It's Tubbie Time

Hello everyone...

Hope all is well with the after Christmas slow-down. I've thoroughly enjoyed my past 2 days. I spent a lot of time resting and being still and being quiet. Charles is back home this evening. He will be home until very early Monday morning next week.

This is our Dizzy... having her tubbie time. She loves it. The hubby thought it was funny when he put the bubbles on top of her head for a bubble wig. The hubby then proceeded to give the other two dogs a bath. What a dog fur festival. Yipes! Gotta love them. Dogs... have three... they're small!

God bless ya'll,

Penny Sue

Lord, Thank you for rest after rambunctiousness. Thank you for sweet and gentle reminders of what December 25th is all about. I love you for loving me. I love you for forgiving me and saving me. Amen, Your girl.

My kids are here... !

You would have to understand the inside Family Joke of Colt 45.


Our son and his wife. You'll have to forgive the pics... my husband was managing the camera... and the funny part is... it's his camera.

I am such a happy Mama! My son and his wife came yesterday, we did our "Christmas" last night. Our son took us out for dinner tonight. He took us to the "Texas Roadhouse" restaurant. He has this thing for steak. We waited quite a while (even with call ahead seating) after we got there. Thankfully it was a great night outside. Just a little damp and coolish. We didn't have to wait longer that 75 minutes, which is what we were first quoted. Anyhow... it was well worth the wait. I ordered a margarita, just for kicks, because my son is not a big fan of tequila. It arrived before dinner, and it looked like a goldfish bowl. I ended up sharing some of it with my DIL... but she didn't pull her weight. So, being the "waste not want not" person that I am... I couldn't leave half of the beverage sitting there. But... it's all good... we're all OK.

Tomorrow we are having a Turkey dinner (here) and my Dad is coming to see his grandson and grand-daughter-in-law. It should be a good dinner. Even if I manage to totally burn the turkey and destroy the veggies and mashed potatoes.... it should still be a good day because Dad will be here. His happiest moments (as far as I can tell) are the ones he spends with his family. He's such a cool Dad and Grandpa. (And that is from my humble opinion!)

I need to get done with this,
God Bless,
Hugs,
Penny Suzie

What's going on?

I'm starting to get discouraged. I think no one is reading my blog... that I'm spending too much time on to get it just right. Is anyone out there? Does anyone care? Or is it just that everyone is too busy with Christmas? I'm having a bad evening. Sorry if this upsets anyone.

PS

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Well, it's the Tuesday before the Thursday of the Christmas Day. Are we all stressed out yet? I'm working tomorrow from whenever I want to go in until 6:00 pm. The market is closing early for Christmas Eve. I won't work on Thursday, because of obvious reasons, and Friday I'll be working 4-9pm. My son and d-i-l are planning to arrive Friday evening, as they both have to work the day after Christmas. They thought it would be nicer if they came after Christmas and stay until Monday sometime. If they came for Christmas day it would be here and back in one day. I'd much rather have them here for a couple days. However, my son says they are supposed to be helping his brother/sister-in-laws move. Not sure of those details or how much time that will take out of their weekend... but at least they are making the effort. Which I appreciate.



I've been shopping online for my Dad. We discussed together about a gift for him... and I had made mention of a New King James Version Bible. He said he thought about it for a couple of days, and decided that would be something he would be interested in. Aye, I had NO idea there were so many different NKJV Bibles out there. And of course, the one I selected to order, based on a lot of information gathering, is no longer available through the website. It's the first edition of the Nelson NKJV Study Bible. I have the Nelson NKJV of the Woman's Study Bible and I absolutely love this Bible. I read more scripture than I ever have in my whole life. Anyhow.. I read some reviews online about the 2nd edition of the study Bible I'm looking at for Dad and they back up a whole different theology of salvation. I'm so discouraged. At least Dad said that he didn't mind if he didn't get his gift on Christmas day, because he figured it was something I would have to order. Isn't he the sweetest? So, I'll be doing more "information gathering" tonight.



My husband and I agreed (for the sake of our non-existent budget) that we would go out shopping together after the holidays are all over and buy each other something for a Christmas gift based on our agreed upon spending limit. I like this idea... and I think he did too. So... our Holiday's will be very relaxed.



Also, I've got one last gift certificate to get for my son... which I can also do online and he will get it tomorrow. His is for Cabela's. He's got his eye on some sort of back-pack thing for camping and hiking.



Well... I hope everyone is finding some time to wind down and relax a little bit each day. In all the hustle and bustle of the "modern day" Christmas... my mind wanders back to a story from long ago... how on a silent night, an innocent baby was born in a barn, no new baby booties for His feet, no brand new crib, not even a pillow, but shepherds came and fell down and worshiped Him... and wise men traveled far to bring Him gifts fit for a King. For those wise men and shepherds knew, this tiny little baby... He was the Messiah.... who came to pay our debts of sin. I love to remember this story. How about you?



Lord, Thank you. Humbly, your girl. Amen



Hugs,

Penny Sue



PS - The pic in my profile has been updated... my hubby caught me on camera. Yep, finally, it's me. (Smile)

Happy Birthday Pictures

This past Wednesday, the 17th, was my 46th birthday... and my friends 40-something-ish birthday. I'm not going to say how old she is because she doesn't know she's about to go public on my blog. Anyhow, Mary (my friend), and I have a really difficult time getting together socially. Imagine my joy when we were able to get together for a girls-night-in on our actual birthday!!!

Mary brought this cake for us to share. It was so divine! While the candles were burning, we sang Happy Birthday to each other simultaneously. Then we blew out the candles together.

So here's the cake after wishes were made and the candles blown out. However, I must confess, it didn't look like this for so long. I asked Mary if she wanted to have a slice right then because we were drinking wine. The decision was no... so, I simply said, "Well, you're just going to have to forgive me for this." Then I took my finger and swiped it through the frosting, to my pleasant surprise, ended up being peanut butter. The cake was chocolate! Mary couldn't resist... she swiped through the frosting too. I told her I had never had peanut butter frosting. She couldn't believe it. Anyhow... Mary found a knife, and needless to say, the cake wasn't pretty in just about a minute! Wine or no wine, you can't stand between a birthday girl and her chocolate.

