Friday's Fave Five #461

Hi everyone.  Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Time to look back at this super busy week, pause and reflect on the blessings that was in amongst the busy.  And to be grateful.  Please join us.

~Ladies Christmas Party~  The original date for my ladies bible study Christmas party was cancelled because I was sick so this past Monday was the new date.  At first I wasn't looking forward to it.  I always host it at my house and after working all day it is a bit of organizing and work and I was still battling fatigue.  But it came and once that first lady arrived it sparked some energy and it turned out to be a lot of fun, as usual.  I so appreciate all the ladies who come to this group and our little party is always a highlight and I'm so glad it wasn't cancelled entirely this year.

~wrapping paper with a grid~  I cannot be more thankful for wrapping paper that has a grid on the back to help straight line cutting challenged people like myself!  It made the job so much easier and therefore so much more enjoyable.

~those last few gifts bought~  I've been about 2 weeks behind from being sick and tonight I do believe I finished off the last little bit of gifts.  I am so thankful that is done and most of it is wrapped.  And right on time too, as my out of town kids all arrive today!

~haircut and foils~  I squeaked in an appointment this week and it feels great to have a nice cut and color for Christmas.  And bonus, it was paid for by my hubby as one of my Christmas gifts as per my request.

~visit from a former dayhome family~  One of my family's who was with me for over 5 years popped by with some homemade treats and stayed for a visit the other day.  What a blessing that was.  I really, really miss them and it was such a nice thing for them to do.

What were your blessings this week?

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!  Thank you for being a part of FFF and joining with me each week.  I count you all as part of my blessings.   Enjoy your family and friends this holiday season and may you joyfully celebrate God's greatest gift to all mankind, Jesus!

Friday's Fave Five #460

Hi everyone.  Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Our little gathering place where we pause in our busy week and take time to notice the blessings in our lives from the past week.  First off, I would like to thank all those who sent get well wishes in last week's post.  I had  a verified flu and it was brutal.  I cannot remember when I have slept for practically 3 days and nights straight.  Yikes.  But it's a new week and moving on from being sick!

5 Blessings I took note of in the last week:

~turkey noodle soup~  why is it when we are sick a bowl of chicken or turkey noodle soup goes down so good.  Though I ate next to nothing due to lack of appetite a nice hot bowl of turkey noodle tasted so good.

~sick days with only 1 refund~ I had 2 personal days left for the year and for the third I only had to refund one parent because she had to pay someone else to watch her little one.  This was a huge blessing as refunding 3 families for numerous days would not have been a good thing for me right now, as I'm sure most families can relate to at Christmas time.  It was a relief not to be worrying about this when one is sick.

~a little Christmas downsizing~  because of not feeling well, the Christmas decorating really took a back seat this year.  I barely got my tree up before I was down for the count.  (And even the tree took a downsize.  We had a huge tree and this year Hubby said he'd just had enough of what he called the "monster tree".  We went and got a smaller one and it was so much easier to decorate.)  As I've gotten feeling better, I've slowly bought a few other decorating things out here and there.  This allowed me to take stock of what I've got and really get tough with the amount of stuff I keep.  I culled out some tree stuff and some decor stuff I decided I no longer want and it feels so good to make that decision to rid myself of the overflow of  Christmas items.  I don't know why I figure I have to keep every little thing.  Not feeling well helped me to get on with the deciding of what it was that I really liked and what was just ok and needed to find another home.

So much nicer not taking up the whole window

nice and simple, love it!

~pared down Christmas shopping~ this year we had already decided to pare down quite a bit in the number of gifts we give to the "kids".   Usually we used to give a book, a clothing, and a fun item.  But they are all adults now and there really is no need for that kind of expense and extravagance anymore.  We decided one gift each this year and a small stocking stuffer.  This turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise because now I was about a week and a half behind in everything from being sick.  But because we aren't buying as many gifts there is less shopping to do, so I really only have a couple more things to get.

~good weather~ here in southern Alberta we have had unusually warm weather this December, though they say that will change soon.  But I am grateful for this time of warmth because it makes all the running around easier.  No snow and ice to shovel, brush off cars and scrape from windows before going out shopping.  And hopefully good travelling weather for my family that is arriving next week.

What have been the blessings that you have noticed in your week?

Friday's Fave Five #457

Hi everyone.  Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Wishing all my American bloggy friends a very Happy Thanksgiving.  I know it was yesterday and some of you will be in the throes of Black Friday shopping but I hope you had a wonderful day being thankful for all the good things and blessings of your life.  Don't know how many of you will be here to join me but have a wonderful Friday regardless.

