Posted in Prayer and Praise
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Homemaking More Than Dishes and Laundry This is a wonderful Study that I ran across while visiting Peggy's Blog this afternoon. I don't know how I missed it before, but I am glad that I have found it now. What wonderful resource for those of us longing for simpler times with family and home. This study is not just about how to clean a floor or set a table; it is much more than that. Peggy has created a thought provoking journey that leads the reader to explore what home means to them. As we begin this New Year we all need a little reminder to stop and think about our goals for home and family. If you have some time, go to the link above and begin the study for yourself; you will be glad you did. |
Posted in Sweet Simplicity
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Visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook here. FOR TODAY January 5, 2009 Outside my window...Hazy WV skies just like the line from John Denver's song; "Dark and dusty painted on her skies..."
This is a photo of me in my living room. It was taken for an article that was featured in our local newspaper last week. This was a pleasant surprise and the first time that I have ever had anything written about me in the newspaper (and it wasn't in the "funny-paper" =-).
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FOR TODAY December 15, 2008
This is my dining room and my collection of Jolly Snowmen Thank you for stopping by to visit my little blog. I pray that you are having a Blessed Christmas season at your home, too. Please don't forget to stop by and visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook to see what's happening this week. Hugs for now, Charlotte |
Posted in Just Life
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Yesterday was one of those days when it seems that things change from minute to minute. I was anticipating a quiet, purposeful day where things got done in an orderly fashion and things did start off that way. My husband finished putting up the Christmas village and I was able to start some of my laundry, but that is about as far as things got. My mom called later in the morning after her Doctor's visit. He wanted her to go to the hospital because her blood presure had DROPPED to 80/20. This is a woman that has battled HIGH blood pressure for as long as I can remember. She begged him not to make her go (can you believe this) and he told her that she could go home and rest, but she was to come back on WEDNESDAY so that he could check her BP again :-o When I talked to her she was still crying because she did not want to go to the hospital-she had to do her monthly bills. I talked to her and expressed my concern about the matter. "Mom, this is VERY serious! your life is in real danger". Nonetheless, she did do her bills and then my Dad called to say that he was now talking to her doctor to make arrangements for her to have a room ready at the hospital. Their neighbor was at their house visiting (a dear Christian sister and a former HS mom- she is like an angel to our family) and she took mom as soon as the doctor called to say her room was waiting. I met them over there and spent the evening with mom and got her settled in. Her BP had come back to a more acceptable 120/70 but her doctor is very concerned and may want to change her meds. We will know more today. She has been on one new med that we think is causing her problem along with nausea and loss of appetite-I hope that they take her off of that one. Please say a prayer for my mom and dad as they are both in their 80s and have always been very independent (they are used to being the Helpers, not the Help-ees) and this is very hard on them. They still live in the same house that they bought in 1956 and they are both still able to drive (safely) and to take care of each other for the most part. We do have our days, however, and yesterday was one of them. I will be going to the hospital after while and also calling to see if Dad needs for me to help him with anything. I love my parents and wish that I could do more for them. Keep us in your prayers. Hugs, Charlotte |
Posted in Sweet Simplicity
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FOR TODAY: December 8, 2008 From the kitchen...The smell of coffee right now. Later today Chicken and rice casserole.
This is an ornamental crabapple tree loaded with berries that is right across from my house. We had snow on Saturday and the white flakes looked so lovely falling on the red berries. The little bench was placed by our town's garden club for people to use while waiting for the city bus. I think it is just kind of picturesque.
Hugs, Charlotte |
Posted in Sweet Simplicity
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Sometimes my life can seem so complicated; so much to do, so many people, so little time. I sometimes think that I am just going to collaps from it all. Those are the times that I step back and remind myself of just how much has changed over the last couple of years. It is hard to believe that I used to have to go to a job outside our home where I took care of up to 100 people per week, ordered furnishings for them and kept track of deliveries, went out on outside design calls, raced with other commuters to work, had only 1/2 hour for lunch and then raced again with even grumpier commuters back home from work. When I got home, I helped my dear hubby with our dinner, helped our very disgruntled little one with his homework, took care of evening chores and bathtime routines, prepared for the next day to do it all over again. At the same time I was also active in our church choir and helped with my parents as much as posible and managed to fit in some time for friends--WHEW! I realize as I reflect on these hectic days just how wonderfully simple my days have become. I have been thinking about joining in on Peggy's The Simple Woman's Daybook for some time now, but just have not taken the leap. I guess my greatest fear is that I will not keep up with the commitment to post every Monday. I am now ready to take the challenge and join in on the fun. I love to read the blogs of these sisters in simplicity and I want to share my days, too. Stop by this coming Monday as I start my jouney. Hugs, Charlotte |
Posted in Home Business
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I just realized how long it is has been since I stopped by to post anything.
