MY 28TH TEACUP AND TEA THINGS TUESDAY & TEA TIME TUESDAY

Hi everyone,

It's been awhile since awhile since I've participated in any of the tea parties :) :)  I had a lovely little tea for myself last week, however life happened and it just wasn't something I felt like sharing.

Here's my simple and unusual tea for Tuesday.  This is how I have tea for myself most days. Well, correction, when I'm having ICED tea, this is usually what I do. 

I HAD A VERY SIMPLE TEA TODAY. A NICE MASON GLASS  JAR OF ICED RASPBERRY TEA AND MY FAVORITE WALKER SHORTBREAD BUTTER COOKIES :)

I think this is the most unusual tea I've ever done. That "teacup" is certainly very unusual, wouldn't you agree? Hee hee hee..I think it's funny, but it works. That iced tea was so GOOD.  Where are the ice cubes, you ask? I FORGOT!!!  Again, it's all part of my unusual tea.

Add to that, that all the Walker cookies insisted on breaking in half.  So I wanted nice cookies for my photo...but ladies, let me tell you, they still tasted GREAT!!!! 

The cookies are in a little dessert plate. It's made by a company called Pope-Gosser. I'm not sure of the pattern name. However, I do like it's creamy white background with the beautiful pink petals.

 What do you like for tea when it gets warm outside?  Yesterday, it was in the high 70s..maybe 78 degrees Fahrenheit. That's actually a nice summer day . However, in Oregon it can also be very humid. so it felt like it was hotter than it actually was.  I had the windows open and the lights turned off. 

That's the news from Oregon today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

Hi everyone,
How is your Saturday going so far? I think June is a strange weather month here in Oregon. It rains a LOT here....from about October through June :) :)  Yesterday it was a high of  about 71 degrees Fahrenheit. It was also overcast and very muggy/humid. So the heat felt much "hotter" than it really was. This morning it started raining. It was beautiful. It has stopped raining for the moment. It's getting muggy/humid again.  That's okay. I have the fan going and it feels really nice in here :)

YESTERDAY WAS LAUNDRY DAY.

 My weekend is shaping up to be rather quieter than usual. I did laundry yesterday.  There's a laundry room at the apartment complex, which is wonderful. We do have to pay to use it. However, I love the convenience of not having to leave home to wash my clothes.    I keep my homemade laundry powder in a big plastic container. This glass latch/hook jar is what I use when I go to the laundry room.  I refill it when needed. Click here if you like to read my post on how to make your own homemade laundry powder. If you have any questions on that, let me know. I'll answer them as best I can :) :)  This laundry powder is saving me a boatload of money :) :)

 FLOWERS RIGHT OUTSIDE MY FRONT DOOR.

One of the joys of spring and summer is when things start to bloom. There is color everywhere. There's this little bush right outside my front door that has these lovely pink blooms. The blooms are about the size of my thumbnail...very tiny. However, this is a close-up so you can see the detail :) :)

MY NEIGHBOR ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE HAS A BEAUTIFUL ROSE BUSH.

 The neighbor across the fence from me has a gorgeous rosebush. The roses are just starting to bloom. In a few weeks this bush will be so laden with roses, it'll start to bend towards the ground :) :)  This is what I photographed yesterday. Aren't they pretty?  I think so. These roses are so lush and just packed full of beautiful, pink petals :) :)

THS IS SHERBERT, THE HOMELESS CAT THAT ROAMS THE APARTMENT COMPLEX. HE'S ONE OF A FEW HOMELESS CATS THAT HAS ADOPTED THIS   APARTMENT COMPLEX AS HIS HOME.

Sherbert decided to check me out as I was leaving the house yesterday. I love these light purple flowers, too. aren't they just gorgeous in full bloom? Sherbert used to belong to one of the other neighbor's here in the apartment complex. The neighbor's moved out and just left him behind. That is actually a good thing, because they didn't treat him right. 

He tried to "adopt" my add and I. However, in an apartment complex, we have to pay a pet deposit in order to have a  cat (or a dog). It's more than either of us can afford. It makes me sad, but in an apartment complex there are rules that have to be followed :(.  We also don 't have money to feed him . So Sherbert ignores me now, because I don't feed him.    Although he still likes to nap by the tree right near my front door ;) :) My next door neighbor feeds him...so he's not totally without. Sherbert gets better love/care/food from my next-door neighbor, than his previous owners.   However, this day, he looked so cute near the purple flowers. This is actually a good photo of him.

