Tea Chat No.24 ~ Letting Go, Office Organizing, Fabric Banner, Natural Science Museum, Lemon Roasted Chicken, and Oratory Contest

In this week’s newsletter we have lots of fun things to chat about. What a busy week! How about you?  April is just a busy  time of the year what with upcoming graduations, vacation planning and finishing up the end of the school year.  Tax time can really ‘get our goats’ too if you know what I mean!  

Have you got your tea cup and tea ready? Any yummy snacks or recipes to share?  I know everyone is looking forward to seeing your lovely tea cups and saucers…or would adore to check out your latest recipe. 

Rebekah, my daughter, is house sitting and she invited me to tea on my way to a friend’s house to ‘sit in’ on their home school coop which I was considering for my son, Christian. (Yes, we ARE going to do this for next year! They use Tapestry curriculum for those interested.)  She hadn’t left for work yet and I needed to get her tax form to send off.  

  Flowers at Terri’s house

I had meticulously ‘talked’ Rebekah through her taxes over the phone yesterday, so she gave me a BIG hug and a kiss when I walked in. She, as a rule, does NOT do this sort of thing as she is decidedly undemonstrative. But she was VERY grateful. I was so tickled. :o) 

And the tea she made for me at my friend, Terri’s home, was lovely…and simple… fresh fruit, toasted french bread, and hot Irish Breakfast tea. It was perfect! I love how she artistically arranged the fruit. She likes those ‘little details’ that make tea special.  

Of course, I couldn’t resist taking photos of Terri’s lovely flowers to share with Tracie’s Cottage Flora Thursday. I especially loved the orchids in the kitchen.

 

 

Though the flowers in huge pots on the front porch were so bright and cheery  too!I’d love to see your tea things too. Feel free to link up right here.  :o) What are you drinking today?

Linking photo with Cindy's My Romantic Home Friday Show and Tell 

Learning to Let Go may mean… 

giving others the freedom to fail.

Some friends and I were chatting this week about how hard it can be to not worry about our loved ones (in this case elderly parents). Whether they are ill, going through hard times, making wrong choices, or just heading out on their own, our natural instincts are to try to control the situation and/or ‘fix’ the problem..or even the person! 

But one lesson I’ve learned over the last ten years, is that most of us need to learn   how to let go.  Most of the time, in situations like that, no change will take place without the catalyst of ‘failure’. Certainly this was true in my life as a young person on my own.   (Linking to Raising Homemakers' Wednesday Homemaking Link Up)

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My only regret with my older children is that I didn’t ‘let go’ sooner and let them make mistakes so they could learn  from them in the safety of our home and family.  And I wish I had interfered less in family conflicts and let those involved figure it out for themselves more. It would have been a lot quicker of a process..and resulted in less stress all around.

Have you got family members that you are worried about?  Why do we feel this need to fix everything?  Does worrying work? No, and neither does manipulation.  Whining, correcting, and cajoling a spouse, child, or friend..rarely result in positive change..just bitterness, distance, and sometimes stubborn defiance.

If we truly want to have peace in our hearts and joy our homes, we must choose to ‘let go’ and really put our faith in God into practice. Either we believe He answers prayer..or we don’t. Is God big enough to handle your problems or your family’s problems?  Perhaps He really does need our help..but I doubt it. He said to pray..and leave the rest to Him.  Are we obeying Him?

Many things really are between God and our teen or our spouse..or our friend. Why not let them work it out. Then, if they really want our advice, they’ll ask for it and appreciate it. If we really love those around us, we have to step back and give them the ‘freedom to fail’. Anything else is really  selfishness at the heart of it. 

I know my biggest fear was that ultimately the failure would  somehow reflect on me. I cared more about my own reputation as a mother or wife, than the good of my family member..who needed the freedom to be their own person. I just couldn’t bring myself to admit it at the time.  It’s hard not to worry when we love those around us so much, especially if they are our responsibility. I know!

I love this little poem..and it’s worth reading… one more time….

God grant me the Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

The Courage to change the things I can,

and the Wisdom to know the difference.

After years of both good things and bad happening in my life, I’ve discovered that nothing is ever so terrible that God’s grace can’t redeem it. And rarely do my loved ones ‘fail’ the way I feared. In fact often, they took risks…made decisions…lived with the results…and grew in the process. My goodness! Whatever was I afraid of?!  

