Seed Packets and Peat Pots

This time of year is perfect for dreaming of gardens. My mind always goes to flower gardens. When I was a tiny child, someone planted the "seed" of gardening in my little mind. It must have been a long-ago Sunday School teacher who raised a batch of pansies in little cups and sent one home with each of her students for their Mothers on Mother's day. I was one of her little recipients of a sweet pansy, and~ so was my Mother. I don't think I had ever seen a real flower before.

Because we have two very large areas right around the house, they simply cry out to be filled with blooms! You may remember the roses I planted last fall in these gardens. They are all dormant now, of course, but they are the largest bushes I could find without being climbers.
So seed fever has taken possession of me ~ I have poured over seed catalogs, spent many inquiring hours on the internet researching English cottage gardening. I am realizing my hot southern, drought stricken soil may not produce exactly what I long for. So I have turned to the book Jim Wilson wrote called "Bullet-Proof Gardening". He and his wife lived here before we bought the place and apparently filled these gardens with flowers. So I know there is hope.

Finally, I've made my selection. I will once again order from Botanical Interests. Tomorrow is the day. They have to be planted by the middle of the month in order to be ready to plant outside by April.

Each seed packet is a complete guide for growing this particular seed!


Open up the packet and find oodles of information! This is so helpful to someone like me who hasn't done this much before!

I use plastic forks to remind me of important information! Cilantro germinates in complete darkness. So just cover that part with something to keep the light out.

I don't know of too many people who enjoy spinach. Mom frequently served it from a can when we were growing up. It was good. She always put the vinegar cruet on the table when she served spinach. YUM!

So just get yourself a seedling flat with peat pots or plastic pots, some potting soil and a packet of seeds and go to it! Let me know how you do!

Mexican Enchilada Sauce

I found this receipt a few months back on http://www.recipezaar.com It was posted by Donna Matthews.
I served it yesterday and our whole family LOVED it!
I made some brown rice and fried two pounds of ground venison with home mixed taco seasoning. I added a partial jar of salsa from Aldi. After stirring the rice and meat mixture up, I added about a cup of the sauce and filled whole wheat soft taco with it all. Of course, cheese too!
After fitting the rolled up enchiladas into a baking dish, pour the sauce over the top. Yummy!
I'm sure it would be fanitastic with any other filling you may like to concoct!

Mexican Enchilada Sauce
15 minute prep time!

3 T chili powder
3T flour
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp oregano

Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl, or medium saucepan.

3C water

Stirring constantly, slowly add enough of the water to make a thin paste.
Pour and mix in the rest of the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly untill mixture thickens.

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

Stir in tomato sauce.
Use in your favorite enchilada recipe.

A Hymn For The Lord's Day: Like a River Glorious

LIKE A RIVER GLOURIOUS

Frances R Havergal 1836-1879


Like a river glourious is God's perfect peace,
Over all victorious in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth fuller ev'ry day,
Perfect yet it groweth deeper all the way.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hears are fully blest-
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest-
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Ev'ry joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do-
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest-
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

A Winter's Day Needlebook Project

During these cold, cold days of winter, it is nice to have a little project that doesn't require us to get out of our nice warm perch! (where ever that may be!)




Perhaps you would like to make a needle book to store an assortment of your needles. Especially if you travel, it is nice to be prepared with plenty of handwork projects, but they often require different needles.

All needlewomen need to keep their needles organized! I picked the little book up at Hancocks Fabrics a few years ago and thought it would make a great base for the "book".



When you open it up to the inside of the front cover, this is where you find all those big darning needles! It was fun looking up all the information about needle organization and sizing.












Here is the center fold of the book. I cut a piece of paper just a little smaller that the cover to be the "pages". You could easily add more pages.



This is my favorite section because I love to embroider!

The blue fabric you see is pieces of velveteen. It is not clean finished. I may have put a bit of fray-check on the edges. The velveteen hold the needles tightly so they never fall out.

This would make a great gift for someone who does any hand sewing.

Hymn For The Lord's Day: Satisfied

My oldest son is sometimes priveledged to lead the singing for our little congregation at Cold Springs Chapel. Last Sunday evening he chose this hymn for us to sing. What a blessing the lines of this piece is, as it so accurately describes the emptiness of the heart of those who do not know our Lord. Like the prodigal son, who tried to satisfy his empty stomach with the swine's husks, we can instead enjoy the banquetting table of the Father.

