Good Bye 2020 and Hello 2021

 So again - I have a few minutes but really not the time to type out a real post, but I wanted to come on here and let you know that starting Sabbath I should have posts ready to put up. It is a dreary, cold, and rainy day today. The perfect weather to stay inside and get stuff done. This is a blessing to me because this week has been so busy and the week is not even over yet.

We have a family get together tomorrow. My Mother in law decided that at her age there is never a guarantee that she will be around next year and wants to see her family and have a get together. So that will be tomorrow. Then on Sabbath - it is my husbands birthday so we will be celebrating him. We have 2 more family members birthdays coming up in a couple of weeks.

Things should slow down just a bit for at least a couple of weeks. Especially since my MIL had her last therapy appointment this week. YAY! I was so happy to see that trip come to an end. God blessed us and helped it be a mostly positive experience, but I am still very happy NOT to have to go to that hospital for a while now. 

Hope you all are doing well and have a blessed and healthy New Year! May God bless each of you in a special way in the upcoming year and draw you closer to him.  :O) 

Edited to say - that I was able to find a few minutes to get a few posts put up. Not really my bigger posts but at least now I should be more regular with posts. :O) 

 I have not forgotten about my blog, in fact I have already written up about 5 or 6 posts in a spiral. I just have not had a chance to get them typed up here. I have been much more busy this week than I had anticipated. I ended up taking care of our 5 year old grandson on Monday and Tuesday and he can be a handful. But thankfully I was able to get quite a bit of work out in the yard done- work that I had not planned on doing this week but he loves to play outside so this was one of the best ways to keep him busy. I can't wait to get on here and get back to blogging, but sadly today I have to make what I hope is the last trip to the downtown hospital for a long time! 

I hope you all are doing well. I will start posting as soon as I can! :O) 

Merry Christmas

 Just dropping by to say Merry Christmas! Hoping you have all had a very Merry Christmas. Our day has been a quiet one - since we don't get to have our Christmas till tomorrow evening - so that all of our kids and grandkids can be here. 

You all may find this very hard to believe but I actually have a good list of things I want to write about and share with you all. 2020 has been a challenging year and I have not been in a very Christmasy mood this year and am just ready for a new year. It probably helps because I am down to just 1 more trip to the downtown hospital with my MIL. That has been challenging and it has eaten into my time to get things done. Anyway so with a new year coming up it has inspired me with a good list of posts. I am learning that I have to write down my ideas - because I will totally forget about the ideas once I have a chance to sit down at the computer. It is very frustrating to have a few minutes and not think of anything worth while to share. But I am some great ideas and I can't wait to be able to get the posts written up and posted. So please don't give up on me - I promise to have some great posts coming up. 

Focus is on Jesus

 “ The redeemed now begin to sing a song of praise that echoes and re-echos through heaven: “Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb.” Salvation to our God?! Aren’t they making a big mistake? No, it’s God’s salvation at stake here. It’s His reputation being put on the line. And apparently that’s one of the primary reasons that everyone who has ever lived is in that final audience.

The redeemed have seen the power and awfulness of Satan, and they realize, as never before, that no power but Christ’s could have made them conquerors. In all that shining throng, no one ascribes salvation to themselves; not one believes they prevailed through their own power or goodness. And no one talks of what they’ve done or suffered....... The entire focus is on Jesus and salvation to our God and to the Lamb.”

This book has not disappointed- it has been excellent just like every other book I have read by Morris Vendon. “ The Last Trolley Out” p.206

Sabbath Praises

Good Morning! I hope you all are doing well! So today I wanted to share one of my favorite Christmas songs. And I wanted to ask the question, what is your favorite Christmas song? 

Making Do

Something I have been learning to do more and more, especially this year, is to make do with what I have. No need to run to the store to buy more things when you can figure out a way to use things you already have on hand. 

These clips were purchased for my quilt design board. We had made it with felt back ground but I ended up having some of our cats climb up it and so we knew we had to do something different. And we thought these clips would work with how we designed it but regular clothes pins were much easier to use. So these have just sat there accumulating dust until last week end. 

About 4 months ago I had ordered these reusable cotton rounds 

Photo - borrowed from Amazon - where I purchased these rounds. 

Directions say that it is important NOT to use fabric softner when washing these. So I have been hand washing them to make sure that they continue to work like they should. But I have had a hard time figuring out how to dry them. But this last week end I started thinking that I could use a hanger to dry them and I had thought about using clothes pins but thought they might be too big. 
Then I remembered these great clips! 

And sure enough they would perfectly for this job! Now I can dry them easily! 

I have been pretty happy with these great cotton rounds. They have worked pretty well. 

It really makes me happy when I am able to figure out how to make do with what I already have. It is a great way to save money. 

What ways have you been able to make do with what you already have with projects you are doing? I would love to hear about it! :O)  

 

Overwhelmed with Loving Gratitude

I may have shared these quotes before but as I was scrolling through my Facebook memories I come across some great quotes that I have shared there and I don't know if I have shared them here or not. So I will just be sharing some along the way. This blessed me the first time I read it and it blessed me this time as well. I hope it blesses you as well. :O) 

 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven

 and the first earth had passed away.....” Revelation 21:1

The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away. There’s no eternally-burning hell to keep before the ransom the fearful consequences of sin. Only one reminder of sin will remain forever. Jesus will always bear the marks of his crucifixion. The scars on His wounded head, on His side, and on His hands and feet are the only traces of the cruel work at sin. Does that mean we’ll see those scars forever? Apparently yes. And each time we do, we’ll be overwhelmed with loving gratitude. “

“The  Last Trolley Out” p.215

Money Saving, plus an Answer to Prayer

For a couple of weeks Aldi's was running great sales on raspberries or blackberries! I, of course had to make up some fruit jam with them. I had already made one batch of blackberry jam and then ended up in the town with an Aldi's and couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick up enough blackberries to make up another batch of jam. The next morning I got busy trying to get the jam made before I needed to take my MIL to a therapy appt that afternoon. I was halfway through and realized that I had used my last pack of Sure Jell the last time I made Jam. Well I went and looked in my canning supplies container and I found a package of Certo. A very sweet lady had given me some canning jars and had 1 pack of Certo left over and so she gave it to me. Little did she know that she was going to be an answer to a prayer way before I was able to even pray it. I already had the fruit in the pan smushing them.  And I live about 20 minutes away from any store that sells Sure Jell - plus half the time the store has it and half the time they don't. Anyway I did not have time to run to the store. So it truly was an answer to prayer to have that one pack of Certo. I was able to finish out my jam using the Certo. It is used a little bit differently than the Sure Jell packs of powder but I read through the directions and adapted it to my recipe and got the batch done. It truly was an answer to prayer! 

