Thankful Thursday October 1, 2015, Fall Mantle

Praise be to the LORD, 
for he showed me the wonders
 of his love

Psalm 31:21

Greetings Sweet Friends,

Hope all is well with you and yours!
Bet some of you are having cooler
weather,  and I am jealous, cause
I am so ready for some crisp cool
Autumn Air.............

Has been a quick week here, 
seems like it just flew by, and can
hardly believe today was Oct. 1st.

Thought I would add in my Fall
Mantle Pictures today and get
started...............

I am thankful

#1

that I went for my routine physical

when I did,  as they found I had a 

bladder/kidney infection that I didn't

even know I had, as I was not having 

symptoms, so have been taking

antiobiotics since last Friday.

The Left side of the mantle

With Posterized affect


#2

that I have had no problems with

the antibiotics thus far. I have never
taken sulfa drugs before and was a
bit concerned as my paternal grand-
mother had a bad reaction to them,
and I take after her in a lot of ways.
Tomorrow will be my last day, so
far, have not had any unusual 
symptoms.  Shew!

Still the left side of mantle

#3

for a cute new pumpkin I got last

week.  Don't know what it is about

pumpkins,  but I just love them.

Right side of mantle
Have to say I have really enjoyed 
these gold pumpkins I got on sale
in late fall from Michael's about 
3 yrs ago, Great deal......

#4

that I finally got my Fall decorating

finished on Saturday and now I 

can just relax and enjoy it all.

Right side of mantle

With Posterized affect

#5

that our son Scott who works as

an Agricultural Salesman,  has picked

up some really large contracts lately.

So that made him a happy guy!

Without the pic light

#6

that it has been nice and sunny with
beautiful  clear skies the last few days,
still in the 90's on those days,  but 
sometimes with all the rain we have
had the last few years, I am wonder-
ing if we still live in 
Sunny Florida.  lol

With Light on....gotta get some
 wood in that fireplace..........lol

#7
that we got to work in the back yard
some tonight in a much needed area.
Was also amazed at how much we
accomplished in 45 mins. or less.
More to do,  but seeing the progress
just spurs me on.......love that!

Left side of hearth

#8
for Taco Bell as that is what we
are having for din din tonight,
can hardly wait, as we haven't 
had any in quite some time.
YUM!

#9
for a situation that has been very
frustrating and stressing to me this 
week and everytime I think I have
 it resolved..... it  isn't!!  
So this one is a sacrifice
of praise....Will be one happy
lady when it is resolved.  lol

On the center of hearth
A Tag from a Sweet Friend


#10
for some gluten free sugar cones
that I found by accident at Target
this week,  and they really taste
good too............

on right side of hearth


#11
that the Lord is always there to talk
to any time we need or want to spend
time with him.  He never sleeps, He
never slumbers!  I have been doing
lots of talking to him this week for
sure.............and it just melts away
the aggravation and stress and I
come away feeling peaceful again.
What a friend we have in Jesus!


#12
to hear that Ben Carson has raised the
most money of any of the candidates,
love that the mainstream media has
not hurt his campaign with their unfair
tactics.  

Well, there you have it.....another week
at Cozy Place.


Nice to have you here,  hope you will come
again soon...............or maybe leave a 
comment saying you were here!

Have a great Friday and Weekend!


Love Hugs,  and
October Blessings,
Nellie

Sharing over at:

My Flagstaff Home with Jennifer and Friends


Walking on sunshine Recipes with Lois and Friends


A Tray of Bliss with Mimi


Life with Lorelai with Lorelai and Friends

Dwelling with Cindy


StoneGable with Yvonne and Friends


A Stroll thru Life with Marty


Ivey and Elephants with Paula and Patti


Kristy and Friends at Starfish Cottage

Fall Coffee Table and Blueberry Vinegar Recipe

Hello Sweet Friends,

Hope your week is going well,

 and you are maybe having some

 cooler weather.

Our's is a tad cooler,  typically it is 90 degrees

but right now, it is 80, but only because it has

been overcast all day and rained a few times,

 as we are getting rain from a tropical storm

 that is out in the Atlantic Ocean. 

 Fortunately, at this point it doesn't look like it

 is a threat to us here in Florida, but we still

 have to keep our eye on it the next few days.