SATISFIED

by Clara T. Williams

All my life long I had panted
for a draught from some clear spring,
that I hoped would quench the burning
of the thirst I felt within.

Hallelujah! I have found him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
thro' his blood I now am saved.

Feeding on the husks around me,
till my strength was almost gone,
longed my soul for something better,
only still to hunger on.

Hallelujah! I have found him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
thro' his blood I now am saved.














Poor I was, and sought for riches,
something that would satisfy,
but the dust I gathered round me
only mocked my soul's sad cry.

Hallelujah! I have found him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
thro his blood I now am saved.

Well of water, ever springing,
bread of life so rich and free,
untold wealth that never faileth,
my redeemer is to me.

Hallelujah! I have found him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
thro' his blood I now am saved.

Inspiration From an Old Book Case

Some years ago, my husband ran across this old bookcase. It has an unusual system to adjust the shelves. You notice, the notches and the shelf supports that you move up and down in the notches. Rather clever!

My oldest son, Trevor, who is 21, along with my husband and other sons, Tristan and Collin, have working on an addition to our home. The new addition includes a sewing room, laundry room, entry way, and pantry.

When we began considering the shelving system we would like to use in the addition, we just couldn't find what we were after. We LOVE old houses; we love the old custom wood work that is in them. So we started thinking about our old book case.

Why not do a custom wood adjustable shelving system in the new pantry like that? HMMM!

So here is the pantry finished, yet in the raw.
Trevor just finished it this afternoon, and he is quite pleased with it. It is his brain child!


















He added a lovely arch at the top of each of the two shelves.









Here's a close-up of the adjustable shelf supports. They fit like a dream!

The whole pantry will be painted in white woodwork, with yellow walls. I can't wait to show it to you when it is finished!






This is the carpenter's apprentice. He's pretty cute, but he will soon require his own set of tools! (Many of the Carpenter's tools go missing!)

So Much More

When I was a very young woman in my teens, I began collecting pictures from magazines and other sources of women wearing pretty, feminine clothing. Many of them were from the Victorian era. At that time, in the early 1970's long dresses were "in style" and many advertisements featured young ladies in flowing dresses. I cut pictures out and assembled them in my own version of a home-made scrapbook. I loved looking at my book, as it seemed to be a sort of reference for me that reminded me that femininity exists ~ if only in my own heart.

At that time, the ERA amendment was a hot topic. Feminism had arrived. I had no idea what it was all about, I just thought it only sounded right that women get paid fairly. Since that time, our culture has undergone devastating change, and most of us never realized what was happening.
I kept my scrapbook and my ideals. But I did change, I'm sorry to say, along with the culture. But deep in my heart, I still loved all that "feminine stuff".

Dear reader, perhaps you also are drawn to femininity, but just don't know what you are supposed to do with "it". How does it fit into our modern lifestyle? What does God think of it? After all, His thoughts are what really count!

I have recently finished reading a book that just might interest you. It answers so many questions pertaining to young women in particular, but can help all of us as ladies, to understand how we are so off track.

This book is titled "So Much More" by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin. They were at the time of writing 17 and 15, but don't be put off by their age. These young women are wise and noble beyond their years! They have had a life that has put them in company of dignitaries and great people, and have learned the great art of self-possession.

I would like to quote from two passages in the first chapter.

"God doesn't call us to "find our place in the world" but to wage war with a worldly culture that has declared war on God's design. That is why our father has inspired us to be as different as we need to be in order to be obedient to God's design."

"Maybe a warning is needed. Don't read this book at all (I would rephrase:"You won't like this book. ...") if you have a bad attitude toward your father and if you are trying to keep your distance from him. Many girls enjoy having "space" away from their fathers. That space is dangerous."

The book is written to daughters. It is direct, but very kind and gracious. It gives background information on feminism that reveals the "real" issue, which isn't feminism at all. Very thought provoking.

The ladies show us very compelling evidence from scripture that we Christians are not living up to His standard for women. I hate to say this, but many of us are Christian feminists!

This is truly an eye-opener, but more than anything, the reader is left with great hope. We simply need a new "vision". We need to see that there are better choices for Christians women than the choices our Godless culture says are right.

If you would like to get a copy of "So Much More", you may get one at http://www.visionforum.com/search/productdetail.aspx?search=So+Much+More&productid=57882

I strongly recommend you request a catalog from Vision Forum http://www.visionforum.com/about/catalogrequest

Even if you don't read the book, I hope you will begin your own "scrapbook"!