~ Birthday Celebrations ~  It started Sunday, celebrating my hubby's birthday.  Our son was able to come home on the weekend so we had our family dinner that day.  He chose one of our favorite restaurants and we had a lovely dinner and wonderful time together.   Then on Tuesday, his actual birthday, we went for dinner with our pastors/good friends as it was their anniversary that day and they asked us if we'd like to celebrate together.  Another yummy meal and great company.  Then today, Hubby's sister and husband are taking us to dinner.  I better make an extra day at the gym after all these yummy celebration meals.  But it was nice to have Hubby honored in so many ways by so many people.

~ On a reading roll ~ You all know that reading is one of my absolute favorite ways to relax.  This month I seem to be on a roll reading some great books that I can't wait to get to after work.  For November, I chose to hit my Non-fiction reading pile.  I'm not a huge non-fiction reader, preferring to escape into a good fictional story, but I thought it would be fun to make a concentrated effort to knock some of those out of my to read piles and I do like a good biography.  So far this month I've completed 3 biographies and am on my 4th which I should finish this weekend.  That is some kind of record for me in the non-fiction department.

~ Hubby's favorite dinner ~ One of my "gifts" to Hubby on his birthday is to always cook his favorite dinner.  Because we were taken out on his actual birthday, I did it the night after.  It turned out perfect and he was happy, I was happy and turns out it's one of my daughter's favorite meals to so she was happy.  I like making him his favorite dinner and it makes me happy to see him enjoying it so much.

~ And in blew the chinook ~  Our warm winter winds called a chinook blew in yesterday and basically raised the temperature by about 15 or so degrees (celcius) in less than a day.  We were sitting at a balmy 17*C (62*F) today, a new record set.  The norm is about 2*C.  The trade off is the crazy wind but I'll take it.  It melted all the snow and I was actually outside playing with the kids with no coat on.  That's crazy for November!

~ New fave flavor of yogurt ~  I came across a new flavor of yogurt while grocery shopping last week and I it made it into my cart with no hesitation.  And it didn't disappoint.  I loved it.  A little granola on the top and oh my.  So good!  It says limited edition but I hope it's around awhile!  A long, long while.  Chai Latte makes me happy!

What are your favorite blessings from last the last week?

Friday's Fave Five #456

Welcome to Friday's Fave Fives, where thankfulness takes the forefront.  Please join us as we look for blessings and good things from the past week and share 5 of them.

~Extra day off~  Because Remembrance Day fell of Saturday this year I got Monday off in leiu of.  It was really nice to have that extra day of rest.  A little sleeping in, a little extra reading and computer time, an extra chore or two done.  Was a great day.

~Painful tooth gone~  While this may not seem like the best of blessings, when one has basically had an ongoing tooth ache for about a year and a half to two years (even after an expensive root canal!), it is so nice to finally be pain free.  I tried a new dentist and found her to be really kind and compassionate which was awesome.

~Caring friends ~ I've had a few friends check on me to make sure everything went okay with the dental appointment.  Such a small thing, these texts and calls were, but they sure did make my day and made me feel cared for.  I pray I am that way for other people too.

~Dentist ordered milkshake for supper~  Gotta love when the dentist's aftercare instructions are to have only warm broths, ice cream and milkshakes (no straws allowed!) on the first day.  Like my daughter said, when the doctor orders it becomes void of calories!  LOL.

~New dayhome family signed on~  It's been a stressful 4 months trying to replace 4 of 6 child care spots in my dayhome.  Children leaving all within a month of each other for school, parent transfers, parents staying home and pregnant mommas really put a hole into the numbers.  But a couple wonderful families have signed on one to start December and one January so it's a nice staggered start.  Whew.  Only one more spot to fill.

What have been your favorite blessings this week?

Friday's Fave Five #455

Welcome back to another edition of Friday's Fave Five.  The days are going by so slowly individually yet so quickly collectively.  How does that even happen?  It's a good thing that FFF helps me to notice the good things in these weeks.  Please join in.

My five in no particular order:

~ Extra time for those chores that always get pushed back ~  I've been short about half my child care numbers as I try to replace the families who have left this fall.  I'll not lie, it's been tough but this week, I just determined that during the days when I have all kids who nap after lunch, I am going to put that time to good use and get all those chores knocked off my list that I always procrastinate because they take time I don't have, chores that I can't do with little ones around, chores that I'm too tired to get to.  So far this week I've washed all the kitchen cupboard doors, fronts and handles, scrubbed down all the backsplash tile, and started on the kitchen lights.  Next up will be finishing the lights, do the baseboards and then wipe down inside all the cupboards.  This being productive instead of stewing, pouting and worrying is a good blessing.

