Glorius Monday!

We had a beautiful weekend with perfect sunny 70 degree weather. But the weatherman is threatening us with severe weather today. Even chances of tornadoes.

So, I'm up at an early 5:30 to get a jump on the weather. First I sit down and enjoy a comforting breakfast and quiet time with my sweetie before he goes off to work. Then I throw in a load of laundry and

take my daily walk, quite a bit early today. I have the wind for my walking companion. It gives me gentle, playful little pushes as I walk toward the end of our road but when I turn around to start back it becomes quite the prankster. It gets in front of me, making my walk a bit of a challenge.

Being energized from my outing, I stop to enjoy the sight of

the new signs of spring in our front yard, the cherry trees are bursting with new buds and even some blooms.

I decide to pick a few of my daffodils to bring inside on this cloudy, blustery day. 

I also cut a few sprigs of blooms from my forsythia bush.

Lastly, I tuck in a little bunch of berries from my nandina bush. It's a reminder to me that we'll still have more cold weather.  We have Blackberry Winter and Easter Snap still to go.  But the cheerful spot of red also reminds me that there is beauty in every season if I just look for it.

After dropping my bouquet into a vase, letting it arrange its self, I set the cheerful spot of sunshine on my breakfast room table and then go about finishing up the rest of my chores.

With the laundry all done up and the vacuuming finished, I go around opening up my windows to let the wind bring in some fresh air.  As I open the windows I hear the cows lowing out in the pasture.  They seem to sense changes in the weather.  I hear my wind chimes playing their praise songs to God.  While putting supper in the slow cooker I look into the dining room to see the wind playing with the lace curtains.  

Now with my chores finished and supper cooking, I can get along to my playtime.  I have several little sewey projects I'd like to do today.  I'll start with a pampering project for me.  I pull out some left over flannel scraps to make myself some soft cheery little hankies to tuck in my pocket for the coming spring allergy season. 

I hope you are having a lovely beginning to your new week too.  Thanks for stopping by to visit with me.

~ Sherry ~

This post is linked to:  Whatever You Want Wednesday

A day of little pleasures

My Monday was a day filled with simple pleasures.

A basket of love on the table and sunshine streaming through the window.

My "new" thrifted sweater soaking in its sweet-smelling rinse water.

My sparkly new vanity top in our little bathroom.

Visiting my clothesline to hang out my freshly washed sweater in the warm sunshine.

I love everything about my new sweater; the cuddly softness, the cotton candy color, the rose buttons I replaced the old yellowed ones with. And especially the label. Old labels look like a work of art and love to me.  Not the stamped in or rough, prickly ones we must endure now, but the soft, carefully embroidered ones of yesteryear.  What pleasure I get for a mere $1.79. 

  

And now, on this glorius new day, I'm going to slip on my new pink friend and take a happy trip to the grocery store. 

This post is linked to: Rednesday, Show and Tell Friday,  Friday Pretties, Inspiration Friday, Feathered Nest Friday, Pink Saturday

Being Happy With What I Have

I was so excited to find out Rust-Oleum makes a paint kit for cabinets!  They promise no stripping, sanding, or priming!  I had to rush right over to their website and take a look at this miracle kit myself! They even have a Kitchen Makeover Virtual Tool so that you can dream in living color!

I've been wanting to paint my cabinets for ever so long.  Only one thing has kept me from it, well not one thing, one person, my loving husband.  Lest you think I'm married to a man that doesn't care about what I want let me first tell you that with a little urging from me he put in a white ceramic tile backsplash and had our old laminate cabinet tops replaced with quartz. He lets me choose the color scheme in every room.  He tries his best to make me happy.  But he draws the line at painting our cabinets. He loves the natural look of the oak grain shining through.

But that doesn't keep me from dreaming of freshly painted cabinets.  Which would I choose?  Something very light?

Or something more traditional?  These Gingerbread glazed cabinets are beautiful with their Pebbled Ivory countertops.  But wait a minute!

They're not really that different from what I already have!

Okay, I'm contented with what I have again, for right now. :)  But this warmer, sunnier weather has got me wanting to make something over!  Think I'll go have a look at my summer clothes.  They might could do with a little sprucing up in some way.  And I don't think hubby will mind a bit.


This post is linked to:  Show and Tell Friday

A Happy Valentine

 I'm up bright and early this morning to begin my favorite day of the year! 

I have BIG plans!

Our special supper is in the Crock pot ~ pot roast and vegetables.  I made extra rolls a few days ago and have them stashed away in the freezer all ready to pull out and finish cooking to go with our meal this afternoon.

Now I'm going to get my special Valentine treats all baked up for my guys and my household chores done this morning while the temps are still quite chilly.  Because....the weatherman has promised us a sunny day with afternoon temperatures in the 60's!  As soon as my work is done I plan to go outside and play in the sunshine!

Want a peek at my thrifty decorations?  I made everything from supplies I already had.  And they make me quite happy.

My wishes to You from A Happy Valentine!

May Your Day be Blessed!

