Monday, September 29, 2008

Welcome

Welcome to my new look. I am testing looks and I really think this one is nice.
My other blog still needs a new fall look.
So I thought I would test over here at this blog. I think I like this look.
What do you think?
My new on-line fabric store is coming together and hopefully I'll be inviting you over in the next few days.
Please come by and visit and see what is going on here and here
Have a Blessed week.

Home Sanctuary Monday Challenge

Well I took Rachel's challenge this morning and I have sat down and come up with a menu for the week. I don't think she really set any perameter's on it at least I hope not. I only did dinner.
Here's my dinner plan for the week:

Monday: Pot Roast w/potatoes and carrots and gracy
Spinach
French Bread

Tuesday: Pizza
I am taking the girls from the Half Way house to see a Rebecca St. James taping. Can you say too cool?

Wednesday: Ranchero Chicken Crostada I found here
(looks really yummy and I have all the ingredients.) Hopefully I'll find some salad at the food bank to add to it and I'll slice some avocado's

Thursday: Crock pot pinto beans
Slow oven cooked Briskit
Bread
Cole Slaw

Friday: Beef pot pie from leftover roast
Biscuits
Salad


Saturday: Sandra's Cheese Meat Loaf
Scalloped Potato's
Green Beans
Maybe if Cowboy is lucky I'll bake something too. I am thinking Coconut Meringue Pie

Well that's my menu. That was so much fun! I'll add some photo's to make the post look really pretty!

Thanks Rachel for the idea.

Monday Tip and Home Sanctuary Challenge



I found this cool meme over at 11th Heaven and decided to participate. Because I have been wanting to share this cool idea that I came up with.

I recently moved to a new house. No not new in the sense of brand new home. In fact it is anything but that. It has new carpet. New yellow paint in the living room which btw I love. New crown molding throughout the house. New ceiling fans. New wallpaper in the bathrooms. (which I could live without). And that is where the "new" stops. Abruptly! They didn't make it to the most import room the kitchen.
This kitchen is a through back to the well let me show you. I think this photo will give you a glimpse.



Yes it is what you think it is geese or ducks from like the 70's maybe anyway just pretend vintage! LOL. The cabinet doors are white but the rest of the cabinets are the same lovely light baby blue from that lovely era!

Well these geese were in the drawers and on the shelves. When I moved in I had a couple of rolls of shelf liner. Used them up and ran out. I happened to have a roll of this. So I got to thinking about what I could do. I didn't want just the brown drawer showing under the clear contact paper so here's what I came up with.




I know it is a little hard to see but this is an actual 'after' photo of the drawer. Frugal as I am (not but choice in most cases) I had to use my scanner but hopefully you can see and get the idea.

Now the inside of the drawers have this primitive looking red check fabric secured under the contact paper. I just love it. Every time I open my drawers and see it I just smile.

So if you are like me and you want something pretty for shelves and drawers and don't like what you find in the stores try this idea.
BTW I had one roll of the bumpy sticky stuff that is supposed to be good and safe for your dishes. I hate it. When I have a couple of extra minutes I am going to replace it with fabric and contact paper!

Let me know if you try my idea. I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment.

Please visit me at my other blog. I write over there everyday.

Have a great and Blessed Week. Oh before I go I have to mention Rachel's challenge for today.
She was thinking about nursery rhymes you have to go over and read her post. They are always just so interesting and fun and funny. Anyway well I am working on tidying up the living room. It is a never ending battle on Monday. And I am working on planning a menu for the week becaue if you go to my other blog you'll see I have a bunch of new stuff to work with. Hmm...do I cook chicken,or beef. And veggie's I have veggie's to cook. Last night was brocolli but it is one of my favorites I could eat it everyday!

O.k. now you can go over and visit my other blog. And don't forget Rachel and Mommy to 9 she just fascinates me!

Have a Blessed and Happy week

Sherry

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

My New Adventure

If you visit my other blog you will find that one of my favorite things is sewing and quilting. And fabric. I am involved fulltime in ministry and what I do is teach girls about God and teach them to sew. We make quilts that we donate to charity.
It actually is an amazing Blessing to me because one of my strongest desires is to have a quilt shop. As it turns out it isn't exactly what I expected but I hope that you are happy and excited to see some of the fabric that I will be offering for sale.
This blog isn't becoming all fabric sale. It is still about making my Home a Sanctuary.
But I will be using it to offer up for sale some fabric that I really think someone out there will love to sew up! I am working on an ETSY store but before I offer anything there I thought I would start here. And see what happens.

