FIRE AND RAIN

I wrote yesterday about how much I enjoyed having the windows open during the day.

It was a wonderful treat, considering how miserably hot the summer was.

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE warm weather and I do NOT, do NOT , do NOT like being cold, but this past summer was just awful with an unbearable combination of record-breaking temps (50+ consecutive days of 100+ temps) combined with a 100 year drought. I don't like it hot and I don't like it cold; I guess you can say I'm sorta' like Goldilocks when it comes to the weather!

Because of the hot and dry summer we've been in a burn ban for many months now and since we live in a rural area we usually do quite a bit of burning. We pay for once a week garbage removal, but branches, shrubs, trees, and leaves (oh - do we have leaves) just get burned. And since we recently took down one fence and moved it near the street, we have more than the usual amount of branches, brush, and "stuff" to burn. I gotta' admit it - the cozy little cabin hasn't been looking too spiffy with brush piles all over the place.

But then yesterday I saw a beautiful sight. No, not the beautiful autumnal trees here in east TX,

BUT THIS!

See how most of the State is in a burn ban? It is desperate here, folks. But, but, but our little county is NOT in red! The burn ban was lifted yesterday and I did dances and whoops and all kinds of celebrating because I was SO EXCITED! I called our county judge's office to make sure. Yep - the County Commissioners had lifted ban yesterday morning. Oh the rejoicing Peggy (judge's secretary) and I did over the phone!

So you know what we did when my husband came home. . . we burned, baby, burned! The trash barrel got torched. The campfire pit got set ablaze. And more brush was added to it throughout the evening. Of course we had the water hose at the ready - - - and wet down the tree canopy which is most likely pretty darn dry. But we got rid of a sizable amount of brush and I am just so excited! Oh we still have plenty to burn, but it was so nice to be able to make a start!

And guess what? During the night we got the tiniest amount of rain which is supposedly a prelude to a good thunderstorm later on today. Here's hoping and praying the weathermen are right because Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving without a campfire in the evening!

Rejoicing right here in the cozy little cabin in my neck of the woods!

OUR HOUSE. . .

After the dreadfully hot summer we had, which included many, many weeks of 100+ temps, even getting to 114 one day, I'm really enjoying this mild November day. Here it is, the 14th, and the house is opened up because it's going to be close to 80 degrees today.

A breeze is blowing through the windows. And the autumn leaves are fluttering to the ground.

And there's lunch on the stove. . . and I got to sit at the little kitchen table in my little kitchen with my husband.

And enjoy lunch together.

In the midst of preparing a hot lunch, I was rearranging furniture and rooms.

And doing laundry.

And the cat wanted to go out.

And I was overcome with joy at the very thought of how perfect my life is.

Of course it is dotted with sorrows and disappointments, but all in all, I live a blessed life and I started humming "Our House". Do you remember it? Hubby and I sang it to each other when it came out in 1970.

And we're still singing it.

It's even more true today than way back then.

And remember - the song isn't about the house.

It's about the home.

Go take a listen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mst5ln5AAqI

GREAT HOMEMADE CREAM OF SOMETHING SOUP RECIPE

Oh yes, I've been gone for a L O N G time! I'll catch up later, but for now, with the temperatures getting oh-so-chilly, I want to share something with you: a recipe for homemade Cream Of Something Soups. So many casseroles call for a cream soup, which I don't always have on hand. I also don't much care for all the ingredients I can't pronounce and quite frankly, it doesn't really taste all that good to me if I were to eat it all by itself!

So along comes onceamonthmom.com with an easy recipe which calls for ingredients I usually have on hand! And it has an easy to read chart to assist in making dietary changes.

I made the Cream of Mushroom Recipe, using portabello mushrooms; almond milk and Earth Balance instead of dairy; and Frontier Herb's *Beef* broth instead of a meat broth, making it completely vegan. This was without a doubt the very best Mushroom Soup I've ever eaten!

I'm not familiar with copyrights and all that so instead of providing you with the recipe, just hop on over to her website and give it a try. And while there, check out all her other great recipes and tips.

Here it is for the soup recipe:

http://onceamonthmom.com/homemade-cream-of-something-soup/

KITCHEN VIGNETTE

These two bowls belonged to my maternal grandmother.

I never knew her as she died before I turned two years old.

There are bits and pieces of her here in the Cozy Little Cabin.

I wonder how I can miss her, having never known her?


http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds
A Japanese website that ages photos. . . fun!

