PUMPKIN CRANBERRY MUFFINS..............

PUMPKIN-CRANBERRY MUFFINS..............

**** we made these yesterday and ohhh the house
was filled with the aroma's of Fall...........

*** enjoy a little "Fall" moment with these muffins"

2 C ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
. 3/4 C SUGAR
. 3 TEASPOONS BAKING POWDER
. 1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON
. 1/2 TEASPOON GROUND GINGER
. 1/4 TEASPOON SALT
. 1 C CANNED PUMPKIN
. 1/2 C VEGETABLE OIL
. 2 EGGS
. 1 C SWEETENED DRIED CRANBERRIES
. 1/4 C CHOPPED PECANS
. COARSE SUGAR, IF DESIRED

1. HEAT OVEN TO 400 DEGREES. 12 MUFFIN CUPS WITH BAKING CUPS

2. MIX FLOUR; SUGAR; BAKING POWDER; CINNAMON, GINGER AND SALT. SIR IN
PUMPKIN; OIL; ;EGGS; CRANBERRIES AND PECANS UNTIL JUST MOISTENED!!!
*** OVERMIXING CAN RESULT IN TOUGH MUFFINS WITH PEAKED TOPS.
DIVIDE BATTER EVENLY IN EACH CUP. SPRINKLE COARSE SUGAR OVER BATTER
IN EACH CUP...

3. BAKE 20-25 MIN OR UNTIL TOOTHPICK COMES OUT CLEAN. ( ** I THOUGHT 18-20
WAS GOOD FOR ME). COOL.

4. MAY SERVE WITH BUTTER OR CREAM CHEESE ON TOP.

SWEATER WEATHER.................

The past few days I have enjoyed opening the windows and allowing the crisp cool breezes
flow through the air as I settle back into things cleaning and preparing for Fall.

I have a calendar that hangs in my kitchen from Susan Branch . (She has the most beautiful
illustrated full of ideas cookbooks; calendars; notebooks; papers)...........I saw these little ideas
on my page for October and thought I would share them:

* Keep an old sweater on a hook near the door-run outside to see the birds; the moon; be under a tree as leaves fall.

* Visit a corn maze or plan a hayride and end the day with a bonfire and roasted marshmallows!

* Find the perfect pumpkin at a farmstand or pumpkin farm.

* Leaf peep in your own neighborhood or plan a special trip to a nearby town that is Full
of Colors....(watch the leaves change color around old churchs or barns.........


* Some of my own: Bake apple crisp; pumpkin rolls; or apple crumb pies...............( see my sidebar of recipes!)
put out some brightly colored mums on your front porch;..........add Indian corn along the doorway.............light a delicious cinnamon candle or simmer orange peels and cinnamon on the
stovetop to bring Fall into the air........; rake some leaves and jump into the piles; ..........go visit a
covered bridge and walk hand and hand with the one you love.........

COMING HOME.........7 DAYS......BEING THANKFUL

After a whirlwind week of back and forth to the hospital; trying several antibiotics that would or wouldnt work; fevers; chills; pain..........God is good........God loves me..........
They found a strong antibioitc that works.........He was going to go home with a pick line and
a IV's but that has been changed to pill forms............weak but strong ..........and thankfulness
A beautiful day full of crisp cool air as the trees are beginning to turn I turn to my friend Jesus
and say thank you.........Thank you for the days you sent. Thank you for the rest you gave...and now Thank you for the strength and days to come.........

As I sat yesterday quietly waiting while my hubby rested I wrote out several thank you to nurses; CNA's that helped us........They work so hard and its not time to think of me but thank
others.....I wrote thank you to friends who came and then I stopped and thought Did I thank You
God? I did several times and told Him I loved Him.........He will be there walking with me
day by day.............
Home..........its a sweet word..........Its a place where you make it! It can be large. It can be
small but its your place where you bring joy and peace and beauty.........Coming home for that I am thankful.........

GOD KNOWS ARE DAYS.........ANOTHER TRIP TO THE ER

Upon returning from a trip to visit our son and daugter in law my husband began not feeling well. In fact the night before we left he ran a low grade fever but felt ok the next morning for our flight.......As we waited at the airport he began to chill and spent much time in the restroom.
I was concerned for him and for our trip.........

