Home Tour

Hello readers!  Glad you were able to stop by today..its a special day here at Country Roads because I'm doing something a little different!  My friend Kristin was talking about the Home Tours "party" that Natalie was hosting at her blog..Extraordinary Love on her blog yesterday so I thought I'd give it a shot and see how everyone likes it for a change of pace!  Sounded pretty interesting to me and even though I'm a little late getting started..hopefully next week and the remaining weeks left I'll be able to get ahead and have it posted earlier on tuesday!  I took a few pictures last night and tonight of our living room (the area that is highlighted for this week)..hope you enjoy them!

Ok..so this is our main place we hang out at (and Ravey too as you see her bathing on the couch..hehe!)!  I love my chocolate brown couch and chair..they are such a warm and cozy color!  My coffee and end tables..I honestly don't think I'd trade them for any amount of money..they are too perfect for my taste and our lifestyle!  They have a few scratches here and there (from Miss Ravey) but they have alot of character and practicality!

Another thing I love about our living area is the wooden vaulted ceilings!  Its different from most houses and really adds a great feature to our entire house as most of the house is like this (along with hardwood floors!).  When we first moved in..I kept catching myself staring at the ceilings half the time!  We love cabins and prefer to stay in them while vacationing..so this makes us feel a little like we're on vacation all the time!

One thing I'm not crazy about are the curtains I bought for spring/summer months for this room.  I had no clue what to use and wanted something "breezy" and light feeling for the warmer months..so sheers were chosen.  I saw in the magazine I ordered them from..they had paired 2 colors together for a more "dramatic" look which does help some I suppose.  I just wish those 2 windows were further spaced apart!!  Love my church birdhouse that lights up and though you can't see it too plainly..Damons hat/coat rack in the corner!  We bought it in Amish country for $30..handmade by an amish man! FANTASTIC work!  Its actually a log thats been split and varnished (guess thats the right term) so that it has legs that are "natural"?  Hard to describe..but such a unique piece! 

One of my favorite pictures of us..taken back when we were "newleyweds"!

This picture shows the entrance to the kitchen from the living area.  The one thing we are bound and determined to fix..can you guess?  Is the TERRIBLE eyesore that is the back of a cabinet the previous owners installed in the kitchen but didn't bother to cover the back of it with drywall or anything!  Makes me cringe everytime I look at it!  We WILL get that fixed and its definately on the top of my to-do list of projects for inside the house!  Although you can't make it out too well..I wanted to be able to see my americana berry garland both from in the kitchen and the living room..so I hung it across the entryway (it looks better from the kitchen).  I tell yall..I love americana stuff so much..if I could wiggle my nose and make anything happen..I'd want my walls painted for the summer months only in either burgandy or navy and deck out the whole room in head to toe americana!  Crazy..yup probably..but thats how much I love it!  ;-)

I hope everyone enjoyed my home tour of the living area in our house!  Hopefully next week I'll be participating again..its been alot of fun and I hope to get alot of feedback from my readers! 

Monday Munchies!

Welcome to the first installment of "Monday Munchies"!  Cute title, huh?  I thought monday would be a great day to post some of my favorite recipes..maybe something I've tried new, or an old favorite!  Great start to the week, don't you think?  Anyways, on saturday night I made a rhubarb pie..with rhubarb I picked right from our garden..nothing beats something you've grown yourself!  Here is a picture of one of the rhubarb plants we now have (we currently have 3)..we are working on getting more so we have PLENTY to go around!

I had never made a rhubarb "anything" without strawberries added..so I was a bit hesistant making this with rhubarb standing alone.  But...the recipe came from one of many amish cookbooks I own..and my motto is you can't ever find a bad amish recipe!  Damon is a big fan of rhubarb and the first time I ever made a strawberry rhubarb cobbler for us when we were newly married..I don't think he'd even heard of having strawberries with rhubarb..can you imagine?!  Anyways..here is the finished product..add your own ooh's and ahh's here..hehe....

The end result was very tasty I might add!  Though I did miss the strawberries a bit..this recipe is definately a keeper and one I'd make again!  Also I might add..I combined 2 recipes to sort of make it "my own" (do you ever do that?)..I took the filling from one and the topping from another!  Enjoy and hope this satisfies your monday munchies!  ;-)

Rhubarb Crumb Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups diced rhubarb
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Crumbs:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, cut up

Mix rhubarb with sugar and flour, beat eggs and add to mixture along with the vanilla.  Pour into a 9 inch pie shell.  Mix all ingredients for crumb topping except butter in another bowl.  Using fork, cut in the butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle over top of the rhubarb mixture.  Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then at 300 for 30 minutes or until desired browness.

Dwell On The Gladness

Life is too short to dwell on my sorrows,

to harbour my grudges in bitter tomorrows.

Life is too short to dwell on my pain,

to play and re-play some vengeful refrain.

Life is too sweet to waste precious minutes

in nursing resentment, self-righteousness in it.

Then, let me not dwell on life's sorrow and sadness,

O Lord, let me think of life's blessings, with gladness!

  --Nancy Neff Dostie

Call me old fashioned...