As soon as I find my dad's store receipt from Costco, I'll tell you all about that. We went shopping there on Thursday. It was an experience. We didn't buy a lot because we have a small refridgerator/freezer. We did score some great deals on meat and vegetables.   That's for another post.

I also found a really interesting little curio cabinet. It's probably from the 60s/70s...and it's a "not pretty brown". That will be sanded/painted white or cream...to reflect my love of all things vintage, country, romantic, Shabby Chic...etc. You get the idea ;) :)  I'll post about that later, too :) :)

Oh, thanks so much for visiting me today. I've noticed the new followers, too :) :) You always make me smile...and thanks for liking my blog enough to come visit :) :) You are always welcome. God is good and I'm thankful for each and every one of you :) :)

I do need to organize my "subjects", so people can more easily find older posts. What would you suggest? I could use some advice, because I don't know what would work best. How do you feel about one of those "search" gadgets, that let people type in a word and it brings up all-related posts with that word in it? Let me know. This might be my "computer" project for the week :) :)

That's the news from Oregon today. Extra special love and hugs, Heather :) :) :)

HELP - CAN'T SEE MY FOLLOWERS LIST & UPDATE

 UPDATE (Friday - June 10th): Yippee. ..I was visiting a Norwegian blogger friend. Click here if you'd like to visit "Franciskas Vakre Verden" (Franciska's Beautiful World). It is written in Norwegian, but it is absolutely lovely. You can use the help of Google translator to view it in English. I speak Norwegian, so  I read it for practice. In any case, while I was reading her blog, I noticed I could hear music :) :) So after I left my comment on her blog, I went back to check mine. YIPPPEEEEE!!!! My blog followers are back for the mo ment ;) :) So I will be glad for this :) :) That's the news from Oregon today. Love and hugs, Heather :) :)

Hi everyone,
Oh no...when I went to my blog today, all of my followers are missing from my blog list!!!  When I go into my blog, it still tells me how many followers I have, but when I click on that, the page comes up blank. Has anyone else had this same problem? what did you do? 

thanks. Heather :)

BEAUTIFUL JUNE DAY!!!

Hi everyone,

How are you today? I'm doing well. Today my father and I went shopping at Costco. Wow, what an experience ;) :) If you read my previous post from yesterday, my dad had an angiogram last Tuesday. He's fine, thankfully. My dad pick up his prescriptions at Costco because he got the best price there. Needless to say it was just a gorgeous day .  I love driving by the Hillcrest Orchard/Roxy Ann Winery. Here are some photos I took as I drove past. It's just such a beautiful, perfect day. This is what's on my mind today. I'm linking up with Rhonda over at Down to Earth.

Rhonda's blog is a really lovely place to visit. That's the news from Oregon today. Extra love and hugs, Heather

MY SECOND "BUILDING OUR HOMES TOGETHER" FOR JUNE 8TH, 2011

I'M PARTICIPATING IN THE "BUIDING OUR HOMES TOGEHTER" SERIES WITH LINDA OVER  AT PRAIRIE FLOWER FARM.

 Hi everyone,

 Welcome to the "Building Our Homes Together" series. If you 'd like to visit or find out more, click on the link below the photo at the top of this post ;) :)  I tried to get this blog written yesterday. However, blogger wasn't letting me upload photos. So it had to wait till today. Oh, there's also a fun offer from The Girlhood Home Companion Magazine. Look for that at the end of this post today :) :)

THIS IS THE WOODEN BENCH THAT I PURCHASED AT A YARD SALE LAST SUMMER. IT IS SOLID WOOD. THE BEST PART IS THAT IT ONLY COST $5.

