LAZY THURSDAY AFTERNOON

Hi everyone,
How are you all doing this week? I've been doing pretty well. Last night I woke up about 12:45 a.m. and just could not sleep. So I went downstairs to grab a cup of milk. Then I came back upstairs, prayed, and played a couple rounds of Sudoku on my cellphone. Sudoku is a really smart puzzle game with numbers. In any case, I'm really loving my new phone. There are two camera apps that I like to use. I take photos on one app. Then I import them to the other app to add another layer of color. It gives me the retro vintage effect that I'm looking for. I seem to be obsessed with retro vintage photographs lately. Here are some of my photos that I took this week:

 THIS IS ONE OF THE STREETS HERE IN TOWN .

These pics are slightly different sizes than what I normally post on my blog. I think it will work out fine. It was great to finally find a way to get the look I wanted for particular photos.  The apps that I use are free versions. However, I will definitely upgrade to the paid versions soon.
THIS IS MY FAVORITE MOUNTAIN. YOU WILL SEE PHOTOS OF THIS ON MY BLOG QUITE A BIT.

There's just something about a beautiful mountain on a nice sunny day. There are a few clouds in the sky. It's good coffee-drinking weather. In fact, that reminds me, I need to get a cup of coffee!
THESE ARE SOME FLOWERS ON A YOUNG "WEEPING WILLOW" TREE. AT LEAST I THINK IT'S A "WEEPING WILLOW"

I've been watching this particular young tree for the past few weeks. When it first started blooming, they were a very intense pink. Fuschia. They were fuschia in color. Now they're a pale cherry blossom pink. I don't know how much longer they'll last before the green leaves appear.

THIS IS ANOTHER TYPICAL STREET HERE IN TOWN. IN FACT, THIS IS ONE OF THE STREETS I DRIVE ON WHEN I'M COMING HOME FROM MY FAVORITE COFFEE SPOT.

There are so many trees on this street. It is really amazing to see all the variety in color.  I'm really loving springtime, because everything is coming to life. That means an explosion of beautiful color everywhere :)

THIS IS  A SCENE THAT I OFTEN TAKE PHOTOS OF EVERY WEEK. THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF SNOW ON TOP OF THIS HILL.

It honestly looked like it was going to rain this morning. It was rain during the night when I couldn't sleep. However, the sun is making an appearance today.  What was really neat is the snow that was on top of this hill. It seemed to have come out of nowhere. God makes everything new and different EVERY DAY :) :)

The church yard sale is on April 30th. They are participating in the city-wide yardsale. So there will be LOTS and LOTS of cool things for sale, and maybe some junk, too. It's all part of the fun. They're planning on having pancakes in the morning and hamburgers for lunch. All of this is to raise money for a missions trip to Uganda.  There's a young married couple from our church that wants to go and serve for a couple weeks.  Pray that they will raise the funds necessary. I don't know much about  the particulars, other than it's a farm that they'll be working/serving with over there.

Now to figure out whether or not to get some coffee this afternoon. Coffee and Walker's Scottish butter cookies...not together. The cookies are spendy, so I don't buy them often. I do have retirement to think about.. ha ha ha ha :) :)  Both are on my "favorite treats" list ;) :) That's the news from Oregon today . Extra special love and hugs, Heather :)

Memory Verse, Chocolate Chip Cookies & Heather's French Press Coffee...Yum!!!!

Feel free to borrow this and share it on your blog or with friends and family. Please tell people where you found this photo :) Also, if you left click on the image, it'll will enlarge it :) :)..I always do that before saving/sharing!!! Enjoy!!

Happy Sunday everyone...I hope it's a good one :) :) :) I was going to post part of this on Monday...but I decided to do it today. I'm going to give myself a day off on Monday so I can read everyones blogs and get caught up :)

I know that I posted this photo before of the bleeding heart flower. I'm not sure if I ever posted it with Scripture.  So I decided to make John 13:34-35 the memory verse for today :) :) It's a good one...and I love how God put His hand on creation, even a flower in the shape of a heart. How cool is that?

