Before Pics of New Workshop Space

It is happening!  We are working on the new candle space!!  Warren is so sweet to give me his workshop.  This is going to be such an improvement over my current set up in the kitchen, dining room and living room.  Stuff is everywhere and not organized.  This will be a defined space with a place for everything.  Oh Yeah!

I wasn't planning to paint the walls.

They are a nice neutral tan.

However, there are enough bumps and marks on it that Chelsea and I 

have decided to paint it today.

We are going with the cheery yellow paint I purchased to do our

upstairs bathroom but that hasn't happened yet.

So.....well, yep!

It is going on these walls.

Warren took some days off last week and began the work.  He had to cut off some of the drywall to get rid of water damage from the flooding.

When he went to get his mirror from his toolbox to look up behind the wall it wasn't there.

So...I provided him a mirror.

On my compact.

Ha.

Hey, it worked!

This room had some water damage but it was not as bad as the family room.

We did need to find a higher baseboard and with money being 

squeaky tight right now I suggested recycling some wood we have had in our

shed since we moved into this house.

It is going to be great.

He has it all cut now and ready to be installed next time he gets to work on 

the room.

All the more important that I get my painting done now.

Easier than "cutting in" around the baseboard.

The room doesn't feel like it is in a basement.

I have an exterior door and a large window.

It is a very cheery and bright space!

See the different color floor on the edges?

That is the water proofing we had done.

All the way around the exterior of the basement.

The new floor is a vinyl that makes the room look larger.

Testing the countertop height.

This is also recycled.

Before the flooding we had a built in entertainment center in the family room.

It was heartbreaking to have to take it out to get to the carpet which was soaked

beneath it.

Warren had spent so many hours making it just perfect.

We are salvaging what we can of it.

These cabinets are being reworked to hold the countertop to a good level

for me to work from.  This will be a much better height for my neck

and back.  I always have issues with my neck when I work too much.

The cabinets themselves will hold boxes of empty jars so conveniently 

close to my workspace.

The garage isn't far to go from the kitchen

 but it would be a pain from 

down here.

When I took this photo we were having a crazy bad storm.

It felt safe down here.

The lighting is great down here as well.

With recessed lighting over the countertop.

And directional lighting in a couple of places

throughout the room.

Chelsea and I picked out baskets yesterday for holding lids.

I regularly use at least four different lids.

So I picked out four really cute baskets.

Can't wait to show them to you in place.

But...for now you can see where we are headed.

Gonna make it all bright and cheery today.

Hope yours is a sunshiny day!

A Full and Delightful Day

Sometimes a minor frustration leads to a new discovery.

This was the second time we ladies from church were planning

a tea together when the tea house we love was already booked

and we weren't able to go there.

However, our friend Deanna, who was making reservations for our group,

knew about this tea room on the Pennsylvania/Maryland border.

Seeing it from the outside you wouldn't really think it was going to be

as special inside as we found it to be.

Large rooms with high ceilings and fantastic woodwork

really grabbed my attention.

I didn't get photos of it but they also had very vintage looking wall paper

in the entry area and lots of white trim and doors.

Makes one feel as if they have just stepped into a 

Grace Livingston Hill story.

Upstairs is this fun tea room for kids.

There are clothes for dress up all ready in the closet

and this fun mural on the wall.

In the hallway this little pop of color.

Just for fun.

 I think we all greatly enjoyed our time together.

Of course we missed many friends who just couldn't make it today.

It is always a blessing to take time to connect and encourage

each other in fellowship.

This evening we headed out to an event we thought

might have to be cancelled due to weather.

We are getting big storms as I write this.....but the organizers

of this event were praying like crazy that the rain would

hold off for their fundraiser lawn party at 

Green Meadow Farm.

They had tents set up because it surely seemed that 

avoiding rain was a not likely.

The rain went to the North and South of us.

Totally cool to see on the radar. 

We were left with a very cooling wind.

Not a drop of rain until we were headed 

for our cars at the end of the evening.

Such a blessing.

So much work had gone into this event.

I'm on the periphery as the candle maker/fundraiser helper.

