Grateful Prayer | Thankful Heart

Houseplant Journal

By Lorraine

Keep your indoor plants healthy and thriving. Record and track light, watering, fertilizing and care requirements in this free houseplant journal download. Great for beginners to record purchase date, re-potting, blooming and all important notes.It just happens. While shopping you notice a display of plants. You glance over the varieties and think you’d like to take one home. You make it your own and give it a special location and watch it thrive. Before you can refill the watering can you are a bonafide caregiver to an array of living greenery. Keep track of those gorgeous plants in a houseplant journal.Continue Reading

always a beautiful song

By Lorraine

Here is a glimpse of some of the music playing at our house…

I peeked into Abbey’s room while she was working on an assignment for her digital animation class and found it very interesting to watch her progress.  Yes, she has two black lights and a blackboard bolted to the wall, black-out coverings on her windows and only about 3-feet of empty floor space in her bedroom with way too much stuff bursting out everywhere.  
 but, she loves what she’s doing!
Jared enthusiastically shows John each step completed as he creates a computer game.
 My favorite $3.00 bench purchased from a garage sale 25 years ago and painted and repaired dozens of times got to the point that John just couldn’t fix it and keep it fixed. Mostly it was the arms that took the brunt of the abuse but even the legs were not staying together any longer.
{ha, that sounds like my body recently}
 We considered making a porch swing from the bench but I really wanted it back in the kitchen to hold all of those little grandchildren. So we sent it off to a furniture maker for a complete overhaul .
Please, please, little bench, stay strong!
We have been moving furniture, boxes and rearranging rooms as Erin and Jared return home. The nursery has become Jared’s room and the guest room is now Erin’s room. Making them feel loved and comfortable, and though sad about the circumstances, we love having them home.
The painting above Jared’s bed was something my sister gave me when she moved out of her house last fall.  I wish I had taken a photo of the before when it was in shades of bright green.  I knew when I saw it I would paint over the canvas. Wanting something masculine for this room, I went to work. Nothing artistic but it works to fill a big blank wall.
We’ve done lots of yard work and home repairs.
Weeding, planting, painting, edging, raking, digging, dividing, potting, sweeping, blowing, washing and, well, you know.  You are probably doing the same things at your house.
 Who would had thought removing 20-year old, dead boxwood bushes would be so hard! Eighteen in all.
 The last five with some much appreciated help from Jared.
Always the sentry, Raider keeps watch while we work.
Now, it hasn’t been all work.
My streptocarpus is blooming profusely in our bathroom.
Jared, the oldest grandson, and Keri, our oldest granddaughter, had a great time together. Last weekend we went to his high school spring musical, Mary Poppins. The following day, after getting those bushes out, Jared tried his best to hit Keri’s wild wiffle ball pitches (one that had to be rescued from the roof) and they had some impressive exercise challenges. As if push-ups aren’t hard enough, imagine doing hand clap push-ups! {The thought takes me back to the old broken bench feeling}
Our favorite time to visit Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery is Memorial Day weekend when all of the graves are decorated with an American flag. Both my parents are interred here. A perfect place to find a bench, remember loved ones and the Veterans that gave their service for our freedom.
Haven’t had much time with the littles through all of these changes but John snapped this pic of Chloe sleeping soundly the last time she was over. Playing it tiring work!
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Psalm 40:3

Dining Room Hutch

By Lorraine

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this beautiful hutch from my sister!
When she asked me if I wanted it I could not believe her generosity.
Not only is it white, but it is big and deep. And able to hold many of my larger pieces that I did not have easy access.

 This is the view from the kitchen. John and I moved the hutch that was in that space to the opposite wall. Carol used the top and bottom of the hutch in different rooms. The top section was on the floor as a book cabinet and she didn’t light it up.
 Wondering about the strand of lights?  There’s a story…
Since the electrical plug hadn’t been used for several years, there was green gunk on the prongs.  I wiped away most of it but some remained. John insisted plugging it in.  As he was heading to the outlet, my words to him were, “You better not plug it in.  You might electrocute yourself!”  
“It’ll be fine,” he said.
Then, POP! POP! POP!
Yep, not only did he blow all of the bulbs along the inside edge of the cabinet but many of the bulbs shattered throughout the cabinet. Now its off to a lighting store to find replacements.  
The little twinkle lights strand was just so I could get an idea how the crystal pieces will look when there is illumination from working lights inside.
 This china cabinet holds dishes and linens,
 Carols also gave me a pair of rugs that are the perfect color and pattern for the dining room.
Though too small for the area, I am determined to make them work.
Since this photo was taken, we have added a backing and taped the two rugs together on the bottom so they appear as one.  The chairs do not remain on the rugs when pulled out for sitting but, I can live with that because it looks so pretty!

Vintage French Provincial Bedroom Set

By Lorraine

My sister, Carol, just went to closing on a house she sold.
I lent a hand helping her pack.
We began in mid-November and through sorting and wrapping, taping and stacking, hauling and heaving, lugging and loading, stooping and stretching, sunshine and raindrops, lost keys and cell phones and frustrating inspections, there was much chatting and memories, stories and updates, giggles and laughter and sisterly love.
 