I don't know about you all, but I'm already LOVING this "Building Our Homes Together" series...for the practical and spiritual encouragement ;) :)  I've got a lot of things that I want to do and only two pairs of hands :) :) So one of the things I'm doing this week is trying to decorate more. It is those extra little touches that really make a difference. One thing that I was working on this week was my bench :) :) There is a really nice storage space underneath.  It is solid wood and needs a nice  paint job at some point. 
              The bench is solid wood. Up to this point, it was simply a space to dump stuff like mail and books.  However, I wanted to clean it up and pretty it up a bit.  So one thing I did was to clean all the junk off the bench. I added this cute pillow sham.  That sham was a yard sale purchase for $0.50. It will eventually function as a pillow case. It just so happened that I just "threw" it on the bench and it fit perfect. What do you think? It's a bit plain.

 HERE'S THE SAME WOODEN BENCH WITH A FEW ACCESSORIES.  I WILL  PROBABLY CHANGE IT UP AGAIN.

I thougth it would look better with a few accessories. Hmm.. it's not bad. Yet it's not quite what I want it to be. I have a vision in my head of a cover I can make for this. It was just something that I thought of yesterday. I'll sketch it on paper and share it with you next week.   What do you think?  One rule of thumb is to decorate with those things that make you smile :) :) These things make me smile.   Any tips? What would you do with this bench?   I'm open to ideas ;) :) :)

I bought this eBook not to long ago called " 31 Days to Clean - Having a Martha House the Mary Way"  You can buy the book and download it to your Kindle or as a PDF file. I purchased it and it's been great. You get a LOT of good stuff for the price..definitely worth every penny and then some.  That's one of the sources I've been using to help me get my house into shape ;) :)   I'm giving this review of my own free will  :) :) Why? I LOVE the concept and it fits in perfectly with this series. So feel free to check it out. There's also a companion page on Facebook. If you have Facebook, you can click here to "like" the page.

ANOTHER THING YOU CAN DO TO ADD A LI TTLE SOMETHING SPECIAL TO YOUR EVERYDAY IS WITH FUN-SHAPED ICE CUBE TRAYS. I HAVE A RUBBER ICE CUBE TRAY THAT IS HEART-SHAPED.

Why have regular ice cubes when you can have heart-shaped ice cubes? Aren't they cute and romantic? I like romantic ice cubes. The rubber ice cube tray I used for these was purchased at Ikea years ago.  Once the ice cubes are frozen, I turn the whole thing upside down and run some hot water over the bottom. It helps to loosen up the ice cubes. Then I just pop them out and place them in  nice bowl in the freezer. Or in this case, I  displayed them on some Depression glass, because it was prettier than a freezer bowl :) :)

I'M NOT SURE WHAT TYPE OF FLOWERS THESE ARE. HOWEVER, I NOW KNOW THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN FLOWERS THAT ARE SO BRIGHT, THEY CAN NEVER TRULY BE CAPTURES ON CAMERA.

I have tried over and over to get a  good photo of t hese flowers. God is so awesome. He creates us with eyes that can see detail that not even a camera can replicate :) :) I know, I've tried ;) :)   It's such a bright magenta color, it's almost neon.

Another thing that I do is daily devotions. Do any of you have a "smart phone"?  there is a really neat on-line Bible resource called YouVersion.com. Click here to visit their page. It's a really simple on-line Bible resource. What's awesome about this is that it has EVERY translation of the English Bible available to read, plus other  foreign languages. You can create an account and choose a Bible reading plan that fits your  needs...and here's the best part, there is a nice smartphone app for that. You can also just follow the reading plan for the day , without signing up for anything, too. It's up to you and what will fit into your life best :) :)

I have this app on my phone. You can click here and look at a news segment about it that aired recently on CBN/The 700 Club.

Or try clicking on this  link.



If you look for the app on your phone, simply type in "Bible" in your application search engine. Get the one that  says it's from Lifechurch.tv.  It's free to use. You do NOT have to create an account to use it. You can just read the Bible on your phone or on-line :) :) However, if you want to create a personalized reading plan, an account is nice :) :) That's what I do. It works wonderfully for me. I'll talk more about it next week, too, as I'd like to keep myself accountable in what I"m reading ;) :)

This is perfect...if you love King James or the New Living Translation etc..we all love a goog smartphone app. This is great. Can you imagine being able to read your Bible while you're waiting to pay for groceries at the store? It's a wonderful app and Lifechurch.tv has done a wonderful thing by making this free to people everywhere. So if you try out the app or the website, let me know what you think. It  has helped me to read more!!! It also has the Norwegian, French, German, Sp anish and a whole bunch of other foreign language translations.

