New Stove, grand niece and peak at Christmas

Well I haven't posted any new picture, but I had to share the picture of my great niece Kodi Grace. This was the first time I got to see her and at first she didn't want anything to do with me, but an hour later, and she became my shadow. I like to think that children know a good heart when they see one---not bragging-lol. I had so much fun with her that I forgot about my pains.

 I have begun to decorate a little at a time and this is the furthest I have gotten with my gingerbreads. These are new, so I went ahead and put them on the shelf above my sink.


The stove is ready for installation and I love some of the new features. I like white, so I got what I wanted. My friends kept telling me to get a stainless steel one, but it wouldn't look good with my white frig and can't afford to buy a new one, since it's only 5 years old. I love the microwave, as a turkey can fit in it and the stove has 5 burners and I love the middle simmer burner for when I cook soups, gumbo, or red beans, etc. My brother(whom is speaking to me now---tears of joy) is going to install it on Sunday after church.
I have so much to do and somedays I don't know where to start, so since my house is clean now, I am going to start pulling out all the decorations for Christmas. I want time to bake cookies and make candy for my children, so I will have it decorated before they come. One loves it, the other hates the clutter as she puts it, but it's my house and I will put up what I feel like putting up. Our little cottage is not that small, but the rooms are small and that's okay. I only need one more big room and that is my craft room, which should be started after income tax time. Our house is about 80 years old and it is solid wood, so no sheetrock any where. I can hang very heavy items on the wall and never worry about things falling down.
Well going to visit some blogs then try to get trick or treat bags finished. Have a great weekend. Love, hugs, and prayers. Pat

New stove arrived

Finally after 3 weeks, our stove was delivered at 8:15 pm. What kind of company comes at that time of night. Won't mention the Big retail store, but we had to call because they weren't going to be there until 9 and I was ready to come back to the country. I stayed all day waiting for nothing when I could have been here working on some things. I do like it, with the middle simmer burner and the warming tray at the bottom, totally self cleaning, which I like. I had continous cleaning and it was not good. I told Al he will need to put foil down when he bakes pizza or anything that drips. So the stove and microwave/vent is all together, then he found a leak in one of the water pipes, so he has been busy digging the pipe line to fix it.

The wallpaper will be a huge issue for me, because I will have to live with it for at least 10 years. I thought about painting the walls a pale pink and the wainscoating white. If anyone can picture this and think it's a good idea, please let me know. Other wise I have some serious hunting to do.

We are busy at my parents house trying to get it ready to rent and if Iam not ready to move back with Al when it's done, I will move into the small house next door. I still wish we could buy the house because it's perfect for me and for my craft room. But Al thinks there is too much to be done in order to get it up to date. At least mine is a small but cozy cottage and we are busy working on re-doing some rooms in the house.The kitchen will be first, then my living room and dining room because I want the dining room to reflect the decor in the kitchen.
Hope all are well and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. We are in a drought and need rain soon. We got a sprinkle, so we are still under a no fire rule and if you are caught, they will fine you. We are also still waiting on the building permit and Al started the storage room until I told him, he had to get a permit because the fine would be more than it's worth. Have a great day and I hope to have some new pictures to show soon. Love,hugs, and prayers, Pat

Rebecca's Giveaway

Rebecca at  http://rebecca-gatheryeroses.blogspot.com/ A Gathering place is having a beautiful giveaway of Pink Santa Cards and tags, so please go by and visit her beautiful blog. These are too lovely to pass up. I just pray I am the lucky winner of these.

I have been busy visiting with my sisters who came to help clean up the yard at my dad's house and I am so thankful that they can do it for me. I don't have the strenght or the know how to ride a lawnmower. I can do painting a little at a time, so I am going to finish our dad's room. Everyone is napping right now and I could use one myself.

The stove still isn't in and the gas line here at my dads broke so they are working on getting that done, so I can shower this winter without heating water the old fashioned way or going to Crowley every day to shower.

I found some wallpaper on ebay and the lady posted the wrong amount and I was very upset because I finally found something I could live with, so the hunt is on again and I may just go with the white and pink large stripe. WE may also drive to New Orleans where I know a shop that sells vintage wallpaper and I really want to check there first.

So if you don't see me here very often, you know I am working on my kitchen. I am doing well except for the pain I continue to live with and can't do a thing about it except to accept that fact for the rest of my life. Surgery is out of the question for now and not sure if I will ever let them cut on my back. I guess if the pain gets worse, I will have no choice or if I get fed up with the narcotics I have to take to endure the pain.

Well I think I will go and take a cat nap. Have a wonderful weekend. Love, hugs, and prayers, Pat

Finally got our insurance check

Hello everyone in blogland. Sorry I havn't been here, but there is a lot going on since the fire. We are going today to buy the stove and vent and look at wallpaper. The painting and wallpaper will have to wait until after Christmas, because I don't want my kitchen a mess when my children come in for Christmas.

My son, Donnie, is off to go to Berlin again on the 28th. He loved it so much and didn't get to tour as much as he wanted, so he decided to go back for 4 days. Lucky him.

I've been busy working on items for a bingo benefit again and this time it is for one of my cousins who died from cancer. He was in his 30s and they didn't have children. One of my other cousins is in the same position. His wife can't have children, but loves all the nieces and nephews. I pray for a miracle and just have to wait and see if it happens.

