Garage Sale-ing We Go!

Today my Hubby and I woke up early,

had an easy and quick breakfast,

and were out the door.

Today is Saturday

Today there are Garage Sales!

Let me share with you some of the deals we came across

This snowflake trivet was only 25 cents.

Shiny and new ... it will add sparkle to my Christmas table

This snowman ... donned in his striking plaid overcoat ...

was only $5

This green vase was only 50 cents

You always need another vase

So goes with another cookbook

Perfect shape ... spiral bound ...

50 cents

Elegant shelf (maybe needing painting ... maybe not)

$2

Metal hammered vase / basket ... $1

And the best deals by far were the DVDs and VHSs we found

This stack came to a grand total of $4.75

Our family LOVES those A&E performances

And I about peed my pants when she said 50 cents for the whole set.

Today was an extraordinary day!

Around the Place

Took a bit of a stroll around the place

and this is what I saw

A green house that needs to be organized

A Radio Flyer full of watering cans

A bird's nest made of twigs and grass

A sturdy new fence

New growth on the Maple tree

Matty on guard on her side of the fence

Buddy, the neighbour's dog, 'protecting' his side

Robber of the Cruel Streets

George Muller

has always been a hero of mine

George Muller (1805 - 1898) was a German playboy who found Christ and gave his life to serve Christ unreservedly. His mission was to rescue orphans from the wretched street life that enslaved so many children in England during the time of Charles Dickens and Oliver Twist. Muller did rescue, care for, feed, and educate such children by the thousands. The costs were enormous for such a great work. yet, amazingly, he never asked anyone for money. Instead he prayed, and his children never missed a meal.

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I found a wonderful documentary on youtube beautifully depicting Muller's life and mission. This link is for part one of six. When the video ends click on the subject line at the top of the video screen. It will take you to youtube.com and from there you can find parts 2 - 6 in a column on the right side. The documentary totals 59 minutes.

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Spectacular & Convicting

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

George Muller

"Robber of the Cruel Streets"

A great film about a man of amazing faith
regarding financial provision and God's faithfulness!

The Path of Life

When walking down the path of life, remember what I say,

That every man must feel the thorns that grow along the way.

And every soul will struggle, for every man is weak,

And the road of life uncertain, its prospects often bleak.

But always give a helping hand, a word of love, a smile,

To help the soul beside you walk across each weary mile.

For love will cause the sun to shine, and everywhere you go,

The painful thorns less noticed as the roses bloom and grow.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Kate Watkins Furman

glitter-graphics.com

Patching Up the Ceiling

Joe the Fix It Guy

was here today cutting out and patching in

A view of my living room furniture

under a beautiful patchwork of bed sheets

Oooops ... looks like I forgot to vacuum!

I'll keep you posted about this renovation job

Susan Boyle

Through some news broadcast on TV,

I was encouraged to check out youtube.com

and a recent participant in Britain's Got Talent.

~ * ~

Susan Boyle

~ * ~

Singing 'I Dreamed a Dream' from Les Miserables

Goose bumps were emerging as I was wow-ed.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Embedding was disabled, but I have the URL below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

As they say ... you will be glad that you did!

Enemy appearance

I was out this beautiful morning admiring my pastures

Green and Lush and Welcoming

And the straight as an arrow new fence line

being pounded in the last few days

And then my feeling of bliss wavered

as I happened to capture an enemy appearance

This year as the dandelions come marching in

I resolve to take them in stride

Like Matty

Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say

If my lips would keep from slips,

Five things observe with care ---

To whom you speak, of whom you speak,

And how, and when and where.

If you your ears would keep from jeers,

These things keep meekly hid,

Myself and me, and my and mine,

And how I do or did.

The Plot Thickens

Yesterday was a bit of a ... let's say CHALLENGE

Due to the unexpected shower in the living room,

the water main was cut off from about 9:00 in the morning

till 5:00 in the evening.

Conditions like that can be kinda rough

I suppose that I shouldn't complain,

Hubby had his hands full ALL DAY

And I do have a much deeper appreciation of indoor plumbing :o)

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

And as this picture illustrates ...

Things could have been worse!

Hope your day is delightful

Showers of Blessings???

No one can say that life is boring.

There are always twists and turns

and ups and downs and

showers of blessings ...

Showers of blessings come in all different forms.

One such form poured out of our

living room ceiling this morning.

Buckets and buckets of joy sprung forth
from the wells of our water pipes.

My foyer is now a show case
of items from my living room

And as the picture hanging on the wall states:
God Bless Our Home
He will continue to do so
and we will laugh about this soon

How big does a hill have to be?

How big does a hill have to be

before it becomes a mountain?

You would think that there should be a simple answer to this. There is sort of a simple answer. Hills are less than 305 metres above the surrounding area, and have to have a distinct summit or point. but they are not just small mountains. It has to do with how hills were formed.

A hill has to be constructed from loads of built-up rock or sand that has been put there over the years. Or a hill can be as big raised bump in the earth that has then worn down.

A mountain, though, has steep slopes and sharp or rounded peaks or ridges. And mountains often have more than one climate zone, which means that plant life that grows at one altitude won't grow at the next.

Mountains form in lots of ways. Some are volcanoes, which means that after each eruption more layers of hard lava build the mountain. Some have been created because of folding and uplifting of the earth.

So it is possible to have a hill that is higher than a mountain - it depends how it was formed. But after 305 metres, it is called a mountain no matter how it was formed.