This is Mary, my kindred spirit sister. I'm so thankful the Lord crossed our paths in life. She is such a joy in my life. She has not had an easy life (who has, I know), but through all of it, she remains true to herself. Hardship has not changed her spirit, which is absolutely beautiful... just like her.

Evidence of the night before. (Smile)

The morning after. (Smile)

Ahhh.... Hot coffee... life in a cup.

May I introduce to you all... Dizzy. Dizzy is my middle "baby". She a pure bred Beagle. She will be 10 years old next summer. When she was a puppy... I used to carry her everywhere. She was so incredibly adorable I couldn't put her down. And she's such a lovie. But we call her "Dizzy" because she acts a little goofy. However, her goofiness should not be confused with the fact that she's a Beagle. We read, about 2 years ago, that Beagle dogs are by nature completely one-track minded. Very focused. We, being the silly humans that we are, used to think her Beagleness was "dizzy"... but she had it all figured out. She's just being who she's supposed to be.

Also, if you met her, you would think that "Dizzy" is a very appropriate name for her. My husband was a little embarrassed the first time we took her to the vet. He didn't have the heart to tell the receptionist our dog's name was Dizzy. He told her it was Daisy. Too sweet.

The above is my birthday present from the hubby. Gotta Love Giada!

And this resting beauty is my Brandy. We got her in the summer of 2001. She's a Beagle/Boxer ix. She's such a smart dog... and a lover too. Sometimes if I cry, she comes right up to me and licks my tears away. She whimpers a little bit too. Not difficult to tell we love animals.

And finally, the above picture is my best Ebay purchase ever (so far)! This is a Mary Emmerling book, Romantic Country. I got it on Ebay for $4.87 which included shipping. I had fondled this book for months at the Borders bookstore that we like to go to. But I just couldn't part with $30 to purchase it when money was and has been so tight for us. Then, one visit, it was gone. My heart was heavy. I checked if it could be ordered and found out it was out of print. Bummer Dude. I was thrilled to get this book. It arrived on Friday, the 19th. It was like a birthday thing all over again. Just like brand spanking new. So now I have two gorgeous books to envelope myself in. I love books.

Have a great day... and yes, I finally had some pics to share... that I felt were worthy of you all and all of your beautiful photography. I've a long way to go, but I'm pretty pleased with how they came out.

Lord, Thank you for birthdays. Thanks for the friend I have because of our birth date. Thank you for my dear husband that knows me well enough to know what I would like for a birthday gift. He done good. Amen, Your Girl.

Penny Suzie

Well... I suppose it's Saturday... really

I'm downstairs in the family room with my three dogs... and all of them are snoring... as well as I'm sure my hubby is snoring peacefully in our bedroom upstairs. Thank the Lord for earplugs. I'd like to kiss the inventor of earplugs. I remember the first custom made ringbearer pillow I delivered the day before the young lady was to be married (actually, she'd dated my son for some time, but it wasn't meant to be). I had purchased one of those absolutely gorgeous "hat" boxes from Homegoods, put the pillow inside, with a package of earplugs along with a card that said "The secret to a happy marriage". I thought she was going to die from laughter. It's been a while now, so perhaps she understands this old lady's wisdom.

Anyhow... the dear Husband made it home tonight in one piece. I don't know if many pay attention to the winter weather, but we are getting an overly fair amount of snow. And my husband decided to travel home tonight after work. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been. His trip is normally 2 hours from his brother's home to ours... and it took him three to get home from there. It could have been a lot worse. I'm so thankful that he made it home safely and is happily snoring his heart out in our bedroom upstairs!

Dear Lord,

Thank you for your protection of Your children. Your eye is on the sparrow, so I know You're watching me. I think it's time to go join the hubby. I miss him. And... I suppose I'm tired.

Hugs,
PS

Happy Birthday to me... Happy Birthday to me...

Actually, I'm a day late and a dollar short (what's new?). My actual birthday was yesterday, the 17th. I share this date with my best friend, Mary. She is 3 years older than I. But finding out we had a common birthdate was the beginning of the most cherished friendship I believe I will ever have. Because my husband isn't home during the week, Mary and I decided to have a girls night in. I had to work at the market until 9... which gave her time to run a few errands, come home (here) and just chill out until I got here. Then we just did an antipasti platter with all those great marinated or spicy foods, crustini, and my all time fav... cream cheese, shrimp and cocktail sauce with crackers to spread it on. We feasted like little piggies.

It was a great night. We don't get to see each other all that often. So we spent a lot of time catching up. Just relaxing and chillin' with some wine and good old fashioned from the heart conversation.

I'm a little sleepy right now, as it was going on 2 AM when we headed to sleep. Then I got up at 6 AM to beef up the fire in the woodstove so she would be certain to have hot water for her shower... and the house would be warmer than 60 degrees... burrrr.

Hope everyone is having a good day.
Hugs,
Penny Sue

Is it over yet... :)

I survived all my housecleaning... and all my company. I actually had the time to spend enjoying all of my company during their stays (different people at different times). That was one of my goals. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in "stuff" that we forget to sit and spend time with those who come to visit us. I was able to spend time with my husband's cousins. His cousin Carl and his wife Deb and their son Kyle. I had only met them once about 11 years ago... but since my husband's work life has taken him to a different county during his work week, he has been able to reconnect with these cousins. I so enjoyed just chilling and talking and having a couple of drinks to relax and unwind. It's so great when family can be friends too. It's like a double bonus.

Oh, and yes, I need to give my husband kudos for his amazing breakfast preparation for two days in a row while the cousins were here. I'm amazed... and I'm married to an amazing man. God blessed me.

Hope all is well for everyone,
Penny Suzie

A week later...

