Why Nothing Stays on my Coffee Table

and why my curtains keep getting pulled down. Why I can't set any food or drink down unless I keep my eyes on it.

This and That

A belated Happy Anniversary to my stepson Ray and his wife Sharon. They have reached the 5 yr. mark. Sharon is selling her jar candle lamps on etsy if you want a look see
http://tenncountrygal.etsy.com It is soooo cold here for this time of year! I had to close the windows and build a small fire as we were in the 30's last night. That's unusual for here this time of year. But I love cold weather and its easier to work outside when its not hot. I am catching up on my housecleaning, laundry and soap making today so I can spend tomorrow outside. I also watched a great movie from Netflix called: " A Walk in the Clouds". Its a romantic film taking place at the end of WWII starring Keanu Reeves and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon. I loved it and had to stop cleaning and just sit down till it was over. If you get a chance check it out. Well I need to get back to cleaning and laundry... Have a great day!

Norm is in Minnesota!

Norm has arrived in Minnesota! Bossy Bee will be posting about his arrival later with photos. She says Norm is much shorter than she imagined (hope Norm didn't hear her) but he was being nice for the time being. Norm has been getting into cookies Bossy fixed for a church bake sale. After making a pig of himself he went to sleep in the dog's bed! Keep checking to see what he gets into with Bossy and her family and don't forget to leave comments so they will know you have stopped by.


On another subject. Leann sent some lovely vintage cards with my swap package. They were so lovely that I framed some and hung them in the hall. Am going to do more when I have more frames. Thanks again Leann

Have a Great Weekend!

The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I have gotten some things done today. We were blessed with a night and day of steady rain so everything is growing and looking good. Miss Diva has settled down and giving lots of milk. The chickens are growing and love riding on Diva's back. The kittens are eating well and taken over the livingroom. Ms. Dilly has climbed the curtains twice and I have had to rehang them. Ms. Gracie loves walking across the key board so all kinds of weird things pop up on my screen and I have to fix it. I finally got smart and put the mouse in the drawer when I am not on the computer because all the kittens pull it off the desk so they can play with the laser light. One more week and they will be ready to leave mommy. I have cleaned and vacuumed the livingroom and dining room. Hope to finish the bedroom before bedtime. Will be driving to Lexington tomorrow morning to meet William there. Taking him some food and other items. He wants to try to go to an auction there before I head back home and he heads for MI. I am also taking some of my soaps as Sharon knows someone that has a country craft type store that is willing to sell my soaps and the jar lamps Sharon makes. Hopefully we will sell lots! Have to get back in time to milk Diva and feed the chickens so it will be a busy day. My tomatoes either have small tomatoes on them or lots of blooms. I am getting lettuce and onions already. My okra, cucumbers, squash and beans are growing like crazy. All the flowers are blooming or getting ready to bloom. The birds are enjoying the feeders and birdbaths. Life has been good this week on the homestead. God has blessed me well. I hope each of you have a wonderful weekend and lots of blessings! Edited to add that Mary over at Fireflies and Frogs ask everyone to take a photo of their calendar and post it so here it is Mary. I don't have kids to fill my days so its not anything like yours.

Divine by Karen Kingsbury

Karen Kingsbury is a #1 best-selling author and written many Christian fiction books.

Divine is published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.


This is my first book by Karen Kingsbury but it won't be my last! Divine took a strong hold on me from the very first page. I received the book today and didn't put it down till I finished. Ms. Kingsbury has written a story about a modern day Mary Magdalene dealing with her own demons before finding peace and love through faith in God. The story tells of the horrors Mary went through as a small child and young adult before becoming an educated powerful speaker in Washington, DC.
Her horror story helps other young abused women find their way.She also shares the story of her drug abused mother, the love and faith of her grandmother. How that love gave her the strength to deal with foster homes, abuse, and self doubt. Divine also takes us into the life of a abused young lady and her mother. Although this is fiction it grips your very soul. You feel like you are right there hearing Mary's story firsthand and your heart breaks for all she went through. Her faith, courage and love gives us all hope, faith and courage to handle and appreciate each day of our own lives. This is a must read book that I highly recommend.





