Happy New Years Everyone 2009 !

I hope you all have a very Happy New Years!

My wish for the new year for everyone is peace and happiness! I hope 2009 will be a better year for all of us.

I am so happy to have met all of you, my new and dear friends, and I hope we can all get to know each other better in the coming year. I so enjoy reading the posts you all have on your blogs....I've laughed with you and I've cried with you. I love reading the comments you leave here too! Thank you all so much!

I wish you all happiness, peace, good health and many blessings in the coming year!

love and God Bless,
Brenda

We're Back Online YIPPEE!!

We've been changing our "office/sewing room" around over the last few days and had our computers down off and on during that time. My sewing machine is now right next to my computer Yippee!! I'm happy now I can just turn my chair a quarter turn and I'm at my sewing machine,,,no excuse now not to sew!!!!

I did some sewing for Kevin (DH) over the last week and now I'm ready to start on some new projects for my CD&C Store. I have a lot of ideas for things I want to make so I better be getting busy. I also have a lot of vintage items I'm going to be posting to sell in my store too. These are things that have been in my family for at least 50 years! I will be doing this right after New Years!

I have been sorting through more recipes too and will be posting more of them on the CD&C Cookbook after New Years!

I hope you all had a nice Christmas and that you will have a Happy New Year too! We had a quiet day especially since there is just the 2 of us and we are both fight colds or flu or whatever it is that seems to be going around! YUCK!! I've got too much I want to do to not be feeling good!

I'm starting to get a little on the sleepy side so I think I will say goodnight for now and visit with you all some more tomorrow!

Have a good night!

Hugs and Blessings!
Brenda

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!!!!

I wanted to take a few minutes to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!

I would also like to thank each and everyone of you for stopping by to visit. I have enjoyed reading all of the wonderful comments you have left for me, and I hope you have enjoyed reading my posts. I will get better at this and learn more of the technical end of things (I hope)! I have only been blogging since November and I feel like I have made so many new and wonderful friends. I treasure you all.

I know I haven't been posting much lately , the holidays are kind of rough this year. I am finally working my way through losing mom and picking up the pieces and getting on with my life. I know this is what Mom would want me to do, and I know she is in a much better place too.

I have a lot of hopes and dreams for the new year and for my blogs. I hope you will all come along for the adventure. I would sure enjoy your companionship along the way.

Merry Christmas to you all!
God Bless you all on this Special Day!
Love,
Brenda

Christmas is almost here and......

I haven't made out the first Christmas Card yet!

I did bake 2 kinds of cookies yesterday, Chocolate Chip and 9 Layer cookies! LOL !!

Talk about being slow, this is the worst I've ever been! I just can't seem to get into the holidays' this year. I don't seem to have much spirit for some reason. I think a lot of it is missing mom and not having any other family or friends near to share the holidays with. It's really hitting me hard this year. I think that is the main reason I haven't been posting too much on here right now.

I will get myself back on the right track! I promise, I have a lot of ideas for all 3 blogs so I've got to get the lead out and get busy....right after the holidays.

Today I was digging around in the walk-in where I keep all of my sewing stash and brought out all of my patterns. BIG MISTAKE!!!! I was wanting to make some new clothes for me and for Kevin...well ... all of MY patterns seem to be a lot smaller in size than I am!!! I didn't know patterns could change size like that sitting in a closet !! LOL.

Well,,,,I know I'm not fooling any of you all, the patterns didn't shrink, I expanded (a lot more than I had thought)!! I knew I had gained weight but WOW I didn't think I had gotten that much bigger!!

I think it is time to do some serious changing of eating and exercise habits and soon!! Kevin and I both need to lose a lot of weight so I need to sit down and work with my diabetic diet plan (no I haven't been following it at all) :>( I know, I'm bad ! I'm glad I didn't do a whole lot of baking. I froze almost all of the chocolate chip cookies and just left the "9 Layer Cookies" out because they don't freeze well.

