Oh, Give Thanks To The Lord

Oh, give thanks to the Lord; for He is good: His mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 136:1

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a blessed day.  

Katie 

Natural Christmas & Dialing it Back

I'm having such a problem. 

For the first time ever, I just don't feel like decorating for Christmas. 

I can see a lot of the bloggers have done almost all of their decorating, but I'm not there yet.
That scares me since Thanksgiving is late this year. 
I did want to put away the turkeys so those are safely packed up for another year. 
About two weeks ago, I went through all my Christmas boxes looking for stuff to purge. 
I have small collections each of Dept. 56 houses, putz houses, bottle brush trees, gingerbread men, snowmen, Santas, baby Jesus, sheep, angels and some lodgey Christmas stuff. Obviously I didn't put all this out but even with a few favorites from each collection the house can look very junky, VERY JUNKY!  

 Last night I was looking at some photos from my last two years of blogging. 
I have too much crap!

(I hope I don't get in trouble for saying crap on a family friendly blog, but really!)

What I thought looked cute last year looked junky. 
Oh some of it did look cute and you saw the good pictures.
You didn't see the other bad vignettes.
Last year I was going to dial it back.
What a minute, what?

 I experimented with live greenery from the grocery store and I'm going to be honest. It was kind of a mess. 
Never mind, not kind of, it was a mess!
I decorated too early so it all got too dry.

How do those big blogs do it? Do they decorate twice? 
Are their homes tinderboxes waiting to ignite because of the dried out garlands, wreaths and trees? Now I realize all the hard work they put in to create their drool worthy displays.
I remember cleaning up the dried pine needles last year and I shudder.

I thought sweeping up faux pine needles was bad. That was nothing compared to the real pine needles that rained down off of boughs. 
Oh and speaking of holly, that stuff sticks the fire out of you once it is dry.

This was my favorite display last year, but I killed the plant and the dog ate the little glass mushroom.

Don't freak out. She didn't eat it, eat it, but she did get it down to chew on it and then left it broken on the floor. 
I tried to get another one but they were sold out. 
:(
This year I really am going to try to dial it back.

I found some bags of pinecones that I collected at the lake so I'll sprinkle those about.

I ordered a pinecone print off of e-bay. I forgot about it until it came the other day. 

I think that is my theme.
Pinecones, natural, and not sheddy. 
I know not sheddy isn't really proper English but it is expedient.
It sounds better than "that which does not shed."
Actually "that which does not shed" has a nice ring to it too!

Anyway, I have bought exactly three gifts.
Two of them are stocking stuffers. 
 I am in trouble!

I am going to take a word of advice from my sister.
"Keep it simple stupid."
Am I allowed to say stupid on a family friendly blog?
Katie    
Linking with,
Common Ground

Planning a Memorial Service

I know this is sort of a morbid post when my bloggy friends are all decorating for the holidays but I hope it will be a help to someone who Googles it.   
 I was gearing up for Christmas crafting when I got the call that my brother died. My focus has taken a different turn for the moment and to be honest I think my decor for Christmas will too. 

 We didn't use a funereal home. 
Jim was sick for a long time with short term memory loss before he got cancer. Many of us felt we lost Jim a few years ago. I was in agreement, but immediately felt differently in the aftermath of Jim's death. Normally the funeral home guides the family in those early moments when they can't think clearly. I quickly realized that a funeral home is a big help. 
When we contacted all the family and friends, the first thing people asked was, "When is the service?" Once it became clear that people would come to a real service, not a loosey, goosey stand by the lake and sing Kumbaya service, I sort of jumped into action. I knew that a real service would help with my grieving.  
My siblings and I pretty much all attend mega churches. We didn't really want to use their facilities or pay big bucks to rent a chapel or even a small room. 
(Pet peeve alert here.) 
Really churches? Who gave you the facilities anyway?
Deep breath.
Okay, I'm back.
My private Christian school graciously  allowed us to have the service in the little lunch room. 
My school is in the old church we attended when we first moved to Texas. I got married in this building and my wedding reception was held in this same little lunch room so this is familiar to all of us.
It took a huge burden off of me knowing that my school family was surrounding me with support and this offer of help, at no charge, on a holiday weekend no less. :)
The other totally cool thing about it is the mural of Jesus and the little children.

