{ Cold days }

It's been so cold here. The temperatures have dropped due to the cold front and snow incoming tomorrow night, but the wind chill makes it so much worse, actually dipping us into negative temperatures.  Not exactly weather that makes you want to leave your house.

 

Mornings have been spent getting the fire started, enjoying my coffee sitting on the couch, in the darkness with nothing but light from the flames and the fairy lights on the fireplace. It really makes for a magical atmosphere and sets the tone for the rest of the day. 

 

I do have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon, thankfully before the snow storm rolls in later in the night.  I wish I didn't have to go out for that either, but it has to be done.  If you could send a little prayer my way too, I would appreciate it.  It's just the yearly women's well check, but I've noticed that as I get older, my anxiety when it comes to health or doctor appointments, is incredible.  It drives me crazy!

 

I know everything is fine, but it's also an appointment that is so uncomfortable and awkward, I always just cringe when it's time for it to come around.  Just praying for a good appointment and for me not to get so nervous.

 

It's actually so bad that my doctor told me last year that I apparently seem to now have White Coat Anxiety, which means my blood pressure is perfect except for when I am at the doctor's office, then it shoots up and they have to take it 2 or 3 times to get the right reading, because the first reading is always super high.  Crazy!

I've really grown to enjoy a cup of hot coffee or tea in the afternoons.  Sometimes with a little cookie, sometimes just on it's own.  

My absolute favorite cookie ever is a shortbread.  I am nuts for shortbread cookies, just there is no other cookie that comes even close, matter of fact, I may not have mentioned this before, but I am not a fan of cookies, they can sit in the cookie jar forever and I just won't even think about having any.

But give me a good shortbread cookie and all common sense flies out the window.

One of my Christmas gifts from my Jasmine, was this M&S Cookie Tin from England, filled with Scottish Shortbread, and oh my.  Ohhhhhh my!   Healthy lifestyle be darned, because I could not stop eating those.  They are gone, not even a crumb left.

 

In the tin now sit my McVitie's Digestive Biscuits.  The closest thing I can relate them to, would be a yummy graham cracker.  So good!

I've been sitting here doing my Bible Reading, taking notes and reading my devotional.  At the minute, I am enjoying a hot cup of Decaf Green Tea with Honey.  My stomach is a bit off, not sure what I ate, but it's very noisy and bubbly and just basically getting on my nerves.  I'm hoping the green tea calms it down.

 

Here shortly I need to go and put Kaia's chicken in the oven.  I always buy a big pack of chicken legs and roast them in the oven with just a tiny sprinkle of salt and either turmeric or a little oregano.  Not much at all, just the tiniest of sprinkles to give it a little taste.  That usually lasts her all week long, I add some plain white rice, and then it gets mixed with her kibble.  

 

I also need to get dinner started and all the evening routines etc.  

I may need to start another fire, but we need to chop more wood as our pile is dwindling and I don't want to use it up before Thursday when we are really going to need it.  We have some weather reports indicating that between Thursday and Friday we may see up to 12 inches.  

That is a lot for Texas, but we did have that huge snow storm a few years ago that dumped so much snow on us I felt like I woke up in Alaska somewhere.  

Anyway, enough babbling.  Dinner will be a Turkish Pasta, thank you Mary for the recipe you left in the comments too, I'm going to save it.  

Have a fantastic night friends and God Bless.

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 01/06/2025 }

 

Good morning dear friends.

 

It is the very first Happy Homemaker Monday of 2025.  Routine and normal schedules are back in place, I just saw hubby off to work after two weeks at home, and as much as we enjoyed that time off, we were both ready to get back to normal life.  

 

It is a very cold morning here in Texas, we are under a cold front bringing freezing temperatures and some snow further on into the week.  Welcome Winter!

 

Anyway, I hope you all have a blessed week ahead and thank you for still being here, all these years later.

 

*** The weather in my neck of the woods*** 

Very cold at the moment, and getting colder as we speak. 

 

Monday - Sunny to partly cloudy,  38

Tuesday - Mostly cloudy, 37

Wednesday - Cloudy, 38

Thursday - Snow, 32

Friday - Cloudy, 39

Saturday - Sunny, 43 

Sunday - Partly cloudy, 46

 

 

 *** Things that make me happy ***

My sweet pets.  Just sitting down with them near me.  There is such a huge unconditional love from our babies to us, and sometimes we overlook that.      

 

 

*** Book I'm reading *** 

Currently doing The Bible Recap with Tara-Leigh Cobble, reading the Bible chronologically.  I've read the entire Bible 2 years ago, and wanted to start again, and then came across The Bible Recap through Candace Cameron Bure on Instagram and thought "This is exactly what I want to do".  Loving it so far, check it out if you're interested in joining in. 

 

 Women of the West series, by Janette Oke. I just finished the first book in the series, The Calling of Emily Evans. 