The time just seems to fly around here by the time we make it through
classes and everyday chores as well as whatever project that I have going
at the time. I hope that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday
with your families and that you are well on the way to getting all of your
preparations finished for the Christmas Season. I wanted to pass along the
latest news from Cozy Home Designs as we are dedicated to helping you
create your own Cozy Home for your family to enjoy. I have exciting news
as I have discovered a new candle company: Diamond Creek Candles and I
now have my own web page set up with them at:
They are just GORGEOUS and you can purchase them online directly from
my web page and they will be shipped right to your door. Stop by the page
and check them out.
There are many new and wonderful things coming from them for the New Year also, so I will have lots to tell you in the next couple of months.
The catalog can be viewed online at www.homeinteriors.com by clicking
the link at the bottom of the main home page after you select your
language at the top of the opening page.
One more piece of information that I am just ecstatic about!!! I am now
an authorized dealer of If Walls Could Talk Vinyl Words for Walls. This
is a Christian company and there are a good variety of Scriptures and
sayings to choose from so that you can express your family's thoughts and
beliefs for others to see. They are easy to apply and easy to remove so
that you can change them when you are ready. Contact me to view their selection.
Thank each of you for supporting me with your thoughts, and your prayers
and your business. You are the driving force behind Cozy Home Designs and
the reason that I continue to look for new items to bring to you for your home.
I am hoping that you have the BEST Christmas ever that the Lord will continue
to bless you through the New Year.
Hugs for now,
Charlotte
"Betsy Ross was a WAHM"-Charlotte Spears
(comment on our American Heritage of cottage industry)
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Posted in Prayer and Praise
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Good morning to all and I hope that you are having a wonderful Blessed day. I have not posted this week as it has been one of those whirlwind weeks where I have had something to do away from the house almost every day. Today, my sweet hubby, son and myself are going to his mom's to spend the day. I will be taking her to her hair appointment and Robin is going to do some errends around her house and cook a wonderful crock pot meal for us all to enjoy this evening. She has become weaker over the last couple of years and recently hurt her knee. Please remember this dear lady in your prayers. She is our family "prayer warrior" and has a deep love for the Lord. It is hard seeing our parents grow older and my hubby and I have decided that we need to do more for them, now more than ever as they are not able to do as much as they used to. Pray that the Lord will continue to strengthen us both Spiritually and physically through this time of our lives. I also wanted to take a minute to direct you to a wonderful web site that a friend shared with me. It is called The Old Time Gospel and I have just spent the last half hour there, feeding on God's promises and enjoying there articles. If you have a few minutes go by and check it out at: http://www.theoldtimegospel.org/index.html I will close for now as the time is sneaking up on me and I have to start getting ready for our visit. Hugs to all, Charlotte
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Posted in Prayer and Praise
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But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. -James 1:25 Happy Independence Day May you be guided by His Divine Law of Liberty Love in Christ, Charlotte |
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WOW, have I been one busy mama this afternoon. I got my housework done early this morning because I have a meeting planned with another WAHM in our area. We are going to have coffee and talk shop and exchange cards and books. I have such a heart for we moms that work from home. I feel that we are trying our best to keep our priorities in order according to what Our Heavenly Father would have us to do. I have put together little packets for my new WAHM friend to share with her friends. I included a brochure about my design services, a pen with my info on it, a business card and a Home Interior July book. After I finished getting everything ready for the meeting, I had a minute to web-hop for a minute. As I was going through some of my previously bookmarked I rediscovered an old favorite. The Organized Home at http://organizedhome.com/ has TONS of printable forms to help you get organized. I hope that you are having a GREAT day today!!! Until Later, Stay Cozy, Charlotte |
