Overflowing

Photo from Pixabay

Over the years, I've thought back many times to my Ancient History class from 9th grade.  And now, it really is ancient history!  The old building where I attended high school was woefully inadequate in many ways,  but it definitely had character.   Every classroom, as far as I know, had what was called a teachers' closet, where reference books, folders of worksheets, and much, much more resided.  Mrs. Potter's closet was literally overflowing.  When she opened the door to retrieve something needed during a lesson, items threatened to topple off the shelves and out the closet door.  Her desk top and desk drawers seemed much the same, but it was the closet that really stayed in my memory.

I was fourteen and not given to deep thinking.  But as the school year went by, I came to see Mrs. Potter's overflowing closet as analogous to her overflowing brain and cluttered memory.  Most of the time in that class it was just facts, facts, facts.  But at least once or twice a lesson, some fascinating historical tidbit would slip out and overflow into what she was teaching.  She had a soft, light voice and taught in a lecture format, with very little class discussion.  So it was easy to be lulled into sleepiness or daydreaming.  But then one would miss the good stuff!

I thought about that class again this morning.  In front of the chair where I most often have my quiet time, a footstool resides.  I don't think I have ever put my feet on it, but it tends to become a repository for my lap desk and current projects.  Last night I was tired and didn't take the time to put everything away that I might have.  So when I came to my chair in the early morning, this is what I saw:

Sorry for the photo quality.  Still dark outside and I took the photo with my Kindle.  But you get the picture!

Yes.  An overflowing footstool.  And as I looked at this pile of stuff, it occurred to me this is a good picture of my life right now.

Needlework project thumped on top right where I left it last night.  (This is destined to be a hot mat for my gift stash.)  You can tell I didn't work on this until the end of the day.

At the right, my grocery list waits to be filled in.

In the middle, the paper with the colorful striped edge is ten resolutions for caregivers.  Need to review that one often.

Under that, toward the bottom of the picture, with a small checkerboard edge showing,  is my weekly schedule.  Couldn't function without this comprehensive picture of my week.

To the left, my as-yet empty to-do list for the day.  This would be filled in as soon as I finish my Bible reading, study, and prayer time.

Under that, you can just see a list with a bit of blue showing at the top center of the photo.  That's my ongoing to-do list of tasks that need to be completed.

My Bible, notebook and prayer journal were waiting on a shelf to the side and of course I turned to them first.  Then I put away the needlework as I should have done last night.

So yes, a full-to-overflowing footstool.  And a full-to-overflowing plate.  But, just like staying awake in Mrs. Potter's history class was rewarded with an interesting historical nugget from time to time,  I know if I keep my priorities right and my eyes open, there will be blessings that overflow in the extreme busyness of life.  So I'm planning to pay attention.

Prize-winning peanut butter dessert!

As my regular readers know, we have a potluck lunch every Sunday at church.  Our schedule goes like this: 9:45 -- Sunday School; 11:00 -- morning worship service; 12:15 or thereabouts -- potluck lunch; 1:30 -- afternoon service.  With yesterday being Valentine's Day, we cooked up a men's dessert contest.  The ladies -- or anyone, actually, who hadn't made a dessert for the contest -- got to be the judges.  My friend, Chris, made up judging sheets for the judges to use and labeled each dessert with a number, rather than the baker's name, to make it fair.  I believe the categories were Best Tasting, Most Original, Best Presentation, and Most Romantic.

I am happy to share the exciting news that my dear hubby, Mr. T, won the "Best Tasting" category in the contest with his frozen peanut butter dessert.  Even more exciting, I am going to share the recipe with all of you!

MR. T'S PRIZE-WINNING PEANUT BUTTER DESSERT

12 ice cream sandwiches
 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (Mr. T used the lower-fat Neufchatel)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar
16 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed (divided use)
Toppings and sprinkles of choice

In a medium bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and the peanut butter with an electric beater.  Add the milk gradually, then beat in the powdered sugar.  Fold in 8 ounces of the whipped topping (approximately half of the container) and whip thoroughly. 

Place the ice cream sandwiches in the bottom of a 13X9-inch pan, cutting and trimming them to fit the pan.  (Mr. T used a foil pan.)  Spread the peanut butter mixture over the ice cream sandwiches in the pan.  Freeze for 15-20 minutes, then spread the remaining whipped topping over the peanut butter layer.

Top with whatever you like for sprinkles and toppings.  Mr. T drew a heart shape with chocolate syrup and sprinkled Valentine sprinkles in the center of the heart.  He then added a different variety of Valentine sprinkles over the rest of the whipped topping.

But you could use caramel syrup, toffee bits, chocolate sprinkles, chopped peanut butter cups or anything else you like.

Have fun with this recipe!