Mind and Media do not pay me to do these reviews. I receive free books just for reviewing them. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer for Mind and Media check out their site: http://www.blogforbooks.com/

Where Does The Time Go?

I got my kitchen cabinets put back together all nice and neat (for now anyways). I got the plants my neighbor gave me set out and even spent time sifting dirt! Yes, I said

sifting dirt. William tilled up an area in the front yard so I could do somemore planting. He also told me inorder to keep the grass from coming back and taking over we needed to sift the dirt. He was home to help with the first area, but now I have two other areas I have to sift and its going slow! I have a piece of chicken wire I place in the wheelbarrow, then I shovel dirt onto the wire, shake and sift the dirt out and throw the clumps of grass off to the side to haul off later. I am halfway through the second area but my arms are tired and it started to sprinkle rain so I stopped to milk Diva before it starts raining... Thats a good enough excuse... isn't it???? I also got a great new book to review in the mail today so I am going to go to bed early and read. I will post about it when I am finished but I can tell you its a really good book! I sent off some packages of soap today and have 3 packages to ship off tomorrow plus a order for 24 bars!! I never knew I would sell goatsmilk soap or have so much fun making it. My bread turned out good and I have already made a sandwich from one loaf and froze the other 2 for later. Norm is resting up at Connie and Rob's before heading to Minnesota to help celebrate Bossy Bee's birthday. Better keep an eye on him Connie cause he may hide so he can stay and play pool again! Everyone have a nice evening or day (wherever you are) and don't forget to stop and count your blessings of the day... You will be surprised at how many you have!

A Busy Day!

My kitchen looks like this today! While making soap and cheese I got the bright ideal of cleaning out my cabinets.. What was I thinking???? I haven't been in the house long enough to clean anything while William was home. We always work on projects that I can't do or need help with when he is here, so we were outside most of the time. Now I have a ton of laundry, soap drying on all my counters, cheese draining in the sink, pots and pans piled allover the kitchen floor and here I sit. I have decided I will finish it in the morning as I am tired! At least when I am here alone if I don't finish a project there is no one to trip over the mess but me. Its suppose to storm here tonight so I am on standby with my neighbor Fran. If she hears thunder then she will call and I will go over and stay with her. I have 2 wisteria another neighbor gave me I need to set out along with some ivy, chocolate mint and other plants. She thinned out her garden and gave the extras to me. I hope it rains tonight so it will be easier to plant everything in the morning. I have a couple of books I need to read and bread rising to be baked in the morning....... Isn't life wonderful! I sure have been blessed!

Edited to add that you can now click on it and get there. Don't know what happened before but its working now.
I have finally set up an etsy shop for my goats milk soap. I don't have alot listed yet but will be adding several new scents tomorrow. William is home and we have been working in the garden and yard so I haven't gotten alot done inside. Anyway hope all are having a great week and will catch up on all blogs tomorrow.Have etsy shop in my sidebar but here is the addy if you want to check it out.http://www.hiddenhaven.etsy.com/

My Swap Package Has Arrived!!

Ladies eat your hearts out as I have gotten the best swap package of all! Leanne from Roman Holiday went way overboard on me and I love every single item! She made me a beautiful clothespin bag in my favorite colors. She also made me a matching apron. Can you believe she took time out from taking care of all her sweet babies to sew for me??! She sent the most sweet vintage cards that I can tuck in the corner of a mirror or I am thinking of framing a few to hang in the hallway. The package included a electric fragrancer from Yankee Candle with lilac blossom scent (I am using lilac candles and potpourri right so she did good!) I got lavender and almond oatmeal all natural soaps to place in the bathroom and peony fragrance spray to make my home smell extra nice. Leanne sent Clean and Green book so I can read 485 ways to clean my home safely with nontoxic and environmently safe products. Knowing I have lots of animals bless her sweet heart she sent me a pet hair lifter. Its a sponge type thing that all I have to do is wipe my sofa, chair etc and the hair comes right off like magic! Leanne shared her chocolate chip cookie and her apple crisp recipes with me along with 3 special teabags. But ladies that isn't all this sweetie did for me. She made me cry by sending me her great-grandmothers tea towel!!! Can you believe she parted with something so precious just for me?! I am going to treasure it forever! Think that too will go in frame for my kitchen wall. Leanne the package I sent you does not compare at all ! I thank you so much for all the love and care that went into this package and so happy to have you as a friend! Ms. Robyn thank you again for getting this wonderful swap together. I think it was the best one yet!

