Moving Right Along

Well, it seems as if another month is behind us and we are well on our way into November and we are moving right along.    WHAT!!!   Yeah, that's right November is here and it is a beauty so far.   The weather in my neck of the woods is kinda like a late Spring day.    Fresh and bright with all kinds of possibilities.    But, as I said, it is November, so we never know what it will bring.   Last year, we had our first snow fall in November.   hahaha    If you don't like the weather right now, just wait 15 minutes, it will change.   So, I will take the beautiful weather and be thankful for it.    And since this is November, the month that we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the United States of America, there is a common phrase now that you will hear in some churches.   "30 days of Praise".     That is just taking the time every day to thank Yahweh, God for something He has done for us.    That should be one of the easiest things we have ever done!!!     I bet each and every one of us could come up with a hundred things or more in the time it takes to take one breath.    We each have so much to be thankful for!!!!    I know for myself, I fail to be as thankful as I should be, a lot of the time.   So much that I do take for granted, and for that I do have to ask for forgiveness.    And right now, during this particular season of thankfulness and happiness, I know for a fact that a lot of people are hurting.   So, I would ask that during this time we all remember to pray for those whom we know are dealing with a great deal of hurt.     I have friends who have lost loved ones and it's always a sad time to go thru the holidays with the freshness of loss.    Friends are dealing with sickness and surgeries and job loss and friends who are watching loved ones struggling in a battle for their earthly lives.    Neighbors who are hurting, silently.    Oh, we know so many that have pain, in some form or another, just pushing thru the days, alone.    I ask myself sometimes, what if I was dealing with this or that, would I want anyone to know?    The simple fact of the matter is that we are all dealing with something.    We all need prayer and we all need to pray for one another.    So, let's make it "30 days of Praise and Prayer".

These early fall days remind me of back when all my brothers and I was still at home.    Mom would fix the most delectable Thanksgiving Dinner ever!!!!!    She makes the best dressing ever and I do believe that it is possible for my brothers and I to get physical over her dressing!!!!   hahahaha   "Oh, yes I WILL stick my fork in the back of your hand if you touch my plate!!!!!"   hahahaha     No, not that drastic, but just about!!!!     One year in particular, some of the guys had their girlfriends at the house for Thanksgiving dinner.    (Where I come from, dinner is the noon day meal, with supper being the last meal.)     So, after dinner and after mom and I getting the kitchen cleaned up after the small army, all my brothers and their girlfriends and I got together and we went to a place in Butler County called Split Rock.    The owner of the farm where Split Rock was located would let us go to the rock.     It was just a HUGE rock out in a rocky hilly area of his farm.     It looked kinda outta place.    It's the size of a house for sure.   But it is split right down the middle.    And of course, we all had to squeeze thru the split!!!!!     Young and stupid is what comes to mind today!!!!!     But, back then it was the thing to do.    If you went to Split Rock and squeezed your way thru, you had arrived!!!!    Where, to the other side of the rock!   hahahaha     Not only were we young and stupid, but we were also young and slim, so we could do it back then, but I don't know if any one of us could squeeze thru the rock now or not.    And I am talking about REALLY squeezing thru that Split Rock!!!    You had to suck in, really suck in to get thru a place or two!!!   Oh my gosh, how stupid was I to even think about doing that!!!!    I almost get the hives just thinking about it now.   hahaha

One of the things that I am thankful for is cell phones with cameras.    Why, you ask?    Because if I would have had one 40 years ago I'm pretty sure I would have some cool pictures of us squeezing thru that rock!!!   I would probably have pictures of all the times we went fishing in the summers and put fish in the freezer for future meals.   There would be pictures of my grandparents coming off the hill, riding in their mule drawn wagon going to Jesse's Store for feed.   There would be pictures of going to the farm where the sorghum was being "freshly" made, ohhh yummy!!!!   There would be pictures of us swinging on great vines in the trees behind the house!!!    There would be pictures of us catching june bugs, grasshoppers, lightening bugs, and scooping up tadpoles.    I would have tons of pictures of all the fun visits to our grandparents houses.    There would be pictures of all the cars that used to sit out in our parents driveway.    At any given time, there could be 10 or more and then when my brothers started getting married, the vehicles thinned out a little.    I remember one time, a neighbor stopped just to see what was wrong because there was so many cars at the house, he thought maybe someone had died.    No, it was just Thanksgiving and everyone was there and there was about 14 or 15 cars in the driveway and yard.    There would be pictures of us romping thru the woods, picking blackberries, shucking corn, skinning squirrels and rabbits.    There would be pictures of all the clothes lines full of clothes for 8 people and what ever else that was washed that week.    There would be pictures of us playing basketball down in the lot or softball in the back field.    There would pictures of the many many cookouts that we had.    There would be pictures of us climbing trees and maybe even one or two of some falling out of trees, hehehe.    There would probably be a video or two of one of my brothers cracking up laughing!!!   When he did that, you knew someone was hurt!!!   I don't think he meant to be laughing at someone hurt, that was just what he did.    He will still laugh about it today.    There would a picture or two with someone having their tongue stuck, frozen, to the car with the school bus coming up the road!!!!   Yes, that happened!!!!   Why do people do that?   Who knows, but people still do it.    There would be pictures of all the Saturday afternoons when my brothers and their friends would skeet shoot all afternoon.    There would be pictures of my brothers coming in from work with the local farmers, and oh how nasty they would be!   But they learned a work ethic that still sticks with each one of them to this day.    There would be pictures of them out in the yard and driveway taking care of their first set of wheels, washing, waxing, and shining up those cars!!!!     There would probably a picture or two of some of the fights that took place......just sayin'.    Keepin' it real and all that!!!    hahahaha     Oh there would be all kinds of pictures.   There are some pictures of some of the fun stuff that I mentioned and they are to be cherished for sure.    I sure am thankful for all the good memories and there are so many more.    Just like I know that all of y'all have great memories too.    It's fun to take the trip down memory lane every once in a while and just be THANKFUL!!!  

