Saturday

I was checking my email this morning and got one from Jack and Friends...they are having a terrific sale on antique labels...these are sticky backed for use in the kitchen and also in crafting....limited supply and free shipping.....I wanted to pass this along to my friends who like to decorate and craft as these are terrific and a great deal...I'd buy quite a few if my PayPal account was larger!


Have you heard there is going to be a huge sugar shortage? be sure to stock up for the holidays...I intend on buying at least two 10 lb. bags, sugar doesn't spoil and can be frozen..we don't use much sugar ...but I know you that have big families may be baking alot of cookies and such.....20 lbs will probably last us well into next year....
There will be probably be other shortages in the coming months as our California farms are literally drying up because of a tiny fish (not even a native) that have shut down the irrigation.
I've read of acres of dead and dying fruit trees, dry fields, etc....a few farm towns are becoming ghost towns....all because of a tiny smelt.....as California has in the past been the bread basket to the rest of the states, be prepared...
I've been cooking up alot of our tomatoes and making sauce.....freezing it mostly...we plan on growing more tomatoes next year as they have done really well ....we have about 7 plants, next year going for about 20 so I will be canning. There are just a few quarts this year plus all we can eat and give away......
There are many sites for storing, preserving, etc.....I will give you just a few links.....
Simple Canning for a Simple Life
The Art of Stockpiling
Pantry Talk
Grocery StockPile List
and
a series of videos on dehydrating foods on youtube
we have a dehydrator, canning supplies, jars, etc. so are well prepared plus a small deep freeze...
believe me when I say a deep freeze is a good investment and they are fairly cheap...our small one was less than $100 new.... as our family is small, its big enough and uses little energy....

I feel like the Lord is telling us to be prepared for the future.....its going to be rough!

I thought it was time for some comedy...after all, "A merry heart is like medicine"........

Wednesday Dog of the Week

Say hello to Pepper Ann...she is a senior Rat Terrier...I met her personally and can say she is a very friendly sweet dog......her favorite thing to do is ride in the car...she just loves it...and would make a great traveling companion.....she's completely house trained, walks on a leash well, loves other dogs and children....what's not to like? what a sweetheart! Rat terriers are sometimes mistaken as Jack Russells but have a different temperament....like Jack Russels, they are active terriers but have a off switch and love to lounge..they are calmer and more sensitive than Jacks.
They are easier to train than Jacks also....and are sensitive to their owners moods...make a great family pet.....
Life is always busy at the dog rescue....Don works from morning until night, sometimes into the night...if not tending to the dogs care, to the website and watching over the owner, Elizabeth as she is slowing down with age..she is 91.......I am sure having the rescue has extended her life and given her much joy in her older years and she is a treasure herself having been born in 1918.
You can read more about the remarkable rescue here and the woman who started it.


You may have wondered how the lock out went that I mentioned yesterday....it went fine..no worries.....the sheriff's got there late and went up to the home with mace cans ready but no dogs were there...thankfully....they motioned for Alan to come and pick the lock so they could go through the home..Alan couldn't pick the lock, but got his handy, Popper tool and unlocked it quickly...no one was home and he got the job done easily...

later, we went to south LA to re key a house.....I went with him this time...it was in a,shall we say, less prosperous area?...there were security bars on all the windows....we got in easily and I helped by taking off all the locks, he re keyed them and I put them back in...there were 10 locks including the gate and garage...lots of people around...we overheard some interesting conversations and saw some suspicious goings on....but kept to ourselves, did the job and left.
Neither of us felt any hostility.....
Its a neighborhood I wouldn't want to be at in the evening....the neighborhood was all vintage homes...the house we re keyed was a cottage with two bedrooms...still had the nice woodwork, although it had been painted a garish red.
I wondered if some of the stimulus money could be used to help these neighborhoods and give the people there more hope.....there were two little boys playing in their backyard and I wondered what it would be like to live in such a place....and what their future would be....I prayed that God would bless and protect them...

Odds and Ends

Alan had a lock out this morning...actually the email we got said.."Emergency lock out" whatever that is.....the house is on a large piece of land..he had gone out about two months ago to re key it, not knowing the people were still there and was almost attacked by 3 dogs, one of them a pitbull....the pitbull chased him across the street and wouldn't let him get back to his van!....he took refuge at a neighbors house and called the sheriff.. by the time, the sheriff got there, the dogs had gone back into the house....
He was ordered a second time to re key it, and I went with him...but the people were still there...at least it looked like it and we were leery of intruding....after what happened the first time....
Al didn't want me to go with him today, not knowing what would happen...but there is always a sheriff there at lock outs so I think he will be ok.

