What Do People Take When They Leave Your Home?

It is another nice fall day here in beautiful East Tn, and I am so glad you came to visit. Have a cookie and a cup of Pumpkin Spice coffee, and lets visit. Have you ever wondered what people take when they leave your home? It is a thought that occurred to me this week. Now I am not referring to thieves. We all know what they took from my house on November the 4th, 2011. All of my jewelry for those of you who weren't reading my blog then. Every piece of my Grandmothers, Mothers and mine. I however, have forgiven them, and pray that they have gotten their lives straightened out. It may have just been one person, I don't know. Any way, I digress. I am talking about how people feel when they leave your home after an INVITED visit. Or how do you feel when you leave someone else's home. There are so many homes I love to visit, but today I am going to talk about a few. I will start with my friend Carol's home. I am always so happy and contented when I leave there. It starts when I walk up to this door.

This is a Christmas picture because I LOVE this house at Christmas. You walk in this door and you are so welcomed to be there. The coffee is always on and there is always homemade cookies. Carol bakes cookies because she loves how the house smells when they are baking. This house is a comforting house. I have been comforted there, I know. When I leave this house, I take a feeling of peace and contentment. What more could you ask for?
This house is Amanda's as you enter the back door. Yes, my granddaughter has a back door house too. Come to think of it, so does Beth! LOL (They neither one have ever thought of this.)

When you come in, you see right into the diningroom. She always has the bar on the right decorated for the seasons. When I am here, I am happy. Those two little ones light up my life and I love being with them. When I leave here I take a heart full of joy and wear a huge smile on my face.
I don't have a picture of Beths house, but when I leave there I am always sad. Sad bcause I won't see them for a while. But while I am there I am so happy, because they are so hospitable. Lots of laughing and good times in that house.Good food and games played. I take beautiful memories when I leave there. Now with Amelia, it is even better!
Another house I like to visit is DayBreakPlace, over in West Va. It is isolated, yet they have neighbors.

When you walk into the door you feel blessed to be there. You are back in a slower pace of life. I left there feeling renewed and  at peace with myself and everyone else.
I wonder what people take when they leave my house? Do you wonder what people take when they leave yours?
I am so glad you came Through my Back Door where life is good. I hope you took a feeling of love, contentment, joy, and that you want to come back soon.
betty
PS: I have many many more homes I love to visit, and I will talk about them another time.
PSS: I want to share something with you, that I have not shared before. When all my jewelry was stolen, I had no rings left. I had taken my wedding band off because of a sore under it(it was a very wide band) and it wouldn't go back on. I had MEANT to take it and have it stretched, but hadn't. A good friend at church, Anna Ruth, heard about my loss. She came to me and said," I have a diamond I don't wear anymore. I would love for you to take it and wear it. If something happens to you, I would like for Deb to give it to one of my granddaughters." Not one other person did this. I was so touched by this act of kindness and friendship. I hope she doesn't mind me telling this, but it came to me when I was talking about the burglary. Is that not the sweetest thing? I didn't take it. I have laughed and said, Deb has single handedly tried to replace it all. lol Beth got me another emerald  to replace the one which was taken and the last gift Curtis had bought me.
PSSS:Please continue to pray for those who are needing our prayers.My friend Pam is traveling Thursday to Tampa for a procedure.

Don't You Just Love Fall

Good afternoon and come on in. We have some Door County Pumpkin Spice coffee and some apple cinnamon muffins if you'd like one. I love drinking coffee on a fall afternoon. Oh heck, I love drinking coffee any time. I am missing my Kona, decaf. Have got to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get some. I look for it at Marshalls and Ross' and they haven't had any.I know you will laugh but I like drinking from my mustard or redware mugs in the fall. Isn't that just crazy?

When winter comes and I drink a lot of hot mulled cider or hot chocolate I like to drink from these.

Do you have favorite mugs to drink from? I bet you do. I am a pewter collector. I like the newer as opposed to the old, so I can actually use it. I do have some old pieces and I think I have shown you my very first piece.

I just like the warm glow of a table set with pewter. I don't even mind washing them, although I never liked dishwashing. My Mother said I had a way of disappearing after supper to keep from doing them. (Wonder why she didn't put a stop to that?lol) Any way I do like my mugs.lol
Don't you just love this weather. My heart aches for the people in Colorado, but here in East Tn, it has been gorgeous. It rained Saturday and I think that was so Dodd and Michael would be forced to take a day of rest. They both work all the time. The leaves are beginning to turn. I am so happy when fall comes. There are a few trips in the forecast, but that is not why. I just love the weather. I love wiener roasts and have one to go to soon.(I love burnt marshmallows) I have to admit I had never  set around a fire all day, well 2 days actually, until late last summer at DayBreak Place.