These storms have a mind of their own 

sometimes...........lol

Remember I told you a few weeks ago that

I was making Blueberry Vinegar, and that

it was so easy.......but had no idea how it

would taste.......but since then I have tried

it as a salad dressing and on some turnip

greens,  and it was great.  The reason I

love it so much is because it tastes like

vinegar but isn't so tart,  really has a

great flavor.  So will stick the recipe

in here somewhere!  lol  For those of

you who like to make food gifts, this

would be a good one to make.

Am also gonna show you our Fall Coffee 

table today too, since I don't have any

pics of making the blueberry vinegar. 

Wish I had thought of that, but oh well.

I just love these white ceramic pumpkins,
got them at Hobby Lobby, if I remember
correctly.

Same picture With posterized affect

Also used 2 cloth pumpkins that I love
as well, that were gifts from my friend
 Becky over @ Timewashed.
She makes some really cute and classy
 pumpkins, and has an etsy shop as well,
  so go check her out.  Just click here

These are all Fall leaves I got several years 
ago when we visited our daughter in 
Asheville, N.C.,  I preserved them,  so I 
could use them again.  

with Poster edges affect

Added in some dried hydrangeas, nuts, 
 apples and candles.

All the above pics were taken without
 flash and the pumpkins look a lil bit
too yellow.

Took some with the flash and they came
 out looking a bit too white, cause they
 are really a creamy white.

Cut my table runner in pcs. and used 
it in 3 different places in this room.

Now for the .......

Blueberry Vinegar Recipe

Ingredients

2/3 cups of crushed blueberries, 

fresh or frozen (I used fresh)

2  cups of quality white wine vinegar

1/4 cup of pompeian Pomegranate

infused red wine vinegar, or you

could use pomegranate juice I 

would think.

3/4 cup of water (to mix with the

pomegranate vinegar)

2 pinches of sugar

Directions

In a bowl crush up fresh berries,

(You might need to thaw frozen

ones first.)  I put them in a bowl

then put plastic wrap down in the

bowl to cover them,  then mashed

them carefully with a potato masher.

Place the blueberries and vinegar in

 the jar. then mix the pomegranate

 vinegar and water together, then add

 it and the other ingredients to the jar.

(If using a glass canning jar, which I

did, place plastic wrap over the mouth 

of the jar and then the metal lid and 

screw on metal top. This prevents

 any risk of the vinegar contacting

 with metal.)  

Once lid is in place,  shake the jar

well and put to the side to steep for 

3 days. Shake it some every day

 for 3 days.

After 3 days you strain the vinegar,

they say to use cheese cloth,  I

didn't have that,  so I used coffee

filters and it worked just fine. I

just put  the filters inside my 

plastic colander and put it over

 a deep bowl that has a spout.

Now pour into suitable bottles,

using a funnel will make it easier.

I  cleaned and used the white wine

vinegar bottle and the old blueberry

 vinegar bottle that I kept so I would 

remember what I was looking for 

hoping to find it somewhere.) Since

I couldn't find Pompeian Bluebery

vinegar anywhere and saw some

simple recipes decided to give it

a try,  and so glad I did.........

I tweaked this recipe a little after

I read the ingredient list on the

bottle of blueberry vinegar I had

Previously.  So I added the pome-

granate vinegar, water and sugar.

But you can actually just use the

first 2 ingredients, course can't

guarantee the taste.............

It really is great, and would look

really good in cute lil bottles as

a Gift..................it is a beautiful

dark purple color, much like

grape juice.  You can use it

for salad dressings, marinades

or on your collards, kale,or

turnip greens as well.

Who knew it could be so easy!!

Nice of you to stop in today and hope

You got more in the mood for Fall

by being here.

Have a great week ahead,

Love, Hugs and
Fall Blessings,
Nellie

P.S. - If you happen to be a Ben Carson
fan, just want to say....he has not dropped
out of the race,  I think the main stream
media would like us to think so, since
they have chosen not to cover much
information about him lately, so just in
 case you didn't know he is in 2nd place
right behind Donald Trump, they are
pretty much neck and neck............


Sharing over at:

Dwellings with Cindy


Ivey and Elephants with Paula and Patti

StoneGable with Yvonne and Friends


Saavy Southern Style with Kim


A Stroll thru Life with Marty


Starfish Cottage with Kristy and Friends


Shabby Art Boutique with Kerryanne

My Flagstaff Home with Jennifer and Friends


Walking on sunshine Recipes with Lois and Friends

A Tray of Bliss with Mimi


Life with Lorelai with Lorelai and Friends

Thankful Thursday Sept. 24, 2015, Guest Bath Part 2

The LORD is my strength and my song; 
he has become my salvation.
 He is my God, and I will praise him,
Exodus 15:2




Evening Sweet Friends,

Hope this finds you well, happy

 and enjoying life.........

