My Friday Finds

 

A few of the things I find each week that pique my interest and inspire me to want to do, create, become, etc. Maybe they will also inspire you! 

 

Super Cute crochet slippers with a free video tutorial.  I wonder where they buy pom poms like that? Design Peak. 

 

A vintage recipe for a Pineapple Cheesecake.  I always loved this. You can find a printable alternative here on Recipe Curio.  Great site by the way, lots of vintage recipes, etc.

 

Granny Triangle Shawl. B Hooked Crochet. Free video tutorial. Very easy.   

 

Halloween Peanut Butter Cookie Cups.  From Shugary Sweets. Simple.  

 

Art Journal Prompts from Text My Journal.  

 

How to start an Art Journal even if you are not an artist.  From Love and Blues.  

Love this, because I love poetry and I love children's illustration.  

  

Fireflies and Mud Pies.  Twenty Five heartwarming books for kids for Christmas. 

Merry Christmas Dear, free printable from Tater Tots and Jello.   

 

Today's Creative Life.  Five minute Christmas Luminaries.  Its a no-brainer.

 

Waterless Snow Globes from Good Homes Design DIY.  

 

DIY 3D paper Stars from Gathering Beauty. Simple,

 

Easy Gift Box made using one sheet of paper. From Ideas in Crafting.  

 

Isn't That Sew.  Pattern making Basics.  This could be very handy.  I have a few tops that I like that are wearing out that I can't buy anymore.  I could make my own.

 

The Sewing Loft.  This could also come in very handy. Rolled Hem Basics.

Hexi Caddy Pin Cushion Tutorial.  From Penny's Hands.  

 

Yes!  Granny Square Tea Cosy Pattern.  Not free, but not overy expensive either. From MacKenzie Patterns on Etsy.

 

Heart Hook Home.  How to keep edges straight when crocheting. Useful info.  

 

How to make a Patchwork Cosy for your French Press.  From  Crafty Stylish. A great scrap bag user upper.  One of these with a pack of nice ground coffee and a coffee press might make a lovely Christmas Gift for the Coffee Afficionado in your life. 

 

Little Letter Needle Book Tutorial.  From Kelly Rachel.

And those are my finds for this week!  Hope there was something here for you! 

 A thought to carry with you . . . 

.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.°For what its worth:

Its never too late to be

whoever you want to be.

I hope you live a life you're proud of,

and if you find that you're not,

I hope you have the strength

to start over.

~F. Scott Fitzgerald  .° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 

Spiritual Enlightenment

 

 

BOOK OF MORMON CORNER - Todays Reading - 1 Nephi 5:7 - 6:6

  Question: What was the purpose of the brass plates? How can we have our own version of the brass plates?

What I thought - 
I have read the account of obtaining the plates thinking mostly about how it was a refining experience for Nephi. In verse 8, however, I can see that the command for Nephi to get the plates was an important moment in Sariah's growth and learning too. She had her struggles and doubts but came to not just believe IN God & Christ but also believe THEM & their purposes & promises.
She now knew, with assuredness, of the goodness of God and that He was leading her family, watching over them and enabling them to do his will. This teaches me God can take ONE situation and use it to refine MANY people. I love how he can work!! Another thing I take from Sariah's experience is this - she was a worried mother!! And was expressing her honest feelings and struggle. Next to these verses in my scriptures I have written "He lives to hear my souls complaints" from verse two of the hymn I know my redeemer lives. It's such a beautiful verse!! We can be totally honest in our prayers. No need to pretend or hide our feelings, choices, struggles etc. We can tell heavenly father exactly where we are at and He will work with us from that place if we allow Him to. 

 I like how in chapter 6, Nephi explains his motives for writing his record, "To bring people to Christ".  President Benson explained how the Book of Mormon accomplishes this important purpose: “The Book of Mormon brings men to Christ. … It tells in a plain manner of Christ and His gospel. It testifies of His divinity and of the necessity for a Redeemer and the need of our putting trust in Him. It bears witness of the Fall and the Atonement and the first principles of the gospel, including our need of a broken heart and a contrite spirit and a spiritual rebirth. It proclaims we must endure to the end in righteousness and live the moral life of a Saint”. This is what makes the Book of Mormon such a precious book. 

