KitchenSPLODE!

Soooo, I was really tired last night and decided the kitchen would wait until the morning, but not before I noted to my husband that it looked like a bomb went off. I sleepily stumbled into the kitchen this morning to find comedic evidence of my kitchen bomb. Hope your laugh is as hearty as mine.

Nostalgia in the kitchen

So one of our favorite meals for dinner is breakfast!
I had a craving this week and a pint of blueberries just screaming to jump into some pancake batter. I had promised the hubster I would make a big breakfast spread and that it was!
Blueberry pancakes, homemade biscuits and gravy, fruit salad, bacon and scrambled eggs. YUMMY!
I have always used the same recipe for pancakes as long as I have been cooking and as I took my cookbook out to retrieve the recipe I was hit with a waive of nostalgia. This was my very first cook book that I got for Christmas when I was about 8 or 9 years old.



I remember pouring over the recipes, excited to try each and every one and I think I did. I was always so pleased with myself as a young cook as I would measure and pour and mix and blend.
As an adult, I love to cook and even more, love to feed people. I know this desire was heavily influenced by all the many years I watched mama in the kitchen as she prepared meals for our family just about every night. There may have been chaos in the rest of our lives, but there was always dinner on the table and and for many years, we were all at the table together to enjoy her culinary creations.
I have managed to find many of the most coveted family recipes by both mama and my memaw and cherish them. I love that cooking bring me so much joy!

History Lesson

As I sat out on my back patio this evening, enjoying the lushness of my backyard oasis , my mind wandered to my mother and my grandparents and how they have influenced my love of digging in the dirt. I started to think about all of the treasures that I have and the history they carry and the legacy that they have born in the next generation of an endeared family passion.
I thought I would take you on a stroll into my garden to see where these treasures have been and where they are now. Grab your laptop and head out to the porch swing with an ice cold glass of tea and enjoy a small taste of the history of some well loved gardens.



This is my special
angel. Mom gave it to me the first
year I started gardening. She still takes a very
special place in my gardens today.



While I have yet to find a proper home for my
wagon wheels, they sit patiently waiting for
their contribution to gardening legacy.



Here they are at "WindDreamer", at mama and Daddy's
house in the country.





This sundial is from mama's garden where I grew up...
It was so new a shiny then.


And in my garden many moons later.....



The kettle, as I like to call it, is one sturdy piece. It weathered
the house on the hill in the country(as seen here)
and still looks great today.



Shadier home now in my garden



Now this fella is REALLY old. 45 or 46 years. He was the first
piece that my parents bought together for their first garden.
I will have to go looking for the early shot of this guy.




You can see him from a distance in one of mama's country
gardens. Oh, and the birdhouse was made with the skilled
hands of my papaw. I still have it, although it basically needs
to be rebuilt. I refuse to throw it out. One day I will have the
time to get "her" refurbished and out for the birds.


Mama's bird bath and angel at WindDreamer.


Mama's birdbath was in bad shape and did not make the move,
however, the angel did and keeps my ferns company.




The little girl has been a favorite for as
long as I can remember. She always graced
mama's gardens as shown below at the
house I grew up at.



And now, she graces the top tier of Mama's
Memorial Garden in my yard.


My duck is another favorite and much coveted
garden statue that was mama's. This was taken at
the house I grew up at.



And now gracing the company of my nandina's
that came from my grandparents garden.






The Bunnies were always at the front door to greet you
in the country.



And now peak forth from the rosemary ( for remembrance)



And the roses in mama's memorial garden.


Now, I've caught some slack for keeping this ol
rickety bench in my backyard, but this holds so
much history of love and comforting memories, that
I refuse to let go of it. It has character and has
perservered through harsh weather and puppy teeth.
Oh the stories it could tell of laughter and quiet moments,
amazing sunsets and many nights of star gazing....


It is one of the magical places I go in my mind when
I need to escape that brings me an overwhelming
sense of peace. It does in many ways to me, carry forever
the essence of WindDreamer.


May we never lose sight of the beauty that surrounds us
and the peace it can bring to our souls.

Curiosity

A Paws to remember...

I love to dig in the dirt. Even more, I love to dig in the dirt with a dog by my side. There's just something so very satisfying about it...well, most of the time. There was always a love/hate relationship with my beagle and I regarding tomatoes. We both loved to eat them and I hated when she beat me to the latest batch of ripe ones. Capturing this moment on film is one of my most favorite sets of shots of my tomato-eating cohort.

38 and feeling great!

