A Fragrance

The fragrance was light. I don't remember smelling it before. As I moved across the yard it became stronger and that is when I saw my beautiful wisteria blooming.

When I was a little girl, my Momma had a WISTERIA plant in our backyard. I loved it! The flowers reminded me of clusters of grapes. I never got to see wisteria in all its glory until our family moved to a small town. In some of the more wooded areas, you could see wisteria  blooming on underbrush and in trees all along the road side. It was like driving into a wall of purple. ~ Just beautiful!

I finished a book not to long ago and it talked about how wisteria gave off a fragrance. It has been a while since I have been close to wisteria to actually remember a fragrance, that is until Sunday. Sunday evening we were out in the yard and I kept smelling something sweet. Before we went into the house for the evening, I looked up at an old oak tree in the woods to see what was scurrying around in its limbs, that's when I saw it~ beautiful purple flowers hanging amongst the branches. I knew then what I was smelling.

On Monday morning, I went out on the porch to check the brooder box and the chicks, and the wisteria smell had gotten stronger. I looked around and saw more of the beautiful flowers. This time, they were hanging right above my garden spot, in the bushes and trees that I was going to work on trimming back this week. ~ Well, that job has been postponed for a while.

Just one more little sign that spring is here!

Beauty for Ashes: A Review

This post contains affiliate links.

Beauty for Ashes - A Hickory Ridge Romance


She’s a beautiful young widow. He’s a Southern gentleman with a thirst for adventure. Both need a place to call home.

After losing her husband in the Civil War, Carrie Daly is scared she will never have the family she longs for. Eligible bachelors are scarce in Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, but Carrie has found love. Not the weak-in-the-knees kind, but something practical. Still, she isn't quite ready to set a wedding date with Nate Chastain.

Griff Rutledge is a former member of Charleston society, but has been estranged from his family for years. He’s determined to remain unattached, never settling in one place for too long. But when asked to train a Thoroughbred for an upcoming race in Hickory Ridge, he decides to stay awhile.

Despite objections from the townsfolk, and her fear that true happiness has eluded her, Carrie is drawn to Griff's kindness and charm. It will take a leap of faith for them to open their hearts and claim God's promise to give beauty for ashes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR~ 
Before returning to her writing roots in historical fiction, Dorothy Love published twelve novels for young adults. Her work has garnered numerous honors from the American Library Association, the Friends of American Writers, the International Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and many others. The Hickory Ridge Novels mark her Christian fiction debut.

For more about Dorothy visit her website or find her on Facebook.


MY THOUGHTS~
I love Dorothy's writing. She pulls you into the story as if you are there watching everything from the sidelines. This is the second book in the Hickory Ridge series. I really enjoyed the book. The book doesn't disappoint! The detail and suspense makes it hard not to put the book down.

Beauty for Ashes, Hickory Ridge Series #2 By Dorothy Love / Thomas Nelson She's a beautiful young widow. He's a charming Charleston gentleman with a notorious past. Both need a place to call home. After years of mourning the death of her young husband and longing for a family of her own, Carrie Daly has promised to wed bookstore owner Nate Chastain. But questions about his true feelings for her cause her to hesitate. After years of mourning the death of her young husband and longing for a family of her own, Carrie Daly has promised to wed bookstore owner Nate Chastain. But questions about his true feelings for her cause her to hesitate. Charlestonian Griffin Rutledge, scion of a low country rice planter, former blockade runner, gambler, and horseman, arrives in Hickory Ridge to collect an old debt before heading off to try his luck in Australia. Estranged from his family for years, Griff is a loner and likes it that way. Offered the opportunity to train a magnificent Thoroughbred for the local banker, he settles down . . . temporarily. But a chance meeting with Carrie triggers a chain of events that causes him to question his choices. Maybe God brought him to Hickory Ridge-and to Carrie-for a reason.

Chickens

I finally got some chickens! I am so excited about this little endeavor. We were able to buy a Barred Rock pullet and young rooster.