I'm so tired, I can hardly take it. I had a night-cap before heading for bed... but I'm still not tired. I've been cleaning my house, it's going on 1:00 AM on Friday morning. I've still got a lot of dusting to do. I'm just so tired of cleaning. I'm exhausted.

Hope that all is well with all my blogging friends. Enjoy the days to come. Jesus is the reason for the season. Somehow I think that all gets lost in all the commercialism of everything. I'm hoping to enjoy this coming Christmas season in a completely new way.

Enjoy your weekends,
PS

Happy Giving of Thanks Day!!!

It's 1:00 in the morning right now, I'm sitting on our couch in the family room, next to my dear hubby and one of my three dogs, and I couldn't be happier. I'm so thankful for my husband, my family and my loving friends who are so precious to me.

I hope that anyone who reads this has/had a wonderful day of giving thanks. We have so much to be thankful for. And for some reason, I am compelled to recall the most simple and precious of gifts. What are yours?

God Bless,
Hugs,
Penny Sue

So much to do in so little time...

I've got about 15 days to get my house in order. I'll be having company & family here from the day after Thanksgiving until the 2nd weekend in December. My house is a disaster. It's been months since I've done a good job cleaning. I'm embarrassed to say that ever since my cancer and the flood that hit us... I almost just don't care. Plus, my husband can undo hours of housecleaning in a matter of minutes. Please pray for my motivation and self esteem. I have been struggling for almost 1 and 1/2 years with a lot of emotional and mental issues. My brain tells me what I should do... and my heart and body just don't want to follow through.

Aside from all of the above, I would really like to be able to spend some time in my shop and get it ready to re-open. This has also been a point of certain depression for me. I have some fresh new ideas for what direction I want to take the business, but the actual going out there, standing and looking at how much work it will take to reopen my doors just overwhelmes me.

I know in my head that there are so many other people who would truly love to trade places with me... or tell me that I should be so thankful that I survived cancer. I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for my restored health and body, but I think my mind got left behind. Surviving cancer has it's mental and emotional ramifications too. I guess I just need to "Snap Out Of It"... as Mary Emmerling so fondly says.

Hugs,
Penny Sue

PS - Nov. 20th - OOPS! I got my Mary's mixed up. I meant Mary Englebreit (SP?), not Emmerling.

It's Monday-Saturday

Monday-Saturday means the day is really a Monday, but as far as my hubs' weekend goes, it's really a Saturday.

We did a lot of gallivanting. McDonalds so hubs could grab a bite to eat. To the wrong Advanced Auto Zone. Figured out which one we were supposed to go to. To Home Depot. To Lowe's. To Barnes and Noble (I found my Romantic Homes magazine). I really need to get my subscriptions renewed. I also want to subscribe to Romantic Country. Anyhow... went back to Home Depot. Walmart for a 2009 calendar appointment book. Maines Source (A discounted food store). The drugstore.. and finally home. I'm just pooped out from running around all day. Oh yes, and I bought a 2nd magazine at Barnes and Noble published in Dublin, Ireland just titled "Ireland". I look forward to reading that before I go to bed this evening. One of the feature articles (as well as the front cover photo) is Frank McCourt. He is the author of Angela's Ashes and 'Tis. I gather he has authored another novel. I really enjoyed Angela's Ashes... I read most of 'Tis... but didn't finish it... only because I've misplaced the book. It's somewhere in this house. We have so many books packed away in boxes. I'm sure it's in one of those. Those boxes full of books are waiting for a library to be created on the 1st floor of our house. I really look forward to this project.

I'm tired. I'm gonna close now. It's been a busy day spending money. (Smile.)

It was also a very good day to spend with my husband. It's been a long time since we've just spent a day together doing nothing in particular. He's been so busy working on so many things around the house, our relationship has been put on hold for a little while. But, the Lord is good... and helps us to love each other well during the not so romantic times. I am truly blessed with this man.

PS

It's Friday... and I'm ok..

Today my dear husband finally went to work. He should have gone back to work on Wednesday morning, but he called in sick two days this week. I hope he does well. Usually he calls me around 9:30 at night after he's done with work to chat. He was supposed to call, but he didn't. I just checked my cordless phone and the battery is drained. He probably tried to call but it didn't ring here in the house.

I'll be going in to work at 8 am tomorrow. I'm tired. It's been a weird day.

I'll chat later.
Hugs,
PS

It's a good thing there aren't more than 24 hours in a day...

Before I get going.... what happened to "Simply Dandy"? I've tried for two days and have gotten error messages that her blog has been deleted? What happened? I'm so sad. I was so encouraged by her sharing of her faith in such a public format... and enjoyed sharing comments back and forth over the last couple of months.

I must say that if there were more than 24 hours in a day, I would just crawl in a hole and die. I'm so thankful that the Lord just gave us 24, because otherwise we would just cram more "stuff" to do and feel the pressure of not getting it done. Most of us sleep 6-8 hours a night (maybe)... and then the rest of the time, run like a hamster that runs and runs and runs on those silly little wheels in its cage. Spinning and spinning and going nowhere.

When I had cancer, I learned a very valuable lesson. Actually, I learned a ton of valuable lessons. But one of them was how important it was to take time to have just for myself. It's not something I get to do every day, but there are some times I will have a quiet morning where I'll make a nice pot of percolator coffee, snuggle with my girls (3 dogs) on the couch, and just read my Bible. And then I just relax and rethink about what I read. I love it. After I've spent time reading my Bible and praying... I like to look through some of my reading material. I have so many things to read at my fingertips. I've tons of magazines. I have a wealth of books in my library to read... many of which are Christian based books.

OK... so the hubs has gotten heat out to the shop. Basically what he did was to run heat to my shop so that our wood boiler that heats the house will also heat my shop. I'm so excited. I'm going to call a lady from our church family who owns a cleaning business. She is very successful in what she does. I would like to get a quote for how much it would cost for having my business building cleaned. Top to bottom, windows included. If it's reasonable... I just might go ahead and have someone else clean up the spiders and cobwebs and dust and dirt. It's been closed for almost one complete year. If it's not reasonable, then... well, I guess I'll have to do it myself. But I've got so much else going on, I don't really want to do this too.

