Seems like the perfect time to share a Spectacular sunset as we enjoyed it from our front porch 
The handiwork of GOD !
Gwynie Pie
Why, I spray painted them with black chalkboard paint, of course........
AND then decorated them with colored chalk. Placed on a bed of hot pink grass in this old tarnished silver bowl, I think they look pretty cute. 
I found this idea while browsing some of my favorite blogs (this one from Joys of Home) and couldn't wait to try it. I found the eggs at Hobby Lobby, on sale through Sat., for $2 a dozen (actually 50% off 3 for a $1). You could use paint-on chalkboard paint and have it tinted any color you wanted and that could be really cute. I already had a can of black chalkboard spray paint that is usually around $3.50 a can. The pink grass I found at Wal-mart -- about 50 cents. So cost for the entire project was about $6 and I know we will have at least that much fun with them. I'm planning to use them at each person's plate and set out little bowls of chalk so that after the meal, while we sit and visit, we can all doodle on our chalkboard eggs. Cheap fun !! I think the little kids will really like this. 
Last night I was blessed to host a ladies group from Kerrville, on their way to Canyon for a Retreat this weekend. My cousin is the pastor's wife at their church there and I always love being with her and hers. I had so much fun -- we just ate and talked -- yep, that's it! What more do you need for a good party ???
Piles of old, old books that have been stripped of their covers, leaving all those wonderful colors and textures and bundled up with strips of torn muslin, serve as little candle stands. The little pink trays were a great buy at Ross - $2.99 for 6; and the tea lights - vanilla scented and in glass holders (so I can pop out the used up candles and replace with new tealights as needed) were 8 for $1.99 !!! In a rare moment of personal creativity (more about this later) -- I came up with the idea of actually using some of the probably thousands of buttons I have collected over the years. The candles are surrounded by buttons -- all in similar colors for more eye-appeal ! 
Here is the break down of the tablescape --
Butcher block turned beverage center held water, tea and coffee with the add-ins on the silver tray. I used plain, cheap little "garage sale" tags, the kind with a string, on the little glass pitcher handles to designate "cream" and dulce de leche for the coffee.
FOOD -- Chicken salad on rolls, Greek pasta salad, fruit with poppyseed dressing or brown sugar dressing and I tried a new recipe for Lemon Cake !!! WOW !! I love really lemony lemon so I really loved this cake. It's a great cake for Easter ! Notice the black & white candle holders ??? They are $2 bowls from Ross, turned upside down and topped with a saucer.....thanks Elaine.....great idea !!!! I'll be using these a lot !!! AND I'll be looking at cereal bowls a whole lot differently from now on ...........
Here's an up close of that cake !!! Yum !!! I'll be glad to share the recipe with anyone who asks. Just comment at the end of this post or e-mail me, and it's yours.
By the door -- a bowl of beautiful iced Easter cookies. I found these on the Easter aisle at Walmart. And I thought they would make lovely party "favors" at the end of the night.
Here are the before and after of a project I've been working on
I've had this chair for a long time. It has just laid around in the barn 
And GOD is able to make all grace abound to you,
So, I got him to "stop the car!!" and I jumped out and snapped this. I just love being able to see both sunrise and sunset -- a real treat! Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!!
Gwynie Pie
It's really dark at 6-something in the morning! I stepped out of the back door for just a few seconds (it was also really chilly!) and snapped these two pictures. Hope you can see how the entire eastern horizon was glowing --- Beautiful!!! 
Part of the beauty of living out in the country AND in this part of the world is this !!! nothing between us and the sunrise.
Call me crazy (and they might) but William cleaned up the front screen door from my Grandparents house and then attached it as the door to my pantry/laundry room. It is very, very rustic and looks a lot worse in these pictures than in person. But I really love it! Adds a lot of character to a bland working room.
Today was a super fun one! I spent all day with my friend, Elaine. We just sat around and visited, drank a little coffee, ate a wonderful lunch, shopped a little and even caught a few garage sales on a Friday afternoon. Lots of fun! Great bargains! I'll show you those later.
Here's the completed project I worked on yesterday. The above is the Before picture of our office/craft room. I didn't even take a picture of the Before of the desk area because, frankly....well, there are just some things you shouldn't have to see!
Here is same shot -- AFTER -- Cleaned up, straightened and "fluffed". The antique shopping cart in the foreground holds the ironing and mending piles.
Moving to the left, here is the finished and much improved desk area of the room. I made a little skirt with some leftover black and white gingham and a shower curtain rod. I just found the right length for the curtain and "sewed" the rod pocket and the hem with fabric glue -- one of the wonders of my world, along with stitch witchery. Great inventions!! Anything that prevents me from actually sewing at the machine is a great invention!! 
Still moving to the left, this is a shot of one of my better ideas!! There on the corner where the blank looking strip is -- that is where my parents measured my children through the years. I live in the same house I grew up in and so, this house was "the grandparents house" to my kids in their growing up years. 
I got William to make a "border" of sorts using the yardsticks. So on both sides of the growth chart, there is a line of yardsticks....pretty cool, I think. This is, of course, also where Lily Kate gets measured from time to time. Good Stuff!!!