My dad had an angiogram yesterday. He's doing well . God answered our prayers. My father doesn't need a stent or surgery. He'll need to make a few lifestyle changes...but all in all, it was a real blessing. He had a good doctor. The doctor was also cute, too...but that's besides the point ;) :) My daddy is doing well :) :)

THIS IS A REALLY SWEET PROJECT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE GIRLHOOD HOME COMPANION MAGAZINE. IT'S A PROJECT FROM LINDA OVER AT PRAIRIE FLOWER FARM.

 The Girlhood Home Companion magazine is hosting a June giveaway. For every blog linking to the giveaway, they would love to bless you with a free project from Linda of Prairie Flower Farm. Trust me , ladies, Linda knows how to do it up right ;) :) It's so super cute ;) :) The free gift includes an audio interview with Linda  that is incredibly inspirational and encouraging. It's definitely a must-listen for all the women you know in your household and outside of your home. Please make sure to link the giveaway to this address.  When you've done that email Jill at jillenovak@gmail.com  so she can send you your free gift.  Also, write her a note of hello and thanks for the giveaway. This is so awesome. I'd love for her and Linda to know how much you love and appreciate this wonderful gift ;) :)
Thanks for visiting me. Thanks to all the news followers, too :) :) I am humbled that you like my page :) :) Thank you :) :) I hope I can be a joy and encouragement to you :) :)  Feel free to email me to say hello or if you need prayer. I'd love to pray for you :) :)

That's the news from Oregon today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

MY FIRST "BUILDING OUR HOMES TOGETHER" POST FOR JUNE 2ND

I AM PARTICIPATING IN THE "BUIDING OUR HOMES TOGETHER" SERIES OVER AT PRAIRIE FLOWER FARM. THIS WILL BE A SERIES THAT I WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN EVERY WEDNESDAY .

Hi everyone :) :) :) How has your week been going so far? Mine has been really good. It has also been really quiet. Okay, so this is really cool.  My friend Linda over at Prairie Flower Farm is starting a new Wednesday series called "Building Our Homes Together".  Click on the link to visit the page and find out more details.

My dream is for my home to be such a haven of hospitality, that anyone who comes through the door will be feel encouraged, joy, happiness. I would love for people to feel encouragement, love and joy when they leave my home. Also, I would love for that joy to be carried to wherever they may call home :) :) My foundation is reading my Bible every day. I also am working on the practical part of taking the time/effort to brighten up the place in which I live. 

Here is my entry for today. One of my goals  in keeping a "home" is making all my meals at home. Now, I live in an apartment. However, any residence can feel like a castle, if you take the time to make it so.  Today I made another batch of  "avocado ice cream". Yes, I said AVOCADO :) :) :) You can find the recipe on page 14 of the June/July issue of "Mary Jane's Farm" magazine.

"AVOCADO ICE CREAM"

Add the following ingredients:

ADD ONE LARGE AVOCADO, PEELED AND DICED.

NOTE:  I used two small Hass avocadoes.  The avocadoes available in the grocery store are not very big. They are small, in my opinion. So I just used two "small" avocadoes. It worked out nicely. Make sure the avocadoes are soft before you dice them. It makes all the difference, especially when you begin to puree the avocado.

NEXT ADD ONE CUP OF HALF AND HALF.

I used a mason jar, since it had the half-cup increments marked on the side of the jar. My glass measuring cup was used later for the lemon juice.

ALSO ADD TWO-THIRDS CUP (2/3 CUP) OF POWDERED SUGAR.

The recipe calls for powdered sugar.  That is what I used. The measuring cup in the photo is a 1/3 cup. You'll need two of those to equal 2/3 cup of powdered sugar. You can probably use agave syrup or honey instead. However, you'll need to adjust the ratio accordingly. I'm not sure how to adjust that.  You'll need to look that up on-line. If I find something, I'll update my post :)

ALSO ADD 1/3 CUP OF FRESH-SQUEEZED LEMON JUICE AND 1/2 TEASPOON OF LEMON ZEST.

