What a blissfully delightful morning

*

Afternoon Sweet Folks,

*

What a delightful Morning it has been,  woke up to 61 degree

 weather.............It finally feels like Fall in Florida!!  Yea!!

 Don't think it will last too long,  but,  Ooooh how welcome it is,

 actually it is 81 degrees now at 1:46p.m.,  but still feels quite nice out.

*

In honor of the first real day of feeling like Fall,  I celebrated!!

That pumpkin pie with the whip cream and nuts and coffee

was my breakfast this morning.  It was delightful I must say.

I just love pumpkin pie!  and since it is a veggie you can have

it anytime your lil heart desires,  well,  almost!! lol

Definitely a better choice than most treats at least.

*

I should have worked outside this morning,  but just couldn't

seem to get motivated,  think it is because the lawn needs

mowing which we will do this evening,  if it doesn't rain

again.  I am more motivated when it already looks nice to

trim things and make it look even prettier,  so hopefully

tomorrow is the day,  cause we have lots of stuff that needs

pruning!  I am sure the plants are not fond of seeing me

coming with those ominous looking shears.  Poor Dears!!

*

Well,  remember I told you I would show you the cute

things I got at Old time Pottery.  Well look below

and you will see,  a great lil village of three!

*

*

They are really lil gift boxes,  but I plan to use them

as decorations instead.  My hubby just loves lil villages

and we have thought of getting the lil porcelain ones

we have so many Christmas decorations we have

no idea where we could put them,  so thought he

would enjoy these,  that way we can put them any

where and they don't have to be plugged in.

*

Also found these cute candy apple red

luminaries for a song.

*

*

I will be used outside the front door or on the porch.

They have nice brass looking bucket type handles,  so

they could be hung up somewhere if necessary too.

Just loved the red finish they have!

*

Also found 2 of these plates.  I know they are not Christmasy

but I just loved them for some reason and I like to use

plates when I decorate.  I would love to have a set of

these to dine on,  but unfortunately,  they only sold them

separately.  I think they are an old Gibson pattern that

is out of stock now.

*

Remember I told you I had to find a place of honor for the

nice things in my goodie basket from my friend,  well,  I

did that this morning,  and here is what I did with it all.

*

*

I did have a sunflower colored gold salad plate with just the

potpourri on it,  so I used my new plate and the cute pumpkin

from my basket and just surrounded it with the potpourri.

Thought it came out rather cute.

*

*

Put the cute lil candles at the bottom of the TV with some

of the leftover ribbon.

*

*

Cute leaf salt and pepper shakers,  I used one on

top of the fireplace doors and the gift tag as well.

*

*

As you can see I put the other one in the china hutch.

I can use them on the table anytime as well.

*

*

and here's one of the cute kitchen towels

hanging on the oven door.

*

*

And the basket became home for my fall magazines.

Doesn't it look pretty by the chair.

*

Made my day all over again!!

It is the gift that keeps on giving all Fall Long!! lol

*

Well, that is what I have been up to today,  plus I talked

to a few friends on the phone as well,  and of course,

did the regular everyday  household duties.

*

Oh yea,  I was gonna tell you if you happen to have some

steak or chicken left over after dinner some evening,

here is a neat thing to do with it for lunch or dinner the

next day or night

*

French Bread Steak, pepper, onion and cheese pizza

*

I buy a nice sliced multigrain french bread,  any kind

of crusty sliced bread will do.

*

Cut the steak or chicken up in small pcs.

*

Saute sliced onion and pepper strips in a non-stick fry

 pan sprayed with Pam and add a tsp. water

(lowfat cooking here)

*

Lay out your bread on a cookie sheet or stone,

then put pcs. of steak or chicken on top of the

bread,  then spoon some of the peppers and

onions on top of that,  then top it off with some

low fat mozzarella cheese.  Bake in the oven

at 350 degrees for about 15-20 mins. or  until it

heats thru and cheese is melted.

*

Make a nice salad to go with it,  and you are

good to go!! Would make nice appetizers as well.

*

Bon Appetit!!

