Vines and bounty....

After a long wait...finally blooms have begun.  I love greenbeans!  These vines have been watered, composted, talked to and prayed over; finally progress is visible.

One could learn a great deal by just reading God's Word and working a garden.  I mean, there are so many references concerning life throughout the Word of God.  I know that during biblical times an agrarian society was the norm, but it amazes me that no matter how much time has occurred...nothing has changed.  One still needs to place a seed in the soil to reap a bountiful reward, and God's Word is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow.

I say all this to report that bounty is beginning to be reaped (in more ways than one) here at the Beale Bungalow.  After much prayer and petitioning God--Anna and Will are getting some of Will's VA benefits and SSI will start soon, as well.  They had to live through the vining process and now they are seeing blooms.  Praise God!  

I need to remember this agricultural and biblical lesson as I live out my life in the daily's of living.  I mean...training Seth takes time; he needs to vine out and bloom--I need to be obedient and patient  (Proverbs 22:6--"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.")  Our financial status takes time; I need to "make the most of what God has given me.  (Matthew 6:25-34--"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"...etc.) 

I need to stay ingrafted in the vine no matter what the circumstances! (John 15-"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser"...etc.)  Yep, one can learn a great many truths just by reading God's Word and tending a garden.

Yesterday was a day of canning!  I thoroughly enjoyed it. First....

There were cherries, sugar, vanilla and brandy!  According to the recipe in MaryJane's magazine--I needed to heat 4 cups of brandy to dissolve 3/4 cups of sugar.  No boiling, just heat to lukewarm status. The alcohol is not to be boiled out.  Remove from heat and add the teaspoon of vanilla.  Wash the cherries and place one by one (complete with stems and seeds) into clean mason jars.  Pour brandy mixture over cherries.  Put a lid on the jar...shake gently and then place in the refrigerator.  These will keep up to a year.

Are they not beautiful?  Such a rich red color!  I had some of the brandy mixture left over, so I added extra sugar and I am going to let it sit for a bit...this will make a fantastic cough syrup!  Remember...making the most of what God has given me!!  :)

Next was my Pickle Relish!

After chopping for 2 hours, then soaking in water with 1/4 cup of salt for 4 hours, drained, then simmered for ten minutes in 2 cups of white vinegar, 3 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 Tbspn each of celery seed and mustard seed--my relish was ready to can.  This is the first of several cans that I wish to do of this recipe throughout the season.  YUMMY!

I cannot stand store bought relishes, pickles, jams and such--not since I have been making my own.  My guys do not care for store bought either...once you make the fresh real thing..you never want to go back!  :)

My day was filled with canning, gardening, good books and children's laughter all day...I loved it!

Sharon




   

A determined day...

When I awoke this morning I was determined to be super productive.  As many of our forefathers put it...I was highly resolved.  There is just so much to do and only a certain amount of time in which to accomplish everything...I had to get moving.  I just want a dejunked, cleaned and painted home before schooling starts in the fall. 

Anyway, up with the heart of the Proverbial Woman on steriods...I commensed to work my list.

After getting the bathroom scrubbed and fresh towels hung-and starting laundry; I noticed some apples that were not getting eaten.  My family will only eat apples when they are super crisp and these were getting somewhat soft, so I thought applesauce would be a nice addition to our supper tonight.

It is amazing how some apple chunks heated through with a small amount of water, organic sugar, vanilla and cinnamon can make your house smell like!  Better than any high priced potpourri could ever be. 

I don't understand how we...who never go anywhere...can generate so much laundry.  I did five loads today and I have one more to do tomorrow.  There are only three of us...so this just dumbfounds me.

I want an umberella clothesline, but this is not quite what I had in mind.  Neccesity IS the mother of invention.  This is what I have, so this is what I used. 

I must say that it did work and I have some sweet smelling air dryed shirts.  I will keep using this until God provides me with a real clothesline.  (and He will)  

My son dusted and I vacuumed.  It was a team effort on that front today.  I cleaned off my diningroom table which tends to be a catch all for paper and such.  Papers multiply on me.  I don't even know where it all comes from.  So, a great deal of paper trash went out today.  Yippee!!!

I really got into my bedroom this afternoon and started the deep cleaning.  It felt good to get rid of the built up dust and dirt.  I have zoned each section (it is really bad)! It will probably take a week or two just to get my bedroom done.  I really don't mind though.  As long as there is progress toward my goal...I don't care.