I am making this totally easy. I will only charge actual shipping for my sale items. Send me your address and I'll take the package and weigh it and let you know the total. Then you can send me a paypal at slegan@yahoo.com or mail me a check. Just email me if you wish to mail a check. I'll figure out some way to post all this stuff so that each of my fabric posts won't repeat all this necessary info.

For starters here is a lovely piece of faric. It measures over 4 yards (probably closer to 5) I will always measure on the plus side or is it minus anyway you'll get more than what I actually post. Make sense?

This piece is over 4 yards. It has been washed and is really soft. I wouldn't use it in a quilt but it would be great for baby blankets with a little lace edge or even for bumpers for a little girls crib.
Here's a couple of photo's of other suggestions.
This is a cute sweet pattern. And there really is way too much fabric for this pattern but I could see this as a couple of little girl dresses. One little girl one big girl dress. Oh so sweet.

And here is one more idea.
I see this as adorable spring p.j.'s with a cute little cami type top. If I was more into garment sewing I might just whip something up. Or a really pretty nightgown.
This fabric is soft and grily looking.

The total cost for the 4 yards (plus) is $8.00. It measures 22" wide. There is no marking on the selvage so I don't know the manufacturer.

Purchase now and you can get those p.j's whipped up for Christmas presents!

You can email me at Slegan@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

Please check back often. I will be adding lots of yardage and fat quarters and kits that I will put together. And I might be offering some dressmaker patterns too.
And keep checking over the next few days because I will be adding some freebies!

Happy Sewing Sherry

Monday, September 8, 2008

The Family Name

Rachel wrote an amazing devotional today about this verse. Ephesians 4:24 She really brought it home reminding us that if we are Christians. That is people that have accepted Christ and are Christ followers that we are all a family. The family of God.
Here's the thing that got to me about what she said. She said it this way. If we don't act like Christians. If we do things we know we shouldn't do then we
"dishonor the family name" Wow. I am not sure if I ever thought about it that way.

She mentioned a couple of things. Those "small sins" like gossip,whining,nagging. But really none of them are small. All those things dishonor the family name. I was hit between the eyes with this. I thought of my frustration with certain things that are going on in my life. And I loose sight of not only who I am but also what God is providing.

Please go over to Rachel's and read the entire post. And also if you need something to make you smile today read the post titled "Who's your daddy."

Here's the photo illustration of the verse.


I am getting points today, because I am sharing the verse and posting it. Yea.
BTW I did do the book challenge over the weekend so more points there.
I hope to post photo's soon.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Focus yesterday's Small Thing



Yesterday Rachel's Small Thing was to focus on one task and not let all the other things you need to do to muddle up focusing. In other words. No multi tasking.

Yesterday I had to many things going on to think about it. And couldn't still my mind.

But today even though it is a day late I did focus on something. I won't count the points but I wanted to share. My daughter finally downloaded some photo's. We have both been having camera problems.
We went and made a c.d. of all the baby pictures on her phone.

So I made the above collage today. It took me about 5 hours. Downloading and then figuring out how to get them out of picaso and then into coral to crop and edit and then into flicker and then into Huge labs. And figuring out all the passwords.

I did manage to put everything else on hold and I focused on the task. I know it isn't really a Home Sanctuary kind of task. But I figure my daughter and son in love will be Blessed. And the rest of the family that lives in another state.
But I wanted to at least share with all ya'll what I worked on.

And I working on all our books and getting them all organized maybe not by color. That did look cool though. But Rachel gave us all weekend to work on books so I have plenty of time to get them all organized again.

I promise that this blog won't be turned into a baby blog. But isn't that just the cutest little collage! Adding the dummies at blogging label because who takes 5 hours to do something like that but me?

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Focus today's Small Thing

Today's Small Thing is to focus.
To get out of the multi-task syndrome and focus on doing a single task through to completion without being distracted by the other things that are important.
This was a difficult task for me. I cannot think of a job that I could do and finish without distraction.
The only job I can think is just playing with the baby. So, that is what I did today. I allowed myself just to play and sing and rock without being distracted by outside pressures. I didn't turn off the t.v. but I allowed myself to fall asleep while rocking the baby.
I guess I need a little extra sleep. A quick catnap while cuddling a sleeping child just makes all the cares of the world go away.
It was a sweet day.
I don't think it warrants logging any points for today but it was just a Blessing.
It made me smile. And to share my smiles with you I want to share a picture that maybe will just Bless you. It speaks peacefulness to me. Today I focused on being peaceful.


Wednesday, September 3, 2008

What is in your sinks?

Wow Rachel had an awesome suggestion today. And it got me to thinking.
What does my kitchen sink look like?