Strawberries and Tag

From this:
To this:

I got 24 jars of strawberry jam! I didn't get alot of other things done today but at least I have jam.

On another note Heather has tagged me for 6 random things about me. So lets see what I can think of.

1.I hate to drive... anywhere!

2. I love riding though. I enjoy looking at other peoples homes and yards to get ideals.

3. I like being home alone. I can get more things done.

4. I love scary movies. Use to be terrified but now I can watch them and go outside after dark without worrying something is going to get me. LOL

5.I wear a little cross/dove pin 24-7 that Wendy gave me at Christmas. I even pin it to my pj's.

6.I am so into reading more about the signs of the end of time. I can't seem to read enough about it even when some of it confuses me.

I am suppose to tag 6 people but I honestly don't know who has been tagged already so if you haven't... you are tagged now! Leave me a comment so I can read your list.

I have Been Tagged

LeAnn over at Roman Holiday tagged me for 10 simple pleasures. So here are some of the simple pleasures I enjoyed this morning.

1. picking fresh strawberries to make strawberry jam later
2.watching a hummingbird sitting still on the birdbath getting a drink
3.milking the goat without her trying to kick the bucket over because I am slow
4.being able to read my morning devotion all the way through without the phone ringing or any interruption.
5.picking fresh lettuce and watching the iguana eating like he had a feast
6. talking with my husband on the phone without the to do list being mentioned the whole time!
7. making goats cheese that came out just right
8.talking with God and my guardian angels
9.talking with my oldest daughter Maggie and hearing all about her family and plans for the weekend
10.smelling the goatsmilk soap I made last night drying on the counter
I am not sure who has or hasn't been tagged so if you would like to do this meme please leave a comment so I can go to your blog and read it...... Have a wonderful blessed day!

Norm is already having fun!

Norm arrived at Connie's already. He must have gotten an upgrade in his travel ticket! Anyway he has already been out on the town with Connie and her hubby. I think he is getting a big head from all the travel and may keep Connie on her toes. Be sure to check out what Norm did his first day and leave Connie a comment so she will know you stopped by. Norm behave yourself or I will send the sock monkey's after you!!

Norm is on his Way

Norm has been packed and shipped on his way to Connie in MO. Wanda gave him such a wonderful adventure that he had a hard time saying goodbye and leaving Texas. Thank you so much Wanda! For those that haven't read about Norms adventures at Wanda's http://wanderinglily.blogspot.com/ or read about his last day there and his security team that helped him pack and leave before the sock monkies knew he was leaving please check it out. And leave Wanda a comment so she will know you stopped by. He should be arriving at Connies http://mumbojumbo2222.blogspot.com/ in a few days so make sure to check in there and see what he is up to. Connie tell Ethel to show Norm around the place. Make sure you leave Connie a comment too. Everyone is going to alot to show Norm a good time so lets leave them comments and let them know we are stopping by .

I have been tagged

mommax2 has tagged me to list 5 crazy things about myself so here goes


1. I wake up alot during the night and I have to look at the clock each time. If I tell myself I am not going to I toss and turn till I look then I can go back to sleep.
2. If I have plans to go somewhere the next day early I don't have to set the alarm no matter how early I have to get up. I wake up right at the time I have to get up.
3. When my husband is on his way home (he's a truck driver) I start stressing that I have everything done on my to do list and that there isn't anything I have or haven't done to stress him while he is home. I forget to relax and just enjoy having him home.
4. I always seem to know when something is wrong with my daughters and when I call I keep talking to them till they tell me whats wrong.
5. William will call me while on the road and ask me to guess what he just did or what he just ate and 9 times out of 10 I can tell him exactly. Freaks him out everytime
Okay I will be emailing some of you to do this so watch out! LOL

It Finally Rained!

