We're off to see the Wizard

Well as I mentioned, I signed up for Karla's "Dorothy Tag Book Swap" and thought that I should start putting something together. I decided not to make 6 of one kind, but make six individually designed tags. It seems more fun this way. I'm not sure if these will make the final cut, but you have to start somewhere right?


Thanks to everyone for their prayers for Adam. He started physical therapy for his wrist and is back to work on light duty.


I bought 3 heads of cabbage for $1 this weekend and made stuffed cabbage for dinner tonight. Mmm... a wonderful fall-like dish (although the weather was not anything fall-like - 93 degrees and humid). It's one of our family fav's. I'll freeze some of these for Bryan to take to his apartment this weekend.


The color on this tag is odd. The background is really tea-stained and smudged with a bit of olive green and then smeared with some green glitter- not sure why it looks yellow. I got this wonderful black lace on a recent trip to Shupp's Grove. I'm hoping that DH will indulge me with some junking this weekend since it'll officially be the start of my birthday celebration.

Can someone please tell me why this week is dragging?

Transitioning to fall at The Old Parsonage

The weather has been turning fall-ish at night. We've been able to open the windows after the sun goes down and the house cools off a lot over night. Although they are calling for temps in the 90's and high humidity this week, I know that fall is just around the corner.

Adam called yesterday to let us know that he fell at work and tore ligaments in his wrist. I went into Mama Bird mode immediately. How did it happen? Did you see a Doctor? What kind of medication are you taking? Yadda, Yadda, Yadda... He assures us that all will be fine. It's just hard when you can't see them.


DH and I went to Jake's Flea Market today. There were so many vendors but not too much that struck my fancy. I did manage to grab a Mrs. Claus Mug and a few old keys. Can't wait to use the keys - I have a few ideas up my sleeve. Don't you just love the beautiful hues of these dried hydrangeas? The blues and rusts are perfect to transition this planter to fall. Don't ya think? Although I'm really itchin' to buy mums, pumpkins and gourds to decorate with, they'll have to wait a few weeks.

Enjoy your week!

The Big Boy

I'm really missing Adam and Jade. That's another reason for me to countdown to Christmas, they'll be coming home to visit!!! While planning my cookies and such I made a list of favorite meals for both the boys (men) and Chelsea and Jade too.I can't wait to cook big meals again. This week has been pretty shabby - 2 chicken breasts, 2 pork chops, a salad, etc. - so sad for me. Bucky a friend from work told me I can cook for her and Mike. I might just send baked goods their way, since I can't send anything to my parents. My Dad has willpower, but sometimes he slips and I don't want to see his sugar spike.

Speaking of holidays, is anyone planning something fun for Labor Day? I actually get a longer weekend because the day after Labor Day is my Birthday and we get our birthday off as a paid holiday! I'll spend the day with my Mum in Lancaster (it's tradition). We go out for breakfast, then shop, have lunch and shop some more. This year we'll be home by supper time as the next day is a work day, but some years we've been out 'til dark.

Looking forward...

Colette's Miracle Makeover Party.

A great big thank you to Beverly who hosts Pink Saturday, for bringing this wonderful story of hope and inspiration to our hearts.

Colette Gauthier was suffering with cancer and had moved into a tiny and dismal rental home. Kelee Katillac, Inspired Home Expert for Guideposts Magazine took a crew to Michigan last winter to perform a Miracle Makeover and create a healing room for Colette to recover in. Collette's story is in the September issue of Guideposts Magazine and the Miracle Makeover video is coming soon. It is very inspiring. Colette was given a 5%-15% chance of survival. You can see her story in the reveal.

We can earn additional money for another makeover by commenting at The Katillac Shack. Leave a comment thanking Guideposts for sponsoring or go to Facebook/Guideposts to leave a comment about the story or video.


We're hoping that enough comments to Guideposts encourages them to support another miracle makeover and that hearts and minds are filled with hope and inspiration.

And what's a party without giveaways? Visit The Katillac Shack to win any of these great prizes

• A new Janome Sewing Machine
• Erin Houghton Roses Painting
• Guideposts Subscriptions

Thanks again to Beverly and Kelee for being a great inspiration to all of us!

Recipes for Aunt Mert

I have an Aunt whom I've only met 4 times. She lives in Wichita and was married to my Dad's brother - Uncle Chuck. He died a few years ago on Christmas and she had a hard time coming to terms with it. She calls me every couple of months, when she gets lonely. I try to send her notes every now and then - hoping to cheer her.