*

Have a Great Evening

*

Hugs and Blessings

 Nellie

Part 6 of the "Flooded House"

(Yet another reminder photo)

*

Hi There..........Sweet Friends,

*

So how in the world are you doing today???

Fine,  I hope!

*

 I am having a good day,  but one of those

clumsy,  dumb things happening days,  like I came in off

the porch to refill my kitty's water bowl,  but still had my

jammies on,  so when I walked around the counter to go

back out,  the cabinet knob decided to play a lil trick on me...

It grabbed my robe and jerked me back and threw

water everywhere!!  And I thought this is ridiculous! lol

*

And a while letter I had another stupid thing like that

happen while in the kitchen and more water everywhere,

So guess today is my water torture day!!

*

Well,  it reminded me I need to get on with the rest of

 my  "Flooded House" story,  so maybe that was the point.

  I promised my sister-in-law I would not touch her camera today.

However,  I have been tempted a few times but then I remembered

 my "smushed faced Camera" from Miss Butterfingers a few

months back,  and the temptation quickly went away!!  lol

*

So on with my Story........................

After I posted the last time and reread it,  to my dismay I had

left out the most important part of the story.  Think I got

interrupted by a phone call and totally forgot to put it in.

*

Anyway,  when the man came to put the carpeting in ,

he had to of course,  take up the old carpeting and padding,

 and when he did we discovered that there was mildew all in the

 padding underneath where our bed was sitting,  so the water had

 wicked it's way all the way over there.

 So guess who knew there was mildew under our bed,  certainly not us!!

 But the Lord knew and he saw to it that they decided to recarpet

 that room and the closet as well,  which probably also had mildew cause the

water had run under the kitchen cabinets and into our walk in closet too.

*

Well,  we are now up to the end of October 2001,  Oct. 23rd to be

exact,  and the new Contractor finally started in on our kitchen.

We felt a lil like the movie ET.  Remember how they came in and

put up all those plastic partitions in their house because of ET!

They did the same thing between our kitchen and family room,

Thankfully,  the dust is just amazing and the sawdust once they

start having to tear out  the cabinets and saw anything.

 The Contractor did a phenomenal job!!!  In just 4 days he was

finished.  He knew what we had already been through with the

other Contractor,  plus the lil altercation we had with him as

well,  so think he really went out of his way to do that!!  It

was sooooooooo appreciated.  And again he did an amazing

job as you will see below,  course, yall have already seen

pics of my kitchen before but here is one taken from the

Family room.

*

It didn't quite look like this yet, cause we still had the old floor,

cause they had to stop it right where the breakfast nook is,

and we still had the old wallpaper up. The kitchen did not have

 this table,  we had a square drop  leaf oak table,  didn't have that

goose neck faucet then either, and the kitchen counters were also

 arranged differently......

But even tho,  it was gorgeous to us!!.

*

The next Wed. on Oct. 31st,  we got our kitchen floors.

We were way more normal that we had been in months,

and we were happy, happy campers,  and I was in love

with my new kitchen,  and couldn't wait to see it with

my new wallpaper up!!  and gussied up the way I

wanted it,  so we still had more things to wait out.

*

We were at a stand still for a few weeks then on

Nov 19th,  they finally came to put up the kitchen

 wallpaper for us.  That was such a blessing cause we

were tired from working in the house so much with

painting, and moving stuff,  and reoiling the baseboards.

The man that did our wallpaper did a phenomenal

job as well,  he and his sister-in-law where both so

nice.  We found out that he probably did our original

wallpaper when we bought the house,  cause he used

to work for our builder back then.  I have these vertical

blinds in my kitchen that I just slide the wallpaper in,

so I wanted to do that again,  cause I really like it

and it is sort of unique.  The wallpaper man was

so enthused over them,  he cut all the wallpaper for

me,  so all I had to do was put it in,  but the condition

was I had to have it done by the time he came

back to wallpaper the bathroom.  That was so very

nice of him,  above and beyond I would say!

We all had some very nice chats about the Lord too!

*

The next morning our Contractor came back to

replace our bathroom vanity because it too was

water damaged.

