Look What the Mailman Brought Me!

Stephanie's pretty Rose Petal Blessings tea cup coasters have arrived.
I could not be MORE delighted! They are lovely.

She packaged it all up so beautifully adding extra touches...

The bookmark with a special message written on the back,

A lovely card and envelope,

A decorative NOEL clothespin and flower blossom,

And a delightful gift label: 

BE HAPPY; BE BRIGHT; BE MERRY

Thank you, Stephanie. I really love them!

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Let your light so shine before men, 

that they may see your good works, 

and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

 (Matthew 5:16) 

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Holiday Fun

Since the season goes by so quickly, and there is so much to do,
I like to start decorating for Christmas as soon as possible after Thanksgiving Day.

Today, I set the tree and put the lights on it...
12 strings - 6 white and 6 colored.

 ~ Stringing popcorn ~

This evening, we are stringing popcorn while watching White Christmas.

 ~ Placing popcorn on the tree~

I am still in the process... We need more popcorn strings.

~ Christmas lights ~

 My husband put up the lights last weekend to be ready for Thanksgiving Day.

I Appreciate Your Sweet Comments

It's Thanksgiving Day!

~5:00 a.m.~

Both of my older children came home to spend the night with us. What joy to have all five children together! We watched a couple of movies last night, and then enjoyed a bit of Brian Regan on Youtube. At 11:30, I headed to bed and left the children to their visiting. They did not go to bed until around 2:00 this morning. 

I got up at 3:30 to straighten up the house for our big day. I love the quietness of the early morning - enjoying the fire in the wood stove, morning coffee, and preparing for the day.

 ~Breakfast~

 ~ Thanksgiving dinner ~

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
1 Chronicles 16:34

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Sketch of Thanksgiving Day

~ A drawing I did nearly 30 YEARS ago ~

This was drawn from my own imagination.

I usually draw from some photo or picture inspiration.
My drawings tend to be SO two dimensional. 

You can see where I messed up - 

See the patch on my paper in my struggle to draw the father?

I don't draw men well.

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Tomorrow IS Thanksgiving Day!

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My Rose Petal Blessings

I got up at 1:00 this morning to check the fire in the wood stove. It had gone out – completely.

I knew it would take a while to get going again, so I decided to chillax using the computer while I waited.

For entertainment, I went to Rose Petal Blessings Stephanie’s Etsy shop to browse her lovely handmade gifts.

 

These two beautiful tote bags were my favorite items. I thought about how nice it would be to send one to my sister Rita. I also thought about what fun it would be to have one for myself. But I could not decide between the two.

At 3:00 a.m., I decided to go back to bed. But I could not sleep. For 45 minutes I lay awake, imagining all the good ways I could use Stephanie's tote. I decided to get up and purchase both bags.

What lovely gifts they would make. Although I really wanted one for myself, I could not justify spending the money on myself, so I settled on sending both totes to two of my sisters.

My sister Joy is always doing nice things for me. She sent me this adorable teapot picture frame...

And this very homey tablecloth. 

I think she would like to receive a special something in the mail.

I am excited about these totes arriving at their destination and the pleasure they will bring to my dear sisters. Thank you, Stephanie, for your pretty little totes.

 

By the way – I did get myself a little something extra special - 

Stephanie's Tea Cup Coasters.

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Only 2 days until Thanksgiving Day!

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My Kitchen Talble this November Morning

Persimmon Bread Recipe

Persimmon Bread 

Makes two 9x4x3-inch loaf

• 1 cup persimmon pulp (I used 3 very softened ripe persimmons)
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• (1/3 cup water if needed to puree the persimmons) 
• Note: I did not need the water for my ripe fruit.

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Grease two 9x4x3-inch loaf pan and set aside.

Puree Persimmons in blender. (Add a little bit of water if needed.)

In a small bowl, whisk together persimmon pulp and baking soda. This will thicken the pulp a bit.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, salt, oil, eggs, and spices. Add walnuts. Once ingredients are well incorporated, whisk in the persimmon mixture, all at once, into the dry ingredients. Fold to incorporate. Once no flour remains, pour into the loaf pan and place in the oven.

Bake loaf for 55 to 60 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature before serving. Loaf lasts well wrapped at room temperature for up to five days.

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

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Linking up today with:

Making Your Home Sing Monday
and

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Only 4 days until Thanksgiving Day!

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A Simple Meal

Really, this pie tasted much better than it looks.

This pot pie was not what I had planned to make.

I had planned on making a nice juicy, beefy pot pie.

Things took a different turn when I reached for a can of clam chowder to put in my son's lunch.

I opened the can to find cream of mushroom soup. Great. No one in my family likes cream of mushroom soup. My husband keeps buying it, though, and there always seems to be a can of it around. It must have been something his mother cooked with.

So, I decided to throw it into my pot pie. Well, as long as this pie was no longer going to be the pie I had planned  - I chopped up last nights left over French fries (because I hate to waste food) and threw those in as well (no one even noticed them mixed in with the potatoes ☺).

Now, I know that the pie was a success because my rather picky fellas all said it was delicious - they had seconds, too.

I think the thing that really made it good was the slices of cream cheese I tucked under the crust.

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Only 5 days until Thanksgiving Day!

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What We Called a Photo Safari

My husband and I went down to the river at 7:00 with our morning coffee.

Our reason for going - we wanted to take photos of the salmon coming up the river.

Sad to say, this was our best shot.

It is really difficult to capture them, especially with an inexpensive camera.

They were jumping one to three feet out of the water, at times, but they were always gone as soon as we saw them.

At first I gingerly stepped across stones, attempting to keep my feet dry.

Eventually, that became impossible, 

and I ended up ankle deep in water in my endeavors to capture a photo of those fleeting fish.

My husband said that we were on a photo safari. 

It really felt that way, as I gave up my comfort in my quest for a photo.

Well, all I got for my efforts were wet feet.

It really was not as cold or uncomfortable as I expected it to be.

Next time, I should wear galoshes.

Here they come!

Up the ladder - I snap a photo - but again, too late.

Maybe next time.

Even without the success, it was a beautiful morning.

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Only 5 days until Thanksgiving Day!

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Thanksgiving Day Shopping

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Only ONE week until Thanksgiving Day! 

Do you have your shopping done?

♥

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Thanksgiving grocery shopping is so exciting!

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Actually, I did not buy my cranberries.
My sister sent me a box of Wisconsin Cranberries!

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What's happening in your house?

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Morning by the Fireside

You know how much I love sitting by my wood stove.

Cozy by the fireside, I am working on a doll for one of my nieces.

Here I am having fun with the watercolor setting on my camera.

So many great ways to waste time with a digital camera.

I take photos of everything!

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Only 8 days until Thanksgiving Day!

 

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A Happy Mess

I woke up this morning to find this cute little mess. 

My daughter had been working on building her gingerbread house the night before and left it to dry.
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Only  9 day until Thanksgiving Day!

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A Thanksgiving Song

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Only 11 days until Thanksgiving Day!

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Saturday Morning in Autumn

Saturday mornings are coffee mornings with my daughter.

Sometimes we sit overlooking the river, and some mornings we visits one of the three parks near our home. This is our favorite park. Often,
we are the only ones in the park.

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Only 12 Days until Thanksgiving Day!

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