So today is my birthday and I have to say it's been darn near perfect! The weather was ripe for gardening and I took off fairly early this morning to wander about the nurseries and box stores for sparklies to add to my collection of plants and such. I had the great opportunity to hook up with my best friend at lowes and shop not only for my garden but hers, which I always find great fun in helping others figure out their plant needs and any opportunity to be creative. We had a great time and parted ways, me with my car full of new goodies to plant in the dirt ( and a fabulous new canvas gardening bag compliments of the besty). Got home, got the ipod with all my favorite tunes, a few shovels and such and got to work adding to the spots in my garden that needed some brightening up, always letting my mind get ahead of me with the great vision and plans I have for the next empty spot. Finally petered out around 3 and decided a shower might be in order since I always manage to get as dirty as possible when digging in the dirt ( I am definitely a no glove gardener). While showering, I was pondering that while I had a great time with my besty, I missed seeing the kids and the day just would not be perfect unless I did...and then there was the need for a sweet afternoon snack so why not combine the two? So, off I went to scoop up the older girls for ice cream and to spend some time with the 2 youngers at the casa. It really did melt my heart walking in the door, as they all greeted me with love hugs and kisses and a birthday serenade. I am so incredibly blessed by my surrogate kids. They will never know or realize how much they mean to me and how very much I love them. I love that Hanna and I, as she is becoming older, are becoming friends as well as me being "aunt Erin." I love that although Liv is 7, she still runs and wraps herself around me whenever I walk in the door. I love that Norah is anxious to show off her latest talent for me and makes sure I watch her every new thing she can do, and I love that when the girls are getting too much attention, Will loudly reminds me that he wants my love hugs and affection too with his oh so smiley and sweet personality. I am also excited that as part of our trip out today, I was able to take my sweet girls out to get Clivey, the newest member to wrap himself around my heart, a couple of treats I knew he would not destoy too quickly and it gave me great joy to watch him run around the backyard proudly sporting his new bone!! I love that my special day would have never been complete without all of them being a part of it!
I also took some quiet time this morning to go through my most cherished birthday cards from my mom. Of course that is always bittersweet, but while I may be crying when reading them, missing her, she always wrote such beautiful and encouraging words that lift me up. Her words have kept giving and lifting me up long after she has gone home and I am grateful for such a precious gift.
I still anticipate going to dinner and spending quality time with my beloved husband tonight!
I relished all of the birthday wishes on FB and the calls and e-mails from friends and family and I am just so thankful for all that I have been blessed with.
God, thank you for blessing me so abundantly and for allowing me to know and be with so many special people in the journey. Your love for me will never stop amazing me. Happy birthday to me!

Provision and God's plan

Well, the last 5 months has been a period of change for the hubster and I due to the economic recession and the laying off off jobs. This past October as I wrapped up a change to our electric company and the day to day requirements of life, my sweet husband came home with a pained look on his face and the news that he had been laid off. Naturally, he was extremely upset and distressed but somehow I felt a sense of peace about the situation and shared with him that God had a plan and just wanted him out of that toxic environment. Scott had been unhappy in that job for sometime and wanted to leave, but was waiting to graduate before making his move. Apparently God had other plans and made Scott's exit more posthaste.
I was so proud of his dilligence in job hunting and determination to find not only a job, but the right job. Of course there were good days and bad days, and the challanges of making the budget work on much less gave me pause on occasion, but I knew there was something better out there for him and regardless of what the media was protraying about the economic environment, God would provide when the time was right.
In the meantime, months past and along the way, halleluia, Scott graduated college. I was so proud and excited, but his lack of a job dampened the experience for him at the time. I reminded him that it would pay off and that only more time was needed before the right job came along.
Now, I have a confession to make. This past year when my husband was gainfully employed, I had become inconsistant in our tithing. In my own struggles with our financial situation ( lots of debt due to a first house with lots of problems), I had justified in my mind reasons why I could not tithe on every paycheck, but felt conviction. The conviction deepened in the moment we were to be without the income we were used to. I was praying about it in the car, as I often do, and low and behold would you believe that when I turned up the radio, there was a sermon on, you guessed it, tithing in tough economic times. There was my answer loud and clear that I was to start being consistent regardless of our financial situation. I knew in my heart of hearts that while the job hunt was a growth point for Scott, faith in giving our first fruits to God when the belt was already cinched was mine. I was determined to put my own faith to the test and do what I knew God wanted me to do. ^{Malachi 3: 10 states "10} Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
Well, I tested and I have to say, I, no, we, have felt the blessing that He spoke of in this test.
Five months and a day after Scott was laid off, he was offered not only a job, but a job in the field he wanted, doing what he wanted to do, making more money than he has ever made with a company that has a reputation for taking good care of their own. The environment is a great fit for him all the way down the the lighting and the dress attire. I know, little things, but little things that make the difference in making the work experience ideal for him. The benefits are great, the people are good, the management good, the hours perfect for him and I could go on.
And then there is our financial situation. In His grace, during our time of having less and yet keeping the faith in our tithing, we not only continued to pay all of our bills on time, but continued to grow our savings, increased the benchmark in our checking by almost a thousand dollars, paid off a smaller credit card debt and have continued to work on paying down other debts. God is good. It is as though God was not only setting Scott up for the job He had planned for him, but was setting me up to see that light at the end of the tunnel in our financial struggles.
Now that is cake!!!