Day Eleven....Flexibility

Flexibility....Giving Thanks for that five syllable word.

I learned the "How To" at a young age...not knowing I was doing the action.

Have you ever had the privilege of watching someone who just does not have the ability to be...Flexible!!

It can be quite amusing...!!!


I personally do not see this as a Gender issue. I have worked with and personally know male and female who have or do not have the gift of being...

Flexible..

I learned from the best..
Thanks, Mom and have a Happy Birthday with Dad!

Day Ten....Bargin

Giving Thanks on this day would be for the ability to find a bargin....



I saved so much money Tuesday on supplies for Holiday Crafts, simply by taking advantage of pre season sales, coupons and discount stores...

I am a stickler for...Quality

If I can find what my need is without going out of my way, and the quality of the product is within my approval...I am a very happy person.

During this very busy time of year, and the economy at its lowest...
I encourage to take the time to shop around and take advantage of the discounts that are available at many retail and already discounted stores...

Day Nine...

As I start the day, Giving Thanks is for all the Service men and women who have served our country in the Armed Forces....

Today we salute you.....

My Military Family consists of:

My Father...USAF~Korean War
My Brother, Mike..USAF~ Langley Air Force Base, VA~Intelligence
My Brother, Doug....USAF~Barksdale Air Force Base, LA~Nuclear Tech
My Husband...USMC~Okinawa, Japan~Multi-Fuel Specialist
My Father-In-Law....USAC~WWII~~Purple Heart Recipient

Follow the link below to the Introduction of the
Purple Heart
http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature/celebrate/purple-heart.asp


I am an active member of the Ladies Auxiliary Of Foreign Wars...

Follow the link to the Ladies Auxiliary VFW Website
https://www.ladiesauxvfw.org/eWeb/StartPage.aspx


Take time today and say a prayer for all the service men and women past and present who have unselfishly given their lives and commitment to serve and honor our great country.....

Day Eight...

On this beautiful Fall Day, Giving Thanks is for the Day and all that it promises to bring...

I have so many things floating around in my head that need to be completed before Dec. 25th....

I pray God is good to me as I find myself scrambling around trying to bring it all together..!
Yes, even I scramble...those of you who know me personally, I do have my days. I am the planner, but do find myself at times wondering how am I going to get all this accomplished.? By God's good graces, all does come together and get completed.

My week a head is filled with a diverse of activities:
Today I'll be going on my search again to find Mason Jars for a Christmas Project and possibly Cold Pack some Beef for the cold winter months...

Tomorrow I will be spending some time with a dear friend I have known since Middle School Years. She is going through a difficult time, as a friend I feel it's important to give your support in anyway it will be received....

Wednesday I will be meeting with the Children Program Director with my church to discuss Vacation Bible School for next summer. It seems too unreal that we just finished another successful year of VBS and are planning already for next year...

Thursday my calendar is clear, but that can change in a moments notice. I will use that day to catch up on errands and do chores around the home.........Maybe start on some sort of craft. Hence I am in charge of the Christmas Party for my Church, so I have plenty that needs to be done.....

Friday I will be getting together for an early dinner with my Bestest Friend, Kathy. With personal schedules being so demanding and distance, we make a point to meet up at least every 4-6 weeks...I so enjoy being with Kathy, like many of my dear friends...she brings so much "FUN" in to my life...

Saturday I am hosting a Birthday Dinner for my good friend, Paula. She is a single Mother of two very active pre-teens....Being a single working mother she deserves to be a bit pampered on her Special Day...!


I wish for you all to have a good week, have fun and be safe...

Day Seven...

Today Giving Thanks is about the Day in which it is....

Although it was a slow start to the day, the topic at services this morning was about...


"HOPE"

I want to hold on to that message of Hope. Hope brings a new day, a new beginning and a chance to start a new....A wish or desire for a good future, difficult but not obtainable with the help of God....

This is what I believe for myself , my family, my friends and my country....
I have always considered myself to have a strong Faith,
But what is Faith without Hope....???
There Is Always, Hope!

Day Six....

Happy Weekend to all.....
Today I am Giving Thanks for the wonderful gifts God has giving me....
When I put my mind and energies into a project I am usually very pleased at the outcome.
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sticks were one of several projects for this past week.
I try to do these little projects before the craziness of the Holidays start, so when I prepare my gift baskets I have the homemade items I decided to include in this year's Gift Baskets...
Many friends and family over the years can not wait to see what K's Holiday Basket will include for this years gift and that makes it all the more special....