Below is the Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that was on the side of the vintage-looking cookie tin purchased at a yard sale awhile back.  I thought you might like the original chocolate chip cookie recipe!!!

The ingredients....

......and the recipe to make these yummy, yummy cookies.

I decided to make coffee at home today because I didn't have money to buy it at my favorite coffee spot!!! So here's what I did. Now I don't know if it's conventional or not...but this is how I remember making it as an exchange student in Germany. The French press that you see pictured here, I bought from an acquaintance in Germany for just under $1. I've had it ever since :) :) :)

Okay, so I like to call this Heather's "Depression Era" Homemade Coffee...Why "Depression Era" you ask? It's because my finances are so bad, that this is what I make to make do :) :) :)  My dad and I will often use this phrase a lot...and it makes us laugh!!! For example, Depression Egg McMuffin...a slice of bread toasted in a frying pan with a thing layer of butter and a fried egg...voila, Depression egg sandwich :) :)

Alright, let's get to business...first off you need a French press.  It doesn't really matter what size you use...but since I"m only making one 8 oz. cup of coffee and this is the only French press I've ever owned...I'll use this little one :)

This French press holds about 12 fluid ounces...sometimes less, if you have coffee grounds or tea leaves in there.. :) :)

Next step is to choose your favorite type of coffee. I always choose ground coffee, because I don't own a coffee grinder yet.

I purchased a little 1.75 ounce bag of Vanilla Nut Cream by Millstone. It really does have a slightly vanilla-nutty flavor and smell. It's nice.

Next, set some water to boil. I use a small pot...because that's what I have and it's all about making do with what you have ;) :) I also use this little 8 fluid ounce Pyrex glass measuring cup.  It's really nice and gets used a lot in my home.
Make sure and set enough water to boil for the desired amount of coffee. In this case, I'm making an 8 ounce cup of coffee. Now I did put more water in the pot so that I can dip the measuring cup into the water and then pour into my French press. It's a little extra step, but there's less chance of burns and spillage.


Next, add the necessary amount of ground coffee. Some people like their coffee the strength of dirty water...others like it strong like crude oil. I'm somewhere in the middle. So I always add 2 ROUNDED Tablespoons of coffee grounds to every 8 fluid ounces of water :) :) I like it sort of strong..then again, I do dilute it with milk and sugar :) :)


Once the water has reached a boil, I carefully pour a total of 8 fluid ounces of boiling water into the French press. This French press is made of Pyrex glass and designed to handle hot liquids. Place the lid on top of the press. Make sure the knob is all the way UP...that give's the coffee a chance to brew.

I let my coffee brew for about 6 minutes. I don't know if there's any set time. It's just what I tried this afternoon.

After you have let the coffee brew for a few minutes, gently press the knob down. There's a round screen at the bottom that will carefully let the coffee rise while the grounds are being "pressed" down. It keeps your coffee from becoming gritty. It works really well!!!!


Oh yeah...somewhere in all of this you want to pick a favorite coffee cup or mug. It's no good to have Depression Era coffee without a mug!!!


I'm very picky about what else besides my grandmother's wedding china goes in this cupboard. As it happens, my favorite white coffee mug is in here. It's cute and complements the color of the dishes!!!

I bought this coffee mug at The Allan Bros. Coffee shop in Eugene, Oregon a few years back. It's a nice thick mug that's also great for tea!!!

The most important step of all is to flavor your coffee to taste.  I added fat-free milk and some sugar substitute...because that's what I happened to have on hand today!!! I used it up on my coffee :) :) Next time I'll have real sugar!!!

I do love a good cup o' joe!!! Yummy, yummy, yummy.....coffee for my tummy :) :) :)

So that's how I make "Heather's Depression (Era) Coffee".  It's easy, fast, and cheap...and it gets the job done :) :)

Funny story before I go..when I was still living in Germany, my college pastor loved to drink coffee. He always had coffee and cookies or some treat to offer us. Some of us would go to his office for prayer meetings etc.. One of my German friends would always ask "Who made the coffee today?"  If my pastor has made it, then they knew to only fill their cups half full...because it was STRONG. I affectionately called it "crude oil"...or as my dad calls it "30-weight"...not sure what that means..but it means "strong".. :) :) :)

Oh my coffee was delicious by the way.