*

The day after,  we left to go to Gainesville for

Thanksgiving with our friends.  We told them we

had our kitchen back,  but they said they wanted

us to come they were all looking forward to it,

as were we,  of course.

I have to say it was a lil hard to leave because

we finally almost had our nest back together,

but it was a Joy to come home to!!

*

Then on Dec. 14th,  they came back and did our

bathroom wallpaper,  and got to see the blinds

with the wallpaper in them,  and he thought

that was soooo neat!!  He did a great job

on the bathroom wallpaper as well.

We felt like kids in a candy shoppe,  and all

we could think of was that scripture that says

*

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly

 above all that we ask or think, according to the power

 that worketh in us"

Ephesians 3:20

*

I had asked,  he had heard and done exceedingly,

abundantly more than I could have ever dreamed.

*

This was all an early Christmas Present,  I don't think

I have every felt so blessed by the Lord,  or so loved,

because He cared so much about what I cared about!

*

We had a Wonderful Christmas,  and unbeknowst to us

we had another surprise coming,  but this time it was

not what you would classify as a good one!

*

I will leave you there dear ones,  and hopefully,

be able to finish up the story next time.

*

Hope you have a wonderful evening.

*

I had a half pot of Kale leftover,  so I am adding some

potatoes and chicken broth to it to make

Kale and Potato Soup,  am also making roasted

parsnips and carrots,  and waldorf salad,  and ham filets.

Am I making you hungry........I am making myself hungry,

I can hardly wait!!  Yum Yum!!

*

Thanks for stopping in,

Blessings and Hugs,

Nellie

Happy Monday to You!

(Fall Flowers from Hubby last week - Just for you susie)

*

Good Morning Sweet Friends,

*

Hope you all had a nice restful yet productive weekend.

I have been pretty busy this morning.  I have been out

painting the edges of the foamcore for my daughters

wall hangings.  Decided it would look better.  she is coming

over this afternoon,  and we will put them together finally.

*

Have also been laying out the rest of the tile on the shower

floor so we will be able to lay it when the time arises.

Hubby will have to cut some small pcs. up near the drain

and the wall.  Course,  we figured that,  we were hoping

not,  but not surprised!  Course,  we can't really complain

we got off pretty easy actually.

*

Dee is also gonna do my hair while she is here too.

So I always appreciate that,  and look forward to our

time of visiting.  It is been about 10 days since I have

seen here and Rosie,  so always look forward to that.

*

Last week was just such a week of blessings for me.

Hubby left several really sweet comments on my blog,

and brought me flowers,  and then I got all those nice

comments from other bloggers,  and then I got another
 sweet surpise on Friday........... from my friend that I went

shopping with.  She brought me this lovely Fall gift basket!
  I just love it,  the basket itself was such a nice gift,
  let alone all the goodies inside.  She should go into
business making gift baskets or at least she could
 if she wanted to anyway!.

That was the nicest surprise I have gotten from

a friend in quite a while,  so that sure blessed

my socks off!!  Course,  I wasn't wearing any....
just sandals! So guess it really blessed my sandals off! lol

Here's a nice picture of it!

*

Isn't this big sunflower beautiful!

*

Decided to leave the basket intact for a few day

while I am deciding on a place of honor for each

sweet item!

*

Friends sure add sweetness to life,  don't they!!

*

Course, so do family!!

*

I am not feeling as tired today,  but am feeling achy

for some strange reason.  Am hoping I am not getting

a bug,  or maybe I just have a touch of one or something.

A touch is better than the whole bug!! lol

Well,  you know what I mean!

*

Forgot I was suppose to show you the christmas

stuff I got on Friday,  will show it to you another

day this week,  cause DeeAnna will be here soon,

so don't have time to download them now.  Sorry!!

*

You have a Nice Crisp Fall Day,

Only if you don't live in Florida,

If you live in Florida have a Nice Sunny Day!! lol

*

We are actually suppose to get a cool front

by Wed.,  and we might actually go to 68 degrees

in the evening.  That is exciting for us!!  lol

*

(This is the back of the arrangement)

*

Thanks for coming by today,

*

Blessings and hugs,

Nellie

Have a Joyfilled Sunday

(Part of the Appalachian Trail in Maine)

*

Good Morning Dear Ones,

*

Hope this finds you well and happy!

