Saturday is the day I clean the front porch.  (See “my cleaning schedule” in the margin.)  I don’t spend all day, no.  I don’t have time.  I have a schedule that allows me to clean a little, everywhere, every week, so things stay pretty clean.

I brightened up the front porch by putting a heavy rug over one of the storage shelves I have out there and topping it with some greenery and a pretty red candle.  The pots are some mosaics I did earlier in the year.

Then I came inside and had this.  If you are thinking hot cocoa with whipped cream on top, you are correct!  For about 3 dollars, I buy a couple of cans of whipped topping each week to keep in the fridge.  It is the perfect finish to a cup of hot cocoa (made with real cocoa of course).  It’s a little luxury that does not cost that much.

Lynn

Time flies.  This is the adorable little thing I found for our doll house for 25 cents!  And it reminds us of just how fast time flies!

This is another little item that is supposed to be a Christmas ornament, but it makes a perfect doll house accessory.  My daughter and I put this in the doll’s kitchen this morning and it gave me a chance to talk about how quickly time passes.  She nodded as she played.  I shared the thought that because time passes so quickly we need to be extra careful how we spend it.

Another little topic that came up was having enough blankets in the house.  I said Oh, we need more blankets!  We talked about having a blanket chest and plenty of blankets, in case you have company.  I know that’s certainly the case in real life.  Now I suppose we need to sew some little quilts and put them in a shelf.  I’ll be on the lookout for a makeshift shelf.

Lynn

I sure did not want to go to work this evening, though I always enjoy myself once I get there.  It is very strenuous work: pulling things from the freezer, heavy lifting, a lot of bending and standing and pulling and pushing.  There’s a lot to throw out at night and the bags of trash can be very heavy.  There’s a lot of restocking to do.  The most pleasant part is waiting on customers and selling the wonderful bakery items that make everyone say oooooohhhhhh.

At any rate, I took a quiet, prayerful walk through my house, from room to room, before I left for work, just thinking of all that I am thankful for and knowing that I can just trust that — for now — I am doing what I should be doing. 

A comfy old rocker that someone was going to just throw out, but dear husband rescued it for me.

Really nice coffee table books. They go great with a cup of hot tea.

A bright hallway for my plants in the wintertime.

New pillow shams in the perfect shade of blue and silver.

An old armoir I found for 25 dollars for my daughter’s room.

Not just old family photographs, but looking at them and feeling thankfulness that my mother-in-law raised a good son and taught him to work hard; wondering about what kind of people they were who had my father-in-law, to be strong enough to settle the mountains and actually survive. Marveling at the resemblance between my boys and their father’s people.

Life is a wonder.

Lynn