A New Tradition

It's been a crazy, busy weekend. The kids came over tonight for a Pre-Christmas Dinner. I put up the tree-well almost! They got here before I finished.

This is pre-arrival of the kids.

This is just a few minutes later.

The big kids got a break.

Grandy got some good loving.

And so did the babies.

They each got Pre-Christmas gifts, Christmas PJs and a Christmas video.

This child is a hoot! Someone said, "Oh my goodness! I think we have a little Bonnie here."  WooHoo! Go girl! 

The girls had tu-tus with their pjs.

Then it was time to get crazy!

David is the biggest kid of all.

Guess who we found under the tree??!

I think we have ourselves a new tradition. My mama would love this!

Seamed Stockings, Sleeping Under Quiilts, Vinegar Pies and Garters

Before heading home, I picked up the local paper, 

The Sandersville Progress.

I want to share an editorial by one of

my favorite writers. 

Please allow me the liberty of cutting the article 

to save time and boredom. 

Thanksgiving in Cotton

I had waited a long time for this day and now I was 14 years old, a junior in high school, and I was getting my first pair of stockings.  It was before seamless, nylon pantyhose "ran" their course-they were pure silk with seams up the back and kept in place by blue satin garters. 

I placed them in my little lingerie case and packed them with the other clothes in my overnight bag. A friend and I were taking the school bus after school to Cotton, GA, 7 miles in the almost undisturbed countryside to spend Thanksgiving with an older friend.  

The evening was spent helping Mrs. Joiner cut up things for the next day's feast.  The food was put in crockery bowls and covered with waxed paper bread wrappers.  The cakes and pies were placed in a cold room.  After gathering around an old pump organ and singing "chapel" songs, we went to bed and slept in a cold room under three quilts.  We slept like big brown bears. 

The morning started early with excitement.  Sisters and aunts and uncles began to arrive and first cousins and first cousins once removed.  They brought preserves and jellies and arms of greens. The old folks would gather at the first table while the children waited for the second table.  To pass the time, the girls played jack stones on the floor in front of the fire.  The boys would sneak up behind us and kiss us on the cheeks and run away laughing while we screamed, chased them, and slapped at them perfunctorily. 

The food was amazing.  The turkey that only yesterday was roaming around the yard, was now before us.  I remember vinegar pies and applesauce cake with brown sugar and walnut icing, and strong coffee with chicory that I wasn't allowed to taste. 

Later on, Mrs. Joiner said, "Now come here and let me see your legs in those new silk stockings. They're pretty," she said.  The garters were digging into my inexperienced legs, but I smiled and was thrill that she noticed. 

Yes, a different day in time, I was unfamiliar with some parts of this article. 

First of all, I've never actually laid eyes on stockings with seams except in old movies.

Killing the turkey that yesterday ran around the yard?   

A junior in high school at 14 years old.  I was in the 9th grade when I was fourteen.

My grandmother had crockery bowls and because I looooove vintage, I'd like to have a few.  

I know what wax paper is, but what are waxed paper bread warmers? 

I remember my mama telling me about how they put the cakes and pies in a cold room.  Why?  I would think the turkey would go in the cold room instead of the entire meal being covered with a tablecloth until supper time. How did they survive without getting salmonella?

I loved sleeping under quilts.  I love to feel the cold on my face.  I turn the temperature down low when I go to bed and I still sleep under an old, worn soft quilt.

  

Vinegar pies??? What on earth?

  

Garters?  Yes, my mama worn a long-line bra, a girdle with garters and hose.  Thank goodness, my first pair of hose were panty hose.  I got my first pair the same Christmas that I got my white laced vinyl boots and white fur coat.  All my friends got black shiney boots.  I'm still glad I got white. Groovy!  

What part of the items in the article are you familiar with?  This should be fun.

The Caramel Theory

Thanksgiving is here, and we are going to Georgia. I'll be happy to see family, but it won't be the same. There is no home to go home to. I don't have a kitchen to cook in. Even though I cooked very little, I still liked to be able to if I wanted.

