Happy Homemaker Monday - 01/27/2014

As I look outside my window:::
22 degrees at the moment, cold, grey, foggy....AGAIN!  I have to say that as much as I love Idaho, I'm actually starting to feel quite claustrophobic.  It's been foggy for 2 weeks, I haven't seen the beautiful mountains in the distance in what seems like forever.  I'm starting to miss Arizona at this point LOL 

Right now I am:::
In my bedroom.  Just finished making the boys breakfast and the hubby and I some coffee.  Now I'm typing up this post and preparing for the day ahead.  mental list of what I have to get done today. 

Thinking and pondering:::
On a lot of things.  Mainly the lessons that I'm supposed to be learning right now, on being thankful even through the hard days and on accepting that this is the path I'm supposed to be on for the moment. 
 
On my bedside table:::
Playing St. Barbara, a book for a review.
On my Kindle I'm reading Love by the Letter by Melissa Jagears. 
 
On my tv tonight:::
Hubby and I are but a few episodes away from finishing Heroes.
Next we'll be watching Sleepy Hollow.
I also have Call the Midwife and Musketeers to catch up on today.

Listening to:::
Mix 106 Radio 

On the menu for this week:::
Monday - Steaks with Pepper Sauce and Scalloped Potatoes
Tuesday - Sloppy Joes and Fries
Wednesday - Amish Chicken Pot Pie
Thursday - Four Cheese Spaghetti, Olive Garden Bread sticks 
Friday - Chili Dogs, Salads
Saturday - Boise Stampede Game
Sunday - Zuppa Toscana, Sandwiches

On my to do list:::
Iron and put away laundry
Homeschooling with the boys, girls have done all their work for today and tomorrow, so they have 2 days off.
Bake Bread

Plans for this week:::
Monday - Dancing, Tae Kwon Do
Tuesday - Dancing
Wednesday - Dancing, Tae Kwon Do
Thursday - Dancing, Tae Kwon Do
Friday - Grocery shopping, finishing off Tax Return

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
Working on my Crochet Mood Blanket. 
 
My simple pleasure:::
Snuggling in bed with Miss Lola  

Lesson learned the past week::: 
It's been an onslaught of lessons for us.  Some I see clearly, others I don't, and quite honestly right now we're in the middle of some huge tests and lessons that don't make a lick of sense to me.  I am just trusting in the Lord and knowing that we are supposed to be learning something big here.

Looking around the house:::
The house is dark and quiet, I think the weather makes it look so dreary.  I am thinking it's a candle lit, fresh bread and soup for lunch kind of day. 

From the camera:::

 

Prayer List:::
My husband has another job interview on Wednesday and it would be a great job if he got it.
My brother went for an interview on Friday morning, hoping to get a phone call for him this week.

Bible verse, Devotional:::
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:12-13 NIV

PLEASE, don't add links to this list that are not part of the Happy Homemaker Monday. I've asked numerous times, and I'm frankly quite tired of having to remove links to other posts that shouldn't be in this list. Please be respectful of my request!

A day of puttering around....

It's been a good day.  A nice, quiet, relaxing day of just plain old pottering around my house.

My niece had a dance performance today and unfortunately we were unable to attend, so my brother and sister in law and niece and nephew left around noon and have yet to return.  It means my little family and I got some much needed alone time.

You know, you never really understand how much family time is important, until you no longer have it.

We love having my brother and his family here, but I think it's so imperative that both families carve out some alone time, even if just for a day....and we were needing this so very badly.

Did we do anything fantastic?  No.  We did what we always do, we just hung around the house, puttered here and there, ate a simple lunch, laughed, talked, sat down just the four of us for dinner and enjoyed the quiet moments.....because you do know that a household full of people is a constant buzz of noise.

I wanted to share my day with you and just show you a little here and there.  I haven't done it in a while.

Remember those posts I would do, the daily ones where I showed you pictures of some corners of my home?  I've missed those, so this one is kind of like that, just a bunch of pictures that will give you a little insight into my corner of the world.

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥   Changed out the kitchen curtains, removed my little pumpkin garland and added my dried orange slices again.

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ Turned on my beautiful Scentsy holder and enjoyed the wonderful scent that permeated through the house.

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ A quick, easy, filling lunch of Asian Wraps.