I am sharing today with Sandi's No Place Like Home at Rose Chintz Cottage,  Bernideen’s Tea Time, Cottage and Garden Blog Party,  Stephanie's Roses of Inspiration, and Share Your Cup Thursday.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This lovely image is by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings.

Mr. T and I would like to wish all of my readers and friends a very happy Valentine's Day!

A couple of days ago as I was praying, I came to the page in my prayer journal titled, "God, You are Love."  I thought the Scriptures and thoughts I have listed on that page would be perfect to share with all of you today.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  (John 3:16)

"The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."  (Jeremiah 31:3)

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.  God is love: and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."  (1 John 4:16)

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  (1 John 4:10)

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God."  (1 John 3:1)

God is love, and He has loved us with an everlasting love.  That is why He sent His Son to die for us.

"As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you:  continue ye in My love."  (John 15:9)

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  (John 15:13)

"And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."  (Ephesians 3:19)

The precious words from a hymn come to mind: 

"O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
’Tis an ocean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!"
~ S. Trevor Francis

This Valentine's Day, may you know the deep, deep love of Jesus in a very real way!

A few of my vintage Valentines

Today I thought I would just take a minute to share a few of my vintage Valentine cards with all of you.  Many of these may have been shared before, but new readers visit all the time and so I will take the liberty of posting these Valentines again.

This candy box is so sweet!

Cute kids' valentine

This puppy makes a fun Valentine gift!

A friendly farm boy

Playing dress-up

More kids playing dress-up.  I love the cowgirl's boots!

Vintage Valentine from a dear friend

This is a favorite from my collection.  The heart is flocked and glittery both.

 Hope you've enjoyed seeing  these fun vintage treasures!  I am linking up today with the following parties:  No Place Like Home, Bernideen’s Tea Time, Cottage and Garden Blog Party, Roses of Inspiration,  Share Your Cup Thursday, and Vintage Charm.  Many lovely links have been shared at these parties, so go and visit!

Simple Valentine decor

A Valentine-y hutch shelf, just simple with the same old ironstone and silver plus a card by Mrs. Smith and a plate of "cookies" to make it more festive.

Today I'll show just a few photos (well, maybe more than a few) of my simple decorating for Valentine's Day.  Even though it's a day longer this year, February is still a short month and so this decor will stay up for the month.

Very simple dining room table centerpiece

A closer (though blurry) look at the felt heart made by my friend J.

My granddaughter and I made these heart-trimmed book page banners a few years ago; there's one for each of the three dining room windows.

I made this "Love" banner many years ago and it's only paper but is still holding up.  Don't mind the clutter in the corner cupboard shelf behind it!

Some felt Valentine cookies in an antique dish

Framed Tasha Tudor calendar art in the front hallway

This year's February ribbon board

A keepsake from years ago.  My hubby and I were off on a nursing home ministry, something we did weekly and had to skip supper to do.  Our youngest daughter, a high school student at the time, fixed a Valentine supper for us to come back to!

A tag I made a few years back to commemorate the same daughter's skating afternoon with her grampa (who was 75 at the time!)

Reverse side of the tag.  I'd hoped to make a tag for every month as I was so enjoying it, but life has become so busy!

Hope you've enjoyed these simple ideas.  I'm linking up today with Sandi's No Place Like Home at Rose Chintz Cottage, and with Bernideen’s Tea Time, Cottage and Garden Blog Party.  Also linking with these parties: Roses of Inspiration and Share Your Cup Thursday.

Trivial pursuits

An unexpected snowstorm this morning has given me more time at home than I thought I'd have today.  Do you ever find that when you're given an unexpected gift of time, you have trouble figuring out to do with it?  I finished my quiet time early with the intent of heading out to do the grocery shopping.  As it became light out, however, I realized it was snowing quite steadily.

I've been puttering ever since at various tasks, the most important of which would be my Sunday School lesson.

Image from Amazon.com

I'm all set with the lesson for this Sunday, but I have to work ahead as it often takes me a couple of weeks to prepare.   And it often takes close to a month for our class of ladies to work our way through a lesson together.  I hope that everyone else is learning as much as I am!  And yes, I realize that learning and applying are two different things, and both are necessary for true spiritual growth.

Another thing I did was to put together my Valentine ribbon board.  This is something I try to do every February ... display some of my vintage Valentines as well as other special items from this season.  I've got all the items in place, just need to hang the board in the front hallway.  And I will do a post, probably next week, on my simple Valentine decorating.

This is from 2010, I think.  This year's is more sparse.

I'm also working on making tags from 2014's Christmas cards, always an inspiring task while snow falls outside the dormer window in which my little crafting desk is located.

Again, these are from a previous year.  I'm just getting started with this year's.

And I'm also planning, if time allows, to put together a little sample craft for a "Christmas club" I'm helping out with at a local library.  I'll share pictures when I get it figured out.