~ A lovely smelling kitchen ~  One of the rewards of doing of good deep clean. Thanks to Avon Orange & Honeysuckle bubble bath!  I think I've mentioned it before but it really is lovely to clean with.  Everything is sparkly clean and it really does smell nice.

~ Extra reading time ~  When I'm done whatever chore I've chosen for the day, I get to sit with a nice cup of coffee and get some extra reading done while the kids are snoozing.  Reading is my escape of choice and I love the extra time to relax and let my imagination go with the story.  

~ Caramel Brule Latte is baaaack! ~  My most favorite drink at Starbucks.  I get it half sweet (working my way down to 1/4 sweet) and it's the perfect weekend treat.  It's seasonal so that is a good thing.  I remains a treat I look forward to for a couple of months of the year.  And I just got an email that I have enough stars for a free drink!  Bonus!!

~ Feather Duvet is on the bed ~ One good thing about November and the colder weather is that the feather duvet gets put back on the bed.  I just love it.  So puffy and warm and comfy without being heavy.  Just makes me sigh when I get into bed and pull it up.

This weekend is Remembrance Day in Canada and as we pause to remember all the sacrifices that have been made to keep our country free I just want to thank all those who have sacrificed and/or  fought to give me the privilege of living in this freedom.

What are some blessings and good things you are thankful for this week?

Friday's Fave Five #454

Welcome to a very chilly, snowy Friday everyone.  Here in Alberta we're experiencing our second snow dump of the season.  But no matter, it's still a good day to look for blessings.   Feel free to join in, no matter the weather where you are as we try to become more thankful people.  The following quote could not be more true.

My favorite blessings I am thankful for this week:

The Word of God.  I'm not gonna lie, this week has been a bit of a struggle for me.  Another long time family from the dayhome had their last day.   I finally got to the dentist who had not good news for my aching molar.  Long story short, it's a goner.  Stress related to having to replace too many children in the dayhome all at once.  The sad news of the attack in New York.  It all presses in.  But I'm so thankful that in times like that I have to Word of God to turn to to receive encouragement and have my faith built that God is good God and He is there even in the midst of struggle, chaos and pain.  I become very aware that not everyone has the blessing of having as many bibles as they could possibly want laying around the house such as we have in this country.  

Laughter in the midst of a very stressful moment.  My youngest daughter and I had a real good belly laugh over a funny misunderstanding today right in the midst of a very stressful moment in my day.  I laughed till I cried, it was so silly.  I can't share 'cause she asked me not to but suffice it to say that it brought things a bit more into perspective and I'm so thankful we shared that funny.

Caring and giving friends.  After I emailed all in my lady's group that I had to cancel because of the toothache, one of the lady's dropped by and gave me a full bottle of a natural oil type thing called Theives that is supposed to help with tooth infections and aches.  It was very thoughtful and generous of her and I really appreciated the gesture.  It's nice to belong to a group of women, though from such diverse walks of life, that really care and support each other.

Hot tea in the evenings.  With the cold weather my craving for hot herb tea in the evenings rise exponentially.  My lovely organic peppermint always is the favorite standby by this week I've also enjoyed Bengal Spice and Belleni Peach Orange.

Sunday family meals.  With everybody all grown up and moved away or working, our times of the Sunday meal together are all that more precious when they occur.  My son was down from his city again this weekend, my youngest wasn't working and we were able to sit down together along with his grandma and enjoy a Sunday meal. 

What were your favorite blessings of the week?

Friday's Fave Five #453

Well Friday blew in here so fast.  It's like just yesterday I was writing the FFF for last week?  Good thing I can take this time to pause and think about my week a bit and find the blessings to take note of them.  Join in with us.

Movie and light supper out with friends.  My friend and I were so excited to see a movie adaptation of a favorite author's book and we finally got a chance to see it on the weekend.  Dragging our hubby's along Our hubbies joined us and we had a bite to eat afterwards and enjoyed great friendship and conversation. Though the movie was disappointing in regards to way too many liberties taken with changing up the story to the point I thought it lost a lot of the most important aspects that made the novel so good, and script writing that felt stilted at times, the friendship of being with a couple we like was the blessing.  And that has got to be some kind of record for a long sentence!  And don't get me wrong it was still a good movie with gorgeous scenery just not the same essence of the book.