These are the men. We had sausage cooked on the fire and it was the best I have ever had. I grew up going to the lake every weekend, but we had a cabin. BTW I hated it. Sometimes I would get to stay with my grandparents, but for the most part I was made to go. Any way I had never been around an out door fire that long and I loved it. It was not only a lot of fun, but it was so peaceful and content.
That is just one of the reasons I love fall. I love the mums, pumpkins and everything else that go with it. It is almost a time of peacefulness, sort of a prelude to Christmas.

I told you I was attending a Bible Study at church. I was so wishy washy about it, because I was going to be gone most of Oct, but that trip to Niagra Falls has been postponed to spring. My birthday will be celebrated up there! Yeah!!! Well I was on again, off again, but decided to go. I still have a couple of trips in Oct, but won't be gone the whole month. So Sara said come on it doesn't matter and I did. I am so glad that I followed through. The group is mostly young women and I can learn so much from them. It thrills my soul to see so much hope for our future in ladies like these. Some are my daughters age and some my granddaughters. There are 3 of us "more mature" ladies in there. How do you like that  description Fran?lol  It is Facing Your Giants, by Max Lucado. I certainly have met a lot of giants in recent years. I am thankful they have been slain.
I am trying to do better. Life has changed for me considerably. I have more time as I don't have(get to ) go to the nursing home. It was so hard and each time I went for 6&1/2 years, I wanted to throw up when I pulled in the driveway. Now I miss going. Dodd said he did too. I think it was hard because the husband and father we loved wasn't there, but only the shell of the man he was.We often said, he might not know who we are, but we know who he was. However, we could see and hug him. Now we can't. I have lots to do keep me busy, and have a lot of wonderful friends and with out my family,I would be lost. I am thankful for each and everyone of them. Just found out this week there is a trip to St. Louis in my future.lol Life is good and I just love fall. It puts me in the best mood and then there is Christmas. WOW!
I am so glad you came Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty
PS: I had my camera out and Dasko just sat down and looked at me! And waited. So I took his picture

PSS: I have told you how Mollie loves Shirley Trample.(Temple, but she calls her Trample) well I kept her Friday and she was combing my hair. She looks down at me and says, "Mamaw Betty, you have Shirley Trample hair". I took that as a compliment. lol
PSSS: Please keep prayers coming for Erin and Tamra. Erin's friend Monica is so grateful for the prayers for her friend. ALso my friend Pam is traveling to Fla for a proedure this week, Will you pray for safe travels and a successful treatment? I know you will, so thanks in advance.

I have to share, what I think is a beautiful picture. Amelia loves her Daddy.

Want To Take Another Walk With Me?

Good morning and again don't you just love these cool mornings? I do. It is so nice to sit in your pj's and just enjoy your coffee. I always read my devotions and have my coffee. I love My Jesus Calling

it is not cute little stories and it has scriptures to go along with the days devotion. I always read those and start my day with prayer. It seems my prayer list is growing and growing. I don''t know about you, but I consider it an honor to have someone ask me to pray for them or someone in their life. I suggest this little devotion book for everyone and wish I could afford to send each of you a copy. So many days I think she wrote this just for me.
This past Sunday in our SS lesson we talked about judging  people by the way they looked, dressed etc, and it made me think of a special man in my life. I wanted to share this with you.Several years ago Curtis' job took us into a rather rural area to live. It was a very small community and I didn't know anyone.I had come from being active in school, church, and PTA, lunch with friends,you know the routine, to nothing. NOTHING. Well there was an old empty building across the road from the post office and it had an old broken down car seat in front. This old(in his 70's-80's) gentleman was always sitting on it. I told my kids, who were all elementary school age, not to have anything to do with him,(I am so sorry for that now) however they assured me he was harmless, just the town drunk. I was still leary. Well to make a long story short, somehow and I swear I don't remember how it started, I got acquainted with Charlie. I often sat on that old car seat talking to him. He was brilliant. Literally knew the history of the area and was always eager to share. Told me which books to get and read, shared lots of info. Well one morning when I went to get the mail, the postmaster told me that several people had commented that I needed to stop sitting with Charlie. It didn't "look right." I swear this is true. I have to say, I was furious, then  cooled off but continued to visit with my friend. Someone in his family lived across the road from us and he was over there a lot. One day my family was visiting and my grandfather(who loved his soaps)lol had the TV on rather loud. As usual on a soap opera someone was arguing loudly. We heard this hard knock at our door. When I went it was Charlie. "Who is quarreling at you,?" he asked. I explained it was my TV. He turned and walked off the porch and with an expeletive, said," ***********nobody better not be quarreling at you". We enjoyed this for years to come. He had to walk about 3 miles to get his beer. I am not sorry to say that on his SS check day, I would just "happen" to be going to the same store he would be walking to  and would give him a ride. He was going to get it and this way I knew he was safe. We only lived there about 3 years. When we moved he came to tell me good bye and he cried. It broke my heart. BTW no one else cried when I moved.lol I will always treasure my friend ship with Charlie and I never have nor will judge anyone by the way they look. I learned more than history from him.
I have told you the house is off the market in 2 weeks. I have never liked the arrangement of my furniture for showings. Saturday I put it all back the way I like it It feels like home now. Even Dasko seems happier.lol

