Prayer Request

I have a prayer request . Dh had to call the unemployeement office today, to be told he can only draw a few more weeks. Please agree with us in prayer that a job will come through soon. He has resumes' send everywhere for the past yr. we believe in Miracles and with this economy seems it takes a miracle to find a job. I know ya'll have prayed with us before and I appreciate your prayers!

Thank You!

Blessins',Lib

Cantilever barn

Has anyone ever seen one of these barns? I've been told East Tennessee is the only place you find them. It's not a real clear pic. they are common in this area. If you have ever been to Cades Cove in the Smokies you've seen one,or more.

This has been a very busy morning.I thought I had washed most of summer's clothes.WRONG!lol I have the line full and 2 more loads to go . A few chores left to do.

We're suppose to be 85 this afternoon . Tomorrow hot also ,then back to the 70s :o) I will do everything that needs to be done inside today and take a fun free day when it cools down some.

In a few weeks we are going to do some remodeling ,so trying to do some more decluttering altho I have to say I did declutter a couple yrs. ago and I have not brought much into the home to clutter up,It will mostly be more Family Treasure's I'll pass on to other Family members. I want things as simple and clutter free as possible .I don't want to spend all my time dusting, washing items,I want to make cleaning a breeze. :o)

Hope everyone has a great week!
Blessins',Lib

Count your Blessins',

From my neck of the woods to yours ,I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Slow down and count your Blessins' ,name them one by one! Don't forget to count the small ones.Often they are the Best!

Please keep Sandi at Holding Patterns, Miss Rhea, and Nancy at Nancy's Nonsense in your prayers. (See Blog roll )

Have a great day!
Blessins',Lib

Picture:May Apples

A Great Season of our Lives

The 11th of next month we will celebrate our 32nd anniversary, we have always tried to put God first in our marriage.For the past several yrs. DH worked from home , the past yr. he has been laid off ,we have been together 7x24 for several yrs. now. I know this is NOT for everyone, but we Love it!

It has worked well for us. We do everything together , which brings me to the pic. here, I started the laundry ,I was busy doing something else when the washer stopped DH took the laundry out took it out and hung on the line to dry.

When we first married DH didn't know how to do most chores, or cook much.He has come a long way! :o) When we 1st married ,I worked outside the home ,on my off day I would do deep cleaning and in between he would help me keep things picked up and organized.Thru the yrs. he has learned to do chores and cook.These days he doesn't wait for me to ask him to help if he sees something that needs to be done he does it.

When we kept Foster Children ,he helped with them no matter what the need was. When Our Birth Son was born he helped with him feeding, bathing, changing diapers no matter the need he helped.

Now that we're in our Sunset yrs. it is a wonderful Season of our lives. We work together to do the chores and have free time to enjoy our free time together to do thing we enjoy doing.

Every night before going to bed DH makes the cof. so it will be ready when we wake up, hes done this so long, if I make a pot of cof. I have to ask him how to do it. lol

Each morning he gets up and brings us cof. in bed.We drink our cof. talk , and enjoy waking up and enjoying each others co. and not having to worry about rushing our the door etc.

We get up at the same time , when we get out of bed we make the bed together. If theres chores to be done, we do them together. If not we do what we want to enjoy the day together.

No matter how busy our day maybe we make time for each other.

We Never Volunteer the other one to do something! We Love and respect each other.

We enjoy pretty the same things, hes a race car fan I am not , so when its on t.v. he watches and I do something I enjoy. We enjoy Nature , we Love going to Cades Cove in the Smokies, we enjoy picnics, and have several favorite spots we picnic, We enjoy renting a cabin in the Smokies and going for a little get away.Theres so much more we enjoy doing , but I want bore you to tears!lol

What Season of live are You in? What do Ya'll enjoy doing as a team?

Hope ya'll have a wonderful week end filled with those you Love.

Blessins',Lib

Make Everyday Earth Day!

We celebrated Earth Day this wk.,we try hard to make everyday earth day. We do all we can right now to be Earth Friendly, in the next several months we are going to make our home as Earth Friendly as possible.With repairs, remodeling, etc.

If you'd like to join in the fun you can start Simple and a few steps at a time.

Line dry you clothes, change your light bulbs, use cloth bags at the grocery etc., unplug cell phone chargers, unplug items your not using, cook more from scratch so you don't have extra pkg. to throw in the trash, start a garden ,container garden works great if you don't have alot pf space,buy as much 2nd hand as possible,make your own cleaning supplies and laundry det. theres some great sites to Google, reuse paper you can cut it into note paper, recycle news papers, mags. we Live in the county which means we have to take our trash to dumpsters even there they have recyclable trash bins, Learn to mend your clothes, darn, I could go on and on ! Just start small a few steps at a time,so you don't overwhelm yourself and give up.

Before you know it Earth Friendly Ways will become a way of life and you want give it a second thought.

