I'm Writing With A Joyful and Heavy Heart..Both At The Same Time!!!

Aren't these blooms lovely?  This were on a tree at a local church in my neighborhood. So I had to snap a photo.

Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a good week so far.  Today's post is just a collection of random things that happeneed this week...plus a prayer request!!!

I posted about some things that I bought at a few yard sales last weekend. Well, I decided to take a photograph of the front cover of that 1935 cookbook on home baking. It's really cute. It's chock full of tips and menu ideas for various parties. I absolutely howled with laughter as I was reading the beginning of this little gem.  This humble baking book asserts quite STRONGLY that baking skills are NOT NATURAL AND MUST BE LEARNED...how funny is that? I thought it was funny..and that's why you need that book :) :) :)


During this season of unemployment, my dad and I have to rely a few times on food pantries for things to eat. Yesterday we went to a local food pantry that was near our home and we were blessed with a nice variety of things. The best part was that WE were able to pick and choose what we wanted...so none of this good food will go to waste.  We've had experience in the past where certain pantries pick out the food for you...and alwayss there was something we couldn't eat.  I don't know about you, but one of the things this season has done to me is...I dislike wasting food. Wasting food...well, you might as well throw money in the trash can...so I really try to use everything that's available in my kitchen!!!

Anyway, one of the things we got was a really nice generic box of cornflakes...except I just had to laugh when I saw this box. It looks vintage and the name on the box is really cute. Check out the photo below...

I am loving me a good bowl of "hospitality" cornflakes :) :) Every bowl full makes you more hospitable :) :) :) Good...I need some of that :) :) :) OH I love this and I enjoy cornflakes...I just thought the box was so cute!!!

I think that little house pictured on the upper left hand corner of the cereal box reminds me of Tara plantation from "Gone with the Wind" and The White House :) :) :) Yep, gotta love hospitality cornflakes :) :) OH, that black thing in the upper right hand corner of the photo...that's a sock hanging from my clothes rack..Why? I'm not sure...but I will line dry clothes there, since it's right in front of the screen door. Our apartment complex will not allow us to line dry clothes outside...so the workaround is to put it in front of the screen door. It's inside and it's "legal" :) :) :)...plus with the glass door open, the breeze/sunshine come through the screen door very nicely!!!

There was a table at the church food pantry with various items like cups, plates, water bottles etc. I didn't really look around since there were a bunch of woman surrounding the table like vultures at a 100% off table at the favorite department store :) :) It was really quite funny actually..I waited until most of the people had left and I decided to check out what was left. I found this little treasure of a plate hidden under a really ugly pleather bag...Here's a sneak peak...You'll have to wait till Teatime Tuesday for the full reveal :) :) :) It's super cute and a real treasure. This was absolutely free...


Here's a sneak  peak of the freebie I found at the local church food pantry. Even here, in a place that requires you to have a measure of humility, God still blessed unexpectedly :) :) :)

Today I decided to try my hand at baking something. I used this fluted ceramic tart dish that I've had for at least 15 years now...ever since I lived in Germany. Anyway, a dear Facebook friend in Florida wrote this really great Amish cookbook. Her name is Sherry Gore and she lives in Pinecraft, Florida. It's a very sweet little village near Sarasota...and it's a lovely community of beachy Amish Mennonites. In fact, many Amish love to come here for vacations.  Sherry Gore wrote this delightful and super-chubby cookbook called "Taste of Pinecraft" Click here to visit her website.  You can order the cookbook there. That's what I did...and it's worth every penny. It's full of stories of the locals there..so you really get an idea of the people that inspire all the recipes you see in the book. Oh, the cookbook is "chubby" because it's full of stories, recipes, tips...all the good things you would want in a cookbook. It truly is useful.  It's also a goodly thick size that's easy to hold in your hands :) :)

Sherry Gore also has a blog which you can visit here.  She's a lovely lady. Anyway, the first recipe I tried today is the "baked oatmeal" which you can find on page 97. I used the recipe at the top of the page :) :)
Now this recipe was easy...although I didn't have baking powder, so I used white rice flour instead. It worked!!! OH, skipped the vanilla too...didn't have that in the cupboard either..Yet, it's still super tasty..The baked oatmeal is a really nice mix between hot oatmeal cereal and oatmeal cookies...Yummy, yumm and yummy!!