I'm fighting the dreaded malady of depression. It's a constant battle, but I can put on my happy face and no one will know. It's what I do best. 

My daughter, her husband and the baby are coming and we are staying in our pastor's and wife's home.  They offered. I'm not complaining.  It's just not home.  The kids are sad because this is their first Christmas since the sale of our home, their childhood home.  I wonder if they will ride by or if it will make them sadder. 

This time of year, I crave my mama's cooking and that includes chocolate pie, banana pudding, carrot cake, pound cake and German chocolate cake.  Yes, we all like something different and she accommodated.

I met a lady Saturday at the Holiday Bazaar who does a whole lot of baking. 

She had such a pretty presentation. Yelp, FREE and yuuuuumy!

The salted caramel was divine.  I didn't want to be like the ladies in the supermarket standing in line to sample the product.  

These young girls are making a living the smart way, though probably not the easiest.  At least we know that homemade will never go out of season. 

The Caramel Theory

by Jessica Renaud

My theory is simple - The best way to create rich, creamy, flavorful caramels is by combining high quality, local, and organic ingredients. 

The Caramel Theory was created in the wee hours of the morning by owner Jessica. Always one to make things from scratch, caramel was no exception. Her holiday gifts of homemade caramel were so enjoyed by friends and family that Jessica decided to make them available to the public, and The Caramel Theory was born. 

Each recipe is thoughtfully created to bring out the natural flavors of each ingredient. The sugar is slowly caramelized until a rich, copper color has been achieved. Other local and organic ingredients are then added to create each unique flavor. The Caramel Theory caramels are corn syrup-free and made with no artificial flavors creating a clean, authentic caramel taste unlike the rest! 

When Jessica is not selling her caramel at local craft fairs and farmer's markets, she works full-time as a pediatric nurse. But she is never too far from the kitchen. 

Visit Jessica on line at www.TheCaramelTheory.com.

Are you baking this Thanksgiving?  Have a Happy one and enjoy your loved ones. 

Bonnie:)

Holiday Bazaar

On Saturday, my daughter-in-law, Christina and I participated in a Holiday Bazaar here in Nashville. 

I represented Nerium.

I got about 10 contacts and a customer to try the product. Here's hoping. It's been hard to do business in a new place.

Christina's presentation for Norwex was truly amazing. Norwex sells cleaning products, cloths, towels, mops and mitts with no chemicals. Amazing what water and the right "rag," can do. 

I especially liked The Rustic Jar.

I like to paint jars, but sometimes I just want to buy a jar already painted. 

Although painting jars is not a new thing,

I don't know if I've ever seen a painted, pumpkin jar.

Have you?

Or an apple jar. 

This, I've seen and love!

The couple was just adorable. I asked if I could blog them:) They were all excited.  I said, "No, I'm not a big-time blogger, just love to share my loves." I must have looked professional or something.
Probably more "something."

I'll share some more this week as well as some things for you to pray with me about. 

Happy Thanksgiving Week.

Hope your week is full of blessings!

Bonnie

Cotton Fields Back Home

Growing up in rural Georgia, 

there were always cotton fields. 

We lived only a mile from town, 

but there was a large cotton field behind our house. 

We played in those fields, making a path

from our house to the neighbors.

Close to Thanksgiving, the cotton balls

were almost ready for pickin' and 

the field behind our house, 

looked as if it was covered in snow.

Mama said in her day that the cotton balls 

had to get rotten before pickin'.

She loved cotton-pickin'.

I prefer already-picked cotton.

Like what you see in the galvanized bucket. 

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic as the Holidays approach.

Missing my parents and home just a little bit.

Hope to touch base before Thanksgiving. 

If not, Happy Thanksgiving.

Bonnie:)

Slow Down!

We are house-hunting.

We are awaiting pre-approval. 

Realtors will not even show a house 

unless you have this in hand. 

Say a prayer, please. 

There has been few fall foliage this year. 

On my ride to look for houses I saw this.

It was truly a magnificent sight. 