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ Watered all the plants in the house and smiled at this little Christmas tree that is still thriving and looking ever so pretty.

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ Rearranged some of the items on my baker's rack and added the pumpkin garland to it.  At first I just hung it there until I decided where to place it permanently, but I love how it looks, and so it stays.

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ Some housecleaning, which of course includes the not so popular bathrooms.  One of my least favorite chores in the house.

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ Stepped out front for some fresh air and smiled at the flags, all lined up, standing at attention.  A welcome pop of color on a dark, grey foggy day.

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ Dusted the shelves and shook out all the crochet blankets, then set them back on the shelf and sat back to smile.  I do love how crochet items look all neatly folded.

This afternoon, I turned the fire on, made myself a cup of coffee and sat down to work on the Period Drama Lists.  You can now look through either the Period Drama Documentaries, Period Drama TV Series or Period Drama Movies.

I think it will make it much easier for you all to find a specific show to watch, so I hope you enjoy these :)

And now, my crochet is calling my name, so I better skedaddle on out of here.

Have a wonderful night!

Friday evening!

Hello my sweet friends.  Well, it's after 7pm and I am showered, in my warm pj's and sitting in bed with the laptop and my crochet.

It's been a bit of a long day for me, I couldn't get to sleep last night and ended up out of bed very early this morning.

So early indeed, that it was still dark out, the sun barely starting to come up and the dense fog engulfing the land as far as the eye could see....which wasn't much at all, to be honest.

I realize that once again, my last post was made on Monday and I haven't had a chance to come back in to post anything.  Ugh, I'm actually sick of saying the same thing over and over and I think it's best left unsaid.  Truth is, you all know I'm busy, I'm dealing with a lot changes, I am dealing with a full house and this and that and whatnot.

There, it's been said for the last time and now we can all just move right along.  Or so I hope.

My week has been filled with the usual going ons of a household, like cleaning, and homeschooling and cooking and laundry and dishes and the like.  With a little bit of crochet thrown in to balance it all out, because we can't have just chores, we need a bit of that which makes us smile inside, on a daily basis.  Even if for just a few minutes.

The weather has been quite cold and dreadful around here. We've had ice and fog and chilly temps with no end in sight.

Laundry, is it ever ending?  Though to be honest, I'm glad we have washing machines and driers today, aren't you?

Freshly baked cookies, gingerbread at that.  These didn't last very long, matter of fact, within a few hours they were gone.

Ironing and folding and packing away and then back to washing and ironing and folding and packing away, and so on and so forth.  *whew*

A lot of bread baking is done in this house.  Everyone prefers homemade bread to store bought so I stay quite busy cranking out loaf after loaf, cinnamon rolls and dinner rolls.

Oh and just like the cookies, they don't last for very long.

I usually make my Buttermilk Bread or the Four Loaf White Bread recipes, I love that they are very easy to make, always turn out well and are delicious.

And sometimes, a quick simple cake is whipped up. This one reminds me so much of my grandfather, my dad's dad. Growing up there was a time when my grandparents lived with us, and we used to sometimes tell my grandfather that we felt like cake. Do you know that he would get up, walk into the kitchen, no matter what time of the day it was, and bake a simple cake?

Oh how many times we sat up past midnight enjoying a slice of warm cake straight from the oven and giggling.

This isn't the recipe for my grandfather's cake, but it's still easy, simple and scrumptious.  Simple Vanilla Cake.

Although I've been horrid at updating my crochet mood blanket post (I WILL update it this weekend), I have been keeping up with it and it looks so pretty.  I think the squares that I picked are simple but effective, especially when you start lining them up and joining them, makes for quite a pretty effect.

I've also started another blanket, just using up scraps of yarn I have around. This pattern is from one of my crochet books, can't remember the name off the top of my head.

I just had to show you a picture of the bunnies we have living under our shed in the back yard. I don't know much about bunnies, but these don't look wild to me and my friend Michelle told me that they are not wild, they are dumped bunnies.

It saddens me to think that someone had these as pets and then just dumped them. We've tried to catch them and raise them ourselves but they are fast little buggers. So we keep them fed and hope to eventually grab them.

In the meantime, I'm glad they've found shelter under our shed and are out of this icy cold.

Well, I am hoping to have a quiet and relaxing weekend filled with crochet, some period dramas and some family time.