 

  

*** What's on my tv today *** 

YouTube

I have been finding a lot of European vloggers (UK, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, etc. ) and have been enjoying following them. 

 

Great American Pure Flix

When Hope Calls Christmas

 

Hallmark

New season of When Calls the Heart started last night, so very excited for that. 

 

*** On the breakfast plate *** 

On my second cup of coffee, don't know why but really need it today.  Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with Cream cheese. 

 

 

*** On the lunch plate *** 

Chickpea tuna salad 

 

 

*** On the dinner plate *** 

Chicken Tava with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed broccoli

 

 

*** On the menu *** 

Monday

Chicken Tava with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed broccoli

Tuesday 

Pork Roast with Buttered Rice and Salad

Wednesday 

Turkish Pasta with Sauteed Cabbage

Thursday

Winter Minestrone Soup, Grilled Cheese and Ham

Friday

Tortilla Pizzas

Saturday

Fend for yourself

Sunday

Gnocchi Bolognese, Garlic Bread, Salad

*** On my to do list *** 

Today:

Change bed linens

Workout

Get my 10k steps in

Pay Bills

 

This week:

Women's Yearly appointment on Wednesday

Clean out and organize hallway closet

Gym workout Saturday and Sunday

 

*** New Recipe I tried or want to try *** 

This week I'll be trying the Turkish Pasta that I mentioned last week.  Hoping to share that with you all.

    

 

*** What I am creating ***

Moving along on the Nordic Winter Afghan.  Really want to finish it so that I can use it this Winter. 

 

Working on cleaning out and redoing some of the closets in the home, to start the year off organized.

 

*** No words needed (favorite photo or picture) *** 

Sir Elliott ♥   I sure love this sweet boy.  Never in a million years did I ever imagine having a cat, and loving said cat.  Never been a cat person, but am so in love with this sweet boy.  God always knows what we want and need, even when we don't.

 

 

 

*** Devotional, Prayers, Bible Verses *** 

Today's verse: 

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. - Matthew 7:1 NIV   

{ Saturday January 4, 2025 }

We have had a cold front coming in and it has been dropping the temperatures drastically.

After the gym yesterday, we came back home and after my usual shower, I had some lunch and then spent quite a while, in front of the fire with my current book.

This pictures is from back in December, but it perfectly shows what my day was like yesterday, so I thought I would share it again.

I have been finding such joy and contentment in sitting by the fire, and reading, with a cup of coffee or tea nearby.  The world around me seems to disappear, and I am sucked into the current book, fully immersed in the story.

Does that happen to you too?

When you read do you also tend to focus on the book and then suddenly it seems like you are no longer in your own home, but are wherever the story has taken you?  Isn't it incredible how our minds work?

I'm hoping this year will be another full on reading year, with lots of books, fire side cups of tea, and a slowed down way of living.

{ A slow start to the year }

This year hits different for me.

 

I've always been a person who gets super anxious at the end of a year and beginning of a new one, mainly because I get this sense of impending doom, not knowing what is coming, what is going to happen, will we all still be here at the end?  It's unnerving and I absolutely despise that feeling.

 

Also, the feeling of needing to change things, needing to be better, do better.  

 

This time it is different.  I mentioned in a previous post that I wasn't feeling that anxious and had decided to just embrace the new year and go with it.  But, I also don't feel that need to change this or that, rather I feel the need to continue.  Continue being healthy, continue doing what I've been doing, continue leaning into God and His word.  

 

I think maybe my word for this year may just be CONTINUE!

 

My mornings have been slow, of course we are still in this holiday limbo, and I don't know about you all but I'm so ready to get out of this season and into the normal routines and schedules.  

Everything feels a bit discombobulated at the moment, there is no routine, there is not set time for anything, there's far too much eating of stuff we shouldn't, you know the drill, I think we're all in that little bubble at the moment.

As much as I have enjoyed having Curt home for the past two weeks, the time with family, the food, and the laughter, the slow mornings and naps in the afternoons, I am yearning for a stricter routine.  I need it.

How beautiful is my boy Elliott?  I often sit in wonder that God would bring us this gorgeous boy, who was a wild kitty, abandoned by his mother.  I don't think I've ever seen such a gorgeous wild cat.  And what a blessing that he is ours ♥

I don't have much to share with you today, but that's ok, remember I said I would love to try and post every day, even if just sharing a photo or something I'm doing?  Well here's me doing just that.

So you get a photo of my yummy morning oatmeal, which has been my go to for a while.  When I enjoy a certain breakfast I tend to stick with it and can eat it, for many many days, without getting sick of it.  That's a good thing I think.

Just going to finish this post off with some of my plants.  When I think back of years gone by where I killed every plant I ever owned, I am shocked that I am able to have so many now, and such beautiful ones too.