Day Five....

As I come to the end of a very productive week, I am Giving Thanks today for Health and Family....

My Sister-In-Law lost a cousin last evening to Breast Cancer. This Cousin had been in remission and was excited to find out she was pregnant. During her pregnancy she started having complications and soon learned her cancer had returned. She did give birth to a very healthy precious little girl....

The pictures I have posted are of my youngest Nephew, Keegan. My Sister In Law was pregnant with him at the same time her cousin also was pregnant. In honor of her and all women who have been effected with Breast Cancer, the pictures remind us how precious life is.......

Ladies....Remember to do Self Breast Exams and get your Mammograms...!!!

Day Four.....

Today I am Giving Thanks for the Opportunity to volunteer at a Pregnancy Center I have signed on board with and for the Sincere and Glowing words of recommendation from my Pastors and Personal References on the required application.....(One just never knows)!!

I have been wanting to be involved for some time with this pregnancy center and the time has come...I am excited to have the opportunity to help with this very worthy cause!!

Day Three.....

I am Giving Thanks today, one day after a very historical presidential election, to those who where not afraid to reach out for a change, did not lose Faith in this country and made their voice and vote count!

Day Two......

To day I am Giving Thanks to being an American...!!!!

In a world so diverse and so many changes for not the good
of the people in so many ways. I am thankful to have a voice
in a country of democracy...Don't forget to Vote, It's your right
and privilege as an American...!!!!

Day One....

I am starting a "Giving Thanks" Daily blog for the month of November...If you would like to participate, simply copy/past the photo and post it with each "Giving Thanks" posting on your blog......What a great way to remind us all that we have so much to be Thankful for .....

I am most thankful today for.....I was able to provide some help to my Bestest Friend, Kathy in a way to make things easier for her in caring for her mother, who recently had an accident. The appreciation shown and having an excuse to cook and bake, made my weekend!

Brrrrrrrr.....Baby, It's Cold Outside!!

As the Fall is slowly coming to an end, the impeding cold winter months will soon be upon us....

Winter has become my least favorite time of year. Although I have that childlike feeling after the first snow fall of the season, the long dark and cold months of Old Man Winter, that are required in this beautiful state of Pennsylvania, are not my most desired.....

I am the Lady in the restaurant who wears the sweater in 90 degree temperatures .... I wear flip flops as long as possible, every style and color made to man kind... I hardly ever have my Air Conditioner on while driving, I am the "Fresh Air Girl" as my brother always called me... I never allow the thermostat over 78 degrees on the hottest days of summer..... I am the "Grill" Martha.... I have my deck clothes line sagging by the end of Fall....I sleep with three blankets year round, occasionally applying a fourth....


As I prepare for the cold months a head, I am some what relieved I'll be spending some time in Texas over the Holidays, where the temperatures are more soothing and comforting for this Lady who loves the warmth.......

Click on link for more SkyWatch Friday.......

http://www.skyley.blogspot.com/

This week's Skywatch Friday Photos were taken at Dusk...
Can you guess where..??

Gettysburg Battle Field
Pennsylvania

Skywatch Friday

For more SkyWatch Friday, click on the following link:

http://www.skyley.blogspot.com/

This weeks photos were taken early Thursday morning as the Sun was creeping up from the East......What beautiful Sunrises God gives us and I have the blessings of witnessing these creations from my kitchen window as I prepare my early morning cup of Joe...

Vegetables At Their Best......

Vegetables this time of year are best when thrown into a large stewing pot and a delicious creation of vegetable soup is born.....
My mother always had a pot of soup cooking on the stove top year round. In the summer months she made Chicken Corn Rival with freshly picked corn. She would actually know which farmers were picking corn on which days and at what time so she could time it just right to be at the farm as the corn was being brought in from the fields..
The Fall and Winter months she made Ham and Bean with Rivals. It was Vegetable Soup in which she made through the year.

