Thursday, December 30, 2010

A New Year and New Goals.


Although I didn't do too bad with my Bible reading last year, I am sad to say I am far behind and doubt that I will complete my chronological reading.  I have since signed up for a "read the Bible in 90 days" and hope that another challenge will get me off on the right foot.  It's not that I don't read some each day, it's just that I don't often read all each day and so end up in the dust and I don't know about you, but it does sorta feel like a competition when you have to check off boxes on a form.  I'd probably do much better if I just read what I wanted or went along with a daily devotional book, but I'm not giving up on this new challenge.  How's that for crazy? 

I do love reading God's Word and no matter how many times I read it there is always something new.  For instance, this morning I gave our neighbor a ride to work.  This meant I was in town an hour earlier than needed.  I stopped for a bit of breakfast at a little diner in town and brought in my Bible to read while I was waiting for the time to pass before work and started my "90 Day Challenge".  I started at the beginning with Genesis 1.  Now, you can't imagine how many times I have read that chapter.  So I get to verse 10
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.  I don't think I remember that the gathering together of the waters called he Seas.  Well I know I've read it before, but I just don't remember the wording.  This could be significant when thinking of the flood of Noah when the bottoms of the bodies of water raised up.  It seems that lakes were not formed till after the flood.  I did remember that before the flood it had not rained because there was a mist that watered the earth.  After the flood it was the rain water that gathered in the hollows to form fresh water lakes, desalinization occurring during the water cycle.  I really find this all interesting. 
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We had a wonderful Christmas.  Joanna came over to spend the afternoon with us.  Even though our little furnace died on Christmas Eve and I spent the evening feeling sorry for myself and in tears... it was all uphill from there.  Christmas morning I spent cleaning up the debris and putting up a clothes rack and shelf in the bedroom for a little extra storage space... that did my heart good... and then cooking some good food and changing the covers on the bench seats in our dining area.  After that I felt so much better.  It is utterly amazing how a night's rest and a good cleaning session will lift my spirits right out of the gutter.  I do like a clean house and a good night's sleep.  We are warming our little camper with small electric heaters and God has graciously given us a lot of snow for insulation and a warm weekend.  We are waiting for parts to come in for the furnace.  Last night is was so warm that we even had to turn off the one little heater we had running because we both woke up sweating.

We had 20" of snow on Monday.  I had taken the day off... another blessing... because it was Joanna's birthday.  Doug finally got the driveway plowed out around 11 am.  He first couldn't start the plow truck because the battery was dead, then he had to put gas in it, then the poultry had to be tended to.  It seemed there was an unending list of things that needed to be done before I left to see Joanna.  I finally got together with her at around 1:00 pm.  She had gotten a ride out (she lives way out in the woods) with her landlord who does plowing and since it was taking me so long, he took her out to lunch for her birthday.  When we finally met up we went to K Mart and I got her a couple things for her birthday and then we went to a thrift store.  I found a pair of dress shoes and a nice bathmat.  Then we went to a new library in town.  Then we each had a latte at a coffee shop and shared a cookie and then it was time to go home.  We went home the back way though and the trees were just so pretty with all the new snow.  Even though it may not have been the day I had hoped it would be, it still was nice to spend some time with my now 31 year old daughter.  She talked about her plans to hike the Appalacian Trail... full length... and what she would do with her doggie for 16 months.  I wish I could just take off 16 months and go with her, but I'm just not in that good of shape and we really couldn't financially take the hit right now.   Not only would I need money for the trip, I'd need to somehow make up 16 months worth of income.  We're talking somewhere around $35K just for basic survival.  Well, even though it might be fun... it is really not possible.

Hey, how was your Christmas?
Do you have any goals for the New Year?

Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed 2011 and that growing in the Lord is a priority for us all this year.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

AND THE WINNERS ARE.....




I had a coworker draw two names for me out of "the hat" actually a box. 


She drew....



drum roll please....



Michelle G.  from Undeserving and Yet Overblessed to win the market bag.

and....




Mary Ann  from Pharm Girl has won the little tea set.

I'm so happy for both of you and hope these items will be useful to you.  Please send your "snail-mail" addresses to me at rem1752nh@gmail.com and I'll get these off to you "lickety split" it helps that I work at a warehouse that has FedEx pick up 2x/day.

