Sunday Blessing

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

from A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
by Martin Luther

Happy Reformation Day!

What hospitality looks like

I love having people in my home. I enjoy playing the role of "hospitable hostess" and caring for others needs in basic ways. Last night we had a friend over for a little while. Andrew, one of our good friends from church, needed a place to wait out the storm before continuing on his journey home. We invited him to stay here for a little while to avoid driving straight into one of the several severe storms we had last night. But this little story isn't really about Andrew, it's about me and the lessons I am trying to learn.

You see, (or you actually don't, which is probably a good thing right now...) our house is a MESS. After a much-more-hectic-than-normal weekend, my house looked like IT had a tornado tear through it.

So I did what most contentious hostesses will do in those circumstances. Apologize. and apologize again. and act really flustered. 

Then I remembered. You see, I've been reading the Reluctant Entertainer's book. More specifically the chapter titled "Overcoming the Pitfalls of Perfectionism." :) And I remembered her advice - that when you make a big deal over things being not perfect, you can tend to take the joy out of the evening.

I told Andrew and Mark what I was supposed to be learning and we all had a good chuckle. I quit apologizing and we enjoyed our Sunday evening snack: Crackers and cheese, grapes and popcorn, oreos and pop. We laughed and visited and tracked the movement of the storms online. And when there was a big enough break in the storms, Andrew made a run for it - oreos and root beer in hand. :)

Like it says on my dining room wall:

I really should remember that - I worked hard enough getting that quote up there! :) 

So what does hospitality look like?
It certainly isn't a perfect house.
It isn't perfect food.
Hospitality is helping others weather the "storms" of life (literal or figurative).
It is offering a place for others to pause and refresh before continuing life's journey.

(And now I'm off to do some damage control around here!) :) 

Finished Object Friday

Happy Friday!! I hope everyone has had a good week - full of put-together pumpkin bread! :)  My pumpkin bread is all gone, so I guess I shouldn't complain much. It was quite tasty! :)

Whew. I don't know about you, but my last couple of weeks have been very busy!! I haven't had much spare time for crafting. I did want to share a project I finished a while back for my Dad.

I made this dishcloth with a Texas motif on our trip to Tennessee in August.

Do you see Texas? It shows up a little better in this picture:

It was a fun, quick little knit! I also finished that Entralac dishcloth, but I need to finish up the ends - weaving and trimming... :)

I really have wanted to knit more, it's just the problem of finding the time and energy. I also baked a cake Thursday night, and I will be decorating it soon.... :)  So, I guess it hasn't been the most inspiring FOF... but I'm looking forward to visiting you and seeing your projects! :)

Happy Linking!

---

1. Fall Photo Shoot 2. Nikki (Little Boy's Blanket)

This linky list is now closed.

Get your own FREE Linky Tools

This is what happens...

...when you bake late at night.

...when you're loaf pan is too small.

...when you don't divide the batter between two pans.

...when the loaf isn't completely cooked when you remove it from the oven and onto the cooling rack.

...when you put it back into the oven to cook and then again put it on the cooling rack.

...when you are cooking and talking at the same time - late at night.



oops.

but it was really funny - especially late at night! when you are chatting with your friend/sister-in-law! But at least it tasted good!!! yum!!

It's pumpkin bread! I was soo happy to find some canned pumpkin a couple of weeks ago. This is my second loaf of bread, and I'm excited to make pumpkin cookies soon too!

Sunday Blessing

Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.

All you may need He will provide,
God will take care of you;
Nothing you ask will be denied,
God will take care of you.

Refrain:

God will take care of you,

Through every day, over all the way;

He will take care of you,

God will take care of you.

God Will Take Care of You

by Civilla D. Martin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't actually have any mums yet - or pansies. I'm ready for some more fall color! This picture is from last year. Maybe I'll find them soon! :) I hope you have a blessed Sunday!!

"Our State Fair"

"...is a great state fair...." Well, I'm not sure if our fair is a state fair, and it isn't very "great." In fact, it's become much smaller over the years. But a little while back our family (plus Lorie - who is an honorary member of the family...) :) visited our little local fair. We had a fun time just being together, seeing the animals and eating yummy (and oh, so healthy...) food! :)

First stop:

The cattle! More specifically - longhorns!!

I found Wilbur!
Charlotte must have been taking good care of him, because he was sleeping soundly! :)

We enjoyed the sea lion show (a couple of times...) They were so neat!

Look at the size of this guy's horns!!

We ran into some friends and enjoyed the petting zoo with them! :)

On our way out...
The girls:

and Mom and Dad (Mark opted to stay home. oh well.) :)

For some reason this song comes to mind.... and I don't even like this musical! :)

My Day

Out my window:

Beautiful autumn color and rain. Glorious rain!!

Clean dishes:

Our dishwasher isn't working right, but I'm enjoying washing dishes by hand. (for the moment anyway...) For the record, I grew up without a dishwasher. I really don't mind too much and rather enjoy the warm soapy water - especially in cooler weather!