Our home church growing up was Village Lutheran Church in Bronxville, New York. The staircase in the children's building had a mural going all the way up to classrooms. Many, many of our pictures at church were taken in front of that mural. I don't know who painted the mural at my school but they were used by God later to comfort me and I hope the rest of the family. 

The second item on the agenda was the officiant. 
My husband was an elder for several years so initially I thought he could lead the service 
(during the time leading up to Jim's passing when the  Loosey, Goosey, Kumbaya service was in the works.)
I knew that wasn't a good idea as soon as I realized that there is a reason people call in the professionals. 
We have a dear pastor friend who is now a missionary. We called him and he agreed to do the service. 
Day one - done!

The next steps were done by my brothers. They helped arrange travel for out of towers. It was an all day task.

 Food, Music, Scripture, Flowers and Memorial Table

The next day I woke up thinking about food, music and the memorial table. 
My school had offered help with food so I called them to see if they could help with side dishes. 
I plan to get a ham or two to plop in the roaster.
If my school family will provide sides we will have a lunch before the service at my house. 

Jim was a big fan of the Grateful Dead but I couldn't find a song with a Spritiual bent. Spirit in the Sky was not his scene if you know what I mean.

I love music, so I tried to come up with a mix of classic old time Lutheran music but with a rock ballad thrown in. 
It was healing to sit at my computer and search for songs. 
I continued to listen to my selections as I perused my photo albums for pictures.
I narrowed my music choices down and e-mailed the selections to my brothers. We could do a canned version of each (not ideal) but my sons are musicians so they may have a friend who will play piano for us.  

 
I took breaks to search Pinterest for ideas for the memorial table and a photo display.  
See my Memorial Service board here: 
I saw that what is used for a wedding or graduation is also appropriate for a memorial service so that is where I searched for ideas.
I didn't think that a memorial service needed to look straight out of the 1980s. I thought is could look updated.

I took into account Jim's favorite color-green.
His interests- fishing and nature. 

Instead of the bed spring, I will use an old door for the photo display.
The tables will have rustic crosses and candles, his picture and some antique fishing stuff on a green tablecloth.
The candles are going to be in canning jars.
My sister in law and I talked about flowers and she generously offered to get those for us. 
We wanted flowers but this really could be a no money spent area if we needed it to be. 

We'll have flowers or plants from any work people who send them but I could have decorated the table with fall leaf branches, completely in keeping with Jim's interests but it will be so nice to have flowers. 
Jim tried to explain to me once why the leaves weren't as pretty in Texas during the fall. I didn't understand what he was talking about. The day after he died, I noticed the leaves were prettier than they have ever been.

I made my list of shopping items. 
Table cloth (I should have no problem finding green during the holidays)
Crosses
Twine and clothes pins.
An old door.
Copy shop and frame for photo.
Day two - done

Day three consisted of the program for the service and the obituary for inside it. 

My daughter came over with Photoshop and she created a gorgeous program. I found the program from my mom's funeral in one of my photo albums. 
We are using some songs and scripture from it. 
The old Testament reading was Psalm 130.
(Bill and I visited a little Lutheran church this morning because I craved the comfort of being at the same kind of church I attended as a child. The pastor did the reading and sermon from Psalm 130. I was stunned but not.)
Okay back to my timeline. 

We then went to the ReStore to look for an old door.

Instead we found two sets of narrow bifold doors.
These will be perfect and I can use them in my house later. 
They were $20.00. 
That was it for day 3. We had a late lunch and I took a nap. 
After my nap I began some cleaning. 

Day 4
I was pretty spent by day 4. I thought about painting the louvered doors myself but then thought better of it. Instead I called my painter. He will come pick them up and take them back to his shop. 
I bought a few crosses for the table and some needed groceries. 
I pulled out my Blue Willow but I'm debating getting paper. I just hate eating off of paper. I don't want anyone to have to clean up after us though. 
 Next week I will go to Kinkos to copy the picture and the program, finalize the music and stop in at Hobby Lobby for more clothes pins and twine.