Just like it used to be! As I said it just feels better.

This is where the bench from Daybreak ended up and the floor cloth. They belong together.
This is where I wanted the bench to go in the beginning. I am much happier now.lol Is there a "Charlie" in your life? Someone who taught you about life, in a good way?
It was so nice having you walk with me down memory lane again and come Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty
PS: Doug came down and he is going to take some trees out for me. I will have  new pictures to show. It will be after the leaves fall, but this place needs to be cleaned up. We are going to take the trailer out too. Changes are coming.
PSS: Lindsay is blogging up a storm. Please check out her blog and encourage her, if you will. It is on my side bar.The Jenkins Journey
PSSS: Please and I know you are, continue praying for all of those who need our prayers right now.

What A wonderful Life

Good morning and come in for a cup of DD coffee.It is so fallish here this morning, you won't believe it. It is 52! I am having my coffee inside.lol Have you ever just stopped and thought about what a wonderful life we live? I have been trying hard to dwell on that the last bit as there has been a lot of sadness around too. I think of  all of my blessings and I thought I am not waiting until Thanksgiving to share them.  SO this morning I am sharing what a wonderful life I have. Now don't think I don't have the downsides like everyone else. I do. I have, and I will continue to have them. That is the reality of life, The difference is I am concentrating on my blessings. I am starting a Bible Study at church, with a young lady leading it. I have missed the first 2 weeks, but asked her about the assignments for next week when I go. She had asked us to make a list of our blessings and our challenges. I told her my blessings would make a list from here to China! My challenges might too but we won't talk about them.lol  Anyway I am getting ready for a girl weekend soon. It is always fun to go with these three friends. We have been doing this about 6 years and have so much fun. Last year one was sick and couldn't go. Here we are at our favorite place, The Inn at Christmas Time.

We love this place. If you are in Pigeon Forge at least go by and see it.
Friends are a big part of my wonderful life. Without them I would be lonely.(Now is that profound)duh--I have so many different groups of friends and I enjoy them all. They each contribute so much to my life. They help to make it a wonderful life. In November I will be going back to PF with these 2 and 4 others. We have so much fun, eating, shopping, watching football, eating, lol, you get the idea. Some days we don't take our PJ's off. It is just catch up, vent, solve problems, just general girl stuff. We have been doing this 25 years. So, I love fall and the "annuals" it brings me. Of course there is a week at the beach in there too.
Yesterday was the Pioneer Days show at the Museum of Appalachia. I worked at the Hen so Sharon could go. I enjoy it so much because there are people from all over. My friend Donna and her husband from Ga were in and I am always happy to see them. She and I got acquainted because she read my blog and I feel they are life long friends when I see them. I also got to meet a facebook friend, CindyPickett Humphrey too. We belong to some FB decorating groups and got to know one another, It was so nice to meet her and her husband. I wanted them to stay longer so we could visit.lol  Anyway yesterday was such a good day at the Hen. Thank you Sharon for contributing to my wonderful life.
Last night I played rook with another group of friends and I laughed so hard, my sides hurt. It was just a good way to end a good day.

This is a vine my friend Angela gave me. It attracts hummingbirds.

Can you see the hummer?mHe is on the right>
Renda bought me some new sheets. I just enjoy them so much as they are silk.