A few days later when I went to Walmart I went to the canning section. I almost always check out the canning section of the store when I get to to the store. It is so hard to find supplies so I look every time I get a chance. Anyway I found the double pack of Sure Jell and they were running $4.44, making it  $2.22 per package. 

I noticed that there was some other Sure Jell things so I kept looking to see what else there was. And I discovered a value pack of Sure Jell! The Value Pack has 6 packages and it is only $11.84, making it a tiny bit over $1.97 each package. 

 A savings of $1.48. Every little bit helps. Plus canning supplies have been hard to come by so when you find a value pack that saves you money - it is probably a pretty good deal! 

I am SO grateful to God for answering my prayer before I even knew the need. He is such a good, good Father and He cares about even little details of our lives, like having the supplies you need to finish making jam. What a blessing!! 

This and That of This Week

 I just wanted to check in and say hello! This week will be a busy one for me.

 I have 2 therapy appointments to take my Mother in Law to this week. Driving to downtown of a large city nearby - about a 30-40 minutes away depending on traffic. Parking in a parking garage. Parking in a parking garage is not my favorite thing to do. It doesn't help that they are doing a lot of construction in the area around the hospital.

 One day this week I will have to be at my son's house at 5 am- and this time I will need to have had my shower and be already for the day since I will be watching the boys that day so my son can sleep- since he works the night shift. It will be a long day for sure and I will have to wake up pretty early. I can see that it will be a great evening for a nice Hallmark Christmas movie and early to bed. 

I have a hair cut this week and this will be the first visit since the lady who cuts my hair has moved to a new location. It will be interesting to see the new place. Thankfully she is a bit closer to me now. 

Friday our oldest son will get her daughter for the first part of Christmas vacation. It will be nice for him to have her. It will be nice to get to see her more. I will need to make up Sugar cookies this week because my husband and I bought some 3 packs of icing bottles for each family and have dehydrated some marshmallows  and added some hot cocoa for each family to have a nice little activities with the kids. Of making and decorating cookies and having hot cocoa- each family have been making hot cocoa bombs - so they can use the cocoa and marshmallows in their bombs. I would love to try a bomb but don't want to go to all the trouble to make them. 

Well those are the highlights of the week, 

Best Deal X2

So today's best deal are cookbooks! I was SO thrilled to find these great cookbooks. The Eat To Live Cookbook by Dr Joel Furhman. I have actually wanted this cookbook for quite some time. He has an Eat To Live book that has a few recipes in the back but I wanted to check out the cookbook - and thankfully I found it. It is a hard cover and I paid $2.00 for it. 

 And this The Total Vegetarian Cookbook looks like it will be an excellent cookbook! I have already gone through the cookbook and have sticky notes pinpointing the main recipes that I want to try soon. There are quite a few of them! I love great cookbooks. This one was $1.50! I think they were both great deals!! 

Have you found any great deals lately? I would love to hear about it! :O)  

Sabbath Praises

Good Sabbath Morning to you! I hope you all have a great day and a nice week end! Be sure and come back tomorrow I do have a best deal post. See you then. :O) 

My Own Little Cottage Double...

 I have been so very lucky to find blackberries and raspberries on sale for about a dollar a pound. And I knew that was just the time that I needed to get busy making some jam. I was so very happy with how it turned out. It was a great consistency. 

Have you seen these little cottage doubles at the store? 

I have loved these for quite some time - long ago they were about 80 cents a container and I still thought that was kind of high. And then the price went up, like most everything has and has been running about $1.06 or so. It ended up being a treat that I would buy just ever so often, but once I made my own preserves/jam and the consistency was so nice - I knew it would work to make my own little cottage doubles. 

Yummy! What a great way to save money. I am able to buy the lowfat cottage cheese and add my own jam to it! Just one more great way to save money and still enjoy the delicious little treats of life.  

Surprise...I have been busy, Have you been?

 I know I keep saying this but I do intend to get back to having regular posts. I might have to do just every other day or just several times a week until I can get to more regular posting. Things have been busy. A year ago we had one granddaughter and now we basically have 4. And having more means more activates and babysitting and such. Along with that my Mother in law has been in therapy for Lymphedema. and that has required at least 2 -and then sometimes 3 appt a week when she had an extra appointment here and there. 

There has been great sales at Aldi's on Raspberries and Blackberries and I have made up a couple of batches of blackberry and raspberry preserves. Did you know that jelly is when just the juice of the fruit is used and preserves or jam are when the whole fruit is used? I didn't know this until 2015 when my husband and I made our first batch of jam/preserves. I have been very happy with my raspberry and blackberry jam! And I figured out a great treat and a way to save money at the same time. I will be sharing about this -tomorrow so come back by. 

Well I hope that you all are dealing with life good and staying well. :O) 

Hello :O)

 I am so sorry that I have been missing in action lately. So much going on around here. And trying to get things done. Husband spent some time in the hospital. Something cool was built and more canning has been done. Hopefully I will be able to update you soon and get some great posts up. Today I am online getting some business taken care of and planning to meet a friend at a Italian Restaurant for lunch or I would at least get one posted today.  

