A Dash of Imagination...

...May Accomplish Wonders!



Making the most of what you have is really a lot of fun, and a source of endless satisfaction when you do it successfully. It all begins with the wish for something different-something you believe to be an improvement over what you already have. You see pretty furnishings in the shops or in your friends' houses and you want something of the same sort yourself. It may be a piece of furniture, a lamp, a color scheme, or that intangible thing-atmosphere.
"How to get it? How to get it?" You keep turning the problem over in you mind, whether it be the appearance of a table or the intangibles of color and atmosphere.

It always seems to me that in any problem of "how to do" the first step is to see what you have "to do with." Look the facts of furniture squarely in the face. What is it that you wish to accomplish-or overcome? a small dark hall; no coat closet in the hall; chairs and sofas with no "come-hither" appeal, even thought they are in good condition; shabby, old fashioned beds and tables; jumbled up rooms; too-high ceilings; too-low ceilings; dark woodwork; an ugly mantel; no space for books; no pretty knickknacks?
What an alarming array the things you don't like make!

"What to do? What to do?" You wonder-or you wail-according to your temperament. Neither gets you very far. Instead, let your imagination go soaring as to ways to make the hall lighter, where to put clothes closets, what you have that could be turned into a coffee table, and so on.
Then turn your common sense to the problem of ways and means, and you are on your way.
"A fine lot of theory, " you may be saying to yourself. No! That "necessity is the mother of invention" is proved over and over in many different and attractive ways by many women. You can be just one more to prove it!

That you wish to make the most of what you have presupposes that you must watch and save your pennies. Therefore, what you don't have in money, you must make up by imagination, ingenuity of workmanship, and what my grandmother called, "elbow grease."

excerpt from, "The American Woman's New Encyclopedia of Home Decorating, " by Helen Koues, 1964

September 3, 1997

Wednesday

Dad took this week off (to work on the shed and foundation) and we've been very busy! I've decided that that is life. It just never slows down!

On Monday-surprise visit from Gpa and Gma T! They stayed for about 3 hours and ate lunch with us. They are home "alone" now with Great Grandpa R since Aunt Robyn and kids recently moved out (they bought a house in St. Louis).

On Tuesday-worked on the shed. Keturah drank from an insect replant bottle, and when Mom called the poison control center they said it could cause seizures (oh what comforting news, lol). We stopped work on the shed and prayed over her. She was her usual silly self. Dad called the emergency room and they said the same thing, and to bring her in. Mom, Dad, and Keturah left in a hurry and were gone about three hours. The doctor gave her some charcoal and said she would be fine-she didn't drink enough poison to cause a problem.
After the hospital trip they went to the eye-center at Wal-Mart, got my glasses fixed (I was blind all morning!), came home, and started working on the shed-again!

Today-poured concrete at 8:00 this morning. Dad bought 5 1/2 yards and we still need more...

The three most common phrases Dad uses whenever he is building:

"Close enough."

"It'll do."

"Not bad."

Grandma's Oatmeal Bread

A lovely dough, and fun to knead by hand

Fresh from the oven, and smelling marvelous!

The first hot slices, ready to be spread with butter and honey


Make it yourself!


2 pkg active dry yeast (2 T.)
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup light molasses (I've also used half honey and half molasses)
1/3 cup shortening
1 T. salt
5 3/4 to 6 cups all-purpose flour (I used half white flour and half freshly ground wheat)
2 beaten eggs
Quick-cooking rolled oats
1 beaten egg white
1 T. water

Soften yeast in the warm water. Combine boiling water, 1 cup rolled oats, molasses, shortening, and salt; cool to lukewarm. Stir in 2 cups of the flour; beat well. Add the softened yeast and 2 beaten eggs; beat well. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead till smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Shape dough into a ball.

Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in warm place until double (about 1 1/2 hours). Punch dough down; turn out on lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Coat two well-greased loaf pans with about 2 T. rolled oats for each pan. Shape dough into loaves.

Place loaves in pans. Cover and let rise in warm place till double (45 to 60 minutes). Brush loaves with mixture of egg white and water; sprinkle tops lightly with rolled oats. Bake at 375 degrees till done, about 35-40 minutes. Cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes if tops are browning rapidly. Remove from pans after 10 minutes of resting and let cool on wire racks. Makes 2 loaves.

From the 1973 edition of, "Better Homes and Gardens Homemade Bread Cook Book".

Valentine's Day : : 2009

My lovely husband and children served me breakfast in bed on Valentine's Day! I wasn't feeling well that week and didn't accomplish most of my "grand goals", but I still felt very blessed. To be surrounded by my husband and children, healthy and happy, really was enough!

It was cute to have three little people piled on my bed, "helping" me enjoy breakfast.

During the morning, Hosanna and Caleb went with their Grandparents to an assisted living facility where they "blessed" some elderly folks with cookies and lively company.

In the evening, Tom and I attended a local church banquet and enjoyed relaxing together. It was a good day!