Starting with a Beef Soup Bone, you want to place the beef bone in a large stewing pot and fill with cold water 2 inches from the top. The soup bone can be purchased from a local butcher shop. Some butchers have soup bones on hand. If your not able to find one on display, ask the butcher if one could be put aside for
you when they do their butchering. I usually stock up on soup bones when they are available with my local butcher and freeze them in my deep freezer, this is a convenient way for me to have the necessary items available.
Let the beef bone cook at a good simmer for about two hours, adding more cold water if necessary with half of a chopped medium sized onion. You want a good rich broth for a soup base as shown below, which is the key to a good soup. After your broth is dark and the meat is very tender, remove the beef bone and drain the broth through a colander into a clean pot or very large bowl. This will remove the onion pieces and give you a clear broth as pictured below. I usually reserve about 4 cups of the broth in case I need to add more broth during the cooking process. I then clean my large stewing pot and place the drained broth back into the pot and again bring the broth to a simmer.

Next I chop a medium size head of cabbage, as seen below and place that in the simmering broth along with the remainder of the chopped onion.

Then Adding 4 large potatoes and (not pictured), I add 1 pound of fresh Beef Cubes. Again you can get these at your local butcher shop or favorite grocery store where they sell fresh cuts of beef. I let the cabbage, potatoes and beef cubes simmer until the cabbage starts to have a soft texture.

This is what your soup should look like after adding the cabbage, potatoes and beef cubes.

Sweet Corn, Carrots, Cut Green Beans, Lima Beans and Peas are the frozen vegetables I use. You can use fresh raw vegetables if you like, but keep in mind if your using fresh raw vegetables, add the raw vegetables at the same time as your cabbage and potatoes. Raw vegetables need a longer cook time than frozen vegetables. I do not recommend you use any canned vegetables.....canned vegetables to me are just..nasty.

For the tomatoes, I first cut them in halves or quarters placing them skin side down on a baking sheet or stone. Spray them with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. After the frozen vegetables have been simmer for 15 minutes, add 64 ounces of tomato juice and then add tomatoes including the juice from the tomatoes.
Continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender.

This will be your end result after all ingredients are added.

My son was lurking while this soup was simmering and was the first to taste..He approved!

This pot of soup would be one my grandmother and mother would be proud of, too...!!

Skywatch Friday

http://www.skyley.blogspot.com/

Click on the Link above to view more skywatch PicturesThis weeks Skywatch pictures are smoke filled clouds of a Controlled Burning near Cape Canaveral, Florida. Certain times of the year, controlled burning is necessary so the fire does not spontaneously start and quickly become out of control.....

The Pictures were taken with my cell phone, so I apologize for the size..

This picture is one of my favorite. You can see the contrast of the smoke as it is rising up into clear skies....

Wednesday Flower

This exquisite flower is the Parrot Flower (Impatiends Psittacina) located only in Thailand. The plant was identified at the Royal Botanical Garden Kew in 1901 and was discovered in 1899 in the Shaw States of Burma.
It is only found
in portions of Burma and Northern Thailand and is quite rare. The flower is very difficult to cultivate and requires a local natural pollinator to produce seeds. It also requires very specific soil pH in order to prosper and produce the "Blue" coloration that is so beautiful....

More information can be found at www.ExoticRainforest.com.

Ladies Tea

I was invited to attend a Ladies Tea this past Sunday Afternoon with a very dear and old friend, Laurie.
The Tea was a benefit for the American Cancer Society, in Lancaster, PA.
We had a very nice time and I was reacquainted with some women from my past and adventurous life.

The Tea served Finger Sandwiches, Scones with a Orange Dip, Cream Burlee and of course, Tea.

The basket is filled with homemade Scones and the side dish is a heavenly Orange Dip that just tasted oh so good with those scones....

Our guest speaker was a woman and her many different hats...
The hats dated from 1900-1960's, the demonstration and history proved to be very interesting and informative.

Skywatch Friday

Sunset After The Storm.....

My pictures this week were taking after a thunderstorm. As I was taking the shots, a light drizzle was still present. You can see the roadway has a shine from the recent storm.
Notice the difference in the sky color within a very short amount of time.

I have the most beautiful Sunsets directly in front of my home....

For more Skywatch photos around the world....click on the Title at top of page.

~~The Season Is Fall~~

What Fall Means To Me........

Freshly Baked Cookies

Cold Feet

Extra Blankets

Comfort Food Dishes

Hot Dogs with Sauerkraut At A Football Game

Closing Windows Soon After Opening

Thinking A Cup Of Coffee Would Taste Good In The Mid Afternoon

Bonfires

The Sound Of Farm Machinery Late Into The Night

Taking Inventory Of My Knitting Bag

Placing My Flannel PJ's On The Top