I have been busy fluffing my Fall

nest since last Thursday, course

didn't do much over the weekend,

but started in again yesterday.

Am getting there, and will hope-

fully finish up today.

 We are so enjoying the new look, 
and burning our candles.

Told you I would show you the
rest of the pics of the  guest bath
 done up for Fall.


Also wanted to share something I got
 to thinking about while lying in bed
 trying to get to sleep earlier
 this week.............

I was thinking about all the talented and
 gifted women here in blogland that love 
fluffing their nests,  just like I do, and the 
way they share their gifts and talents thru
 home tours and, DIY projects, and just
 regular blog posts, that inspire all of us.

 It reminded me of the Code of Ethics 
we use to have at a direct sales 
Company that I used to work for many
 yrs. ago, that was run by a lovely, kind,
 loving, generous, and powerful christian
 lady named Mary Crowley, and the name
 of the Co. was Home Interiors and Gifts.

and this is what our code of

Ethics said:

"We believe in the dignity and

importance of women, we believe

that every thing a woman touches

should be ennobled by that touch.

We believe that the home is the

greatest influence on the character

of mankind.

We believe the home should be

a haven, a place of refuge, a place

of peace, a place of harmony, and

a place of beauty.

No home in America ever needs

to be dull or unattractive and

we are dedicated to doing our

part to make every home have

Attraction Power!"

Now with that said I will get on
with my thankful post.............
and you will see why I brought
that up..............

I am thankful

#1
for those in blog land who really have the 
wisdom to know how important they are,

by the way they live their lives, and by
 the atmosphere they create in their homes,
not just with things, but with their great
attitudes, character, love for God, family
and others and their sweet spirits, and
 realize that it makes quite a good
 difference to their family, friends and
 even complete strangers that visit and
many times become blog friends.

I think you pretty much live by this 
code whether you realize it or not.....

I can tell you that my home of origin

 was loving but none of these things
 listed here in the code of ethics 
were present, as my poor Mom was
too busy working to support us, and
was many times a depressed Mom.....

(not complaining, just saying) but 
God gave me the wisdom and vision
and a husband who helped to afford
 me the opportunity to make it different 
for my family, and I am sure their are
 some of you that might have that same

story.

With Poster edges affect


So just wanted to say how thankful

 I am for so many of you who share
 your lives, homes and ideas with

all of us, so that our homes can

be havens of  love, peace
 and beauty.

I have always maintained that we 
don't have to have the best of every-
thing, we just have to do the best we
 can with what we have...............
and do our best to live in a way 
that is pleasing to God, and that is
all he asks of us! and so many 
of you do this so beautifully...

LADIES:  YOU ROCK!!

#2
for those ladies along the way who
 have inspired me to be all I can be
spiritually, and creatively, not that
I have even come close to arriving
 but I am almost always aware
and working on it...........

#3
for my own dear Mom who gave me
a can do spirit by telling me often in
different circumstances " if they can 
do it so can you". I loved and appre-
ciated my Mom and her encourage-
ment and all her hard work, she had
a very hard life with much heartache,
but there was never a question that
she loved her children when we 
were at home.

#4
for Mrs. Thomas, a lovely christian
lady who lived next door to me from
the age of 7-17 yrs.  I practically lived
at her home when my own Mom was
working) She was a wonderful example 
of a Christ follower, and modeled what
 a stay at home Mom was  like, and how
to keep a clean and organized home.
I appreciated her sweet, caring spirit,
and her wonderful example, and have
thought so many times when I was
younger what would she do in certain
situations and I was so blessed by her 
putting up with me and my brother 
all those years.

#5

for my Aunt Lydia who was the
Martha Stewart of the family, as a
child I remember her always wrapping
such beautiful gifts, and with fondness
 I remember a special Thanksgiving once
 at her house, before she divorced her 
abusive husband. I also remember her
 making a pretty tile top coffee table, and
 painting a bookcase bright red for her
 apt. I enjoyed the beauty she brought
to our lives.