When you love someone, you love the whole person, just as he or she is, and not as you would like them to be. Leo Tolstoy



I've been going through some old documents, and found I had saved the following suggestions for expressing love to one's husband. I've done a few of these, and was inspired to look for more ways to say "I love you", not just on V-Day, but all year 'round!

 Write your husband a love note on the bathroom mirror with soap. (It washes right off.)

 Tie a heart-shaped helium balloon to your husband's steering wheel for him to discover on Valentine's morning or after work on Valentine's Day.

 Write your husband a long love letter telling him why you love him and why your love has grown for him over the past years. Put it in his briefcase for him to discover at the office or while on a business trip! (Don't cheat and use a card - they will appreciate it in your own words)

 Kidnap your husband for an activity day doing his favorite things!

 Surprise your husband at work and bring in goodies for him and his office. (This shows him how much you care about his job and those he works with daily)

 Plan a fun event for your husband with all his friends. (Guys are bad about keeping in touch but they love to get together!)

 Leave a voicemail message at work for your husband the night before, so he will have a boost first thing in the morning!

 When there is a big game on with his favorite team, decorate the house in the team's colors and make a special dish or snack food for him to enjoy during the game. But most importantly, sit down and enjoy the game with him!

 Read Gary Chapman's book, "The Five Love Languages" and learn to speak love in the way your husband really understands!

 Give your husband homemade tickets to cash in through out the year for free Saturdays ... days where he can go and hunt, fish, golf or whatever guy-thing your man-cub enjoys doing.

 Slip a love note into his wallet telling him if you had it to do all over again, you'd still choose him!

 Watch your wedding video together or look at your wedding pictures.

 Trade out babysitting with another couple for a whole night. While the kids are away have a romantic date night at home complete with dinner by candlelight and snuggling by the fireplace.

Origin unknown

Wrap It!

When you want something besides the ordinary sandwich, try a wrap!
Here's a new combination we recently enjoyed:
Slather a spinach wrap with cream cheese. Spread ground/chopped cooked ham on top (I put some leftover turkey ham in my food processor until it was crumbly) and crisp lettuce leaves. Roll up tightly and devour! Tastes great chilled.

Another family favorite: Peanut Butter Apple Wraps! Spread peanut butter over a flour tortilla. Cover with finely chopped apple. Drizzle with honey if you like (since I mainly use unsweetened natural peanut butter this adds some extra sweetness). Roll up tightly, cut in half and serve with cold milk! My Aunt Robyn showed me how to make these a couple years ago, and my kids beg to have them!

At a lake in Lakeland, Florida

We spent a few days with Tom's brother Dan, his wife Linda, and our three adorable nieces who traveled from far away to enjoy the Florida sunshine with us! All the cousins did so well together.

Staying at a Yurt in Florida!

Fun in Florida

Hosanna and her cousin Ashlyn got haircuts!

Never tired of playing at the beach

Drew just loved everything!

Cooking with Candace

Last Thursday the kids and I spent the day with my very pregnant friend, Candace, and her two spunky daughters. The goal was to get some housecleaning done in preparation for baby's arrival.

But we cooked, too.

In fact, 90% of our conversation during the day revolved around food.

We've known each other for a long time and we're both foodies, so it was to be expected.

Our history has been to make fabulous dishes and... a complete mess in the kitchen. We did it again last week. For some odd reason the stove-top burners kept catching fire while Candace was pan-cooking steaks. We just doused the burners with salt and and baking soda and kept right on cooking.

Our husbands watched the children and kept opening windows to let the smoke out. And drooling. 'Cause dinner was late, of course!

Our friend Rowena, who joined us for dinner, did her best to keep up with the chaos and help clean up. Poor girl, she had to wash her coat when she got home 'cause it smelled like smoke, too.

The steaks were pretty good, though. Good job, Candace!

The Gorgonzola fondue was...interesting. It tasted great, especially with apples, but it looked like purple flubber. Ah, yes, substituting cheap purple-colored wine will do that! One too many substitutions on that recipe and I think we ended up with something completely different than originally intended.

By the way, apparently fondue is having a comeback from the '70's.

Anyway, we enjoyed our day together, a yummy dinner, and when it was all said and done the kitchen did get cleaned.

White bean, chicken, and chili soup

We heated this up one evening at our campsite in Florida and the kids loved it! I served it with cornbread, and instead of melting the cheese in the soup as the recipe suggests, I served it shredded to top the soup with so it could be dairy-free for those who had a preference.

This will be on our menu again soon, I'm sure!

Makes 15 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 large pinch cayenne (optional)
1 large pinch allspice
2 (4-ounce) cans chopped green chilies
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced (cook them to your liking before you dice them, if you'd rather)
4 cups chicken broth (a 32-ounce box)
3 (15-ounce) cans white beans (great northern or navy), 2 drained, 1 with liquid
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen corn kernels
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat and sauté onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, spices, and chilies, and sauté for another minute. Add diced chicken and broth, and simmer until the chicken is opaque (if you used raw chicken), about 15 minutes. Add beans, corn, and half the cheese, and simmer another 15 minutes. Taste for salt, and serve with remaining cheese to sprinkle on top.