Our youngest has his first job! He is working for a landscaping company on a golf course....70 hour weeks! He leaves at 5:00 in the morning and comes home around 8:00 at night..long days..He has worked alot before, mowing lawns for quite a few of our neighbors. He came home last night, happy and said the work was easy....18 year olds have alot of energy....
Seems strange not having any kids at home...I am feeling a little like our home is a empty nest but I know the Lord will fill it again. Kinda excited to find out what He has next for us....




I had made this frame some time ago and had a black/white photo in it......changed it to this..I think it made all the difference....the little line at the bottom is a refection. I used a pretty card I bought on Etsy..what do you think? This is in our blue and white bedroom....

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16

There is a growing ever bigger movement....there will be a march on Washington very soon....people are coming from all over the nation..driving, flying, walking if they have to....this Saturday there will be a march down Pennsylvania Ave.

Past Week Thoughts

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)

This is the scripture verse today.....God loves you..and you are very special to Him...even your fingerprints are copyrighted.....He hasn't forgotten you...


I just wanted to mention the past week with all the townhall meetings.....you've heard from the left, saying that the demonstrators are all paid hacks, its not a grassroots movement, astroturf, that the RNC is behind it, that insurance companies are behind it.. not true.....these are ordinary people
that have never been politically active in their lives....who usually spend the evenings, sitting on the sofa watching Jeopardy and CSI....and its a growing movement.....over 1 million strong and growing.....
someone, in order to document the movement, went to the Denver townhall meeting and took tons of photos as proof of who the politically organized group was...I have the link here
note the handmade signs...and see who has the professionally printed ...and see who causes the trouble......

why do I bring this up? About 100 years ago, the progressive movement started, and we are where we are today because of it....I didn't know what the progressive movement was until I started doing a little reading this year..but basically, the individual isn't as important, as the general good....therefore with this health bill...if you are old and sick...if you are a newborn and sick...if you are handicapped, ...your worth will be judged and if you deemed not worthy, you will have trouble... this bill will hurt the young and old....I do hope I am wrong but I don't think so....
the progressive movement wasn't all bad....child labor laws came into effect which was a good thing but it tied into Darwinism and
Progressives traveled to Europe in the 1920s and morphed into Eugenics...millions died....so if your representatives says he or she is a progressive...be suspicious....


there is a blogger who has done extensive research on the bill..actually read the monster (which is more than the people in government have) and goes through it, page by page, explaining, please read it yourself... here is the link to his site...at Common Sense for Common Man

I do think we need health care reform...but lets take our time and come up with a plan that makes sense...what is the hurry? and I don't think our representatives should sign anything they haven't read......would you sign a contract without reading it? and wouldn't you be very suspicious if the sales person pushed it on you saying, sign it, sign it right now....don't read it?

Autumn is coming

Its been very warm for weeks so last night we were pleasantly surprised to see and feel a temperature change......it cooled off dramatically last night, down into the 60s and its cool this morning too....still in the 60s....a preview of the fall......I am not quite ready to decorate for the season..I think there are still warm days ahead as this is only August...it stays rather warm usually through October. I took advantage of the coolness and made some banana muffins this morning....Alan loves them..

I am going to show you a few things from abandoned houses we found..

A old Coca-cola wooden crate with bottles....

I found the teapot (covered with dust) at the spooky house and then yesterday at the thrift shop, found the matching sugar/creamer + two mugs....I'll keep going back, maybe two more mugs will turn up..nice for the fall.....
something else we found at the spooky house was this nice little table.......

One day Alan brought back this little wrought iron plant stand....we put it in the dining room. The beaded candle was found also and the Texas pewter trivet on the bottom shelf....


a nice little birdhouse...this is purely for decoration..this is in our bedroom.....


and lastly, a old cast iron large pot with a wire handle...it was all rusty and I've been cleaning it...its about ready to use...

I have a few more new "followers" and just wanted to put in a reminder about the One Year Bible Online...its the best way I know of getting into the good habit of reading the Bible every day.....if you sign up (free of course), you will be sent a selection every day and at the end of the year.....you will have read the Bible through.....just click on the link for more information.