As you come past the "growth chart" corner, there is this old, old chest of drawers. It was my grandparents and it was old then....no tellin' .
Above the chest is a hat I found in my grandmother's things......very, very Audrey Hepburn-ish......framed by an old ornate frame I found at a flea market somewhere. 
This is one of my Mamaw's kitchen aprons. It so pretty - a red and white gingham with a"chicken-scratch" border. I like to starch and iron it until it nearly stands alone and use it like this -- it just says "spring" to me. This has absolutely nothing to do with today's post.....I just wanted you to see the pictures.
When we have projects to do around the house, William and I agreed a long time ago that the best way to communicate all that needed to be done was with a written list. I've worked off of lists pretty much my whole adult life. It's just how I run. So, one day, after William and I had a miscommunication and "words" over a particular project that needed doing, he suggested I just make a complete list of everything that needed to be done -- his, mine and our jobs. So....I did.....and it worked out so well, here we are years later still using our lists...... SO---- in getting ready for Easter and sprucing up for Spring and Summer, I have a whopper of a list. I write down EVERYTHING that needs attention ------the big stuff -- like "till up the garden spots" and the small like "change out curtains in bedroom #2". Some of the items are strickly his, some are just mine and then there are the "it takes two" projects. When an item is finished, we mark it off the list with great flourish and satisfaction. I LOVE IT!! As you all know, one small thing always leads to another and that leads to another and so one......before you know it......you are deep, deep, deep into something crazy ......like remodeling or taking out a wall or putting down new flooring. SOOOOO - we have to be very careful to stay with the list. Do Not Wander Off the LIST!!!!
Well, Too Late ------ I'm waaaaay off the list. With no intentions of coming back any time soon.
I've re-done all the shelves in my laundry room. (THAT was on the list) I put down some red gingham fabric as the shelf liners. Uh, NOT on the list. Well, that looked so cute!!!! and country !!! and what's more country than screen doors?????I ask you??? And I just happened to have a couple of extra screen doors in my "stash" in the barn. Oh, you probably know the rest of this story. --------------pictures to follow soon!!! Gonna be cute!
Gwynie Pie
GOOD MONDAY MORNING !!!!! I went to Walmart this weekend and found the Easter aisle, which usually, I'd have passed by. However, as I glanced down the aisle I saw very, very bright spots of violent spring color and had to go investigate.
HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!!!!! Seems a "trend" is emerging -- instead of Spring cleaning, I'm hearing a lot about Spring Fluffing!!! I like it! Same concept, but with a twist, I guess......Fluffing, I can get into that!! Since I am about to do some serious Spring Fluffing, I thought I'd show you some "befores". I have 2 weeks until a ladies group from out of town will be having dessert and coffee with me, so I've got to get fluffing....and fast!! The above picture is in our bedroom. And that lovely armoire was a freebie!!! Can you believe it??? The mother-in-law of my daughter's sister-in-law --- (keep up!)--- was sending it, along with literally a truck load of other delightful items, to the Salvation Army store and we found out about it and .... well, we did an intervention. NO...we didn't hijack the Sally truck. Might have. But, it didn't come to that. I've always wanted an armoire.......
Master bedroom -- the ancient German farm table was made for my great-grandparents as a wedding present, by a man who helped them on their farm. It was made in 1898 !!!! I adore this table! It's been everywhere -- in every room of the house and on the back porch as well.
Another shot of the farm table with perfumes and jewelry and other treasures.
Sitting area of the bedroom -- cute little aqua, wicker chair was my mother's when she was little. And the double screen doors came off the old Mereta general store that my grandparents ran for-ev-er!!!
This bookcase is really two bookcases that William put together. They are hiding a perfectly useless window. Much better use of the space, I think. The bookcases were built many years ago by my Daddy and I remember them being used as a room divider between the kitchen and living room.
Top of fridge--------nothing noteworthy here. Except, I think the lamp is totally sweet. I got it years ago at Target, of all places, and I've never seen a lamp like it since -- at Target or elsewhere.
In the living room -- I've had these old picture frames on this wall for a long time now. And I really ought to shake things up and move them -- but I just love the look! It is somehow soothing to me.......don't know what that says......nothing deeply psychological, I'm pretty sure........hmmmm??? ------ a bunch of old, empty picture frames.....now what could that mean...? The rest is a compilation of old German postcards, one from a cousin who was in a prison camp in Colorado. Also collected turkey feathers, glass door knobs, an old leather calendar, a lacy-edged baby pillowcase and that is a very, very old copy of Alice in Wonderland. Just a bit of my mish-mash!
Also in living room -------------this old window came out of the church of my childhood. The church building was no longer in use, in fact, it was pretty much falling down when I sent William and a child to steal -- uh, I mean, re-locate -- the window to my living room. Seriously, the building was torn down soon after. I consider it a rescue really. That window would have ended up in a landfill ----or worse!! someone else's living room!!!