Bible studies that apply to life.  While I love bible studies that take on a more studious tone like studying Greek words and apologetics and the like, I do love a study that takes a book of the bible and totally applies what you are learning to the nitty gritty of living everyday life.  Our group is studying the Book of Ruth and this week's lesson really made us think of how it applied to our lives at the moment.  We were examining the gifts God has given to each of us and taking a good hard look at how we use those blessings to bless others in practical ways....or not!  Discussion was great and we all left with much to think on.

Funny things toddlers say.  The two year old in my dayhome has taken off seemingly overnight in the talking department and some of the things he comes up with are hilarious.  For example one day our conversation went as follows:

"Susanne, guess what?"
"What?"
"You never know"

One wonders where a barely two year old comes up with this stuff.  Keeps me laughing.

New family signing on with dayhome.  This is a huge blessing.  It's one of those seasons where the dayhome is finding itself in a huge transition.  Kids going to school, moving away, mommas pregnant means from August - December I am losing more than 3/4 of the kids in dayhome.  This week I signed with a wonderful family that has two children and will start January.  Whew, now thank you Lord for 2 more!

A break in the wind today.  It's been windy all week and yesterday was crazy windy again.  It was nice today to have a break in the gusting wind.  More chilly but calmer.  I'll take that over the other.  Caught a beautiful picture of the chinook arch with the sunset and high level bridge underneath it though which kinda made the crazy wind worth it.  No wind, no chinook arch, no amazing picture.

What were your blessings and good things this week?

Friday's Fave Five #452

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  Our little group here is trying from week to week to cultivate an intentional attitude of looking for the good blessings in our lives.  On good weeks, average weeks and even on not so great weeks.   Why?  Because it helps us to have gratitude for the lives given to us, to live in a state of better contentment and to enjoy the gift.    Please join us.

Safe travels for my daughter who was driving to Calgary to take a friend to the airport.  The day she came back was insanely windy.  I'm talking Hurricane level 1 winds.  My city reached gusts of 113 km (70.2 mph) and parts of the province got up to 149 kmp (92.5 mph)!  There are points on the highway where they actually have signs for truckers to be aware of the wind gusts in the area on the best of days but Tuesday was shocking in it's nature.  A lot of Alberta went into emergency mode as the crazy wind overturned semi trucks on several highways, including the one which my girl had to travel, it derailed 2 trains in 2 different areas, I know...unbelievable!  Several grass fires started all over the province and quickly went out of control including on a mile up the road from me and another about acreage community about 10 minutes out of town,  where people had to be evacuated. Several areas of my city lost power for hours unrelated to the fire.  Some families lost everything when their home got caught in the sudden path of  the fire outside of Calgary.  One firefighter lost his life fighting one of the grass fires by the Alberta/Saskatchewan border.  It was a scary day.  And this is what she was driving home in.  But her little beetle made it home just fine and for that I am very thankful! My heart cries for the families who lost so much.

An amazing sunset was the good thing that came out of the crazy wind on the Monday.  I glanced out the window to see this:

So beautiful!!  God truly is the original artist and I'm thankful for my sight to see it!

Lunch out after church.  Hubby and I were blessed to have our daughter and her friend join us along with another couple who are good friends of ours out for lunch.  It was a really fun time with lots of laughs, great company and really good food.  After a great service it, it just topped off the day.

Braised lamb tacos with a corn and bean side.

Yummy!!

Operation Christmas Child kickoff at church.  I love this ministry and getting to work in it and kick it off each year is a blessing.  It's so much fun and I love sharing the passion for it with my congregation!  I was especially blessed when our visiting guest went out shopping right after lunch with my daughter and packed a box to give in spite of never hearing about Operation Christmas Child before.

This set of videos showing different period dresses.  I came across this quite by accident, but it set me off on a tangent of binge watching over a few evenings.  Showing different styles from different historical periods and what it all entailed for the woman of the day to get dressed.  Let's just say I'm mighty glad I could sit on the couch in yoga pants and comfy sweater.  The layers boggled my mind and made me hot and itchy just thinking about it all.  How did women ever do it?  Anyway, it was kinda fascinating to watch and amused me.


What were your favorite "good things", blessings, from this last week?

Friday's Fave Five #451

Is it Friday already?  Holy smokes where did that week go?  Good thing I have Friday's Fave Five to slow down and notice my blessings and good things from the last week.  Join us as we share 5 of them.

