Inherited Treasure

When my dad passed away I inherited this great portrait of Jesus. What is awesome about this piece is the fact that it was done on a typewriter. It is all done with bible scriptures. It starts with Joh 1:1 saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". It keeps going from John on, not sure what scripture it ends with because the type print is very small. I remember this in my mom & dad's home as I grew up & always thought it was so unique! I have never seen another like this so have no clue of it's value, but can tell you it something that I treasure that belonged to my dad! Would love to hear if any of you have ever seen anything like this before.


God Bless!

My First Award!!

I woke up checked my blog & what do ya know, I got an award!! Yippee! My first award that is! Susan from http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ bestowed this great BFF award to me! Thanks Susan!!!

This is the best "Gold Card" I've ever seen! It's a "Blogging Friends Forever Gold Card". And the best part is the expiration date...it's good until "Forever!" How awesome is that?! Susan thank you so much for this thoughtful award!

There are three rules attached to this award as follows:

1. You may only choose five people/blogs to give the award to...

2. Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog...

3. One has to be a new follower of your blog, or live in another part of the world...I'd love to present this award to some of my BFFs as follows:

Rhoda from http://southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com/

Pat from http://backporchmusings.blogspot.com/

http://myhome-mylife.blogspot.com/

Erin from http://www.houseofturquoise.com/

Joy from http://joysofhome.blogspot.com/

Thanks again Susan for the great BFF Gold Card!!!!

Have an awesome day!

Our Adventure with Ducks

We live on the lake so our family has come to love ducks. They often come up from the lake to our backyard & we throw them pieces of bread. A friend of ours told us that when he finds duck eggs he brings them home to hatch them. He then raises them untill they are able to fly. He said that otherwise baby ducks don't have a fighting chance to live due to the turtles. The turtles pull the baby ducks down under the water to drowned them & then they eat them. So he was helping the ducks be able to survive. We heard this and decided that we wanted to raise ducks also. We did so about 3 times in the past. This spring the girls wanted to do it again. So I found a man who had baby ducks that were 1 week old that he had hatched in an incubator. We bought 4 baby ducks, hubby built a cage, & bought feed for them. They were so cute. We would take them out of the cage & put them on our front lawn and they would follow us whereever we walked. They walked in a line like we were their momma duck. Anyway, they grew, developed wings and we decided after 4 months it was time to release them back to the lake. They loved swimming in the lake but they began to get water logged & were sinking a bit...so we rescued them out of the lake before they drowned. Guess they aren't ready yet. So we decided that they needed to not be caged during the day so that they could learn to forge for their own food & hopefully learn to go get in the lake & out of lake themselves. The idea was good but the ducks never ventured away from their cage area, so we had to catch them & put them in the lake everyday so that they could practice swimming. This was a comical scene! You see I could only take one at a time but by the time I would get one duck in the lake, & turn around to go get another to put in the lake the original duck would get out of the lake and start walking back up the hill towards the others. UGH! So we could only accomplish this task with 2 people minimum. We had a problem the ducks just didn't want to leave our property (we live in a residential subdivision) and it became pretty stinky. I thought we have got to get rid of these ducks because they will never leave us. Hubby & I put the ducks in a big cardboard box & took them on our party barge (pontoon boat) further up the lake from our house and released them. Guess what??? 30 minutes later...they were back to our house! UGH!!!! That night we decided to not cage them. We figured we couldn't make it so homey for them. Then about 2am hubby & I were in bed talking when we saw our security light come on...hubby jumped out of bed to look out the window. There was a red fox who was sneaking up on the sleeping ducks. Hubby shouted at the fox and the fox ran off. I said, don't let that fox get my ducks...get your gun...shoot that fox. So picture this...hubby is outside at 2am with his gun making sure that fox isn't coming back for dinner & ducks are running & squaking all around. He had to catch them & get them back in their cage in case the fox came back. This was a challenge in itself! A couple days later we decided that we had to take them on the boat again & let them go farther from our home. We still haven't seen them fly or even attempt to fly though their wings are big. We found a nice area with homes on the lake a couple coves away from our home with areas for the ducks to climb out of the water and we released them. We go back about once per week to check on the ducks & happy to say they are doing great! When they see us drive up on our pontoon boat they come swimming quickly to us & quacking the whole time. They eat bread out of our hands...it is so cute! I even got in the lake with them and they just swam around me. A man that lives in the area where the ducks are told us that they were the friendliest ducks he has ever seen. We then told him that we raised them & he said oh that explains why they aren't afraid of people & dogs and why they swim up to every pontoon boat they see. Oh, I thought they just recognized us and were doing that for us, but guess they do that for any pontoon boat they see. Still haven't seen them fly. Sure hope they learn how to soon so that they can fly south for the winter!

I'm Escaping!