We can have our own version of the Brass Plates by jouraling and keeping a record of our own spiritual feelings, experiences, etc.  What a brilliant legacy for generations to come.

Tommorrow, Day 8 - 1 Nephi 7:1-15 (Ask yourself while you are reading these passages, "
Why do you think it is so important to have a soft heart?")

 

In The English Kitchen today, a Classic Beef Chili, which is perfectly sized for only two.  Delicious as well.  

Have a beautiful Friday.  Don't forget along the way of your day!

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And I do too!  

 

 

 

My Favourite Things . . .

 

A few of my favourite things, that you might also enjoy.   Maybe we can enjoy them together.

Blythe Dolls.  I don't have one, but I would love one.  Too far out of my price range however, so I just collect them on Pinterest. Its much cheaper that way and they don't take up too much space in my house, lol.  I am not sure what my fascination is with them.  They have big heads with huge eyes and tiny bodies.  I just adore them.  I really do.

 

I think its because they remind me of these big eyed art pictures from the 1970's when I was a teenager.  I believe we had harlequin ones on our bedroom walls, but I could just be imagining that.  Back then I even tried to draw my own big eyed art.  I have an example of it upstairs in an old book. I should show it to you sometime for a good laugh. 

  

Scones.  I never met a scone I didn't like, and I am not ashamed of the fact!  I do love a good scone. I think homemade are infinitely better than any store bought ones.  The store bought ones taste too much of baking powder or soda.  Blech.  And their texture in comparison is pretty yucky also.

 

I adore sweet potatoes and they are very good for you as well. The health benefits of sweet potatoes include their ability to help lose weight, boost immunity, aid in digestion, treat asthma and bronchitis, and control diabetes. Sweet potatoes also help in treating arthritis and stomach ulcers. They are higher in fibre than regular potatoes and are delicious!  I like to just roast them, skins on, in a hot oven. Then I squeeze them out of the skins into a bowl, mash em up and eat em. You don't need anything on them, except maybe a pinch of salt and some pepper.  They're fabulous done that way!

 

I love The Flintstones.  I loved them as a child and I love them now, although it has been a very long time since I have seen them.  They were my favourite cartoon, even more favourite than Bugs Bunny and Disney Cartoons. Betty and Wilma were my favourite characters.  I thought that is what life would be like when I grew up, that I would live in a nice little house and be best friends with my next door neighbor and we would talk together while we were hanging out the laundry and go on adventures together. Yabba Dabba Doo! 

  

Shirley Temple movies. I adored them as a child and I still do.  I know they are a bit corny, but there is always a happy ending and they are cute.  She is cute. My oldest daughter loves her movies also. We used to watch them together. 

 

I actually love old black and white movies. I could sit and watch them for hours.  Most are pretty good, although you get the odd one that is boring.  For the most part however they are quite entertaining and often quite dramatic.  I am not fond of Laurel and Hardy however, or The Three Stooges.  

 

I love, Love, LOVE a good bagel.  Made in a Jewish Bakery.  When I  used to go into Toronto to visit my SIL who also happened to be Jewish, they would have gone to their favourite Jewish bakery and picked up huge paper bags of bagels.  Several dozen or so, and we would feast on them with cream cheese and lox and butter.  They were so fresh.  There is nothing on earth as tasty as a fresh bagel from a good Jewish bakery.  

  

My mom. She is everything to me. I enjoy our conversations each time we speak, even if nowadays we mostly talk about the same things each time. Every once in a while though there is something new.  I would call her every day if I didn't think it would drive her nuts. In all truth I think she would struggle with that. I wish so much I could go and see her.  Maybe my book will do well enough that I will be able to buy some tickets to go over.  I can't go on my own so I will need to bring Todd with me.  The only problem is, if I go over, I won't want to leave to come back here, because I won't want to leave my mother.   