Actually this isn't my sink it is my daughters. But isn't it just too cute. This
is the grandbaby I take care of on Tues. and Thurs.

Rachel suggests:
Cleaning our sinks...

"A swift swab of the sink with an abrasive cleanser and a fast wipe of the faucet will whip that receptacle of disgrace into a shining bowl of honor. I love washing my hands under a gleaming faucet and seeing the suds go down a slick sink without sticking to toothpaste and grime. It gives me smiley-soul.

POINTS: Ooh, how about 40 if you do ALL the bathroom sinks and faucets at your house? If you miss one, just take 20 points.

Are your household cleaners in a handy location? Make your life easier by stocking up and then putting them where you actually use them." Rachel at Home Sanctuary


I am kinda weird. I don't like under my sinks cluttered up. You must remember it is just Cowboy and I anymore. So; I don't have a lot of kids to clean up after. And the baby is too small to make any mess yet. I keep all my supplies in the closet where my washer is. Which is in the bathroom. So it is really easy to wipe down the master bathroom sink daily.

Now the hall bath that is another story. And I need Rachel's inspiration. I do try to keep the kitchen clean but that is one of my challenges. FlyLady does have a challenging video about kitchen sinks. She suggests it is easier than we think and takes less time than we think.

I have gotten all those sinks done today so I am going to log my 40 points

How many points are you logging?

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Today's Small Thing Challenge


Sometimes it is totally scary when I read Rachel's Small Thing Challenge.
Today she suggested:Tidying up electric cords I was already thinking about doing just that. Is that not scary?
I have been moving furniture around the living room again. And of course all the plugs from the computer and lamp and cable etc. needed to be tidied up again. So I found a basket to stuff them all in. Actually I lied I didn't find a basket. I already had one bought specifically for the purpose of storing cords. It has a hinged lid. It was bought a few years ago at a basket party. It is really cool. Since I am having camera issues I can't take a photo to share. But, I learned something tonight so I am going to brag a little and share what I learned.
Below is a collage I made of you guessed it electrical cords.


BTW no children or animalswere harmed.
My other blog My Journey Back has a label titled Dummies at blogging I am still learning alot. Making a mosaic was something I have been wanting to do for awhile.
So I feel really accomplished and wanted to brag a little!

And wow I get 30 points just for stuffing all those cords in a basket.
I promise Rachel as soon as I get a camera I'll take a photo of the basket 'o cords!

See ya'll tomorrow with another Simple Thing

Monday, September 1, 2008

Home Sanctuary Revisited

Small Things Jan.25th Revisited
Today Rachel and many of us are taking a day off from blogging (or at least a few minutes in my case) to spend the holiday with family. I am going to do that later this afternoon.

I am just taking a short break from the kitchen. Needed to sit down for a few minutes. We have a huge late afternoon and evening planned.

I visited Rachel's archives and found this Small Thing that I can do amidst all preparation for our wonderful evening.

Here's Rachel's suggestion and thoughts. I had to share it because what she said just cracked me up!

"Today's Small Thing is to tidy up your pet areas. Those nasty bowls could use a good scrubbing and a sweep around them to pick up the crumbs. If you have a dog or kitty bed, give it a good shake or vacuuming if you can. And should we talk about cat litter boxes??? Nah, I didn't think so.

Somehow I think our four-legged friends appreciate our efforts to spruce up their domains, even though they keep quiet about it. There's something classy about seeing them eat from a clean dish and I think it helps their self image. (Not that cats need help feeling even more superior!)

POINTS: 20 for cleaning up the dishes and food area

BONUS POINTS: 20 for cleaning up any other pet mess.....

40 pts max, (this is for any pets, not just dogs and cats)

Sorry, non-pet people! I'll make it up to you somehow....

P.S. I once had a friend whose dog was on Prozac for depression. Ooooh kaaaay. Maybe all he needed was a clean dog dish to eat from to lift his spirits!" Rachel at
Home Sanctuary

I just love being a Company Girl go over and visit Rachel's site and join the fun. Even revisiting is a hoot and can provide a wonderful opportunity to make your Home a Sanctuary

Here are a couple of photo's of my animals.




Daisy and Rascal are behind the gate. Miss Kitty happens to be laying on the dining room table.

In our old house it was right by a set of french doors that lead to the backyard and barn. I had come in and tossed my Cowboys really,really warm coat on the table and Kitty made it a bed.


Now I am off to clean the cat's box and make their little area all clean and tidy and nice smelling for company. I wouldn't want them to get all depressed that it is not nice smelling for the company. LOL

Happy Revisits and come by my new blogyou will find all my Company Girls posts.