Good Things

Someone sent me this photo of the merganser and her babies.  

No babies on the pond at Family Reunion today !

I've been busy these pat few days. I have a CLEAN oven !!  I think mine was the worst looking one in the county!  I dreaded the cleaning process, hate harsh chemicals, and just scraped up the spills after they hardened for quite awhile.  Then my daughter suggested that I check out the manual that came with the stove to see if it had a self cleaning feature.  Well I was pretty sure it didn't.  I had never seen the little lever that locks an oven door during the cleaning process.  SO out came the manual, and it DID show a little lever but it was hidden until the stovetop was lifted and one reached around under there somewhere and found it. What a find!  No chemicals, no elbow grease, no crawling half way into the oven to scrub.  Of course I chose the hottest day of summer to decide to run the oven at some outrageously high temperature for 3 hours!  But it was worth it.  After the 3 hours every bit of gluck in there was turned into a fine powdery ash that just wiped right out.   Wow !!   You probably know all about this but to me it was a first.
Now I have a brand new looking oven.  Amazing.  Den came home with a big basket of blueberries and thought a nice pie would be great.  Are you kidding...and chance messing up that new oven?   Well maybe in a day or two  but right now I just leave the light on so I can look in as I pass by and appreciate CLEAN!

Another good thing is the nice picnic table my good husband made for us.  Years ago we saw one that was made so that one didn't need to crawl over the bench to get seated.  We thought it was great and he was always going to build us one.  Finally the resources became available at the same time the ambition to build it kicked in. Another feature (this his own idea) was wheels on one side so it can be moved around the yard or just driven out of the way when mowing the lawn.  I took this picture of it before the wheels were added and guess I'd better get another now that it is completed.  We christened it last night with great picnic of mostly fresh grilled veggies that I gathered up from the garden and the farmer's market yesterday.  Our sweet neighbor came down with corn and her wonderful concoction of peaches and blueberries for dessert.  We sat around listening to the fire crackle and crickets singing, just enjoying a lovely star lit evening, so thankful for cool country evening after a super warm summer day.


One more 'good thing'.  Today was Family Reunion day. This is Den's family, and a large one it is.  This is an annual event on the last Sunday of July.  Cousin Tim has us all at his house in the hills where there is usually a nice breeze. They have a great pond for the kids to swim in and a lovely home with a huge country kitchen.  A large gathering of four and sometimes five generations meet and share a wonderful potluck meal and much love and lots of catching up.  We always walk in the door to the mouthwatering aroma of fresh baked bread and rolls.

There is much to be thankful for today.  Many good things abound.  There have been many sad times too but God, true to his word,  has promised that there will be 'Joy in the Morning'!   I am thankful for the 'Morning' he is giving me just now.   Blessings to you!

Lesson in relaxation

This is Lizzie Love my sweet little white kitty.  She is giving me lessons on how to relax!  

When I seem to be flying around trying to get six things done all at once and getting uptight about it too, Lizzie comes waddling into the kitchen from her favorite place on the screened in porch, meowing up a storm.  She follows me about with her relentless sass...until I quit the bustling around and do her bidding, which is to allow her to lead me to the big brown recliner by the 'bird watching' window.  I'm ordered to SIT! so I do.  I mind much better than she does!  Now, I 'm to get comfy with my feet up and make room for her... all stretched out, paws up on my chest,  her nose not too far from mine, and her 'motor' purring on high volume.  Thus pinning me down, she insists that I take some deep breaths and RELAX a spell.  All morning would be fine with her. I soon calm down and take this time to think,, reflect, pray and sometimes nod off for just a bit.  All because little Lizzie always knows what is best for us.

And now it is near the end of the afternoon and I have to think about fixing us some supper.  You can tell I am from New England 'cause we have supper around here. Its usually lunch at noontime and dinner at noon only if it is Sunday or a special occasion when we're entertaining folks 'from away' or going out in the evening for a meal at a nice restaurant.  

I picked our first basket of pole beans and some yellow bush beans yesterday.  Yum!  Looks like I may just have some fried green tomatoes tomorrow.  Blessings to you all.

Procrastination And Inspiration

Isn't it wonderful how friends can inspire one another!! 

After reading Cyndy's blog posting yesterday, how she accomplished some put off chores, I really felt the urge to do a couple jobs in the procrastination department since early spring.