It has been so dry here for weeks and I have had to water everything in the garden. Today we finally had rain! Never mind that along with it came lightening, wind and power outage for 3 hours. I was just happy to have the wet stuff! Ms. Diva is doing fine in her new home. I am having a hard time getting into the swing of milking a goat. I have milked cows for years but never a goat and my hand is still weak from the sprain so my hand gets tired. Diva is patient with me and the time is slowly coming down on milking her. Hopefully I will get faster everyday! It has been 90 degrees here for a couple of days but after the storm it has cooled off and I have even turned of the fans. Its suppose to be 45 tonight and 72 tomorrow before warming back up so I will enjoy it while I can. The kittens are running all over the house and having fun. I have to be careful where I step so I don't step on one. The chickens are growing so fast and enjoying their new bigger lot and making friends with Diva. Its just another wonderful day at Hidden Haven! Norm will be leaving Wanda's tomorrow but she is posting another story and photos of his last adventure with her so be sure and visit her and leave her a comment on all the neat things she did with Norm.
http://wanderinglily.blogspot.com/

Happy Easter

Have a wonderful Easter!

Miss Diva Has Arrived!

Miss Diva is at home and already spoiled! She wants to follow me around wherever I go and cries when I put her in the pen and walk away. If I stay near the pen she is okay but she has to see me. I have been walking her around on a leash so I can keep her away from the flowers and veggies. Think its going to be a lonely night for her but hopefully she will get use to being in her pen.

Blue Swiss Ducklings

This post is for my granddaughters Raigun and Kristine. They wanted ducklings for Easter and they wanted something besides white ducks. Well their mom even took the day off work to try and find ducklings and couldn't. I went to get goat feed and what did I find..... ducklings. So I am meeting them tomorrow before I get my goat to give them "Tom" and "Flower". That is what Raigun named them, not me. So here are the ducklings girls. Sorry the photos are fuzzy but ducks don't sit still!

Blessed Easter Weekend

Wishing each of you a wonderful blessed, peaceful Easter. May you and yours experience the blessings of the real reason we celebrate Easter. Enjoy your family, Enjoy your home, Enjoy your way of worship but most of all ...Enjoy the many blessings given you.

Norm's New Friends

Norm is having so much fun at Wanda's I don't think we will be able to get him to leave! He has hooked up with 2 cute girls and going to visit their aunties, check it out.....
http://wanderinglily.blogspot.com/ Leave her a comment and let her know what you think.

Another Beautiful Day

Another nice day to be outside. I made the temporary shelter for the chicks a little bigger and put some poles in for them to roost on.... They love it! Can't wait to get a real chicken coop for them but that will wait till William gets home. I watered my flowers and cleaned out a few flower beds. I built a raised bed for my okra and have it soaking to plant this evening. Going to build another bed for some more green beans this evening when its a little cooler outside. I came in to get something to drink and the computer called my name. Guess I had better get back at it before I get too lazy from sitting here. Have a blessed day and enjoy your yard or garden!

Oh, if you have problems with rabbits in your garden.... be thankful you don't have this one running around! He is raised by a gentleman in Germany so watch out Carol.

Spring Time at the Homestead

Planted beans, cucumbers, squash, lots of flowers and more tomato plants today. Did more raking, cleaned up the chicken pen and dog lot. Watered the things I planted, filled the bird feeders, hauled off the trash and visited with my neighbor Fran.... nice day... how was yours?

Beautiful day here at the homestead. Chickens are growing and doing well in their new lot. Dogs are doing really good being in a lot next to the chickens. Have tomatoes on the vine (small but there) and have strawberries starting to turn red. Have lots more to plant and set out. So everyone enjoy the new week we are blessed with, enjoy your family, enjoy your home and garden and enjoy the blessings God has given you this day!

Popeye Saves Norm!