I've had their names picked out for a while... Hank and Henrietta.( I taught the sweetest little boy who had chickens and he talked about his Hank and Henrietta all the time. Just hearing his stories about his chickens made me want a Hank and Henrietta.)

Along with these two came 13 chicks. I chose a variety so I could hopefully raise different breeds to help make a little money. We have Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, and Araucanas.

    This is Flapper, Jamie's chick.

\

My husband came home last night from work asking if I wanted a Rhode Island Red rooster. I laughed, and told him if he'll build another coop/tractor, I'd be glad to take him. Hopefully, within the next few weeks, we'll have it ready so he can come here.

I didn't show complete pictures of my coop, because it has temporary walls up. I didn't expect to get the chickens this week,  my husband was planning on finishing it up on Saturday. We got the call  on Monday to pick them up, so he quickly nailed  OSB walls and roof on. Hopefully, he'll be able to finish it up Saturday afternoon, when we get back from the Jr. Rodeo.

We all hear about the "Crazy Cat Lady", I've been tagged with the "Crazy Chicken Lady" title by my husband. I'll gladly accept it.

Drying Flowers

I love the dried flowers! Not the brown, crunchy kind that have not been taken care of, but the flowers that still have color. When I walk through the flowers at Hobby Lobby and Michaels, I always end up in the dried flower section. I love them! I just don't like the prices on them.

Several years ago, I was watching a DIY show and the lady was talking about drying flowers and how to keep them from looking "unloved". The one thing that she stressed was that drying flowers was easy without using chemicals; you really don't need it for most flowers. She took a bouquet of roses and wrapped a rubber band around the stems and then wrapped the other end of the band around a wire clothes hanger. She even clipped a clothes pin to hold the rubber band for added protection. The lady went on to say to hang the hanger where the flowers will be able to hang without touching anything, so they won't end up with a mashed side.  Once the flowers are dried, spray them with a clear acrylic spray.
 
I did this with some of the small flowers that came from my Mother in law's funeral in 2008. The flowers that had color other than white or cream, has kept their color. The first picture with shows a cream and dark pink edged rose. The pink has stayed. The red roses did beautifully.


In this photo, you'll see how all the roses stayed closed and perfect in shape except for the one with the arrow. I think I have bumped it several times while dusting, so it has loosened up some.  As for dusting? All I do is gently blow on the flowers.

Back in January our spring flowers began blooming. In our woods we found two places that are about 20x20 full of daffodils.   These were some that I picked. After keeping them in water for about a week, I noticed that they began to dry. So I bundled them up  and hung them in my laundry room, not knowing how they would do...

I went to the laundry room on Wednesday and pulled the daffodils down and this is what I found. They are very papery. I did spray them, so hopefully, I'll be able to keep them awhile. The brown bottle I put them in is one of my husband's treasures he found while digging around in the woods.

The only thing about the daffodils is their heads tend to turn up when they are hanging. So I ran out to the field and picked a few more and hopefully came up with a solution.  DO NOT LAUGH!

I knew I wanted to try and keep the heads up when they are dried. So I took a piece of twine and tied around the stems right under the flower. Then I put the flowers in a tissue paper tube and put them in just a smidgen of water, since I'm not wanting to keep these out for long. Tonight I'll take the flowers and the tube and hang them upside down. Hopefully, the weight of the tube will help hold the flowers down while drying.

This was an experiment on drying daffodils. I am not an expert on flower drying.

A Little of This and That

I've been looking over my posts for the past two months and I've noticed that I've fallen off the wagon except for book reviews. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back into writing more.



 I have so much going on here that it seems like I'm in a nonstop mode. I get up in the mornings to run, run, run and then I fall dead into bed at night. That is something that is really unusual for me. I'm a nighttime reader and love being able to read a book while in bed. In the past, I would pull out the old flashlight so I would not bother my husband. Now I read on my Kindle and have the brightness set where he doesn't even know that I'm reading. For the past few weeks, I have not been able hold my eyes open to even read one page. I guess I could say this is a good thing.