Is anyone else depressed about the US economic crisis that we are facing? I know I am! After hearing the Presidents announcement last night a depression set in. As a christian I know that we are living in the last days & this has all been fortold. So part of me is at peace knowing that I am a daughter of the most high king & that he loves me & will take care of me. The other part of me is sad that we will have to go through such turmoil!

So I'm escaping reality tomorrow night!!! Hubby is taking me on a date! Woo Hoo! He is taking me to see Nights in Rodanthe!! I'm so excited! I just loved The Notebook, so I'm sure I will love this romantic movie as well!! I better bring some tissue!

See the Preview here: (Oh & you'll need to turn off music so that you can hear the movie preview...just scroll to the bottom of the page & pause the music.)




God Bless!

Bedroom Birthday Surprise!

We decided to show our daughter her surprise bedroom redo today. She LOVED IT!!! Yeah! There is still about 9 days until her 20th b-day but we were anxious to show her & she was ready to move out of little sister's room. We still need to make her a custom rug this week and sand and paint the bench we made to go under her window, but everything else is done!

I just posted photos on HGTV's Rate My Space http://ratemyspace.hgtv.com/snc/ViewItem.aspx?pguid=6db6be3f-1720-4ba3-a081-999042c09b6b&itemguid=a2ee2477-8fa2-4ff8-9c18-0fec2be78516

So please go and take a look and tell me what you think.
I've seen someone here in blogland have a widget that said "please rate my space" but can't find it...so if you know where I can get that, please let me know.

Thanks!!

It's Fall Y'all!

Melissa over at The Inspired Room has asked us to share 20 Little Things to Treasure in Autumn. I am still grieving for summer but I'll try. Maybe this will help me get over the fact that summer is gone.

This is a scenic drive in my town.

20 Little Things To Treasure in Autumn

1. cool brisk air
2. sleeping with the windows open
3. comfort foods
4. relaxing in the hot tub
5. saturday morning garage sales
6. fall craft fairs
7. pumpkin scented candles
8. cinnamon & nutmeg
9. cozy blankets
10. bon fires
11. pretty scenic drives to see the fall colors
12. caramel popcorn
13. caramel apples
14. harvest festivals
15. apple pie
16. pumpkin spice coffee
17. boots
18. sweaters
19. pinecones/acorns
20. cinnamon glazed nuts that smell heavenly

Happy Fall Y'all!

Cheesecake...Yummy!

Did you know that cheesecake is my all time favorite dessert? I just love cheesecake! I don't have a favorite flavor...yet. I can tell you that I haven't ever met a cheesecake that I haven't liked...LOL! I even love the no-bake cheesecakes. In fact I found one that I'm going to try this weekend. I am passing along the recipe to you in case you would like to join me in making this over the weekend.

Pecan Caramel CheeseCake
By Sandra Lee, author of Semi-Homemade Desserts

Pecan pie or cheesecake? Try a bite of both with this no-bake New York-style cheesecake smothered in caramelized pecans. The inspired combination of creamy cheesecake, gooey caramel, and crunchy pecans is a two-in-one treat, perfect for parties, special dinners or starting a new Thanksgiving tradition. Be generous with the caramel -- and don't be afraid to let it drip down the sides. It just looks more homemade.

Serves 12 to 16
Prep time: 10 minutes
Chilling time: 5 hours

2 boxes (11.1 ounces each) real cheesecake dessert mix, Jell-O No Bake®

3/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 1/2 cups cold whole milk
1 cup butterscotch caramel sauce, Mrs. Richardson's ®
1 cup pecans, toasted, chopped
1/2 cup golden brown sugar, packed


Preparation:
Line bottom of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with parchment or wax paper.

Mix 2 packages of crust, melted butter, sugar, and water in large bowl until well blended. Reserve 1 cup of crumb mixture for topping.

Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared pan (not up sides).

Combine 2 packages of cheesecake filling and cold milk in another large bowl. Beat for 3 minutes, or until smooth and thick.

Fold 1/2 cup of caramel sauce into cheesecake mixture.

Pour mixture into crust-lined springform pan.

Mix reserved crumb mixture with 1/4 cup of caramel sauce, pecans, and brown sugar. Sprinkle atop cheesecake.

Refrigerate cake at least 5 hours, or until set.

Run warm knife around pan sides to loosen cake; remove pan sides. Transfer cake to serving platter and drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup of caramel sauce.

Bon Appetit!

Quirky Cottages

Do you have a room or something about your home that is just kind of quirky? Something that makes you say, "What in the world was that builder thinking"? I sure do! Oh and one more question, "What constitutes a home being called a cottage"? My home is an English Tudor on about 1/2 acre. It is small at only about 1550 sq ft. A realtor once called it a cottage, and I wondered why she chose to call it that. So is it based on size, style, or what?
I guess what I think of as a cottage is a small home with simple classic style and some quirky things about it...is that correct??