Walking on the beach in the sand in my bare feet, right at the edge of the water.  Its like getting a really great foot massage.  We have not been to the beach in two years now.  This winter I need to work at getting better at walking. I wish my knees and feet were not so bad.  At the moment I avoid going any place where I know I am going to have to walk a lot because of pain issues.  Getting older sucks. 

 

My little sous chef.  Okay so she doesn't do much except hang around waiting for me to drop something, but she is the best darn cooking companion anyone could ever want. 

 

 

Love her to bits.

Him too.

Children's books with humanized animals in them.  I used to buy books like this for my children all the time. Every time I saw one I would buy it. They had a ton of them.  I just adore this type of illustration. 

 

I love the idea of this alternate little world which is filled with mother rabbits wearing calico dresses and cats with flounces, etc.  They hold a great fascination for me.

 

Rice Crispie Squares. I love them, but the last time I tried to make them over here in the UK, they did not turn out. I used to make these all the time with my children. My ex husband adored them.  He could eat a whole tray of them in one night.  I am betting I made a tray of them at least once a week the whole time they were growing up, and quick and easy cinnamon rolls also.  My kids used to love cleaning out the pot after I made rice crispie squares.  I would just put the (cooled down of course!) pot on the table and they would gather around it and all go at it.   I wonder if they remember that?  Good times!

  

Vintage Chistmas anything.  Cards.  Decorations.  Catalogues.  I love it all. 

 

Vintage Travel Poster art.  I would love to be able to get some and frame it.  Or maybe not.  I need to be decluttering not cluttering.  But I do love to look at it.

And those are my favourite things for this week. 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.°Happiness cannot be traveled to,

owned, earned, worn or consumed.

Happiness is the spiritual experience

of living every minute with love,

grace, and gratitude.

~Denis Waitley  •。★★ 。* 。 

Spiritual Enlightenment

  

BOOK OF MORMON CORNER - Todays reading - 1 Nephi 4:20 - 5:6

What I learned - Whenever I read this story I always always think how Nephi really was tuned into the voice of the Spirit. He knew, with confidence, when the Holy Ghost was teaching and guiding him. I hope to be the same! Sheri Dew - "Ask the lord to teach us what it feels like when He is communicating with us through the Holy Ghost."  I am thinking that Zoram, as Laban's servant, knew Laban very well. So how did Nephi pull off being Laban successfully? He had heavenly help to know how to act and sound, what to say etc. He was made equal to the task. 

 It is interesting that not only does Nephi make on oath with Zoram, but Zoram also makes an oath with Nephi – a two-way promise, which is what we call a covenant. Covenants are often thought of as binding i.e. both people are bound to fulfill the terms of the promise. In Matthew 11:28-30 the Saviour says “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. This scripture illustrates the nature of our relationship, and the covenants and promises we make, with the Saviour. 

Tomorrow (Day 7) - 1 Nephi 5:7 - 6:6  (You could be asking yourself as you read it,  What was the purpose of the brass plates? How can we have our own version of the brass plates?)

 

In the English Kitchen today  . . .  Honey Roasted Chicken.  Yum yum good! 

Have a great Thursday.  We are off to Tina and Tony's today for a late lunch. Looking forward to spending time with them!! Don't forget along the way of your day  . . . 

 

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And I do too!   

 

  

 

The Great Mender . . .

 

For a number of years, when I was a much younger woman, I lived in the province of Alberta in Canada. Alberta is a province of many contrasts. You get the plains and bald prairies in the East, the badlands and canyons in the centre . . . and the foothills and the rockies in the West, and that is just the expanse of it. I haven't even described how much it changes from the North to the South . . . but I think you can get the picture.

 We often traveled North to visit a family we knew up there and on one of the back roads we chose to use we would pass this unique and very interesting dwelling. Someone had composed it completely from refuse and salvaged materials . . . old tires, tin cans, pieces of corrugated metal, glass bottles, etc. I would so very much have liked to stop at some time and take a closer look, but the person I was with was very much a drive til you get there kind of person, and so we never did.

 

(Susan Elliott)

The house reminded me of a story told by Ruth Bell Graham, entitled The Mender.