I have been a bit tired the last few days,

a little like someone hooked me up to a

vacuum cleaner and sucked the life out

of me,  to be exact!! lol

*

My weekend has been good tho, inspite of that. 

 Hubby and I finished tiling the step and half of the

floor of the shower.  That was way more than we had planned, 

 so we were very happy about that. I truly think the Lord is

 giving us mercy and favor,  cause the tile on the floor 

fit perfectly without us having to cut anything.

He knows we are weary of this project!  lol

*

  Grouting should be coming soon, Thank the Lord!

*

Also, had a really nice day on Friday,  went with a friend

to a store called "Old Time Pottery",  it is a fun store with

all sorts of stuff.  Housewares,  tableware, glassware,

flowers, greenery,  pictures,  lamps,  you name it really.

They had a lot of cute Fall and Christmas decorations.

So it was a real treat cause we used to have one fairly

near us but it closed about 4 yrs. ago,  so I rarely go

there,  and it used to be one of my favorite places

cause they have really good prices and just tons of

neat stuff!   I got a few cute Christmas decorations

I will show you on Monday probably.

*

Well,  I gotta get my hair dried and get to beddie

bye.  So I will leave you with this lovely

verse about the Lord.

*

"The Lord is Faithful to all his promises

and loving towards all he has made."

*

Psalm 145:13

*

I think someone must really need to hear

this today,  cause I had a verse in Jeremiah that I had

planned to use,  and on way in here,  I passed a

Thomas Kincaide picture that my son gave me

years back and  for some reason I felt to go

back and look at the verse that was on it,

and just felt I should use that instead.

*

So if this was for you,  know you are on God's

heart and mind,  cause he sure changed my mind

all of a sudden.

*

You all have a most Joyful Sunday!

*

Thanks for stopping in,

*

Blessings and Hugs,

Nellie

Welcome to Thankful Thursday - Sept. 24, 2009

^

Hello Sweet Friends,

^

And Happy Fall to you all once again!!

^

Sorry I have been MIA the last few days,  but things were

pretty busy on Tuesday getting ready for my group on Wed.

and then of course,  my friends came on Wednesday

and some of us,  made a day of it,  as usual.  It was fun, but

I was whipped today,  so have pretty much taken it easy.

^

Hubby had a meeting tonight so thought I would do my

Thankful Thursday Post now.  Hope you have been having

a nice week and enjoying the fall weather.  It is still pretty

hot here I am sad to report.  Am hoping the nights start

to cool off soon,  cause we are suppose to have a Social

here on Oct 23rd,  and would love to be able to use the

porch as well,  cause there could be about 30 people.

Guess we will see what the weather does!! 

^

Well,  on with Thankful Thursday!

I am grateful for

#1

The Bible and christian books that I can read

and get wisdom and knowledge and truth.

What a treasure and a blessing to have them.

#2

The sweet group of ladies that come every

other Weds,  and what a joy they are,

and the friendships we are building or

continuing to build.

#3

My home which is my haven,  and I am thankful

I can use it to bless other and cause them to have

an enjoyable time while here.

#4

Real Fall flowers that my hubby brought me yesterday.

A Sweet Surprise!

#5

For my hubby,  and what a sweet and thoughtful

man he is!

#6

For clean movies that are fun, like "Confessions of a

Shopaholic", with Isla Fisher.  Never really heard her

name before but she is adorable,  and it is a very cute

movie.  It's a comedy/love story type,  guess you would say.

#7

For a friend that is coming to breakfast in the morning.

That should be fun too!

#8

That I still like fun!!  That is part of my personality.

I have a sanguine/choleric personality is you have

ever heard of that.  It's sort of strange,  the choleric

can be a serious worker/  but they really like to have

fun, fun, fun!  So all work and no play really does

make me a dull girl!!  lol

Sometimes I can get so much in the work mode that

I stop doing  fun things much,  and then I am grumpy

and wondering why,  then I realize you need to do

something fun here!!  It is time!!  lol

#9

That I had enough leftovers I didn't have to cook

tonight!!  yea!!!

