Two Things to Bloom in your Life Today

"For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."  Isaiah 61:11

This week, my day lilies bloomed.  Just as the earth can bring forth something beautiful in our lives to enjoy, so will the Lord bring forth good things in our life.

Righteousness.  What a wonderful thing to have in your life.  For without righteousness is sin.  Darkness.  Hurt.  Anger.  God's righteousness is pure and holy.  And never fails.  Someone may have failed you this week as a friend...but God will never fail you.

Praise.  Something that makes life good.  Take time to praise Him today.  Take time to praise your kids.  Take time to praise a friend.  Praise...something that makes life beautiful.

Have a great weekend!

Recipe: Pickled Eggs

There are many things that remind me of my grandma who is in Heaven. Pickled eggs are just one of many sweet memories.  I made pickled eggs with my girls a couple weeks ago and here they are. :)  Sierra couldn't wait to eat "purple eggs". The hardest thing is waiting the five days! 

Pickled Eggs

INGREDIENTS:

1 (15 ounce) can red beets
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 whole cloves
1 small cinnamon stick
6 hard-cooked eggs

Directions:

1. Pour the beet juice into a medium-size pot. Stir in the brown sugar, vinegar, water, salt, cloves, and the cinnamon stick. Place the pot over a medium heat for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Place the beets into the liquid mixture and let it cook for an additional 2 minutes to allow the beets to heat.
3. Place the hard cooked eggs (with the shells removed) in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Pour the liquid and beets into the container with the eggs. Store the container in the refrigerator for approximately 5 days before eating.

How I Organized My TV Area

Do you remember this post?  Organizing Your TV Area  I took Jenny's idea and wanted to share my results with you. :)

This was my before picture.  (I forgot to take a picture so this is one from Christmas.)  We had a small entertainment stand, X-Box and Wii games on the sides and a basket to hold the remotes.  We also had to have this extra table to hold our antennae. The cords were all over in the back and dust just seemed to collect.

Before picture.

I read somewhere on a blog to repurpose furniture items and you can this way maximize your space and minimize your items.  So my thought:  Eliminate the entertainment stand and side table and repurpose the buffet for that purpose.

Remember my project of staining my buffet...now you know the madness behind project. ;)

This was the mess.  (It was more dusty...I just didn't want you to see all the dust bunnies I had let collect!  LOL)  The back side panels had also come off and made for an even worse situation.

This was my end result.  I took out the entertainment stand - going to the dump. :)  I repurposed the side table into a small side table for our bedroom.  I added a lamp that I already had.  The box has a lid and cut-out side handles.  I purchased it from our new Hobby Lobby.  It is super sturdy and fits well for our decor.  The X-Box sets on top.

I did some changing around to give it a fresh feel.  The secretary someone gave to me and it is one of my favorite pieces of furniture.  I moved it to the wall to open up the window and so I can work and still see the mountain view. :)

I have the chair here for a little reading nook.

Piano - We organized all the girls' piano books for their lessons and practice into this crate from Dollar General.

Decorating for a Patriotic Service

I took this photo on Sunday morning before our service. :)

A banner outside is a great way to capture people's attention as they pass by.

Bunting, flags, yellow ribbon and flowers.  Love the simple!

Jenny changed out the color of flowers on the wreath, added yellow ribbon and flowers and flag.

Our coffee bar at our Welcome Center.  (We even served iced coffee as a special treat. :))

The front lobby. 

Special patriotic bulletin.

*Thank you to Jenny Musser for her work and expertise in decorating for our church events.*

Home Projects in the Works

I love this time of year.  The days are warm.  The nights are cool.  It is a fantastic time to work on projects around the home.  Here are a few I have been tackling. :)

I painted our new shutters and my hubby hung them .  I love the pop of color they add!

This was not a hard project - just a long one!  I stained this buffet.  It was unfinished wood when someone gave this piece of furniture to us.  This is the finished product. :)  One coat of wood conditioner, three coats of stain and two coats of protective finish.  With all the drying time in between and after!

This was a little garden area I started a couple years ago.  This was the first year.  I cut all the pieces to build these planter boxes and my hubby put them together.

This year, I made some changes by taking out the hay bales, building more raised beds and adding in pavers.  Nevada is pretty difficult to grow things. I use raised beds to grow a garden here.  I also added in more pavers to cut down on the dust and mud when I water.  

