. . . ♥ . . .

the ultimate love

valentine's .. 

rocky and i will spend our evening at home, grilling seasoned filet mignon wrapped in bacon alongside an amazing salad and baked sweet potato. i'm thankful for my husband, 

and love him so much. 

i'm blessed. truly. blessed.

thinking of each of you 

and hoping you'll sense 

*His* 

love in your lives 

this sweet day.

♥,

"jAne"

. life .

and this is what i think of that . .

today, mammogram.

later, lasagna.

{{ adorable image courtesy of pinterest }}

lately ..

while reading a good book, 

are you ever inspired 

by a particular quote? 

i am.

often.

there's such truth in the following quotes, i'm sure you'll agree. each one of us, at some point in her life, experiences just this thing. read on . .

"I grieved until I came to realize that I couldn't change the past any more than I could control the future. I had to go on living and look to God for my strength."

"My advice is for you to take small steps toward doing some of the things you used to enjoy."

Even in a book of fiction, God can speak to the heart of the reader. Sweet.

"But He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." ~ Job 23

Evelyn sleeps next to me, on a towel on the couch with her head pressed against my leg. such a sweetie sugar pie girlie.

this weekend i took time to go through our pantry, organizing & writing 'eat by' dates on the cans in permanent marker. i'm sorry to report that a grocery bag was filled with some food with dates of august 2011. wasteful. i'm determined to not allow 

that to happen any longer.

going through the guest room closet and dresser drawers .. boxes of things for my tiny trailer are hidden in there. boxes of lizzie's things too. rocky and i put the latter into festive pinky red storage bins she can search through later. the empty boxes created room for the kitchen dishes we're parting with and hoping they'll find a new home soon. we're enjoying the simplicity of less in our cupboards. 

last night i took evelyn out to potty. she decided it was a fine time to run races in the backyard after she piddled. she runs **fast**! then, when she was spent, she came in with me and settled down for some snuggle time before bed. she's a lover girl, that one. 

i put the cream toned slipcover on our couch. 4 months of *color* was enough for this chickie. past time, quite honestly. 

lizzie's coming over for dinner tomorrow evening. i'm thinking either lasagna or bbq meatballs .. both with lotsa vegies alongside. then maybe a game or movie or just some good old fashioned heart to heart goodness for the 3 {4,including evelyn}of us. what's on your plate?

haven't been getting around to your blogs and for that i'm sincerely apologetic. i know you all have important things shared and said - and i'm missing out.

soon. soon. soon.

with love,

"jAne"

{{ image found on pinterest }}

when i grow up . .

gonna wear red tennies,

& ride a razor . .

.. there was a bird convention in the area of our back patio. they weren't invited. they converged, made a royal mess of things, then went on their way. the pressure washer is coming out soon to rid the tell tale signs. i've **never** seen so much yuck. rude.


.. evelyn is a sack hound. i'm an early riser and once my coffee is made and i'm situated quite comfortably on the couch, she snuggles up (on her blankie) and goes back to sleep. cuddle time with 'mom'.


.. t*rget carries the cutest, tiniest computer mousies. i have one .. in black. lizzie loved it. so i bought one for her .. in red. now we're all matchy matchy kind of. 


.. went out to lunch yesterday {with lizzie}. the habit burger offers up awesome burgers (hence the name) as well as other type sandwiches and salads. yesterday i tried the bbq chicken salad. swoon. thud. best. ever. yum. click on the link and see if there's a 'habit' near you. california only, i think.


.. dinner last night was macaroni and cheese, and a huge lot of green beans. we love green beans. i'm thankful rocky's hunky dory with simple meals. he's swell.


.. our young neighbors recently had their 1st baby. so sweet! landon is a handsome little man and they're so happy to have him in their lives. i'm bringing a meal to them wednesday evening. roast chicken and new potatoes .. and a couple vegies of some sort. looking forward to blessing them a bit. so nice to have a baby in the hood.


.. my mother and her husband's pooch {beau}, passed on recently. i think he was 12 or 13 .. black full-size standard poodle. they loved him dearly and they're hearts are hurting. 


.. my inner child has been playing with matches quite often lately. been taking an over the counter supplement since last year and it was working fine until about a month or so ago. i'm seriously tired of this. seriously. you've no idea how seriously. i mean it. menopause .. argh!


.. i haven't been visiting and commenting on your blogs lately. tsk tsk on me. i'll come over soon. 