Each person who has been a monthly sponsor this past year...

or signed up to sponsor this year received a strawberry candle 

with a special label.

Such a blessing to be involved at this small level. 

This ministry changes the lives of children.

Many of whom are adopted and have issues to work out

from circumstances that are unique to lack of bonding normally

or finding it hard to communicate their feelings verbally.

Green Meadow provides a program that meets them where they are.

Qualified volunteers assist them in learning how to ride and take care of horses

Chores around the farm are shared by those who are in the program 

but no fees are charged for any of it.

Supporters are vital to the continuation of this amazing ministry.

There was live music of which the husband of one of my friends was a band

member.  An introduction of the horse therapy program by the founders, John and Beckie.

A speech given by a wonderful woman, Kim Meeder, who shared from the 

heart about the power of HOPE.  

Just one flicker of hope can encourage and keep someone going

when all else is lost.

Her own story is one that had many of us in tears.

But God is so good to bring light out of unbelievable darkness.

He is using that story and her willing heart and hands to help so many 

at the ranch she runs today.

Kim has been a very important resource for John and Beckie as they have 

learned about this ministry that God has called them to 

at Green Meadow Farm.

This was a full and very special day.

Happy Sigh.

Random Photos From My Phone

I've been totally neglectful of purposefully taking 

photos with my camera over the past year.

It is something that hit me yesterday

and I definitely want to resume.

The area we live in is simply too beautiful 

to ignore like that.

But I just took a little stroll through my phone

photos for the past two weeks and these 

were in there.  They each tell a little story.

Believe it or not.

You see our back yard is blessed with many tall trees.

They are tulip trees which smell amazing once a year.

Then they drop their flowers which have something sharp in them

making it hard or impossible for me to go barefoot which is my norm.

After a while that gets better and I am a happy camper again.

All through the year these trees shed.

Our windy weather lately has had some pretty big stuff 

falling from them.

Since Warren wanted to mow last night I picked up the latest

fallen branches yesterday morning.

Since he does three yards each time he mows it takes a lot of time

if he has to pick up branches first or as he goes so this made it go faster 

this time.

Lucky for him the weather cooperated in making me do it cheerily.

We had a one day break in the horrid humidity we have been 

suffering from.

With the sun gently falling between the leaves and the cheery red

wheelbarrow helper it was not a bad job.

I was just hoping no more of those big guys were going to come

down on my head. 

Mom and Bear came to visit the other day.

He is so photogenic.

But the real story here is how blessed we are to have our mothers

right here!

To see them as we all come and go.

To know that they have our backs in both advice and prayer.

Last evening both moms came by and we chatted in the kitchen for a while

before they headed out.

I walked along to see them out.

We made it as far as the driveway while still chatting

and pretty soon Chelsea and Chadd joined us there....

next came Warren.

We just really enjoy being a family.

A very good thing, I think!

This photo is one that I see differently today than I did the day after I took it.

Rachel is performing in her cello recital.

She just got her new instrument for her 16th birthday but has been playing

long enough to be good!

I taught music to another student of Yolanda, the teacher, and so I knew

that a recital of her students would be very good.

We were not disappointed.

But back to the photo.

The first time I used this photo I cropped that man's head out.

Today I leave it in for a very important reason.

That is Rachel's Grandpa, Bob.

He and I were friendly competitors back in the homeschool bowling days.

He is one of my very favorites!

Bob is in the hospital right now after taking a serious fall,

He has staples in his head and is needing tests to see what is 

going on with him that may have caused the fall in the first place.

For more on the story you can visit his daughter, Deanna's blog.

Prayers are definitely appreciated for this dear friend.

The final photo is one of just pure delight.

Warren is having a birthday this month.

We started celebrating early

in order to use a coupon,

Can I just say that it was delicious!??!

Longhorn Steakhouse.

They do it right!!

So, there you have it.

Four random photos.

Seemingly with nothing in common.

However, they are the bits and pieces that bring back

what is important to us around here.

I really need to use my camera more.

Capturing memories.