Oh and speaking of period dramas, I have updated the Period Drama List, added in quite a few series and some movies.  This weekend I'm hoping to actually split the list into two, giving you a Period Drama Series and a Period Drama Movies list to make it easier to find what you're looking for :)

Alrighty, my friends, I do believe it's time for a cup of hot coffee and some Friday night TV.

Good night and God Bless,
Sandra
♥♥♥ ♥♥♥

The In Between Hour by Barbara Claypole White - TLC Book Tour

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin MIRA; Original edition (December 31, 2013)

What could be worse than losing your child? Having to pretend he’s still alive…

Bestselling author Will Shepard is caught in the twilight of grief, after his young son dies in a car accident. But when his father’s aging mind erases the memory, Will rewrites the truth. The story he spins brings unexpected relief…until he’s forced to return to rural North Carolina, trapping himself in a lie.

Holistic veterinarian Hannah Linden is a healer who opens her heart to strays but can only watch, powerless, as her grown son struggles with inner demons. When she rents her guest cottage to Will and his dad, she finds solace in trying to mend their broken world, even while her own shatters.

As their lives connect and collide, Will and Hannah become each other’s only hope—if they can find their way into a new story, one that begins with love.

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My thoughts:

This one started pretty slow for me, I just wasn't feeling it, and it's not that the story itself is boring or lacking in any sense, I don't know what it was for me that just wasn't clicking.

As I got more into the story, it did start to get much better and I began really enjoying getting to know Will and Hannah, but especially Will and his life and what he is dealing with.

I began to appreciate both characters, where they came from, and the struggles that they were dealing with.  Both very different in a way but then almost alike in others.

It was interesting watching them face their own demons and come together as one towards a blossoming love story.

But it's not all this story is about, because there's so much more going on, so many personalities and issues to get through, while confined to the same space.

Not a bad read when you actually get into it.....but you have to stick it out, it's worth it. 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me with a review copy. 

A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith - TLC Book Tour

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Knopf (January 14, 2014)

The United States Congress in 1929 passed legislation to fund travel for mothers of the fallen soldiers of World War I to visit their sons’ graves in France. Over the next three years, 6,693 Gold Star Mothers made the trip. In this emotionally charged, brilliantly realized novel, April Smith breathes life into a unique moment in American history, imagining the experience of five of these women.

They are strangers at the start, but their lives will become inextricably intertwined, altered in indelible ways. These very different Gold Star Mothers travel to the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery to say final good-byes to their sons and come together along the way to face the unexpected: a death, a scandal, and a secret revealed.

None of these pilgrims will be as affected as Cora Blake, who has lived almost her entire life in a small fishing village off the coast of Maine, caring for her late sister’s three daughters, hoping to fill the void left by the death of her son, Sammy, who was killed on a scouting mission during the final days of the war. Cora believes she is managing as well as can be expected in the midst of the Depression, but nothing has prepared her for what lies ahead on this unpredictable journey, including an extraordinary encounter with an expatriate American journalist, Griffin Reed, who was wounded in the trenches and hides behind a metal mask, one of hundreds of “tin noses” who became symbols of the war.

With expert storytelling, memorable characters, and beautiful prose, April Smith gives us a timeless story, by turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, set against a footnote of history––little known, yet unforgettable.

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My Thoughts:

You know when I think about favorite book genres, or genres in general, I am always pulled towards Historical fiction.  It fascinates me to no end and I find it highly educational too.

What April Smith as done in this book, is to bring us right to the forefront of WWI and to a group of 5 women who have lost sons in the war.  They may be completely different from each other, but the grief and the bond that connects them is one that runs deep.

Not only is this book well written, vividly descriptive and beautiful, but it touches on a very important but sometimes forgotten moment of WWI.  The aftermath and the lives touched by the war.

As a military wife and now retired Air Force Wife, this book touched me to the core.

I loved every single second of watching these 5 women come together to grieve their children, but especially on Cora Blake who's only son, enlisted without her knowledge and lost his life at the young age of 16 on a battlefield in France.

At times this book became painful to read, not for lack of good storytelling, but because my heart ached for these extraordinary women.  But I pushed on and kept at it, always wanting to know what was coming next and how these women would find closure from this trip to the quiet battlefields where their sons lost their lives.

Giving this one a huge thumbs up.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me with a review copy.