It's still winter.....

Just spent a couple of nights at my sister's place since I've been traumatized by past ice storms & couldn't face being alone through another one. We had such a nice time & spent most of our time in our flannel pj's. It was like being at Murphy Brown's. She has a fix-it man that takes care of the patio homes & he's putting down laminate flooring in a space approximately 7' x 8' & today was his 3rd day to work on it. He unlocks the door in the morning & starts to work while we sat in our beds drinking coffee. We knew he was there by the cigarette smell that clung to his clothing. Today was day #3 & he's still not done.

Anyway, the storm wasn't as bad as we feared but the roads were terrible. Our neighbors farther south in Mo. & Ark. are in terrible condition. We had a debilitating ice storm in 2007 so we know what they're going through. If you've never been in an ice storm, you can't even imagine how horrifying it is & it just goes on forever. Ours lasted for probably 3 days but electricity was out for most of Springfield for days & some for weeks. Makes you want to cut all of your trees down. I've always had Mike to lean on & take care of the aftermath of these things so it's scary when the responsibility is solely yours.

I actually won a give-away -- yea!!!!! Jan at http://polkadotbarn.blogspot.com/ was giving away a great box full of paper goods & artsy things & I honestly won. Thanks to her Mom for drawing my name. I've always been partial to that name "Jan". Check her blog out & leave her a message. She's like the rest of us & loves knowing someone is out there. You'll never know how much all the messages have meant to me. How can things not get better with all those prayers going out for me. I feel it. Thanks to all my new dear friends & all my wonderful old ones.

A day with Allison!

Allison and I spent the day together today & it was such a nice break. Just a week ago we had Mike's service. It's hard to have much time to talk when there are 3 little ones so John & his Mom took the kids to Arkansas for John's Grandmother's birthday and Allison & I got to go to the bookstore and out to lunch and then back to the house for awhile. We had a good day. She's the best daughter a mom could have and I can't imagine what I would do without her. Luckily, for me & for her & the kids, she found a wonderful man to marry & I'm so thankful for him.

Anyway, there's a chance for an ice storm on Monday night through Wednesday. Hopefully, they're wrong again & we can get on with watching for spring. We were going to have the trees all trimmed back but kept putting it off so if we can avoid this one, I'm calling the tree trimmers.

I had a delivery tonight from Debbie at The Nest and this is what I opened. It was from Debbie & her husband Ron who own The Thicket and The Nest in Springfield. I have been blessed with truly the best friends & I'm so grateful for their love & support. They had no idea what this surprise did for me -- let's just say I needed it tonight.

A beautiful day in January

It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day today and I hung my sheets on the line. It's so good to do normal things again. My sisters came and helped me move some furniture and to cheer me up. I don't know what I would do without them. Also, my friend Annie needs tablecloths made for a party she's catering. Life goes on!

This is the first time in my life that I've been alone. I went from my parent's house to Mike's & mine. Probably because I was next to the youngest in a large family, I was over-protected. I learned to cook & take care of a checking account after I was married. Probably because Mike was the oldest in the family & his dad was in the service, he was a natural caretaker so that was what he did with me for most of our married life. Fortunately for me, I needed independence so I tried, without hurting his ego to let him know that I could and wanted to be a strong partner and have an equal say in our lives. My hope is that I am as strong as I feel I am and can have a long happy life without my kids thinking they have to worry about me.

It's so strange how this blogging thing came into my life just at the right time. I have lots of friends and family but for some reason I feel like I've earned every friend on this blog just by your reading my words & thoughts -- the real me. I can't ever tell you how much your thoughts, prayers, and encouragement has meant to me. On a journal entry of my husband's we found the words "let go and let God" and it's been my mantra over the last few days. It's helped! Thanks, again.

Mike.....

Some of you may have noticed the lapse in my posting. The reason is that my husband, Mike, of over 42 years died very suddenly last week. I'm trying to work through this the best I can and I'm hoping that putting some thoughts down in writing might help. Bear with me!!!

Since Allison left home about 18 years ago, it's just been him and me in this house. Everything reminds me of him from the closed garage doors when I come home to the crumbs around the couch where he always laid. But luckily, I don't feel emptiness in this house. This house holds the best of memories and I feel him still here with me. It's still my sanctuary.

I have the best support system anybody could possibly have and I'm always aware of God beside me. So in the days to come, I'll try not to do too much whining but please be patient with me.