Shock Absorbers

This post takes us back to the style of writing this blog began with.  More of a devotional style look at life.  Occasionally things just strike me in a certain way and last week was one of those times.

Our van had begun handling strangely.  Kind of a skipping sideways action at random times as I would drive down the road.  At first I thought I was just imagining it but as the week went on and it happened more frequently I found myself saying so right out loud.  "That is not my imagination!"  Maybe you never talk to yourself... but in some cases it is the only way to deal with my freaking out self.

 And so, I told my personal mechanic (Warren/Hubby) about the situation.  Now it was with mixed emotions that I received word from him that he had noticed the same funky shimmy when he had driven it on Tuesday.  Oh, interesting.   Well then, what do you think it is?  I asked expecting him to say that it was this or that but certainly not anything urgent...since he hadn't immediately told me to stop driving the van.  He didn't know.  Perhaps a sway bar or some other part of the suspension.  He would have to look.

Yes.  Please.

And so he did look.  A day or so later.  And he found that a shock absorber had a hole in the outer housing and the fluid was draining out.  Apparently this was the issue.  He would know for sure once the new parts arrived and were installed.  In the meanwhile, being content that a tire wasn't going to fall off or the frame break mid lane change I continued to drive the van.  And so there was the added excitement of the occasional hop, skip and jump sideways when there was unexpected roughness in my lane.

New shocks arrived in the mail.  Isn't that where everyone gets their car parts these days?  With so many older cars in our driveway I know we get car parts in the mail very, very often.

Warren installed both rear shock absorbers, because it was the right thing to do, I guess.  I'm definitely no mechanic.  :-)

We drove our next mission.  I have no idea where we went that day but we did notice how amazingly smooth and straight that ride was.  Even when we hit bumpy sections that would formerly have knocked us off course.  The tires which had previously left the road momentarily now seriously gripped it.  It is a whole new experience. Although it had been the case always, except when it wasn't. I had simply never thought about it.  Now it is front and center in my mind as I head down the highway.

This is why I got to thinking about it.  We all know that in this life there are irregularities and unexpected bumps in the road.  Believers have shock absorbers that help us to maintain our place on the road. I see the Word of God as our shock absorber.  If I am pondering, memorizing and meditating on it I am much better suited for those bumps in the road.  If my prayer life is active I'll turn first to Him when the hurtful thing happens that would otherwise make me want to be angry or vindictive.  There is much less chance of being knocked sideways with those shock absorbers at work.

 It may be  stretch to make this analogy.  It wouldn't be a first for me....but hey, it is what God used to speak to me this week.

Something Has Happened to Me

I've apparently had a pretty serious change in food likes.

A little more than a year ago I took a class in healthy eating.

Clean eating.

You'll probably remember me chatting here about it.

Non-GMO.

Fresh from the farm.

Healthy fats that are great for our bodies.

That began the change.

Some things stuck and others have fallen by the wayside

due to lack of priority or passion.

I'm still drinking Creamline milk 

from our local dairy.

It is Pasteurized but not Homogenized.

I just feel better with this choice over raw milk.

I know I'm not getting the great nutrients 

that would be whole in the raw milk but at least the milk

hasn't been modified to a cellular level that keeps the 

body from recognizing it as milk.

It also isn't stuffed with salt and sugar 

that are in the low fat milks.

Sugar has become an occasional treat

rather than a way of life.

I'll probably never, ever get rid of it entirely...

although that would be for the best.

Raw Honey is a staple around here now.

I have a source for cinnamon cream honey and 

vanilla honey with a very real bean in it 

that scares people when they see it.

Of course they think there is an uninvited guest

in the jar.

Tonight we had cinnamon honey and butter

on cooked carrots.

They were a big hit!

White flour is an almost never.

This past weekend I "indulged" in a cheese steak from 

a local dive that is famous for them.

I was so sure that I was going to LOVE it.

I didn't.

It was ok...but the bread had no flavor.

In years past sub rolls had been my favorite.

Oh,my.goodness!

My "poor" tastebuds don't know what is good anymore.

Sunday I went to Subway to grab our "brown bag" lunch

to eat at church with our spiritual family.

