Thursday, October 30, 2014

God Is a Hands on God and He Loves Us

Raggedy Ann's Wishing Pebble

God is a hands on God and he loves us, and He hears and answers our prayers. 

When I was little, Nana Pills had read me a bedtime story and then it was time for me to say my prayers. The story had been about Raggedy Ann and Andy getting some magic wishing pebbles from a tin soldier or something like that. 

So when I said my prayers I asked Heavenly Father for a dozen magic pebbles so all of my wishes would come true.  

Nana assured me that I wouldn't be getting those magic pebbles and it was selfish to pray for them.

More recently I have learned that to pray for a good wind for myself might mean a bad wind for my neighbor.

So praying for the best wind for all concerned and to have the Lord's will be done is the best.

Love,
Grammy T.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Google Plus Ate My Photo's - Pinterest to The Rescue

Nobody's Perfect not even Google+

My pictures got eaten by Google+ and now I am having to try to find them. It is very sad to loose years of blogging images in one fell swoop. 
The Flirty Blog shares these insights. And She is smart!

I am so glad that I posted almost all of my blogs to Pinterest because I am finding some of the hard to find pictures there. 

Whew!!

Pinterest to the Rescue

Flirty says:

If you haven't already joined Google+ but intend to do so you need to be aware that if you are using the image uploader provided by Blogger to add photos to your blog posts those photos are being stored in a Picasa web photo album associated to your blog.

I believe it's the second item in the screenshot image above that people are concerned about. It's the one that says:

"Your album's visibility settings aren't changed, but people they're shared with can now share them with others."

You read this and decide you don't want to let your friends on Google+ share your images with their friends.

This means if you:

  1. Remove images from your blog's Picasa album
  2. Delete the album completely
  3. Delete your Picasa account
  4. Assume the album you see in Google+ is a duplicate (it's the original) and delete it (ETA: I read online the Photos Community Manager Brian Rose said in a Google Group that Google will ". . .make it clearer that your Picasa photos themselves are displayed on Google+ and not copied" which should solve this problem.)
  5. Create a new Gmail account and move your blog to the new account then delete the original Gmail account (This is the only non-Google+ issue)
You will lose all of your blog images hosted in the associated Picasa photo album(s) meaning they will disappear from your blog. Forever. 

This is what we get now if we want to delete some of the pictures from Google+.

This is what is suggested that Google+ should do to sufficiently warn people of the risks. The Flirty Blog is really good right? 



So be very careful!

Love, 
 Grammy T.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Tweaked Chicken Tortilla Soup

My Tweaked Chicken Tortilla Soup 
And guess what? 

It was fast and delicious and I feel like a Rock Star 

because I used what I had on hand.

Trisha's Chicken Tortilla Soup


Chicken Tortilla Soup by Trisha Yearwood

Tweaked meaning I don't have all this but I want some.

And guess what it was delicious. 


So how did I do it?

Here is the original and my changes:

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter - same
1 teaspoon minced garlic - dried garlic granules and garlic powder
1 medium onion, finely chopped - dried minced onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour - same
Three 14-ounce cans chicken broth - Knorr's chicken broth granules
4 cups half-and-half - one can evaporated milk
One 10.75-ounce can cream of chicken soup - same
1 cup prepared salsa, mild or spicy - 2 cups salsa
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled, drained and shredded 
- 2 cans shredded chicken from my years supply
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained - 4 cans pinto beans
One 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained
One 15-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained - 2 can corn undrained
2 teaspoon ground cumin - same
One 1.27-ounce packet fajita seasoning - left out
One 16-ounce bag tortilla chips - same
8 ounces Monterey Jack, grated - no
8 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated - same
1/2 cup sour cream - no
I added -1 tsp. cayanne pepper 
1 Tbl. chili powder 
I didn't saute onions and garlic because I used dried. I just put them in all the wet mixture.

Directions
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and the onion and saute until softened, 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir well, cooking for 1 minute more. Add the broth and the half-and-half. Stir in the cream of chicken soup, salsa, chicken, beans, corn, cumin and fajita seasoning. Continue to simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Crumble the tortilla chips into individual bowls and top with a ladle of soup. Sprinkle each serving with cheese and add a dollop of sour cream.