 
 

 
This vintage French Provincial bedroom set belong to our parents, purchased in the early 1960’s.  It went to Carol when Mommy passed several years ago and I got the new set mommy was then using.
 Carol doesn’t want to take this to her next home and though I wasn’t in need of a bedroom set, the sentimental value was too great to pass it up and now resides in our guest room.
 The chest on chest belonged to Daddy and how I remember, as a kid, snooping through his top drawer and seeing his neatly folded hankies, perfectly placed wallet, coins, keys, pens, deck of cards and trinkets stored there. 
I left the white iron bed that we had purchased and used until we received mommy’s new set. It is a queen-size and better suited for visitors than the full bed that is part of the set. I think it works with the other pieces.

 

 

 

Searching old photo albums for shots with the furniture in the background, I found these:
My 8th grade graduation
Cousin, Karen and I as flower girl and junior bridesmaid for Carol’s wedding
Daddy and his first grandchild, Chrissy (Carol’s oldest) at his organ
and
Carol ready for her senior prom
Carol, John and I looking a wee weary, took a selfie after a long, busy day, with only the steps to sit upon. Still happy together
(John may have been a just a tad grumpy being forced in a silly selfie photo, but he was a good sport)
and still finding fun in being together.
yes, sisters.  she is so kind, smart, poised, beautiful and generous and I love her to pieces
❤
Next time, I will show you where I put the bed to this set and then my dining room changes.
ta-ta for now!

Beautiful New Family Room Seating

By Lorraine

Our oldest daughter, Erin, recently moved into a new home and had the opportunity to purchase some of the furniture. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her sofa and chairs and couldn’t help thinking how perfect they would be in my home. They didn’t really match her other pieces as she prefers soft, cushy leather.
So…
we traded!
Of course, not until I agonized over the decision.
The pieces were beautiful and the colors so right.
But, for my family room?
With 11 grandchildren?
Sticky fingers
leaky sippy cups
I even asked my friends opinion
they all agreed
go for it!
They suggested I spray them with Scotchgard.
Has anyone done that and if so, did it help prevent stains?

what do you think?  just right, huh?
The tan sofa and the two patterned chairs came from Erin.  The two oval-back chairs belonged to my mom and have been in our bedroom.  I took the two garage-sale wing-back chairs that were in this room to our bedroom and they actually look okay there.  I also switched the rug under the coffee table with the one in our living room.

 

We had to wait a couple of weeks to make the switch because of all the snow we have been having.

This is the leather sofa. Nice, big, cushy, soft, easy to wipe off sticky stuff.
With matching over-sized armchair that held lots of wee folks, with an equally over-sized ottoman.

Very nice.  But… dark.  And, you all know I like light and white.

I even draped a white, crocheted afghan over a large portion of the dark sofa

and added pillows
but, still
dark

now, if you keep looking, you just might see me zip by doing a happy dance
I’m happy
and
Erin’s happy
🙂

updated foyer

By Lorraine

We have lots going on right now but last night I did a small foyer change.  It was an impromptu change brought about as we are readying the patio for winter. I like the change for now.
 I just pulled a few things from nearby places
  bringing together the chartreuse green in the flowers and apples 

this is how it looks this morning
and i still like it
(it is hard to see, but Raider is lying in a sunbeam under the living room coffee table)
John’s 96 year old Aunt Marie passed away yesterday.  We have been visiting with her in the hospital making the hour drive each way for the past couple of weeks.  Aunt Marie never had children. She has one niece who lives in Indiana, John and his brother.  We will all be making funeral arrangements and working together to liquidate her home.
Our Jamie is scheduled to have her baby tomorrow!
Life can get so full and this is one of those times.

Rosemary Wreath and Rosemary Parmesan~Crusted Pork Chop Dinner

By Lorraine

I’ve got another wreath idea to share with you.
This one is not just decorative but also useful in the kitchen
A wreath made of Rosemary sprigs is both aromatic and handy to snip and add in meal preparation.
For the base of the wreath I looked for a small circle.  I found a package of four, five-inch metal circles in the leather supply section of the craft store.You could use a heavy wire and make the circle yourself.
After cutting the rosemary into 5-6-inch pieces, I wired several of them into a bundle. 
It took six bundles to go around and fill out this 5-inch wire circle.
That’s all there is to it.
It smells wonderful too!
My Rosemary was a windowsill-size gift from a friend.  I kept it indoors for a year and then planted it outside in a pot.  It grew and I transplanted it into a raised bed herb garden two years ago.
Rosemary is an aromatic, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves. The leaves are used as a flavoring in foods such as stuffing, pork, chicken and turkey. It is native to the Mediterranean region. The name “rosemary” derives from the Latin for “dew” (ros) and “sea” (marinus), or “dew of the sea”.  Rosemary is reasonably hardy in cool climates and it can withstand droughts.  I live in zone 6b and my rosemary has no problem wintering over. It is easy to grow and pest-resistant and can be grown in pots. Be sure it has good drainage and a sunny location.

Parmesan & Rosemary Crusted~Pork Chops
adapted from Giada recipe

Ingredients
1 large egg
1/2 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2-1 tsp. snipped rosemary
3 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork chops
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Whisk the egg in a pie plate to blend.  Combine Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and the rosemary in another plate. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper.  Dip the pork chops in the egg and then into the cheese/bread crumb mixture, coating completely, patting to adhere.
Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Add additional oil as needed when cooking second side.  (My chops browned quickly, so I covered pan with lid, leaving slightly ajar and cooked for less time until just cooked through keeping them nice and juicy).  I served with mashed potatoes and fresh green beans.

sharing at
Cupcakes & Crinoline Project Inspired party

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