THE WORD OF GOD

iLove Life {the Word of God}

COZY LITTLE CABIN WEATHER REPORT

There's not much to say about the weather here at the Cozy Little Cabin, other than it's HOT.

Oh - I guess there's one more thing to add, it's DRY.

We are experiencing record-breaking heat AND drought.

Please pray for TX

I LOVE LIFE - ALL AROUND THE HOUSE

My daughter over at http://daeofourlives.blogspot.com/ is hosting her first linky party and I'm thrilled to be part of it! Woohoo!

OK - let's get started with iLove {around the house}!

There are many things iLove about my house. . . mainly the quirky charming little house itself, an old dog-trot.

iLove its wonky charming porch that has 3 sections to it.

iLove gently swinging in it with my hubby and I've also enjoyed times with my 90 year old mom; old friends; children, grandchildren, etc.

iLove listening to the birds; rain; leaves falling; cows mooing and donkeys braying while in that swing.

iLove shelling peas; shucking corn.

and iLove taking business calls there; or sometimes taking a nap!

Yep - this little spot on the porch is very special to me with the quilt made by my dearest friend; day lilies in pitcher transplanted from my mom's yard years ago and moved with me numerous times and other little treasures, special to no one but my hubby and me.

There area lots of memories here but I won't bore you with them. But I must add that the slapping of the screen door almost brings about tears of joy and contentment!

Like I said, there are many things iLove about this home but one that I really appreciate is the lighting inside. Every room that has a window has marvelous lighting.

Come inside and I'll show you what I mean.

Here's a wee bit of the living room. See what I mean?

Glorious light!

The insect boxes are on shelves in the living room and never get direct sun, which is a good thing as they are very special treasures to me, along with the old Stetson that belonged to my Grandpa. See the can of Prince Albert? That's what he smoked in his pipe. Youngest son actually smoked some of it for me so I could recall the exact same smell of my childhood.


Beyond the living room is the Nature Room, with the majority of it decorated with naturey stuff. I'm grateful that my husband agreed that twigs would make good drawer pulls. iLove this room that has somehow morphed into my home office

Our bedroom has since been rearranged with the bed now between the two large windows but here's a glimpse of the great light in there. . . .

A quick peek into the dining/computer/sitting room which has six large windows!

What can I tell you about my kitchen? It is small, really small. I mean tiny! But iLove it anyway. Do you see those two upper cabinets? Yep - those are the ONLY ones I have! There is no dishwasher, but that's okay with me because most days as it's just hubby and me. When there are lots of folks here, well we just all pitch in and wash and dry them and put them away! It's little - but it works and iLove it!

Only a few more things about home to write about. . . . but one I really, really love is the guest bathroom in the L'Hotel. I'll write later about why it's called that. Anyway - when the house was first built the kitchen was separate from the main house, to keep from adding any extra heat to it. Somewhere along the line things got "modernized" and now it's our guest room and 2nd bath. I'm too tired to find any pictures of what it looked like when we moved in. . . . but Bates Motel definitely comes to mind! It had a horrible cabinet and flooring and walls and was just awful. Awful. You practically needed a seat belt to keep from falling off the toilet! Anyway - hubby did all this himself, putting up the bead-board and new flooring and sink, etc. It came with one of those horrid old rusted metal medicine cabinets which got replaced by a spray-painted top of the line mirror! LOL I am so pleased with it all. It is still one of the world's smallest bathrooms (the length of the room is the length of a standard tub) . . . but it is clean and neat and bright. iLove it!

And yes, the tub is pink!

OK- finally coming to the end! iLove the fact that my husband takes care of things that may go wrong and as money and time allow, fixes up the place. He works hard; almost always preferring to just do things himself.

I'm posting this photo of him jerry-rigging the ladder! I didn't say he always did things the safest way, now did I?

We're in the middle of the worst heat-wave/drought Texas has seen in a long, long time. Yesterday a freak little 10 minute storm blew through and broke limbs and branches, most of which landed all around the property. But do you see that really, really big one? That one landed on the roof! I was SO GLAD that Tim and Christiy stopped by and even though he wasn't wearing work clothes, and had gotten only 3-4 hours sleep the night before, Tim jumped right in, offering to help. What a blessing. iLove Tim!

But what iLove most about my home is that I get to share it with that crazy handsome man on the ladder. We've been married 42 years and HE is was iLove most about this house.

He is what makes it all so very special to me.