Thanksgiving celebrations.  Last weekend was Canada's Thanksgiving celebrations.   I love that Canada does theirs early in the fall.  It totally helps focus us on being thankful and grateful for all the good things in our lives.  There is no shopping hoopla, Christmas rush, and the stress that the beginning of Christmas month brings.  

  

Family that made it home.  As the kids have grown up and gone off to live their lives, holidays are getting harder to have everyone home every single holiday.  This year we missed my oldest daughter and her husband, as they couldn't make the 6 1/2 drive due to work commitments. But my son made it home for the weekend which was awesome and of course, my youngest daughter who lives at home was here.  My mom came for dinner as did my sister and her family.  It was really nice and I was grateful for those who made it safe and sound.  

Turkey that turned out perfect.  Every year I stress about the turkey.  And this year was no exception.  I bought a huge one thinking I might have 3 extra coming but it turned out they couldn't make it.  So here I was with this huge turkey.  But I went on the Alberta turkey website and followed their cooking instruction times and it turned out absolutely perfect.  I have to say, it was the most relaxed holiday dinner cook I have ever had.  Everything was done right on time. And the huge turkey was a bonus because, hello, leftover turkey buns!  Yummy!

Pear Crisp.  Crisp is one of my favorite all time desserts.  I ran across this recipe earlier in the week and thought I'd give it a try for one of our Thanksgiving desserts.  It was an hit with everyone.  So delicious.  And bonus for me, crisps are easy and no fuss.  I never would have thought to use pears had I not seen this recipe.  It's a keeper dessert for sure.  

Day of rest.  In Canada, Thanksgiving day is actually the Monday.  But I hosted the dinner on the Saturday, we went to the other one on Sunday which gave us a wonderful day to sleep in, cozy up with blankets, coffee and books and not be rushed.  It was wonderful.

What were your favorite blessings from you week?

Friday's Fave Five #450

Welcome to Fave Fives.  It's Friday so that means we take a pause and take note of some of the blessings from this last week.  It has been a very emotional week for most us so it is especially good to find some good things in our lives.  Please join on in.

Miracles and heroes rising to the surface.  In the midst of the tragedy of Los Vegas and the scary attack in Edmonton I have really been uplifted by the amazing stories of courage, love and selflessness that have come out of the ugliness.  I understand it needs to be reported on but I sure wish news programs would focus way more on the good stuff that comes out of people rather than the constant rehashing and speculation directed towards the evil act and the person who did it.  The true heroes of the tragedy deserve way more air time than the evil in my opinion.  

Grace and understanding when mistakes are made.  I misplaced something important this week, and by misplaced I really mean the darn item literally has pulled a Houdini and disappeared!  I have given myself a tension headache in trying to find it all day and was so nervous to admit it to the person involved.  They extended much understanding towards me which meant everything.  I still haven't found the thing, I can't imagine what on earth I could have done with it, but I am very thankful for the mercy.

Hard working hubby who was out while it was still dark shovelling the massive amount of wet snow off our huge driveway making it safe for the arrival of the dayhome families.  And then he went and shoveled my mom's huge driveway.  I so appreciate him getting out there and doing that.  He's a good man.

J.R.Watkins Medicated Ointment .  My knee has been aching for over a month.  It's been acting weird and I really need to go get it checked.  But meanwhile the owner at my gym gave me a good amount of this stuff to see if it would help.  And it does seem to be helping.  I have to use it a few times a day but it makes it so I can get to sleep and then to be able to do my work in the day.  It has helped my husband's sore and aching shoulder too.  So grateful she shared with me something that helps aches and pains.

Chatter of children learning to talk.  I love when kids start to talk.  The way they talk and form their words and sentences is so cute and when they say my name I just melt.  One of the great parts of my job.

What were some good things from your week this week?

It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend in Canada.  I want to wish all my Canadian friends a Happy Thanksgiving filled with lots of love and friends and family.  

Friday's Fave Five #449

Welcome to a lovely fall Friday's Fave Five.  Join our group as we intentionally look for things to be thankful for in our lives from the past week.

Best plum ever!  I picked up these yummy sounding plums from Costco last week.  I mean how could I resist plums that were called Sierra Honey Plums.  Oh my goodness these are the best plums I have ever had.  So sweet and juicy with just the barest hint of tart in the peel.  So good I went back and bought two more boxes in case they don't get anymore.  And they're kind of a heart shape...what's not to love?  ;)

Beautiful warm week.  After a very cold week where we had frost watches a couple of times in the night, this week has been absolutely grand.  The very best of fall:  blue skies, warm weather with that lovely fall cool hint, the leaves are turning color and NO wind!  Just perfect!