I hope everyone has a Great day!

Blessins',Lib

Tea Time

It's a Beautiful sunny day here, with more to come before rain sets in next wk.

I have all the chores finished .All I need to do today is cook,and I have the crockpot working for me:o)

Today will be a simple day to relax and sip a cup a.........

Want you join me for a cup a......... and a relaxing day? :o)

Hope you have a great day!

Blessins',Lib

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day !What are somethings you are doing to make a difference?
You don't have to do it all at once just a few steps at a time will make a difference.We all must do our part.
Using cloth bags , less water, less electric, walk more drive less, reuse,reduce, recycle.make do with what you have. Learn to darn. Shop thrift shops and yard sales ,2nd hand furniture stores whenever possible. these are only a very few things.Hang laundry to dry when possible, make your own cleaning supplies recycle bottles, cans, paper etc. .Theres many more things we can all do.
"TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!"
What are something you do to make a difference? I would love to hear about it!
Have a great day!
Blessins',Lib

Changing of the Season's

Never fails!Lol Last wk. I started changing out winter clothes for summer ,and washing them. We had warm nice temps day and night! It happened , the temps turned cold again.

Today I am washing summer clothes tonight we're suppose to be in the 30s and by Fri. 80.

Its a sunny day but it is windy.A great day to line dry clothes fast.

Hope everyone has a great day!
Blessins',Lib

Wilted lettuce and onions

Wilted lettuce and onions

2 bunches of leaf lettuce (or 1 head of lettuce) shredded1/2 c chopped green onions white and gr. part (or 1 large onion chopped)

1/4 c. vinegar

2tsp.sugar

Mix together

cook 4 slices of bacon chop add to mix

pour hot bacon great over mixture

and serve

I like to use a head of ice burg lettuce ,to me leaf lettuce taste bitter. But I do like it both ways.

Around here the country folks calls it "Kilt Lettuce and Onions"

We like this with pinto beans, and cornbread.

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

It has rained all day here,more to come.

Blessins',Lib

Poke Salad

Look what I discovered.Poke is coming up. Want be too much longer until we can have a mess of poke salad. I don't like to smell it cooking lol When you cook it ,forsure its a day to open the windows. After its boiled and done, I fry it up in bacon grease and scramble eggs in it. So yummy with a hunk of cornbread and onion.

A town about an hrs. drive from here has a Polk Salad Fest. around here we look for any reason to celebrate and have fun.lol

Hope everyone has a great wk.end!

Blessins',Lib

Six Generations

Six Generations living on the Homestead (that includes Little Shadow,she's here as much as her home),and it all began here. A one room cabin. Until the late 1950's there was a kitchen built separate from the cabin. They did this in case of a fire. My Grandparents then built another home 2 houses up ,later that property was sold and then house torn down. I remember it, 2 bedrooms,l.r. and a kitchen. Not sure why but the second bedroom you had to go out on the front porch to go into it. There was no door inside to get into it.

Then my Dad built the home I grew up in, and Our home .Funny how things turn out,at one time my Family owned all the property on our street, and 1/2 of the next st. And how Dh and I ended up owning what is most Important to me , we own the property where it all begin ,in the one room cabin and my Parents home and ours. My Family has always lived Green before we knew what green living was. The Simple Side of life has always been a way of life for me,DH thats another story.lol At first he wasn't so sure he'd enjoying living here, today we were talking and we both agreed ed Life doesn't get any better than this! Sure we have life's trails and troubles but we have so much freedom to do as we wish.

Its a joy to do as the Generations before me did teach the younger Generations our Simple ways .We Love when Our Little Shadow is here and teaching her about Nature, gardening, all the Simple side of life ways. This yr. she was old enough to help me pick "WILD FOOD" wild greens, violets, dandelion blooms to cook and can. I think she loved it as much as I did:o)

She Loves to help me cook from scratch, she even enjoys cleaning ! Hmmmm....Wonder how long that will last?lol

I love this time of yr. rebirth of everything ,I often think I was born 100 yrs. to late. I reflect back over Sweet memories of Family and wonder what they would think of how we are carrying on their ways.

I hope you have a lot of Happy,Sweet memories to reflect back on.:o)

Hope ya'll have a great wk.end!

Blessins',Lib

Dogwood Fest

Our Dogwood Fest is in full swing. All sorts of things to do downtown, Dogwood trails in each section of town you can drive certain neighborhoods and looks at yards .Its a Beautiful time of the yr.