Hope you all are doing good. 

Sabbath Praises

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the Thanksgiving Holiday! :O) 

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is a great day to Praise God for all of His blessing. But let's not just only take this one day to thank the Lord for His blessings- let's remember to thank Him every day! A grateful heart blesses us and Him!! 

Sabbath Praises

A Little More Information on Leave Mould

So today is another day to take my Mother in law to therapy. So I will be gone for several hours, but I wanted to leave you with this: 

This is just a quick 3-4 minute video that I thought ya'll would enjoy! 

A Great Way To Make All Those Leaves In Your Back Yard Usefull!

Ok so one of the cool things that has been keeping me busy and out of trouble is that I have been learning about leaf mould. Normally youtube allows me to share videos - nice and easy, but for some reason this video ( and it may be because it is out of country) will not do it so I have a link below. When I have have tested it - I have been taken to a page and then have to click on another link to actually get to the video. The video starts out slow - he opens his back door and walks across his lawn but if you will be patient I think you will learn quite a bit. 

So I had a whole bunch of leaves accumulating in my back yard and what better way to deal with them than to get my mower out. My push mower that has a catchment bag. I did not do this but one of the videos I watched said that it will cut the leaves littler if you raise the blade up - but since I don't know how and I did not want to bother my husband with that since I don't know if it makes a big difference or not, I just used my mower as is. I mowed around over the leaves. I lucked out because the weekend before there was a young man at our house and he and our granddaughters were out in the back yard - he used a rake and was gathering up leaves so they could jump in them. Well thankfully most of the pile stayed put so I mowed over several areas and would hit a bit of this pile. You see if you mow and get some greenery - in your leaves - mix it up a bit with some of this and some of that - you have a better chance of things breaking down and doing better. 

So in the description of the video below he has a link to a couple of composter bins. My husband ordered me one and when we saw how cool it was he got me a second one. Anyway so one weekend I mowed a bit and then dumped leaves into a trash bag and then mowed some more, dumping that into a bag. And just kept doing that till I had 6-8 bags worth well I had 6 bags and a large trashcan full. I took the leaves that were in the trashcan and I put them into a good sized raised garden box that we had that was pretty empty. And I layered it with some droppings from my chicken coop as well- I put some cardboard over that and wet it all really good. When I water my plants I water this as well. I am hoping that this can all break down and just add to the nutrition level of this garden box. We had to wait a week or so for the boxes to get here. And so this past Sunday I actually got my composters placed where I wanted them and then I filled them up - doing the same thing I did with the raised bed- I layered some chicken waste in there as well. Then I soaked the leaves with water. This is very important. So do not leave this step out. 

You will want to press the leave down when you fill it up. And then once you water them down - be prepared that a few days later the leaves will compact down quite a bit. That happened with mine. And so yesterday I actually mowed some more leaves and grass to put some more leaves into the composters. And then I watered them down quite a bit. 

So they say that if your leaves are cut up that it will take less time to decompose. So if you use just straight leaves - the way they fall - it could be a year before you have nice leaf mould, but if you cut up the leaves- like you do with a mower- then it takes about 6 months. I am excited about this because come spring I should have some awesome leaf mould to add to my garden!! 

And if you can't get composting bins - you will be happy to know that you can just put the leaves in trashbags and fill the bags  up with water - then you will poke holes in the bags all over. And just put them aside and you will get leave mould - in either 6 months or 1 year.   

So much great information on youtube - wade through all the junk and find the great stuff. Here is the video that I was refering to! Enjoy! :O) 

Great Leaf Mould Youtube Video 

How to make Leaf Mold (Mould) the Easy Way

Hey... Hi!

 Good Afternoon! How are you all doing? I am so sorry I have been missing in action. It has not been my intention to be gone so long. Normally I can at least get on my ipad and pop on and do a quick up date- but I have a pretty old ipad - I got it 7 years ago when I got diagnosed with cancer and had to go through treatment. And it wasn't the newest version then when we bought it. I am thankful for it because I really enjoy watching youtube videos on it -but lately it is saying that something isn't compatible and so I can not use blogger from my ipad any more. And where my computer is located - it is challenging to get on here and get blogs typed up without being disrupted. But I have an idea that I am working on and hopefully I can get it all worked out soon. I have quite a few things to tell you about. Some steps I am taking to make our home here- more of a homestead. With all the craziness going on in the world - I am learning the value of taking advantage of the space I have and putting it to work for me. There are some new projects that I have done - new things I have learned that I want to share - that way you too can try these things out if you are interested. 

I have also been quite busy. This is one of my few "free" days this week. What do I mean by "free" day - well there are a total of 3 appointments that I need to take my mother in law to this week - 1 Monday, 1 Tuesday and 1 Thursday. And if things keep up like they are I will have 11 more appointments to take her to before the end of December. Oh my! The worst part about it all is that 99% of these appointments are downtown in a large city nearby. Not only that but we have to park in a parking garage and usually have to go up at least 4 stories or more before we find parking. And all this mess in the world - it makes it even more miserable...

Lots going on around here and more things planned and I can't wait to get on here and share them with you. Hoping I can catch a few minutes here and there to get some great posts written up for you all. Hope you are doing well and staying safe. As a fellow chemosabe used to say - Stay Strong and Thrive....SS&T!!! 

Sabbath Praises

So this week I am just seeing if you are paying attention....lol 

Yes, this is the same song I shared last week but this is a different rendition. This is my favorite one! I absolutely love it! I hope you are blessed by it as well! Let's continue to praise God! :O) 

Raspberry Jam

 

So over the last week or so I have not felt the best. I don't know if it stress with all of the mess going on in our country and the fact that all these restrictions just keep hanging on month after month. It is truly very discouraging at times. It could be allergies. I just don't know. But that has not stopped me from getting some fun stuff done around here. 