I think I'll make a Baked Fish Chowder for supper, and maybe some Iron Skillet Biscuits to go along with it.  My hubby dearly loves the biscuits from that recipe!

Lastly, I've been looking for a chance to slip in these pictures of a rather random sewing project I recently completed: simple pillows for a kitchen rocker.  We have, in our kitchen, a somewhat shabby rocking chair with chippy green paint.  When my grandmother gave it to me, the seat was missing, and my then-12-year-old son and I wove a red and white checkerboard replacement out of macrame cord.  (My kitchen has a strawberry theme.)  I've been reluctant to repaint that chair -- although it certainly could use it and in fact needs more help than that -- because I'm pretty sure my grandmother painted it herself.  Anyway, over time the seat got less comfortable so I padded it with a couple of pillows.  These were small square pillows made from washcloths trimmed with cotton fringe.   (Anyone recognize that as a home decor project from the 1960s?)  Someone had given these pillows, made from red washcloths with ecru fringe, to my mother as a gift.  There was literally no place in my parents' house where red pillows would look even remotely at home, so my mother passed them on to me.  They have lived in that rocker, with time out for occasional washing, ever since.  But they had just given out.  Flat, stained, ugly pillows that I cringed at every time I noticed them, which wasn't terribly often.  I knew I had to replace them, and I thought the best choice would be to make some more washcloth pillows.  So "washcloths for pillows" has been an item on my shopping list for awhile, but I never had time to browse that aisle in Walmart.

One day I was cruising past the clearance section and came upon a package of five microfiber "bar mop towels" in two nice shades of green.  Inspiration struck, and within a week I had carved out the time to make my pillows.

This is the darker green, though it doesn't appear all that dark in this photo.  See below for one of each.

I made each pillow out of two shades of green, so I can have two darker green pillows, two lighter green pillows, or one of each.

The colors are a bit truer-to-life in this lower picture.  My camera is so random at times!  One never knows what it will do.

Are they perfect?  No.  Will they stay pouffy?  Probably not.  Do they serve the purpose and look as good as I need them to look?  A resounding YES!

The rocker itself will have to be a project for another day.

I've taken the fish out to thaw, and fed the wood furnace.  The snow continues to fall.  Now back to tag making!

A simple tea rack

 
Many years ago when our daughters were at a boarding high school, they often brought friends home with them for the weekend.  At that time we kept our boxes of herbal and flavored tea neatly stacked in a kitchen cabinet.  Neatly, that is, until one went to pull out a particular box of teabags.  Then the stacking system revealed its inadequacies and instability.

I will never forget how embarrassed I was one weekend when some of the girls were making a cup of tea.  One of them reached for a particular flavor, and at least a half dozen boxes came out of the cabinet with it in a mini-avalanche of tea boxes!  Yes, we had come to the point where we had so many tea boxes that they began tumbling out of the cupboard.  Obviously, we had to figure out different storage for them.

 I had seen a rack for holding tea boxes offered in a tea catalog for around $80. It was beautifully constructed -- out of oak, if I remember right.  I showed it to Mr. T.  He figured he could make a “rustic” one out of pine to serve the same purpose, and he did. It's still serving us admirably after all these years. I couldn’t get a photo that showed the top shelf (too narrow of an area where the rack is located next to our back door), but the top shelf could be used either for display (which I do) or for 2 additional tea boxes.

Mr. T would want me to caution you, I know, that this rack is what he calls “rustic, very rustic.” It is  by no means fine carpentry and he realizes that. But it's a wonderful storage solution and is commented upon by almost everyone who spends any time in our kitchen.

It's fun, when visitors come and we offer them tea, for us to just point them to the tea rack and let them choose the flavor they like.

At the bottom of the rack, I have hung a teapot hanging made out of felt from a kit some years ago.
I’ve always wanted to make another, and saved the pattern just in case. And after many years, I did make another, this for a dear friend.

And then this final photo, which was not taken in my kitchen, but instead in an apartment kitchen in faraway Nevada. My daughter who lives in Nevada wanted a tea rack like mine, so on one of our first visits there,  Mr. T and our son-in-law worked together to make one. It’s so neat to think of her having something just like mine, that was handmade and designed by her dad, in her kitchen too.  Ten years later, with six growing children, they are no longer in a small apartment, but in a house, where the tea rack is on a dining room wall.


Hope you have enjoyed seeing this  simple tea rack.  If you also have issues with the current system you're using to store your boxes of tea, you might like to think about constructing one for your own use!  Mr. T won't mind a bit if you borrow his "rustic" idea!

I am linking up today with Sandi's No Place Like Home at Rose Chintz Cottage  and Bernideen’s Tea Time, Cottage and Garden Blog Party.  Also with Roses of Inspiration  and Share Your Cup Thursday.