I believe in my Heavenly Father’s love, strength, and power. He can take better care of those I love than I ever could! I am learning to have as much faith in others as I have in myself. How about you? Is it time to ‘let go’ of something or someone in your life and leave them to the Lord’s tender care?

 

  Organizing the Office—Baskets to the Rescue!

As I was getting ready for company this week, I found myself frustrated, yet again, with the fact that the office/sewing/school/craft room is ALWAYS a mess! We do so much in this one room…and I hate to admit that it seems we all leave our stuff out when we are done with our latest project.  This whole room is  a HOT SPOT (place that tends to collect clutter like a magnet)!  Sigh..

I finally admitted to myself, that I needed a better solution. While laying in bed one night, yet again, unable to sleep, (does anyone know how to turn a creative brain OFF?), I realized what the solution might be. 

In analyzing the problem, it seemed that we just had too many different types of activities going on. We needed a storage solution that made it easy to get the supplies for each activity and EASY TO PUT THE SUPPLIES AWAY. If it wasn’t easy, I knew my worktable desk would be piled with stuff in a heart beat! Part of our problem is that many of the supplies are stored in a laundry room that is very inconvenient to access.    

Labeled baskets turned out to be the perfect solution! I already had about six blue ones on hand and for a paltry $5.00 a piece at Wal-mart, I was able to buy six more.   I decided that my desk would be put to better use storing these baskets…in plain sight…than my dearly loved homemaking and art books. These items are used on a continual basis by five busy family members. And I wanted THEM not ME to put the stuff back instead of leaving it on ‘my’ desk. :o)

BTW, I'm linking this part of the post with Susan's Between Naps on the Porch Linky Party...Metamorphasis Monday! and Transformation Thursday at Shabby Chic Cottage.  Drop by and visit! You'll be amazed at all the great ideas. :o)

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Then I brainstormed about what all the different tasks were that seemed to ‘add to the pile’ in this room.  I now have baskets for pet care and food, minor home repairs, mending/sewing, returns, postage/shipping supplies, greeting cards, school supplies and teacher’s lesson plan book (daily used items), and then several for me for the desk work: Dad’s finances, our current bills/receipts, current paperwork, and filing.

  Now Christian, grabs his ‘basket’ and heads off to wherever he wants to do school and doesn’t have to hunt for the calculator, protractor, large eraser, and our lesson plans. It’s all in a basket and easy to manage. (School tends to be done wherever it’s convenient at the moment, rather than at a desk..and often at the kitchen table or the couch and the supplies were getting lost daily!)

I have a convenient place to put Netflix DVDs, purchases to return with accompanying receipts, and things to take back to friends. These items no longer sit on a pile on the corner of the sewing desk.   And since Rebekah and I both sew and I quilt and we often have to work on the dining room table, we can take our sewing basket. It has just the bare minimum—pins, needles, black and white thread, measuring tape, scissors and my little  quilting basket, plus screw driver, seam ripper, and bodkin threader. These are the things we use the most when we sew.  

The pet basket has monthly flea meds, gravel, birdseed, toenail clippers, bird vitamins, and the heartworm medicine along with hairball cure. We also have a special rubber brush for removing loose hair on the cats.

When Tim or the kids want stamps, envelopes long or short, return address labels, tape, glue, or packing tape--they know where to look. And all of those various cords and cables and chargers have a safe place to live—in the computer basket!  No unidentified cords are allowed! :o)  I’m so tired of having to buy a new cord or memory stick because the old one was lost.   

Dear Hubby was ecstatic when he saw my new system. And it’s working like a charm! For the first time in forever…my desk is staying clear and the mess is out of sight, but conveniently organized.  This system is eliminating a lot of interruptions for me since everyone is able to find what they need so easily! Ahh…. now I can have some peace of mind…and won’t be so frustrated with everyone’s dropsy habit. :o)

Is it Really Cheaper to  Do It Yourself? Sometimes the answer is…NO!  I’m so ‘in love’ with my accountant!!! No..not literally of course. LoL!  But how grateful I am to his ‘rescue’ via the telephone yesterday.  I discovered, rather belatedly, that getting a tax extension for an individual is one thing, and for an estate—it’s quite another. But to him, it was no biggy. He didn’t even charge me for it! In ten minutes, he had the necessary info and had filed my extension. I had spent hours that day just hunting for the forms! They didn’t pop up easily on Google Search, I can tell you!