Success -- at last!!! Breadbaking

At last I turned out 2 beautiful loaves of bread -- & quite tasty too! I used Hodgson Mills' white flour and also there yeast and a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. It raised beautifully in an hour and then another hour in the bread pans. I think my favorite part (besides eating it) is smelling it while it's baking. My mixer with dough hooks came in handy too so I didn't have to do so much kneading. I'll definitely be doing this more often. I promised Sage that the next time he came, I'd make cinnamon rolls.
All 3 g'kids spent the night last night and they just left. So now I'm having a grilled cheese sandwich (homemade bread) and a Dr. Pepper for lunch. I've been trying not to drink soda but I think I deserve it today.

My afternoon is being spent trying to design a shopping bag for my 100th blog posting (actually it will probably be my 120th). One of my new year's resolutions was to do something that helps the environment everyday this year so I thought a shopping bag would be perfect for today's deed. So keep a watchout in the next couple of days. It's always such a thrill for me to get a comment on my blog so this is my way of seeing if anyone is actually reading it.

Have a great Sunday!

Bread baking -- not a huge success!!!

This was my first attempt at bread making using gluten & it still didn't rise. The yeast was new & I put it in a warm place but not sure what happened. I'm trying again today. I might add that it did make darn good toast with my peach jam.

I bought a flour that was new to me and I'm wondering if that was my mistake. It was called white whole wheat but I think I should have mixed it with white flour. I love Hodgson Mill flours and bread mixes so I'm going to add some of their bread flour to the mix today. We'll see!!!

My sister Mary is having a sale at her little used (everything) store in Battlefield today so I think I'll run out. I have been working on Leola's merchandise the last couple of days and have some things ready to take in. This is the time of year, as long as the weather stays good, that we get a lot of dealers in & also our regulars are sprucing up after taking down Christmas. Yesterday was in the 60's and there were lots of people out so holes need to be filled. Today is very cold & gloomy so we'll see what happens.

We have g'kids overnight tonight so we went to the library and checked out a great old Shirley Temple movie so we can have movie night. It's always amazed me that with all the things to do with kids that always costs money, the simple things that cost practically nothing are always there favorites. They love to get their pj's on & we fix a big pillow & blanket pit in front of the fire, fix popcorn & watch a movie. Oh, & you have to turn out all the lights. Nothing better then that!!!!!

Have a great weekend!

A day to work in the shop & ponder breadmaking...

First of all, Mindy from Primitiques 'n Poetry blog is having a give-away. If you want to sign-up to win this wonderful book "The House that Cleans Itself" go on over but please tell her that you found her through my blog because then I'm entered again. I think this sounds like a book that I could really use. Also, you'll really enjoy Mindy's blog.

It was such a pretty day today so Judy & I went to work at Leola's for awhile. We hung lace at the front windows & hope to hang enlarged valentines also. It's a really fun look & that's what we're all wanting at this time of the year. I took a few shop pictures.

I also went to Mama Jean's Natural Food Store in Springfield and purchased organic whole grain flour and gluten to make home-made bread. I've never done really well with my bread baking & a couple of women who were in the shop this week told me that the secret ingredient was gluten. I'm just going to check some of the blogs of women who make bread & see what kind of advice I get. If anyone has any for me, please send a comment & let me know. I'm determined that this year I'm not only going to try to live more simply, but I'm really wanting to eat better and that means more homemade. Most things that have ingredients listed will be off-limits (except Cheezits & Krafts Macaroni & Cheese). Sorry, but life is not worth living without Cheezits & my g'kids can't live without macaroni & cheese.

Antiqueing trip and purchases......

We had a great trip on Friday and managed to find a few treasures. I'm amazed sometimes at the prices in small towns and it makes me realize what great prices we still have in Ozark. We went to Cabool and then to Houston. It was a beautiful day for a road trip. A little nippy but bright sunshine. The linens in my picture are gorgeous. The lady told me they were Italian & appear to be made from linen. The cases are made like shams so they completely cover the pillow and I don't think they've ever been used. I intend to do bedding for an old iron bed for spring open house so if I'm sticking these back until I get my bedding made up. I'm going to pull out my Carolyn Westbrooke book and try to get inspiration.

This is my day at Leola's. After a busy weekend, things are kind of in disarray so have my work cut out for me. Hope everyone has a good week.

It's 2009 & the sun is shining! Yea!!!!

It's a beautiful day in the Ozarks. The sun is shining & the birds are singing -- all is right with the world (a girl can dream)! Mike & I are taking advantage of the nice weather & $1.39 gas and going on a little trip. If we're lucky, we'll find an antique shop or flea mkt. along the way and find a treasure. Hopefully, we'll find a great burger & there's just the place in Ava so maybe we'll head that direction.

We worked at Leola's yesterday taking down Christmas so thought I'd post a few pics. Enjoy!