I had advertised my 12qt. canner for sale on the local radio bargain barn. I didn't think it was going to sell because it had been 2 weeks and on the last day it was listed I got a call. The lady came and picked it up last night. I hated to sell it but we have an electric stove (a furnished, cheap one!) in the apartment and the weight of the canner with just water in it was too much weight for the burner. The canner was sitting right on the stove top and scorched the top of the stove. I was able to get it clean thankfully! I wouldn't have been able to lift it full of jars with my back the way it is. I would love to have a gas stove again!!! I hate electric!!

I still have my small pressure cooker/canner that will do 4 pints at a time. I need to get a new pressure valve and gasket for it and it will be ready to use. My Christmas present to myself!! I want to be able to can up our left overs instead of freezing them. I also dehydrate a lot of things too.

Tomorrow and the next few days will be spent behind the sewing machine so I can get Kevin's things finished for Christmas. I may not be here much the next couple of days except to check -in.

I have a sale going on at the store blog for a limited time!

I believe this is starting to turn into a book so I had better end this soon.

I have enjoyed reading all of your wonderful blogs and your comment on my posts, thank you, and about your plans for Christmas.

Have a good night and God Bless all of you,

Blessings and Joy,
Brenda

Christmas Sale at my Store...

I have the Aprons and Towel/Hotpad Sets on sale for a limited time!

http://countrydreamsandcreationsstore.blogspot.com/

Be sure to check them out!

Thanks and Hugs,
Brenda

The Simple Woman's Daybook,Dec. 17, 2008

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...is total darkness, it's 8:00 PM

I am thinking... how much I need to get done in the next week

I am thankful for... the nice visit I had with my aunt( daddy's sister) and uncle from out of town yesterday and for the nice phone chats I've had with Elaine, my cousin in KY. the last few days

From the kitchen...I smell the lingering smells of tonights dinner

I am wearing...comfortable slacks and top

I am creating...ideas for new sewing projects

I am going... to be very busy the next week baking and sewing

I am reading...the Bible and getting ready to start a mystery story, not sure if I will like it or not!

I am hoping...the weather doesn't get too bad

I am hearing...the sounds of the keys clicking on our computers as we are both, Kevin & I, working on them tonight

Around the house... everything looks a little like Christmas

One of my favorite things... Listening to Christmas Music

A few plans for the rest of the week: baking all kinds of things I'm not supposed to eat and sewing up a storm getting Kevin's Christmas made!

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

This is a wall hanging I made for mom that hung in her room at the nursing home . It now hangs in our office.

You can create your own DayBook by visiting: The Simple Woman:
Blessings and Joy,
Brenda

Our Wedding Anniversary ! !

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary. Kevin and I were married, Dec.14,2002. We just had a very small ceremony and reception in the sunroom at the nursing home so mom could be a part of our day!

She still knew what was going on around her even though she had already started to lose her ability to speak...she just made sounds. Mom could still show emotion though. We had pre-taped some music and when Ave Maria played mom started crying. It was played at her and daddy's wedding too and I guess it brought back a lot of memories for her.

Our wedding day was a bittersweet day for all of us but at least mom was a part of it!

We've had a lot of ups and downs over the last 6 years like everyone does. Kevin fell 2 1/2 years ago and fractured the femur in his left leg and that has left him with some mobility problems. I have arthritis and fibromyalgia in all of my joints especially my back and legs so I have some mobility problems too. We don't give up though! Hopefully we'll have many more years together too!

Kevin made this for us to remember the day! (pronounced "Witty") :


Thanks for sharing our day with us!

Blessings,
Brenda

Morning Sky 12/14/08

The sky this morning, I don't think there are words that can describe these pictures:

New Blogs Added ! !

I have started 2 new blogs this morning ......

"Country Dreams and Creations Cookbook" ..... to keep all of my recipes in.
The recipes will be old family recipes, recipes from friends and recipes that mom and I have collected over the years.

Also

"Country Dreams and Creations Store".... as a place to sell my handmade items.
The store will also have a "Sale" section for supplies... Craft books, fabric, lace, pearls, and anything else pertaining to sewing and crafts that I no longer need or want. My interests have changed in some of the crafts I do and there is no need for me to keep items I will no longer use. These items will be priced to sell, not for me to make a profit from. My loss will be your gain!