Well nothing else going on in my boring life right now except trying to get my kitchen back in working order---which means I will have to cook again. Oh well, I love making gumbo and soup to store in the freezer, so that will probably be the first thing I cook, except for my beef cheese casserole.  Hope you have a great weekend. Sorry no pictures again. I need to get busy with Christmas cards and if those who visit me frequently would send me your addresses, I would appreciate it. My email is patnal10@bellsouth.net. that is what I use for business only and the other that most of you have is my private email with no spam. Love and hugs, Pat

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This month is breast cancer Awareness Month and I hope that all of you get your yearly mammogram. Many lives have been saved by self exam and mammorgrams. Our own Amy from Foursistersinacottage and Sweet Deena from Can I be Pretty in Pink have shown us all what it is like and I pray that none of us have to go through the pain and agony that this monster can do to our bodies. I have mine done the same year in February, because it is the month of my 2 older children and hubbys birthdays and that is my way of showing them I care. I do daily self breast exams because I have hormonal cysts and have 3 aunts who battled and won breast cancer, so I am very concerned about everyone doing this. The brave women who fought and some lost should always be remembered because research continues and some day this evil monster will be conquered and destroyed.

I urge you all to go out and purchase on pink breast cancer item so that more money goes into research. It can be something as small as clips for your chips. I have many items that I have purchase and will go well in my new kitchen.

I am suffering now with bouts of dementia and they are running blood work and I will have a brain scan done in December, so if I repeat myself or forget something, please forgive me. That was the reason I caught my kitchen on fire, I totally forgot about the grease heating. I am now taking a special vitamin for memory loss and have to do daily mind exercises to prevent this from happening again. Please keep all the breast cancer warriors in your prayers and I could use a little prayer myself right now. I hope you have a beautiful weekend, like we are having. Makes me want to fall into a pile of leaves, but I am scared of spiders-lol. Love, hugs, and prayers.

This is what I did from being forgetful

I know this doesn't look like much damage, but it's the black soot that was in 4 rooms that was the worse and it's hard to take pictures of that. As you can see we had to take the door down from above the cabinet because it was burned really bad, but we have to take the entire cabinet down and build a new one.

It could have been worse had I gone to take a nap, but thank God the phone rang and it wasn't worse. The cleaning crew is almost done and the stove is gone out of the house and now we have to start repairs before we bring in a new stove and hood vent. I am hoping to find a microwave with a vent that way it will take up less space and the insurance gave us $179 towards a new vent, so if we have to, we will pay the difference. New wallpaper will be put up after the first of the year. I don't need the mess with my children coming in 2 months, but we will tear out and clean up the burned area. Al is going to wipe down the molding at the top and then we can put the new stove in. Going to stick with white with a white door instead if I can find one.
My doctor is concerned that I am forgetting important things. I even went for one of my appointments a month early. They did a memory test, but in December, he wants to run a brain CT or MRI, just to rule out anything serious. I guess it's just old age setting in, but my grandfather had Alzeihmers and so does my aunt, so better safe. I was always good at remembering people and now I am not so good anymore. Well I am going relax today---got my flu shot and I am very tired and besides I don't want to be in the cleaning crews way. Have a great day---it is so beautiful today and I wish it could last but the cold is setting in already with nights in the high 40s. Love and hugs, Pat

Still cleaning

I tried to download the picture of my kitchen, but hubby's camera has weak batteries and it wouldn't come on, so will have to wait. The crew is still cleaning soot and I didn't realize how fast spreading the soot could be and how far it went from my kitchen.
Good news from the adjuster. We have $4,800 worth of damage and that does not count the cleaning crew and the carpet guy who will be coming and my trip to the hospital. I did go play bingo and won about $400, so that is going to buy me a new microwave to match my stove. Mine is black and it's old, so a new one will be good. They are replacing my wallpaper and ceiling tiles, so we have a lot of work in store, removing the burned wall paper and stripping the rest of the room. I am going to look for a soft white with pink roses that is not busy and the rest of the kitchen will be painted white. I am starting to collect pink things for my kitchen and my first purchase was a cupcake cookie jar. I want to find other pink small appliances if I can, but that all has to come after the new stove. I thought about stainless steel, but changed my mind because I like white.
My craft room was filled with black soot also, but they cleaned every little thing in the room---wish they knew how to organize---that would have been perfect.
I go today to find out if my kidneys are back functioning properly and I pray for good news. I think I am hydrated again, so that is good, but I am so sick of water and the only other thing I can drink is sugar free drinks and they leave a nasty taste in my mouth. I love orange juice, but the doctor took me off because of the diabetes. So far I am keeping my sugar at a normal range, but I had to give up lots of sweets and I love chocolate, so it was a disappointment to tell me to cut back and only have a piece a day.
Hope to have the picture of my kitchen up tomorrow and I am so thankful to God for helping me out on this one. I didn't panic, so that was a good thing, since I had to feel for the extenguisher in the dark. When the vent shorted out, it knocked all the lights out, which was a good thing.
Well I am going in my bedroom(no soot in there) and just relax until my friend gets here to take me to the doctor and do some shopping for a stove. Love and hugs and I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful fall weather we are having. The temp was 48 this morning and only getting into the 60s for today. Love that kind of weather. Pat