I used to plan retreats and events for women. I see now that God in part used that experience to help me plan this service.
Thank you so much for letting me share. 
It is amazing to me how therapeutic blogging has become. 
I found solace in writing this stuff down and I hope it will help someone else.  

Katie 















  

Painting Frenzy

I made a valiant attempt. 
I've shared with you my dilemma about painting furniture so I did everything I could think of in the dining room to lighten it up short of that.  
I painted the walls a gray that is pretty but it reads a little green for me. I'm not repainting them - yet.  
I painted all the picture frames. 
I made a white wood tray and set it on a table of white stuff.

I painted the lamps.
I filled the dish dresser with white dishes.

I came to the conclusion that a piece of furniture was going to have to be sacrificed to the paintbrush gods. 
The gods would not be denied!! 
I think you know what I mean. 
Sometimes a decorating problem just has to be fixed even if it goes against an unspoken principle. 

The likely candidate for the sacrifice was the $5.00 buffet that was just a little too orangey oak. It had a long 23 year run in my possession. 
All we had to do to this piece was fix a door, get new pulls and prop up the drawer now and again. 

I hoped that a lighter finish on the buffet would draw the eye in and bring out some pretty but subtle details. 

It wasn't an expensive piece in its day. It is made with veneer from the 20s or 30s.
I'm pretty sure it had been refinished by the time I got it. 
I hate to be the first one to alter a finish on furniture. 



It's also not un-reversable. I can always refinish it later when orange oak comes back in style… What? You don't think orange will be back in style anytime soon?
Nope! It won't. 

This buffet is probably my crowning garage sale achievement. $5.00!! 

We were in a new, bigger house when I found it but we were house poor. We needed stuff to fill up this place.

I have really enjoyed this piece over the years but it was time for a new look.
Now I won't just see a sea of the same color wood when I look into the room.

My dad's table will stand out a little more. 
  

I bought a brand new quart of CeCe Caldwell chalk paint in Vintage White the other day.

The temptation was too much to resist so I went a little crazy on this piece and two others. 
I'll be sharing those with you later. 
Katie   
Linking with,
The Charm of Home   
Funky Junk Interiors  
Feathered Nest Friday  
A Stroll Thru Life   
Coastal Charm   
Dwellings - The Heart of Your Home   
Savvy Southern Style

The Best Apple Pie

I don't know if I have told you about my grandmother's pies. 

She was an amazing baker.
My favorite was her Lemon Meringue which I have never been able to replicate but 
I have been able to copy her style of apple pie.

It is just perfect for this time of year.

I couldn't get any of her recipes because she didn't have any. She was a little of this and a little of that type of baker. 
I have tweaked this recipe over the years to get it just how we like it. 

The final version of it happened quite by accident. 

One Thanksgiving eve I was making the pie. 
It slipped off of the rack in the oven and half of the apples and most of the crumb topping fell off. 
I quickly grabbed more apples out of the fridge. They just happened to be Honey Crisp apples our favorite snacking apple at the time. 
I par boiled them so they would be at about the same level of doneness as the apples still in the pie. I made more crumb topping and stuck the pie back in the oven.
It was a hit and I have been making it that way ever since.

The Best Apple Pie
(Granny's Apple Pie)

Sprinkle your favorite 9 inch pie crust with 
Sugar In The Raw and prick with a fork. 

As you can see, I don't do anything fancy to the edge of my pie crusts.

Filling:

3 large Honey Crisp (or similar) apples 

4 medium Granny Smith apples

Peel, core and slice apples into pie the shell.

Cut up  and dot 2 Tablespoons  butter onto apples.

Sprinkle with 1/8 cup sugar.
and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. 

In a bowl combine 
1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 white sugar
1/4 powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter

Cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly 

The little crumbs should be about the size of a pea or smaller.

Bake at 400 for about 45 minutes.

Cover edges of the crust and bake about 
10 minutes more until apples are tender but not mushy.

I will slip one out under the crumb topping and test it.

Okay. 

Even though I added sugar, I think their sweetness mellows the tartness of the Granny Smiths.

Tart and Sweet at the same time.

I love a crumb topping on apple pie rather than a crusts topping. 

Give it a try for your next gathering.

Katie  
Linking with,
Down to Earth Style - Holiday Baking Party