.. lizzie and i will be doing a bit of thrifting wednesday morning. golly, i haven't been to a thrifty place since november! shocker.


.. wanting to simplify and reduce belongings. the kitchen is the first target zone. dishes are done, next is the baking area. working my way 'round the room. then going room to room . .


.. evelyn snores. rocky too. so now i hear it in stereo. 


.. pinning is addicting.


.. my mistakes and ignorance cause my daughter to laugh. she recently shared that she likes a musical group called *a fine frenzy*. so later in our visit i asked, "what's the name of that group? a feeding frenzy?" great laughter ensued. that sort of stuff happens. a lot. wink.


more .. soon. 


love,
"jAne"

mornings include .. & later on ..

snuggles and coffee

with my sweet evelyn,

who has received a clean bill of health.

... benign ...

lizzie drove evelyn and myself to the vet this morning to have the staples removed. evelyn's so happy to have those thingies gone! after a treat and running around the back yard and a bit of 'business' she settled nicely on her blankie then lizzie and i took our leave .. out for lunch and to t*arget for a few necessaries and a couple not necessaries but became necessaries. spending time with my daughter is beyond precious and treasured deep in my heart. she's dear .. so dear.

hubby has a full schedule at work today .. lots of conference calls which don't always prove comfy for him. 
looking forward to him coming home. 

this weekend, rocky and i went through our **many** dishes and chose our favorites to keep. a bit of cabinet reorganization and what we've chosen to keep is much more agreeable for our needs. the other dishes? well, i'll be selling them. all. everything. i'm gathering more things and will open my home to a little sale of sorts. i'll let you {you..those of you who live in NorCal} know soon. 

this afternoon i'm watching

*downton abbey*

season 2, episode 1

..

yes, i know i'm behind on things.

love,

"jAne"

.. image courtesy of pinterest ..

.

he's home...

talk to you next week.

love,

"jAne"

as of late . . .

a bit of life has been happening.

a bit of the usual .. the expected.

a bit of drama .. the unexpected.

while i do not blog out of obligation,

i should have shared a post

especially after that crying chick

picture i left up on my blog.

gracious! 

onward.

first off, here's a sweet pic of evelyn.

she has a loppie-sided face

and i just love it. 

she's imperfect. like me. like you.

that's just one of the attributes

making each one of us oh so special,

and rightly so.

it's the rainy season where i live,

though it hasn't been raining too terribly much.

still though, evelyn needs to walk. so do i.

i have an umbrella.

she has a pretty petal pink raincoat.

and a tongue to match. 

the picture's blurry

cuz i didn't take time to change

my camera setting

and golly!

was she ever excited to go on a walk!!!

she wiggles and hops and whines

at walk time. so cute.

she stands very still for pictures, usually.

and in my humble opinion, 

my new little poochie girlie

is quite photogenic. 

isn't she beautiful?

she has dainty feet

that smell like fritos.

i took her to our vet for a general 

'get to know you' type appointment. 

the vet found a couple little lumpies 

in evelyn's chest area. 

gulp. 

after investigating further

she said that they 

appear to be of an aggressive form.

other than that 

{and golly that's a biggie} 

she's in tip top shape.

i called the sanctuary and explained the situation;

they told me to bring her back for surgery.

wednesday evening i took my girlie

back to the sanctuary.

thursday morning she had surgery.

thursday night the director called

to share that surgery went well,

3 masses were found and excised,

and that the only challenge they

had was removing the lippystick kissie mark

from her sweet little forehead.

.smile.

saturday, rocky and i went to gather

her and her staples {in 2 incisions}

and bring our girlie home to recuperate. 

she was *so* excited to see us, 

knew which vehicle to go to,

and hasn't let me out of her sight since.

thursday or friday of this week 

we should know the biopsy results. 

evelyn .. she's a happy, content pooch

who simply wants to love and be loved.

we're doing just that.

rocky painted the little cottage, 

same as the 'big' house.

next stop :: interior

my tiny trailer has a chandelier.

swoooooon!

we've had some overcast/foggy weather.

call me weird but i love these type days.

barren trees .. something so beautiful, to me.

can you see the birds? 

rocky's been traveling. 

but not for long.

there's a bit of corporate reorganization 

going on and his role is set to change. 

soon.

a role that will keep him close to home.

very close. with very very very little travel.

now *this*, ladies, is SWOONABLE news!

blessings,

"jAne"

... and some days are just this way ...

truth.