Sorry I didn't have something for all of you.  What a great response!  I was sooo pleased that so many of you entered. 

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and looking forward to what the Lord has in store for the New Year.

I'll probably slow down on the blogging for the next couple of weeks, 'cause there's just so much to do and never enough time as you all know.

I'll see Mrs. T and Carrie tonight I hope at our Christmas get-together.

Love ya all!!!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Today is My Blog Anniversary



Happy, Happy anniversary... and today will be the last day to enter for the giveaway.
If you've been putting it off... put it off no longer.  This afternoon at 2pm I will do a drawing and then have one of my kind coworkers draw two names from the "hat".  First will be for the bag and the second will be for the tea set.

I love giveaways... so many new faces to my blog.  Hope you come again sometime soon.

I hope to be doing some more stuff on here in the next year.  I'd like to do some "tutorials" if I can figure that out.  And also more short Bible studies.  I love reading all your news as well.  It's like we have a little community growing here and we have lots of things in common.  I've met good friends like Conny and Gina and Lori (no longer blogging).  What an encouragement you all are to me.  I have "real life" friends I blog with to like Mrs. T and Carrie.  We see each other quite often, but it's still fun to read their blogs and see what they've been "up to".

I love each one of you and you are all very special people.  The best thing is that what binds us together is not so much this blogging business, but our love for the Lord.  Of course there are lots of blogs I've read that have nothing to do with God.  There is good information there, but not the unity that I find with those I read all the time.  Thank you all dear women of God who have encouraged, admonished and helped establish my faith.

I am looking forward to next year and what interesting things will happen.

I'll be back in the morning with the giveaway results.  I'll try to get this out right away so you will get it before Christmas.

Thanks to Mrs. T for the cool pics.


Monday, December 13, 2010

Giveaway in celebration of my 1st anniversary on Green Twig

The time has come and it's sooo exciting.  I am happy to say my first giveaway is officially started.  I will be selecting names from a hat... if I have that many to draw from.  If you would like to enter my giveaway just leave a comment here.

For several years now I have been building "bee green bags" a market bag made from materials that others are discarding.  The market bag I crafted for this giveaway was made completely from materials purchased at a yard sale this summer.  The woman who was running the yard sale was selling fabric for 10 pcs for $1.  How could I possibly go wrong, so I started going through this stack of fabric and there were some really cute Christmas pieces.  This bag was made from two of them.  I made 2 bags.  One is in this giveaway and the other is going with me to our annual Ladies Christmas party and Yankee swap at church.  My tradition is to bring a bag for the swap.

Without further comment:


This bag is fully lined with pockets on the front and back.  It's approximately 14" tall and you could fit a good amount of shopping items in here.  I keep lots of fabric bags in my car for when I go shopping.  It just seems like the right thing to do.  God made Adam the caretaker of the garden and I think we still are caretakers.  If we don't take care of what we are given, then it won't be there to enjoy.  I hate seeing plastic bags hanging from tree branches along the roadside.  I just seems so wasteful and sloppy.

If you would like to win this bag, just leave a comment here and post about the giveaway on your own blog.

I also have another giveaway.  These little cups were listed on and Etsy shop for a while, but no one was interested, so I'm giving some nice person a chance to win these.
I love the design on them


These were discarded and we salvaged them.  They have a very delicate pine branch design... a little bit "Christmassy" but could be used any time of the years.  There are 3 cups, 3saucers, 3 fruit plates and a sugar and creamer.  Would be really nice for a little "Christmas Tea" with your friends.  Again, if you would like to win these, just leave a comment here and post about the giveaway on your own blog.

I will be selecting a 1st prize and a 2nd prize.  

Hope we get lots of comments.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Blog-anniversary

Wow!  It hardly seems that it has been a full week since I wrote a new post.  As mentioned earlier my blog-anniversary is coming up next week.  Keep looking here, there may be a giveaway and "bloggy party".    I love to attend parties, but planning them is not my forte as my girls will tell you.  I'm a great idea person, but carrying this through is not my strong point. 

I promise, however, that there will be something special here on the 15th... one week from today.  We'll just call it a pre-birthday party... my 56th this year.  Am I really THAT old?  Where did the years go?  I don't feel old.  I remember when I was 20 thinking that 56 was old, but maybe it isn't so bad. 

Keep looking... there will be some fun on the 15th.