I joined an envelope swap for primitives last month. I'm working on gathering items for this swap and I'm having a lot of fun.  I don't really talk about primitives here much (that's going to change), but I really love the look of the lifestyle. Having a "prim home" is a lifestyle for some but then it's just decoration for others. It's something that you have to ease into if you are not completely sure of it. If you're willing to decorate with the items, then they should be usable (if possible). These are some things that I learned on Monday and are willing to do.  I was able to go to Homestead House over in Clarkesville. Let me tell you ~ I could have easily lived in the cabin.  If you ever get a chance to visit; DO IT! you won't be disappointed.

My husband and I have finally took the plunge. We have talked for almost a year about getting chickens and every time we take a step, something seemed to hinder the process. Well, on Monday afternoon on our way home, we stopped at Lowe's and bought the lumber. That night we began building our chicken coop/tractor. Since my husband has long hours with work, he will have to finish it this coming Monday. Just as soon as everything is finished I'll post pictures.  I am really excited! Our local feed store will be getting chicks, ducklings, and turkey poults in soon. I have a friend who is holding two hens for me, just as soon as I get the coop finished we'll pick them up.

I would love to be able to get some ducklings and maybe a poult. But with the coyotes in the fields and the two foxes that we have wondering around, I think chickens will be the only feather babies we will have until we can do something about foxes. Last week, we saw them out the kitchen window. They came sneaking out of the woods and walked across the back yard. Then on Monday while we were on the porch finishing up the coop one of them walked right out into the light which was about 10 feet from where we were and he walked right on by. My husband had his gun ready and aiming if the little critter decided to lunge towards us but he didn't. He minded is own business and walked right on. Hopefully, we won't have any problems out of either one.

There is so much going on, I could keep writing, but I'd end up with a book. And we all know we don't have the time to sit and read my book about what is going on. So I'll end with a beautiful photo my husband took a couple of summers ago...

Blue Moon Promise a Review

This post contains affiliate links.

Blue Moon Promise

A love like Lucy and Nate’s only comes along once in a blue moon . . .

Lucy Marsh's worldly resources are running out, but she's fiercely determined to care for her younger brother and sister. When she discovers that their father's recent death was no accident, Lucy is eager to leave town. She accepts a proxy marriage she believes will provide safe refuge. But trouble follows her to Texas where her new husband is surprised to suddenly have a wife and children to care for.

Nate Stanton always hoped he'd marry someday, but running the family ranch meant he had no time for romance. When his father deposits Lucy Marsh—a city girl—on his doorstep, with two siblings in the bargain, he expects ranch life will send her running on the first train out of town. But Lucy is made of tougher stuff than Nate imagined. When danger moves in, Nate finds he'd give anything to protect Lucy and the children he's grown to love. Even if it means giving up his ranch.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR~ Best-selling author Colleen Coble's novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, ACFW Book of the Year, RWA’s RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers' Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has nearly 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers and is a member of Romance Writers of America. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana.

For more about Colleen and her other books visit her website or find her on Facebook. 

MY THOUGHTS

Colleen is a new to me author. All I can say is that she has now been put on my must read list.I loved the fact that Colleen wrote about Lucy seeking  the Lord in decisions about her family and how she had to learn to not always be in control of everything going on around her. Both which are true lessons everyone could learn.

Blue Moon Promise, Under Texas Stars Series #1 By Colleen Coble / Thomas Nelson A love like Lucy and Jesse's only comes along once in a blue moon.... Lucy Marsh has lost everything but her determination to provide for her brother and sister. When she realizes her father was likely killed by an intruder who is now after her brother, she decides to accept a proxy marriage in order to get her siblings out of harm's way. But trouble follows her to Wichita, Texas, and nothing there is as she expected. Not the man she came to marry nor the family ties she'd hoped to find. Can it be true that real security is in letting go of her own strength and trusting in the One who is far stronger than she?

Fierce Beauty a Review

This post contains affiliate links.

Fierce Beauty

Women are constantly bombarded with the lie that how we look is far more important than who we are. It’s time for a clarion call back to the truth.

Journey with gifted storyteller Kim Meeder as she encourages women to see that true value is defined by our Creator and that our worth has a purpose of eternal proportions.