Well, I've rambled on again. I wish there were things I could find to take pictures of. Some of the other blogs look so beautiful, and I have no idea how to get mine to look so pretty. I guess their blogs are probably customized.

Hugs to all,
Penny Sue

And then it was Sunday night...

Well, it's late (11:00 pm) on Sunday night. I've had a really crappy week. I don't really want to get into details other than I'm not doing well this week. November 1st was the 10 year anniversary of my Mom passing away. I didn't do well that day. But, as they say, life goes on.

Today was Sunday. I wanted to go to church today. But, I was so tired and worn down over my week, I actually spent most of my day resting... sleeping... in bed... or wherever felt comfortable. There is a comment I remember someone saying while I was going through my chemo and radiation about your energy level. I said I can't wait to get my energy back... and she looked at me and said "Honey, you never get that back." Truly... she meant about not to the fullest before you battled with the cancer. I spend a lot of time being tired. For no apparent reason... and most of the time I just assume it's from the treatment I had. I'm tired. I'm gonna go.

Just me
PS

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Oh the weather outside is frightful... but the "wood stove" is so delightful!

I'm so thankful for a warm home to live in. Charles and I are having coffee together and it's snowing so hard right now we cannot see the mountains out the back of our house. The flakes are huge! And heavy and wet too. The power keeps going off and coming back on a pretty regular basis.

Charles has offered to help me out in the shop today. Yahoo! I'm thankful for the help. I'll take a few pictures while I'm out there, and I can do the "before" and some "after" once I get things rearranged. Plus I'm taking all my consignment down and packing it up in boxes. Then I'll see where to go from there. I am keeping a few pieces of the furniture out there for myself. I want to bring the huge step-back cupboard into my kitchen. I need to put my "check out" station by the door. The basic first part of the shop is shaped like an L. And very seldom do people go into this smaller section. My register, computer printer, phone, credit card machine and all of that were there. Charles suggested that it might be people don't feel comfortable going into that smaller section because of my work station being in there too. My work station is going to be cut in half as well. The second section of my shop will be my working studio. I will work on projects while I'm out there, and people can come in and see what I do. I don't know why, but people seem to love that sort of thing. The third section of my shop is going to be my future commercial kitchen. I think I mentioned my hopes for that. I just need some motivation. And I need to feel worthy of becoming a success and to have faith in myself and my God-given abilities and capabilities. It's just that since I started this business in 2003, I have faced so many obstacles. Not just little ones, but major, life threatening, business destroying obstacles. I told my husband after the flood that I didn't know if I had it in me to start over again. Anyhow... progress shall be made today.

Maybe I'll get a chance to post a couple of pictures tonight.

See ya,
Penny Sue

I'm back... and a huge change of plans. About 5 minutes after I posted today we lost power. The power had been going off and on a majority of the morning. However, after 3 quick ons and offs... it went completely off. It's now 10:10 PM, and we haven't had any power back. Thankfully we still have heat. My husband used to be a plumbing and heating self-employed tradesman. He set up our wood boiler so that even if we don't have power, we still have heat. A few nobs here and a couple of valves there, and presto- we have heat. However, most of our town does not have ANY power. We waited until dark before he went out and started up our generator. At that point we needed some power to turn on a light or two, and we have two refrigerators, one upstairs and one in the basement, and a stand alone upright freezer. We figured it had gone on long enough without being kept "cold". The generator would allow us to run most anything we wanted to for whole house power needs... but because we don't want to burn too much fuel in the generator, we're limiting what we turn on for power for overnight.

So.. there are no pictures as we didn't go out to the shop. The electric heaters weren't working, and we just decided to have a quiet day. Maybe next weekend.

Gotta be at work tomorrow at 8:00 am. I'm not sure what to expect if we don't have power back. The register won't work, the only light in the building comes from the door up front. I guess I'll show up and wait and see.

Hugs,
Penny Sue

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down...

Today has been a restful day. But it's been dark, gray, windy and cold outside. I feel gloomy and blue today. I am fast approaching November 1st, which will mark the 10 year anniversary of my mom passing away. In some ways it feels like just a short time ago... but in other ways it seems like an eternity. I think the one thing I miss the most about her is the sound of her voice. I can't just pick up the phone and have a silly ol' conversation with her, or a heart to heart, which is what she was really good at. But, the Lord allows her to walk through my dreams... and she speaks... and I hear her voice... and it sounds like Mom. What a gift. I don't dream of her often, but when I do... it is distinctly her. I don't mean physically.... that would be weird. But... somehow spiritually... or something along those lines. I thank the Lord for dreams... and memories... and the ways in which He does amazing things in our lives.

So, they are predicting rain and snow tonight and tomorrow. Perfect. The hubs is home. He got home last night just before 7 pm. He will be leaving Wednesday morning. My work schedule got changed for two days this week. I will end up with 31 hours instead of 25 hours. The extra money will certainly be helpful.

I'm in the process of planning two different parties in the next 6 months. My first venture is to try to get ex-coworkers together sometime in January or February of 2009. I'd like to call it "The blast from the past" party. I made my first attempt of trying to contact people that I already have email addresses for. I have a funny feeling this is going to take some doing. My second venture is to try to plan some sort of celebration party for my Dad. He will be turning 80 years old this coming March. I need to figure out where, when, and a theme for this party. My sister has been so busy with her life and two girls that I haven't really even had a chance to talk with her about doing this. But I will this coming week. I would like to respect who he is, but also make it something fun. He was born in 1929... maybe a "What was going on in 1929"... or a "Here's your life" (remember that show?) theme. Or a theme from Ireland/England. My father is half Irish and half English. His father was Irish and his mother was English. If I think about it more... I might come up with more creative ideas. However, I'm leaning towards the "Here's Your Life Ed". That would be so cool to go through major events of his life, highlight great things, and actually inviting people who would be behind the scenes until we did the part where you hear the person's voice and then out they come. Wouldn't that be so cool?