Luckily for me Aldi's ran a great sale on raspberries. $1.29 for a 6 oz container. I bought a case - 12 packs in all. I had no idea how many containers it would take. In the past I have went to make salsa only to find out that I did not buy enough tomatoes- so now I will be buying more than what I need, just to make sure I have enough. It is much better to have too much than not enough. 

I got 10 half pint jars of raspberry jam. And oh it is SO good. And yes - I like the seeds in there. I know it looks like alot of seeds but when you eat this on toast - you can not really tell. 

I had thought about using my machine that I used to make applesauce- but after just a bit of the berries went through - I realized that it would send way too much of the stuff to the trash bin and I did not want to waste that much of my berries. I would rather have alot of seeds than to waste half or more of the berries.  

It feels good to add a few jars here and there of delicious food. 
My husband is not a fan of raspberries so these will be all mine. :O) 

Don't Forget Your Bubble Wrap

 As I was visiting with a sweet lady after prayer meeting, someone walked by and handed her a stack of newspapers. Beverly began to tell me the story of them visiting a beautiful little town in Arkansas and how she and her husband were wanting to move there, hence the newspapers. 

Later that same evening the stress of the undecided elections started to raise it's ugly head again and as i lay there trying to go to sleep, I started praying. I had noticed over the last few days my prayers had taken a turn. I found myself praising God even more and praying for my friends and family more and more. 

As I was thinking, I began to realize how during these -crazy, chaotic times we need to be spending more and more time in prayer and Bible study.. Just as the newspaper helps protect the fragile items we have when we are packing, God's Word and prayer acts as the newspaper(or bubblewrap) to protecting us from the fear and discouragement at the times we are facing. The closer we get to the last days the closer we will need to come to Jesus for everything we need...strength, courage, peace, joy, etc... 

If we know Jesus as our personal Saviour and if we love Him, we will be drawn to obey God's commandments and to hold onto our faith in Jesus. This will seal our forehead for Jesus and when He comes, which I believe will be soon, we, too, will be going to a beauty city! One that He has prepared for us! 

Be sure to continue to wrap your fragile self in the newspaper/bubblewrap of God's love, prayer, and faith in Him. Not only reading His Word, but also obeying it. Holding onto your faith in Him. These things will protect your soul to the end. 

Lessons From Nature

 This is a post that I actually wrote out in a notebook just after finding all of the Tomato Horn Worms but I just had not gotten it typed up here - so today is the day to share it with you all- better late than never. 

As I have been working with my tomato plants and especially when I have found a worm after I thought I had really checked the plant over has had me thinking that there has to be a spiritual lesson to learn.  

The worm is like sin. It might be so hidden that we don't think it's there, but if there is ugliness in character, like the ugliness of the tomato plants after being eaten by the tomato horn worms, then there certainly is sin. It is sin that causes the ugliness. How do we know this? We find an excellent description of what the fruit of the Spirit is in Galatians

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. 

Against such there is no law. 

Galatians 5:22-23 

I think it is neat how God can teach us lessons through nature. That is why I think it is such a great idea for us to spend time out in nature and be sure and be open to listening to what He has to say. 

Our Most Important Outfit!

I hope I did not set this photo too big - if you are having a problem seeing it let me know and I will reduce it. 

Floating around Facebook - wish I could take credit for this. ;O) 

 

My Best Deal

I know, I know... Food best deals are not as exciting as other great deals - but it is all I have to share. No other options. So here it goes... my trip to HEB this week yielded me this: 

 Kellogg's Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows- my husband loves them both so I thought he would love this cereal. Stick around to the end and I will tell you his opinion of the cereal. Anyway original price $3.24 - I paid 81 cents!! 

Hill Country Saltine Crackers Deluxe - original price 1.78 - I paid 44 cents! 

So my husband had a bowl of this cereal and he said it wasn't as good as he thought it would be. So I am even more glad now that we were able to try it for so cheap. I do usually buy him off name brand cereals- to save money and he doesn't seem to mind. 

Did you find any good deals this week? I would love to hear about it! :O) 

Sabbath Praises

It has been a stressful week for those of us here in the USA. And this song has been such an encouragement to me and has become one of my favorite songs! I hope it is encouraging to you as well. May God bless you and may you draw closer to him every day!! :O) 

Recanning and Election Results? Hmmm

A couple of weeks ago I canned up several batches of salsa. I was so disappointed with the last batch ended up being way too tart. I learned an important lesson that week- Taste what ever you are canning before you actually can it - just in case you need to tweak it a bit. 

Well since I was disappointed - I just left canning well enough alone for a couple of weeks. This week with the extra stress of the unresolved election results-  I decided it was the perfect time to recan the salsa and see if I could fix the issue. 
I felt bad because I would have to "waste" some lids. Especially during this time that it is so hard to even find lids, but I decided that these lids would be my storage lids. I have heard that used canning lids do much better when it comes to vacuum sealing dry goods. All I will need to do is to use a little alcohol to wipe off the labeling - stating the date and "salsa" on the lids. But I am leaving that on there until I actually use them - so I will know these are used lids. 

I added some chopped purple onion, 1 ear of corn, and some cilantro. I had not had enough cilantro when I made the salsa so I knew it needed that already. I think this batch turned out much better than the tangy salsa I had on hand that no one would enjoy. 

 

Since I took these photos I have wiped off these lids and labeled them and put them away. 

I am so glad that I took the time to recan these jars. Now I have put away some yummy salsa. 

Next time I can something i WILL be tasting what ever it is before I can - just to make sure I get a great product. Tweaking before canning saves a lot of time. Ask me, I know. :O) 

And just in case you were wondering the election results- Here they are: 

Something floating around facebook - so very true.... 

Great idea of how to to use your home made fabric softener

So I thought that this video shows a great idea and I have a few ideas I would like to add along with it as well. So I have shared about making your own homemade fabric softener before. You will also see in this video how to make it. And it is pretty good to use in your washing machine. But this gives you the option of how to use it in the dryer as well. 