#6
for my 2nd, step-Mom, better known
as Gram-ma Jo in her latter years.  She
was Italian and loved her children too.
I didn't always feel she liked me, until
I was older, but she was good to me in
 many ways, and I learned a lot about
  good food, family dinners and family
 celebrations of birthday and holidays
 from her.  She was truly the Matriarch
of the family and, I really appreciated
 and respected her love for family and 
teaching me by example about
celebration and hospitality.

#7
for my Mother-in-law who was like
a mother/friend to me the first 10
years of my marriage.  She was a
warm, caring and loving woman.
Unfortunately our relationship went
south until about a year and a half
before she passed away and went to
be with the Lord, but I learned a lot
 from her about how to be and how
 not to be a Mother-in-law, and I
 look forward to seeing her in heaven
 as well, as my Mom and my step Mom.
(where all relationships will be perfect)

#8
for my dear friend Vicki, who has
been like a sister/mentor/ to me for 
close to 35 yrs. and has helped me 
grow in the Lord. She also taught
 me to be a hugger many moons ago 
and is always one of the first people
 I call when I have good news, no
matter what is going on in her life,
 she is always happy for me, and also
 one of the first people I call if I need
 prayer, as she is a great prayer warrior
 and also taught me a lot about that,
as well. We used to be prayer partners, 
and I sure missed that when she moved
 away. probably 25 yrs. ago now.
The things I love about her, is her fun
spirit, and generous laughter and joy,
 and the way she tells me the truth when
 I need to hear it.........we all need friends
 like that.  She is also an awesome 
decorator and floral arranger....... and
she really loves the Lord and we have
many great spiritual conversations.
Vicki has brought so much love, joy,
 and encouragement to my life.......

#9
for another dear long time friend
of over 40 years named Arlene.

Arlene is warm and friendly, and
 definitely an encourager, and loves
the Lord too. She is always looking
to do something for someone, and
is just a joyful sweetheart. We don't
get to see each other all that much
as she lives in Tenn., but whenever
we do it is like we never have been
apart.  Arlene always tries to look
at the bright side as does my other
friend Vicki, they are both a bright
ray of sunshine to my life, and 
Arlene is always teaching me some
thing she has learned when I am
with her, she is well read and a very
smart  and wise woman and is all 
about sharing and giving of herself, 
 and I love that about her..........
amongst all her other great qualities.

on the way out!!  lol


#10
that 2 of these ladies unfortunately,
by negative example..........
taught me about being angry with God
and how holding onto grudges, leads
to bitterness and resentment and just
how terribly destructive it can be to
your life and the lives of others in
 your family and sphere of influence.
 So any time I am tempted to hang on
to anger or grudges they flash to my
 mind........and it makes me realize just
how foolish and futile being angry with
 God is, and how foolish unforgiveness
 really is.......and the damage that it does,
It is just not worth it, and if you are
 having trouble forgiving just ask the
 Lord to forgive them for you cause you
 can't......He loves a prayer like that, and
 altho, sometimes it is a process, as long
 as you are willing, Jesus, will meet you
right where you are.........

Don't know who said this, but it is
a great quote,  holding unforgiveness
is like drinking poison and expecting
the other person to die.........So very
true......most times they don't even
know about it............and are going
merrily along with their lives.........
While we are suffering!

So many times we think if we forgive
we are letting that person off the
hook, but the truth is we need to
take them off our hook,  and put
them on God's hook,  so HE can
deal with them,  and HE can deal
with them much better than we
can...........for sure~


Well, there you have it my blast from 
the past Thankful Post!
Some times it is good to look back and 
remember all of those who poured into
 our lives,  and that helped get us to 
where we are today.  I am gonna
stop here since this post is pretty
long already..............

So really happy you could come by
and hope you will be as blessed 
reading about these dear ladies
as I was thinking about them.



If you missed part 1 of the Fall
guest bath changes,  just click here,
or scroll down.


So..... have a Wacky and Wonderful
Weekend!!  lol

Love,  Hugs and
Happy Fall Blessings,
Nellie


Sharing At:

Shabby Art Boutique with Kerryanne


My flagstaff Home with Jennifer


Walking on Sunshine Recipes with Lois and Friends


Life with Lorelai with Lorelai and Friends


A Tray of Bliss with Mimi


Dwellings with Cindy


StoneGable with Yvonne and Friends


Christmans Creations with Cyndee and Friends