The links are over there on the right--------> !!

I hope you stop by often to check them out as I will be adding things daily. It will be a slow process until after the holidays so please have patience with me. I'm not as speedy as I used to be LOL!!

Blessings and Joy,
Brenda

The Simple Woman's Daybook,Dec. 8, 2008

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... I see a cloudy, gray and cold sky. There is still a little trace of snow on the ground.

I am thinking... about Mom, It has been 1 year ago today that she left this world for a better place in Heaven, She is now free from the wrath of Alzheimers Disease.

I am thankful for... Having had the wonderful Mother that I did, she was my best friend.

From the kitchen... I see a lot of baking ahead of me for the holidays.

I am wearing... comfortable slacks and pullover top.

I am creating... 2 new blogs..1 for recipes and the other to sell my handmade items plus the stash of supplies that I will no longer need.

I am going... to go back and finish up decorating the apartment for Christmas.

I am reading... Old recipe books

I am hoping...God will help me through these next few days of remembering mom and make me as strong as she was.

I am hearing... the humm of the computer

Around the house... All is quiet right now but will be busy soon with us (dh & me) sorting through boxes of ornaments.

One of my favorite things...the smells of Christmas

A few plans for the rest of the week: to make Kevin's Christmas present and work on the 2 new blogs.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

You can create your own Daybook by visiting The Simple Woman.

God Bless,
Brenda

Aprons and Towel/Hot-Pad sets for sale !

These 2 aprons are both fully lined and could be worn with either side showing. The vegetable print apron has a large split pocket across the front on the print side. They are $15.00 each plus S&H.

The towel/hot-pad sets, I have 1 of the hot peppers and 2 of the BBQ, both have vintage buttons .
They are $7.50 each plus S&H.

I accept PayPal or if you want to pay back check I can send you an invoice through PayPal. Please email me if you have any questions.





Blessings,
Brenda

The Pictures I Promised!!!!!

These are all pictures of aprons and towel/hot-pad sets that I have made and sold in the past.

The towel/hot-pad sets all have vintage buttons on the hot-pad to fasten them over the oven door.

The aprons were all made so they could be reversible....most all had large pockets across the front.









Blessings,
Brenda

Tomorrow.........

I will post more craft/sewing pictures. I promise!


I had to do the grocery thing today, Aldi's and Walmart. I'm worn out and barely walking. I still have to go to Krogers. I get everything we need at the first of the month. It totally wears me out but I don't have to deal with it later especially during the winter months when we never know what the Ohio weather will be from one day to the next.

I will be here all day tomorrow so will be posting all the pictures I can find!

take care,
Blessings,
Brenda

Mom's Freedom Eagle

This Eagle I stitched as a tribute to Mom after she passed away 1 year ago....... Dec. 8, 2007.

Mom always liked eagles and to me it represented 2 things, Freedom and Strength.
Freedom for mom from the 17 years she suffered from Alzheimers.
Strength for me to go on with life the way she would want me to.

The Eagle only took me a little over 2 months to do , stitching just in the evenings. I know the colors aren't quite true to an eagles color, but mom and I both had/have a quirky side to us and liked to do our own thing LOL!

I have the eagle framed and where I can see it every day.

God Bless,
Brenda

Recipe......Cookbook

I have decided to post all of my recipes in my blog and use it for my cookbook so I can share it with you all. I had originally planned on putting them all on my external hard drive, I might still do this too...just as a back-up.

I started changing the labels on the recipes I already posted so that I can have different categories. The recipes will be easier to find this way too! I'm sure this will be an on-going project as I have a mountain of recipes to sort through.

Blessings,
Brenda

Sewing & Craft Pictures Coming!!!!

I just thought I'd let you all know I will be posting some pictures of some crafts that I have done in the past and sold.

I also have a couple of things for sale that I will post pictures of too!!

See you tomorrow with the pictures!!