With this idea- you can use your homemade fabric softener or store bought. You will need sponges and a container. I have some empty cat treat containers - and am thinking of using one of them until I figure out a better container to use. 

I, personally do not feel like you need as many sponges as what Tessie uses in this video - but if you have a lot or can get a lot for a great deal - that is totally find. I plan on just doing a few. At this point I have not tried this yet, but wanted to share the idea with you all because it can possibly stretch your money a bit - and if you end up not having dryer sheets- then not all is lost. You have other options. I hope you have enjoyed! :O) 

Fulfillment of all the Truths

 "The Lord Jesus and His ministry is the one great lesson we should seek to learn.

O church of God to-day! keep thine eye fastened upon Him, the fulfillment of all the truths in the word of God! See that in Him is all beauty, grandeur and glory; and by beholding Him we shall become changed."

~ "practical lessons for the Church of today" F.C. Gilbert

"I Know You Too!"

 "One of these days soon the heavens will open and we will see Jesus coming at the right hand of God. He will be surrounded by millions of angels among whom will be the one that has followed you from your earliest moments. As you look into the face of Jesus, won't it be wonderful to be able to say, "I know you!" ... but greater yet will be the thrill as He looks into your eyes and response, "I know you too!"

~"Hard to be Lost" by Morris Venden.

And this will only be possible if we have set aside time everyday for our relationship with Him. Make your time with Him a priority- you won't be sorry.

Alternate for Neo.....

So about a month or so ago I watched a cool youtube video that Homestead Tessie put out about how to make a neosporin type of stuff using a lot of stuff you may have around your house already. The only think I had to buy for this project was the beeswax. 

So you will need: 

• coconut oil 
• beeswax 
• witch hazel 
• vit. E 
• lavender oil 
• tea tree oil 

And of course you will need containers to put the product into. 

That's it!

Be sure and check out the video so you can get the amounts. By the way - a bit of a tip for you - she used shredded beeswax - probably easier to measure out who she did the recipe. I bought some little beeswax bars- it was suppose to be a package of 8 - 1 ounce bars - but what I got was 8- 8 oz bars. So it was a bit of a challenge to get the right amount of measurement. 

Oh in the photo above you will notice that the larger jars are still melted- and the smaller containers are mostly solidified. 

My Best Deal

 Yay! I am excited to tell you that I got some great deals this week that I am going to tell you about!! Lately it has been a challenge to find great deals, for one I am not getting to the thrift stores so it is hard to find the great deals unless you are actually shopping. 

So onto my great deals. Several weeks ago my son told me where HEB puts their clearance things and I so I have been checking that area out every time I shop there now. Sometimes I find great deals - sometimes I don't. 

This weeks "Best Deals" come to you specially from HEB grocery store!! 

So last Wednesday early morning I went by HEB and found some great deals!! Stay with me till the end and you will see my BEST deal! 

 Jack Links - Beef steak sticks - 5 sticks - normally priced at $4.96- I got them from $1.24! All were there - just the box was damaged. 

Del Monte Manderin Oranges - normal price $2.18 - I got them for 54 cents! 1 of the 4 cups was missing was the only problem! So I bought all 3 of these cups for the price of just one cup with the original price. 

Imperial Sugar - a 2 pound package - normally prices at $1.78 and I got it for 44 cents!! The package was damaged and taped up. Once I got it home - I weighed it to see if any product had been lost- nope - all of it there!! 

And my very best deal: 

HEB brand Old Fashioned Oats - usually runs $2.39. I got it for 5 cents! It said it was 59 cents - and that was an excellent price for it but I like the 5 cents much better! My containers were getting low - so I was able to fill them up for 5 cents!! It just had a dent in the top section of it - but as far as I could tell the plastic over the top was not damaged or opened. 

I love getting good deals! And since I am not able to thrift store shop as much I am SO much more thankful for being able to get great deals like this ever so often. 

They have some 12 packs of their brand Orange soda for 59 cents - I almost bought them until I noticed they were Diet - ugh. Oh well...it is not something that we needed. 

Have you found any great deals? I would love to hear about it! :O) 

Sabbath Praises

Today as we approach the election, I thought that it was the perfect time to share this great song - Love God, Love People. It is more important than ever for us to love one another. Yes- we may have different views or opinions but we can still love one another. Happy Sabbath! :O) 

What a Rainbow REALLY Symbolizes

 "How great the condescension of God and His compassion for His erring creatures in thus placing the beautiful rainbow in the clouds as a token of his covenant with men. It was God's purpose that as the children of after generation should ask the meaning of the glorious arch which spans the heavens, their parents should repeat the story of the flood, and tell them that the Most High had bended the bow and placed it in the cloud as an assurance that the water should never again overflow the Earth."

PP106

Creator and Redeemer!

 "The Creator and His creatures rested together. Wouldn't you have done the same? Don't you love to take time to celebrate together with your children? Well, God did not want a birthday celebration just once a year, but once a week-every week, on the seventh day, He wants us to remember that we can rest in His faithfulness. So, He set it apart and made it holy so that His children would have a constant reminder that He is their Creator and eventual Redeemer.

By the way, check this out! We start to get a glimpse of the creation-redemption theme running from Genesis to Revelation when we analyze this one word in genesis 2:2: "completed" (as it relates to the seventh-day rest celebrating the completion of Creation). The word used in the Septuagint (LXX, the Greek translation of the Old Testament) for "completed" in Genesis 2:2 is the same Greek root word that Jesus cried out at the cross!! "it is completed!" "it is finished!" "it has been accomplished!" (John19:30). Woo-Hoo!"

From a great little book "I will give you rest~ The eternal gospel for the weary soul" by Elizabeth Viera Talbot

Read this little book about 3 years ago and saw this quote in my facebook memories but it was so good I had to share it here.