The corner of the fireplace hearth------------that's a stack of all our family Bibles and various other smaller Bibles -- all tattered and worn. I seriously love this!!!! The top Bible is one that was given to my Daddy before he left for WWII. It has a steel front and is inscribed "The Lord Be With You". That always makes me cry.
I keep the nativity out year 'round. It's pretty old, from our seminary days, and it just "speaks" to me. I found the funeral fan in a box of old, old stuff of my grandparents. It folds up to one-third the size so you can carry it in your purse, I guess. It's very cool -- har har! get it??
I do dearly love a cute dishtowel.....the ones with little barnyard animals or those with little fruit appliques on them. All very cute. Very, very cute! I'm a real sucker for a cutesy dishtowel. In fact, my dishtowel drawer overfloweth! But, for the actual business of drying dishes, give me an old fashioned flour sack dishtowel every time. I love the softness of the fabric. And I love the way they quickly and efficiently soak up water and dry the dishes. But, when they are not hard at work in my kitchen......don't they look super cute sitting here in the red enamelware colander? surrounded by some of my favorite things? Check out those cookies ---- Dana made up a few dozen for her Daddy and me while she was here this week. I can not adequately stress to you just how delicious these cookies are! Don't know what they are called. But she also made the equally delicious granola that she used as the base of the cookie. I kept telling her, with each cookie I consumed, that she really, really needed to enter a contest with this recipe. They are spectacular!!! I so wish I could share a cookie and a cup of coffee with you right now. You'd be so very happy!!!!!!
Back to the dishtowels ----- here is how they look at Target. I found them alongside the plain white chef aprons in the same kind of packaging, hanging on a display. They are super cheap!! A package of 6 costs less than $5.00!!! That's a deal, kids! I got two packages, but pretty sure I need a couple more.
THIS is how we wash dishes at the Rosser house. No, I do not have a dishwasher! I have had dishwashers in my past and honestly, I just ended up griping about having to empty the clean dishes. So when we moved into this house with it's very inefficient apartment-sized dishwasher and its limited kitchen storage, we decided to chunk the dishwasher and opted to use the empty space a little more creatively. William built in some shelves there and it now houses the microwave and the potato and onion bins.
This is how drying dishes look at my house. Usually though, they are not nearly this attractive. There are a ton more dishes than this and they are piled up in a heap. I wanted this to look spiffy for the blog, ya know.
Well, that's it, folks! Just thought you should know...... Happy washing and drying.....
I love, love, love these dishes!! My kids gave them to me this past weekend for my birthday. I have long admired the entire set of this very beautiful china. Every piece, and there are many pieces, is an off-white with scripture in black around the edge. Every piece has a different scripture. And there are many scripture "themes" to choose from -- Faith, Prayer, Heritage, Children, Family, Country -- lots more.
There in the background to the side you can see the footed cake stand that was given to me on another occasion. The cake stand has held beautiful cakes and pies year-round as well as floral arrangements in the Fall and big chunky red candles at Christmas. I love it!! The kids also gave me the big fruit/pasta bowl with the fruits of the spirit written around the inside edge. It's filled with apples today but in the future I'm seeing maybe chicken fettucini alfredo or maybe a huge green salad.Anyway, I love them! Just wanted you to see them. I figure you might love them too. And if you are interested, you can see the entire collection on the web at feedontheword.com.
I'm always having too much fun with everyone to be the photographer. I love having the pictures, but the memories are so much sweeter! I always have good intentions and sure enough, the camera was in the kitchen where I could just grab it up at a moment's notice, but.......I always think of pictures long after the fact, ya know?
I did get a couple.....here is sweet girl flashing her best "cheeeeeeeeese".
And Pops and Lily Kate lounging and visiting in the back yard. We did a lot of lounging. And a lot of visiting!
We (I use the word loosely, since I was not involved) dug up, loaded and brought home the much-desired, much-sought after clothesline poles (thank you friend Lauri for locating them for me!). Now -- to get them set in the ground and painted a nice, crisp white. I will hang up clothes to my little heart's content......
Colin and Ronnie had to leave soon after church and Blake headed back early that evening. They all had to be back at work Monday morning. However, Dana and Lily Kate stayed until noon today and we have had such a great time with them, just being....not doing a whole lot, just enjoying.
A first of sorts also occurred Monday night. Dana, Lily Kate and I all went to visit my mother, GG, in the afternoon and were still there when Pops got off work, so we decided to go to Double Dave's, one of Dana's fav eating places in San Angelo. We asked my mother to go with us. And what do you know???? She did!!! I know that isn't an earthshaking event in anyone else's world, but in ours.....well, it made the blog!! (Man, I wish I'd had that camera!) My mother isn't a very spontaneous person. She likes to plan things well in advance. So for her to say "yes" was a great thing. Very note-worthy. It meant a lot to me. We all had fun eating pizza, playing air hockey and visiting.
Tomorrow, we will all be back to our usual activities. We so enjoyed the first half of Spring Break. And can't wait to see what fun the last half of the week brings. Hope your Spring Break is FUN!
Gwynie Pie
