Just when I start making progress...............

Ok, here it is, I finished painting my little room yesterday. I was tired and sore but pumped because i knew that I could do it. I had great plans for today and this morning at one I woke up with a VERY BAD sinus headache. I took my usual medicine and laid down with a heating pad (my daughter made, thanks Sarah) on my head. About thirty minutes later I had to get up and reheat the pad, about thirty minutes after that I had to get up and heat my pad again but this time I took a migraine pill because what started off sinus was not a full blown migraine. I tried to wake up Honey but he only mumbled. I could just see me having to go to the emergency room in a new town where I am not familiar with doctors right by myself. If anyone reading this blog lives in Greenwood or any surrounding area you may should give me references to a good after hours clinic or emergency room just in case I ever need one, and if I do I hope Honey responds with more than just a grunt.

Needless to say today I have NOT been outside, I thought it was too good to be true that I could stay outside in the hills and not get sick. And all this had to happen just when I started making progress.

Honey and I went to eat at Peppercorn Grill again tonight. This time  I only ordered a baked potato with grilled chicken on top. I asked that they leave all seasoning off the chicken except for salt and pepper. It was sooo good, I pray they listened.

After we ate we decided to ride around Carrollton, since it was still daylight we're always late going through there. We were amazed by the old homes that have been restored you can look at them yourself HERE! We went by Carroll Academy just to see what it was like and as we rounded a curve we saw this house. I was taken by it and I'm dying to know the history but for now this is all I have.

If you know anything about this little one room house leave me a comment. By the way, yes it's blurred Honey decided that he was in a hurry and let the truck roll before I was done. I took it over but he did it again.

That'll have to do you. I hope to have a better night tonight and that I can get something done tomorrow.

Rock Your Body?

We've been here working a couple of days, everything seemed to be going pretty fast until the ground dried up. I know the farming has to get done but it sure is hard for me to accomplish much painting alone! I worked all afternoon yesterday and feel like I accomplished little.

I offered to paint the breezeway alone. Now why I did that I'll never know. First of all I didn't look around, yes it's a small room but it has a lot things that stand in your way. This is a photo of the window that I started on.

This is the finished product. I then began the trim around the ceiling, what a job. I mean it's not hard but when you stand 5' it's a challenge. I did good until I realized that I had something blocking my way from putting my ladder close to the wall. 

And here it is, I couldn't figure out how to get my painters ladder past the steps? So I just skipped part of the trim for Honey to do later!

And I began on the door. It was a easy job AFTER I taped up all the windows. How slow can you go? Pretty dead gum slow!

This is the finished product, now the spot on the lower left hand side is the sunlight reflecting on my bright white door. Don't want you to think I messed up that bad. I stopped and cleaned up everything around 6pm. I have to be honest I was worn out. This old body just ain't what it use to be.

This morning I can feel every pain well! I was searching for a good radio station and "Rock Your Body" came on, is that a message for me?

Better get up from here, put my coffee cup away and go to painting!

That'll have to do you for now.

We're working hard but where is the progress?

Honey and I worked around the farm Monday and then headed to the hills!

Honey gave the bushes on the farm a nice haircut! Now I know you are thinking that they look awful but they were so big that they covered the house. We'll see if they grow out of this one.

When we got in the hills we had to run to the flat land and take care of a piece of equipment. Finally we were able to resume our painting in the garage, remember we left it last week because of the storm. Well to make a long story short we've decided that we definitely need to hire someone for the inside of the house! :( We are not real good at painting and oh boy we are slow, so we have someone coming to meet with us tomorrow. If he doesn't work out we're going to take bids and see what happens, I do want to move in this place!

Have you tried these? Man oh man I like them. The last time I placed a gluten-free order they were out of my crackers so I've been using these instead. Try them!

I just got ready to go out to dinner with my hero and notice I am sporting my daughter (Sarah's) jewelry if you haven't checked out her page you can do so HERE! Hurry time is slipping by.......

Got to run, thanks for stopping by and do so again sometimes!

Review of Amy's Teriyaki and Tofu Bowl and Walden Farms Caramel Dip

I've been busy unpacking and getting things just like I want them in my kitchen. I know God cares about the small stuff in our lives and this is just one more example. My Aunt gave me this bowl set years ago right after I came back from Guatemala after my commenting that I really liked them. Thanks BaBobs.

You see fifteen years ago to be exact I was the counselor at a church camp. The theme was "The Fruits of the Spirit" and I don't know why but I decided at that time that one day I wanted a kitchen all decorated in Apples. After I married Steve I saw some Apple kitchen stuff at Cracker Barrel and mentioned how much I loved it and Steve bought everything we could find in it. What we couldn't find I had my family looking for and my children bought me a few pieces. It is still packed up but maybe I'll unpack it soon and show you photos. I realized at that time that the bowls from my Aunt would match the other perfectly. Now God blesses me with a house that the kitchen is already done in this same color scheme. We've decided to leave it exactly as it is for a while and if we decide that the cranberry walls are a little much we can change it later. We have plans to remodel the kitchen in the near future but for now it is perfect!

