.99... I'm thinking "no way" to the $144... looking at the $79... and then my daughter says "Hey mom check these out"... she found a pair for $59.99.   I sat down and tried them on.   Perfect!   

So then I go looking for a pair of jeans.   I like Lee jeans, but there weren't any in the store I was at.  So I thought I'd try a pair of Levis... I'm looking at $39.99 for a pair of jeans, but I realize it is hard to find a good pair of jeans for less than that... So I try on a pair and I like them.   I make my way to the register and pay for my finds.   As I'm walking out, I'm looking at the receipt and I find that I paid $19.99 for the jeans!    

Between the shoes and the jeans, I had a total savings of $40.    Thank you Heavenly Father!

You may ask, "Do you really believe God has a hand in that kind of thing?"  My answer is Yes, I believe He is involved in every aspect of my life.

Mark 11: 22-24  And Jesus answering said unto them, Have faith in God.  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.  Therefore I say unto yo, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

So, my mountain was needing new shoes and jeans but had minimal cash to spend.  I asked and received what I needed within my budget.   How cool is that!!  :)

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WEEKLY RECIPE

I received this recipe from my friend Marita Cooper.

Mexican Chicken

1 bag of nacho cheese Doritos - crushed

1 onion - chopped

3 boneless chicken breast, fully cooked and chopped or shredded

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can rotel

1 8 oz. bag of shredded cheese

Cayenne pepper

Cook chicken until done, then shred.   Mix cream of mushroom, cream of chicken and rotel together and heat.  Mix the chicken and soup mixture together.  Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray and layer the ingredients as follows.

1. half of crushed Doritos
2. chopped onions
3. half of  shredded cheese
4. chicken/soup mixture
5. rest of crushed Doritos
6. rest of shredded cheese

Bake in a 350° F oven until bubbly and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

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Well, I guess that's all I have for now.   Have a beautiful rest of the weekend!

God bless and keep you,

Sonia

Pure Joy

Hello,


It was a beautiful day here in Arkansas.  I spent the day with my son and daughter.  One of the things that brings pure joy to my heart is when my kids get together to play music.



 We went flea marketing. Didn't find very much, but it was enjoyable all the same.   I did find a dish to use in the Fall.  I thought the colors were pretty.





As we got back home, I'm walking up to the house and I notice a marigold that had some how or another gotten away from the flower bed and on the other side of the driveway.  It is growing in the grass on its own.  I guess it blew over from last year or something.  ?  




Last night I took a picture of my first pink Day Lilly this year.





This morning David thinned out the carrots and brought in some baby ones along with jalapeno and banana peppers.  He tells me the tomato plants are loaded down.  I hope to put up some salsa this year.  That is one thing we eat year around and I'm thinking if I can process salsa this year, it might save a little on the grocery bill.  I plan to process or freeze what ever extra we get out of the garden.  So far we have been able to enjoy fresh squash but it is getting to the point I will have to process it too.

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Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own. ~ Charles Dickens

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I realized today I have not posted a "Block of the Month" in quite some time.  Well, since March, I think.  I will post Block #6 soon.   I also have to finish my Hoffman challenge and make a pin cushion within in the next two weeks.  It seems I get things done one time for a while, then I get behind and have to begin rushing... ever been there?

God bless and keep you,

Sonia