It was easy to make and this is what it looked like when it was finished...Now remember, I'm much better at crafting than cooking!!! I like it more..but I was HUNGRY and wanted to bake something to make good use of what I had in the kitchen :) :)...

Baked oatmeal is really yummy. I had just pulled this right out of the oven. The fluted tart dish...has been well-used over the years..It's more than done the job!!!

I did try some right out of the tart dish.  I didn't want to wait for it to cool down..so it did crumble a little on me, but that's okay...I "spooned" a slice into a bowl and poured some nice milk over it...Oh, tasty Pinecraft treat...here I come...

It tasted great.  It was just slightly sweet and with the milk, it's the best. How did I like it really?...See for yourself....

I ate EVERY blessed bite of this yummy baked granola. The best part is there are leftovers...so I've got breakfast for the next couple of days. This was easy and very inexpensive to make. All of the ingredients that you'd need to buy can be used for multiple things... :) :) :) Oh, while this was baking, I made good use of the time and "whipped up" another batch of my homemade powdered laundry soap :) :) :) It was perfect timing and I am feeling really domestic...just call me Donna Reed!!

Oh, please visit my sweet blogger friend Dorothy over at "Notes from Mémère". She loves Jesus Christ and she just has a really nice writing style. She shares funny stories, spiritual insights she's learned, yummy recipes etc. Feel free to browse through her blog posts. She's a lovely lady...just like all of you :)  :) :)..I"m guessing only ladies read my blog so far :) :) :) Anyway, if you like her blog, then please join!!! She would love to have some visitors :) :) Thanks everyone!!!

I would ask for prayer for my dad and myself if that's okay :) :) This season of unemployment has been difficult emotionally and financially. My father, when he gets upset/stressed, gets really short with me. Yesterday it was really bad while we were at the church food pantry.  We are grateful for the help because we really needed it yesterday. However, it took 2 hours and 45 minutes from the time we got there to the time we left with food...NO JOKE..It was slower than frozen molasses.

NOTE added 3:46 p.m. I deleted some stuff here because I didnt' want to overhwlem you at all..and I didn't want to be disrespectful of my dad...

He did snap at me quite a bit while we are at the pantry.  Anyway, I won't go into more details...but just pray for my dad and I. Pray that I'll still love/respect him...because quite frankly right at this moment I wish I had my own place.  I feel like my heart is breaking and the argument we had yesterday still makes me cry.

Here's a close-up of some of the hydrangeas I photographed the other day :) :) :) Aren't they beautiful? Notice the two tones of blue and purple :) :)

There is good news to report.  I got a call from my old supervisor at Harry & David. I'll be going back to work on Monday...That whole week will be devoted to retraining and learning some new improvements to the computer system.  The department I used to work in was Outbound Telemarketing..and while not my choice of job, it was steady for the season and regular hours. That department was eliminated two years ago. When the new CEO came in, he brought it back, because he said it was an important part of the company...so I'll be back to my old job!!! It'll be great. It's supposed to last through December. That would be great because then I can get my last two medical bills payed in full...and then the only debt left to pay is my student loans from college.. :) :) Yeah...one more step closer to being completely debt FREE :) :) Pray that it goes well!!!

WELCOME TO: Doni of Faith, Grace and Crafts. She's a new follower to my blog. Click here to see all the lovely things she has. I was really delighted over all the cool vintage items, crafts, Victoriana...it really has it all :) :) I think you'll like her blog.

I also have another follower...but you didn't leave your name :( :( As soon as I find it out, I'll update this post ;) :) :) THanks for joining my blog. I hope you have a great week!!!

My heart is heavy and happy at the same time!!! That's just life sometimes... :) :) Thanks for stopping by to visit me..and sorry if this post is a little "darker" than usual...that's not my norm...but I just really need some extra prayer today :) :) That's the news from Oregon. Love and hugs, Heather :)