Today I went and checked out another store, a small store just inside the Leflore county line. Having to eat a special diet I love shopping at small stores and seeing what type treasures I can find. This is one of the treasures that I picked up today.

I've had other Walden Farms products in the past, some I loved and some not so much. We this one would be in the not so much category, but I have plans for it. What do you think about using it in a cake? I can't stand to be wasteful!

After shopping for a while I was starving and had called Steve who said that due to the bad weather supposedly heading our way was working through lunch. I"m not a big fan of going out to eat on my own so I started planning what I could eat at the house. I thought about I had bought a few "Amy's" entrees for such a time as this so it was time to get one out and try it.  So I chose

with Tofo. It was really good, I mean homemade would have been better but since I haven't moved my pots and pans yet it was a good quick little meal for me. Now I'm full and tired I think it may be nap time.

One of the hardest parts of moving, being a Celiac, will be the local restaurants. We visited the "Peppercorn Grill" Friday night. It was very good and the waitresses seemed concern with my gluten problem. They told me that when I came back they would remember me and I wouldn't have to worry! I'm afraid that they need a lot more education as I've been sick all day today! But it was so good I hate to give up immediately when I get my strength back maybe we'll go and I'll talk to them in more detail.

Our weather here has been awful, thank the Lord Honey and I made it back to Macon safely this afternoon to get clean cloths and prepare to stay in Greenwood most of the next week. We didn't expect to get the rain that we received on both farms so next week we'll be out of the field and in the house. The house work is going really slow but we do plan to hire some help soon.

My problem with projects like this is I'm too much of a perfectionist. It takes me forever to do anything because it has to be perfect. We started working on the garage and Steve asked me to paint the window facings so the he could start rolling. After the weather got so bad we decided to leave the rolling for another day.

Maybe soon we'll get the garage done and can start on the inside.

Gluten Free Travel Site

I just ran across this wonderful place and I have posted a permanent link to it on the side of my blog page. It is a gluten-free travel site, if you're like me when you travel you always study up on places you can eat because that is a big part of your trip. If I forget to look into it Steve and I have this long conversation right before any meal. "So where do you want to eat?" "I don't know you tell me you're the one who can't eat at a lot of places!" "I know but I'm not really hungry so you pick and I'll tell you if I can eat there." "No you need to pick." This conversation can go on for hours so I was so happy when I found out about this place! I plan to visit if frequently. Here is the information so that you can visit it too!

 GlutenFreeTravelsite.com.  Check it out!
Here is the direct link: 
http://www.glutenfreetravelsite.com/index.php

Spring and Clean

I was in Greenwood Friday and over the weekend cleaning some more. I think everything is as clean as possible until we paint and lay the new flooring. Steve is busy in the field but the next rain we plan to begin the major jobs or at least hire someone.

This time I remembered to clean the oven. I also took a load of kitchen items and place them in the kitchen. I love unpacking a little at a time rather than tons of boxes all at one time. This way when I decide to change the location of something there's not so much to move and believe me I do that regularly.

To share some more photos, remember the main photos of the new house will come as we get the room ready to move into.

My cup collection is all packed up but I have not taken it over yet, it was in the china cabinet and I haven't decided whether I'm going to put it back there or not. By the way the china cabinet is still in Macon.

Lots of packing going on!!

Added to the kitchen counter this week.

I took at break and walked through the yard a few times.

I have three roses blooming here in Macon a far cry from the ten bushes that I had until the plane sprayed them. This is one thing I will not miss about living on a farm my roses will only die by an act of nature. Honey picked this one and brought it in to me last night.

So how do you eat gluten-free while traveling between two houses all the time. Right now it's really hard but I'm trying to get my kitchen over there workable. When I return to the farm I am still able to cook. I'm dividing all the dishes, cookware etc so that I can cook at both places eventually.

That'll have to do ya for this time!

Colors of choice

Steve and I are enjoying spending time planning and brain storming on how we want to paint and decorate our new home.

Here are a few of our plans that I thought I would share with you. Let me know what you think and give me new ideas. If you are currently using any of these colors PLEASE share with me the pros and cons.

Sand Dollar

We've chose this color for our entryway and all hallways

Sands of Time

This will be our family room and a guest room.

Portabello

This will be the powder room.

I think the colors will go together great! I'm excited.

Golden Fleece

This will be the master bedroom.

Bosc Pear

This will be the master bath.