My home definitly has some quirkiness about it! Although I love my home there are some things I would change! My living room/dining room combo is 13X27. Sure wish my LR was a bit wider! My entry or shall I say lack of an entry is only 4X4. No laundry room, just a stackable washer/dryer in space that only holds that. Oh and no master bathroom. Instead there is a very poorly designed small bathroom upstairs in the hall. Both the master bedroom & daughters bedroom share that bathroom. I'm over the fact that it isn't connected to my master bedroom but cannot get over how stupid the design is! When you open the door to the bathroom you almost hit the toilet. It has 1 sink, 1 bathtub/shower combo, and 1 miniscule linen closet. That is one room I hope to someday have totally redone!!! Ok, there are things I love about my home, like the fact that it is surrounded by trees, we have the lake in our backyard (even if it is just a finger of the lake) we can still take our pontoon boat & wave runners all over the lake from our backyard, it is different & not like all the ranch homes around here, love all the storage in the eaves/attic space, love the sitting room off the master, love the window seats in the dormers in daughter's room, love the french doors, and love that everyone that drives by slows down to admire the home!

Creative Halloween Decor

Yea! Our electricity is back on! Woo Hoo! There were 40,000 people here without electricity and they said it wouldn't be restored untill friday, so we were thrilled to be one of the first to get ours restored! Praise the Lord! Hubby now wants to buy a generator for the next time this happens.

Found some very creative Halloween decor ideas from a store called Curious Sofa in KS. I don't decorate for Halloween but I know many of you do...so I wanted to make sure I shared this with you. I'm sure if you are like me & don't decorate for halloween you will still be able to appreciate the creativity.

Here's an easy one...just buy eyeball gumballs & put them in a glass bowl or apothocary jar.

Another simple one...but please use a fake ax!!

This is my favorite! So clever! Hmm, where can you buy some legs???
Maybe manequin legs on eBay?

Easy Easy...black licorice or any black candy in pretty apothocary jars.

Stenciled pumpkins...how easy is that? Easy!
Ok, you got me on this one! I really don't know where you could get some skulls.

Do you know??

Wouldn't this be great on a guest bed! Of course, only during halloween! Unless that is if you don't want your guests to stay! LOL!

No Power! No Internet!

Just a quick note to let you all know that due to the affects of hurricane Ike we have lost electricity. The winds last night were so strong that there are trees & power lines down everywhere. The electric company says not to expect it to be restored until friday. UGH! So I'm at a local coffee shop that wasn't affected just to send some emails to some of our customers to let them know of the delay in getting their rugs. So if you don't hear from me in a few days...that is why. Please pray for all that have been affected by Ike.

Thrift Store Finds

If you've been reading my blog, you know that I am redecorating my daughter's room for her 20th birthday. She knows I'm working on it but not allowed to see it till the big day!

I went out to some thrift stores in search of 2 things that I wanted for her room and found them both at 1 thrift store! How often does that happen?! Um, like Never!

I wanted a mirrored vanity tray. Found for $3. Of course, I can't keep it gold...no way! Got out the handy dandy spray paint and now it's a perfect clean crisp white...so pretty! This will most likely go on her dresser to hold her perfumes.




Then I found a rattan & bamboo bed tray. I grabbed it up for $5! It was the color I wanted, so no spray paint for it. Daughter wanted a bed tray so that she could work on her homework from bed since her room doesn't have a desk. I don't know if this is what she had in mind, but hey it will look great (I hope) on her bed when I surprise her with her finished bedroom! I am thinking of what to put on it for a pretty display. Any ideas?? If she doesn't want to keep it...I can always sell it on eBay! I've seen them sell for around $30.




This weekend's projects are to paint crown molding, re-paint closet doors & attach new hardware, put poly sealer on newly painted armoire, and assemble her new dresser.

During the week we will need to make her custom rug, put up rattan blinds & drapes, hang pics & mirror, and accessorize (my favorite part!)
I think we should be all done by next weekend so we will get to reveal her new bedroom to her then. Yeah, I can't wait! It will be a little bit before her actual birthday, but we know she is anxious to get back to her own space & little sister is ready to get her room back to normal! Come back soon for the big reveal!

P.S. Please remember to pray for those affected by hurricane IKE!

Have a safe weekend!

Southern Living Home Tour

Don't ya just love going in model homes?? I know I do! When I lived in So. Cal. there were always lots of model homes to checkout. Here in Arkansas there are no model homes to speak of. So I was thrilled when Southern Living decided to build one of their SL Idea homes in my home town! As soon as it was open for tours, hubby & I went to check it out. Here are the pics that I took of the home. Enjoy your online home tour!






















































Take Care!