My Uncle moved to Kansas after getting out of the Air Force, met Aunt Mert and fell in love. They married soon after and didn't make it home much to visit. She didn't like my Nan much and doesn't mind telling me about it. I try to forgive her and love her, but she can be very stubborn - it takes a lot of prayer:)


She called the other week asking for 3 of our family favorite recipes for a book her friend is putting together. Well, you know I couldn't just send the recipes in any old card, and whipped up this little guy the other night. I didn't make anything special for the recipes as they will be typed up for the book and then thrown away

Writing these recipes gave me an idea for our reunion next month. I'm asking everyone to bring a favorite family recipe. I'll compile them and have something printed for next year - they'll love it!

Does your family have a tried and true family favorite?

Rudolph Day at The Old Parsonage

Well girls, just 3 more Rudolph Days until Christmas!!! I brought some Christmas breath to the office to share- just love those soft peppermints! I also finalized my list of cookies and candies for this year's cookie marathon and listened to Live 365 Merry Christmas Radio all day! If you haven't visited the site, check it out, they have all types of genres.

Last year was the first year that I sold trays and I'm hoping that word of mouth brings me a lot more business. I also started mass producing elements for my Christmas cards, you can bet they have a vintage feel.



The house is soo quiet. We got Bryan all settled in his apartment last weekend and I'm really missing our late night chats. He'll actually be home next weekend since it's a 4day weekend:) I made a double batch of banana bread tonight. I'll freeze one for him to take back with him. I also want to make a few casseroles. Any suggestions on what freezes and keeps well?

Hope that you are all enjoying your week!

The Littlest Angel

My latest flea market treasure - The Littlest Angel. I got it for... you guessed it a quarter. This seems to what I pay for everything lately.

I picked it up because the cover called to me. The soft ,worn blue hard cover with the simple illustration of the angel is beautiful. The story is really heart-warming. Has anyone ever heard of it?


Just a quick story from vacation... My Mum, Bryan and Chelsea were sitting on the deck of our rental, when they noticed a woman running barefoot from shadows to grassy spots. She lost her shoes and because the black top and sidewalk were soo hot, she was running to cool places to rest. My Mum asked the woman where she was staying (quite a few blocks away) and threw her sandals down to the woman - telling her to keep them. Bryan came in laughing, because this was a typical "Grammy thing to do." Mum said, "She may have been an angel sent here looking for someone to help her." I told my Mum, "You are the angel!" It's true, she has the biggest heart and does things like this for total strangers all the time. I adore her!

Hope that you are enjoying your day!

Love this Stuff!

The smell is wonderful and it makes your body so soft and silky! This is the pomegranate and lemon verbena scent.

Please stop by my friend Beverly's for some more Pink Saturday fun. You'll love to see what everyone is sharing!

Enjoy your day!

Baby bird is flying the coop

Sorry to have been gone for soo long. But Mama bird is loosing another chick this weekend. We've been busy shopping thrift stores, yard sales and discount stores getting this baby bird ready to move into his apartment and off to school.


After high-school graduation, he made the decision to go to community college for 2years taking all of his basic courses for a lot less money. Well the 2years are up! He'll be going to school in DE, but living in MD. The great family that he works for now own a Pizza Shop here and they own property in MD. They converted an old firehouse into apartments and another Pizza Shop. So he'll rent one of the apartments and work there too. It really puts my mind at ease, knowing that he'll be with people who love him. DH worked for them back in his high school days - that's how long we've know them!

Please forgive me if I'm sporadic with posts and visits until next week. Hope that you are having a wonderful week!

I was working in the lab...

late one night. When my eyes beheld an eerie sight. Sorry I couldn't resist!


And, I couldn't resist buying these mini test tubes either. I really had no idea what I was going to use them for when I bought them. I'm still not sure...I may fill them with sand and top them with a cork.


I may fill them with tiny white and ivory buttons, I'm just not sure. What would you do with them?

First Place

Although none of these ribbons are officially 1st place, I know that I came in 1st when I bought them for less than $4 a piece! I was so excited I almost did the happy dance right then and there.



I got these gorgeous horse ribbons at Renniger's Market in Kutztown. I couldn't believe my eyes when I spied the box. They are another one of those elusive items that I've been searching for and wa-la there they were! Kutztown had an eclectic mix of vendors that day. There was a woman there who I had bought some great old textiles from when she was at another market so I wanted to see what she had. The reason I really remembered her, was she had a live cockroach tied to her finger as a ring at the last market and at this one she was carrying around a full-grown black duck. Very eccentric...


I'm sorry to say that she didn't have one thing that struck my fancy. I bought some old clock faces from her the last time and was really looking to see if she had any more. Well, we all know that's how it goes, it's hit or miss. But, I still came home a winner with these great ribbons!