"He had built for himself a great house on one of the Caribbean islands. It is a thing to behold. Tall rusty iron columns, collected and resurrected with an ingenious homemade device. This Great House is a masterpiece of salvaged materials.

A collector and seller of scrap metal as well as antiques, he was also fascinated with broken bits and pieces of china, dug from his front yard. His friends, John and June Cash, laughinly remarked it was the first time they had heard of a yard sale where a man had sold the yard itself. Carefully he fitted and glued the pieces together. Few ever came out whole. They remained simply a collection of one who cared.

When I expressed interest, he gave me a blue and white plate, carefully glued together . . . pieces missing.

"You remind me of God." I said. By the look on his face, I knew I shocked him, and I hurriedly explained.

"God pieces back broken lives lovingly. Sometimes a piece is irretrievably lost. But still He gathers what he can and restores us."

(Taken from the book, More Stories From The Heart)

 

(source)  

This morning as I thought about that house fashioned together with salvaged castoff's, I was reminded of this story and of my own life and what God has been able to fashion with it. I have experienced many, many things in my life . . . good, horrible and everything inbetween . . . my faith in the Lord has enabled me to take what I have been given, and to fashion something beautiful and wonderful from it all, so much so that I sit here this morning and I feel truly blessed to have done and experienced all that I have, to have seen and felt all that I have . . . to have failed abysmally at some things . . . and to have suceeded at others.

 Whatever I have been handed in life, I have put upon my plate . . . and used it to create this beautiful feast which I have brought to the table, and now share with those around me . . . oh what a joy it is to be alive! I look out my window . . . and see the sun rising and bathing my surroundings in it's golden glow and I am at peace with everything in this single moment. Oh sure . . . it could all change in an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year . . . but it doesn't really matter. I have experienced enough to know and I have faith enough to know that good always comes out of the bad, and that there is a purpose in all things . . . even broken plates and lives, so long as we look in faith to the mender of broken hearts and lives. He can and will make all things right in the end. This I know to be true.

  

Isn't this dollhouse amazing?  It is the creation of Mosaic artist named Sheila.  I don't know her last name, but she has a Facebook page. Her work is incredible!  She is based in Florida.  You can see inside the house etc. here. Be prepared to fall in love.  I sure did!  What an amazing piece of craftsmanship!  But then I am crazy about doll houses anyways!

A thought to carry with you through today  . . . 

.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.°“As you take the normal opportunities 
of your daily life and create 
something of beauty and helpfulness, 
you improve not only the world around you 
but also the world within you.”
~Dieter F. Uchtdorf •。★★ 。* 。 

Spiritual Enlightenment

 

BOOK OR MORMON CORNER - Today's Reading - 1 Nephi 4: 1-19

What I learned - By the mouth of three witnesses. 1️/ Nephi testifies God "is mightier than all the earth", 2️/ Then he adds another witness of Moses opening up the Red Sea, 3️/ His final witness is the angel's words which they have just heard. Nephi used these witnesses and his understanding to make his faith strong. So whenever the Lord asks/calls/prompts me to do something and I don't know how to do it, I can use this event as my witness that the Lord will indeed guide me to accomplish His will, as I put forth my own effort and my trust is firmly placed in Him and His will. I am grateful for what I learned today, from this reading. I am so grateful that Nephi persevered and got the plates. I'm glad, in the end, he did not shrink when the Lord asked Him to do this hard thing. Today's reading, has helped me to see how absolutely essential the scriptures are to the Lord, for His people. 

Faith often defies logic and reason. I am grateful that although there are somethings that I don’t understand, there are certain things that I know without doubt, that I can rely on to help me accomplish things that are difficult and challenging. I am reminded of Elder Holland's talk "Lord I Believe" where he says "hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes". Nephi knew what he had to do and continued until the Lord prepared the way and it was clear what he had to do.  (I highly recommend listing to that talk.)

Tomorrow (Day 6) - 1 Nephi 4:20 - 5:6

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Devilled Mushrooms.  Quick, easy and very delicious.  A perfect main supper for two or a side dish for four. Easy peasy. 

Have a great Wednesday, don't forget along the way . . . 

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and I do too!