That's the news from Oregon today. Have a great week!!! Love and hugs, Heather :)

Bon Ami is Mon Ami !!! & Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

I have found a powder cleanser that I like even better than Comet. It's Bon Ami :) :) :)

UPDATE ON JULY 21st at 2:41 p.m. I'm switching to a new blog background. Once I find a matching header, things will look better...hey that rhymes!!!! Thanks for hanging in there with me ;) :) :)

Here's the link where I found the free headers. It's a nice blog and the headers are fantastic. Here's what I did...once I added the text and saved it..when I went in to edit the header, I removed the current image and uploaded the one I saved to my removable USB flashdrive...also I clicked on "instead of title and description" AND there should be a nother link at the bottom that says "Shrink to Fit" YOu must click on BOTH...and it worked for me and I didn't have to crop anything. If my "instructions" are bad, let me know. I'll rewrite this later when I have more time...Love and hugs..I'm much happier with my new header, for sure!!! (added 4:52 p.m.)

Hey there everyone...It's been a bit of a crazy day so far...but very good. If you read my previous post, I got my blog background from "The Cutest Blog on the Blog".. However, they're switching to a new server and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep this blog background or not. I may switch to a new one!!! I was trying to get into their website to see if there was another background I could pick..but no luck. Arrggh...

Anyway, I was looking for a new powder cleanser for the bathtub and sink. I decided to go with Bon Ami. (quick note here...I wasn't paid to talk about the product. I'm doing this competely on my own, because I LOVE the product.) It's been around since the 1880s..and I love the vintage package design.  It's crazy, I know...but I think I'm in love with the product.  I even joined their page on Facebook.  If you want a little more history about the company click here...


I love that it just has a few simple ingredients.

I remember seeing Bon Ami commercials on tv as a kid...but for some reason I had an extreme aversion to it...just like I refused to eat pizza. Weird, I know...but that's just how it was back then. Maybe it was the packaging. Maybe as a child I didn't believe that "Bon Ami" was really "mon ami" ...hee hee hee :) :) Anyway.....that is now no longer the case ...and yes, I LOVE to eat pizza.  It's one of my favorite foods.


See this cute little chicky...Yes, the power of good marketing and packaging design...yes, that is pretty much what convinced me to finally try the product...and it's love!!

....I had used a name brand powdered cleanser and a generic...and while both did the job, they also left a little residue and were fumy. I didn't like either one bit.  The last time I cleaned the bathtub I used the name brand cleaner...and  the fumes made me sick!!! So I decided right then and there it's time to find a more natural cleaner. Now I'm sure I've got a natural powdered cleanser recipe somewhere, but I was too lazy to look for it. I remember seeing ads for Bon Ami...and I remembered that the company had recently changed their packaging. I love the new design don't you? It's vintage and cute!!!

This product has been around since God was a boy...well, maybe not quite, but almost...hee hee hee :) :)...since 1886. That's a long time.

So I bought some Bon Ami to give it a try.  It was on sale and I thought "Why not?"  Well, let me tell you what...I"m in cleanser heaven. I used it on a particularly crusty frying pan and it worked GREAT. It got all the crusty off without scratching my pan. The best part was that it washed off nicely. There was no residue and there absolutely NO FUMES. So that was huge...because as I mentioned earlier the fumes made me sick. Speaking of which, and this is completely random, ever since I've moved towards homemade/natural cleaners...well, if I'm in the grocery store and I walk down the cleaning supplies/detergent aisles...the smells are overpowering and I can't handle it anymore...so natural is definitely the way to go for me!!!

This pretty much says it all here...I'm truly thrilled with this product!!!