Well... once again I've rambled on long enough. It's not like anyone reads this stuff anyhow. But I will refer back to it when I try to come up with my plans for the party.

Lord... Thank you for relationships with people who love us unconditionally... in spite of our ugliness. They show us Your true love. The way You love each one of us.

Amen,
Your girl

No pictures today...

What a day! It started out with a very gentle rain this morning... then turned completely miserable this afternoon. It poured all afternoon. So much rain came down. I was completely amazed... and had flashbacks of the flood of 2006 in June here in Northeastern PA. What a nightmare. When it rains so hard like it did today, I tend to get kind of edgy. Thankfully, it has stopped pouring. It's just a light misty type of rain now.

I left work at 4:03 pm today, made a short errand and then came home. It had been raining so hard today that the drain grate at the edge of our property on the side of the road was so clogged with leaves, mud and small twigs that it had created this huge "pile" of water in front of my house. When I got home from my errands, I donned my barn boots and bright yellow rubber gloves and went out to try to clean out the drain grate. While I was out there getting completely soaked, one of my friends from where I work at the local market was at the "pub" across the street from my house. She came out hollering at me. I couldn't hear what she was saying, and she started to cross the street, and I told her to get back to her side of the road, that I was coming over. I crossed the road, noticing how soaked she was... and she told me she "did that already". I was stunned. She actually saw someone almost have an accident in front of my house and thought she should do something about it. In her jeans, sneakers (with a hole in them), and tee-shirt she had cleaned out the drain grate in front of my house. What a sweetheart! I gave her a huge hug and kissed her on the cheek. She was so gracious, thoughtful and selfless. I think I shall bake her something wonderful tomorrow and give her a thank you note. She's a single mom and struggling... a lot... with financial, physical, parental and emotional issues. She's such a sweet girl however, and I think there is so much more I could be to her. Her act of kindness is something I cherish. Sometimes, you just feel very alone in this world, and then someone does something like that for you. It just feels good. I wanted to offer her to come to the house and get some dry clothes or something, but she said that she and her ex-husband were leaving to go get take out for the kids. (As I said, it's a complicated story.) But, I am so thankful for her act of kindness. There are so many people against her and think bad thoughts. I feel led by the Lord to show her kindness, forgiveness, understanding where I can, and just be His light to her.

That's just a small part of my day.

My husband had a "bad" day. But that will have to wait for now.

God bless you all,
Penny Sue

Lord, Thank you for showing us Your loving kindness through other people in our lives. Totally unsuspecting, You amaze us. Help me to show Your true calling to us... Your first commandment after Your resurrection was to "Love one another". Help me be that love to others.

Amen,
Your girl

The last roses of summer...

I took this picture shortly after Cindy posted her gorgeous flowers. Everything in my gardens is done blooming, and looks a bit ratty, to be quite honest with you. But I looked out my bay window today and noticed these pretty little pink roses just hanging on for dear life. I couldn't believe my eyes. We'd already had a couple of hard frosts, and they were just as beautiful as if it were the middle of summer. And the most amazing part of it was the fact there were more buds and blossoms coming. God's creation is so magical.

This is another photo of the ring bearer pillow I did for the girl I worked with. The colors are a little off, but you get the idea. The sage green was being worn by two young girls... one being a flower girl and the other, a junior bridesmaid. The sage was a satin ribbon worn around their waists on their dresses. That was why I went with this color in the pillow material so there would be something connecting the ring bearer with the color scheme of the young ladies. The rose is white with just a hint of pink, which the bride actually used the exact same roses in her bouquet. I also used small pieces of hydrangea, the white/green ones. They set off the rose so nicely. The bride-to-be made all the bouquets; one for herself and each bridesmaid. She did a fantastic job. I was honored to be able to contribute to her wedding day in this way.

My husband has been working diligently today to get heat to my shop from the house. In the past, I had a propane heater, and was closed almost all of last winter because I could not afford to pay the fuel bill. It was costing between $250-$300 almost every five to six weeks. So... we decided to try to run heat out there from the heat source in our house. Today a guy from our church family came (we hired him) to dig a 4 foot deep trench from a point in our house foundation to a particular spot at the shop so the hubby can bury heat pipe, water and electric as well. We purchased an outdoor lamp post that we've had for almost a year, waiting for this day to come so that we could also install the light. I'll be taking pictures tomorrow so that ya'll can see what I'm talking about. Maybe you'll get a glimpse of my adorable hubs. Maybe... maybe not. Depends on how bashful he might be... which, on a pretty regular basis... is NEVER! :)

I spent most of my day with my sister, Becky, and our Dad... he had his second cataract operation this morning. While at the hospital, I went and had my port-a-cath (in my chest) flushed... and while on my way to oncology, I saw this woman walking into the "lab" just inside the front entrance. I remember looking at the back side of her thinking there is only one woman that I know that is 6'4" that would actually have a reason to be here, with that hair cut, hair color and that "look". But the elderly woman in front of her, I kept trying to make into my "Auntie Evelyn" (her Mom)... and I kept thinking... there is no way that is Auntie Evelyn. So, I followed the first woman into the "lab" and made a wide swing to the side, because I wanted to be sure it was who I was thinking it was.... and guess what? It was my Dear Sweet Cousin, Margie. She is such a lovie. We chatted briefly, she was called in to get her blood work done, told me not to leave, but I told her I had to go to my appointment in oncology. I told her that Becky was in the Atrium... (the general waiting area for outpatient surgery). I told her that Dad was having cataract surgery to stop by and see Becky, and I'd be back in a few minutes.

All was well. Dad's surgery went perfectly. Becky and I were able to visit with our cousin, Margie. After the surgery we went to lunch. Things seemed to go much smoother for him the second time around.