I found this recipe in a recent issue of "Wonder time" magazine. You can find a link to the recipe here.

Trip to Florida :: Trying to Cut Costs

Caleb enjoying the ocean water and hunting for shells.

Me: thinking I want to get in the van and head south again!

We thoroughly enjoyed spending time at several beaches along the Tampa and Clearwater area coastline, soaking in the sunshine and fresh breezes.

The sand at Clearwater Beach was like walking through powdered sugar. Heaven for your toes!

Tom and I had been discussing a trip to Florida for quite some time. Our last visit was during our honeymoon, over 9 years ago. He agreed to make the trip if I could keep our costs down-no luxury vacation this time! I was ready for a challenge and willing to do anything as long as I could see the ocean in January!

So here are a few things we did to save money:

Went camping! State parks are great. We tent camped at one, and slept in a yurt at another! The facilities were very nice. I'm not a primitive girl-have to have my morning shower.

Made online hotel reservations a couple weeks ahead-saving us $30 per night! Our AAA card gave us an extra discount as well.

And the biggest money saver of all-bringing most of our food. We ate out only one dinner, using a gift card saved from Christmas (thanks Dad and Mom!). Lunches are cheaper, and so if we did eat out it was (often using coupons!) at lunchtime. About 85% of our meals were from food I previously prepared and/or items purchased from a local grocery store. I brought my crockpot along and a few other kitchen tools. It worked great! I made some one dish dinners-like spaghetti-froze flat in freezer bags, and kept iced in the cooler. I have a few kinks to work out-like timing how I thaw the dinners!-but overall I was very pleased.

Be watching for the next post-one of our favorite crockpot meals enjoyed during the trip!

Notes From 1998 :: February

1
"I want to praise you, Lord, much more than I do...Learn to seek your face and the knowledge of your grace-I want to praise you Lord..."

2
Enjoying watching the birds at the bird feeder while I do dishes. About the only thing I can identify is a robin!

3
A thought: "If you don't know where you are going, you'll probably end up somewhere else." How true!

4
"Not one blessing is pronounced on having. Not one blessing is pronounced on doing. All the blessings are pronounced on being." Matthew 5, the Beatitudes

5
Got a call from Lisa Bode this morning. It was neat to hear her voice!

6
Sang at the D's tonight with the Wilkins.
"It's a very good plan to turn a sigh into a song." Amy Carmichael

7
"Missionaries are very human...simply a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody." Jim Elliot

8
"One treasure, a single eye, and a sole master." Jim Elliot

9
A neat verse Dad found in Nehemiah 3:12: "Shallum, son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half district in Jerusalem, repaired the nest section [of the wall] with the help of his daughters."

10
I am reading through Nehemiah. I like the verses in chapter 8 describing how the Israelites responded when they heard the word of God. verses 5-6

11
The children made gingerbread people today! We are eating them so fast I doubt they will ever get frosted.

12
Worked on a bread order today and school. My "algebra 1" book arrived and I have anxiously been looking through it. I can't wait till it's finished...

13
D's came for singing!
"There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still." Corrie ten Boom

14 Valentine's Day
"This is how we know what love is : Jesus Christ layed down His life for us." 1 John 3:16
Babysat at the Toddys' this evening.

15
"The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it." 1 Thess. 5:24 (He WILL do it!)

16
Dad is off! :) He is outside right now working on the shed, on the roof. It will be so nice when everything is finished-storage space!

17
"...He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights. The severing Lord is my strength."
Habakkuk 3:19

18
Pretty quiet day. Busy with school. Algebra 1 is not as tough-so far!-as I thought it would be.

19
A very busy day! I watched the children while Mom and Mara went out together. Lately Keturah has had a nasty earache.

20
Mara is 14! Ate dinner at the D's house with the Wilkins and Meyers. And sang! The hymn I loved the most: "Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart."

21
The Duffers came over today and Mr. Duffer and Jeremy helped Dad on the shed! They got all the metal sheets up. (yay!) Very pretty sunny day.

22
Church was at Comfort Inn. In the evening we invited the Meyers over for dinner. Had fun looking through Leman's Catalog...

23
Beautiful today! The children are outside barefoot. We cleaned up brush and had a bonfire-the little guys baked apples.

24
God's telephone number: Jeremiah 33:3
"Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

25
The D's came over to sing. It seems so quiet with Jess and Aram gone! I baked lots of cinnamon rolls and we ate donuts that Tobias and Simeon made.

26
"God's opportunities do not wait; like a stream they pour past us. It is time to go swimming. " Tom White (VOM)

27
Mrs. Wilkin and Austin spent the night with us. We had pizza for dinner. It has been very cloudy and rainy.

28
Dad and Mom bought a wood cookstove! It isn't here yet-they have to make two more payments. Bought it from the older couple who own "Charlotte's Web". I'm excited!