Then I came upon this.

God often speaks to me in a word, 

a simple word.

Slow...Rest...Rush

On a back road to my daughter's, 

a road that is not supposed to be busy, but is!

I was rushing, huffing and puffing

and was on the edge of road-rage.

I felt God speak into my spirit, 

"Why are you hurrying?"

"You talking to me?"

"Why the rush?"

Slow...

No Train Horn.

No warning???  No Train Horn???

"This is your warning, I said it first...slow."

When I hear the same message over and over on different days

written or spoken by different messengers, 

I get the idea that God is conveying the message. 

I often want to rush His will, rush His plan, 

yes, rush this house-business.

Like Sarah, I've often failed God just by trying to 

rush his plan.

I plunge ahead, creating my own event, 

my own Bible study group, 

my own business endeavor.

In an attempt to rush His will

I create my own miserable mess, 

I get ahead of Him and miss His plan.

Once again, I'm reminded to rest and not rush, 

slow down and not speed.

Gotcha!

Bonnie:)

The View of the Bath

Here's hoping you had a great weekend!

It was a beautiful weekend here in Nashville, 

cool mornings and evenings and nice sunny days. 

Today, it is rainy and cold.

Well, cold for a GA girl.

I completed a bath before my MIL came

that I didn't get around to sharing. 

Well, a bathROOM.

Certainly wouldn't share the "bath."

I took the easy, peasy way and 

bought the rosettes at Hobby Lobby.

Simple.

I'm just much more into "less."

This is fluffy enough for me. 

I finally hung the "Amazing Grace" sign.

No, it's not centered.

The towel rack is in a weird place.

I really like the green and browns together, 

and I love my shower curtain.

The rod is arched.

Never had one of these, but 

there is less water on the floor after a shower.

I think you've seen this view before.

So have alot of other folks.

HeeHee!

As I passed the apartment tonight,

blinds up and windows open, 

this is what I saw.

What a view!

Hope that's all was seen!

I have great news!

Hutch went to MD Anderson in Texas

last week for tests, scans and more tests.

NO CANCER!

It's a miracle!

His initial prognosis was not good, however

We believed God.

Our youth needed to see that God could do it! 

They prayed and believed.

They helped finish his home.

They fed him and took him to treatments.

And when the answer came, they wept and rejoiced.

He has one more surgery to remove the "dead" tumor

that the radiation and chemo killed 

(We know God did it) and a few more treatments. 

Celebrating With a Heart of Thanksgiving, 

Bonnie:)

Christmas Bazaar for Adoption

I am participating in a Christmas Bazaar 

to raise money to support a couple in their journey to adopt.

Going through the Christmas boxes to find

the Nerium colors of silver, gray and aqua.
I knew they were in there!

It's hard to find a perfect match 

to the green-blue hues of aqua.

Is aqua more blue or green?
What do you think?

Just adding a mix of both gives me what I like.

Whata ya think?

I love all the mixes of blue and green!
I adore this scripture!

Praying for God's strength, right now. 

I can't seem to get well.

I started on Plexus supplements.

Praying for improved health

in all areas of my life.

Just another lazy Saturday for me.

What are you up to?

Bonnie:)

Tin Buckets for the Kiddos

Thankful that our baby girl is coming home. 

I've resisted going over because I so want her to 

be well and crawling all over the place again. 

I definitely have bronchitis. 

The fever is gone so maybe tomorrow.

I was able to get her Halloween bucket to the hospital.

It had bubbles which were a great distraction for getting

the oxygen in her nose and the O2 monitor on her toe. 

I didn't see Cora and Connor.

Mommy and Daddy didn't want them to get sick,

so I stayed away.

It was fun decorating tin buckets from Michaels.

I personalized them with vinyl letters 

and took the easy way out and bought stickers

to suit their different personalities.

They were filled with lots of candy, of course. 

You can guess who got the TN orange bow.

Mommy will be happy!

I will be happy to see this little doll scooting around again. 

Staying in another day. 

Happy November, 

Bonnie:)