She lay resting

I know not what she pondered,

only that she spent the entire afternoon thus in our orchard.

~*~

Joining Susan for...

(Click here to see more Outdoor Wednesday posts.)

~*~

"Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him"

Psalm 37:7

Joining Becky for...

• Baked two more batches of cookies for Sunday School Class rewards (for memorizing scripture!)
• Thought I was smart for making enough Chocolate Chip dough to put in the freezer to be ready for next time.
• Discovered I wasn't so smart after all. Now they want Peanut Butter!
• Went on a lovely drive up into the mountains to a 'once remote Dam and lake'. The road is partially paved now and the camping area was totally full.
• Shared a lovely picnic lunch with the Gentleman Farmer at said lake.
• Took a different route home and saw a herd of elk in a farmer's field. (This made Gentleman Farmers' Day!)
• Went to Gentleman Farmers 40th Class reunion.
• Taught Sunday School
• Listened to another great sermon.
• Took a wee 'siesta' with the Gentleman Farmer on a blanket in the shade of the old Maple tree. (Because we were tired from the late night at the reunion!)
• Am content!

~*~

"...be content with such things as ye have..."

Hebrews 13:5

The Little Pitcher

Here is a sweet little cream pitcher that I won on Ebay

The price? 99 cents!

Yes, I paid the requested $4.80 for shipping

but when the package came, the postage on it

was $9.55!

This was a sweet little deal!

My favorite scene ~with sheep!

The cream on my breakfast cereal will

be just that much sweeter!

~*~

Joining Cindy for

Please visit her for other fun Show and Tell posts!

~*~

"And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master."
Genesis 24:14

Lavender Wands!

I've been making these again! Click here to see how you can make one too!

~*~

"...the vines in blossome have given forth their fragrance..."

Song of Solomon 2:13

Wisdom!

I receive some of the most 'interesting' emails.

I had to share this one with you!

~*~

It's not my job!

(I absolutely love this one! I'm thinking I should make a poster of it!

Ok. So maybe that's why I get these wierd emails!)

~*~

A Fortune to Remember!

~*~

Diversionary tactic

~*~

Desperate for a ticket to the World Cup

~*~

Best T-Shirt Design

~*~

Me First!

~*~

Refrigerator Magnet

~*~

Meeting God

~*~

And the Surgeon General Says...

~*~

Queen of the Blondes

(Now, I have to admit ~ it took me a bit to see anything wrong with this picture!

And, yes, I am blonde!)

~*~

Words of Wisdom

(Not a problem! If I see him running, he'll be eatin' my dust! ;~P )

~*~

"But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it; and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls; for the price of wisdom is above rubies."

Job 28:13-18

The Baby Layette Part 4: The Sacque

Come to The Sewing Room

to see the final piece of

The Baby Layette!

~*~

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

a time to be born...a time to laugh...a time to dance...a time to embrace...

a time to get...and a time to sew."

Selected from Ecclesiastes 3

This Weekend I...

Once again, I am joining Becky at Keys to the Cottage for...

• 
  
  
  Woke up at 6:30am Saturday to greet a couple of Gentleman Farmers' logging friends who came to 'severely prune' down a couple of dying Big Leaf Maple trees in hopes of rejuvenating them. (The trees, not the loggers!)



• 
  
  
  Made a big pot of spaghetti, sweet corn and hot garlic sourdough bread for the noon time meal for 'the boys'!



• 
  
  
  Baked a batch of milk chocolate chip cookies for a reward for a girl in my Sunday School Class who correctly memorized and said some scripture verses. One dozen to the girl and the rest to the Gentleman Farmer and his logger friends for dessert.



• 
  
  
  Studied for Sunday School lesson



• 
  
  
  Met with, and picked up a pair of Red Flannel Long Johns from, Farmer's Daughter #1 as she and her family were returning to their home after a day spent with son in laws grandparents near the ocean. (Daughter and S-O-L live 2 hours away from us but we rendevoused at a midway point about 30 miles from our home.) The Long Johns will be used as part of the decoration in this year's VBS. I am decorating "The Bunk House."



• 
  
  
  Kissed grandbabies several times and heard about their day at the ocean.



• 
  
  
  Went to a baby shower where I presented this gift.



• 
  
  
  Stayed up way too late watching the DVD of 'Little Doritt'.



• 
  
  
  Taught Sunday School (I'm going to have to bake more cookies! Bribery really does work!)



• 
  
  
  Took a nice nap (AFTER church, Cheri! :~P)

~*~

"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

Proverbs 31:27

The Baby Layette Part 3: The Bib

Come to The Sewing Room for

The Bib!

~*~

"She maketh fine linen."

Proverbs 31:24

Dearly Beloved

Thirty eight years ago today, he took my hand in his.

It is a beautiful journey!