Hey, I've rambled on long enough. Probably too long. I don't want to bore you all to distraction...

Hugs,

Penny Suzie

Happy Wednesday...

I love the fall season. It's taken me a long time to get back to this love of the season. My mom passed away 10 years ago on November 1st from pancreatic cancer. I spent the last 2 and 1/2 weeks of her life taking care of her. My husband made it possible (in our early marriage) for me to allow Mom to come home. So, for a while there, though I would love the colors of the season, it was very difficult not to associate it with my loss. Now, it's just a bittersweet time. Mom and I used to do so many things together, especially in the fall when there seemed to be so much more to do. The above photo was taken right outside my back porch door. My husband planted this tree just about 3 years ago, and it's huge. But the thing I love about it most is the gorgeous red colors it turns. I walk into my kitchen and look out the back door and it catches my breath. The leaves start out this firey red, and the longer the leaves stay on the tree they will turn to a gorgeous burgundy. It truly is amazing.

This picture (not very clear, I know) was taken of a ring bearer pillow I made for a friend from work. This is one of the things I do for my shop... custom designed ring bearer pillows. I absolutely hate the white satin ones that look like cookie cutter pillows. They have no personality. So, I read in one of the bride magazines that a custom pillow is another way to introduce your colors of the wedding. I used the same silk flowers the bride had in her bouquet, and the pillow material is this striped sage green organza and silk design. It looks more gray here than in reality. I took white organza ribbon and added it to each corner, so they hung down, and I took green and white varigated ivy and applied a couple of very small leaves to the ribbons. On the back of the pillow,I just added the same color sage green ribbon and tied it into a lovely bow that the ring bearer could just slide his little hand into it. It was so sweet. When I took it to my friend, her ring bearer said with big wide-eyed amazement, "Do I get to keep it?" How cute.

The thumbnail picture that's supposed to be of me is actually my gift shop. I know it's kind of small to see any detail... but, I'll be taking more pictures. And hopefully my photography skills will improve.

Have a lovely day,

PS

A romantic dinner for two...

There is just something romantic about sitting at a table for two, meant to share with the one you love, waiting for him to come home and share quality time together.

I love nights when the hubby and I get to do our Italian Antipasti finger food night. It's so much fun. We just load up a platter with marinated artichokes, peppers, cheese, marinated mushrooms, black olives, prosciutto and melon, and some fine Italian wine to go with all the fixings. We like to do this on a relatively unpredictable basis. Once in a while I like to surprise him with this on a night when I know he's not really into eating something overly filling but would rather have something light. Toothpicks are optional. We change the food selection usually every time we have this. Mostly it depends on what's floating around in the pantry (which has now become part of my sunroom) and the fridge. Sometimes I make bruschetta to go along with it. A lot of variations on that too.

Hey, does anyone know what a "hearts of palm" actually is? I bought it in a can, and I have no clue what it is. I must confess I just bought it because it was something Emeril on the Food Network started using in a few of his programs. But he never really explained what it is? Any help? (Aren't I so needy?)

So, I notice that I don't get many comments. I begin to wonder if there is a point to doing my own blog. Perhaps I should just stick to commenting and communicating instead of doing my own blog. Any opinions? Is there something that I'm doing that is "taboo" in the blog world? I'm so new at this, I don't know the "rules". Maybe I'm sharing too much information. Maybe I'm just plain old boring. Maybe I just need to be more patient. I welcome all comments. Good and bad. I also am looking forward to Christmas and Birthday time coming in December and buying my own digital camera with my gift money from my Dad. He's always so generous with all of us. Last year, I actually gave my substantial check over to my husband, who with his check from Dad, made a payment for a Jeep we bought from my husband's brother. We lost our car (2006 Monte Carlo), and had to have something for me to drive. This year I'm keeping the $$... to pay for some things I really need/want and there aren't any other options for me to buy them without this money from Dad.

I didn't get out to the shop during the week... but I am planning on sometime on Sunday. I have to work tomorrow from 8-4 pm... make a quick 1/2 hour errand, then I'm home for the night. I'll be making Potato Cheese Soup for a friend who had major surgery on September 29th. I haven't had the time to do anything for her and her boyfriend. She's out of commission for 6 to 8 weeks. So, by the time this weekend is over, I'll try to have made soup, and spent some time in the shop.

Also, the big foo-pah I thought I had made earlier in my posts involving the Department of Revenue has all been worked out, and it wasn't really a big deal. I just get so paranoid with the IRS and Department of Revenue for PA... like I'm a child waiting to be disciplined. Weird, I know. But, rest assured, with a small amount of money, I'll be back in the swing of things.

A summer project... not quite finished

Whoops... I just realized what time it is... gotta go to work... I'll be back later tonight to finish the post.

PS

I'm finally home, had a snack to eat, and I'm watching CSI New York before I need to go to bed. I'm so tired. There are so many habits I need to change. Some day I'll look a little deeper into this.. but not today.

So, the above photo is a gift I did for my husband. He's been working so diligently this summer on this room which once was a pantry, which he created a sunroom out of. He came home a couple of weekends ago, and I had cleaned out the room as best as I could (considering it's not complete). I placed the table in there on an area rug, a couple of chairs, and a bench on the right hand side of the table for extra seating. I picked our sunflowers and put them in one of my favorite enamel painted pitchers. When he came home, we had our dinner for two at that table. There originally was only one window and he decided to create a 3 window space. It's absolutely gorgeous. We reused old 9 paned windows. We are trying to reuse and recycle parts of our own house to do so many of our projects. It's pretty exciting. Even some of the glass in these windows is original. Then he custom built/created storm windows to button it up for the winter. Making it not such a source of heat loss was his ultimate goal before the snow flies. So... there's still more work to be done, such as replacing the wainscot pieces that had to be removed to help in sealing with insulation.

(P.S. - How do I post a picture here in the middle of my blog? A little help?????)

