tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-275410222026-01-01T13:45:11.775-06:00My search for the simple life - simplifying my life, my finances, my home, my work...Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-54637013646445835472014-05-20T21:51:00.001-05:002014-05-20T21:51:37.617-05:00

Who died and left you boss? George Engel                                                           &

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-60426878276059381282014-05-03T23:10:00.001-05:002014-05-03T23:21:28.707-05:00

I spent the last week and a half painting these signs in the hopes of making some extra money at Kicks on 66.  I had so much fun painting them, and found out that I really did get my mom's creative gene. My mom has a lot right off of the old Route 66, so I decided I could save money, and set up my "booth" on my mom's lot.  What the heck - it's down the street from where the

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-5329095220225875532014-04-27T22:44:00.001-05:002014-05-03T23:22:26.768-05:00

Friends will come and go, but family is forever.  George Engel aka "Dad" "Unk"   Dedicated to Aunt Judy who likes my blog and the rest of my family   Family is made up of a composite of individuals, all connected by a common link - being together either by birth or marriage.  The Google definition is "all the descendants of a common ancestor".&nbsp

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-59695257507451423912014-01-30T22:05:00.000-06:002014-05-03T23:23:37.165-05:00

Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better. Albert Camus   In many ways, I feel chained by my problems. I will be released from these burdens this year - whether positively or negatively yet to be determined.  Either way, the weight will be gone.   The weight of things out of my control causing a snowball effect until the snowball was as big as a giant mountain

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-82377612529857161482013-09-16T22:45:00.001-05:002013-09-16T22:46:15.813-05:00

I can be myself here in this small town And people let me be just what I want to be John Mellencamp I wasn't born here, didn't go to grade school here, but this is my hometown.  It's a small town. A couple of years back, you used to know everyone in town.  Never could get away with anything without your parents finding out because of the eyes and ears all over town.  Yes,

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-37183013018388237122013-09-15T22:13:00.001-05:002013-09-16T21:35:09.254-05:00

If there's a road I should walk,  Help me find it. Sidewalk Prophets There are times in our lives that don't make sense.  That no matter what we do, nothing seems to turn out the way we want them to - the way we think is the best way.  We thought we had it under control, we were doing what was right, we were being giving and patient, and it all blows up in our face.

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-31157749246035799832013-09-02T09:29:00.000-05:002013-09-02T09:29:22.860-05:00

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.  Love them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Be good anyway. Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable. Be honest

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-29014121296852865482013-08-18T12:15:00.001-05:002024-06-23T18:09:51.330-05:00

Recalling the pleasures of growing and gathering foods and preparing them with care, of relishing the changing seasons ... was her way of preserving an important part of American life and sharing its rewards with others. Judith Jones We have been searching for a good dill pickle for years. Finally, last year, I stumbled on one, but they were too salty. So, we

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-23507009494094955742013-08-10T23:11:00.001-05:002013-08-10T23:11:40.952-05:00

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-10373493999791626202013-07-24T20:56:00.000-05:002013-07-30T21:45:56.507-05:00

Canning tomatoes are like summer saved all that deep sun kissed flavor ready to enjoy. Better Homes and Gardens Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.  Everywhere I turn, tomatoes.  They are ripening on the vine as I type, beckoning me to go harvest, prepare, and savor their taste.  And, thus, I can, capturing the moment in a little canning jar. Canning (Canning tomatoes, revisited

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-39356298999533429972013-07-22T22:18:00.003-05:002013-07-22T22:38:59.268-05:00

Tonight, while watching TV, Uncle Todd asked me where I got these cookies.  Cookies?  I looked over and saw our four-legged girls, Maggie and Abbie, sitting next to him with their tails going 240. Uncle Todd was happily munching away at a cookie, paper bag on his lap, muttering “These are good.”  I started to hysterically laugh, tears running down my face, and I told him. I had

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-39676673129914360252013-05-22T22:18:00.000-05:002013-05-22T22:18:25.878-05:00

Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles It empties today of its strength. Mary Engelbreit For several years, I have been endlessly trying to live by the Bible quote - "Be still and know that I am God".  Endlessly because it is something I need to do everyday.  Trying because I have to consciously work at it to prevent myself from going into a deep spiral of

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-92093865611919299092013-05-11T09:22:00.000-05:002013-05-11T09:28:04.424-05:00

The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts but learning how to make facts live. Oliver Wendell Holmes A college education is a gift that you give yourself.  Nothing can take away the knowledge that you worked so hard to gain.  It becomes a part of you and shapes you into the person you will become.  You alone can earn it - it is your accomplishment!

