September Busy-ness; Daring to Hope

So far September has been a very busy month.  I got smart and decided to schedule a lot of my yearly doctor's appointments, which sounds simple enough, right?

Simple enough, until they start calling me back for followups and repeat tests, etc.   Everything is ok so far, but I'm tired of running back and forth. One doctor wants to do a little surgery for me, but I'm hesitant to say yes, but afraid to say no.   Decisions, decisions!

I had a hummingbird fly into my house, not once, but twice in the past few weeks.  I lock my storm door open in the mornings and late afternoons, so the doggies can run in and out of the house.  My hummingbird feeder is near the back door, and lo and behold, one of the birds has entered my livingroom doorway twice.  Thankfully, it didn't go far, and buzzed its way back outside without incident.  It was pretty cool to see and made me happy.

I've been trying to decide what to do with these 30+ year old embroidery pieces I did from a magazine back in the 80's.  I used my brother's art paints, (he took art in high school) to color the blocks and then added embroidery.  I remember how much fun these were to make way back then.  I can't decide if I want to frame them and hang them in my guest room or if I should make pillows out of them and just throw them on the bed.  They aren't special to anyone except me, but I have always liked them.  :-)

I've been trying to put my livingroom back together after finally painting the walls! The former owners had painted the room a flat mossy color that was so dreary to me.  I'm so happy to have more light and a little semi gloss in the room.  I've had this pie safe forever, also bought back in the 80-90's.  It currently holds our blankets for tv watching and the covers I use to protect the furniture from the dogs.  I have since added an artificial tree to the planter stand, everything besides the pie safe are thrift store treasures.  I love the angel architectural piece.

I received this book free for participating in the launch team for Katie's new book.  Katie's first book, Kisses From Katie, was a life changing book for me.  Katie graduated from high school and instead of going to college, she talked her parents into letting her take a year off to go to Uganda, and then start college later.  Guess what?  She never came back! (yes, to visit) Katie has made such a difference to the people there and has adopted several of the children as her own.

Like many others in the group, I feel that this new book must have been written just for me.  This book speaks of God meeting us in the dark places in our lives and how it's all about HIM, and His goodness.  Katie grieved the loss of a  dear friend in this book, and it resonated with me so well, as I could feel myself grieving the loss of my own mother throughout her writing.   Just like Katie's friend, my mom is now looking into the face of Jesus, and has no more pain or worries.  This book offered much comfort to me.

This book will be released for purchase in October.  If you are looking for a good read, one that will truly change your life, I highly recommend Katie's book.   This book helps put life in perspective and  I pray that God gives me a heart like Katie.

I hope everyone is having a great month and enjoying the slightly cooler temps. (it's been hot in NC)

Fun Things

I like to share thrift store finds, especially when I find something that I really love.

 I have a heart for needlework and when I saw this perpetual calendar for $4.99, I knew I had to have it!  Someone put so much time into making this piece and I plan to use it in my dining room.  ( I need to secure some of the velcro, but otherwise this piece is perfect!)  Click to enlarge, to see more detail.

 I have started a small collection of little ceramic dogs.  The ones on top are some that my parents gave to my grandmother many years ago as a Christmas gift.  When she passed away, we were able to bring them home.  My mom actually gave them to my daughter, but she has never taken them home.  I guess maybe after her toddler grows up, she may come to claim them.  The lower two I have picked up at thrift stores.  My most recent find is the black antique iron.  I found it for $2.99 at a local Goodwill.  You just never know what you'll find in there!

Here's a close up of one of the needlepoint pieces.  The embroidery is beautiful.

My friend, Debbie, from Homemaking Dreams blog, made and surprised me with the beautiful key fob recently.  She is a whiz with her embroidery machine and even more amazing at machine quilting.  She makes such pretty things.  (sorry I don't know how to highlight and link on this chromebook I'm using, but you can find her blog in my side bar)

One more thing that surprised me last week:

My daddy and I split up my mom's huge aloe vera plant recently.  We used potting soil and sand from his house.  These little mushrooms popped up overnight and I had to do a double take when I saw them.  I took the picture, then removed them.  I couldn't decide if this made me a green thumb, or a "not so" green thumb.  
Fun things that make me smile..... if we only pay attention and look for these things!

Fall 2016 ... already??

I just cannot believe that summer has come and gone already.  Even though it's still pretty warm here, I can definitely sense that fall is in the air.



