In The Refiner's Fire

  ...2018 is done!   Wishing you all a wonderful and safe New Year's and a blessed 2019!   Angel Food Cake - we made one for our New Year's Feast tonight.  Yummy!     I'll be back later this week with the first Frugal Friday post of 2019.     Peace and Blessings, Lea

A no-photo edition! We had a very, very busy week and not much down time at all.  I am so grateful that the bulk of our weekend could be spent at home, except for a birthday party for a friend's 3-year-old and a Worship at church.  We are in the final stretch for the semester for both me and the children and we are expecting company starting this week.  I am hopeful that we can have a restful and enjoyable holiday!  Here are some things that we did this week that might count as frugal: * We made two types of soup, stuffed acorn squash and pizza at home this week. * A friend sent home a large jar of soup for our family with my husband.  We used it for dinner the night we received it, rather than using what we had on the menu.  It was delicious!  I will move the planned menu item to this week instead or use it at a later date. * I was able to take a meal to a friend that had a new baby this week using items I already had in my pantry....

Cinnamon Biscuit Twists! I keep thinking of all the things I would like to make and then remember, oh, my oven is not working correctly right now!  I still have plenty of things I can make without the oven, so that is what we are doing.  It should be repaired by the end of the week!  I am looking forward to getting on with my Christmas baking! John and I drove to the grocery store in the middle of a crazy snow-ice-wind storm on Saturday afternoon.  Definitely not what I wanted to do, but that was the time we were available to go, so we went!  We saw two crazy car accidents on the way to the store - the kind where you ask yourself how on earth that configuration of cars could happen!  No one was hurt, apparently and we made it to the store and home again without incident.  I was very grateful to arrive back home safely.  I have been slowly stocking up on Christmas items and a couple of extra items for the food shelf.  This week,...

Amazing Christmas Lights from December 2017. All of my Christmas light (or twinkle lights or fairy lights...) are sitting in a giant storage box in my living room right now waiting to be put up on the outside of the house.  The weather has not been cooperating, so I'm tempted to buy two short strings of battery and timer-operated lights to put on our evergreen wreath and evergreen pot and call it good!  I'm still hoping.  Our display is nothing as exciting as what is shown in the photo above, but I still enjoy putting them out and I think they add a pop of color and cheer to the winter nights.  I do have two outdoor strings that would work in place of buying battery operated ones so I may do that instead. I may even have a timer hiding somewhere in the storage room! I need to dig a bit more and see.  This past week was a good week and a  very  busy week and it felt SO long.  We had several extra events and did quite a few things.  The ...

Last week of November - and no photo today.  I have to download more photos from my phone and just have not gotten to it yet.  Maybe I can post two next week! Here's what we're eating this week: Sunday, November 25, 2018, My Mother's 82nd Birthday      Breakfast: Toast, Blackberry Smoothies      Lunch: Waffles, Bacon      Snack: Popcorn      Dinner: Taco Soup, Tortilla Chips, Sliced Apples      Dessert: Cupcakes for My Mother's Birthday Monday, November 26, 2018:      Breakfast: Eggs, Toast      Lunch: Leftover Soup      Snack: No-Bake Energy Bites      Dinner: Noodles with Tomato Sauce, Garlic Bread Tuesday, November 27, 2018:      Breakfast: Oatmeal with Pecans and Craisins      Lunch: Leftover Noodles and Sauce      Sn...

Our Thanksgiving table this year - it was just the four of us this year.  Ham, corn, yams, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and sparkling cider.  We had apple pie for dessert. I guess the year is officially winding down now - the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving is over, Advent starts next weekend, and Christmas is just around the corner.  I am grateful that we have had a quiet weekend - John has had a terrible head cold and all of us were just ready for a bit of a real and true break.  We spent all of "Black Friday" watching movies in our pajamas (except for a Jazzercise class for me!).  Then we slept in on Saturday morning too.  Ahhh… bliss!   I think we are officially ready for the last bit of 2018. Here are some of the frugal things we did this past week: * Baked apple pie, jam thumbprint cookies, chili, chicken noodle soup, as well as Thanksgiving dinner at home this week. * Took advantage of a non-Black Friday sale to purchase some...

Some of our summer 2018 produce - much of this is still in the freezer and will be enjoyed this winter.  I am so grateful!   On this U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving,  I am thankful for each of you, my readers, and the opportunity to share a little bit of my life with you here in cyberspace.    I hope that no matter where you live, you have a wonderful weekend and take a minute to reflect on the many blessings you have.   Our year of 2018 has not been an easy one - it many ways it has been one of the most difficult we have ever had.  We still have so much to be thankful for - our family, our home, our careers, transportation, plenty to eat and wear, and a whole host of other things!  I hope you, too, have many things to be thankful for.   Blessings, Lea   Now Thank We All Our God by Martin Rinkhart, translated by Catherine Winkworth Music by Johann Cruger   Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands ...