Our Moral Civic Duty

photo credit: Holly Tompkins

Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.
George Washington

Corners of My Home: Recent Finds

I thought I'd show and tell some recent additions bought in the last month or so.


I knew you'd want to see this little horsey that I found in the clearance room (really, a clearance room!) of an absolutely wonderful antique mall/store in Millington, MI (Mike's Antiques).


Can't wait until Levi can ride his horsey! And for $20, well, you can't even get a new toy like this made cheaply in China for that price! I'd rather have the old stuff made in the USA! (And, I love the colors!)

Speaking of old stuff, and the good old stuff in the USA.... this picture on the left was a recent find as I was literally running through the aisle at Wal-Mart heading for fabrics and crafts department looking for fabric for some lampshades I had to cover!


I LOVE this famous photo and it works perfectly in my living room. I wish there were more of them in the collection from that era; but all they had on the rack with it was Marilyn Monroe and one other movie star...I just love beautiful and patriotic black and white photos of the WWII era.


This set me back $12. You may like one, too! It measures 19" x 12" and is on a hard board with a hole drilled in the back for easy hanging. My fourteen year-old son even loved it.


For this area, I have one more thing to complete the grouping and that is a sheet music piece from that era, the song is entitled "The Most Beautiful Flag in the World" and it has a similar picture on the front with the red, white and blue waving. It's a work of art in itself. I keep forgetting to take the sheet music in for a professional frame job and this will make me actually get it done now!

I also recently bought an old metal head board and foot board for $35 when Jamie and I recently visited our local antique mall.


I got it for our new "vintage toy" guest room that I'm just getting finished up. Hopefully the bed will be painted over this weekend. I have to remember to take before and after pics for you to see.

Can't wait to show you that cute little bedroom, I already had little Levi in there playing when he visited recently, it's such a cute and tiny little room that I think kids will love it!


Hope you all are having a WONDERFUL, and restful weekend. For once, we don't have much of anything on the agenda, which is kind of nice. It's noon and I'm still in my pajamas. I kind of like that sort of day, don't you?

Indian Summer

This farmhouse thermometer was a Tractor Supply Co. find years back.

We have had a beautiful, beautiful fall, one of the best we've had in a long time!

I think we've run out of our wonderful Indian Summer days, and boy were they ever something.  It was "a fall to remember".

Suddenly, the skies are steely grey, the wind has a colder bite, the outside world is not soft and green or even golden, because the heavy winds swooshed all that remained away and now the world is more stark.  Soon our velvety green carpet of grass will give up and go to sleep, too.

The farmers have all but finished cutting off all their beautiful, waving crops, and the fields look less now like a cozy quilt covering the earth, and the cold, brown dirt waits for its blanket of white....the hard-working, food-producing earth says it is ready for its season of sleep and is kindly turned over by the farmer and his plow for a long rest.

So now is time for the insides of our homes to become warmer, softer, more welcoming because the outside world decidedly is not.

We make comfort foods, light lamps, buy candles, pull out the quilts, and the flip flops get pushed to the back of the closet in favor of nubby socks and the closets changed from summer lightness to warm shoes, sweaters, jeans, and jackets.

We go now into the season where it is colorless outdoors and we have the holidays to look forward to -- it will bring colors into our homes and cheer us.  

Aren't you happy for the light and colors of the holidays?  I find myself looking forward to them as soon as our outside world turns brown.

Season's Gleanings! (& A Recipe!)

Weekend before last, I was out in the garden, and I picked a peck of peppers...

And, I got busy with my daughter and grandon's visit, and promptly forgot about them.

And then today dawned blustery, stormy, cloudy.  And it dawned on me then that it was a perfectly perfect pepper soup day.

Stuffed pepper soup, to be exact, especially since I was passing those peppers each time I left the house and came back in...they were really starting to bug me!

But there were plenty!  I could make a batch of soup and MORE could be chopped and kept for the freezer. They can be used in the soup this winter!  So, measured out in two cup batches, I can pull a bag out and pop them in the soup pot.

The soup is done, and I buttered a piece of brown bread and ate a bowl that was steaming hot for lunch.

YUM!

And after lunch, I got busy and chopped those peppers for the freezer with my trusty little friend, the "Vidalia CHOP WIZARD".

This one is from Bed, Bath and Beyond, and I paid around $20 and used my coupon, but you can get a knock-off brand from Wal-Mart for right around $10.

It has been a huge help to me in my chopping for canning and freezing from the garden.  It's an invaluable tool on those long salsa-making days in late summer.  There is a small and a large chop, I use the larger one the most.  All your peppers and onions and everything for the soup (or salsa or whatever) come out perfectly uniform.  (And cleanup is easy!) 

And....would you like the recipe for "STUFFED PEPPER SOUP"?

It's so full of vegetables and all good things, and I used my canned tomatoes, but if you don't have those, don't worry.

Here you go...

Stuffed Pepper Soup

1 c. chopped onions

1/4 c. chopped celery (or more if you'd like)

1 clove garlic, minced

2 c. chopped green bell pepper 

(I used my reds, too)

2 T. Vegetable oil

1/2 lb. browned lean ground beef or ground venison (even better!)

