Another Late Night Post...(this could become a habit~lol)

Hello Dear Ones,

After a really good L-O-N-G nap on my reclining sofa this evening (causing me to miss Grey's Anatomy~grrr) I am now wide awake at 1:30AM. I have been doing this a LOT lately so I thought I would take advantage of my owl-like, late night alertness and hit the old blog for a minute to say, "hello" and do a little post. I have a bunch of pictures that I should be posting but that will just have to wait as they are still on my camera and not edited and formatted for the blog world :-) I am still working at Mr. Sewing Machine and have started taking in light mending in an effort to begin my way back to working completely at home by this time next year. I really miss being at home during the afternoon hours and working with Caleb on his schooling. I am also thinking of putting together a collection of wares for a booth at some of the spring and fall craft festivals during the upcoming year. More on this endeavor later. I am starting to get a bit drowsy again and my hubby just popped around the doorway and asked if I was ready to head upstairs for some shut-eye. I love the old cottage at night~so very peaceful here. Good night to all and I hope to be posting again in the next couple of days and include the photos I have taken.

Hugs to all and Stay Cozy,
Charlotte <3 data-blogger-escaped-="data-blogger-escaped-" script="script" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=c543db06-822a-4e9c-acde-6227b557f1a7&type=website&buttonText=Share%20the%20Cozy&embeds=true&post_services=email%2Cfacebook%2Ctwitter%2Cgbuzz%2Cmyspace%2Cdigg%2Csms%2Cwindows_live%2Cdelicious%2Cstumbleupon%2Creddit%2Cgoogle_bmarks%2Clinkedin%2Cbebo%2Cybuzz%2Cblogger%2Cyahoo_bmarks%2Cmixx%2Ctechnorati%2Cfriendfeed%2Cpropeller%2Cwordpress%2Cnewsvine&button=false" type="text/javascript">

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A Late Night Note

Ever been tired, but it's a good tired? That is exactly how I am feeling right now. Today has been such a great day and I got so much accomplished around the old cottage. For starters I put together my first ever batch of homemade laundry detergent! I have been wanting to try this for at least a year or two but just hadn't gotten a round to it (oh, the ever elusive "round TUIT"~why can't we ever seem to find one of those when you need it~lol!) It was so much easier than I had thought it would be to make and I LOVE the way it cleaned our clothes! I also appreciate that the homemade version does not leave any chemical residue. I know my skin will thank me for that. I did four loads of clothes and was very pleased with the results, even on the really grungy stuff.

I also did more apples today and we now have another four containers in the freezer for use this winter. I have peppers to process tomorrow. We will also be going to visit with my brother-in-law at my mother in law's house tomorrow. It is the first time in three years that he has been able to make the trip in and we are really looking forward to getting in a good visit with him.

I am really tired and ready for a good night's rest, but just had to post a bit before I turned in. I will leave you with a few pictures of the apples and some shots of the little veggie garden beside our storage building. Hope that you all have a blessed Labor Day weekend!

HUGS and Stay Cozy,
Charlotte

 

A Little Saturday Post

HAPPY Saturdy, blog friends! I hope that you have all had a truly sweet and blessed week! All this week I have been continuing to study a wonderful book by Donna Partow titled Becoming a Vessel God Can Use. WOW, what a powerful tool for coming to a deeper understanding of the way God moves in our lives and ways we can prepare our hearts and lives to receive God's direction for us. I am on Week 5: Being Emptied of Self to Make Room for What God Wants to Do In and Through Your Life. The focus verse for the week has been Philippians 2:3-4; Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conciet, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. In today's hustle and bustle, get it now world that is really hard to remember, sometimes and something I do struggle with, though it is hard for me to admit to it. I have really been praying that I will remember to pour out my selfish desires and wants so that I can be filled with a greater desire to do what God would have me to do for others. If you have a similar desire I will highly recommend this book for your study library.

Along with this study I have recently discovered the little book The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. I (finally) got around to reading it last month and must admit to now knowing what all the excitement over it was all about when it first came out a number of years ago. I really got a blessing from it and have adopted that little prayer as part of my day along with all of the other prayers I pray as I communicate with God the Father. I love to spend time alone with God each day! Don't you? There is such a sweet peacefulness when we take time for Him.

Among other little books I have taken time to look at this week was the new decorating book I picked up last Sunday by Laurie Ann McMillin Ray entitiled At Home With Laurie Ann. It is FILLED with BEAUTIFUL photos and splendid ideas for decorating your home! I have just been drooling over all of the colorful pages!

From the home business stand point, I am now re-thinking things a bit and re-organizing my home business files and documents to better reflect the current direction of the way my business operates. I was once told that "a business is organic-it takes on a life of its own" by a very wise businessman who I have always admired and was privileged to have worked with for a while. It is true, and espeicially when you allow God to be your CEO. When I have tried to do things "My Way", things never seem to work out quite right. But, when I "Let Go and Let God", He whispers to my heart the directions for His plans for our business. I surrendered the attitude of doing things purely for financial gain many years ago in exchange for an "attitude of gratitude" for any way that God can use my little home decorating business for His devine purpose. God is always right! So I have been getting my day planner cleaned out and organized, started remembering to schedule time in for housework and internet time along with working at my new position at Mr. Sewing Machine (where I genuinely love assisting customers with their sewing needs), and, most importantly, remember to pray for direction early each morning. I feel more at peace with life than I have for months.

Well, for a short post, this got kind of "long winded", but I wanted to share all of this with you, sweet friends and hope that it will brighten your Saturday. God bless all during this next week. Sending you all ((HUGS)) from WV!

Stay Cozy,
Charlotte

What's New at CHC

Happy Saturday, sweet friends! Have ya missed me? Have you wondered what I have been up to lately? Well, there has been a lot happen since my last blog W-A-Y back in December. I am finding my way back to posting here after a real writing "dry spell". Whenever they hit me I have found that it is just best to go with it and take time to listen to the voice of my Heavenly Father and be quiet for a while. This keeps me from suffering the affects of "foot-in-mouth" disease~lol. I have been busy sorting out clutter from the cottage, preparing my kitchen for a major paint-fest (cabinets and all), finishing up Caleb's school year (we had our review on May 22nd) and working hard at Mr. Sewing Machine. What, didn't I tell you about my new little job? Are you sure? Oh, that's right, I haven't written about it yet, have I? All right, enough kidding with you; I did take a job with our friends and next door neighbors, Mr. Sewing Machine. I started the first week of March and am really having fun re-discovering my love of sewing and helping others with their sewing needs. Mr. Sewing Machine has been in business for 30 years. They carry Janome and Elna machines, but service ALL makes and models~including classic Singer treadle machines~WOW! I have seen some come in that I thought came over on the Mayflower and are still running. They have old models to sell as well as the brand new wonderful machines, too. I want to share a few pictures of the store with you today:


Our Janome Rep with John and Wendy



The "treasure chest"

AccuQuilt Cutters



Gifts by GANZ



Sergers

Sew many machines!

I am hoping to finally be back to at least weekly posts here; I have missed "chatting" with all of you. Thanks for checking in with me from time to time, you are all very dear to me!