Above and Beyond

 I am sure that many, if not all of you who read this post were impacted in some way with the shut downs that happened around Covid. And I am guessing you might have been one of the many who noticed that many of the things that you were looking to buy were no longer available in the stores. That situation is enough to cause anyone to become some what of a prepper. No, I am not a crazy prepper that is hoarding all sorts of things. But I have decided since then that I will do my best to try to have a little extras of the basic and all so that if something flies off of the shelves again then maybe we will have enough until a new stock is able to be brought in. And I think this is a good idea for us all to do. 

I have just been buying an extra can or two where and there so I can have a working pantry and then a pantry store. Once I use things in my pantry - I get stuff out of my pantry store to replace it and add those things to my grocery list. One of the main things that I have been looking for for over 6-7 months was Hormel Tamales. I used to always love to keep a couple of cans on hand. Because if I needed to make a quick meal for my family - I could open a couple of cans, make up some spanish rice and pick a veggie and have a meal. Well I have seen the same exact thing every time I have gone to the store - an empty shelf. Well thankfullly someone mentioned to me that they had seen tamales at Dollar General - so last week i went to check DG again. I had checked a couple of weeks before but had not found any. Well last week I lucked out- not only did I find several cans - but they were having a 2 for $3.00 sale! I was so happy! The next time I went to Walmart - I looked and sure enough there were NO cans of tamales- I also noticed that the price at WM for the tamales was 1.57. So not only did God lead me to finding some tamales but I also saved 7 cents per can! What a blessing!!! God went above and beyond and I am so thankful!! 

I Will Not Buy Vaseline

 I have never really liked commercials. Yeah - every so often there are some enjoyable ones like some of the Sonic commercials, but mostly they are boring. Well lately I have noticed a trend I am NOT liking. It seems that even the commercials seem to have a propaganda. They are doing their best to deceive people into believing what ever that company believes. And Vaseline is the one that got my attention this week. 

We have DirecTV so I usually fast forward through commercials and that works great. But since I have been watching more Youtube lately and there are all sorts of commercials on there and you have to watch at least the first 5 seconds of the commercials before you can "Skip" them. And then sometimes you are busy doing something else and can't skip them - then you are forced in to hearing what they have to say and I was very disappointed in a commercial that I heard that Vaseline did and I decided that I haven't really liked their products that much any way and the 1 jar of vaseline that I have - I have had for years and lucky for me - I can buy off name brands if I ever need any more. 

Vaseline is not the only one that is trying to spread their own propaganda and trying to cause more division in our country, there are others as well. I would suggest that you think about what you buy and what you want to support with your money. And as they say - money talks. Yeah - I know that my choosing not to buy any of their products will not hurt them- but it will make me feel better. Because every time I see the jar of vaseline in my bathroom - I think of the divisive message that they are putting out there and it does not bring peace. 

I am SO disappointed in so many of the companies that have chosen to try to spread more hate and division in our country. These companies have the ability to make a positive impact and yet they choose to try to bring our country down instead. And I for one am choosing not to support the companies that I are trying to cause division. I am sure many of them get past me - since I do my best NOT to watch commercials  But I choose not to suppose companies that are spreading a negative propaganda. 

God Shut Them In

I wish I could claim writing this but I can not. It is something that was floating around Facebook. The reason I am sharing it with you all today is because what it did for me. I had been having a challenging time with anxiety for a couple of days. Anxiety did not want to leave me alone and I was not enjoying it at all. Then a friend shared the following and just understanding that concept helped to calm my heart. I hope it is a blessing to you as well! 

 "I have always thought that Noah was safe inside the Ark because he built it according to God's specifications. I thought that perhaps it was the strength of the gopher wood and the soundness of the architecture that ensured that the waters of the flood would not come into the Ark.

But today I encountered a verse that shifted this whole paradigm.

Let's read what Gen 7:16 says .." The animals going in were male and female of every living thing as God had commanded Noah..

THEN GOD SHUT HIM IN....

Don't miss this.... even after Noah had built the Ark, it was God Himself who shut him in, in order to shut out the waters of the flood... In other translations this verse says "The Lord sealed them inside."

May the Almighty God seal us inside His Ark of protection through this last quarter of 2020.

It is not the fact that you have locked your house that keeps you safe at night, it is not your good driving skills that keeps you safe on the road, neither it's your healthy eating habits that keeps you healthy - only God can shut you in and shut out the devil that is seeking to devour you.

Father we pray that in this last quarter of the year, as we walk into the streets and as we drive on the roads, Oh God shut us in. Father we pray for our children that in the midst of dangers and molesters... You will shut them in, keep out the flood waters of abuse, rape, murder, accidents, diseases and untimely death... Oh God shut us in, shut us in your Ark of protection , into your Ark of compassion..

May GOD SHUT US IN AS WE OBEY HIM AND TRUST IN HIS WORD. Amen!!!"

No Best Deals, But...

 Well I am sorry to say there is no best deal post today. I just have not been able to go thrift store shopping. I really do miss it. It wasn't like I had to buy something every time I went but it was so fun just to go and look and see if I could find treasures. It was neat to look for things that my family needed and to sometimes find them for a good deal. 

I am sure hoping that the restrictions will loosen up. I have heard several people say that the news media is saying that the Covid numbers are going up - but I know for my country the numbers seem to be going down. I also heard a popular youtuber say that overall the cases may be going up but that they had heard a story, I think she said on NPR that the death rate was going down. 

So last week my husband and I went and voted. I was so happy to have that out of the way. I have to take my Mother in law to an appointment on election day so I am glad not to have to try to figure out when to go vote in the middle of trying to get my MIL to her appointment and all. The appointment is like a good 45 minutes away and then we have to park in a parking garage and then the appointment will be at least an hour or more. So this will take a big hunk of our day. The cool thing about voting is that we did not have to wait in any lines and I got an "I voted" sticker for the very first time ever! 