One sixteen ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/2 c. tomato juice

1/4 c. uncooked long grain rice

3 c. water

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

2 t. sugar

1 t. salt

1 t. black pepper

1\4 t. ground cinnamon (optional)

Saute vegetables in oil just until tender, do not brown them -- just cook until tender.  Just under about ten minutes.  

Then stir in rice, tomatoes, juice, water, parsley, sugar, salt, and pepper and browned meat.  

Cover and simmer approximately 45 minutes and adjust liquid if necessary, until rice is fully cooked.

It's a great sense of accomplishment when you can put away items from your garden to use in the wintertime...on blustery snowy days.

ENJOY!!

(And I'll try not to let those red and green peppers remind me that Christmas is only two months away!)


(Oh, and I'm using BLOGGER'S new editor, and I am having a terrible time getting my font to be the right size.  It's either THIS  or THIS.  Which do you prefer?  The small one is called normal, I call it microscopic.  The large one is GIGANTIC, in my opinion.  What say YOU?)

YOUR SACRED RIGHT: TO VOTE

“If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed, if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”

— Winston Churchill

If you don't want to hear my political rant, then feel free to pass this post up, or flip over to the next blog on your reading list.  I am standing on the proverbial soapbox. 


Today's post is not about being cozy at home, a recipe for some good food, or pretty houses, or pretty fall pictures.  It's about something infinitely more important.  It's about our FUTURE.

I can't help myself.  I have to mention this.

ONE MORE WEEK!

I know you probably already know, but we are ONE WEEK from the world's largest TEA PARTY.  We will have our say.  They will hear us.

I am excited, to say the least.  And, I hope that we know something next Tuesday night before we go to bed.  

I also hope the MILITARY VOTES ARE COUNTED.  (That is one of the things that makes me the most angry, the military men and women being DENIED their right to vote by the corrupt voter's commissions around the country!  It is an atrocity that makes me furious!  WHO more than the soldiers, deserve to have their say?!)

I am not overconfident, you just never know what new tricks the leftist, communist, socialist opposition can come up with by way of cheating, what with all the nuts in ACORN, SEIU, and other communist organizations that wield their clout each time an election rolls around.

I DO BELIEVE that there are more of us than there are of THEM.  I believe they can be DEFEATED.

More than that, I believe they MUST BE DEFEATED.

But, they cannot be defeated if we stay home and use an excuse not to vote. (We should be ashamed forever if we miss this one!)

If they are not defeated at the ballot box, I believe that our country as we knew it, is done, and we will never again know the freedoms that our forefathers so generously handed to us.  We are already to the point where we might never get it back... and if we do it will require years of HARD WORK.  Restoring freedom will not be easy--and we will NEVER be able to be so apathetic ever again, but at least there is hope this time that we can turn back some of the policies foisted on us by the goons in this administration.

I am angry and I am mad, and all those emotions should NOT LEAVE ME after next Tuesday, even if we change both houses of CONgress.

We have to stay on them.

We have to keep working, be alert, aware, and most of all, ANGRY.

That anger should work to be the ballast that will fuel a change to last for decades.

Remember that your right to vote was won the hard way:  blood and guts are the only reason you are able to pull that lever or fill in that circle.  

Generation after generation of brave Americans bought you that right, and many of THEM will not even have that privilege, so GO FIGHT FOR THEM!

We are here, the soldiers are there.  They cannot defend our freedom at home, that is up to US!!!!!

There is no way to fully describe how historic and how important this election is to YOU, your KIDS, and your GRAND KIDS for generations to come.

We have someone in the White House who is hell-bent on destroying what generations of FREEDOM'S DEFENDERS have worked, bled and died to preserve.

The ballot box is our battleground, it is our way of making things right again, by design.  I don't think it will ever be the same again if we aren't victorious this time.

The Founding Fathers KNEW that power corrupts, and they designed it so that WE COULD OVERTHROW those who refused to listen to the PEOPLE at the ballot box, instead of using our MUSKETS.

Thank God for that, and DO NOT NEGLECT your duty to your country, your family and your fellow-man, but most of all those SOLDIERS over there fighting for US.  It is our DUTY to vote and to be vigilant, after the vote to hold our leaders accountable.

I have one week, and I cannot guarantee that you won't hear about this from me again in that week.

It is of utmost importance, unless we want our children and theirs to be slaves to the cold-hearted communists in China.  

I just pray to GOD it's not too late.

THE AMERICAN'S CREED 
By William Tyler Page
I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a Republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect Union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my Country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag; and to defend it against all enemies.

I Say "Nah..."

The tag said "Christmas tablecloth $8."

I said "Nah!"

It goes perfectly anytime with this little table scape!

And, WHY NOT?

The label says "DISH CLOTHS"

I say "Nah!"

The label on this little thing said "PLANTER".

I said "Nah!"

The label on the bottle on the left said "ICED TEA"

And it was...

But now I say "Nah!"

It's a vase!

The planter is a napkin holder.

The dish cloths are my napkins.

