Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Stop Scrapers


I am not a very big blog, so thinking about someone stealing my blog posts or pictures seems foreign to me. But after reading Susan's blog post Stop Scraper from Stealing Your Content, I looked into my stats and was very horrified at the top referring site. I did go to THIS site and added the code to my blog. I'm hoping it will work and keep the winged monkeys from freely taking content from my blog. Time will tell, as I check my stats again.

So now I will be adding a watermark on all of my photos. I just found a way to do it right in Picasa. I've been taking a couple of hours and working on adding the watermark to some of my older pictures. I sure hope this will divert those who are perpetrating the ugliness away from my blog posts. I cannot see the watermark on my blog, but perhaps someone who gets the posts via feed could let me know if it is showing up?

I just found a really good tutorial on Ramblings & Photos. Please check out Ashley's info.
If you use Photoshop, check out THIS tutorial at Texas Chicks.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Anniversary Breakfast

I wanted to share my idea for an Anniversary Breakfast. Soft cool blues and pretty Hydrangeas.










Happy Anniversary to Rosie and Dan!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Scripture Sunday


Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting at my doorposts.
For he who finds me finds life,
and obtains favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 8: 34-35

Friday, August 24, 2012

Men ought always to pray, and not to faint

"Throughout His ministry, Christ made it clear that importunity is a distinguishing characteristic of true praying. We must not only pray, but we must also pray with great urgency, with intensity, and with repetition. We must not only pray, but we must also pray again, and again. We must not get tired of praying. We must be thoroughly in earnest, deeply concerned about the things for which we ask, for Jesus Christ made it very plain that the secret of prayer and its success lie in its urgency. We must press our prayers upon God.

Jesus Christ presents the ability to importune as one of the elements of prayer, one of the main conditions of prayer. The prayer of the Syrophenician woman is an example of the matchless power of persistence in prayer . (Matthew 15)

Without persistence, prayers may go unanswered. Importunity is made up of the ability to hold on, to continue, to wait with unrelaxed and unrelaxable grasp, restless desire, and restful patience. Importunate prayer is not an incidental occurrence, but the main thing not a performance, but a passion; not an option, but a necessity.

Prayer in its highest form and its grandest success, assumes the attitude of a wrestler with God. Prayer is the contest, trial, and victory of faith - a victory not secured from an enemy, but from Him who tries our faith that He may enlarge it. He tests our strength to make us stronger. Few things give such quickened and permanent vigor to the soul as a long, exhaustive season of importunate prayer.

There is neither encouragement nor room in the religion of the Scriptures for feeble desires, listless efforts, lazy attitudes. All must be strenuous, urgent, ardent. Inflamed desires and impassioned, unwearied insistence are the things that delight heaven.

God would have His children unalterabley in earnest and persistently bold in their efforts. Heaven is too busy to listen to half-hearted prayers or to respond to hasty, thoughtless calls to God.

Importunity, it may be repeated, is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. We repeat, not to count the times, but to gain the answer to our prayer. We cannot quit praying, because heart and soul are in our prayers. We pray 'with all perseverance' (Eph 6:18); we hang on to our prayers because we live by them. We press our pleas because we must have them or die.

Pray and never faint, is the motto Christ gives us for praying. It is the test of our faith, and the more severe the trial and the longer the waiting, the more glorious the results."

excerpts taken from "E. M. Bounds on Prayer"

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Banana Loaf

Years ago a friend shared this Banana Bread recipe and it's been a long time favorite with my family.

The cast of characters -

2 sticks Butter or margarine (melted)
2 cups sugar (cream together with butter)
Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well.

Alternate the following:
3 cups flour, sifted
1 tsp salt
3 large RIPE bananas, mashed
1 tsp baking soda mixed with 1/4 cup buttermilk

Add 1 tsp vanilla
optional 1/2 cup chopped pecans


Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until center is firm and toothpick comes out clean.

This is the yummiest Banana bread I have ever tasted. So very moist. We cut into the first one and freeze the second. But it isn't long before the second one pops out of the freezer.


Monday, August 20, 2012

Roses are Red my love........

My FIL gave me these beautiful red roses that he grows in his back yard. I just could not resist enjoying these roses with some of my own :-)



Royal Patrician teacup - Staffordshire (England)

Niagara Parks Bone China teacup (England)

Redoute Rose China by Roy Kirkham (Made in England)



I love to sit out on our patio and listen to the water flowing over the fountain.


Sugar and Creamer - Forget Me Not Roses - Royal Albert (England)


I found the Teapot at Home Goods several years ago. David Michael China for Staffordshire (Made in England)


Thank you for joining me for a spot of tea.

Enjoy your day.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

The Anchor Man


"Now this is the commandment, the statues and the rules that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it. that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statures and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. " Deuteronomy 6: 1-2

Recently, when I was driving, I heard a message on the radio. It was about the Anchor Man. The more I listened to this program, I was hearing about my Anchor Man.

My admiration goes beyond understanding. I've seen this walked out in the life of my own Anchor Man. A man of integrity and honesty and faithfulness.

God always has His men. He always has a remnant of faithful men who love God and are anchored on Jesus Christ.

An Anchor man is a man who will have no other gods before them.

Men who will not make graven images. They love the Lord their God with all of their heart, soul and mind.

Men who will not take the Lord's name in vain.

Men who are motivated to work, but not so much that they won't take one day of rest.

Men who honor their fathers and mothers, and are helping to care for them.

Men who will not murder.

Men who will not steal things, whether it is possessions or someone's character.

Men who will not bear false witness.

Men who are a one-woman man.

Men who do not covet but are content and thankful for the blessings God has given them.

I am thankful for the covenant relationship I have with my Anchor Man. I have been blessed to learn from this man who places Christ first in his life every single day.

And today I am wishing him a Happy Birthday!



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Let's Dish for Summer

Summer is quickly coming to a close. But there's still lots of time to enjoy a summery table on the patio.














Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Rose Hill Farm



Isn't this beautiful???

Rose Hill Farm - Nashville North Carolina

Outdoor Wednesday

Monday, August 13, 2012

The Tea Experience

Over the years,
I have visited many tea rooms.

Some were local
some were in other states.

One was even in a foreign country

Sometimes the service is good

but the food is lacking

other times the food is excellent

but the service poor.


But where do we derive our pleasure in taking Tea?? Is it the ambiance? Whether it is tea bags, or loose tea. Are the scones cake like or a biscuit? Or is it the company that one keeps?

Tell me which one makes a memorable Tea experience for you.