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-47066009867956385162013-01-01T09:41:00.002-06:002013-01-01T09:48:40.425-06:00

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” C.S. Lewis Goodbye 2012 - Hello 2013!  It's faith and hope that fortify my days - the strength to tackle life's many challenges, for challenges strengthen us.  Without challenges, there are no rewards. May you be challenged and rewarded inexhaustibly in 2013! My Challenges for 2013 Post to blog.  (I'm

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-24006440681766391512011-12-05T21:45:00.002-06:002011-12-05T21:51:12.018-06:00

Saint Nicholas Poem Holy Bishop St. Nicholas lived farawayNear the Aegean Sea is where Turkey did lay.Travel back with us now to a time long ago.We will visit his country, his life we will know. We remember this saint, such a holy, good man.Be like him in charity, do all that you can.Many miracles Nicholas hastened to do,Helping people in need with gifts that were new. Bishop Nicholas traveled

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-53426578874517850262011-11-22T20:51:00.000-06:002011-11-22T20:51:58.315-06:00

There, too, I admired, though I did not gather, the cranberries, small waxen gems, pendants of the meadow grass, pearly and red, which the farmer plucks with an ugly rake, leaving the smooth meadow in a snarl, heedlessly measuring them by the bushel and the dollar only, and sells the spoils of the meads to Boston and New York; destined to be jammed, to satisfy the tastes of lovers of Nature

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-27521548286764283462011-07-31T01:20:00.005-05:002011-07-31T01:51:39.561-05:00

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain We all have sorrow But if we are wise We know that there's always tomorrow Lean on me, when you're not strong And I'll be your friend I'll help you carry on For it won't be long 'Til I'm gonna need Somebody to lean on Please swallow your pride If I have things you need to borrow For no one can fill those of your needs That you don't let show Lean on me,

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-60763203659596182132011-07-06T10:42:00.000-05:002011-07-06T10:42:30.098-05:00

I received this in an email, and the parable is so worth sharing!  But have you ever seen a baby porcupine?!  I would pass it along just for this! Fable of the porcupine It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-91204738565956468492011-07-05T22:42:00.001-05:002011-07-05T22:46:04.563-05:00

Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances thick in the air and a blanket of color before me, who could ask for more?Bev Adams, Mountain Gardening Not me.  I love getting dirt under my nails, sipping a tall cold glass of iced tea, walking past lemon balm, mint, or lavender and getting a whiff of their abundant fragrance.  I love summer! I have never found a pair of gloves that work

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-39180065463219318252011-06-22T20:44:00.002-05:002011-06-22T20:47:43.760-05:00

Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward.Terri Guillemets My strawberry season is coming to an end.  We have made strawberry jam and strawberry ice.  The season is ending too soon, and there is definitely not enough strawberry ice.  I have become addicted to this delicious, easy-to-make delicacy.  I call it a

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-8731299759411783682011-06-10T22:45:00.001-05:002011-06-10T22:46:45.540-05:00

If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it's because they take better care of it.Cecil Selig If only.  If only I had more money, if only my husband was more attentive, if only my life went according to plan, then my life would be wonderful.  Really?  I don't think so. God gave you life choices, and you can go wherever you want.  It's called

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-82014886296410890782011-05-24T23:12:00.001-05:002011-05-26T13:17:18.505-05:00

Be kind to your parents Though they don't deserve it.  Remember that grown ups Is a difficult stage of life They're apt to be nervous And over excited Confused by their daily storm and strife.  So keep in mind though it seems hard I know.  Parents were children long ago. Incredible!!  So treat them with patience and kind understanding.  Despite of all the foolish things

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-71886647515805123242011-05-06T00:44:00.000-05:002011-05-06T00:44:38.923-05:00

Always listen to your elder's advice,not because they are always right, but because they have more experience at being wrong.Author Unknown We learn from our experiences.  We also learn from the experience of others.  When we see our young making a wrong move, we try to reach out and give advice.  Sometimes it is taken.  Other times we are told to let them make their own

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-62042108641879225572011-04-30T00:35:00.002-05:002011-04-30T00:43:08.262-05:00

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; Living one day at a time; Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it: Trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will; that I may be reasonably happy in

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27541022.post-36684855230460385312011-01-05T22:03:00.000-06:002011-01-05T22:03:54.476-06:00

For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice And to make an end is to make a beginning.~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding" Without thinking, I searched for a quote for today.  I didn't realize that I picked the same quote from my previous post until after I began working on this post.  Coincidence or is there something that draws me to explore

Aunt Janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01315517910773412595noreply@blogger.com0