Recipe adapted from Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen by Trisha Yearwood (c) Clarkson Potter 2008

Love,
Grammy T. 

Saturday, October 25, 2014

The Serendipity Quilt by Missouri Star Quilt Company


Serendipity


I am going to make this quilt today. 

My daughter Christi wants another quilt for her bed
for winter 

and 

I have scraps. 

Of course I have scraps!  

And I have a challenge from The Nebo Modern Quilt Guild to do 

so here I go. 

Watch this video from The Missouri Star Quilt Company and from 3 Dudes. 

This is really a darling quilt. I love it. 
I am using scraps from the Centenial Quilt I made and from others I've made. 

This will be so fun. I can't wait. 
To save time Christi is having it quilted by 
Janika from Around The Block. 

Bye for now. 

Love,
Grammy T.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

It's Fall Y'all - Apple Dip Recipe


Yummy Apple Dip
When Papa T. and I were serving our mission 
to The Jacksonville Florida Mission I came across this fabulous recipe 
and our students at 
The University of Florida Institute of Religion 
in Gainesville, Florida
loved it. 

They loved it so much they would snitch it away from the buffet table and hide with it in a corner somewhere. 

So I am sharing the recipe with you because 
it is the best.

Enough For A Bunch

4 – Boxes Cream Cheese
1 – Bag Heath Toffee Bits
1 – Cup Brown Sugar
1 – Cup White Sugar

Mix

Pre Sliced at Publix for the lazy :)

 

Cut it in fourths for a smaller group 
or for yourself:

1 - Box Cream Cheese 
1/3 - Bag of Heath Toffee Bits 
1/3 - Cup Brown Sugar 
1/3 – Cup White Sugar

Mix 


 Serve with sliced Granny Smith Apples or 
both red and greens. 

You will LOVE this.

Love,
Grammy T. 

Monday, October 20, 2014

What The Heck Ever Happened To Modesty?

Three of My Granddaughters

Michael Hyatt  developed some really good Modesty Guidelines 
and asked that we pass this message on. 

I thought they were great and as a mom of four girls 
and a grandmother to eleven granddaughters 
I would love to pass this message on. 

Modesty Guidelines:

1. If you have trouble getting into it or out of it, it is probably not modest.
2. If you have to be careful when you sit down or bend over, it is probably not modest.
3. If people look at any part of your body before looking at your face, it is probably not modest.

4. If you can see your most private body parts or an outline of those parts under the fabric, it is probably not modest.

Michael also said:
Where are the fathers of these girls?

I love that he said fathers. Fathers get bashed to pieces now days and it's just not right. 

The other night at the football game my darling cheerleader granddaughter was very concerned about her modesty. I assured her she was covered up just fine and not to worry about it. 

She also is trying out to be water girl. I know that's what I thought too but she would like to be a Trainer as in fixing boboos at the games. It is a good occupation, well maybe. Time will tell. She's only 14. 

Well back to the water girl thing. One of the players gave her some strong lip. Her daddy told her to tell the coach. Guess who got benched and couldn't play for two games? Yep and guess who the coach told to watch their mouths around the girls? All the players. Yep!!! 

I love it!!

Love,
Grammy T.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Every Time I Felt Defeated

Dear Readers, 
My Good News Minute today is about 
a story;
File:Lange-MigrantMother02.jpg
"Migrant Mother"
Florence ThompsonSeptember 1, 1903 – September 16, 1983
In the 70's we lived in Idaho in a 
small farming community.

Every time that I felt defeated, 
I'd get out this story and hold my head up high 
and bake my bread and make yummy food 
with the bulk items I had on hand.  

It was a very difficult time for my husband 
and myself financially. 

My fifth baby was only six weeks old when I decided to babysit two extra
little boys to help out a little with the budget. 

They were the age of my oldest boy so I thought it was a fabulous idea 
until my stomach screamed that it was not. 

The doctor gave me medicine and said that I needed to take away some of my stress. 