I'm planning on getting up early and going out to work in my shop. I've been closed all year so far this year. The economy has had a huge play in that, along with my part-time job schedule, plus living the life I live with my husband's work schedule. And an even bigger part has been me. But, those stories will come later.

I'll take some pics while I'm out there, and when I post them, I'll try to remind you all that I've been closed for some time. Try to ignore the cobwebs and dust bunnies... ok?

Lord, Thanks for giving me a new vision and a little more motivation to move forward instead of feeling stalled and defeated. Thanks for helping me find this blog... and for the people I've met who have been part of my new feeling of motivation.

Your Girl,

PS

Penny For Your Thoughts Signature Scent Candle

Hello All...

I am having the most difficult time posting photos. I had to actually email this one to my blogger account and then post it from there. I also got information from someone else via blogspot (thank you Diane, but not enough information for me... I appreciate the effort though). Thank you.

Anyhow... this is my signature scent for my "Penny For Your Thoughts" Gift shop. I make and sell my own candles. Of course, I'm not open much this year because of my unbelievable schedule, working a part time job and being available for my husband when he comes home for his "weekend" on Sunday night to Wednesday AM. This candle is scented with lavender and sweet grass essential oils. And you can't buy it anywhere other than my shop. Isn't that marvelous? And my business signature colors are the olive green with lavender as shown with my organza ribbon.

Once I get a little more familiar with posting pictures, I have a few to share. Like pics of my shop inside and out. The only thing I don't know how to do is choose a picture for "me" in my profile. As I said before, I know just enough to be "lethal" in the computer gadget world! Oh well.

Today we finally turned in our 2007 tax paperwork to H & R. I'm so happy to have the paperwork there and not here any longer. I did a little happy dance when my hubby left with the paperwork to deliver to it. We always file for an extension from the April 15th deadline ever since we were married. About 2 years ago it was both my husband and I that had paperwork, receipts, and all the fringe benefit paperwork that come along with being self-employed. That all changed when hubs took a job in April of 2007. Then I also started working a part-time job just so I could pay my bills for the shop. Electric, phone, credit card lease, and all that sort of thing. At least I don't have to pay rent or lease. My husband built the shop on our property. I'll share more with you as I continue to enjoy the blogging world.

I must admit that I am enjoying immensely the world of blogspot. I have met a few people who had left me comments. (Please, leave me comments!!) I think it is a wide variable of information and people and experiences. I feel like a kid in a candy store!

I should close for now... it's almost time for beddy-bye. My hubs is taking a half day off tomorrow, so he won't be leaving until around 2:30 pm. Maybe some coffee in bed??? Mmmmmm. He's so good to me.

Lord, thank You for a husband who loves me... and takes such good care of me. Thank You that he encourages me to follow my dreams and inspirations... and that he believes in me more than I believe in myself. When I doubt myself, he builds me up. When I feel there is no hope, he gives me hope. He's just sooooo cool.

Your Girl,

PS

Monday Monday....

It has been a gorgeous fall day here. My husband has been home since last night. We've had some nice home cooked dinners, just the two of us. I planned my menu around his favorites while he's home for his "weekend"... which is from Sunday night to Wednesday morning before he has to leave for the rest of the time. Anyhow, last night I made homemade stuffed peppers. He loves them. I think I scored some points with those :) Today while we were running errands, I asked him what he would like for dinner tonight... and he said with such a sound of lust in his voice "Tuna Noodle Casserole". I laughed hysterically. He's too cute.

We are already heating our house. It's been well down into the 30's here overnight. Kind of chilly right off the bat... but it's producing some beautiful colors on the trees in the mountains. I can't wait to figure out how to upload/download pictures to this blog so I can share some of my life in pictures.

I'm tired... and I'm going to join my snoring man upstairs for some R&R.

Lord, Thank you for the colors of Your tapestry of art that You display for us every day of our lives... Your creation is so gorgeous. Thank You for eyes that can enjoy the sights of fall, for noses that enjoy the scents of fall... and for the reminder through each season You give us that there is a time to rest... for all creation. What a blessing.

Your Girl,
PS

It's Friday... and I don't have to go to work tonight

This will be the first Friday I've had off in months... literally months. One of my very best friends, Mary, called me this week and wanted to know if I would like to do the "First Friday Art Walk". It got me to thinking that I haven't had a Friday off in so long, and I decided to ask my employer for the night off. I either needed to find someone to cover for me or she would. Anyhow, she told me no matter who covered, consider it a night off! Thank you Alice!!!



"First Friday Art Walk" is an event that occurs every "first Friday" of the month, all year long. It is hosted in the city of Binghamton, NY. Not too far from where I live currently, and it's where I was born and raised. So every first Friday there are open art galleries hosting new artists every month, tours of restored old buildings (the architecture in the older buildings in Binghamton is absolutely beautiful), unique shops and boutiques offering handmade items from local artisans, usually some sort of live entertainment/music well into the evening. I have been once or twice before. One night, my husband and I stumbled upon it quite by accident. We decided to go out for a "coffee date" at one of the coffee houses. By the time we arrived there, most of the galleries and shops were closed. But the city had closed down part of Main Street/Court Street and there was live entertainment. I'll never forget the sound of the music as we started walking towards the sound of it. We had no idea what was happening. When we started out, the music was all echo-y, resounding around all the large buildings. The closer we got, the clearer it got, and the music was one of my favorite. Big Band music. As we stood there watching these people dancing in the street, my eye caught an elderly couple (probably in their 70's) and they were just kicking it up. I remember my eyes welling up with tears thinking what an awesome sght it was. In their hearts, they were probably in their 20's and reliving a romantic past. Oh how music can effect our hearts, souls and minds.



So... that's what's up for this evening.



Thanks Lord, for good friends, places to meet new ones, and people who love us unconditionally.

Your Girl...

Penny Sue

Am I tired ... or what... ?

Today has not been a banner day for me, personally. Have you ever gotten into a rut in your life and feeling like there is absolutely NO WAY out? That's how my day has been today.