There's no place like home

I wake up thinking about the smells of home this morning. The smell of the fresh coffee beans when I open the bag. It gets even better while grinding them, and then the brewing of the coffee....Ah, heaven on earth.

I get a little whiff of the smoky wood smell when sweet hubby opens the heater door to add more wood to the fire for his sweetie before he goes to work. That's true love.

The smell of yesterday's home made bread lingers in the air. I so enjoyed the mixing and the kneading. A great stress release. That is, if I had any stress to relieve. I was very happy with the results from a new-to-me recipe. Yeast Corn Bread Loaf it's called. Very easy to make and very yummy served warm with real butter. You can get the recipe here.  It looks perfect doesn't it?

But just to prove the old saying, "Looks can be deceiving," here's the other side. 

But that didn't hamper the flavor a bit. 

We have snow on the ground again this morning.  Our second measurable snowfall this year.  An uncommon occurrence in Alabama.  But, the beautiful white outdoors doesn't keep me from dreaming of spring.  The Lilly Pulitzer website fuels my spring dreaming.  I'm dreaming of pink sandals...

...and spending some time at my clothesline.  Nothing smells better than fresh air-dried laundry.  Well, maybe chocolate. :)

I wanted to get a picture of the beautiful Cardinals gathered around my snow capped bird feeder this morning, but I didn't want to venture out into the cold frosty air.  I know, I'm a chicken...but I'm a warm chicken.  So instead, I pulled out some of my old drawings and am presenting my own renderings of my clothesline and my Red Love Birds. 

Oh, and that reminds me, I must pull out my art supplies today and make my sweetie a Valentine.

Hope you have a lovely warm day.

~ Sherry ~

This post is linked to:  Show and Tell Friday, Pink Saturday

Cheering up the Cold Winter Days

I think the cold winter days can bring out the best in homemakers. We use what resources we have to keep the home cheery and bright for our loved ones as well as for ourselves.

Craving some brights on my mantel but not wanting to spend much, if any, money, I checked out the craft supplies on hand and then using instructions I found here, I made white carnations from tissue paper and painted the edges of a few of them with a little red watercolor paint.

I like the blending of the red with the pink on my Valentine mantel.

Seeing how just a little color could bring so much cheer to a room, I moved on to the next color-needy room; the boys' bathroom.  I picked a couple of colors out of the picture hanging on the wall in there.  (I love gazing at this picture.  It reminds me of my own little Pleasant Valley.)

Deciding to match the blues and pinks in the painting, I took a trip to the Dollar General.  There I found this bright blue tissue paper and the little handful of already-made bright pink flowers to give an added punch of color. I gave the blue flower petals pointed edges, thinking it looked more guy-like than rounded petals.  The whole room just came alive with my new $2 arrangement.

The bright colors brought so much cheer to my day that I decided to pass it on to my guys.  So I had a tummy-warming, smile-making meal ready when they came home; meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  I used my Mama's meatloaf recipe (found below) and made the potatoes with real butter and whole milk.  I was always so happy to see this meal on our table back home when I was a little girl.  Real comfort food. 

Well, that was all yesterday and now it's another winter's day with the need for more color.  I got up this morning and dressed in grays and blacks to go to the grocery store.  But still craving cheery color, I threw this necklace on, knowing I always feel happier when wearing it.  The lady at the grocery check-out commented on my "cute little outfit," making me even happier.

Mama's Simple Meat Loaf

1 pound ground round

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup oats

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup catsup

Topping:

1 teaspoon mustard

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon vinegar

1/2 cup catsup

Combine all ingredients for meatloaf.  Mix well. Pack into baking dish.  Mix topping ingredients.  Pour over meatloaf.  Bake one hour at 350 degrees.  Serves 8

This post is linked to:  Show and Tell Friday

What A Perfect Day to Stay Home!



Nowhere!  I plan to stay home on this cold, rainy day.  My household chores are all done:  The kitchen's clean.

The laundry is all folded and put away.  Now I look forward to several hours of cozy crafty fun before the family comes home and gathers round the table for supper. (We're having homemade pizza tonight, yum!)

I hope you enjoyed the pictures from my 1957 story book, Where Are You Going Today,  and I hope that you have a picture-perfect day wherever you are.  ~ Sherry

This post is linked to:  Show and Tell Friday

An Afternoon of Delight

My little grocery store did have cheery flowers waiting for me yesterday, just like I'd hoped!

And the bookmobile supplied me with a new month's worth of delightful reading.  So, now I'll just get all my tasks done before sitting down to an afternoon of guiltless pleasure.

Now....I've swept and mopped the floors, made the rolls and got them rising.

I've planned supper.



By the way, that second ingredient is 3/4 cup chopped onion.



I've fed the fire,

made my cup of hot tea,

and I've even taken my frigid walk to the end of our country lane and back for the day!  I think I've earned a couple of hours to sit in my favorite chair in front of the warm hearth and enjoy an afternoon of reading and crafting pleasures.  I'm so glad you stopped by to enjoy this special time with me.

Post linked to:  Whatever You Want Wednesday, Show and Tell Friday