Well I couldn't take away the bills and I couldn't take away our other concerns 
so the only thing I could think to take away were 
those two little boys that I baby sat. 

One of the little boys would stand at the window and stare with a broken heart 
because of his parents were getting a divorce. 
It was too much for me. 

My husband asked permission from his boss to work at 
a potato plant on a shift that started at
four in the afternoon. 

So he taught Seminary until three thirty and then loaded box cars with frozen spuds 
of all kinds until 12:30 in the morning. 

He would bring me home frozen hash browns that went so good with the 
home made bread toast, bacon and eggs that I fixed for him to eat at 
1:00 o'clock in the morning.

I would put my little one's to bed all comfy cozy and I'd keep my house spotless 
so that when he walked in the door at 1:00 o'clock he could feel at peace 
and comfortable and was better able to get up at 
6:00 o'clock the next morning and 
start all over again. 

He did this for four months until we could get on our feet again. 

As I look back on those times I realize that if I would have gone to work 
and been gone all day we would have had a dirty messy house with a 
mad husband and sad little children. 

it turned out just right. 

So read the story young mommy's 
and see if it might help you get through 
a little better too. 

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

What A Mess - Get A Rake

What a Mess - Get A Rake 

As a mommy of seven children I learned 
a few things about messes. 

We lived in small houses and the front room was 

the main play area. 

1. Rake up the toys 


I got a carpet rake. 

We had shag carpet in those days and 
a carpet rake worked great. 

2. Put a basket behind the couch or

 someplace inconspicuous. 

3. Then take the rake and rake everything to the basket. 


4. Now the little people get to play vacuum and pick up the toys 

and put them in the basket. 

I used to set the timer and we would see if we could pick up 

twenty things each and get them in the basket
before the timer went off. 

And then we had a Happy Helper Treat for all of 

our fun work and a pretty room. 

One more thing that really helped.

I kept playdough, puzzles, and crayons, etc.  
UP high on a shelf that only I could reach. 

That really helped a lot.


Happy Raking.


Love,

Grammy T.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Heavenly Father Sent Us Two Black Cows

I've always loved looking at the faces of cows. 

So when I was reading Ree Drummond's Blog and looking up a 
yummy recipe that I just had to have to cook for dinner.
 I stumbled upon this little guy. 

Adorable right?

That jogged my memory back in-time when we had just moved to 
Loomis California. 
It was a hundred years ago in 
about 1987. 

One night when we were kneeling down for family prayer my husband 
asked my little girl Amy if she would like to say the prayer.  
"Sure" she said. 
During the prayer she asked Heavenly Father to please send us 
some cows because they were so cute and 
their faces were so sweet. 

Of course I was thinking not a chance that would happen, 
Right? 

 In the middle of the night there was such a ruckus going on outside. 
Dogs were barking, coyotes were howling, 
the whole works. 

I couldn't see a thing out there it was so dark. 
We had no street lights, we lived in the country for pitty sake. 

Well low and behold the next morning standing in our front pasture were two
Big Black Angus girls.

Really

Honest 

No kidding

Unforgettable.

The End

Love, 
Grammy T.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Box Elder Bugs I Hate You!

Box Elder bugs
Really I do not like them at all.

Those things come like clock work every year. 


So here's the facts Mack.



The boxelder bug:

  • likes to bask in the sun
  • feeds on seed-bearing female boxelder trees, but also like maple and ash trees
  • lays eggs on the trunks of these trees
  • seeks shelter in cracks and crevices on buildings to survive winter seasons
  • emerges in spring once temperatures are warmer, but will occasionally emerge earlier on sunny days
  • choose the south and west sides of buildings to swarm to because they're the sunniest and warmest
  • population is most abundant during hot, dry summers.
  • poop on the windowsills inside of the house.
  • crawl all over the floor and get stepped on and squished in the throw rugs. 
  • fly around and land on the innocent and scare them to death. 

So what's the answer?

1. We need to close all cracks and crevices in our homes.
Oh OK, that will be easy.

2. Chop down all Box Elder trees and Maple trees in our yards. 
Oh OK, I'll do that tomorrow. 

3. Re-insulate our houses with TAP.
TAP is Thermal Acoustical Pest Control insulation is 
nothing short of awesome. 
 For areas in your house that you don't go 
into very often, like your attic, 
TAP will do the work for you.