THis pink Dogwood is just started to bloom out. The Dogwoods grows under larger trees ,its really pretty to look out and see all the white blooms.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Blessins',Lib

Dad's Garlic

Here is garlic my Dad planted yrs. ago. A Friend gave it to him . You pull it up and it reseeds itself under ground some how. I Love garlic and use it about everyday. This is one small patch ,we have a bigger patch. I like to use the gr. tops also. All my Herbs are coming up nicely.:o) I use lots of herbs.
Hope everyone is having a great wk.
Blessins',Lib

Mama's Flower's

Here's a few clumps of Hosta's ,the last flower my Mom bought and planted . I have shared them with the other kids, and with the Grandkids. I need to divide these up .

this time of yr. I really miss my parents ,we gardened together , we did alot of things together. It's always a nice treat to see plants come up that they planted.

Hope everyone has a great wk.

Blessins',Lib

Happy Easter

I Hope everyone is having a great Easter! He Is Risen !!Hope everyone had a great Sunrise service. To me theres just something very special about a sunerise service.

We will have a small Family Gathering here for dinner(Lunch) I cooked all afternoon yesterday and again today. I am from a large Family , almost everyone has passed away now, I am so THANKFUL for the few of us thats left. This a.m. I reflected back over the Sweet Memories I have of Family.:o) Dh Family never gets together for holidays, no hard feelings etc. thats just his Family, it seems more a burden to gather, nobody wants to cook etc. I respect their beliefs,altho I don't understand the beliefs. Family Gatherings are so important to me! I can't imagine a Holiday or any day without Family.I Love to cook and there's a favorite dish for every Family member who gathers with us. We always invite friends who's parents has passed and have nobody to gather with. My Brother also knows anyone is Welcome here ,and he can bring anyone who has no Family to gather with.,and I really never know who all will come for our meal ,theres always more than enough food. Always left overs so everyone can take some with them.

I hope you and yours has a wonderful Easter and make tons of Happy Memories!
Blessins',Lib

Happy Good Fri. and Dandelion Jelly

Yesterday "Little Shadow" and I picked Dandelion blooms , washed and poured 2 c. boiling water over them,and let them set overnight.

This a.m. we strained the blooms,added 1/4c. lemon juice, and 4 c. sugar.

Then we boiled it to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred, added 3 oz. liquid Certo and boiled for 2 more mins.We put it in jars and sealed.

I like the amber color setting on the windowsill. Now for it to jell and have a tea party .:o) "L.S." went home last night, then called this a.m. to come back. I think she should just move in.Lol

I hope everyone has a Great Good Fri. and A Blessed Easter!

Blessins',Lib

Fun Morning On The Homestead

DH, Little Shadow,and I did chores.........

Then we had a tea party.........

We took a walk around the Homestead.............

We enjoyed flowers.............

And more flowers.These are neat ,3 blooms on 1 stalk.

Hope your day has been as much fun as ours. We made strawberry muffins for our Tea Party, this afternoon a cousin is coming to bake cookies, then Our Little Shadow is going home for a few days.

Have a great day!I'll visit later today:o)

Blessins',Lib

Hike

Sunday after church we came home ate dinner (lunch) and took our Little Shadow on a Hike.
It was 80 degrees. Lovely afternoon!

This is a small pond. We saw several large tadpoles, want be long until they become frogs.

Not sure what this bush is ,it is different but pretty. Little Shadow loves Nature as much as we do. When she's here she wants to take a hike daily.

Today we had snow flurries off and on all day!29 tonight then warm up each day.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Blessins',Lib

Tea Party

We went out and had our tea party. Little Shadow Loved the jelly , but first she had to sneak a bite of cream cheese.lol

Want you come have a cup a ...... with us? today is Beautiful 70 tonight 30s and winter returns for a few days!

Have a Blessed wk.end!

Blessins',Lib

Violet Jelly and Tea Parties

A Big Thank You to Joyce Ann Over at Feathered Spirits for sharing a violet jelly recipe, Check out her blog. The websites for the recipes are on her yesterday's post. We were on the same page yesterday!lol I forgot to take a pic. of the violets but the website shows a pic. After I strained the violets the water was blue (not sure what happened in these pics. what looks black is really clear)

Once I added lemon juice the blue turned purple.

This is the finished product.I used the little jars for Tea Parties with "My Little Shadow" She is here today and was very excited about her Jelly. We had a tea party this morning, when the jelly sets we'll have another tea party with cream cheese/violet jelly on Ritz crackers.

I look forward to making different types of jelly for our Tea Parties.Thanks so much Joyce Ann!

Hope everyone has a Great wk.end! Make time to share a cup of tea with Someone Special!

Blessins',Lib

Signs of Spring ,But winter is returning

I Love violets,All I had ever seen was purple or purple and white. Back in the late 1980's my Dad found these white or cream colored on the creek bank and transplanted some of them. So far this yr. this is the only one to bloom.

This pic. is not clear but these are purple and white.

These are all purple. Our yard is cover in violets, I love strolling through the yard and seeing them.

Here's more flowers starting to bloom also a ground cover. They smell wonderful but don't last long when cut.

The weatherman says winter is returning for a few days, and bringing bad storms:o(

Hope ya'll have a great day!

Blessins',Lib