Well that is all for today. Maybe next week I can have a post - we will just have to wait and see. :O) 

Sabbath Praises

Dropping in to say a quick hello! :O)

 Good Morning~ Sorry for no posts for a few days. I have a few great ideas for some posts just haven't had a chance to get on here and get them written out. This has been a busy week. I have been working in our yard and cleaning up a big mess. Where we had our wood pile had gotten over grown with prickly, berry vines. Not only that but to be honest that whole area had gotten out of hand. Not neatly stacked wood and certainly not easily accessible when needed. So it was high time to get out there and work on cleaning it up. I sure wish I had have gotten a before photo so I could have shown you a before and after, once I am done- not there yet. 

So our temperatures have been in the 80's the last few days and today it is suppose top be lowering throughout the day. It was hard to decide what to wear. I put on jeans and am actually hot right now. But when I go get groceries later, I will probably be glad that I have them on. Then Sunday - another day in the 80's- and then it is suppose to have a cold few days with rain. Weird weather we are having. How about where you live? 

This week my husband and I got out and voted! We were very lucky because when we got to the place to vote - there was NO line! and we were in and out of there in about 10 minutes or so. I was SO happy to have that out of the way! And for the first time in all the years that I have voted - I got an "I voted" sticker!! That was awesome! After we voted we went to Dickies for lunch - they have an awesome baked potato and they put tanglers on top! Tanglers are little onion rings. They are delicious!! And they had chocolate ice cream. They kind of go back and forth so you never know what they will have. I think it is fun! Something to look forward to in this crazy, mixed up world of ours. 

Well I am hoping to get some posts typed up soon. Hope you all are doing well. 

Lemonade out of Lemons

 So one of my responsibilities is a bit challenging. It causes me to have to wake up at 4:30am at least once if not twice a week. Although I am a morning person, that is awfully early. I am needed to be at my son's house to be there while he is finishing his day at work and my daughter in law is beginning her work day. I am only over there for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Once my son is there and we visit a bit - I am off. I decided since I am already in town to go check out HEB. I figured out that they clearance some of their produce things in the morning. So I have found some good deals. And the store is pretty empty that early. I also sometimes stop by the park on the way home for a walk. And if you read this post shortly after it is published I am probably at HEB or walking - making good use out of my time being up and out of the house early. 

So being up super early may be challenging but I have taken the lemons and turned them into lemonade! And I am thankful to be looking at it like this. Life is brighter when we do! 

P.S. So I wrote this a week ago and now another situation has come up that seems to be a lot of lemons and I am  having to try to figure out a way to make lemonade out of it. Hmm/... how will I do that? 

Repurposing and a Project Complete

As you all know I have been getting into canning and not only canning but storing food in mason jars. This will help them last longer. Well once I got this great craftsman shelving unit to put in my sun room - that is when I heard that you need to keep your food in a dark, cool place. Well lots of sun comes into our sunroom. And so I began to think - how can I solve this issue and still be able to get the things I need when I want to without a lot of hassle, that was the important thing. I had come up with an idea to use some insulation board around the shelving unit but that would be hard to get in to get what I needed and I use stuff on this shelve. So I had to put my thinking cap on and just think about it for a while. 

Then I came up with the idea that I could make a curtain. And I knew the exact fabric I wanted to use. A friend had bought me a couple of yards of fabric one time - it was one of the options of a boarder fabric for a Block of the Month we were doing. Although I liked the fabric - I did not like it for this quilt so I just folded up the fabric and put it in my drawer - thinking I can use it for something else. Well that something else was a curtain for my shelve. 

But the question then arose - how will I had the curtain- and when I was out rearranging some things on my shelf I found a package of these hooks- that had actually came with some rolls of food saver bags. Well I did not have room to hand the rolls of bags up anywhere but I had known that those hooks would come in handy sometime, so I have placed the bag on a shelf. So when I found the bag - I knew that was what I needed to do - I would just have to learn how to make button holes on my sewing machine. 

But while I was figuring out the best way to make the curtains and to do button holes I took advantage of the hooks - to hand some herbs on - drying them, getting them ready to start another batch of antibiotic elixir. 

Oregano 

Rosemary 

Once the curtain was up I did not think it would be a good idea to put the herbs there - I am afraid if the herbs had oils it could damage the fabric - what do you think? 

So I set up a temporary way to hand them so they could dry - and in less than a week they were dry! 

Here is my curtain. There is a place or two on that right side that I want to put up a little bit of velcro because I did not put the button holes in the right places and there is a gap on the top in a couple of areas. But other than that I am quite happy with how it turned out. It is longer than it needed to be on both sides - meaning that when the two pieces come together there is a pretty big overlay - so I have each side folded back a few inches. 

I can either just move the curtain out of the way or I can unhook the section I need in order to get in there and get what I need. Easy peasy! 

I am so happy with how it turned out. I am happy that I was able to repurpose a few things I had to make this project work - without any money spent - special for it!! I think that ability is now more than ever an important skill to have!! 

 

Take Advantage of the Resources You Have

 There are so many very useful resources that many of us have - especially if we have access to a computer. And if you are reading this - then it applies to you too...lol. For too long I didn't take advantage of some great resources and to be honest - some of these things that I will share with you have really helped me thought these chaotic times. 

This morning I received an email from The Old Farmers Almanac and they had an article about "The Best Ways To Use Fall Leaves"  and I went and read it and learned a few very interesting things. The one that I think will really help me is that they suggest when you save leaves for a compost pile - that because leaves are high in carbon- that after you use several inches of leaves- to add a 1 inch layer of "green" material - like grass clippings or manure - because these things are high in nitrogen and they help break down the leaves. I have raked up my leaves in the past and put them in a barrel but the leaves have not broke down as fast because I didn't realize I needed to be adding nitrogen dense things to help. 

It was after I read this and was writing things down into my gardening book that I realized that I have not been taking advantage of some great resources that I have. I have allowed things - like when the email comes from Old Farmers Almanac then sometimes I feel overwhelmed because there is so much information. So I am going to have to just look through the different articles and see which one sounds the most interesting and take the time to read it. I am sure I will learn so much more when I take the time to read the articles. 

