Yard Art

I know you've all seen it.  You may like it.  You may not.  I'll leave the judging up to you. 

Recently, I was reading this article in my MaryJane's Farm Magazine. When I stumbled across this article by Rebekah Teal.  It reminded me of my neighbor's yard.   

My neighbor's yard fascinates me.  There is so much to look at you're not sure what to look at first! 

Every year, they add more!

They've also been known to put up Easter decorations before the Christmas decorations have been taken down.  It's kind of like the Easter Bunny meets Santa Claus.

Okay, I won't keep you in suspense any longer.  Here are some pictures I got of the place, (very nonchalantly) while taking a walk the other day. 

(Don't  forget to click on the photo to enlarge.  You don't want to miss a thing)

Yard art alley

John Deere #1 complete with window boxes

John Deere yellow doors

More stuff.  And notice the fenced in fish pond in the background.

Thrones for your garage anyone?!

John Deere #2 and more window boxes

This is definitely not my style.  But hey, 

to each his own-right?

In her article, Rebekah states that she saw a wine bottle tree that she wanted to duplicate for her yard.  Her husband finally agreed but said it had to be in their

Back Yard!

What kind of yard art do you enjoy!

I'll leave you with some pics of my

Yard Art

Yep, that's it. That's all I got.

Simple and Deliberate.

Until next time, create some yard art of your own! (I'd love to see your pics)

Scrappy Saturday-Gardening

With gardening season in full swing, I thought these scrappy pages from a few years ago were fitting!

(As always, click on the photos to enlarge!)

THE Storm

It has certainly been a week to remember...OR FORGET! 

Last Thursday, a wicked storm, complete with high winds and hail, rolled through our neighborhood, knocking down trees, power lines and knocking out our electricity!  

This is our yard about a week before the storm

THE STORM

Yes, instead of going to the basement, we were taking pictures.  

This storm was very scary, it was non like we had ever seen before.  It seemed to last forever. But praise God, we were not harmed, we just had some downed trees. A real blessing considering all the tornadoes that have hit the Midwest this spring.

The Aftermath

Behind the storm was a huge pile of leaves, limbs, trees and debris.  

The Chicken house door was blocked by a fallen tree.
  That's Hubs out there cleaning up the mess.

Leaves EVERYWHERE

Uprooted tree

We had no electricity from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon.  My (pregnant) daughter lost her power also.  

We had hooked our fridge and freezer up to a generator so she brought her "valuables" to our house to keep them cold.  But on the way over, her chocolate ice-cream had an accident in the cooler.  

So she had to clean up the mess!

Jack helped too! Mmmmm!

Gratitude Journal Entry # 2- Hard Working Man

Today, I'm thankful for my hard workin' man. 

He's not only hard working, but an all around good guy. Though in the early days of our marriage, we were a bit like oil and vinegar.

 Two separate souls, with two totally different personalities that would often clash. In those early days, we found it difficult to deal with our differences, as if only one of us could be "right." But as time went on, we began to see the bigger plan for us and for our marriage. And instead of viewing our differences as a curse, we began to see them as a blessing.   Imagine if we were exactly the same. One of us would be unnecessary in the relationship! We  realized our unique likes, dislikes and opposing personalities bring a richness to the relationship. 

 Over the years, we have learned to love, accept, support, and allow one another to be who God made each of us to be. Today, instead of oil and vingear, we're more like chocolate and peanut butter....... A PERFECT MARRIAGE.

  (I'm grateful for chocolate and peanut butter too- how about you!)

Scrappy Saturday

We've had nearly 20 inches of rain here in S. Central PA this spring, and everyone around here is getting a little testy.  It rained everyday this week.  All this rain reminds me of a trip we took two years ago.

  Hubs and I had set sail on a celebratory cruise.  We were celebrating his 50th birthday (Jan), my 5 yrs. of remission from leukemia ( a story for another day)  and our 30th anniversary (Nov).  

Unfortunately, it rained nearly the whole week!  

But a little rain didn't keep us from havin' some fun and gettin' some R&R.

Take a peek......

Hubs thought he was "all that" with the show girl;)

While I wanted some sun to bask in, I have to say, I found
all the rough seas to be very exciting!  

It doesn't take much to entertain me!!

Our last day was beautiful-of course!

Click on any picture to enlarge.

The birth of a Gratitude Journal

 No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 thessalonians 5:18 NLT

I finally got around to catching up on reading my MaryJane magazines. And  while paging through the  Oct. Nov. 2010 issue, I discovered a theme.  

The theme of this issue was 

Gratefulness.

With articles titled, Attitude of Gratitude, Catalog of Blessings, The Gratitude Cafe, The Gift and Gratitude Restored I was motivated...

And the Bible speaks volumes about having a grateful heart...

so I decided to begin  my own

Gratitude Journal......

Blog Style!

So here's my first entry...

I'm thankful for peaceful moments on those days when I'm "Jack-sitting"!

Jack quietly playing with his toys,
instead of Grandmummie's toys!

Pure sweetness!

What are you thankful for?

A NEW PURPOSE FOR AN OLD TABLE and a recipe for BREAD

Nearly two years ago, my then, 22 year old son bought his first house.... a little cabin nestled in the mountain on 8 acres.  

The little cabin had been home to an elderly gentlemen.  And after his passing, the family put the property on the market- as is.  Yes, it was a mess and in need of a ton of work! 

Not only did he get the house that was in disrepair, but he also "inherited" a treasure trove of the old gentleman's "stuff."   

 But you know what they say.........

One man's trash is another man's treasure.....

My son gets my love for vintage junk.  So for Christmas this past year, he gave me one of the treasures taking up space in his shed....

This sweet little porcelain table is now mine!  

The feet of the table were rusted from sitting in the shed.  But my tricky hubby who can fix anything, fixed them up like new!

 I scrubbed up the table, but chose not to paint it, and leave it as is.  I chose to use put this table in my "butler's pantry"  for all my grain and bread supplies.  It worked out perfectly.

So of course, I have to include a recipe for some tasty bread. This is a recipe I have been using as everyday bread.  It's a recipe inspired from recipes and helpful tips from experienced bread bakers at some of my favorite places on the web....


Tammy's Kitchen
Home Joys
and Grain Miller


I mix my bread in a bread machine (Zojirushi) and bake it in the oven.  


Place ingredients in the bread pan in the order recommended by your bread machine.

Whole Wheat Bread 

(This recipe can be made into 1 LARGE loaf or 2 smaller loaves)

Gotta love a fresh from
 the hen house green egg!

1 1/4 c. water

2 1/4 T. oil

2 1/2 T. honey

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2  1/2 tsp quick rise yeast

2 cups of wheat berries ground

 (equals approx 3 c. of wheat flour)

1 c. unbleached white bread flour

1 tsp of dough conditioner

Place dough in bread pan and allow to rise (about 30-45 min.)  Bake at 350. for 25-30 minutes.

This is an excellent tutorial with tips on baking bread.  If you are new to bread baking, I recommend watching this before beginning. 

You can find all of Donna's videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/thewheatguy.

Enjoy!