 These will look great too, I plan to finish out the bedroom in a dark red and coffee with black accents. Then I plan to use only black and white photos on the wall.

Clary Sage

This will be a guest room and bath.

 And it will be accented with pink, yellow, blue and lavender but not these exact shades this is as close as I could find. I'm using the same spread etc that I already have on hand.

Extra White 

  For all trim.

All color samples were taken from Sherwin - Williams

That'll have to do ya for now. I've got to get busy.......

COMMENTS PLEASE!!!

I really think I've found a little piece of heaven.

Honey and I spent Friday and Saturday working on the new house. Everyone wants to see what it looks like so I thought I would post a few before and after photos.

 Before

After

We like adding the mulch and maybe planting a rose bush in another part of the yard. This shows the very front of the house, I didn't feel you would want a tour of my trees.

Here's a few trees I'll share.

 

I've always wanted a magnolia tree and now I have one, although Honey says that I'll never live to see it big and beautiful. Oh well God has blessed me with a small taste of owning a magnolia tree.

We have several of these but this is a hug one that is outside our breezeway in front of the garage.

Now that you have seen a lot of Honey's hard work I'll show you just a taste of mine. After all who wants to see a women mop the floor and scrub toilets, right?

A small part of the kitchen I have scrubbed, I thought I was through and while we were eating breakfast Saturday morning I realized that I have not cleaned the oven. Oh well I'm working on all floors today so I'll get the oven next time around.

My new best friend. Jan had told me about this several months or maybe a year ago but I never made the investment. It's one of those things that sounded too good to be true. But guess what ladies? IT IS WONDERFUL! If you have not bought one for yourself and you have any type of smooth surface flooring QUICKLY go get one! I don't know how I have made it without this wonderful woman's tool.

Click HERE to check it out!

I really think I've found a little piece of heaven. We stayed in our new home, camping out style, Friday night and it was extremely quiet, peaceful and dark. I loved it!

That'll have to do ya, we're returning to Macon soon to attend a wedding.

Is My Food Not Good Enough?

The Friday before Easter I went and helped Ashia decorate sugar cookies, she allowed me to make some pretty crazy designs. I've been told that she makes the best sugar cookies and she makes them to share on holidays. They're not gluten-free but that's OK because we have plenty of food that is.

Ashia doesn't know it but Friday she made me feel really good. When you eat gluten-free not many people will even try your food. I guess they think gluten-free has to be yuck after all if there's no gluten what is it made of? I have found that those closest to me want to make food that I can enjoy WITH them. Back to my story, Ashia asked me to make her a "Chocolate Ribbon" cake and the part that blessed me the most was that she said the last one I made was sooo good that she has been wanting another one. The last one I made was gluten-free y'all!

Here is the cake!

Fudge Ribbon Cake

Ingredients:
1 (18 1/4 or 18 1/2 oz) package chocolate cake mix
1 (9-oz) pkg. cream cheese; softened
2 TBLS. butter; softened
1 TBLS. cornstarch
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cake mix as package directs. Pour batter into well-greased and floured 10-in. bundt pan. In small mixer bowl, beat cheese, butter and cornstarch until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk then egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour evenly over cake batter. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until wooden tooth pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan. Cool sprinkle with confectioners' sugar or drizzle with chocolate glaze.

Fudge Ribbon Cake Glaze

Ingredients:
1 (1-oz) sq unsweetened or semi-sweet chocolate
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp water
¾ cup confectioners' sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt chocolate and butter with water. Remove from heat. Stir in
confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth and well blended.

When we go to Indiana my daughter Mary always makes a gluten-free dessert and the part that blesses me the most is that they don't shove me my dessert to eat alone but THEY EAT IT WITH ME!

My daughter Sarah in Colorado is constantly calling or e-mailing me with new gluten-free things going on in CO. I think she is enticing me to come for a visit and, "Sarah it's working"!

I love my family and the way that they make my gluten-free lifestyle a part of their lives! Thanks girls, well and boys, they eat it too!

So if you have someone in your family that has to eat gluten-free make them feel a part of your meal too.

Up Calvary's Mountain

My Easter Greeting to you!

by Sara McGinty
Clink HERE to view this card

Up Calvary's mountain one dreary morn, Trudged Christ our Savior weary and worn. They came to the mount, the place of the skull. It was there Jesus paid our debt in full. As He hung on the cross and died a cruel death, He said, "Father, forgive them," and with a fleeting breath, it was finished.   As Jesus gave up his ghost A victor's song was sung by a heavenly host. Jesus was laid to rest in a borrowed tomb But the grave couldn't hold Him, there was no room. He arose, He arose, let's praise His name. He loves us so; we're the reason He came. Salvation is free, it is a gift from above. God gave us His son because of His love. He bought us, redeemed us and set us free, As He gave His life there on Calvary.