Youtube is another resource that I did not full take advantage of until the last 6 months and boy and I glad I did. I have learned SO, SO much over that time period. It is the reason why I have started canning, dehydrating, making antibiotic elixir, and natural cough syrup and so much more. It has helped me be more resourceful here around the house.

 I am So thankful that when I was reading a blog that someone shared a link to Homestead Tessie's Youtube Channel and that I went and checked it out. She has a very peaceful way about presenting things and it brought peace and calm into my life and has inspired me to be more of a homesteader. And it has brought so much more enjoyment. Especially with all the havoc going on in the world. Sin is abounding - it is like it isn't even hiding any more... and it can be so disturbing. But when we put our focus on God and trust Him to take care of us we can have more peace. And I am sure that He is the one that led me to learning more about what I can do around my homestead. And it has really helped bring peace and satisfaction. 

So look around your house and your life and see what resources you may have been missing out on. And see what you can do to take advantage of the blessing of having them! You may be surprised at how they can change your life! :O) 

My Best Deal (a bit different- but oh so good!)

 I know you are all used to my posts about my best deal being about a great deal I got. But today's post will be different. But it just made sense in these crazy, chaotic times to share this in a blog post about my best deal. It is going to be a little bit more serious than my usual blog posts about my best deal. 

For 11 weeks I was unable to go to church. I am sure many of you went through something like this as well. Some of you may still be unable to go to church and if that is the case~ I am SO very sorry. It was very hard for me during this time. And I am sure, now, that I was depressed. One of the ways that I used to try to be alright was to spend too much time and money on Ebay. I found a great style of Lularoe tops that I loved and I bought my fair share....maybe even more of them. During this time I spent too much time watching tv. I was so discouraged. I don't think I realized how depressed I was during that time - till I have started feeling better over the last couple of months or so. 

The things that helped me the most come out of that discouragement was getting back to church! Being around fellow believers who had put their trust in God. And allowed me to do that same. They allowed me the freedom to make the choices of how best to take care of my health. No forcing me to jump through unrealistic hoops, not forced social distancing. They gave everyone the choice to hug or not, to shake hands or not. And we were able to lift our voices in praise to our Saviour and Redeemer and that felt awesome! They had children's stories - with the children and when a little boy prayed after the story was over I had goose bumps - because I was so thankful for even the little things that many times we take for granted! I am SO thankful for my church and the freedom to worship. This is something we may not have for very much longer and we need to appreciate it while we can. 

Another thing that helped me is that I began watching Youtube videos- I am first introduced to Homestead Tessie and her calm nature just helped calm my soul in this hectic world. And soon I found a few more youtubers that I love - like Rain Country and others. I am slowly finding more that I like. What I have loved is all the things I have learned from these awesome ladies! And that learning has helped me so much. 

I am unable to volunteer at the thrift store and I don't think that I will be welcomed back when all this mess is over. So it is a good thing that I have other things in my life. And learning and doing all these new things have helped me feel accomplished. It has helped me feel like I am being a better steward of my property, home, and time and it has been a real blessing to me! It has helped pull me out of that pit that I had fallen into. 

So my best deal- is that God led me to the right church where I could freely worship Him! He led me to a great youtuber who inspired me to a more homestead type lifestyle! And He has given me plenty of wonderful things to fill my time! Yes - life is chaotic right now - the elections coming up just just a few weeks and the uncertainty of it all is a bit unsettling but keeping our eyes on Jesus and putting our trust in Him is the best deal we can have!! 

Sabbath Praises

Good Morning! I hope you all have a great week end! May God bless you in a special way. :O) 

Another Unexpected Surprise in My Yard

Last week I shared how I was happily surprised to find elderberry growing in my back yard! 

Well the beginning of this week I noticed a little bunch of yellow flowers in my yard and I thought to myself, "I wonder if that is another great plant to have." Well I was very busy and just forgot to go get a photo to try to figure out what it was. 

A couple of days later a friend was sharing on Facebook how she was out out foraging for goldenrod. I noticed the yellow flowers in her photo and was reminded about my yellow flowers. So I went and got photos of my flowers:

And I asked my friend if they were goldenrod and sure enough they were!! Yay! I was so excited! 
God has provided us with things we need for our health - we just have to be willing to pay attention and be willing to learn. I went back out and gathered some, being sure to leave some. It is very important to leave a few so that they can go to seed and then they can come back next year! I was thankful that a lady shared that on her video I watched about goldenrod. Somethings you just don't think of on your own. I would much rather leave some out there and have it come back again next year. 

To be honest, I almost waited too long before checking on these plants. Next time when I feel the nudge that I need to check something out, I hope that I will do so in a timely manner.

Now I have some goldenrod handing in my sunroom drying. It feels good to be resources and use what you have been blessed with! :O) 

 

My Newest Favorite Essential Oil...series part 2

Today's post about essential oils will be a neat household hack that I learned a week or so ago! This is an idea that you will want to use what ever your favorite essential oil is. It could really be anything. I started doing this hack with Chamomile oil but to be honest - I think that I will be using different oils to find out which I like for this hack. 

So this idea to to help your bathroom stay smelling fresh. 

I love lavender scented toilet paper! 

Now this will not make all your toilet paper smell like lavender or what ever oil you use but it will help a fresh scent to be released every time you get some toilet paper. 

So what you do is you drop a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil onto the cardboard of the toilet paper roll. I would put a drop or two on each side. Then hang the toilet paper up and each time you get toilet paper - you should get a whiff of your favorite smell! 

 

Like I said you could try any oil. 

 Here are a couple of the ones I think would work great! 

Just a little hack to help your bathroom smell a bit better! And you get to choose which scent you use! :O) 

On the ones I have tried so far - it is not a strong scent - just a light one. 

Next Week I will try to posts what I used when I made up a roller container for headaches.