I decided my 22 year old copy of my mother-in-law's Sweet Pickle recipe needed recopying.  This is a much used recipe. Can you tell?

There was lots more laundry to do...I have been doing it all day it seemed, but it is nice to have a full drawer of dishcloths and dishtowels. I use them much much more since I have limited the amount of paper towels I use.  Ah...clean dishtowels...one of the simple pleasures of my life. :)

When I did stop to take a break I found myself thumbing through this time of years preferred reading material.  I have the desire to really can this summer.  So far, I probably have enough recipes chosen to can that not only would fill my shelves, that have not materialized yet, but my computer room as well.  I have high hopes in this area.  We will see what God does...

After finishing the housework and supper, my husband and I like to sit outside in our backyard.  My husband is not a talker, but sitting outside somehow brings the "talk" out of him.  It has become a pleasure for me to sit at our very grey and weathered old friend (our picnic table) and enjoy the sight and sounds of the evening and a little conversation, too.

As the evening shadows works it's way across our yard we listen to the birds and usually watch the two mallards that always visit us for birdseed and stale bread. 

My son, who did his share of work today came out to join us this evening.  He loves archery and is pretty good at it, too.  I still don't understand what he has against my old dying tree; it is loaded with arrow holes!

None of his friends were home today, so having us watch him and his antics was good for him.  My son loves the one type of comedy I cannot stand...SLAPSTICK!  But I have to hold my tongue and enjoy him and his version of this destorted comedy form (in my humble opinion) because he finds so much fun in everything by playing around...all the time!  Tonight, he was a hoot though. 

So, the house was cleaned.  Deep cleaning started in my bedroom. Laundry almost completed.  Kitchen and bathroom both scrubbed.  The diningroom table is once again a diningroom table not a waste paper basket.  A wonderful evening with my guys.  Lots done and even more to be thankful for. 

Abba,
   Thank you for giving me the determination to work...really work today.  Thank you for all that was accomplished.  Thank you for fresh smelling shirts and clean sheets.  Thank you for Your bounty and all the recipes to use them.  Thank you for a peaceful evening outside with the men that You have given me.  Thank you for everything today.  Most of all...thank you for Your Son, who by His obedience and death on the cross...has allowed this short, wide woman to become Your daughter and realize that all that I have comes from You.  Thank you for allowing me to do the work that You ordained for me to do today.

                                                           In Jesus Name, Amen

Good night....Sharon
           

Storms to blue skies...

Last evening, the dark water laden storm clouds rolled in with an unseen vendetta against the hot humid days that we have been experiencing.

The grass and gardens probably loved every drop of the cooling rain, but the wind was a different story. My 5 foot dill had to be resecured and restaked.  My guys just finished mowing and trimming the lawn when the rain started pelting everything and everyone in it's path.  My son was none too happy about having to go out and pick up the storms debris, but such is life.

Then came the morning!  The temperatures were so cool and refreshing that if it wasn't for all the green...I'd say it was an early fall morning! It was and has been a breathtakingly beautiful day.  Crisp, clean, clear skies--this would put a smile on anyones face! 

When I was watching the storm last night and then taking in the beautiful sky of the morning--a poem that I read to my daughter when she was young came to mind.

   The Captain's Daughter

WE were crowded in the cabin,
Not a soul would dare to sleep,
It was midnight on the waters,
And a storm was on the deep.

'Tis a fearful thing in winter
To be shattered by the blast,
And to hear the rattling trumpet
Thunder, 'Cut away the mast!'

So we shuddered there in silence,
For the stoutest held his breath,
While the hungry sea was roaring
And the breakers talked with death.

As thus we sat in darkness,
Each one busy with his prayers,
'We are lost !' the captain shouted,
As he staggered down the stairs.

But his little daughter whispered,
As she took his icy hand,
'Isn't God upon the ocean,
Just the same as on the land?'

Then we kissed the little maiden,
And we spake in better cheer,
And we anchored safe in harbor
When the morn was shining clear.

James Thomas Fields

God is still God when the storms come in an engulf the land and the sea; God is still God when the sun is shining and it's  rays warm the land and the sea.  This is a truth for our very lives.  \o/

Happy Birthday to my dearest daughter....

                           Today is my daughter's 28th birthday
                                      ...a bittersweet day. 