I discovered Randy Cook last year while settling my father’s estate after Dad passed away. As some of you may recall, I camped out in Dallas for almost a month! Mr. Cook was dad’s accountant and was happy to help me get started on the estate settlement.

The two men who helped me most were my father’s accountant and his lawyer. They both helped me get through the morass of legal confusion and helped me get things handled as inexpensively and quickly as possible.  While working through so many issues like selling the house, repairing the foundation, treating the termites, having the floor and carpet replaced etc. I discovered a very important idea—professionals are worth EVERY PENNY!

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People like Maria Killam of Color Me Happy, have spent years in their chosen field. They save us money because they KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.  They have made all the mistakes for us and have gotten training and expertise in the area we need help, and they are far more current on all the resources at our disposal than we are. Plus they have tools of the trade that we can’t afford. It makes the job easier , cheaper and quicker.

Last January, professionals of every kind came in and did so much work to get my father’s issues settled, the house repaired and sold, and even medical issues handled in as little time as possible and did their work ten times better than I ever could have.  And their charges were always surprisingly reasonable. The only people who tend not to fall in this category, in my opinion, are auto repair guys. You really have to hunt to find ones you can trust.

For a do-it-yourself like me, this is a huge turnabout of position. But hey, I’m frugal. Sometimes  the cheapest option..is to hire a professional!  Randy Cook, in Grand Prairie, saved us ALL of the taxes we owed and charged us a pittance.  The year before, we spent $1600 paying the govt. for things we shouldn’t have. But we didn’t know what we were doing when our taxes got complicated nor did we know all the current tax breaks available to us.

From now on, I’m leaving more things to the professionals!  If you, like us, find yourself paying taxes for the first time or your finances are getting more complicated, you might want to consider a professional too!

Making a Fabric Banner

I’ve been working on a  banner for my pastor friend, Lee, in Bentwater, and it’s coming along beautifully! I’ll be delivering it on Tuesday.  The shopping was the hardest part. I thought I’d never find the quality of fabric and the colors I needed! After two days of shopping, I found some good places—again—professionals. :o)

This week, I purchased the trims, tassel, and cord plus a curtain rod so I could finish up.

Using the zig-zag stitch, I sewed the top part of the fabric to the bottom then cut off the excess on the back

 Linking to Melissa's My Crafty Weekend

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I loved the effect of gluing the sparkly trim to the gold letters. It really made them stand out.I applied the letters and logo (which I blew up with an overheadprojector) with stitch witchery and outlined them with a cordless gluegun (Thank you Sis for the great gift!) and embroidered trim.

Can you believe it? In spite of meticulous measuring, I still cut off the extra fabric I had planned to have wrap around the back on the bottom half and had to sew both ends back on. Sigh…6’ 2” is not 62 inches…it’s 74! Duh… 

Anyway, I sewed the side seam allowances to the sides of the back drapery panel first, then I sewed the top and bottom seam allowances leaving enough space at the bottom to turn the whole thing inside out.

 

All that’s left to do is turn down 6 inches of the top and stitch to make a sleeve, and fold up 6 inches from the bottom to make the hem.  I’ll glue the fringe and the border on afterwards. If you are trying to make a fabric banner and have any questions, feel free to email me. I’d be glad to advise you. :o) I’ve made a LOT of banners.

A Visit to the Houston Museum of Natural Science

Our kids, Jacob, Rebekah, and Christian (18,20, and 16)

We made a really special trip this week to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We haven’t been there since the three kids, who are still at home, were very young. It occurred to Dear Hubby that we ought to take them while they were old enough to appreciate it and still home to make it a family occasion.  Jacob will be leaving for boot camp soon and we wanted to make this last family trip together.

We’ve been going since my youngest was about 4 and he’s now 16. It’s been seven years!  We went weekly for some science classes at one time. Everyone wanted to go to their favorite spot.  I got some great photos of the precious stones and historic jewelry as well as photos of the other displays.

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For Tim, that is the ‘geophysics’ or oil and gas display, of course. :O) This museum is mostly funded by the Oil and Gas community of Houston, Tx.  He loves all things that have to do with geology and getting oil out of the ground or showing how seismic data is procured or processed.

 

Christian loves the space station stuff. He wants to do one of the challenger missions that the museum hosts each year.

