The Power Of Suggestion ...and so much more!!

First I need to again WELCOME all the newcomers to my blog that may have found their way here from the March issue of Country Sampler. I have enjoyed dozens and dozens of comments, messages and emails about our spread in the issue and THANK -YOU to everyone for your kind words and compliments. It is so exciting and fun and humbling to have so much attention. Many have asked about seeing the rest of our home because only 3 rooms were shown in the spread. I have included a link to a slide show of our most recent photos HERE and a link to other seasonal albums HERE. Right click on them and open in a new window if you want to come back here after. Thanks so much!!

I have to say this is a big lesson in patience for me as I STILL have not seen the magazine. Can you believe that?? People all over the country have either gotten their copy in the mail or found it in their stores and they are contacting me but I still don't I do not know what the article says. It is frustrating that I didn't get my copies at the same time as (or before) people all over the country. With no mail on Monday, Tuesday is the earliest I will see it and see what everyone is talking about. DH even drove me around yesterday so we could see if it was put out early in any of the local stores to no avail. Yes, I am having a hard time being patient I will admit it, but all your kindness has gone a long way in helping that so THANK YOU!

(Edited Monday 2:15 PM - After well over a hundred comments, emails and messages, I couldn't stand it and went to Barnes and Noble today to read the magazine article so I have finally seen it. I only had a few minutes to read as as DH had to keep circling in the car. There was no place to park as the store shares parking with the theaters which were packed on the holiday. I didn't buy it because #1 I subscribe and #2. I am supposed to get 6 complimentary copies. I am withholding comments until it is in my hands though and I ca n re read it and digest it! )

I am really enjoying hearing from so many gals from all over. Please feel free to leave me a message here! One gal I heard from was Earlene from Michigan. Her primitive bungalow is also in the same issue. My sweet friend Linda from Primp Your Pad at Gathered Treasures is a good friend of Earlene's and has showcased her home several times. Go on over to Linda's when you are done here and check out the link to her albums for more fun!

Isn't my new header great and aren't my new snowballs just perfect for this time of year? My dear friend Kathy from Home on the Hill fame, made them and gave them to me in a swap. Some of you have had the pleasure of seeing her home in the most recent Mercantile Gatherings magazine Christmas issue. Kathy has a hard time finding some of the nice colonial inspired linens in her area of New Brunswick so I helped her with that and so sweetly offered me these. How could I resist! From the moment I knew they were in the mail, I envisioned them in my trencher with some pine and pine cones and my child's mittens.

Have you ever seen a commercial for food on TV and thought – I JUST HAVE TO HAVE SOME and then gone scrounging in the kitchen to see what you had that would satisfy that craving you now have? Don’t you deny it - of course you have – that is why commercials are so successful – the power of suggestion! Well these days the Internet is having the same affect on people and buddies and bloggers are a big part of it! Now don’t worry, I am not going to quote some study because this is all based purely on my own personal experience, and that’s good enough for me! You see on yesterday, my sweet friend Karen, PrimKarlee from Webshots and Simply Soy Candles (the best candles I have ever used!!) on Etsy, made a pot of Taco soup on and we chatted about it. I even copied down the recipe. And then Farm Chick over at Fresh From the Farm posted her recipe for Chicken Enchilada Soup today, and from there on out, there was nothing I could do but make some soup with a Mexican flair. I went to the freezer looking for some chicken when I saw the container with about a pound of already seasoned taco meat. That clinched the deal right there. I got out my Nesco cooker, dumped that in, added some canned diced tomatoes, a can of corn, a can of kidney beans, some beef base and water, some diced green peppers, some rice, garlic powder, cumin, and started it cooking away. The smell was just wonderful on this cold snowy day. Just before serving it for a late lunch, I thickened it with a paste of corn flour (masa harina) and water. The corn flour not only thickens it but gives it the great corn flavor as well. It was so thick and hearty, it did not need anything but a light sprinkle of grated cheese and it was good to go. (though corn chips would have been great but we were all out). It certainly satisfied my craving and then some.

Today we awoke to a winter wonderland outside My Red Door. The snow started sometime after midnight and by early morning there were several inches of freshly fallen, pristine white snow coating everything in sight. It was a light snow - the kind that just blows away easily. Not good for snowmen at all. It was so light that DH used the leaf blower to clean off the deck outside the kitchen door! He tried that once in an earlier storm and liked the ease of it. These pictures I took of our back yard and the side yard outside my office and looking down the street. You can not even see the house down the street. It has made for a very quiet and peaceful day as the snow deadened the noise of cars coming and going. As soon as the plows cleared it away, the street was covered again. DH and I were glad we had no plans other than to clear the snow, enjoy that pot of soup, football and a nap for him this afternoon and blogging and

Internet fun for me.



I also want to say a big THANK YOU to Teresa over at Diddle Daddle Design for the great gift I won when she picked my suggestions for using old canning jars. I got a jar of eye makeup remover, 3 handmade pads to use with it and she even thoughtfully included a suction hook to hang them on. The little pads get washed with the regular laundry and I have one hanging on a hook the shower right now. What a wonderful gift - thanks Teresa!!

I am off to surf the net, browse some Webshot albums, check out my favorite blogs and (now that the chores are done) enjoy a lazy Sunday at home. I hope your Sunday is full of good food, time with ones you love and some moments doing your favorite things.

Until next time - hugs, Linda