A newly sorted sock drawer:

Yes, I do have a problem. Anyone know of a good Socks Anonymous group?  :)

Finding out if I still remember how - it's been a while:

I do. So relaxing. Why don't I do it more often???

Listening to the sounds of thunder and rain as well as Little Women....

What does your day hold?

Sunday Blessing

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!

Jesus! Lover of my soul;

Friends may fail me, foes assail me,

He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!

Let me hide myself in Him.

Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,

He, my Strength, my victory wins.

Refrain:

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Hallelujah! what a Friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

He is with me to the end.

Selected from:

Our Great Saviour

by J. Wilbur Chapman

Thrifty Thursday

No, I'm not starting a new blog linkup - it's just that it's Thursday and I want to share some of my thrifty finds from last week! :)  Last Friday was the "pre-sale" for our favorite thrift sale. I didn't find as many vintage linens this time, though... maybe I bragged a little too much last May!! :)  And considering that we went pretty late in the day, I think I founds some neat stuff!!

I love this bowl!! $2.50 is a bit pricey for this sale, but this was worth it! :) I know, that isn't a bad price at all!! They had some pretty glassware this time!

I love these two! I'm discovering I have a love for those old cake keepers, although the other two I have are family treasures. Love the word "cake" on the front and the retro font! And the old movie camera!! :) (It goes great in my family room!)

Hmm... what color to paint those candlesticks? and what to fill that jar with?? And don't you love my enamelware finds? :)

Cuteness!!

So have you found any good thrifty finds recently? I love finding good things for just a little bit of money! And supporting a good cause!

Annual Fall Tour

The last couple of years I have give you all a tour of my fall decorating. It seems, I have set a precedent. There is something about the warmth of fall that makes me want to share some hospitality!

The days have (finally) gotten cooler here in Texas. It seems fall has finally arrived! The trees are turning beautiful colors and it's time to make a batch of hot chocolate mix! (Must add ingredients to shopping list...) So go grab a cup of hot chocolate or hot tea and a yummy cookie or scone and enjoy some Southern hospitality...

The view as you step into my living room:

I know it looks blue - but my couch really is green. :)

My mantel this year - not much different from last year... I'm really wanting to redo what hangs over the mantel. Maybe sometime this year. :)

Coffee table:

The little side table by the couch:

I love my new (old) little candy box! A recent thrifty find!!

I think this is my favorite corner at the moment. It turned out pretty good, and we have really been enjoying our digital frame - about time we got it out of the closet!! Mark got it at a work party a couple of years ago and we finally got it going. :)

 

And my dining room table:

Yes, the runner is running across the table instead of lengthwise - probably not the most decoratively accurate way, but it works for us! :) 

I hope you have enjoyed our fall tour!! Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of the lovely cool weather (and get a little lot of laundry done!) :)

PS~Don't forget the lovely fall music! I bought the soundtrack to Little Women and have really enjoyed the relaxing cheerful music in the background! (If you play my music at left you will find a 30 second preview of it at the top... enjoy!) :)

Finished Object Friday

Happy October!!! I am loving this time of year, especially now that it has (finally) cooled down a little in Texas! :)  Fall is about the only time I can be "friends" with the color orange - I'm not an orange person, but it just seems to belong to fall. :)  I did finally finish my fall decorating and I will share that with you next week. Today, though, as you know is Finished Object Friday! (I'm a little late today, because I had to bring my trusty little laptop somewhere that it can get internet. My home internet doesn't like me right now and I've had to use our other computer - which doesn't have all my stuff!)  Anyway...


This could be considered a "Finished Object Flop" because that's just what these cupcakes did! They looked really cute when I first finished them for our birthdays... I even bought a cute stand to display them on...



Unfortunately, as you can see... they started doing this:


Here's what I did wrong (so you won't repeat my mistake - and neither will I) I bought store icing in the tub and added powdered sugar to stiffen it up. I believe the powdered sugar had the opposite effect and just made it runny. Next time? I'm making my OWN icing!! :) 

**Extra**
This little extra FOF won't cost you a nickle! :) I shared a flower I made last FOF, this week I made another for a very special little girl (who is getting very big!) who turned six this week!!

It's the same pattern, but I really liked doing it in felt - much less floppy to work with and I was able to cut out two "petals" at a time.

The precious thing about "Gracie" is how much she loves handmade items! She is always thrilled to get something that I made for her. I had given Gracie her main gift a couple of days earlier, so when we went to her little party I wanted to have something to bring - I had wanted to make her a flower before, but ran out of time. As soon as she saw the clip, she whipped off her headband and modeled it for us!

Such a precious little princess!

So now it's your turn!!! I'm excited to hear what you all have been up to! Link up below and have fun! (If this is your first time, be sure to check out the intro post here.)