Blessings,
Brenda

Banana Split Cake

2 c. graham crackers finely ground
2 sticks butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. pineapple, drained and mashed
2 sticks butter
1 Large tub Cool Whip
4 bananas, sliced
Walnuts & cherries for topping

Melt 2 sticks of butter and mix with ground graham crackers in 9x13 oblong pan.
Beat 2 eggs, vanilla, sugar, and 2 sticks butter NO LESS than 20 minutes.
Cover crackers with creamed mixture, mashed pineapple and then sliced bananas.
Spread cool whip over bananas .

Top with nuts and cherries.

Chill 24 hours before serving!

This is so good .....of course it doesn't have any calories Ha Ha!!

Enjoy!
Brenda

Peanut Butter Crunchies

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. chunky peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg well beaten
1/2 c. milk

Sift flour, add baking powder, soda and salt.
Cream together shortening and peanut butter.
Gradually blend in sugar and brown sugars. Add egg and mix thoroughly.
Stir in flour mixture alternately with milk, mix well.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in moderate oven 375º about 12 minutes.

cool on rack

Yield: about 3 dozen.

This was the peanut butter cookie recipe mom always made when I was growing up.

Brenda

Cream Cheese Bars

Mix:
1 yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
1 egg
1 cup chopped nuts
Pour into 9x13 pan

Cream together:
1 pkg. cream cheese
2 eggs
1# confectioners sugar
Pour over batter.

Bake at 350º for 25 minutes then 325º for 30 minutes.

I got this recipe from a friend many years ago and it is still a favorite!

Enjoy!
Brenda

Gloomy Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008

I hope you all had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Kevin and I had a quiet day, but it was ok. It seemed strange without Mom. My mom has been on my mind a lot lately, she passed away Dec.8, 2007 after a 17 year battle with Alzheimers. I know she is at peace now and not suffering from such a terrible disease. I will share her story with you as soon as I am able....probably after the holidays.

It is a cold and gloomy 26º here in south central Ohio, with a few snow flurries floating around. I'm sitting here listening to a Yanni CD. I should be up and doing a lot of other things like taking down the fall decorations and putting up Christmas decorations. I'm going to go through all of the Christmas things and only keep what really has meaning to us. It's amazing how much of that stuff you can accumulate over the years!!

I've been trying to do a lot of downsizing on things around here. We live in a 2 bedroom apartment but I just have way too much stuff!! We would love to have a small house in the country so I could have a garden and we would have our own yard to enjoy. Kevin and I, (especially me) have to face the reality though that neither of us is physically able to take care of all the upkeep that goes with having a house in the country or anywhere for that matter. I have Arthritis and Fibro-Myalgia and it gets worse each day. I can barely walk some days, today is one of those days. Kevin fell and fractured his left Femur 2 years ago and it has left him with mobility problems too. We make a sad looking sight together but we manage to get things done!! :<)

The blog now has a Christmas theme instead of Thanksgiving, I've been trying to get that changed for a couple of days but my computer and/or the internet did not want to co-operate with me. I hope to post a few more recipes this week..... some of the favorites we used to make during the holidays.

I had better get to work on my grocery list so the pantry doesn't look so bare! I hate to go to the grocery anymore it is really getting depressing. The prices are all up from what they were the previous month. I so miss having a big garden and canning and freezing enough food to get us through the year. I buy things in bulk when I can get a good price (hard to find these days) and "put" them up for future use. I grow most all of my own herbs and dry those during the season too... every little bit helps!

I hope you all have a great day!
Take care and God Bless,

Brenda

Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted to take this time to wish you all a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. I know I just started blogging very recently but the people I've met so far are the greatest. I have learned so much from you and you have helped me to grow spiritually . I hope to get to know more of you as time goes by and to be able to share life's ups and downs together. Thank you for coming into my life, and letting me into yours.
Hugs and God Bless,
Brenda

Sunday, November 23, 2008

It's a beautiful, warm 45º afternoon. I was just sitting here going through some of my recipes and listening to a Mozart CD. I love classical music! Thanks to mom I also like Big Band....Glen Miller, the Dorsey Brothers, Gene Kruppa, Buddy Rich,and many more..they rock!!! It's quiet in here right now, Kevin is taking a nap and the cat is sleeping in her bed next to the computer and I'm enjoying the music and visiting with you all.