Real beauty isn’t a look, it’s an action. It can be found by making one crucial, life-defining choice—to lay down personal ambitions and selfish desires, pick up your sword of encouragement, and fight for those who are losing their battle for hope. As you do, fierce beauty is revealed—along with lasting value, fulfillment, and joy.

In Fierce Beauty, Kim shares inspiring true stories from her own life of adventure, love, and loss—including her parents’ shocking death when she was nine years old and her struggles with self acceptance, knowing God, and standing for Him. Through it all, you’ll discover life lessons about trust, transformation, surrender, forgiveness, and genuine purpose.

Ultimately, life comes down to one question: Will you serve yourself or your King?

My Thoughts:

We are faced every day with the idea of our appearance matters in every way.   We are shown images of the "most beautiful" people according to magazines. But how beautiful are these people really? We are not shown their true image ~ the way they really live. I was raised hearing, "Beauty is as beauty does" and "Beauty is only skin deep".  Both of these statements are very true. Several years ago, there was an article written about a famous singer/actress and it stated that while she was on location the other actresses could not believe how vulgar her mouth was. She seemed like one person in movies and shows and then the true person showed up, she was not all that beautiful anymore.

Kim's book is well written and uses short stories that prove "Beauty is as beauty does." Some of the people and animals have suffered from situations that brought out the true beauty in each.

This is a good book for Moms with daughters. It would not hurt Moms with sons to read, since boys go through situations that hinder their inside beauty.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for my honest opinion.

Fierce Beauty: Choosing to Stand for What Matters Most By Kim Meeder / Multnomah In Fierce Beauty, Kim Meeder shares stories from her own life that challenge women to take a good, long look at what they see in their own reflection. To do a thorough self-examination and see if instead of worshipping God, they are now worshipping their own designer-influenced images. Meeder challenges every woman to let her life have a unique value and purpose, not found in self-entitlement or worldly standards. With straightforward truth and deep, life-changing encouragement, Fierce Beauty will empower women to choose who they will honor with their life, to pursue their true destiny, the will of their Creator--and by doing so, to discover the joy and fulfillment as they lay aside stereotypes, turn from selfish ambition, and confidently impact causes that matter in their community.

This Thing of Ours a Review

this post contains affiliate links

About This Thing of Ours

A handsome Italian film producer and a beautiful Mexican dancer. A match made on a movie set and a lavish Beverly Hills wedding. The beginning of Camille Franzese's story takes on the shade of an exotic fairy tale. But a closer look at her marriage to mafi a capo Michael Franzese exposes more than a decade of anguish endured in the shadows of her husband's crimes. The fear of arrest, the prison sentences, the house raids from federal agents-Camille lived through it all, not knowing whether her family could remain unbroken amid the turmoil and uncertainty that accompanied her husband's life of crime. 

Discover how Camille's devotion to her marriage and her faith in God's larger plan led to deliverance from devastation. Hers is a story of choices, consequences, and the prayers that hold us up when everything around us is falling down.

 

My Thoughts:

The title is eye catching, isn't it? I thought so too, when I was looking at the list of books to choose from. I chose this book because of the title, I wanted to read a wife's point of view of this life. This is not a detailed account of what goes on in a mafia family, but a few trying situations that a family went through.

I was not pulled into This Thing of Ours as I had hoped. I'm not sure if it was because of some of the bouncing around, but it was a good read.  Reading the thoughts, fears and anxiety that Cammy details is quite real. It's hard for me to believe that there were no "red flags" waving at Cammy during the early years of her relationship with Michael. The power, the money, the lifestyle ~ it all had to come from somewhere, but there was never any doubt on her part; I don't understand that.

Cammy accepts the responsibility of choosing Michael as her husband. She mentions this several times in the book. Cammy stayed devoted to her marriage through the rough years. She was blessed with her husband turning his life over to the Lord and leaving the mafia life.

*I received this book for free from Book Sneeze in return for my honest opinion.*

This Thing of Ours: How Faith Saved My Mafia Marriage - eBook By Cammy Franzese / Thomas Nelson