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If you are anything like me, you are a REAL fan of cheese, I mean real cheese, not that processed stuff that you have to peel a wrapper off of--ICK! My dear Aunt Louise lived in the little picturesque town of Minerva, OH for most of her adult life and was also a fan of good cheese and dairy products. This was good, because Minerva is right in the heart of Ohio dairy country. One of her great traditions in the last 20 years of her life (she lived to be a blessed 95 years old, had a wonderfully bright mind and good health up until the last 2 years) was to send family and friends gifts from the Minerva Dairy located near her home. Their dairy is family owned and the cheese is AWESOME!!! I sometimes get so hungry for it that I just have to order a bit. My favorite is their Baby Swiss, but I also like the Farmer's Cheese---YUM!! Their web address is http://www.minervacheese.com/ and they include a page with the family business history as well as an area for you to choose gift boxes for sending to friends and family as well. I just had them on my mind this morning, (feelin'cheese-y, I guess) and thought I would pass their info on to all of you as well. Hope you have an AWESOME week-end. Love and hugs, Char |
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I LOVE comments!!! So imagine my complete joy and surprise this morning when I saw that there was a comment on my latest post-ie. Farmgal35 stopped by and tagged me. These things are fun, and the instruction is to answer the questions then go to 6 friends and tag them. Here goes... 1. What was I doing 10 yrs ago?
2. laundry 3. calling clients and friends 4. vaccuum 5. cook dinner
Thanks again to Farmgal35 for thinking of me. As you can see, some of your answers stayed pretty much the same, I think we have a lot in common (except, I wish I had a horse |
)Posted in My Recipes
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I am sitting at my little computer listening to the hum and the swish of the washing machine and the dryer hard at work. I am contemplating on what type of tea I would like while enjoying this quiet time before the dryer stops, forcing me to get up and fold those towels. I love a good cup of tea no matter what I am doing during the day. One of my favorite suppliers for bulk tea can be found here: Atlantic Spice Company at http://www.atlanticspice.com/. They have a WIDE variety of teas and spices to enhance all of your favorite recipes. I also had a new little recipe that I wanted to post that is a bit unusual, but, if you are a potato salad nut like me, you may appreciate it greatly. I discovered it on a week-end when I was out of fresh potatoes and was really "jonesin'" for some yummy 'tater salad to go with my famous 'tater chip chicken. I decided to try using whole canned potatoes instead and was really surprised at the result. I love it when a plan (no matter how kooky) comes together. Here is the recipe: Charlotte's In-A-Pinch Potato Salad
2 15oz cans whole potatoes drained and cut into cubes 1/2 medium onion chopped 1 stalk celery chopped 1/2 C Mayonnaise 1Tblsp Mustard 1-2 Boiled Eggs Ground pepper, season salt, Mrs Dash to taste Combine all of the above ingredients in a pretty serving dish and chill for at least one hour. Take it to your next picnic or church dinner and just see if anyone can tell the difference. You will be amazed. Enjoy!!! |
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OR: What to do with those left-over crumbled potato chips at the bottom of the bag:
1 C finely crushed potato chips
1/3 C all purpose flour
2 large chicken breasts cut in two lengthwise (or pieces of your choice)
1 Tbs Mrs Dash seasoning
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp seasoned salt
2 tsp italian herbs seasoning
(you may adjust seasonings to suit your taste, you can also experiment with your favorite seasoning combinations)
Mix the potato chip crumbs, flour and seasonings together in the potato chip bag or a large zip lock bag. Coat one piece of chicken at a time and place it in an oven safe baking dish sprayed or lightly coated with oil. If you like, you can pour what is left of the coating mix right on top of the chicken before baking. Bake in an oven heated to 350f for 35 minutes. The oil in the potato chips make the coating bake to a wonderful crispiness. Serve with the side dishes of your choice. Enjoy.