Many of these have been gifted to me from Curt's cousin Cindy.  Her husband Ed loves plants, grows so many and is always sweet enough to share cuttings with family.  Knowing I adore plants too, I always get some new ones.  

You may notice the one on the far left of the picture has a bag underneath, well that's because I need to move it to a bigger pot and get it settled.  Actually looking at the picture now, the only one that doesn't need a new bigger pot is the big one on the right.  The others all need new homes, and that's on my agenda for either this weekend or Monday.

I also worked on my Nordic Winter Afghan a bit more.  I really want to get that blanket off the hook and onto my lap, this winter.  It's an easy blanket to make and works up pretty quickly, but I just haven't had the time.  Hoping to change that in the next few days/weeks.

I hope you've all had a blessed Friday.  Tomorrow and Sunday are gym days for us, although, with hubby home this week, we've gotten in a lot more gym time.  Last week we went twice during the week and then the weekend too, and this week we've already gone 3 times, and then 2 more this weekend, so overall, we are doing well.

Will see you all back tomorrow, right here, with a cup of hot coffee and no doubt some more babbling posts.

{ Reading Goals for January }

Hello, hello, welcome to the second day of January 2025.

 

You may be shocked to see another post from me, the third in a row.  Yes it's me, I haven't been hacked by a good blogger who posts all the time (hahah).  It really is me.  

 

I want to get back into my old way of blogging and I really want to try to do that this year.  As I mentioned in my previous post, there are a few things that I want to do and stick to, and one of those is definitely taking the time to post more frequently, to share my memories and to be more present in my little corner of blogland.

 

Slowing down and stepping away from social media, albeit not completely, but cutting back on posting and wasting so much time online, for me, means getting back to who I really am.  The girl that loves to cook and bake, read and crochet, sew and take photographs.  That's who I really am and that's who I want to continue to be.

 

I think I've just reached a time in my life, now that I am 50, that I have zero patience for nonsense, and don't want to give energy to things that don't bring me joy, or contribute to my well being.

 

Anyway, all that just to say that I am planning on blogging more.  I've told myself that I don't have to rush back and do huge, long written posts, that it's ok to do smaller little things, as long as I'm putting in the effort here on the blog.  So we will see!

 

Now, I want to just talk to you about my reading goals for January.  

I decided that instead of having a huge pile of books for the whole year, I would break it into months and strive for a certain amount of books each month.  I also want to try and do themed months, where I read a different kind of genre, or a specific author.

 

With that in mind, my pick for January is Janette Oke, who is without a doubt, one of my favorite book authors.  I love the way she writes, I love her stories, her characters, the settings and the sweet family oriented books.  

 

They're just good family books that I so enjoy reading.  I actually wish all her books were made into TV series, not just Where the Heart Is.  Maybe one day, right?

 

Even though she has a few series, I picked her Women of the West series for my first reading choice.  I am just missing the last 3, but they are on the way from Thriftbooks.

 

Women of the West is a series of standalone novels; each one dealing with a different woman living in the west and her relationship with God.

 

Book 1 - The Calling of Emily Evans

Book 2 - Julia's Last Hope

Book 3 - Roses for Mama

Book 4 - A woman named Damaris

Book 5 - They called her Mrs. Doc

Book 6 - The Measure of a Heart 

Book 7 - A Bride for Donnigan

Book 8 - Heart of the Wilderness

Book 9 - Too Long a Stranger

Book 10 - The Bluebird and the Sparrow

Book 11 - A Gown of Spanish Lace

Book 12 - Drums of Change

 

I am not sure that I will get to the whole series in the month of January, but that is what I'm shooting for.  However, if I don't make it, I will just shift them to the month of February, which is not a problem at all.

Looking at the list, I think I might break them in half, and read the first 6 books this month and then move the next 6 to February.  

 

I am also starting my Bible from the beginning again.  I have read it completely from Genesis to Revelation, I think 2 years ago, and loved it so much, that I've decided it's time to do it again.

I thought I would just go again straight from the beginning to the end, but then I remembered that a couple of years ago I purchased the Chronological Tour Through the Bible by Ron Rhodes.  After praying about it, I felt that I should do that instead, so that is what I'll do.

The Ron Rhodes book is a kind of Bible Study, read along, which takes us through the whole Bible in chronological order, breaking it into sections.  I'm quite excited to read it this way and I'll definitely share more on it as I go.

 

For devotional, I have once again picked up one of my favorites, which is The New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp.  It is such a wonderful devotional series.

What are your reading plans for 2025, do you plan on reading more, not reading at all, do you have books picked out or are you more of a read whatever you pick up at the moment, kind of girl?

Would love to know, and if you want to share what you're currently reading, or plan on reading soon, I would like that very much too.

Have a blessed rest of Thursday!