#10

That Becky walked me thru hooking up to Mr. Linky

for a Fall party,  and I got so many nice comments.

I got more comments than ever before so that

was a fun day for me!!

Can you tell my Sanguine side has surfaced,

my whole post is pretty much about having fun.

Guess that means curtains for the worker

in me!!  lol

^

Well,  leave me some comments and tell me what you

are thankful for today.  It will make you feel better,

even if you have to dig deep to find something,

do it ..........it is a great spiritual discipline!!

^

Well,  you have Fun tonight and tomorrow now!!

^

Love,  blessings,  hugs and kisses,

Nellie

More Inexpensive Fall Ideas

(This is in my hallway)

*

Hi, I am joining in on the Fun
of the Welcome Fall Party @
http://rhondisrosecoloredglasses.blogspot.com
I hope you will visit her lovely
blog and check out all the great
Fall decorations.
Happy Fall Everyone!!
*
*
Happy Monday Dearies,

*

Trust you had a great weekend.

They fly by so quickly don't they!!

*

Ours was good,  got the lawn mowed,

did a lot of talking with hubby. Tried to rent

to movie "what about Bob" ,  we haven't seen it

in years,  and our Pastor happened to mention it

in his sermon last week as an illustration.  Our

Blockbuster didn't carry it,  so guess we will have

to get it from the one across town,  if we really

want to see it again.  I actually don't remember

too much about it,  just that it was funny!!

*

Sunday school went well,  had a lot of good

comments from our students this week.

Also our Pastors sermon was like putting the icing

on what we taught in class.  So think the Lord

is really  trying to teach us something!!  lol

*

Have you ever noticed that how when the Lord

does want to show you something,  it seems like

everything you read or hear has the same message

or the same scripture.  When that happens we sure

need to sit up and take notice!!

*

Well,  have some more ideas for you today,

cause I know it is hard to believe but tomorrow is officially Fall!!

*

*

This is not a real pumpkin,  it is one of those fakes from the craft

store!   I know,  I know...........I love real pumpkins too,  but they

don't hold up the whole season,  so I decided about 5 yrs. ago to

just invest in one of these.  So I put it on a platter and then put all

these small pinecones and apples and nuts and things that came

off old candlerings I had, and threw some real grapevine on top.

Sometimes I put the platter on top of a cake stand,  just depends

on where I want to put it,  most of the time I put it on the dining

room table,  this year I did something different,  but I do use

it when we are eating dinner,  I swap the arrangements temporarily.

Cause the other one is too tall to see over!

*
Oh Yea,  a few good ideas for pumpkins!! Once I sprayed
a real pumpkin with gold spray paint,  just the top part
where you could still see the orange on the bottom part.
Looked really neat.  Then this weekend I saw on someones
blog (if you are that person- leave me a message cause It
was my first time on your blog and I don't remember the
name of it) anyway,  she has gotten 3 faux pumpkins
at the $1 store and sprayed them with copper spray
paint,  they were a vision to behold.
*

*

Here's a shot of it on the table.  Did you notice in the header

picture the lil jeweled pumpkins and the greeting card on a lil

plate stand.  That mirror is destined for our bathroom when it

is finished so figured I might as well put it to good use for Fall.

*

*

This floral arrangement is what I actually have on

the dining room table but just had it here while

we had dinner.  The urn usually just has grapevine

bushes in it for normal use,  and I left them in

but just added some flowers from the cut up

floral bouquets I had bought,  remember the

ones in the white pitcher from my other post.

All you have to do is stick them in one by one

and if you don't like something take it out

and replace it.  If you haven't done florals

before sometimes it just takes trying a few

times.  Maybe you can even find a pic

of something you like the looks of and find

silk flowers to match,  or live ones for that

matter.  I love live flowers the most,  but

don't know that I want to spend $$ on that

up until Dec.,  so silk makes more sense $wise.