This is a hodgepodge of old fall things with a new pumpkin  that I bought this year.  The stand is a ceramic piece I found at a local Goodwill recently.  The lady who made it, has her name etched in the bottom of the stand.  Yes, I'll take this!  I love that her name is on the bottom, I think it is Louise.   The little pillow and candles came from a blogging friend from a few years back, but I can't remember who.  Thank you again, if you recognize your things... I still love them!

Here's a little piece of thrift store 'art' that makes me smile.   Something I created on my own.....

Fancy, huh?  I have always liked seeing angel wings in the décor of others.  I had this set of wings that I bought from JoAnn's a couple years ago.  They were bright and shiny and I never really did anything  with them.  (I think it was a Christmas item bought at the end of the season)   I found the frame at Goodwill, with the tan and black background paper was already inside.  I used paint to darken the dots along the frame edge and used the same black craft paint to 'glaze' those shiny wings.   One, two, three...  and I sat them on the iron candle holders that were also found at Goodwill.    (nothing is attached, so I can always disassemble and change it up....lol)

Doesn't take much to make me happy..........

Which is a very good thing!  Because I ALMOST went back to work a couple weeks ago.  I had been hired to work as a private duty RN for a child who lives in our town and I was planning to work a couple days a week. 

But then......

I came to my senses!!!  I do not want to go back to work!!!

I have always dreamed of retiring and being able to sew, sew, sew....... so I figured I had better get to sewing. 

The days I dreamed about for so long are actually here!!  I could get so much more done if I didn't think I had to read the whole internet every single day!!!  Does anyone else have that problem?

So, there.....

Life is good!

Around the house at Penpen's

Summer is upon us and it is hot in eastern NC.  Our garden was pretty much a flop this year, although we did eat squash 3 times.  We've learned that the garden must be planted away from the dogs.  Sweet Pea helped herself to our cucumbers and the few tomatoes that she could reach.  We are already planning for next year's garden.

One of the good things about not having a job, is being able to visit thrift stores on a regular basis.  I've been finding some really cute things to decorate our new house. 

Here's a look at our foyer area.  The table is our former tv table, which will do for now.  Of course,  I'm on the lookout for just the right piece to go there.  The little dogs are vintage figurines that my parents gifted to my grandparents many years ago.  It makes me happy to have them at my house now.  The tree, the white angel arch, and the crochet balls are more thrifting goodness.

These are future projects.  I just love the cow with the tiny head.

This entire grouping came from thrift stores.  The magnetic strip is a knife holder that the former owners left here.  We couldn't figure how to take it down.  Hopefully there will be tile on the backsplash soon.

I managed to complete little Raegan's quilt just in time for her first birthday.

The front of her little quilt.

The back side; I just love the feminine floral fabric. 

The label handwritten and embroidered by me.  :)

I wanted to share with you my beautiful Mother's Day gift from Will and Ashley.  This is my mama's handwriting from a note she had written to me years ago.  I smile when I remember how much she loved us.  It's been almost a year since my sweet mama left us for her Heavenly home.  I miss her each and every day, but I know I will see her again very soon! 

Still home and loving it!

I have been unemployed (by choice) since early March.  Can I tell you that I love, love, love being home??  I've been extremely busy unpacking and setting up our new home, but thankfully, all that seems to be slowing down.

 

Today on my dining room table is a long over due quilt top for baby Raegan.  Raegan is my nephew's daughter and she will be celebrating her FIRST birthday next month.   Better late, than never.  Right?

 

Can you see the pretty sunflower quilt on the wall?  Click on the picture to enlarge.  This little quilt was gifted to me by Sunny at Quilting Dreams.  I just love it!

 

Just perfect in my dining room

 

I've been trying to stock my pantry.  I decided to check the expiration dates on my canned goods and found two cans of tomato soup that were out of date.  I could throw them out ...... or be brave and eat them.  I ate one can today (exp in 2014) and it was great!  If I go missing , you'll know the soup killed me. 

 

 

My latest thrift store craze:  looking for thin spatulas that will flip an egg without bursting the yolk.  Does anyone know what I mean?  The newer spatulas seem to have a thick edge on them, making it difficult to turn the egg.  Since we moved back home, my daddy has kept us supplied with wonderful farm fresh eggs!  These aren't pretty, but  they work so good!! 

 

 

 



I Sing Because I'm Happy...

I sing because I'm free....

            His eye is on the sparrow, so I know He watches me!

Portion of my dining room

It's amazing where life can take us and how things fall into place.  Hubby and I listed our home for sale and had two offers within 24 hours of listing.  God is so good.  We moved into our new home last month and life is so sweet again.