I am so thankful for all the many forms of crafting and arting that is available to us today!    I am thankful for the types of media that we have that let us watch others crafting in real time!!!!    Would you have thought that we could do that 40 years ago?    I would have said "No way!!"    But, yes way, we can do it and we do it all the time.    Would you have ever believed that this great big world would become so small that people from all over the world can watch at the same time in real time and converse with each other while watching?   Well, that's what we can do now, and a lot of us do just that.   How fun is that?     We live in a day and age of instant gratification, don't we.     I try not to take all the good stuff for granted, but I know I do sometimes.    It is totally fantastic that we can find any technique imaginable just by googling!!!     hahaha    No one even asks what "google" is anymore, it's such a commonplace word now.    Oh, do you remember the phrase, "do you yahoo"? and the goofy music and singing that accompanied that commercial?    Now we don't even think twice when we hear a new word, we just automatically know that more than likely it's referring to the google-net.    hahaha     I just know that if I want to learn a new way of arting or learn something new, all I have to do is go to the computer or tablet or cell phone and the world is at my finger tips.    I love to get in my craft room and turn on the tv to you tube and find some of my favorite peeps and just have a great time crafting with my friends while I am having a good time crafting myself.    Who knew we would be able to do that?    I don't know about you, but I am thankful for all the many forms of technology that we have that makes our crafting and arting more fun and brings friends from across the world right into our homes, via the the google-net!  

I have been making some Sculpy clay pieces that I will turn into pins.   I have them painted thus far.   I just used watercolor paints with shimmer in them.    Just a real cheap set that you can get at Joann's for sure, and possibly some of the other stores.   I forget off hand what brand they are, but I will just take a spray bottle and spray all the paints till I get them really wet and just start using colors, all different colors and blending in a little bit.   I love the looks of the swirling shimmery colors and when I get finished with them and get the clear coat on, aka...clear nail polish, they will really shine and just be beautiful.

These crosses are a red rubber stamp on a wooden block.   I roll out the clay with a  little plastic roller that I got a wal mart in the cake decorating area and it has two different depths of spacers on it and I just roll to the deepest depth and then stamp into the clay and gently remove the stamp and then take a tool used to lift cut pieces off of a mat.   It has a semi sharp edge and it slices right thru the clay nicely.   I just go around it slicing away clay till I get it to look the way I want it to look.   Then I just have to wait for it to air dry, that's the hardest part, for sure.

The little Jesus fish is done the exact way.   It is a clear polymer stamp on a clear block, but it works exactly the same way.    I just try to get a good image and then get the stamp lifted off nicely.

Once they have dried sufficiently, then I start coloring.    I use water colors because some of the other types of paints will build up to the point that it fills the groves of the image and it looses the crisp image.    So I will use my cheap water colors watered down heavily, I mean really thin.    The thinner the better, because that means I can get more layers and colors on it.   That is the fun part!!!   Then I have to let them dry again.

I also press out sculpy real flat and take an embossing folder and press that into the clay.   That is really nice.   I love that.   But, I do have a hard time keeping the shape once I get the image pressed into it.   I know I have a small set of cookie cutters around here, hiding somewhere, and if I can find them, then I can use them to get uniform shapes.

I call this jewelry rustic.   It's not meant to look like it comes from the assembly line.   I want it to look like each piece was made individually, because they actually are.

When these get really dry, I will put a final coat of nail polish or glossy accents or some other clear shiny finish and then glue the pin back on they will be done!    woohoo!!!

These are the little fisheys, I just love them!!!   They are easy to put on and not really big, where as the cross is pretty big, but I really enjoy both of them.

This is the size of them compared with an ink pen.   They are about a little over an inch.    I wish you could see them in the hand because the colors are just so vibrant and shimmery.   woohoo!!!