Call me old fashioned or what have you..but the one thing I enjoy the most about the summer months (and anytime of the year when its warm) is drying clothes outside!  I know..might sound a bit corny to some..but its such a joy to know that I'm not using any energy other than the sun and wind God provides for us to dry our clothing, bedding, towels, quilts, etc.  One thing I love when we visit Amish country is to see all the little amish outfits worn by men and women hanging on the clothslines on a breezy summer day..neatly hung together (dresses with dresses, slacks with slacks, largest to smallest).  They take such precision when they hang everything out to dry!  I've noticed myself taking the same habits with me when I hang out clothes or anything for that matter!  I tend to hang the pants/shorts all together..towels especially since I hang washclothes together and towels together as well.  Is that a form of OCD you think?  LOL thats a topic I'm reserving for another time for sure!!  Anyways..today I had a bit of bad luck since I'd thought it was going to be a pretty day all day until late evening.  Wrong!!  After I got back from my trip to the grocery store this evening..I came home to a soggy filled clothsline of shirts, pants, shorts, and blankets!  Oh despair!!!  Better luck tomorrow I guess since I left everything out to chance again!  :-D

Reflecting on the past week

I thought I'd share today with everyone how my memorial weekend went since I havent really went into detail about it!  Be prepared..its quite the long story.....

On friday we were due to have my step-daughter, Beth, come in for a weekend long stay with us.  She lives in Cincinnati so it was a bit of a drive for her.  Anyways..on her way she stopped in Lexington, KY for a brief pit stop and while parked at a gas station there..a man that was on parole from Florida, driving a rental car that was NOT rented in his name, and driving under the influence (prescription pain pills), ran into her car!  Thankfully Beth wasnt in her car and wasnt injured..Praise God for that!  She was pretty shaken up about it as you can imagine, and had to make numerous phone calls as a person has to do when involved in any type of car accident.  We were notified of what was happening (my hubbys ex..Beths mom..called..can we say..ughhh!) and finally heard from Beth herself.  She wasnt sure at that time if she was going to be able to make it in or not..which we told her dont worry about it..get everything taken care of with your car first.  Finally after having her car checked out at a dealership..they gave her the a-ok to drive it again.  She managed to get here to us around 10:30 that night.  We were really happy to see her!!!  And the car..it wasnt nearly as badly damaged as I had first thought..so I'm hoping and praying that all goes well w/the insurance companies and it will all be taken care of.

While she was in we had an excellent time!  We managed to go to the movies and see the newest Shrek movie in 3D (her first 3D movie!), do some shopping, ate out, went to church, had a bonfire in our fire pit, waded in the creek, met the neighbors, mingled with other family members, and had a cookout here at our house!  She also brought her Wii with her so it was mine and Damons first time playing it..can we say..addictive?!  Its definately on the Christmas wish list now! 

So she left for Cincinnati on monday in the early afternoon.  It wasnt maybe 30 minutes after she left we received a phone call from Damons mother that his uncle (his moms brother..hope this isnt too confusing) needed to be rushed to the hospital.  We had no idea what had happened and all I could hear was screaming over the phone, so my mind ran to the worst possible scenario as you can imagine.  When we got up there and realized the ambulance was called (thank goodness)..we found out more details.  Raymond (Damons uncle) had fell sometime in the night off of his bed and was stuck between his bed and the wall! When Edna (Damons mom) had went up to check in on him that day..she heard him yelling for help, which is when we were called.  Anyways, after heading over to Charleston to the ER, thankfully after many xrays and tests were performed, he was cleared to go home.  Nothing more than a bit of dehydration and some bumps and bruises Praise God.  It definately made for a LONG day as we didnt get home until around 1230 that night!

I guess you could say my Memorial Day weekend was filled with alot of ups and downs, stress and laughter, tears of joy and tears of frustration!  You might say I'm looking forward to a nice peaceful weekend!!!

Thankful Thursdays

Welcome to another installment of "thankful thursdays" here at Country Roads!  I have to say after the weekend I had..even though it was stressful at times..I still can find many things to be thankful for despite some of the crazy circumstances!  I am so thankful that my step-daughter, Beth, wasnt injured in the fender bender she was involved in on her way here to see us.  The situation could have been ALOT worse than it was and I Praise God that she was ok.  I think its important that in life, to try to find the good in every situation no matter what.  I fail at this many times..but its definately something I'm working on!  We're all a 'work in progress' all through our lives I believe..striving to be what God wants us to be.  So..anyone else dealt with a difficult situation lately but manage to find something to be 'thankful' for despite the circumstances?

Cruising into summer!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend!  Now since its "officially" summer I couldn't resist going to a more americana themed background..hope everyone enjoys the nice change of "scenery" here in Country Roads!  I'm a HUGE fan of everything americana and I decorate my house the same way both inside and out!  I don't know if I enjoy decorating for summer more or for the fall season (you know how they say women can't wait for fall because of the great decorations?).  Anyways..where-ever your summer trips take you..whether its to the beach, city, or maybe even a country road, I hope everyone travels safely and brings the camera along!