Presentations that go well.  I was asked to do a short presentation at church representing Missions and Outreach at our church on Sunday.  It was a fun, informal kind of thing where 5 different areas in church that needed volunteers were represented and gave a short talk, then the pastor asked a few questions.  The idea was to let all the newcomers and those interested where  they could volunteer or help out.  I always get quite nervous whenever I'm asked to do stuff like this, though I have done it for years.  But all went well, I managed not to stick my foot in my mouth and I only forgot one small thing concerning my actual area which is Operation Christmas Child.  Which is ok because I'm up there again in a week to talk about the kick off to that anyway.   From comments received afterwards, people really enjoyed the more casual, chatty kind of format.

Spontaneous lunch out with friends.  Sunday spur of the moment Hubby wanted to invite some friends of ours out for lunch.  Usually these people are very busy and you have to arrange these kinds of things ahead of time.  But this particular Sunday they were available and we enjoyed a really nice lunch out  with them.

Surprise takeout lunch.  Knowing I had an interview for a new family in dayhome at 5:30, my thoughtful Hubby brought  home takeout from the Indian Kitchen.  He knows the interviews are stressful for me and I'm busy prepping beforehand.  It makes for a long day and supper ends up being really late and thrown together or else unhealthy fast food because I don't like stuff cooking when the family is here.  So a good lunch from a restaurant I like was a real nice surprise and a gift.

What were you're favorites this week?

Friday's Fave Five #448

Hello and welcome to the first FFF of fall.  So hard to believe another season has come and gone this year.  I don't know why but it seems like this year has flown by and yet in some aspects it seems like it's been barely chugging along.  But no matter which way it feels, it's always a good time to intentionally be grateful for blessings and good things in our lives.  Join us as we share the top 5 of the week.

In no particular order:

Trying new foods.  I love trying new foods as long as it's not too off the wall (she says as she's watching poor Vanessa Hudgens having to eat rattlesnake on the show Running Wild with Bear Grylls).  I love to try new recipes too and the last little while I've found a few that have been delicious and I will make again.

Zucchini Boats were a huge hit with everyone.  I think I sorta mashed a couple of recipes together to make a buffalo chicken zucchini boat and now I can't remember what I did.  But I don't think you can go wrong with these.  You can do chicken, beef, pork or vegetarian with basically unlimited flavor combinations.  It comes together quickly and looks pretty.  If you use yellow and green zucchini it's so colorful.  Just search zucchini boats on pinterest and you are on your way.

Another dish was this Slow Cooker Creamy Southwest Chicken .  This was definitely a keeper.  So delicious.  As usual I tweaked it a touch by using what I had:  ancho chili powder for the chili powder, and 1 tsp. regular paprika and 1 tsp smoked paprika for the 2 tsps of paprika the recipe called for.  Yum.  I served it with rice ( apparently a huge amount of rice according to the picture.  But my husband is a rice fiend and this was his plate of food.  Ha!).  We ate the leftovers a few days later over egg noodles and it was just as delicious if not better having sat marrying all those good flavors.

I also tried a batch of my homemade spaghetti sauce I've been making with that fantastic tomato harvest from this year over spaghetti squash instead of pasta.  Oh my goodness, who knew this would be so good.   Didn't miss the pasta at all!  And I forgot to get a picture of that though.

So thankful for all the delicious food that is so available to us here.


Lovely flowers on my porch.  My son and youngest daughter had bought me the cute little bike flower pot display for Christmas and I just love it.  The flowers have grown and filled in over the summer and it just makes me happy to drive up and see these on my porch.  Hopefully they will last a little longer now that our night's have cool off a lot.

Finale show of America's Got Talent.  My daughter and I have been watching this show together this year and the finale show where the top 10 competed was especially great.  Such great talent they had on the show this year.  It was so hard to guess who would win because they were all so good.  But the blessing was not only such a great finale but watching the season with my girl.

Fall duvets.  The nights have cooled off enough around here that last week I took off all the lighter summer bedding and put on the fall duvet.  It is so much more comfortable than the summer bedding I was quite excited to be able to put it on.

Church small group kickoff.  Wednesday was our church's night to kick off the start of small groups with a fun night where all the small groups attended together.  There was lots of good visiting, good laughs and good snacks.  It was nice to see some new faces and see all the different groups that are running this year.  It's good to be connected to a smaller group where one can feel supported, accountable and loved.

What were your favorite blessings this week?