~Monday Morning Musings~

Written by Sue, Monday, October 7, 2019     cloudy, warm, temps.80 low humidity, so nice

~Autumn~

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With all of the busyness I am enjoying the fall decorations so much, yes, fall/autumn is my favorite season, with Christmas being my favorite holiday, this is when all of  my five senses really  come alive. I love the cool crisp mornings, the smell of fresh hay as it is placed in the barn! The leaves as they change color and begin to fall., carving pumpkins, campfires from burning leaves and oak logs, last but not least  all of  the fabulous fall recipes. OH! OH! I almost forgot, the  "Hallmark Fall" movies! YES!!

Ahhhh! the wonderful fragrance of fall,"Leaves", from Bath and Body Works  has become one of my favorites I like that this company is now using more essential oils in their products.  My fall candles are lighted early in the day!

One of my favorite decorations are these led candles, they come on about dusk for 5 hrs.

Pumpkins always a favorite on the mantle, more led lights. 

Turkey Man found his place on the sofa, and says no way is he leaving either! He says "eat ham, so much tastier"!`smile~

This tree greets us when we come in by the foyer, the lights also come on automatically at  dusk for 5 hrs.

I am so thankful for this season of  "Thankfulness", 

Psalms 100: 4-5~Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name, For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations.

Not posting on a regular time schedule, is not a good thing for me as a blogger, it seems the longer I am away the harder it is to catch up. Sometimes life becomes so busy we neglect the things that bring so much joy and satisfaction to us. I truly enjoy blogging, this includes visiting with you, which I count to be more important than what I have to say.

I draw so much inspiration and encouragement from your ideas through photos and thoughts you share, whether it be on decorating, sharing your faith, and family, and food recipes! Bloggers are truly a close knit family to which I am honored to be a part of. My desire is to be a more active member of this"close knit" family! Thank you for opening up and sharing your homes and life with me.

Blessings,

Sue

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An update on Mr P.

Dear One has finished all his pre-ops. except for  two classes on the procedure, he  passed with flying colors and has been scheduled for surgery Nov. 20! Please pray for him, for the Drs., and yes for me.

Blessings,

Sue

~Every photo has a story~

Written by Sue, Wednesday, September 18, 2019~ Whoo Hoo Fall is visiting, sunny, cool, 70's
Here are a few of my photos with my  stories ...
Hydrangeas have been hard for me to get to bloom, I mentioned this to Mr P. who has such a green thumb, his reply was "No worry, Sue, I will take care of them for you," and he did, he faithfully watered, fertilized, and kept a watchful eye. Thus...

I will be cutting and drying these beauties, I also have three more hydrangea bushes that are blooming. Do you agree with me that Mr P. has an exceptional "green thumb, and is a loving husband"?
 
Dear One also mentioned how the fall, scents and decorations reminded him of pumpkin pie, sooo... Oh! it was quite tasty too,

This fella creates a new story every day, his name is "Uncle Joe," he is saying, "This corn is mine, all mine."He is so mischievous, but ever so sweet.

Here is the story about these two wreaths....
Last December we lost our precious, sweet pastor's wife, Lorrie, she was a  wonderful person, so giving, loving, and generous to all, she also had  a beautiful singing voice.Pastor Lynn was going through Lorrie's treasures, and asked if I would like her fall wreaths, of course I am  honored to hang  them on our doors in honor of her memory. This is the back entrance.

The only change I made on the front entrance was the bow, I wanted it to match the bows I bought for the bannisters and lights.

So here are my stories on this beautiful pre-autumn day. I enjoy seeing your photos,  and know that they too, have a story to tell. Sometimes our stories are happy, sad, funny, full of pride for accomplishments, future plans, and goals,decorating ideas, etc. 

So dear friends keep sharing and telling for we are all creating lifetime memories.

Wishing you much joy and happiness

 while you  travel this road known as "Life".

Sue

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~Love fall colors most of all~

Written by Sue Friday, September 13, 2019, hot, hot, humid, 90's heat index over 100

Though the calendar, nor the weather says fall, I am enjoying fall inside, Smiles are contagious, when someone smiles at you, you automatically smile back.Try it, it works, smile first, and see what happens,we never know how much we may brighten someones day.

Counting my blessings,and placing them in the "fall blessings jar," to be read on Thanksgiving Day!

 "Am I weighing you down, could it be the pumpkin pie?"

 Love the colors of fall!

One of the reasons we celebrate harvest time, giving thanks, for our many blessings,sharing, caring, and for friendships!

 "Your secret is safe with me."

 I am also anticipating my holiday baking season. Pumpkin pie is number one on my list, dh says the decorations and candles reminded him of one, do you think that was a subtle hint.

It has been a busy week for us, we are in the process of scheduling  knee replacement surgery for Mr P.. That means lots of pre-op appointments ,the surgery will take place sometime between Nov., Dec, or Jan. Talk about waiting. Whew!

Have a great day, remember to 😃
Love,

Sue

~The calm after the storm~

Written by Sue, Sunday, September 8, 2019  hot, humid, 90's
For us, sheep quietly grazing in the pasture, confirms the calm after the storm.

Just a note to say, how thankful dh and I are that we had minimal damage during hurricane Dorian!
The winds blew some of the screens out on the porch, plants a little weary, lots of rain.

 It has taken us  the last few days to repair and clean porch, pick up debris surrounding the pond. 