Hot Work

I am taking a "day off" today from locksmithing....yesterday we had to secure and board up a house up in the big city of San Bearnadino, that the local kids had been using as a hang out drug place....it had been boarded up but they managed to pry open a back door so Alan made sure with extra 2x4's bolted in the back of the plywood..it would be very difficult to break in now...plus we rekeyed it.....the neighbors came over and thanked us. It was very hot dirty work and we were both exhausted when we got home......between that and the previous spooky house, I was ready for a break! I even slept in a little this morning and didn't get up until the late hour of 7:30 (LOL).

Alan went by himself today to two jobs and its nice to be in with a quiet house and air conditioning....Alan went out early and pulled alot of the garden up as it was spent......we have corn stalks on the patio now...and our compost bin is full.....we're going to look into one of those compost bins that are easy to turn...we are just using a large black trash can right now. The compost looks good ..getting dark and soon be ready to till into the ground for next year.
We still have tomatoes, peppers, watermelon and pumpkins growing. He pulled out all the carrots...they didn't get very big as our ground is just too poor but we have a bowl of baby carrots to cook for supper tonight.and they are sweet...what could be better?
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Phillipians 4:11

Giveaway!

Nancy is having a great giveaway to celebrate her store blog......a handmade sheep pincushion!
no special rules, just sign up and be sure to check out her store blog...the link is on her regular blog site at Inside Nanas Head...
baah!

Guess who this is?

We drove up to Riverside today to rekey a foreclosed house....very weird...when we first drove up, we weren't sure if there someone living there or not...it looked occupied..but when we called the realtor, he assured us it was empty....it was also open..both the slider in the back and the front door....when I opened the slider for the first time..I heard rustling and something skittering away....never did find out what it was...
there were cat litter pans everywhere..plus empty cans of cat food on the floor, and the smell was intense..we saw no cats though.
The kitchen looked like someone had just stepped out...very odd..there were groceries in the pantry...I checked the dates on the homemade strawberry jam that was in there....June 1988....
There was alot of furniture, mostly Danish..and a very nice oak upright piano in the living room
(wish I could take that home)..clothes in the closets too..very dirty and dusty though..lots of cobwebs...
we went to work and re keyed 8 locks, secured the windows (the old crank kind) and had trouble as things kept going missing......we couldn't find several locks after we had taken them out.
Once I put a lock down to remove another one..when I went to get it, a huge water bug was sitting on it..yuck..good thing I am not squisism about such things.
The home appraiser came by and introduced herself..she said the owner had died and had over 10 cats....which had been removed several weeks prior.. she had been there two weeks ago but couldn't get in...which surprised me as the house was open when we arrived.

The outside looked as bad as the inside but it was in a nice neighborhood of older houses..probably built in the 1950s....all the other homes were in good repair..

I imagined the kids in the neighborhood probably thought of the house as the "spook house"..I almost imagined the same....Alan and I didn't know if it could be saved as it was in terrible repair..lots of wood rot and termite damage..it was surrounded by falling down fences too...like I always say..each job is different. It took us over 2 hours to re key which is very unusual even with 8 locks..we finally found the locks that disappeared, in places we know we didn't put them...spoooky!

Did you guess? Me of course, back in good old 1951....

Just a note..its late Saturday night......we had a very successful garage sale and made some needed funds for both the rescue and ourselves......then we got 2 calls to go to far away Aliso Veijo and San Gabriel, Ca..which was a 170 mile round trip...we got home about 9:00 in the evening......both nice houses...the second house had been built in 1934 but unfortunately been heavily remodeled,looked nothing like it had originally....the character and charm were gone..replaced with granite countertops and mexican tile ..we only found one door with original hardware. In the garage, sitting forlorn was the original pedestal sink, covered with cobwebs and dust....out with the old, in with the new, I guess....

San Gabriel is one of our older California Mission cities..founded in 1777. There is a very pretty mission there,

All the school children here in 5th grade do a mission project. They pick a favorite mission and then build a model of it as well as a report...plus have to visit at least one mission...fortunately, at the time we lived closed to Mission San Luis Rey, the queen of the missions so were able to take both the boys there, walk through the ruins and visit the mission itself...there are garrison ruins there..many of the Missions have active members and hold services.
If you ever get to Southern California..please visit at least one of our missions.....you will be walking right into history.....