So it IS possible to make a mountain

out of a mole hill!

Hallelujah!

The old rugged cross made the difference

in a life bound for heartache and defeat;

I will praise Him forever and ever,

for the cross made the difference for me.

May the glorious dawn of Easter morn,

And all that it imparts,

Bring hope anew to everyone

And love to troubled hearts.

May the glory of our risen Lord

Shine so the world may find

True brotherhood with prayer and faith

For peace to all mankind.

May the beauty of this glad springtime

Bring a radiant joy and cheer -

And Easter story told again,

Bring the Saviour very near.

The resurrection of our Lord from the dead, is God's guarantee to us that we will also be raised from the dead. If Christ did not rise from the grave, we will not rise from the grave either. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Christ dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. Romans 8:11 ... It does not say quicken your spiritual being but your MORTAL bodies. The fact then that Jesus rose from the dead, is all the proof and assurance we need to know that sin is defeated in Christ and His victory is ours when we are found in Him.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1

Live as if Christ died yesterday,

As if He rose this morning and

As if He were coming tomorrow.

Don't Fence Me In

Years ago we had horses for the

entertainment & betterment

of our kidlets.

As a matter of fact, we had four of them.

~ * ~
Hmmmm .... with only three kids,

I suppose I was responsible for getting the fourth.

If you have ever had any large animals,

you know that fences play

the main defense against them

wandering aimlessly around the countryside.

And fences constantly need attention ...

And every so often they need replacin'

~ * ~

That time has come here on our meager acerage.

The dogs were no help at all.
They went after the moles!

English Muffins Anyone?

This past week has been dreay with overcast skies

Coolish weather

Blah Blah BLAH

Good time to try something new in the kitchen ...

~ * ~

How about English Muffins?

I found this recipe in a little cookbook

my mother-in-law gave me years ago ...

Roger's Bread Machine Cookbook

Easy English Muffins

1 1/4 cups water
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp margarine
1 tsp salt
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1/4 cup cornmeal for coating

Program for manual or dough cycle on your bread machine.

When cycle is complete, turn dough out onto floured surface

and roll out to 1/2" thickness.

Cut into muffins using an 3" round cookie cutter.

Dip muffins in cornmeal, place on a backing sheet

and let rise until double in size.
Carefully transfer muffins to medium-hot grill

and cook 5-8 minutes on each side.

Yield about 20 muffins

I didn't watch the grilling as carefully as I should

OOOoooOOOoooOOOps

But we were all very pleased with the outcome.
This recipe ... according to the family ...
is a Keeper!

Is it spring yet?

Poured rain this morning out of dark scary skies.

A few hours later the sun came out and warmed the earth.

A bit of wind chased away the clouds and sadness ...

~ * ~

And I caught a few reminders that Spring is on the way

~ * ~

The back field is greening up

Rhubarb is poking up it's little heads

Along with a weed or two and moss :(

Chives are making their appearance too

And the grass is making its way through this leaf.

I love the way God's creation works beautifully together.

SHAVE MY HEAD!

My Genius son has been negligent in hair cuts recently ...

well recently isn't really the word for it.

It has been months and months and months.

Because of this, his hair had become a

very sore spot in the family.

Long, thick waves kept cascading over his ears ... Yikes ...

With his oval face, and this hair

he looked like a giant black Q-tip.

Finally after some gentle (?) persuasion,

he comes up to me and says SHAVE MY HEAD!

The official measurement indicated that his hair was clearly

tooo long!

Out with the clippers ......

With a reward of DQ blizzards for all,

the deed was done.

My Genius son is handsome again!

What Old People Do For Fun

My husband celebrated his 54th birthday yesterday.

I served him lasagna, dinner rolls, and salad for dinner and

Angel Food cake with raspberry sauce for dessert .... His favourites.

Too busy to go out and celebrate mid-week

so we plan to go out and have fun later.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Speaking of fun,

I found this clip on youtube showing

how other"old folks" have fun

Irish Stew and Soda Bread

It seems that every blog I visited today had some shamrock showing,
or special green dish displayed,

or some little leprechaun dancing upon their shelves ...

I am ashamed to say I don't have anything decorative

that even resembled

a St. Patrick's Day celebration.

How sad for me and how boring for my family.

~ * ~

Now, that was my confession part

and here is what I did manage to do today:

Irish Stew with Irish Soda Bread

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Irish Stew

1 tbsp olive oil

2 lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 large onion, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 parsnip, peeled and cut into large chunks

4 cups water, or as needed

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)

1 cup coarsely chopped leeks

~ * ~

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large stockpot or Dutch oven, Add lamb pieces and cook, stirring gently, until evenly browned. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add the onion and carrots and cook gently alongside the meat for a few minutes. Stir in the water. Cover and bring to a boil before turning the heat down to low. Simmer for 1 hour or longer, until meat is tender.

3. Stir in Parsnips, potatoes, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes before adding leeks and rosemary. Continue to simmer uncovered, until potatoes are tender but still whole.

Serve piping hot and enjoy!

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Irish Soda Bread

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup buttermilk

~ * ~

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet.

3. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

Serve hot with yet even more butter ..... Yummm!

Irish Blessings to You

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

~ * ~

(Don't forget to scroll down and stop my playlist songs

located on the left column before you watch this beautiful film clip)

So True ... So True

A little lantern can do what

the great sun can never do ---

It can shine in the night

You are the world's light ...

glowing in the night for all to see.

Matthew 5:14 TLB