They are monogrammed and I have never had monogrammed sheets before.lol They are so pretty. I want to share some bits of fall.Nothing elaborate nor exciting, but it is what it is.

I got a new floor cloth. I just can't have too many. This was a fast picture to show you.

Not sure this is where it will stay but for now it is. I am glad to count Sharon and the Hen as one of my special blessings.
Of course my family is at the top of my blessing list, but you all know that. I have to take a moment and wish Seth a Happy birthday today. He is my favorite Grandson, named Seth.
Well I am so happy you came Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty
PS: My friend Audrey over at Tombstone Tidings , sent me some beautiful wool to put by my big wheel. I will get a picute next post. She, in my opinion, leads a most interesting life. Please go visit her.
PSS: Please continue to remember Erin. She is going through chemo and radiation right now and many more weeks to go. God is in the miracle business. We know it.
PSSS: It is with sadness I have to tell you my buddy, Joshs' father passed away yesterday. He was much too young and leaves another son, Timothy, and his sweet wife Lisa. Lisa has been friends with my kids since middle school and all our hearts are broken. Please remember them in your prayers.
Josh with Dasko:

Harvesting and Enjoying LIfe

Good morning and come on in. It is so nice out side lets have our coffee out here. Yes in our pajamas as no one can see us anyway. You know I have been so fickle with my coffee this summer. Jumped around but am back to DD. I cannot find my Kona very often and never decaf. I need to go to Cracker Barrel and get some for Curt, so will pick myself up some when I do. Their coffee is very good too. I am a bit picky about my coffee at home. However when I go somewhere I will drink what I am served and always enjoy it. Oh well there is nothing sweet here. I am going to bake a cake this afternoon, though. A peach cake. Yummy

I feel so blessed, and as the sign says, Harvest Blessings. I looked at it this morning and just began reflecting. I don't have a crop to harvest, but in ways we are all harvesting what we have sown.
How we treat someone, a kindness someone has shown us, or we them. We harvest this. If we haven't shown any kindnesses, chances are we aren't going to receive any. I have had a summer of reflection. I know I am  not the only one. Over 6 years ago when Curtis had to go into the nursing home, I thought my life was over. I wore this awful veil of guilt(and many friends told me I had shared it with them) they were always joking, but in reallity, I wonder if I really did. You see in my reflections this morning, I truly saw there was no other choice. It was a safety issue. God opened doors, made a way and many years later, removed my veil of guilt. I have come away from this experience with the knowledge, I will never judge another person's actions. I hope you will think before you do too. Yes, people judged me for the decision we had to make. On a beautiful fall morning like today, drinking my coffee as well as drinking in the beauty around me, I am thankful for my harvest. God has blessed me witrh so many wonderful friends. None of them are deserved, but I have them and I love them. I thank them for every grain they have sown in my life. Some of them are the best prayer partners ever. Some make me laugh when I think about them. All of them are special to me and I have decided the harvest of friendship is a wonderful harvest. I wish I could name all of the friends who have impacted my life, but it would be impossible. Some of them I don't get to spend as much time with as I would like and I hope that changes I want to make time, I want to enjoy the harvest while I can.
I want to share a few more fall pictures Nothing exciting, but just wait for Christmas,lol (I will wait and wait patiently)lol

I love looking out the window.

I like to have books out for the seasons. This is one of my Tasha Tudor autographed ones. I love her Pumpkin Moonshine too.

Love my old cowbell.
I am so thankful you came Through My Back Door where life is good. Will you harvest your fall blessings too?
betty
PS: I am beginning to get excited. A couple of trips are on the horizon. One back to the beach and that means SEAFOOD!
PSS:Will you continue to pray for Erin? Also one of our fellow bloggers really needs our prayers right now. Will you join me in praying?
PSSS:Remember this weekend is the big show at the Appalachian Museum. All of the shops in Clinton will be open and waiting to welcome people. The Speckled Hen is a must visit and so is Corner Antiques. Tell them I sent you.