Raised beds are pretty simple to make.  This time around, we decided to pay Home Depot to cut all our wood into the sizes we needed!  Well worth the extra money! Our new beds were to be 4ft x 4ft.

These were the extra landscaping pavers left from our front landscaping.

I just placed them in a semi circle, added soil and planted my irises, green peppers and flowers.

My new beds complete with soil, mulch and my tomato plants I started from seed in January.

I enjoy the pavers in between the beds!  Makes it so nice to keep clean and to tend to the beds.

I am thinking of painting the pavers...adding footprints and handprints...letting the girls paint pictures on them... :)

The area is still a work in progress.  That is the fun of it. :)  A neighbor made this picnic table for the girls several years ago.  I need to sand and repaint and finish it.  We also have our fire pit here for a fire and s'mores or such on a summer evening.

I also got all my photo prints ordered online and got all my new photos in their frames.

(You can never get all the frames perfectly straight, can you?  LOL!)

I also spray painted my message boards for my kitchen.  I like the white better on the green walls.  Here is where I keep our schedule for softball and my weekly menu.  Now you know what we are having for Memorial Day.  Ha!  Spray painting photo frames are a cheap and easy way to change up and add color to your decor in a room.

My next project is painting our bedroom and redecorating.  I already have the paint ready to go and the new bedset! 

Summer Kitchen Fun - Making Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Last week, I bought some pickling cucumbers that were on sale at Marketon.  I tried my first batch of refrigerator pickles yesterday and had such a good time!  I can't tell you how they taste because it takes ten days before you can eat them. :)  

It is a very simple recipe and process.  It would be a fun kitchen summer project for your kids.  My Summer is my kitchen buddy and she loved it.  (I just had to keep my eye on her that she didn't try to eat one!)

Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

12 - 3-4 inch pickling cucumbers

2 cups water

1 3/4 cups white vinegar

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh dill weed

1/2 cup white sugar

8 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 1/2 tbsp. coarse salt

1 tbsp. pickling spice

1 1/2 tsp. dill seed

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

4 sprigs fresh dill weed

In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, water, vinegar, chopped dill, sugar, garlic, salt, pickling spice, dill seed and red pepper flakes.  Stir and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, until the sugar and salt dissolve.

Remove the cucumbers to three - 1 1/2 pint wide mouth jars, placing four cucumbers into each jar.  Ladle in the liquid from the bowl to cover.  Place a sprig of fresh dill into each jar, and seal with lids.  Refrigerate ten days before eating. Use within a month.

*This is the original recipe.  I did use freeze dried dill weed instead of fresh.  And I cut the cucumbers into fourths instead of keeping them whole.

Tips to Keep Your Home Office Organized

Keeping Your Home Office Organized

*Guest Post by Mrs. Jenny Musser*

We have a room right next to the front door and when you come into our house, it's one of the first things you see.  It is our office/music room so it has a lot of "stuff" in it.  Today, I'm going to share a few ways to keep the clutter under control.

1.Mail.

As soon as I get the mail, I go through it right then.  I throw away any junk mail, open bills and put them in my organizer. I keep bills, stamps, my checkbook, a few envelopes, pens and cash that I have set aside for any purchases all in one spot.  It makes it simple to pay bills.

2. Books.

We have a bookcase but it is not big enough to hold all of our books.  So I had to find another way to store them.  You know that I love baskets and this is how I store extra books and also piano books that I use often.    

3. Desk.

Our desk is small so all I have on it is the computer and a box for Josh's things.  I used to ask him every day, "Could you please go through the pile of stuff on the desk?"  I finally gave up on that because it was just frustrating both of us!  :)   So I got him a box and once it is full then I ask him to go through it.

4. Electrical Cords.

I shared this idea for the TV but thought I would share again. I found this box with a lid and handles.  It is perfect for hiding all the computer and printer cords and is big enough to put the printer on.  All the cords go through the handle in the back and are hidden!         

Family Hike - Galena

Friday, we took a few hours away and went to Galena.  We visited the visitor center, had lunch and took a couple hikes.  

Someone always has to be the funny guy...

Love the beautiful flowering plants.

Summer has almost caught up with Sierra.  Only two pounds difference. :)

Love this breathtaking scene!

Yes, we read every sign. ;)

Could sit and listen to the water for days. :)

Ha!  Sierra's "George Washington" pose, as she calls it.

We ended the hikes with family devotions in the trees. :)