We boarded and headed on our way. He began to chill more and sat close to the window.
We landed and as we walked and walked across the huge airport he was very tired. We took a little bus down to our town and he got ill at his stomach....As we went to sleep that night I knew
we were both exhausted from the trip......but as I lay sleeping I was wakened with someone shaking profusuly.......It was him. I thought because he is a diabetic it was a sugar reaction although it had been some time since he had ever been like that....I hate to say it but I was so
very tired I gave him some sugar that seemed to calm him and we both fell back to sleep.

He took off for work (after being gone a week he had alot to do)....Once again something
told me to look up kidney problems. He had had a kidney stone removed a few weeks prior and had put a stent in and it was to be removed when we returned home....As I looked this up I noticed that something was very wrong........I called his Dr and began to make an appointment
for the removal of the stent but mentioned the episode the night before. He said to get to the ER
as soon as possible. He was over an hour away and I called and told him of the Dr's advise.
By this time the shaking had begun again and a good friend drove him to the ER where I meant him....Unfortunately they had a huge wait. All the hosptials in the area did and we waited for over 6 hours while she shivered with fever and got sick. Others were hurting as well and the nurse that helped us was very kind.........

We were blessed to get in the ER room and by the end of the night he was admitted. We then
thought they would give us some medicine and go home....That was Friday morning. It is Sunday night and I just returned from the hospital. He has a severe inner infection that is being tested daily ....and so ill. God is so good and caring for him and for us...........He has our days planned
each step of the way........I hated to see him in so much pain. ...........God has lead the right Dr's
and time. So back I will go in the morning. I hated to even leave but need the sleep to be any help..........I want to be closer to Jesus..........I want to walk by His side............He is there.
He was there with us getting home. He was there in the ER. He was there with my mom when she went home to be with Him in June..........He is my strength............I am so blessed He gave
us a week to R and R and then come to this.........I am blessed my daughters have stepped in
to help and son in law has helped in many ways.............I am thankful for friends who have
encouraged me with their love and prayers........

These days are His days like any of my days..........This isnt my life to do what I want to do
with it; to control everything to go the way I think it should go..........Its holding His hand and
walking the hall with Him........these days............

TIME OUT FOR R AND R AND OTHERS...........

This past week my husband ; our daughter and I took a little R and R and trip...........It was so nice to get away from all the work around home.............We took time out to fly and see our married son and daughter in law......My goal was to concentrate just on them and their lives.
We did some sightseeing and such and ate out together but I just loved time sitting in their home
and enjoying our time together.............

Sometimes when you have family that lives far away you can get busy doing other things that you do not get to really just be a family and relax and enjoy ech others company.

My heart was truly blessed as each morning I would try and go sit out upon their back porch
in a rocker and enjoy my time with Jesus under the large mountains that surrounded me.......
My eyes filled with tears of thankfulness for what God has been and given to me alone in my life....

Has life always been easy and perfect? Oh no...........but with His ways it has flowed through
His ways and His blessings have come............


Sometimes it is a good thing to take some time out with those you love.........maybe a husband
needs some extra time with you. Maybe a child or a grown child could have a special day just you
and them...............Maybe even a friend could use some encouragement or you may be blessed by them.............

Dr Jack Hyles used to say "Brighten the Corner Where You Are"..........such a simple little
saying and song................Where is your corner today? Where is mine?...............I used to think
to myself...........there are so many out there hurting Lord where do I begin...........and this statement would fill my heart.............MY CORNER.............the little store where I shop. The
family God has given. The hospital where you may have to spend time.............It where you are....

I am thankful for my "R and R" and its refreshment given.............(now I need time to refresh from my time away ha ha ).................God is good all the time................. How can you get some
R and R time when you cannot really get away? Here are a few thoughts...........

. Take time out and spend some quiet time with you and God alone enjoying His beauty around
you. Make a simple list of things you are thankful for.........

. Put on some quiet music or if its a nice day open the windows and let the fresh air flow through
the curtains and enjoy the sounds of nature..........