*

*

Here is a heart shaped wreath I made by taking a swag

of flowers and just bending them into and tying them

together with a pipecleaner (the long ones) then added

a nice bow.  I did this cause I had 2 that I found years

ago for like $3.00 each.  One I used over a picture,

so I wanted to do something different with the other

one.  That worked!!  They are the same yet a lil

different at least!  And you know how I like flowers!!

*

*

I use two of my dining room chairs for seating in

my family room.  The seats are cream as you can

see so I added a napkin to the top of each seat

to add some color.  I have red gingham ones I

use at christmas time.   The fabric matches

the table runner on coffee table.  Shows up

better in person. Works best on chairs that

don't get sat in a lot!  Course,  all you have

to do is straighten it afterwards!

*

Heres is the other swag over some fairly new

pics I found 2 yrs ago at walmart,  you will

see the other one in another pic.  I just loved

them,  and they added a lil bit of a tuscan

feel for a change.

See the rounded topiary  and where I just

added some apples, berries and ribbon to it to

make it festive,  and then I have a metal

basket just filled with pinecones and a few

berries.  Love my sofa table,  my step brother

made it for me.  He is quite good with making

things,  they are just beautiful.  He made my

sister a roll top desk out of oak,  just gorgeous

and quite a hard job I would think.  He now

does all sorts of building and things as a

permanent job.  He used to be a Mgr. for

in a dealership for car repairs,  and was very

good at it,  but likes this way better!

*

*

And it's always nice to have a little welcome

 sign to hang somewhere,  and many times

you can find them pretty inexpensivley

at Joann's, Michaels,  walmart or Target.

 Especially if you are buying now or once fall starts they

start to discount stuff pretty rapidly I think!

*

*

And don't forget those out of the way places like the top

of your china hutches, cabinets or armoires.

Just a fall colored plate on a plate stand and greenery

and a vase with similiar colors makes a nice fall

still life.  Also remember to use odd number of items;

like 3, 5 or 7,  it is much more interesting to look at

than 2, 4, or 6.  It is best if you can vary the sizes

and heights,  or sometimes now with the modern

look you can put 3  or 5 of the exact same thing and

it looks great as well.

*

Here's another idea for on top of cabinet or a sofa table

even.  This is the other pic,  I found these at walmart

for just $10.00 each,  they look so nice for the fall,  but

if you happen to have earth tones you can use stuff like

that all year round.  Another metal basket full of pine

cones and berries,  Think I have had these babies about

10 years and I just love them.  Another great find from

Ross Stores.  The large garden candleholder I got for

Mother's day this year from my daughter,  actually,  I picked

it out because I had to return some really cute  jamies she got

 me that were the right size but the pants were huge for some

strange reason and they were all like that.  So had been

eyeing this candleholder for awhile, and it was finally

down to a decent price,  so I thought that baby is

going home with me,  and I was delighted!!

*

*

Well,  here is a couple of pics of the total look all pulled together.

*

*

Well,  hope you enjoyed your time with me today,

and I hope I have sparked some creative and imaginitive

ideas in your heart and mind.

*

I truly believe the home is one of the greatest influences

on the character of mankind,  only after the Lord,

of course,  but I believe the atmosphere of the home

needs to be one of peace, love, joy,  and beauty, 

it should be a haven for our families to gladly come

to for solace and enjoyment,  and to know their is

someone that loves them here!!

*

I also don't think you have to have the best of everything

to create a nice cozy and homey place ,  I think the Lord just

wants you to do the best you can with what you have,

and in the U.S.  we have plenty to work with compared

to everyone else in the world.  We have to look at

what we do have, and be grateful for it,  and use it

to the max.  There are tons of blogs with incredibly

gifted and creative ladies with tons of ideas,  so

if you need more help check out some of those blogs.

I have a few listed on my sidebar,  one of my favorites

is my romantic home,  Cindy has exquisite taste,  but

has amazing creativity and great ideas.  It is a fun blog

if you like decorating.

*

*

You have a good evening,  and a good day tomorrow.

*

Lord willing I will share Part 6 of the "Flooded House"

tomorrow.  See ya then..............

*

Love, hugs, and blessings to you all,

Nellie