I am a procrastinator by nature... and now it's coming back to bite me in the fanny. There are a few things that fall into this category ... and I don't necessarily need to go into them. Just know that I am completely frustrated and exceptionally down today. Oh well... as I say... one step at a time.

I did not get a chance to work on anything other than tax paperwork. My husband and I file late every year. So... October 14, 2008 is the big date. But today I found out some information that is just not too cool. I'm going to try to fix it as best as I can... but it may cost me. And it involves the Department of Revenue for my state. Crap! I hate tax people and being responsible for paying taxes. What's the old saying... there are only two things certain in this life... death and taxes! Yep, I do believe 'tis true.

One good thing, I had dinner with my hubby tonight...his treat, Chinese takeout. We don't get to treat ourselves very much in this manner, but tonight was very special and yummy. The "cook" who was on tonight was the guy that we love to order this certain item from the menu. Hot and Spicy Beef (extra spicy too). It was awesome! I ate every morsel! I starved myself all day knowing what was to come. But the fact this guy was cooking tonight made it even more wonderful. I love Chinese food. In fact, I don't think there are too many ethnic foods I don't like. I love food. I love to cook food.... and I love to try new things. But it's not just about the food... it's what the food represents. I'm not up on my Chinese food for thought... but for instance, the significance of several different types of Italian cuisine because of the various regions in Italy. Very amazing to me. Food dishes from Ireland too... part of my heritage. The significance of taking tea with someone who is Irish... Whoa! Serious stuff.

Gotta go, it's late and I must be up early in the morning tomorrow. I am the secretary for the local business association, and we have a meeting tomorrow morning at 7-bloody-30 am! Yipes!

Hugs,
PS

One small step for Penny... one large step for blogging...

I spent two days trying to figure out how to get my playlist.com selection to show up on my blog page. I did everything I thought I was supposed to, but eventually had to resort to the "Quick Site Links" and found my answers. If anyone else out there in blogspot or blogger wants to set up a list of songs through playlist.com, then you should go to support forum and then choose Community Support. Then select Playlist User Help Log. The first selection is underlined "click here to find our temporary help log". When that screen shows up, under the heading of "Playlist Help Sources" you need to select "Posting to specific sites". On the left under the heading of "Good Site list", select blogger/blogspot. After selecting this, you MUST move on to the comments.... the original information is irrelevant because of changes to blogspot. Scroll down through the "comments" looking for Kathleen White, August 19 and 20. Very helpful for me to get my playlist.com thing to work. Hope that's a little bit clearer than mud to any of you looking to post a little free music to your blog page.

I had such a good time finding songs... and I'll probably update my list from time to time. Even though it was a little tough for my non-geeky side to try to figure out... I highly recommend playlist.com to those of you who like music... and think it might be nice for the "someones" out there to identify with. I love so many different types and styles of music. I think I spent about 3 hours or more just listening to music from my past and enjoyed every moment. So, if you want to see into "who I think I am..." then please, scroll down and start my playlist. I believe you can start it, and listen to it while you visit other pages, at least while my "blog" is open. Have a good visit. I love my music... :)


Tomorrow I think I shall attempt to upload some pictures I have taken... over the past few hours... into the last few months. I'll have to spend a couple of days looking that over and trying to figure it out. I'm hoping it's a little easier than the music lesson, but I tend to be a perseverant person... so, I'm hoping 2 days or less.

I can't wait to do the picture thing though. I'm enjoying taking pictures of so many things. My inspiration first comes from my husband, who is a wonderful "amature" photographer. He also has a digital camera, which I have confiscated (ssshhhhh), and I've taken pictures for over a year, downloaded to my laptop computer (which crashed - not once but twice), yes, I'm going for a 3rd time... hopefully more prepared. Anyhow, when I downloaded the pics, I did not have the camera delete the pictures. They're still there!!! I'm so very happy. My second inspiration comes from Cindy, from http://www.myromantichome.blogspot.com/. Her photography is amazing. Also, I'm proud to announce that I knew a little bit about her before she bacame "famous" on HGTV's "Rate My Space". She'll be on October 2nd, I believe. That's her first airing, but I believe it will be aired 2 or 3 times more after that. Just check out "Rate my Space"'s tv schedule. Anyhow, I'm going to work on pictures this coming week and tell everyone about my business, which is called "Penny For Your Thoughts"... my name is Penny... (hello?)... and I live a dream-life of my own business... which I sincerely need a kick in the butt for motivation. But, once you hear my story... you may actually sympathize with me... just maybe...here's hopin'.

God Bless,
PS

P.S. - How do you like my selection of music? Be honest, k? I can take it... I'm Irish... mostly! :) And if I don't... I just come out swingin'... :)

The main focus of this blog is to share with you all about my life and my shop. They are so closely intertwined, it is impossible to separate them from each other. There is such a wonderful story behind so much of the past two or well... maybe more like 5 years. I look forward to unraveling it as is seen fit for this blog. I hope to gain some friends here, but don't know how they will find me. God will lead.

It is very late, and I need to get some sleep. I had my son and daughter-in-law here this weekend, and I've been very busy. I don't have as much energy as I used to about 4 or 5 years ago... but, I'm trying. Nighty-Night!

God bless... again...
PS

I have so much to learn...

I have spent a better part of two days trying to download a gadget of a playlist I created on playlist.com. However, I keep getting error messages when I think it's supposed to be uploading my playlist. Can anyone help me with this? I know this site is a bit unattractive too as I have no idea as to how to change many things. Apparently you can't change the background pattern? But, I'll learn as I go. I also have a digital camera (my husband's actually) that I can take pictures and post those as well. We'll see how it goes. I just hope I don't get too discouraged before I make a certain amount of expected progress, or I may lose interest altogether. From what I've observed from many of the other blogs I've seen, I believe this will be a better boost for my business and personal growth than paying someone tons of money to create a website for me.



K, any takers at helping me with my first problem... my music on my playlist? I feel like a silly needy child that just can't help herself... but I've been trying. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to be helpful.



PS