Please stop by my friend Beverly's for some more Pink Saturday fun. You'll love to see what everyone is sharing! I have a couple more things to share from last week's junkin' so stay tuned!

BTW - Can someone tell me how to have those pretty pic's and a preview show-up with links to friends blogs in our side bar?

Sears Catalog

I can remember (oh no, here I go again) pouring over the Sears catalog that came in the mail. The fall one was spectacular - the clothes were so stylish, I wanted them all for back-to-school. Of course we shopped at K-mart for all our back to school needs, but that's a story for another day.



This past Saturday we decided to drive to Adamstown and visit Schupp's Grove. We haven't been there in awhile and there was a slight break in the weather so we decided to head on out. I'm so glad that we did. I found this reproduction Sears Catalog for a quarter. Living in a Sears House I just couldn't pass it up! The illustrations are terrific. Don't cha think?

I found a few more goodies that I'll share later this week. Hope you are all having a wonderful day and staying cool!

Old School at The Old Parsonage

In the past I've tried going electronic with my calendar/day planner, but I just don't like it. I love paper and pens and writing things down - Old School. Making lists is one of my favorite things to do - but crossing things off is even better! Every year I buy new calendar and planning pages for my day runner, but I wanted to do something different for next year.


So using old pages as a template I decided to make my own. Of course mine are embellished and will be thick when they are inside the book, but I'm loving them. I've done January and February so far.

What do you think?

Congrats to Kenny

I don't think that I ever got to show you this little graduation card that I made for Kenny. Kenny is a sweet young man in our neighborhood. He was still in diapers when they moved into the house across the street. I can't believe that he just graduated high school. Kenny is an original - at least in our neighborhood. He actually looks like Howard Stern - hmm. He and a bunch of his buddies have a band - they play classic rock and practice in an old chicken coop. I love to sit and listen to them practice.

Congrat's Kenny, may your dreams take you far!

Something new at The Old Parsonage

You may have noticed something new if you've left a comment lately. I've added comment moderation at The Old Parsonage. I was getting spam comments from those odd looking oriental symbols and Aunt Amelia gave me the low down on how to stop them. You just add comment moderation (all comments are e-mailed to you before they are published) and you decided whether they are published or not. It's working so far, thanks Auntie!!!

I have a lot of things to share this week, so stay tuned...

Cherry Lemonade at the Old Parsonage

Who doesn't love lemonade? Well apparently the smell is as popular as the taste. My sweet cousin Pam gave me this just as sweet smelling candle as a "just because" gift. Thanks again Pam!


Can you smell it? Mmm...DIVINE! Wishing you all a wonderful Pink Saturday. Why not play along next week with our fabulous host Beverly from How Sweet the Sound?

Karla's at it Again

Guidelines for the Dorothy Tag Book Swap:

For this swap, you will create SIX tags with the theme of "Dorothy". Your tags can be inspired by Frank L. Baum's original book, or from the 1935 movie.

Visit Karla for all the details, you never, know we may get each other's tags!

Stampin' Up! at The Old Parsonage

I thought that I'd share 2 cards that we made at last month's Stampin' Up! club. This B&W beauty is so cool. We used the big shot machine to emboss the stock and die cut the black piece.



Can you see the texture? I really love it! And adding the pearls to the B&W image just finishes it perfectly.


Kelli always has so many new ideas and this Christmas card is no different. We used a wood type paper to stamp the Christmas image on. I love the vintage look of this stamp set and bought it to use for my cards, although I'll be using another stamp.

The heat and humidity are back, but it's supposed to get better this weekend - I'm counting on it. There are some outdoor projects that I want to get done, but not if it's this kind of weather. Our suppers have been pretty light due to the heat and no gas in the grill. We've been surviving on salads and tonight it's BLT's. Not that I'm complaining:)

Hope that you are enjoying your week!

Sweet Summertime

I just love the abundance of fresh summer vegi's everywhere. Roadside stands pop-up overnight, selling everything from just tomatoes and corn to everything in between (some even sell baked goods). I can't help but stop and buy something. I pass a stand on my way to work every day that's run by an older gentleman. He uses the honor system and there is always someone parked out front buying "what's good for today." Love his homemade signs.

Don't you just love the image on this vintage postcard? It was thrown in the bottom of a box that I bought at a flea market. It's hanging on my inspiration board for now, but I'm going to use it in a scrapbook layout that I've been thinking about.

And YES! The humidity and temps have fallen slightly. I still kept the house closed up all day, but tonight I'm sitting here with the windows open. What a thrill!

I still have 459 posts in my Google Reader to to through and I want to be sure and visit all of you who stopped by last week, so I'll see you soon my friends!