I'm just trying to have a quiet peaceful day today and not move around too much. I kind of over did things yesterday and when I was getting dressed this morning I pulled all of the muscles in my back.. again.. I can't even take a deep breath yet...heating pad isn't even helping.

I did have my sewing machine and everything that goes with it set up in the walk-in closet (6'x6') kind of cramped. Well I got tired of being shut in a closet!soooo, I moved a couple of small shelving units and made enough room for my sewing table and 1(4ft. high) stack of plastic drawers behind my computer desk. A 5' board across 2 filing cabinets..it works for me!! I have just enough room between the sewing machine and the computer desk to swivel my office chair. I can go back and forth between the 2 of them now. I have so much more light..I am right next to a window. I hope I will get a lot more sewing done now since I'm not in the closet. I still have 1 whole side and the top of both shelves full of my stash of fabric and other crafting supplies.

We can now put our clothes in the walk-in instead of having them in the office closet! Nice feeling!!

I just changed music. I'm now listening to Yanni, Mozart was putting me to sleep, it was a tranquility CD.

I think I will see if I can find what I have have finished in the ways of crafts, sewing etc. and post pics of that. I will also see if I can find some pics of other things I've done in the past to post also.

I will also try to tell you the story behind the Eagle that I made. The picture is posted under the Simple Woman's Daybook.

Blessing and hugs,
Brenda

Mom's Sour Cream Cookies

3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. soft butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. dairy sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

TOPPING
1/2 c. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon mixed.

Mix flour, baking powder, soda and salt, set aside.
In large bowl on med. speed mix butter, sugar and egg until light and fluffy.
At low speed beat in sour cream and vanilla until smooth.
Gradually beat in flour mixture until well combined.
Refrigerate 1 hour.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 375º.
Lightly grease cookie sheets, drop batter by slightly rounded tbsp., 2" apart.
Sprinkle topping on unbaked cookies.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown, cool.

yield 6 Dozen

Mom made these quite often. Reading this and seeing her hand writing really brings back a flood of memories. She had written in the corner... Brenda very good!

Great-Grandma's Coffee Cake

1 c. mashed potatoes
1 pt. liquid (use potato water)
3/4 c. melted lard
1 c.sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 cake yeast in 1/4 c. lukewarm water & 1 tsp sugar
Flour enough to knead.
Bake in moderate oven.

* My grandmother wrote her recipes down with the assumption you knew what you were doing LOL!!

Roscoe's Leather Bread

2 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
Milk to moisten about 1/2 c.

Mix together with hands.
Knead until smooth.
Roll out to about 1/2"-1" thick.
Cut with biscuit cutter.
Fry in hot bacon fryings until done and lightly browned. ( Doesn't take long to fry).

Serve warm

Roscoe was my Step-dad and had been a cook in the Navy. Leather Bread was one of the favorites he was asked to make. It is so good!!

Friday, November 21,2008

I can't believe it's Friday! The week has gone by just way too fast to get everything done that I had planned....or maybe I'm just getting slower at doing things LOL!!

It's been a beautiful, but cold day here, I don't think it ever made 30º today.

I just wanted to post a short note for now. I have some mending I need to catch up on. It's been piling up for way to long. I want to get somethings made for Christmas so I better get busy or it will be next Christmas before they are finished!

Lea, from Farmhouse Blessings, thank you so much for all your help. I can now post pictures sooooo look out! I will be adding pics as time goes on... I have a bunch!

I will be able to post the pics of the craft and sewing things I have finished now, they will be coming next week too.

The picture of the eagle in my Daybook has a special story behind it. I will be telling about that in the Alzheimers posts later.

Last night I fixed a huge pot of pasta sauce and added meat to 1/2 of it. We had supper out of it and I had enough left to freeze 9 pints----5 w/meat and 4 w/o meat.It's nice to know we have the start for 9 more meals in the freezer. I like to do OAMC in small batches. My back and legs won't let me do it all in 1 or 2 days. I just double or triple recipes and freeze or can what is left for later.