. Keep things simple and clean around your home so you are not surrounded by too much clutter
(this will bring order and peace)..........have a place in the childrens rooms for everything.

. Dont be overbusy with yourself and take time out to rest if need to. I enjoy being busy but
have noticed I am better if I keep my schedule as much as possible and take time out to rest.
When I was a young mother I thought I had to do everything ........and help everyone. ....I had more energy then also but alas I also had to learn to say no to some things and maybe wait
for a while before I did some things.....I fought some major physical illnesses and now know I
should have taken time out to rest during these days..........but it all worked out for good. God does that I think...........even when we are running to and fro He is there just waiting for us
to come to Him for His advise.

. Make time for others on purpose.........( I like that someone taught me to use your time "on purpose".........I still grieve for my mom who went to heaven this past June but try and make
special times just to think of her and maybe cry or maybe laugh and think of just her).........
Make purposeful times for others in your life..........such as you may be putting away laundry and making your bed and your teenage daughter comes in and you can tell she may need to talk
(purpose those few moments for just you and her)...........(When my mom had to spend some
time in a nursing facility due to rehabilitation I could have thought of a million others things I had to do but purposed in my mind that this was the time for her. We would talk ; watch a show
together; or I would just sit and be near while she rested for a time................

.......................

TEA SHOPS.....RIBBONS.........PRETTY THINGS....I LIKE BEING A GIRL

I happen to enjoy pretty things; tea shops; and even things tied with a ribbon...........We have a tea shop in town and on special occasion I have enjoyed a nice lunch there............
I remember when my girls were young and how they loved playing dress up with my old jewelry; old hats; and the clunk clunk of a pair of old heels to play in.........It was fun to be
feminine...........Now my granddaughters enjoy the same.........and I like that........Sometimes
I will cut my granddaughters sandwich out in little shapes like a butterfly or a pumpkin...
(you may say is she spoiled? Oh no she is learning to be creative and make her world around
her nice)............
We recently had a visitor over for supper and he was a guest of my husbands. He commented
how he never had all this "fruuu fruu" pretty things on his table but he really liked it!
I just smiled to my husband.......Supper doesnt always have to be a fancy thing but you can
make it special with a few pretty plates; maybe placing the huge tub of margarine in a small
bowl; adding a tablecloth and in the Fall a seasonal candle glowing with your home made soup!
Having pretty things around you doesnt have to mean you spend alot of money ( I never do)
but you can be creative....I remember one Christmas holiday I went shopping in a very fine
department store. Money was tight that year so my bill in my purse wasnt going to purchase
many things there.....But.......I so enjoyed the beautiful music being played on the piano in their
lobby. I enjoyed a small cup of coffee for Free and then I gazed through their clearance racks
and found two small items I was in need of. The stores policy was to wrap it in tissue; then a
beautiful box of silver and gold and a pretty ribbon.......My cost was $3 total and I felt like I
had spent a small fortune..........
On special occasions I have gone to the teashop. It can be pricey but if you order only a few
items and some tea it can be a wonderful deal and the atmosphere is beautiful for the time
well spent...............
At home you can bring that special touch again to simple things by using small twinkle lights;
pretty thrift store plates or silverware; linens; pillows ( I found a beautiful lime green pillow
from Pottery Barn one day for $1) to go in any season.........
Enjoy being a lady and the gift of being creative with the world God has given around you......

BAKING UP SOME FALL FUN COOKIES............

I enjoy baking these simple cookies ........and you may put them away in your freezer for Thanksgiving or to use for the Fall season.......
A simple cut out can be purchased even at the dollar store...........
You can use your imagination to use in so many ways...........a small basket filled with these little brown wonders; adding icing and any color such as orange or yellow; a few cookies in a baggie
just for someone who stops by to take on there way.............


Simple Shortbread Cut Outs............

2 cups unsalted butter, softened

11/2 cups sugar

4 egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla

41/2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.

Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.

Sift the flour and salt over the butter mixture and mix until well-combined.

Chill for 10 minutes.

Make your magic with the different options below or one of your own.

Place onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes without browning.

Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a rack or waxed paper.