She is four states away and going through such a hard time that my heart aches in a way that nothing seems to be able to soothe the pain.  Romans 8:38-39 has definitely helped this morning.  Praise God....

When my daughter was placed in my arms 28 years ago I really didn't know what to do with her.  I was in a hormonal downslide and was absolutely miserable.  Though I loved my baby...I was overwhelmed and scared to death.  It was fairly easy to meet her needs, but I was still somewhat detached.  When she was about six weeks old, my hormones settled out and the panic subsided and I was more like myself.  I had just fed her, given her a bath and put her in a pretty little dress when, as I was sitting in our old tweed rocker I placed her on the ottoman to just look at her.  It was then that she said, "ur".  All of a sudden, as if heaven opened up and love came down as a dove, this rushing, passionate, breathtaking mother love fell upon me.  I remembering picking her up and crying...thanking God for this beautiful little baby girl.  

It was at this same instant that I realized I wasn't loved by my mother the way that I loved this little "urring" gift from God.  The tears went from overwhelming love to bittersweet realization that there was something really wrong and sick about the relationship between my mother and myself.  So, it seems that bittersweet was at the beginning as it is now.

A caring mother never wants their beloved child to go through hard, painful and frightening times.  At the same time this same mother grows and matures realizing that though they control certain aspects of the child's life while growing up, she cannot control anything once they have grown.  This is sort of a death.  Death to self.  Death to dreams.  Death to apron strings.  Death to "being mommy".

My daughter is now being raised and reared by God, our Heavenly Father.  To borrow from C. S. Lewis, “Course he isn’t safe, but he is good. He is not a tame lion.”   God is dealing my daughter in ways and on levels that I can never reach, of course, He is God and can do these things.  He is training my daughter and her family to trust, and we all know how difficult these lessons are.  My heart aches.

God is also training me in the same fashion.  Trust...  Me? Me learning to trust a God that allowed things to happen in my life that I just didn't understand then and I do not understand now.  Trust?...  Everyone who knows me knows that I do not totally trust anyone, not even my own husband  (not even my own self).  I keep a reserved part of myself...to myself.  Trust?  Wow...hard...

So, by allowing my precious daughter to go through terrible situations...I, being mom, go through them, as well.  Trust...
Do I trust God to take care of my daughter and her family...I actually have been force in a position...by God...to do this very thing.  Trust= Faith..."the just shall live by faith.."   "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."  Faith.... Trust...

I must trust!  I can still love, hurt, cry, moan and groan, but I must trust, or all this ache and pain will be for naught!  Because not pleasing God is...well, it is just not an option. 

Yes, today is my daughter's 28th birthday.  I have already called her and sang her "Happy Birthday".  She loved her package that she received Saturday, but didn't open until this morning.  She loved her new outfit; she was wearing it when I spoke to her. She said she chuckled when she saw her new green shirt.  (If you received anything green from me that is a code in our family.  It means I love you, because green is my favorite color.  She got the message I was sending her....and it brought a smile to her face and her mother's love to her heart.)  She appreciated the Dunkin' Doughnuts gift card, too.  God allowed me to love and celebrate my daughter from 4 states away.  :)  

Today will not be what I would have planned for her, but it will be the day that God planned for her.   “Course he isn’t safe, but he is good. He is not a tame lion.”  I trust it will be a good day for her.

Smiling peacefully,
Sharon 

   

The LORD is good....

                   Come taste and see that the LORD is good!

The past few days have been heaven for me.  I have been gardening, cleaning, baking and canning.  Ahhh...perfect.  I am happy to report that nothing has broken down in a week and I am getting used to having only one car.  So, God is good!!!

Today has already been full of activity.  I was up with my husband, as usual, except this morning I took him to work.  I needed the car.  At 6:15 this morning the temperature was already 76 degrees!  It is going to be another scorcher.

Because of the temperature...I watered my gardens well.  I am hoping for some rain soon...just to give my water bill a break...or should I say my sewage bill.  Moving out in the country is sounding better and better to me all the time.

After finishing with the gardening .... pickle canning time.

It is 10 am and I am done!  It was fun to get back to my canning.  I really love it and so does my family.  My son doesn't care for the pickles, but my husband does.  My younger guy loves all the jams and fruits best, of course.  I am going to do a tutorial on how I can my pickles later on this evening.  I do not have time right now.