As I leave you this evening, let me ask you, "what are you thankful for"?    I know you are like me and you have much to be thankful for.    Do you thank Yahweh for all that you have to be thankful for?    Lets take the time this season to be purposefully thankful and thank Him during this "30 Days of Praise".    When we take the time to be purposeful, we will be more likely to remember to be thankful.    When we thank Yahweh in all the small things all the time, then it will become easier to be thankful during the tough circumstances of our lives.    We have to start somewhere, so start with the small things and then it won't be long till you will find yourself being thankful in the tougher times.    Paul teaches us with our prayers and supplications to be thankful in all circumstances and situations.    Paul had learned to be thankful in all his life situations, whether in chains or free, even with his thorn in the flesh, he learned to be thankful in all situations.    I hope and pray that during the "30 Days of Praise" that we can learn to find all kinds of ways to tell Yahweh that we are thankful to Him for His grace and mercy and thankful that He has provided a way for you to be in right relationship with Him thru Yeshua, Christ Jesus.

I hope and pray that y'all have a wonderful night of refreshing sleep and rest and that you awake in the morning ready to start a day filled with thankfulness.   Tell someone tomorrow that you are thankful for them.    They will be happy to hear such sweet words.   Let me start right now by telling y'all that I am thankful for each and every one of y'all.   I appreciate your visits with me and I love your comments.   So, till we meet again, right back here, Yahweh loves y'all and so do I!!!!    hugs and love, Patty

Welcome, September

Welcome, September!!!  This is normally the time of year that all that has been lush and green starts fading and turning colors.  I look forward to the colors of Fall, and seeing God's handy-work all around us.  The colors are but for a few fleeting moments, so we must be watchful or will miss them.

Growing up in the country, fall represented a few things to me.  One of those things was, "hickory nut time"!!  Oh, man, it was wonderful to find the nuts on the ground before the squirrels did.  We would go hunting hickory nuts and pick up buckets of them.  Then the cracking would start.  It took a heavy hammer and a good arm to swing it.  But, over time, you would learn just where to hit the nut and just how hard to hit it to get it to crack perfectly.  People are always eating pecan pies, I challenge you to find yourself some woods grown hickory nuts and try making a Hickory Nut Pie.  There is no flavor like a hickory nut.

Another nut that comes to mind, this time of year is the "black walnut".  This is another extremely hard nut to crack.  Again, this nut is extremely flavorful.  There is nothing quite like a black walnut.  They have no comparison in flavor to the English walnuts that we buy in the markets and stores.  To me, the english walnuts have no flavor.  If it is a true black walnut, it will be labeled "black walnut".   Again, cracking is difficult, but well worth the learning curve.

I love to use black walnuts in my sweet breads that I make in the fall.  Yum!!!  I love to bake pumpkin bread and sweet potato bread, and also use some of the fall squashes to make breads with.  I just love the smell of this time of year leading up to Thanksgiving.

Something else I am reminded of this time of year is acorns.  Yes, I said acorns.  I have become an acorn nut.  My husband and I have a city park within fifty miles of where we live that we visit in the fall to pick up acorns.  This park is located along a creek bank.  There is water most of the year in the creek, so the trees along the creek bank are fed and nourished all year long, and with this being a wetter year than usual, I believe there will be larger acorns.

There are several different species of acorns in this park and that is what is so great about this place.  One year we went to the park and picked up burr oak acorns the size of a small teacup.  I am not kidding at all about the size.   That was the first year, so I did not know anything about preserving them, so you guessed it.  They all had eggs in them and hatched out and my house was a bug museum for a while.  So, now when we get acorns, they go in the 200 degree preheated oven, on cookie sheets covered with foil for two hours and then turn the oven off and leave them in it overnight and then you have perfectly preserved acorns.

Once they are preserved, I love to bling them up with glitter glue and put them in large vases or goldfish bowls or even candle bowls.  I have three big bowls, vases, and candle bowls full now.  Plus a few of the really large ones left from the first year that are in my curio cabinet.

I hope and pray that as this year starts winding down, the evenings start getting cooler, and the days shorter, that you will find time to enjoy God's creation.  All the beauty and splendor of it, God made it that way just for you.  I can't spend as much time outside as I would love to, due to severe allergies, but sometimes my husband and I will take long drives and just enjoy the scenery.  Let us rejoice and praise God for the beauty of all things "Fall", this year.  Let us look, purposefully, at all He has put before us.

I challenge you to find some hickory nuts or black walnuts and make yourself a pie, or add the nuts to your favorite bread recipes.  There is nothing quite like it.  Go ahead, do it, and share it with your neighbor.  Tell them about all the beauty you have seen this fall and how all that beauty was for our pleasure to enjoy, compliments of the One and only,  Almighty God, who loves us more than we could ever know.  

I hope you are looking forward to all the beauty that fall has to offer.  If you see anything strikingly beautiful, again thank God, because He put it there for you to see and enjoy.  God is good all the time!!!  All the time God is good!!! Amen!

Hugs and Blessings beyond measure, Patty