Tonight is going to be pancakes and eggs!!

I'm off here for now, and on to the sewing machine.
Have a great evening!!

God Bless,
Brenda

The Simple Woman's Daybook, Nov.21

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... I see a brilliant blue sky with fluffy white clouds.

I am thinking...I need to be finishing up a lot of projects that have been left un-finished

I am thankful for...A warm place to live.

From the kitchen... I just finished filling 9 jars with pasta sauce and put them in the freezer. good feeling knowing that 9 more meals have a start.

I am wearing... an old pair of knit pants and tee shirt, I like to be comfortable.

I am creating...Kevin's ( DH) Christmas present in my mind so I will have everything ready to do the actual work on it. I can't say what it is because he reads my blog.

I am going... to straighten up my sewing space so I can get some work done in there.

I am reading...my way through a stack of old family recipes and sorting them out.

I am hoping...The rest of the day is peaceful here and that my back pain will let up .

I am hearing... old soft rock and roll music playing on the radio.

Around the house... I'm trying to gather up things that have been in our family for years so that I can pass them on to younger members of the family.

One of my favorite things... Watching Missy my cat sleeping peacefully next to me.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Clear out my filing drawers of old papers, finish up a big stack of mending.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



You can create your own Daybook by visiting The Simple Woman.

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com

Wednesday , November 19

We awoke this morning to a cold 17ºF here in south-central Ohio. A little colder than normal for this time of year! Brrrrr

I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving, my first one without mom. I miss her so much. She was in a nursing home but I was still able to visit her. She wasn't able to speak for the last 3+ years and I'm not sure if she knew me or not but she knew someone was there. Alzheimer's is so devastating.
Enough of that for right now or I will be in tears. Thanksgiving will be a quiet day just Kevin and I as we have no other family near. I do have a cousin in southern KY. but that is too far to visit. I would love to move there, Kentucky and Tennessee are 2 of my favorite states.

I posted a recipe today for my great-grandmothers cream puffs.....they are soooo good. I hope you enjoy them if you try the recipe! I hope to try and post a recipe a day if I can decipher her writing. The recipes are written in pencil and a lot of them have faded, torn or are smudged. Her cookbook has been around for many years and I am so glad to have it. She lived with our family so everything was passed on to mom and then to me. I hope to start passing her things onto my cousins kids while I'm still around to see who gets what! It's time for the younger ones to enjoy the family things what there is of them, not really that many. I'm just glad her kids have a love of antiques and family!

I'm off to the kitchen now to get those chocolate chip cookies baked that I keep putting off. I know I won't be able to bake them without eating a few and I don't really need the extra weight...but it is almost the holidays....right!!!! hmmmmm sounds like a good excuse to me to sample some!! I'm going to put on a big pot of spaghetti sauce on to cook too for tonights dinner and I will freeze the rest for other meals.

Have a great day and keep warm,
God Bless,
Brenda

Great-Grandma's Cream Puffs and Custard Filling

Cream Puffs
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. melted shortening
1 c. water
3 eggs unbeaten

Sift flour and salt into bowl. Melt shortening in a pan with the water and boil. When this reaches a rapid boil pour into flour and stir well. Add 1 egg at a time and beat well. Drop by tsp. on ungreased baking sheet and bake in pre-heated oven 450º for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350º and bake an additional 30 minutes.
Cool and fill with custard filling.

Custard Filling
1 pint milk
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. flour
1 or 2 eggs beaten ( I use 2)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla.

Stir all ingredients together and boil to a thick cream,
Stir very often.

Agnes Farrenkopf McFarland 1888-1974

I usually double the custard...it is delicious!!

Old Family Recipes

I've been gathering up all of the old family recipes. It's amazing how many places that I have found recipes that were tucked here and there into books, boxes. anyplace you can imagine.