All of the kids enjoyed the interactive displays…especially Jacob who has something funny to say about everything he sees. He’s an amateur comedian. :o)

                       

Rebekah and I both love the jewels, gems, and jewelry!  Really, this display is a favorite of the whole family! 

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Tim and I went together one more time at the end of the day just to get another look at the gorgeous stones and precious gems found all over the world!

My personal favorite is the ocean display.  The  shells are just fascinating to me!  I think they are one of the most beautiful things God ever created!  What’s your favorite family outing?

Lemon Roasted Chicken 

My friend Laurie, whose chocolate chip cookie I shared last week, brought the yummiest crockpot chicken to church this Sunday. I didn’t know who had made it but the flavor was so intense and yummy!

She said she just douses it with Tex -Mex Steak flavoring  from Krogers and lemon slices and that’s it!  We tried it out this week, and it really was perfect. Roast chicken really does need a bit of 'zing’ if you ask me. You might want to try that the next time you cook your chicken in the crockpot.   I added instant rice at the end (for about the last 30 minutes) and the tang even added some zest to the rice.   BTW, I used lime slices because I didn’t have lemon. :o)

I’m sorry I don’t have your recipes tested yet. Hubby’s boss arrived for a week long stay, so I don’t have much time. Add the banner and taxes to that and you are talking about a busy week. But I’m sure I’ll get them tested soon.  But I did add my menu plan of 'Company Dinners' right here. I thought it might give you some good ideas too. :o)

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  Tim’s boss is here too so we won’t be doing much crockpot cooking. He loves meat..and potatoes…and not much else. He’s okay with salad but doesn’t like dressing. Pasta is usually eaten only buttered. It’s always a challenge to cook something he will really enjoy. He does like desserts though. :o0 So I thought you might like the  menu plan that I’m cooking this week. I would say each of these are what I call ‘company dinners’.

 THIS WEEK's MENU PLAN

Sunday – Grilled Ribeye Steaks, Steamed Red Potatoes, Tossed Salad, and Garlic Toast

Monday – Grilled Italian Sausage, Fettucini Alfredo, Steamed Broccoli, and French bread

Tuesday – Oven Baked Chuck Roast, Whipped Potatoes, Roasted Greenbeans, and Rolls

Wednesday- Grilled Chicken, Baked Potatoes with the Works, Salad, and Scones with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

He leaves on Thursday, so I’m not planning out the dinners for the rest of the week. We have plenty of food on hand.  We’ll probably have a slow-cooked casserole and tacos or something.  What do you consider to be your favorite ‘company dinner’?

Winners: Jacob P, Christine H., and my Jacob R.

State Level Right to Life Oratory Contest

Saturday, we took Jacob to the Right to Life Oratory Contest for the state level competition. He made third place and we really thought he did very well. He was glad he didn’t win first as he couldn’t have gone to the National competition.   It was a good experience for him and we are very proud. That’s it for this season of life. No more speech and debate competitions for Jacob. But he certainly went out with a ‘bang’. :o) 

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It’s so good to hear young people express themselves so articulately about causes they believe in. I thought you’d enjoy seeing these photos of Saturday’s competition (which was against one private school, one public school, and three homeschooled children all of whom won first at the county level before coming to the state competition. Jacob was already good friends with the first and second place winners, Christine from Austin, and Jacob P. from Houston.   What a special event!

Jacob’s ‘politician’ pose…LoL!

Well, that’s all for this week. I’m sorry this is so late, but with so much going on, I didn’t get to do my ‘own’ thing and had to work blogging around the sewing, cleaning, and driving.  Besides cooking, and sending out graduation announcements, our only other big event will be the Passover Seder meal at my friend, Lee’s church on Thursday night and Easter this weekend.  Gee..I better start on that post right away! LoL!  (Just kidding!)

See you next week..and have a lovely day!

Linking with

Tracie’s Cottage Flora Thursday

Cindy’s Friday Show and Tell at My Romantic Home

Melissa’s My Crafty Weekend

Raising Homemakers’ Wednesday Link Up
 Deb's Fantastic Friday

And for Tea... 

Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday

The Plumed Pen's  Tea for Two

Rose Chintz Tea Time Tuesday

Martha's Favorite Teacup Tuesday
Wanda Lee's Teapot And Tea Things Tuesday
Pam's Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

A Delightsome Life: A Return to Loveliness