~*~

" I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine"
Song of Solomon 6:3

Birth of an Elk!

I received these photos in an email recently. Along with the photos was this note from the photographer/ranger. I have no words to add, only that the birth of a new life is truly a miracle!

~*~

"Superb photos of a cow elk giving birth to her calf right next to the Administration building at Yellowstone National Park headquarters in Mammoth Hot Springs! You can see how wildlife and people can live together harmoniously. It is one of the few places in the Yellowstone area where a cow elk can safely have her calf without it being eaten immediately by a grizzly or a wolf! Enjoy these great photos! - Tim Reid Chief Ranger Yellowstone National Park "

~*~

Joining Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for

~*~

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven -

A time to give birth..."

Ecclesiastes 3:1&2

Refurbishing an old flower press and how to make one for yourself!

So ~ have you ever (and I know you have!) had one of those days where you start something and it leads to another thing so you can finish the first thing and on and on it goes? Well, my day started out pretty normal (which is strange in itself, as I don't have 'normal' days!). I went out to do some Monday morning laundry only to discover I had no laundry detergent made. I make my own (powdered recipe here) but thought I would try making the liquid to see if I like it better. Anyway, I made some and went to the garage (that's where my washer and dryer are) to run a load.

"Now wait a minute!", you say! what does this have to do with a flower press? Rabbit trails, I tell you, or more commonly, The Domino Effect! Where one thing leads to another!

OK. I'm getting to the flower press!

As I went past the "potting bench" (also in the garage) (not really a potting bench, just a set of old drawers that I keep garden tools and such in and on! It is piled high with all those things you need to set down for the moment, but never get back to!) Buried beneath the junk, um, Neat Old Garden stuff, I spied the little old flower press my youngest daughter made way back when she was in Girl Scouts, many moons ago! (See what I mean about Rabbit Trails! Such is my life! I should have a whole warren of rabbits by now, as many trails as I've followed!)

Oh, yes, back to the flower press ~

I dusted off the spider webs and dirt and opened it up to discover several layers of very old pressed flowers and that the press was missing one bolt for the corner.

On the top of the flower press, youngest Farmer's Daughter had painted a flower, butterfly, ribbon at the top and a pink heart at each corner.

A Girl Scout project that she got a badge for completing, as did her whole troop.

The 'pressing papers' were a bit dirty, moldy and in need of replacing.

So I scrounged around and found the things that I needed to freshen up the press.


If you would like to make one, just cut (or have a sweet someone do the cutting for you)

Two 8"X8" pieces of 3/4 inch board or plywood for the top and bottom of the press.

Drill a hole in each corner to accommodate

Four 4inch bolts

(You will also need four flat washers and four wing nuts to fit on the bolts)

For the "pressing papers" we had/have some vintage pulp paper from when my Grandfather worked at a pulp/paper mill. It is similar to heavy poster board without the shiny side.
Cut as many pieces of poster board the same size as your press, notching off the corners so they don't interfere with the bolts.

Also cut two pieces of corrugated cardboard for top and bottom layers, cut in the same fashion as the pressing papers.


(The Domino Effect starting!)


The old pressed flowers.



This is a little cupboard I rescued a couple of years ago, that was destined for the trash heap. I painted it a soft sagey blue/green, added four little wooden drawer knobs for feet and decoupaged a couple of seed packets and dried flowers to the front of the doors. The flowers are faded of all color now, just a soft ecru color. I use it to keep some of my small garden items in ~ like a ball of string, rooting powder, seeds, etc.

(I drug this off the "potting bench" when I saw it on one of those Rabbit Trails! Thought you'd like to see!)


Putting your press together:

Position the four bolts coming up through the bottom of your press through the holes you have drilled in the corners.
Lay down one of the corrugated cardboard pieces, then one of the poster board pieces.

(Since the poster board may not be as absorbent as the pulp paper that I have, you may want to lay down a white paper towel between the pressing pages)

Lay your flowers however you want to press them.

Below ~ I am trying two Calendula flower heads, but they may be too thick to dry properly!

I have cut off the stem close to the head. I am putting them in the bottom so that they will be undisturbed while I check on the smaller flowers that will dry more quickly, on the top layers.



Below ~ 2nd layer

Some Malva Zebrina, a Cosmos and another that I can't think of the name right now!

And we must have Viola's!

Put the top poster board on, and the cardboard layer and feed the bolts through the holes in the top of your press....

...Fit washers over the bolts, and finally, tighten down the wing nuts. You may have to tighten them again later as the flowers dry some.
(Check to see if flowers are dry after two weeks, and every other day or so after that.)

You may, of course, decorate your flower press however you wish ~

maybe even with some of your pressed flowers!

I am leaving this one with the sweet painting by a special daughter

many years ago!

~*~

"The grass withers, and the flower fades; but the word of our God shall stand forever."

Isaiah 40:8