I found myself being so excited at the prospect of guacamole

on the chopped salad.

Yum!

When did that happen?

That I would learn to not only tolerate but truly anticipate and 

enjoy avocados in any form?  

Well, it turns out that I needed more of that kind of

goodness today because Chelsea and I had a lunch date

at Panera Bread before she was going to meet up with Chadd

to do some errands this afternoon.

What did I just have to have?

The chicken and Avocado Cobb salad.

Again.

Those delicious chunks of avocado 

were better than ever.

It has become a favorite.

I've been thinking about it ever since.

All is not lost.

Chelsea made strawberry shortcake for us last evening

and it tasted so amazing!

Dessert is not over nor has it lost its appeal.

But it tastes so much better when it is fresh and 

occasional rather than just another sweet thing

among many in my day.

This is not really about losing weight.

Although I don't want to put back what has come off

and I'll gladly keep saying goodbye to pounds who feel 

unwelcome here.

This is about cleaning out a liver and a body that

has spent many many years filtering harmful chemicals

and sugars from what I have put in it.

What amazes me is how nearly painless it is when 

one has knowledge and makes decisions based on 

health rather than vanity.

I'm simply not that vain. 

Be that good or bad.

It is truth.

I've been there.

It wasn't that great.

So, I guess the point of this entire post is that I'm amazed

at how our desires and tastes can truly be changed

when we do something consistently over time.

Who'd-a-thunk it!

Can't wait to find out what the next discoveries and 

changes will be.

I'm officially not too old to change.

Getting Our Tea Fix

Chelsea and I made the journey to Kennett Square yesterday.

To our favorite place to purchase loose leaf tea.

Mrs. Robinson's Tea shop

We resupplied Over the Moon....

Which goes pretty quickly around here.

Pomiscus, which is only a slight second to Over the Moon.

Although I made it too strong once and am only now ready to 

go for it again.

and a new to us flavor with a kind of amusing name.

This was the sample tea they were serving yesterday.

It was excellent!

Can't wait to have another cup!

Are you a tea drinker?

Do you have a special place you go to purchase it

or does anything do?

Ahhh....a delightful little journey to a quaint little town.

We are very much at home there.

Bad Weather Makes for Good Work Days

I have had a struggle with getting around to work when 

the weather is so tempting to be out and about.

Well, that issue has been resolved with 

severe thunderstorms and heavy rain over the past 

24 plus hours.

Yesterday I was a candle making maniac.

Well, not really.

But I did get a bunch done.

Two really cute designs were finished up.

and

Then there are the more traditional candles that I'm finishing 

up to ship today.

I'm also making candles for my shops again.

They are keeping me much busier this year than last.

A very good thing!!

The end of last week and the weekend were so busy

and fun.

Thursday evening we went to dinner and Sight and Sound with 

Warren's cousins, Aunt and Uncle.

Chelsea was working but still got to see her second cousins.

Poor Georgia had just returned from her big trip to Mexico and Panama

when we told her they were coming that evening.

She said she wouldn't miss it for the world but boy

did she pay for it with exhaustion.

Even so...she was thrilled to get to see everyone.

Friday we picked up a new recliner

purchased for us by our eldest son.

How sweet was that??

The other one was just plain worn out.

Warren is enjoying this new chair a lot!

Saturday we went to visit a dear friend who is in the hospital.

She is going to be o.k. but was dealing with some 

serious stuff.

Sunday we had a blessed worship service and then a picnic

at a local park followed by a birthday celebration

for Rachel Rabe of Creekside Cottage.

You have met Rachel as one of my candle helpers.

She has been looking forward to this 16th birthday

for a very long time!

We are so happy for her.

I've linked to a post her mom did about her birthday.

And then the storms came!

Boy, did they.

The rain remains but it is not in the form of 

severe storms.

Thankfully.

Today I will finish up goodies for Fresh Vintage by Amy

and deliver them to the shop.

Irish Moss has been requested specifically 

and as it is one of my favorites I'll enjoy making

them first thing this morning.

Hope you are having a wonderful new week.

Thanks for checking in.