Our old 1860's home of Post and Beam construction has several exposed beams in the kitchen area.  Being a lover of all things old and odd, I tend to gather up such and find the need to seek out a place for them to live where I can look at them often and enjoy them much.  What better place for a few old Blue Willow plates, an old candle mold, a duck decoy and a couple of kerosene lamps...all mighty good dust catchers !

So, finally down they all came and after a good bath back they went atop freshly dusted and washed beams. Amazing how the chimneys on the oil lamps shine. Such a good feeling to accomplish a task after so much procrastination!

I'm keeping the doors and windows closed today....the thermometer on the back patio has reached 90 degrees (in the shade ) !  The clothes on the line dried in a jiffy and I soon must venture out in the heat and retrieve them.

Then, who's going to inspire me to cook supper???   Guess it will be Chef's Salad tonight with maybe a blueberry muffin from the freezer.  Later a dish of ice cream?   Keep cool!

Wonderful Summer Days

These are perfectly wonderful summer days !    Remember, we thought Summer would never, ever come this year.  Now we have had a stretch of perfect, blue-sky days...cool, refreshing mornings and real warm days with evenings we hate to leave to go inside.  The gardens are happy, the grass is lush...Ahh, smell the new mown hay.  We've so many blessings to be thankful for.  Thank you Lord !  

These times inspire me to poetry!  So here is a little poem for you.

                                    Summer Twilight
See the Lemon Lillies
Abloom on slender stalks,
Like garden lights
Along the forrest walk.

Hear the distant fluty trill,
Music, sweet and clear,
Her song, as the day grows still,
The elusive Hermit Thrush.

Feel the flutter of a summer breeze,
Like a fleeting kiss
Upon a blushing cheek,
As it whispers through the trees.

You take my hand,
What love and peace around us flows!
Together we climb the last hill home,
Follow the twinkling lights of the fireflies' glow.

Here's a painting from last

year.  I call it Haying Time.

Enjoy the day ! 

Friends

We are so fortunate to have our friends.  A sweet young friend stopped by bearing gifts...a bowl of cherries from her own cherry tree and lettuces from her garden.  The gifts were great but the greatest gift was her thoughtfulness and our fun time chatting and laughing together.

Another friend comes buy with a load of veggies from her fridge.. she's off on vacation for a couple weeks and needs help eating up the perishables.  We'll be glad to oblige!  Hope she has a great trip. Our garden is doing well and the pole beans need poles !  Guess they will be happy with the fence to climb.  I gave them a leg up today and they will soon cover the fence. Dried some basil today and made a tasty stir fry for supper.

Spent a lot of time today getting used to the new computer.  A Mac is totally different from my old PC and I will be awhile learning how to get around in it.   Probably a tutor would help!  The resolution is great.

Well, the kitty is telling me it is time to go to bed.  She comes around every night about this time and announces "Tis Time " .  Then the stare until we begin to move around. Then she herds us toward the bedroom.

for everything there is a season and a time

  Hello !  Welcome !  Thanks for visiting 'all things homespun ! 

Hi,  I'm Dottie.  I am new to blogging (as you will soon see !)  Ahh... modern technology!  Don't let them fool you, older floks can learn new tricks.

Setting up a blog is like working one's way through a puzzle...some trial and error...some ' Wow, I got that right the first time" and some utter frustration !  Like why did this just switch to a smaller font ???

Now, I wonder why am I doing this ??   I surely am not a world traveler with much to tell and show of the wonders of the world.  My favorite place is...HOME !

BUT, every day God gives me blessings and alerts all my senses to the wonders He has created all around me, where ever I may be.  It seems to be that the simple, ordinary stuff can become a wonder if I take the time to just think about it from all angles.  Each day truly is a gift.

What is in that gift box today?  A trip to visit friends an hour away, stay over night in our little camper high on a lovely hill where time nearly stands still.  Listening to the owl as we lay in bed ready to fall asleep, waking to a lovely painted pink, rose and yellow sky,and the ball of fire rising in the east. Smelling the breakfast cooking in the near out of doors and enjoying the fellowship of our friends.. these are what I found today in my gift box.  Thank you Lord !          

For everything there is a purpose and a time !

This is my first attempt at blogging !