I want to put them all together into a family cookbook the hardest part will be trying to read the recipes. The recipes were hand written by my great-grandmother and were done in pencil.....I have her old cookbook!!!! A lot of them are fading away or have been torn or erased. I'm going to do my best to copy them into a cookbook form. I want to copy all of them into the computer and save them on a CD. I can then make copies for anyone else in the family who wants them.

I have mom's recipes and some of my own that were family favorites too.

I will share some of them here with all of you as I go through them all.

God Bless,

Brenda

Mom's battle with Alzheimers

I want to devote a section of my blog to Alzheimers. It is such a devastating disease. My mother suffered for 17 years from it. She had a long hard battle. It finally overtook her Dec.8,2007. I will go into more details later and if anyone has any questions or comments I would love to hear from you.

God bless,

Brenda

Sewing

Pictures of the craft and sewing items I have made will hopefully be posted by then end of the week. Some of the items will be for sale, just in time for Christmas!!

I used to do craft shows but gave it up for a while when I was caring for my mother who had Alzheimers.. she will be gone from this earth to a better place 1 year on Dec. 8. I miss her so much. I will talk more about this later.

Brenda

Monday, November 17

We woke up this morning to find the ground covered with a light dusting of snow, it looked beautiful. It melted away within a couple of hours though. We've had a mix of snow flurries and sleet off and on all day.

I had wanted to post on here everyday but the last couple of days I've been a little under the weather...fighting that virus that's going around. I hope I've won this round with it LOL. I did play around on the blog some yesterday, trying to figure out how to add music. I figured out how to get a playlist made but couldn't figure out how to put it on the site. I gave it a try today and got it figured out. Lea , from Farmhouse Blessing's, I hope you don't mind but I loved the music you have on your site so that's what I started out with. I need to look through my cd's and pick out some other music to add.

I hope to add pics of some of the things I've made and have for sale. I need to get a lot more made ! I have quite a stash of fabric and odds and ends that need to be used up before I allow myself to get anything else. All of you crafters and sewers know how that is!!

The kitchen seems to be calling me I want to do a little baking this afternoon ssems like a good way to warmup the apartment. It's been a long time since I've done any baking..time to get back into it.

A little more to do on here then I'm off to the kitchen until tomorrow..

Have a good afternoon and may God Bless you,

Brenda

Friday, November 14

I can't believe this week is almost over, The time is really flying by and I feel like I am not getting as much done as I wanted. I did get this site up and running this week so that made me happy. I still have so much I want to add to it but that will all come in time and with a little more experience on doing a blog.

I spent most of the day deleting emails and dropping the sites they were coming from, they sure do accumulate fast! and take up a lot of time that I want to spend here on this site.

I hope to get a start on scanning old family photos into the computer next week to save. I will then pass the albums and loose photos onto my cousins' family so they will be kept in the family. I have a lot of old family recipes I want to do that with also. I will share some of the photos and old recipes with you all on here.

Next week I also need to get busy sewing. I have a few things I want to make for Kevin for Christmas and the time is creeping up on me!!!! We usually make each other something instead of buying gifts. We are on a very limited income , besides it means more when it's made by hand and from the heart. We have no other immediate family so it's just the 2 of us. I'm glad we have each other.

I hope to start a section on here of crafts and sewing that I've done and that are for sale. I just need to figure out how to do that... I guess that means more researching.....hmmmm.....

I hope you all have a good evening and God Bless,

Brenda

Wednesday Nov. 12,

It's already noon, I can't believe how fast the morning has gone. I have been messing around with this site trying to get it the way I want it to be. I'll be adding a lot of other things in days to come. It will just take me a while to learn all of this, and fit it in to my real life schedule!



It's chilly here in south central Ohio, even saw a few snowflakes the other day. I am so not ready for snow yet! I think the rest of my day will be spent doing some mending and possibly a little baking. Kevin, DH, has been wanting me to bake some chocolate chip cookies. It seems like just the right kind of a day to be doing some baking!!



I just wanted to get something posted on here to get this started. I hope anyone that might stop by to read this will like what they see here and stop back often. I love to make new friends!!



Have a great day and God Bless, Brenda