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We have been busy little bees around here with spring cleaning since the last week of March. We have dusted, polished, washed down and/or vacuumed just about every surface of our home; inside and out. This does not include all of the sorting out, tossing, donating and re-organizing of the items in closets and toy boxes---WHEW!!!! We still have: the fence to paint, porch benches to be built--maybe--curtains to make and a sign to be made for the front porch. I want a really cute wooden sign cut and routed by my husband that I can paint with the phrase: "Welcome to Our Cozy Home" to hang over the steps as you come onto our big front porch. We will probably get that done some time in June. Meanwhile, we have also finished and had our evaluation on Caleb's homeschool portfolio. I am glad to say that he has passed to the 4th grade. He is happy and the teacher that did our review seemed impressed with all that he had learned this past year. She especially liked the model Conestoga Wagon that Caleb and his dad had made together. He even showed her the rain barrel they had turned on my hubby's mini-lathe. She thought that was very clever of them. I am always relieved to get through the review and to turn in my paperwork to our local BOE for the next year. We did that on Monday and so we are ready for next year. We will continue to learn and to go on lots of "field trips" over the summer, but for now, school is officially "out" at our house. I have been experimenting a bit in our kitchen lately with new (or revised) recipes and have a few new "hits" added to the family favorites category. Last Friday, I made a little casserole for breakfast that was simple and did not take a lot of ingredients. Mostly because I did not have a lot of ingredients on hand--LOL
Use What Ya Got Breakfast Casserole 9x9 pan buttered or sprayed. 3 slices of bread-one torn in half placed in the bottom of the pan. Ham sandwich slices torn and placed on bread. Shredded cheese-any kind as much or as little as you like. 4 eggs beat with a splash of milk poured over all. Bake the casserole for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy
Love and Prayers, Charlotte
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Well, so I am still alive. Bet you all thought that I had moved to Mars or something... Hugs, Char |
I have just been busy around here with usual life stuff: you know-cleaning, homeschool, organizing and such. We have been staying healthy, so far, though a pretty nasty strain of the stomach virus has been going around our area. This is one important advantage of homeschooling, we do not come in contact with as many "yuckies" as we did when Caleb went to PS daily. My gran-babies had a run-in with this virus and their mama said that she wished that week that she was homeschooling so maybe they would not have gotten it. I am getting ready to hop off of here and get started on my day. I love Saturdays and usually leave them as open as possible so that we can just drop and go if we feel like going someplace. I hope that you all have a wonderful week-end. Posted in Chores, chores, chores
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I am working on a new schedule for housework for the new year. I am usually not one to write down a schedule, but life is just getting busier and busier and it seems like a good time to try this out. Here is what I have so far: Monday Laundry,Pick up and put away after the week-end, Put away towels, Vaccuum Tuesday Upstairs Cleaning: Dust, Clean Bathroom, mop, Change Beds, Put away clean clothes Wednesday Downstairs Cleaning: Dust, Mop floors, Mid-week laundry, Clean Bathroom Thursday Sort Papers, Vaccuum, Clean out the fridge--toss all possible "science projects" lurking there.... Friday nothing here yet Daily Make beds, Clean kitchen, Wipe off toilets, Put away toys, Sweep floors Monthly Sort out clutter & donate or toss unused items, Take magazines to library, Deep clean fridge with mild bleach solution. I am hoping that this will keep life a little more organized and pleasant. This list does not include my goals for homeschooling or for my business; I will work on those lists later this month. I also hope to put a family cookbook together for my children as they are always asking how to make favorite family dishes....this makes me all warm inside. Nice to know that they want to carry on family traditions. I hope that all is well at your house and that everyone is healthy and happy. Stay Cozy and God Bless, Char |
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I am one of those people that gets entirely overwhelmed by the Christmas Holiday season. I don't intend for it to happen, I try to simplify my routine as much as possible, but, try as I might, it always happens. This is the reason for my prolonged absence from blogging. My focus was on Spiritual growth, family and homeschool functions and, as always, baking. I make a lot of cookies for gifts to family and friends. Sometimes I feel like Mrs. Fields Christmas morning was spent here with our children and grandchildren dropping by to visit and tear into packages. We traveled to my MIL's house around 2:00 for a HUGE dinner with my Hubby's family. He and his sis cooked up a meal fit for a King: Ham with Pineapple glaze, Hashbrown casserole (CrackerBarrel style), two kinds of pie, green beans, Spaghetti Squash/Cheese casserole, etc, etc. His mom made her famous stuffing with water chestnuts and mushrooms. I made my sweet potato casserole with lots of marshmallows on top. We were all STUFFED and happy and decided that my Hubby and SIL should open a restaurant I hope to share more recipes with you soon and hope that everyone has a New Year filled with the Grace, Love and Peace from our Heavenly Father. Love and Prayers, Char |