You really must go to: http://wanderinglily.blogspot.com/ and check out Norm's latest adventure and being rescued by Popeye. It has to do with a sock monkey or 2 or 3... go see for yourself!

Happy Birthday Ms Jeanne!!

April 8th is Ms. Jeanne's Birthday!

Ms. Jeanne
On your birthday, special one,
I wish that all your dreams come true.
May your day be filled with joy,
Wonderful gifts and goodies, too.
On your day I wish for you
Favorite people to embrace,
Loving smiles and caring looks
That earthly gifts cannot replace.
I wish you fine and simple pleasures.
I wish you many years of laughter.
I wish you all of life’s best treasures.
I wish you happily ever after!
Happy Birthday!
Please take time to pop over and wish Ms. Jeanne a very Happy Birthday. She is a wonderful fun Canadian friend of mine and a very sweet ,kind lady to boot!
Happy Birthday my friend and hugs across the miles for you on your special day!

Norm's Host Families Blog Sites

I have been getting emails wanting to read about Norm's past vacation stops so here is the list of all the places he has been or will be going. You will have to scroll back some to see the posts about him on the first few blogs as its been awhile.Monday, Feb. 6th....... Heading for Ruffin, NC Monday, Feb.27th....... Heading for Hardy, VA Monday, March 13th... Heading to Owensboro, KYMonday, April 3rd........Heading to Skidmore, TXMonday, April 17th........ Heading for St. Louis, MOMonday, May 1st............Heading for Litchfield, MNMonday, May15th...........Heading for Boonville, INMonday, May 29th........Heading for Queensland, AustraliaWednesday, June 14th....Heading for Queensland AustraliaMonday, June 21st........Heading for Woodford, AustraliaMonday, July 3rd..........Heading for Lanarkshire, ScotlandMonday, August 7th.......Heading for Toledo, OhioMonday, August 28th.....Heading for Autryville, NCMonday, September 11th...Heading for HomeYou can click on the places Norm is going to visit the blogs. Thanks for all the interest in his vacation! I am having fun seeing all the places he has been and things he has gotten into. Niles, Norm's cousin is starting on his on adventures and will be visiting Norm in September. Pam is getting his trip all mapped out and you can read about it on her blog

Good Day

The chicken lot is finished! My stepson came down and a neighbor came over so they got all the wire up and the door on. Ray and I caught the chickens and put them in the lot and they are sooo happy. Lady stands at her dog lot fence and watches them. If one of the other dogs barks and runs at the fence Lady heads them off. She has been right at the fence watching them for 2 hours now. She doesn't like it when they spread out as she wants them to stay close together. I made a small shelter for them to get out of the weather till William gets home to build them a chicken house. Now that the fence is done I can go get Miss Diva my goat and bring her home. Yes, its been a good day today but time for a nice hot shower and relaxing on the sofa. Norm has arrived at Wanda's and already stirring up excitement around her house. So for the next couple of weeks keep checking in on her blog to see what dear ole Norm is up to!

Presumed Guilty

Presumed Guilty by: James Scott Bell is published by Zondervan. Mr Bell is also author of "Breach of Promise" among other fiction and non fiction books.
If you like suspense, murder and excitement you will love this book. A story of a pastor making mistakes but ending up in prison for a murder he didn't commit. His wife not giving up to prove his innocence though things of her past are brought out. The strong faith that brings them and their grown children through all the dangers and rough times is what kept me from putting this book down. In the first few pages when it went from one person's activities and thoughts to another I was concerned I wouldn't get into the story. That only lasted for the first chapter and then I was so into the story I couldn't put the book down till I finished it. This is my first by this author but I am looking forward to reading his other books.


Mind and Media provide me with free books in exchange for my reviewing and posting about the books. Anyone interested in learning more about becoming a reviewer can go to the Active Christian Media site at: http://www.blogforbooks.com

Norm is on his way to Texas!

Norm had a great time at Judy's and she even took him on vacation to Louisiana. Now he is on his way to visit Wanda in Texas. So when you have time stop by and check out Wanda's blog, get to know her and see what she and Norm get into.