{ picture found at pinterest }

introducing . .

evelyn ann

{sugar pie}

she's sweet as can be . .

. . .

that special pooch . .

praying {yes, praying}

we're drawn to a pooch

who will stir our hearts.

you pray too, ok? *smile*

{ picture found on pinterest }

giggle snort ...

.. laughter is excellent Rx ..

the next step ..

.. is visiting the 

"orphanage,"

a sanctuary for

rescued or released

golden retrievers ..

. thursday .

{. image found on pinterest .}

for reals .. really

keeping it real, typos and all. 

here.

now.

at t his moment .. i really should snap a pic {but won't} .. it's really quite sad that an empty nest woman would have such a shambles of a kitchen. ha! at this moment, my lappietop is on the far end of my table and i'm backed up to the window, wondering why i'm freezing. ahh but there's the ever ready hot flash to take that chill away. ha! been having loads of those lately. why? hm. i'm thinking it has something to do with the amount of sugar i ingest. seriously. am on weight watchers for real again. last night rocky said i did much better on the program when he was on it with me - and that he'll gladly go to the meetings if it means i'll stay on program. love that man. so much. oh, back to the kitchen. i've a sink full of dirty dishes from yesterday, canning jars here and there on the long counter, bread, clean dishes waiting to be put away {{oh boy here's another hot flash}} **power surge** ...grrrrr... packages of lobster bisque and biscuit mix from seattle, dish drainer. on the kitchen table is my lappietop, lotion, sewing machine, sewing needs, loads of random thread on the floor, teapot, bible and journal, mug of hot coffee (doesn't exactly help during flash time), 2 purses (?), vest, mail that's been sitting there since friday night. by the stove...well, that looks pretty good actually. you'd **think** i'd take 15 minutes to clean it up and be done with it. 

ahhhh but that'd take away from 

{{{pinning}}}! 

oy!

there's no place like home ..

sweet time was had in the seattle area.

while rocky worked, i played.

spent one day with a childhood friend,

dodging raindrops, eating out, antiquing and thrifting.

the next was spent with dEby from apples to gold,

basking in sunshine, eating out, antiquing and thrifting.

treasures found, hearts shared, tummies full. there was one day in the hotel by myself, resting, walked to marlene's for an amazing salad lunch, evenings with rocky, we spent part of a day in the heart of 

seattle with my hub, and a travel day. lotsa days.

{{{ wonderment }}}

. but .

. there's no place like home .

returning home last night, we quickly unpacked and changed into jammies. i whipped up some scrambled eggs with saute'd red onion, cream cheese, and seasonings. oh, and made a little stack of biscuits to go along ... so good to eat our own food after a week of eating out .. though eating out *is* a treat!

i really enjoyed being with rocky on one of his trips. i also really enjoyed spending time with my childhood friend, karen; it's been many years and we picked up where we left off {true friends}. she's a florist and took a day off from her very busy schedule to pal around with the likes of me. twenty-three {& a half} years ago she did the flowers for my wedding!

and i loved meeting dEby and spending time with her in Port Orchard and having a tea lunch at debbie macomber's tea room{!}. curry chicken salad..thud. dEby's a sweetheart through and through and dragged me {kicking and screaming..right} to awesome places full of treasures. here's a picture of us:

and so .. laundry is my focus this morning. and buying a few grocery items. and maybe even taking a nap on the couch. i may even go look at a bed for our future furr-baby. we'll adopt through a golden retriever rescue organization that really takes care of the dogs, meeting health needs and assessing their behavior to ensure proper placement. we appreciate the extra care.

as mentioned in my last post, our home visit is monday morning. they'll ensure our home and yard is safe, 

and that we're normal {uh oh...}. 

the latter might be a problem area. wink.

bless you dearly,

" jAne "

{{ picture courtesy of pinterest }}

my heart is ready ..

 ..

we'll be{rescuing} a new furr lovie

.. of the canine variety ..

... soon ...

we just learned that

the home visit portion of the

adoption process

 is coming up next monday. 

. my heart is full .

on a mOndAy

. rocky travels .. a fair amount .

sometimes i get to tag along,

like today for instance.