Will's family
Will, Ashley, Brinley, Avery, Chandler
 

Even though we moved three hours away from our son's family, we are able to keep in touch.  They came for a quick visit during Easter break and I was able to get lots of sweet loving.  (and lots of laughs!) 

Annabelle is ONE
 

 This little sweetie turned one year old last month!  (she lives 12 hours from me!)  The princess props crack me up, because she is all tomboy so far!  She has started to love on her baby doll a little these days, but she loves to climb and she loves her animals.... Lucy (dog) and Roscoe (cat) and an old neighborhood dog, that has started sleeping on their back porch.  She definitely has her mommy's love of animals!

 

Hubby shot his first turkey, ever, last week.  Hubby is a retired game warden and had never been turkey hunting before.  He is enjoying being back home near his uncle, who is an avid outdoorsman.  I cooked the turkey breast and it was delicious.  I was able to put two more packages in the freezer for later.  I have never seen as many wild turkeys as I have seen since we've moved back home.

Penny's goat











I live near one of my best friends now and she invited me to a paint party.  I had the most fun and as you can see, I painted a goat for my daddy.  I told him to hang it in his 'man cave' and that is where he now resides.  I would definitely do this again.... just what I need, another hobby!

 

Letters from Mama







As I was unpacking boxes, I ran across these letters from my mama.  We moved away from "home" back in 1997.  These are letters she wrote to me in 97-98, before she bought herself a computer.  In the letters, she is trying to decide if she wants a computer or not, and I had been convincing her that she needed to buy one so that we could email, and not have to wait on 'snail mail.'  I'm so glad she didn't have a computer that year, or I would not have these treasures from her now.  I sat down and read them all before I went to bed one night.  I giggled a lot, cried a little, and thoroughly enjoyed my 'visit' with Mama through her letters.  I don't have ANY of our emails, but I do have a lot of messages from Facebook.  Letters are precious.  And the sticky note is one that was inside one of my letters... I love her handwriting.

 

 









And another reason I'm so happy, is that not only did we move back 'home', but I am HOME again! I had left my full time job for a little part time job, but hubby and I decided it just isn't necessary.  So I am truly HOME again.  I love Monday mornings.... my slow time, to blog, to clean up from the weekend, to do things on MY schedule.  I am so truly thankful and feel that God has blessed me tremendously.  Not only do I have a new home, but I can now enjoy being home.  There is still so much unpacking to do, but I am looking forward to getting into my new sewing room soon.  I have  one baby quilt to make that is long over due... Sweet little Rae is 10 months old now.  We have another sweet girl on the way (my niece, Holly's), so she will need a quilt very soon.   I am so excited to know that I will get to it soon!  More pic's of the sewing room next post!









~Thrifting Goodness~

There is a thrift store  in downtown Asheboro that I like to visit.  For the month of May, everything in the store is 1/2 price. So, of course,  I've been several times this month and this is what I've picked up recently.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love vintage stitchery.  These were made in 1961 and gifted to someone for their birthday.  (written on the back) Love the happy colors!  Cute!!

Some of you also know that I collect rolling pins.  See the one in the middle?  The hand carved one?  Yes, I bought that from my favorite thrift store.

And who could resist this vintage pencil sharpener?? This will work great in my shadow box that I plan to make some day, displaying vintage sewing items.  Total spent on all of the above:  $7  I love thrifting! :)

Happy Spring!

Happy Spring!  It  feels like spring may finally be arriving in our area of NC.  It's been a lo-o-o-ng winter.  

I made a bright yellow wreath to welcome spring... all done on the  cheap, of course. Dollar store flowers hot  glued to a grapevine wreath.  It shows up pretty from the road.  (I love using a hot glue gun...it brings out the inner child in me)

I put out my little Easter flag just a few days before Easter. I had forgotten that I had it; I bought it last year after the holiday from Pier One.  That's the best time to buy holiday items, as long as you don't forget them or forget where you put them. 

Remember the tool box from a few posts back?  I found plastic fruit on sale at Wal Mart today for $5 a bag. It took 3 bags to fill it, and I'm happy with it.  These fruits remind me of my grandma Butler; she had lots of faux fruit in her kitchen.  My favorites were the styrofoam ones that she covered in sequins.  Does anyone remember those?

And I found a cool 'new to me' toolbox at Goodwill today for $3.  This one is pretty large... it measures approx. two feet long.  I am going to paint it and fill with geraniums for my porch.  I just love  treasure hunts when I can find treasures.

Happy Spring to you!