Posted in My Recipes
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I am taking today to catch up on writing, both on my blogs and some articles that I have in the works for other projects. I wanted to post some of our favorite little recipes here, as promised, since this is what I wanted this blog to be for. Home, family, good food and friends. Here we go: Fall Skillet One Polska Keilbasa cut into 1/4inch slices 1/2 large onion wedged 1-2 apples sliced or diced into chunks 1 green pepper (optional) chunked In a large iron skillet. pour about 2 tablespoons of oil and heat until warm. Place the Keilbasa slices in the heated oil along with the other ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat until all of the ingredients have an allover golden brown appearance. This comes from the carmelization of the meat juices mixing with the sugar in the apples. The smell will be slightly smokey and the vegetables will be tender but not overcooked or burnt. Serve with a salad and grapes for desert. Great for cool fall evenings. Chicken and Dumplings One whole chicken cut into pieces Large stock pot for boiling chicken Enough water to cover the chicken parts Sliced Carrots, Celery, Onion Salt and pepper to taste added to the water 2 Cups Self-Rising flour 3/4 Cup Milk 1 stick of butter Boil the chicken parts, onion, celery, carrots, salt and pepper until the chicken is done and tender. Remove the chicken from the stock and either de-bone and add back or season the chicken and bake at 350 until brown to serve with the dumplings. Add some flour thickener to the broth. It is best to use All Purpose flour mixed with water into a paste for this, but be careful not to add it fast our you will get lumps. If you take some of the hot broth out into a bowl and then slowly add it to the thickener and then putting it in the broth this will help. I do not remove the veggies from the broth as I like it to be more like a stew so that I know Caleb gets his veggies for the day. You can remove them if you like and serve them separate. Just take them up before you add the thickener. Next, mix the Self-Rising flour and the milk together for the dumplings. The consistency should be like buiscut dough, but not quite as stiff. You will want to drop the stick of butter into the boiling stock and then turn the heat down and allow the broth to reduce to a simmer before you add the dough to it. Drop the dough into the broth by the Tablespoon trying not to drop one on top of another (this causes sinkers--the ones that end up on the bottom and get tough) After you have dropped in all of the dough, put the lid on the stock pot and allow to cook over medium/low heat for 10-12 minutes. Do not take the lid off during this time, and watch carefully so you can turn the heat down if it starts to boil over. Your dumplings should look like fluffy clouds and be tender. This sounds like a lot of trouble, but your family is worth it and WOW are they good. This is my mom's recipe and one that was often made for Sunday supper. Hope you enjoy them. I will send more recipes soon. God bless you as you go through this next week. Love and prayers, Char |
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Uh oh, seems it has been much longer than I had intended for it to be since my initial entry. I do apologize. We have had a few things going on. First of all, my husband had a heart cath resulting in a new stint being placed in his heart on August 24th. He is doing well and is to go back for a follow up stress test around the middle of the month. Our mama tabby kitty had a litter of 3 little kittens this past Monday. They were premature and she rejected them. We found a very dear young couple that agreed to take them to hand raise them. They have a lot of experience with this as they are volunteers with a local pet rescue group. I was grateful and we are making arrangements to have "mama" fixed. She has had enough little ones. She is seven years old. No, she is not a pure breed, just a Tabby, but I have always had great success in finding homes for her progeny as they have always been so CUTE and well adjusted to people. I am really ready for the Fall season, it is my VERRRRY favorite. I can't wait to get some photos of the mountains dressed in their colorful best. We have one little tree right across the road from us that usually shows off especially well. I am also looking forward to breaking out our favorite Fall recipes for another season and also trying out some new ones. My husband enjoys cooking as much (even more) than I do and has some really good ideas floating around under his chef's hat. I am going to do some carmel apples with Caleb and my two little gran-babies (7 and 5) one afternoon, too. Looking forward to some fresh apple cider, too. What a GREAT gift from Our Heavenly Father, this wonderful season filled with beauty and goodness. I will try not to be so long between posts again. I will get a few recipies in front of me for next time so that I can share a few favorites with you all, too. May God bless you with a His wonderful Love until we meet again, Char |