Friday five ~ August 30

Some weeks Friday seems to roll around very quickly.  This week it seems to have taken a bit longer.  I am looking forward to the weekend!  No concrete plans as yet, other than having a friend over for supper tonight; we aren't even sure yet if my hubby will have Monday off.  But weekends are always a nice respite!

Without further ado, here's my Friday five:

1.  A nice change in the weather made it cool enough to bake cookies last Friday.  I had bought some of these baking chips on clearance at Walmart.

Have you seen them?  Here's the description:

I was quite surprised that they contained no artificial flavors.  All I tasted was salted caramel, but still I assumed artificial flavors were used.  Guess I didn't read the bag too thoroughly!

I used the cookie recipe on the back of the bag.  Here's the link:  Sea Salt Caramel Chip Cookies.  I made them quite a bit smaller than specified and I formed them into balls rather than dropping them.  l also used the Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.

After so much hot, humid weather where one couldn't even think of turning on the oven, it was nice to be able to bake.

2.  A great time with friends on Saturday as we were invited to a get-together to see their family members visiting from out of state.  This is what we like to do ourselves when our faraway family is able to visit -- we try and host a get-together where they can see a lot of family and friends at one time.  I took along this  S’mores Pizza, plus a tortellini salad.

As mentioned in a previous post, it took less than 3 minutes for this dessert to disappear!

3.  A beautiful afternoon on Sunday for a hike to a peaceful lake.  Sometimes one just needs to be near water.  That's how it was for us and we tried to store it up for the week to come.  Something about that sailboat just speaks peace to my heart. 

4.  Seeing God answer prayer for wisdom this week.  When I'm outside my comfort zone, I might tend to ask someone who is comfortable in a specific area for advice.  This time my hubby was working on a job site where he had no cell service.  I briefly thought of consulting someone else, but the Lord impressed upon me that He is wisdom and that He promises to give wisdom when we ask.  There was no need to rely upon anyone but Him.  What a blessing to see how He answered my prayers!

Delightful graphic from Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

5.  Nicer weather this week made it possible for me to work on some of my projects outdoors at the patio table on the back deck.  (We bought this table toward the end of last summer and I hadn't really thought of it as more than a place to eat.  But it's a nice large rectangular table, perfect for working on many different kinds of projects.)  Here's some of what I did:

* Planned menus and made my grocery list

* Worked on my Sunday School lesson

* Made some mailing envelopes to package orders from my Etsy shop, using repurposed calendar pages.  I made 5 larger envelopes and 1 of the smaller ones.  This is a project I plan to take up north when we go at the end of September.  If we get some rainy days (and it would be truly surprising if we didn't), I will work on a bit of envelope making.  They are easy once I get started.

Back of a larger envelope

Front of the same envelope

Back of smaller envelope

Front of smaller envelope

* Did some work in my scrapbook journal.
 
I'm currently using this as a place to journal my study of this book: Make Room for What You Love.  Inching my way through this book one question at a time has enabled me to work in my scrapbook journal much more regularly.


Oh, what an encouragement this book has been to me!  I've been so blessed by this thought:

And I really find myself thinking about it when I am about to set something down in a place where it doesn't really belong.  Try this for yourself and see if it doesn't help!

Yes, it truly has been a blessed week!  What are some blessings you've seen in your own life this week?