Ah, Those Wonderful (or not so)Smells

Good morning and it certainly feels like fall here. It is just gorgeous and as the coffee was making, it smelled so good, I decided to do my post on smells. To me, nothing smells any better than that first cup of coffee in the morning. Nothing tastes any better either. Anyway, it is so good to have you come Through My Back Door. What smells make you smile? Do they jog a memory? Sometimes a certain smell brings tears to my eyes. Does that happen to you? Sometimes a certain smell makes me laugh out loud. One of those smells is Avon perfume. My Mother and her friend Altha, wore a LOT of it. If you took them some where your allergies would be acting up before you were out of the driveway. They certainly went with more is better. Now I would love to smell that smell again.
There are smells that remind of us Christmas. Smells that remind us of Fall. Smells that remind us of summer, and smells that remind us of spring. I love the smells of Fall and Christmas. I do love the smell of the beach in summer. The smell of honeysuckle, flowers, and all of the smells of canning going  on in the kitchen. But come fall, my smell "buds" come alive. I love to smell wood smoke. Love the smell of apple butter simmering in the oven, Pumpkins squares baking, apple cider on the stove. Or better yet in my cup. The smell of fresh peach pie, makes me miss my Mother so much. Her pie crusts were so good and sometimes I wish I could just have one more piece. Is there someone/something  you feel that way about?  A lot of smells are food oriented. Some are not. I smell a certain after shave and think of my Daddy. Smell pipe smoke, specially applewood, and the same thing. Another smell that takes me way back is SenSen, breath mints. Anyone remember those? My Grandmother always had them in her purse and gave me one or two every Sunday. She took ex-lax and would kiss me good night and I can still smell the smell sometimes.lol  Ah, smells. They are the gift that keeps on giving. I love the smell of soup simmering on the stove, of a pot roast in the crock pot. These are a few of the smells that I remember. If I go past a race track and smell the cars as they are speeding round the track, they bring back memories of all the hours I have spent at the races. All of these are happy memories for me. They remind me of people and things that were so precious and I am grateful for these memories.
I will leave you with a few more of my favorite things.

The smell of a stack cake, the apple filler, makes me think of my Nannie and my aunt Annie

A gift from Amanda. I just continue to enjoy this. I wanted it at the Hen and Sharon told me it has sold. I was so disappointed I hadn't gotten it. The joke was Amanda had gotten it for me.lol
The candle snuffer I hung on it is, late 1700's.

My great grandmother's flat iron and trivet.

My own back door.
Thanks so much for coming Through My Back Door where life is good..
betty
PS: One of the smells I that is not so wonderful, is skunk.lol 2 years ago I was out of my house for days(8) because a skunk got under the crawl space and sprayed. Now everytime I smell skunk I remember those days. Or the time our dog went out in the night, got sprayed and came back in when we had out of state company.lol What are your not so smells?lol
PSS: Thank you for prayers for Erin. Prayers work and we are so grateful for everyone you send up
PSSS: My house goes off the market in less than a month. There are some new things going to go on. Can't wait to share with you.

Some Things That Bring A smile

Hello everyone and come on in. Pumpkin Spice coffee and it is so good. It has been a wonderful day here in East Tn, and I hope yours has been too. You can just feel the hint of fall and it makes you happy all over. Actually it just makes you smile, and it made me think of a blog post. Some things that bring a smile. What makes you smile? I am not talking faith, family, or serious things here, all though they do make us smile. I am talking things you live with everyday, that when you see them they bring a smile to your face. Maybe they trigger a memory of a happier time, or a trip, or just something that brings you a warm fuzzy. You all know I believe strongly that you should only have the things you love around you and that includes people. There are so many people that make me smile, but I am actually talking about things this time. Here are some things that make me smile.

My great wheel, from Tennessee. A gift from Curtis many years ago.

Curtis' great grandmothers egg basket, she made from willow branches, many years ago.

My Daddy's little cupboard that hung in his shanty when he was drilling wells.

My great, great grandmothers spoons, that  were left to me.

A corner cupboard built by a son in law, and a dresser refinished(it was painted green) by Curtis because he knew I loved it.

The Mirror. Remember it always  hung in my paternal grand parents home.

Two cupboards made in Germany in mid 1800's brought to America and separated, then brought back together again.

Mother, a just because gift from a fellow blogger.
These are some of the things that bring a smile. Are there smells, that trigger your memory? There sure are mine. We can talk about them next time.
Well, your coming Through My Back Door where life is good, ALWAYS brings a smile.
betty
PS: Guys, we have a mission. We have to pray for Erin, a 28 year old mother of two little girls, and a RN, who has Gastric Cancer. We have to pray hard for her as she has been fighting this for a while. She is a good friend of my friend Marla's. Marla's d-i-l and Monica, and Erin have been best friends since elementary school days. I know you will pray.

PSS: Tamra has started her reconstruction and still needs prayer
PSSS:  Thanks guys in advance  and remember to think about things that bring a smile to your life