Next we must find and repair  the leak in the roof, which leaked through the ceiling in the living room.  A leak is so minor compared  to complete loss of homes and life.

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However our neighbors in the northern part of our state, suffered extensive damage, we also had a lot of tornadoes touch down inland and  along the coast  way before the storm came, which also did much damage. Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected with the loss of family members and homes.

Romans 12:15~ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

Thank you to all who were concerned and  prayed! 

Love,

Sue

The calm before the storm,

Written by Sue, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019  hot, humid, waiting for the storm, Dorian, 90's


Today we are finishing our preparation for hurricane Dorian,  while praying she will turn more eastward and go out to sea. Our state is still recovering from the past few hurricanes. Our thoughts and prayers are for those who have already experienced devastation.
This is the calm before the storm.

While waiting I piddle,  I love to piddle, it gives me a little unstructured time to do exactly as I wish, though I still make a to do list.Would you like to see what I do when I piddle?

I took some lavender I had been drying, pulled the buds off and placed them  in a jar with lavender oil, I am thinking maybe sachets.

We were given two large bunches of green bananas, from, SIL, once they had ripened,

 I sliced them, froze in a pan, then sealed in bags using my food-saver, one of the best machines ever.
They will be used for banana bread, smoothies or just snacks, frozen fruits make the best healthy snacks.

I cut some zinnia buds to dry for seed, even though they self seed in the garden, I decided not to take a chance.

I finished putting some small touches on my fall decorating, once the storm passes by I will begin decorating the outside.This is my little farmhouse village, I have had it for many years

 The living room was finished last week, I like that the lights and candles on the mantle and coffee table come on automatically, so if we are out at light, they greet us when we enter, it makes everything so warm and cozy.All we need now is some cooler weather so the fire can be lit.

 And this is how I piddle! Hope you are having a great, day for those in the path of Dorian, as we are, thoughts and prayers!

Love 

Sue

~Labor Day happenings~

Written by Sue, Monday, September 2, 2019,    hot, humid, 90's 

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend, ours was  relaxing with our new book, and keeping an eye on hurricane Dorian. The uncertainty of where it will go  and when has most folks on edge. Tomorrow will be spent around here making preparation, just in case. Thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected so far.

After lunch  we went to Tractor Supply for some mineral blocks for the sheep and donkeys, while there I was drawn to the sound of peep, peep, peep, just couldn't resist these sweet guys, they were on sale for $1.00 each, reg. $5.69. It took a little convincing (please,please, while batting my eye lashes) before Mr P. okayed it. Now, who could resist these pretty faces.

After getting them settled in their new home,

 Dh and I went inside finished our book, Last of The Saddle Tramps. I can't say enough of how much Mr P. and I enjoyed this book, we learned so much about the human spirit, the bond between a woman and her animals, aka her companions, and of how basically helpful and caring people were for each other and their love of animals. She chose to call the circumstances on this trip,foreordained, I am inclined to agree with her.I f you want to know what four out of five means you will have to read the book.😘😘😘

Mesannie called herself, a Saddle Tramp, but we have chosen to call her a "Lady" in every sense of the word.

So much more to tell, but I won't spoil it for anyone who chooses to read it. Vee, can recommend a book for me any day.

blessings,

Sue

~A most delightful gift~

Written by Sue, Saturday, August, 31, 2019,     sunny, warm. 80's a very pleasant day.
Blogging has given so many wonderful friendships, I consider myself so blessed.

When I wrote my first blog post in 2008, (on my first blog) the first person who welcomed me into this wonderful neighborhood was Vee, from a haven for Vee, I was so jubilant seeing that first comment, I thought I had arrived, never in my fondest dreams did I ever think that anyone would be interested in anything I would have to say.
Vee and I quickly became friends and have remained so ever since, she is one of the most respected and beloved bloggers.

She recently had a giveaway,.. I won, the gift was a book written by a woman, (Mesannie Wilkins) who was a self proclaimed "Saddle Tramp".  I received this most gracious gift Tuesday, my dh was almost as excited as I was, and wanted to read it after me, when I mentioned this to Vee, she suggested we read it together, a suggestion well received by Mr P., after all we read our devotions together each day anyhow.

We had not had a chance to start before Friday afternoon,and after reading the first two chapters, we decided to take our time and not rush through this book, we wanted to have time to let all of her adventures on this journey  soak in as we both are having so many questions. Her journal of her 7,000 mile trip from Maine to California, with her horse and dog as her companions is what this book is about.

After reading  two chapters, we found ourselves laughing, asking questions,I even cried, being amazed at this woman's hutzpah after all the mishaps in her life, even shaking our heads, and asking more questions. While reading you feel as though you are right there with her and her companions.

One of the most amazing things we both spoke of was of how Mesannie and her companions were so well received by most strangers and of how they were invited  to spend the night in their homes, and barns, and  also were fed. God was surely with them on this journey.

Look at that smile, in this book I love how she handles the situations on this journey, I am learning so much.

It is Saturday morning and we have already read 4 chapters with plans to read more this evening, so much for slow reading. ~wink~ 

Thank you, Vee, for your most delightful gift.

I don't usually post another post until I have visited those who commented on my last post, and caught up with friends but today was an exception! Thank you for visiting. 

Wishing everyone a most blessed and happy Labor Day weekend.

Sue