Perfect because since it installs itself and 
works all by itself I'm set. 


Love, Grammy T. 

Thursday, October 9, 2014

UFO - Did you say UFO?

  

 This is a UFO. It means Unfinished Object. Quilters have a tendency to see a lot of beautiful things they want to quilt and they don't finish everything they started. 

The rule for a UFO challenge at my quilt guild is that it has to be 
something in your stash and you don't need to buy anything for to finish. 

Or something like that. 

This is one of three UFO's I have to finish before Novembers meeting. 

I washed it so it would turn out old fashioned looking. 
And because it's a grandma quilt. 

I started with a pile of scrapes and just sewed a lot of 
pieces together until I had a 
12 1/2 by 12 1/2 block. 

Then I sewed all the blocks together to make a quilt top. 
I then layered the back which was popcorn minky 
and the batting 
which I pieced together from leftovers 
and then I put the quilt top on. 

I pinned it together. 

I will show you how I do that with the binder Clips 
on one of my next blog posts.
With these Frixion pens, that I ordered from Amazon, 
I marked the quilt top with designs.

They iron off with a warm steam iron. 


After I had the free motion quilting done I put on the binding. 
This is the walking foot that I use to do that. 


See the little blade on this walking foot, I  love it. 
It keeps me on the straight and narrow.


This is the stitching on the front of the quilt.


This picture shows you how the stitching shows up on that minky. 
The minky is really cute and cuddly. 

Here it is when I got the binding done and before I washed it. 

BTW, The Frixion pen washed out completely.


I'm not that good and I am a humble quilter but 
I love it.

Love, 
Grammy T.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

I want the Lord to know I was really here ~ Marjory Hinckley


I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.


I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.

I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.

I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”

~ Marjory Pay Hinckley



Sister Hinckley was the cutest little lady wasn't she. 
I loved her to pieces, her parenting ideas and her ways were so special. 

Her kids were hers and nobody else had the right to keep them after school etc., she wanted them home with her. One time she marched to the school and told the teacher exactly that when one of her kids had been kept after school and she was missing them. 

She believed that her children should have time to lie on their backs and look at the clouds in the summer too. 

She would have been such a fun mom to have. 

Love, Grammy T. 

What fun memories do you have of being little and just having fun? Tell us below in the comments. 

Monday, October 6, 2014

I Hate Little Chicken Pens

I borrowed this picture from one of my favorite blogs,  Old Picture of the Day


 Yes, I hate little chicken pens because they are cruel. 
Yes, I said cruel. 

How would you like to live in such a tiny space. 

If I was a chicken and I was let out everyday to roam that would be one thing but 
to live in one of those tiny ones 24-7 is not happy. 

So here is a picture of a chicken pen as I remember them back in the day. 
You notice the size. 

My Nana and Papa Pillsbury, who lived in Sutter Creek CA. had a big pen except their pen was taller and had chicken wire on the top so the red tail hawks couldn't sweep down and get themselves a cheap chicken dinner. 

I loved walking barefoot in the pen because the soil felt so soft on my bare feet. It was soft because it was the ashes from my Papa's wood burning stove that was kept on his enclosed back porch. He would sit their and read the newspaper and relax. He needed to relax because he worked so hard for PG and E as an electrician. You know climbing poles, fixing downed lines and getting up at 2 in the morning when the storms took the power out. 

Anyway it was one of my favorite things to walk in that pen. Nana decided it could be dangerous to do because I could get a splinter from the unburned wood in my foot so I had to wear shoes in the pen.  

I loved her very much and she wasn't a wimpy, bossy kind of Nazi Grandma 
so I didn't argue a bit, out loud. 

But I still think it was the funnest thing ever to walk barefoot in those ashes. 

Chicken poop?
Who thought of chicken poop in those days.

There are lots of really cute chicken coops now days but make a bigger pen OK.  
 Don't be cruel. 

Love, Grammy T.