. sweet .

rocky bought me a lappietop

which means i can now blog

from afar .. for real!

my lappietop is white. of course.

that was my one main requirement.

oh, and the keyboard needed to be

comfy with good-feeling keys. 

i made a case for it and its accessories

cuz i couldn't find a case that pleased all  my senses and i refused to spend the $75 for one i found on etsy that did in fact please my senses. my senses are delighted with what i constructed. ever so much.

i'll take pics and show that next week.

whenever i travel and stay in hotels, i'm always saddened at the poor quality of coffee offered in the rooms. i've begun the practice of supplying myself with the st*rbucks singles. this makes me a happy travel companion. well yesterday i visited st*rbucks {which i actually do *not* do often any more at all. for reals.} to pick up a new singles pack. the Christmas singles packs are on sale. $3.58 for 12 heaven-filled caffeine experiences. such a deal. 

*  {  .  }  *

:: a bit of Spurgeon in the morning ::

". . . Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honour of a Christian. If thou be a child of God, thou wilt seek thy Father's face, and live in they Father's love. Pray that this year thou mayst be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer communion with Christ, and enter oftener into the banqueting-house of His love. Pray that thou mayst be an example and a blessing unto others, and that thou mayst live more to the glory of thy Master. 

The motto for this must be, Continue in Prayer."

{ image courtesy of pinterest : vintage suitcases }

.day one.

* .day one. of a new year *


from the inside out . .
that's how i seek to live my life,
for Him to consume my deepest
desires, heart, and soul.
everlasting ..
never ending ..
is His glory and grace.
i seek to be drenched in it,
loving Him as He does a 
work in my life, bringing
me to a place of complete
surrender ..
for His pleasure and purpose.


what most of you don't know is that the past couple plus years have been personally challenging beyond all reason. i'm not at liberty to share details. be encouraged though; God is working in my life and the lives of precious others. 


.reconnect. 
.restore. 
.renew. 
.refresh.
.revitalize.


in hindsight, i see with clarity how He brought me through moments in time that *at* the time i thought impossible to endure. 
fear {of the situation(s)} 
consumed me, paralyzed me, isolated me.
with a public facade firmly in place,
i lived, one day morphing to the next
in what many days could be 
described as continuous tule fog. 
the facade has been removed.
so has the tule fog .. almost. 
He wills it.


He breaks to rebuild. laying a foundation, His mortar spread, construction, interior design ... 
hammered heart{s} for His glory.


.day one. 
walk with me; 
there's a new rhythm to my gate. 


bless you,
"jAne"


"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me {by Your} generous Spirit."  ~ Psalm 51.12

.

{{{ picture found on pinterest}}}

.

the time between

Christmas & New Years

holds quiet sparkle

midst contemplative thought.

there are crisp temps,

warm sweaters,

& hot coffee surrendered to

willing hands.

.. taking a break ..

{ picture found on pinterest }

worship . . Christ the King

*

"I feel a presence around me, begging me to come near,

To lift my hands and quiet my breathing, to sing lullabies of grace,

Joining in with majestic beings as they fall in worship of the Almighty.

For that time, that thought, and that love, I feel You."

                                                                                 ~ liZZie

fall on your knees
o hear the angel voices
o night divine
o night . when Christ was born
*
. holy ground .


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


mErry CHRISTmas


{ picture from pinterest }

peeking in . . .

i'm putting the final touches

on our simple little Christmas plans.

how 'bout you?

glamp.

rocky and i are heading out for the weekend, 

in our big girlie trailer, to the foothills where the chill is chillier than where we live. 

a little getaway. good food. hand holding.

picture found on pinterest

blessings,

jAne

{. the cottage .}

snug in a corner of our backyard sits a sweet little refuge known as {. the cottage .}, das Gasthaus. soon a coat of grey-blue paint will grace it's exterior (as shown on the adirondack chairs), devonshire cream on the trim (shown on door), interior insulation and bead board, wood floor, and a built-in bed. 

interior is 10 x 12

porch is 10 x 4

dresser, comfy chair, heater, 

a/c, cozy comforters, coffee maker

and luggable-loo (for nighty time tinkles),

lots of flowers and a brick path.

.. prettiness and hominess .. 

. it's gonna happen .

the 5-panel door is vintage,

from my brother in law's 

childhood home.

i'm thankful and honored

to use it in this way ..

can you envision what the interior

will reflect when completed?

think : white, lapis blue, touches

of yellow, orange and black.

. Willkommen .