 I don't have measuring spoons, so I use a coffee spoon for a teaspoon. That is the one you see pictured in the photo. A soup spoon works well as a tablespoon. In this case, for the lemon zest, I used the peel from an ORGANIC lemon for the zest and the juice. It's really up to you, what you feel like using :) :)

AFTER YOU HAVE ADDED THE AVOCADO,  HALF AND HALF, POWDERED SUGAR, LEMON ZEST AND LEMON JUICE, PUREE EVERYTHING IN A FOOD PROCESSOR UNTIL SMOOTH.

I purchased a mini food processor at a yardsale for $2. I was so excited to use it for the first time. It turned out to be a dud. Maybe I couldn't figure it out? Nope. I plugged it into the outlet and nada. My sweet dad came to the rescue. He suggested I use the hand-held mixer. Let me tell you something. It worked FABULOUS :) :) We actually "fought" over who would get to "mix/puree" the avocado mixture.  It was so much fun, worked great, and only cost us a little bit of time :) :) The avocado pureed wonderfully with all the other ingredients.

ONCE ALL THE INGREDIENTS HAVE BEEN PUREED/MIXED TOGETHER, POUR INTO A CONTAINER. PLACE A TIGHT-FITTING LID ON TOP. PLACE IN THE FREEZER FOR FOUR HOURS OR UNTIL SET.  WHEN YOU ARE READY TO EAT IT, LET IT SIT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR 15 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING.

Okay, this is great. Since the avocado was much softer this time, it pureed so easily. Also notice that it is actually a bit greener than the last batch that I made.  Now the last time I made this, I had to let the ice cream sit in the freezer overnight for it to fully set. The actual time needed to set will vary , depending on the type of freezer that you have in your home. I will let mine sit in the freezer overnight.

THIS IS THE FINISHED PRODUCT - SUPER DELICIOUS AVOCADO ICE CREAM. I EVEN PICKED A REALLY NICE DESSERT DISH AND PLATE WITH PINK FLOWERS AND GREEN LEAVES. DO YOU NOTICE THAT THE GREEN LEAVES ON THE CHINA MATCHES THE COLOR OF THE ICE CREAM? THAT IS BEAUTIFUL.

I let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before I served it. Next time, I'll let it sit a bit longer. My soup spoon served as an ice cream scooper today.  Oh, the ice cream tasted DIVINE.  It tasted so heavenly.   The hand-held mixer really made a difference in the texture and the color. The avocado ice cream came out greener than my first batch. 

If you try making this ice cream, let me know and maybe leave a link to your blog, so that I can see it :) :) I had some ice cream after lunch :) :) Yum. Yum. It will be necessary to have a little more after dinner, too.

This is what's on my mind today :) :) I'm also participating in Rhonda's "On my mind.." series over at Down to Earth. Check it out. There are so many lovely blogs to visit and inspiration to be found ;) :)

That's the news from Oregon today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

UPDATE AND BUILDING OUR HOMES TOGETHER

HI everyone,

How are you this week? I'm doing well. I'm sorry I haven't posted anything this last week. I share the computer with my dad. So it's not always possible to post as often as I'd like :) :) Quick update, I  purchased a mini food processor at a yard sale aw hile back for $2. Plus I bought the ingredients for avocado ice cream today. I will make another batch of avocado ice cream today, then blog about it tomorrow :)

 THIS SCRIPTURE PICTURE IS COURTESY OF PRAIRIE FLOWER FARM. PLEASE LINDA A VISIT AND SAY HELLO.  TELL HER THAT I SENT YOU OVER THERE :) YOU WILL REALLY ENJOY  YOUR STAY AT THE FARM.

That leads me to my next thing. My sweet friend Linda over at Prairie Flower Farm is starting this really cool series on Wednesdays. It's called "Building Our Homes Together". Click on that title and pay her a visit. Read up on what it's all about. I'm really excited about this because I want to have a home that is full of hospitality/love. When people come to visit, I want them to leave happier than when they arrived. Does that make sense? Also, I just need some real motivation for making my home a lovely place for my family. Right now, that's just my father and myself.

I'll be posting my entry for "Building Our Homes Together" on Thursday. So keep your eyes out for that one. If you would like to join in the fun, I know Linda would love it ;) :) It will be really neat.

That's the news from Oregon today. Love and hugs, Heather