I got tired of buying paper napkins. And, since dishcloths are relatively cheap (15 for $5) and they wash well, fold well in the perfect size for dinner napkins...

WHY NOT?

WHY NOT? Indeed. I'm a lady that uses the things labeled dinner napkins for my placemats, so ....

You can say "NAH!", too!

(And, am I weird for saying "NAH!"...or do you say it, too? It means NO, NOT, NEGATIVE"....if you didn't know! ;-)

A Silent Sunday Morning

Little Levi

We overslept this morning, and probably needed to. We don't like to miss church, but our eyes popped open at precisely the time we normally leave the house. I'm fast at getting ready, but I'm not that fast! ;-)

I guess we were so wiped out that neither one of us thought about an alarm last night. We stayed up and waited for the call that they arrived home safely last night and then went to sleep.

It's been a happy, happy kind of busy around here! Levi and Jamie were here for a visit, it lasted a week, but we had to pack enough in that week to make it last for a few more months until we get to see him again at Christmastime.

It's exhilarating, and we love very minute. But after they leave, there's a hollow feeling --one that tells us that it's way too quiet around here.

This morning, I just sat for a time and had coffee in the fall sunshine and listened to it, smiling, remembering all the fun and the snuggles and baths and rocking him to sleep under his special little quilt.

We sure miss the little guy, but are so thankful that we are able to travel to see him, and they to see us!

We are thankful for the weather we had while they were here, that Jamie was able to enjoy some of a Michigan fall once again. And most of all, thankful for the safe trip back home and good weather for making it all in one day.

We are thankful that family matters and that the ties are able to be strengthened each time we visit.

Grand parenting is truly a wonderful thing, such enjoyment, and unbelievable love for that child. I am in awe of this privilege, that we were able to be grandparents to this precious little fellow....to one of the sweetest, smartest babies ever. (Of course!)

Papa brought Levi a brightly colored leaf from the woods to see. I was amazed at how coordinated he is with his hands at four months....to be able to grasp the tiny stem on the leaf with both his hands and hold onto it!

Jamie wanted Nana and Papa to carve a pumpkin with Levi, so we did. She brought his little costume, so we could see him in it, too. Wasn't that thoughtful of her?

We lit it up and turned off the lights so he could see the glow, what fun to watch his eyes as he looked!

The pictures we take while he's here are a balm to the soul after he leaves! We sure do love this little man!

I sure do hope you have a WONDERFUL Sunday, and I'll be talking to you soon!

XOXO
Joni

Little Pumpkins...

He's four months old, and what a bunch of fun!

Cozy@Home: Shadows & Other Fun News!

I thought this morning sun shadow was especially appropriate for this particular sign made by "Dee" of Farmhouse Country Style...don't you?

(Dee has a sign shop link in her sidebar if you're interested!)

Our daughter and her little boy arrived safely Saturday night. We are always thankful when another trip goes off without a hitch and the little guy did well on that long journey. We thank God for watching over them.

Much enjoyment has been had by all...we're enjoying getting to know this new little man, who is twice as old now as he was the last time he was here in August!

He is four months old, and doing all sorts of fun new things. Smiling, giggling, cooing and laughing and giving Nana "high fives" in his own little way, and I clap and cheer.

Pawpaw is giving Levi his "grandpa baths" each evening, and we are enjoying feeding him, diapering him, and all the "normal" everyday things we don't get to do because we live so far away.

We went out to dinner Sunday afternoon and then stopped in at Target for shopping with Nana...of course, I bought him some new goodies and even found that Target has a small selection of "Retro" Fisher Price Toys!

I was so excited I bought him two and they are ready for Christmas giving. I would love to get him one of each...thought I'd share that info for those of you who want to give your kids or grandkids toys like you used to play with!

I was so excited about this find I could hardly stand it! I love the old Fisher Price toys with a passion and have saved many for my kids. Here's a page on Amazon with all the classics now in production...enjoy! I already got this and this for Levi...

Tomorrow we are hoping to get in some photo time with the leaves, pumpkins, and straw bales in a new little striped sweater he has ... Levi's mommy went shopping at the Manufacturer's Outlet mall nearby this afternoon and had a ball at the Carter's outlet.

We have some time set aside too, for a particular antique mall and also some time for visiting with family from near and far...

I normally can applesauce this time of year and one day last week I went out and picked some apples ($6 a bushel!) and we are making the baby a nice stockpile of applesauce and we'll also be trying other baby food for the freezer with our ample supply of butternut squash and other things from the garden.

We are using this book for our recipes, recommended to me by a friend: Top 100 Baby Purees. We are hoping for lots of success from this neat little book, and a cooler for Jamie to take back home for Levi full of wholesome homemade food for the freezer to be used this winter.

Jamie is enjoying the much cooler weather than she's been having at home in Alabama. We are enjoying seeing high chairs, play pens and diapers and lotion, tousling that sweet little head of hair, and all the free snuggles and sweet smells (grand)babies bring to a home. It's PURE JOY!

All in all, we are having the time of our lives here and hope to be able to share some nice fall photos of the little man in a day or two!

Hope all is well with you all during these happy golden fall days...

XOXO
Joni