The 25th of this month is my daughter's 28th birthday, so I am going to go do some shopping today and mail it to her post haste.  It will be nice to get out of the house and look and new and pretty things. 

Well, that is all for now. 

Sharon

A great morning...

                                             Good morning!

        It is a beautiful Wednesday!  Summer hot kind of a day! 

So, what do I have to talk about today...Well, I am making pickles.  They have been soaking all night in lime water and I will soon start the washing process.  I have just enough vinegar and pickling spice to make one batch of my Mother-in-law's recipe.  My husband is really looking forward to tasting some freshly made sweet spicy pickles.  (I prefer the salty dill, but that is just me.)

I am going to try something with my lime water.  Lavender plants love a lime environment, so instead of throwing all the liming water out....I am going to reserve some and pour it around one my lavender plants to see if it sparks more growth.  I am going to use it gingerly, but I am going to try it. Why waste the lime...

I have some bananas that are getting too ripe for munching, therefore I plan on baking today.  My favorite banana bread and a recipe of "Heavenly Zucchini Bread.  These can be frozen for later use or I might send some to work with my husband for he and his office to enjoy. Baking is definitely on the agenda today.  Smiling......

I would like to also can these two pineapples I have, but alas I am low on vinegar and need to get some whole cloves.  I will just cut these up and have them for snacks.  Oh well, someday I will pickle pineapple.  I just can't seem to co-ordinate the car, shopping and the ripening of my pineapples. Oh well, I will try again.

The temperature is supposed to be in the 90's today. Ugh...I watered my gardens really really well this morning.

These pictures are prior to watering, so everything looks ready for a little H2O.  My cucumbers are climbing the "covered wagon"; the squash is beginning to come in; and I am loving the blooms of color...red for the flax and a bluish purple for the borage.  I am really hoping to get some seeds from these two plants.  I love them!

After I get my cucumbers in their vinegar mixture I am going to continue my bedroom's dejunking.  I cannot believe how much "stuff" I have allow to accumulate.  I can't wait to have it all cleaned and freshly painted.  When I am done I will post some pictures. 

This already has been a productive morning and I must say I have enjoyed very much-just like I used to before my depression hit.   "Putzing and piddling" around my home is what I love to do best!  Laundry going, breads baking, pickles being made, pork loin chops defrosting all add up to a perfectly wonderful day....for me and mine.  \o/

I have more to talk about, alas my computer time is over.  Anyway it is time for some summer schooling to get done. 

Have a great and blessed day in the LORD.  Selah!!

Sharon

Monday musings...

As most of you know, my son has been sick.  He was running a 102.6 fever on Saturday then a 102.4  Sunday morning.  Last evening it only got to 100.6 --- progress.  This morning there is no temperature!  Yipee!!  His appetite is returning along with those lame jokes, but I am not complaining.  It is good seeing him up and about playing his Wii and wanting to go to Game Stop.  Thank you, Father.

Last night, as I was walking to my son's room to remake his bed (I forgot to put on fresh sheets, since I was washing his camo ones) my left pinky toe found the box that has been in the hallway for months.  I know it knew that it was there; it has been missing it for a very long time, but last night contact was made.  I really wish I was perfect, but I, in my pain reverted back to my old ways...said a few choice words which I immediately begged God for forgiveness and went on with my motherly duties.  Limping and in pain, I might add.  Oh, the sacrifice we make for our children, especially when they are sick.

I think the gray of my front walkway goes nicely with the ever increasing shades of purple and blue of my wounded swollen toe.  Don't you think so, too?

This day has been very pleasant...very pleasant indeed.  My husband has been off because of a doctor's appointment, so the day is somewhat out of routine.  Which is a welcomed respite after this weekend of sickness and Father's Day fun.

We planted my new blueberry bushes that I got at BJ's for $5.99 each!   Notice--they already have berries on them!  I am going to go and get some bird and squirrel netting sometime this week.  Both have been eyeing them all day. 

In between gardening and taking temperatures I started and finished a new craft for my front door.  Tell me what you think of it.

I saw this on Pinterest loved it!  It is so very simple to make.  All it takes is a straw wreath, red, white and blue yarn and a package of different sized white buttons and some tacky glue.  You wrap and glue on the buttons...that is it!  My son loves the 4th of July, so I thought I would make this with him in mind.  He thinks it is cool! 

I would like to leave you with what I was able to capture on camera...

Sharon