Bon Ami worked great and it was a good purchase. I'll definitely be using this product in the future.  I WAS NOT paid to do this. I just really love the product and wanted to blog about it today :) :) :) That's the sign of  a good product, if you're willing to give it some free blog space :) :) :)

In other news, my dad and I had some errands to run yesterday!!! We stopped by our old job site to take some photos and pick up some food. There's a United Way office there on the campus.  Let me tell you, it was wonderful and so nicely decorated and very clean.  The lady who worked there treated us very nicely and with dignity. She made it fun to be there. My father and I have been unemployed since February, with the exception of a short callback to work at the end of April/beginning of May. So things have been really tight for us. Please don't feel sorry for me or my father. Just keep us in your prayers. It's just a season of life that we're going through...but we're still trusting fully that God will provide...and so far He has not disappointed :) :) :) God has been faithful to my little family.

Below are three photos of the farmland near our old job site :) :) It sure is beautiful. I love Oregon and I love this beautiful land!!

The United Way lady was really nice and let us pick out what we wanted/needed. My dad and I made sure not take too much, but just enough. Oh, so not only did they have food but clothes, a few household items etc.  They were running a little low on those things...but here is what I did find..

This doily is falling apart, but it was hand-crocheted with such fine thread. The United Way lady said that doily had been sitting there for a whole month and no one took it. She said that someone's grandmother probably knit that.  Well, I'm giving it a new home in my home. I'll have to fix it...but that's okay!!!! It still has beauty and usefulness!!!



Oh, this was free, too...a complete puzzle.  My father and I are actually going to try putting this together..but when you look at the photo on the box, you'll understand exactly why I couldn't pass this up. it's just my decorating style..well, one of them!!! My dad started laughing when he saw this, because he knew exactly why I took it home :) :) Isn't it cute? Poor dad will lose the kitchen table for awhile...but I don't think he'll mind :) :) :)

Most of you know by now that I love going to yardsales, garage sales, thrift stores etc...AND you also may know that I love participating in some of these lovely tea parties on Tuesdays. It's great fun. Well, I don't have a lot of tea things, so I went shopping WITH A VERY SMALL, STRICT BUDGET..and here is what I found...Now I'm not giving you any details on the tea things..but there some great stories to go with those...You'll have to check in on Tuesdays to hear more about that :) :) I will say this, that two of the items there match invididual pieces that were given to me over 5 years ago. So to find something that matched on a so-called random shopping trip today...that was no coincidence :) :) :)



I also found this cute rubber heart-shaped ice cube tray and those mini-crochet threads at St. Vincent de Paul. Those were not on sale...but they were cheap, cheap, cheap. I told my dad that I'm going to make heart-shaped ice cubes..and then it'll be romantic ice cubes. He just rolled his eyes and smiled :) :) :) Can you imagine a nice cup of iced tea or coffee with romantic heart-shaped ice cubes? 

RANDOM FUN TIP FOR COFFEE: I love to drink coffee..especially the fancy, super sugared ones. Well, I'm making more coffee at home now. Once in awhile, it's just necessary to have an iced coffee. However, when the ice starts to melt, it waters down the coffee...boo!!! So I read somewhere that you can freeze fresh made coffee into cubes. I'ev done that before..and then use those in place of regular ice cubes in your coffee.  It keeps the coffee nice and ice cold...and when it melts, it won't dilute the flavor or integrity of your iced coffee....ahh...big smile on my face :) :) :) Anyway, I thought you might like that random tip.

I'm thinking about changing my blog background and header in the next few days. There are changes going on with "The Cutest Blog on the Block"..and I"m not sure if I'll keep my current background. Hang in there with me :) :) :) :) Oh, I did buy some more yarn today...inexpensive cotton yarn that is a real workhorse. I love it.  It's so fun to knit with!!!! 

Thanks for stopping by. If you're new to my blog, please let me know how you found me :) :) I love it when you all leave comments!!! It really makes my day!! That's the news from Oregon today. Extra love and hugs, Heather :) :) :)