The Life of Mrs. Miles

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Who can resist a smile or a flower? I created this simple graphic simply to help you lift the corners of your mouth today instead of letting gravity drag them downwards! I was inspired by the sentiment on my calendar I recently read - I hope it encourages you.

Through a happy springtime
And a summer filled with love,
May we walk into the autumn
With our thoughts on God above.

A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22

Today value the beauty of the changing season.
No matter the time of year there is evidence that God is near.

*****

~A Day to Remember~

This photo is not to celebrate the anniversary of my parent's wedding, its to celebrate the memory of my Mom. This has to be the happiest photo I've ever seen of each of these important people in my life, my Gramma, Dad and my Mom. Mom is just beaming here - there were so many hard times in our childhood, financially and otherwise, but Mom stepped into our lives (wound up with 8 kids to look after!) and stood in there for it all. For a lot of my life I never really appreciated all she did for us - its only in introspect I see how she denied herself for us, time after time. As the saying goes, life is lived forward and understood backwards.

Today is the anniversary of my Mom's passing. My Dad loved her passionately and she returned his love. She stood in to be my Mom through countless moves around the province, from mining town to mining town. Often having to take two vehicles/airplanes at a time to accommodate our whole entourage. She went out to work to make sure we had food on the table and gifts under the tree each year. I wish I would have taken the time to know her better while I had the opportunity.

Things were often not perfect in our home, but I do know, now as a grown woman, the gifts she gave me I'd not otherwise have. She taught us manners, respect and how to take care of my home. She tried to support me in my artistic abilities, something I'd not realized till a short time ago. I wish I could find the one snap I have of her - on a bike in some funny looking shoes - she WAS adventurous! She was a terrific cook, bringing her English recipes with her. I remember mint jelly on lamb, a roast with yorkshire pudding every sunday, fresh homemade doughnuts, cream puffs and trifle. She made exceptional bread.

I miss her, very much.


*****

Apple Butter - mmm...

And its a time to preserve!

I've got it in my bones, I suppose. Some of my fondest memories are of my Gramma putting up fruit and jams. Why, if she had enough only for one jar she had a special setup for that. She had a medium sized pot, just taller than a mason jar. She put something in the bottom of it - I'm not certain if it was a twisted wire or an inverted saucer, so that a jar would not be sitting directly on the bottom. She'd cook the single jar up, nothing went to waste.

So, I've got the bug. Checking out what fruit is available, and then hunting for recipes. I found this lovely All Day Apple Butter recipe at the following website, just click HERE. What I really appreciate about it is being able to cook it all day in a crock pot. Or, night. Ya, its marvelous to wake up to the pungent, tangy, sweet almost heady scent of apples, cinnamon and cloves wafting through the house. Hits your olfactory system hard - better than the best Yankee Candle.

Of course, I'm not content to leave well enough alone with any recipe and always find ways to adapt it to my own. I put ground pepper in mine, and I'm not shy with it at all. On my second batch I actually tossed the contents of a Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice teabag into a coffee grinder I keep specifically for grinding spices, whirled it up and cooked that into the mix. So my first batch is more fiery and sweet, while the second is more subtle and 'buttery'.

This should work equally well as a spread on toast, with or without a layer of cream cheese, or this Apple Butter could be used as a condiment with pork or chicken nicely. I've also got plans to adapt a loaf recipe I spied on another blog site - the Apple Butter will become a topping! I'll keep you posted.

Hmmm....

To make a THIRD batch or not?

Peaches for my Sweet!

Mr. Miles loves peaches. He'd eat them almost daily, but we settled on me making enough that he could eat a jar a week - almost. It took two days out of my existence to put these up, but worth every second as this is his love language.

My friend Elaine has inspired me to do something novel. I'm tithing 10% of my preserves this year. I usually do wind up sharing some of it, but though we tithe on our income I'd never thought to tithe on my 'stuff' before. I suppose my free giveaways on my blog are always a tithe too, for no matter how busy I get designing for the shop, I've always got something FREE for everyone here, but I'd never considered about other areas of my life. We've got a young couple in mind for these yummy peaches and preserves.

Do you ever tithe things other than part of your income?

My Redecorated Space!

'Fall Cleaning' has hit my home. I felt the urge to rearrange part of our 'nest' - my desk/craft area in this instance. I'd decorated the back wall with samples from a wallpaper book some time ago, but it never looked quite finished. Then, I was inspired by a Martha Stewart craft idea to put the ribbons criss crossed to hold photos and such.

I'd just tacked the ribbons in, as its cork board in behind, and the tacks looked 'tacky' (pun intended) - so I got a brainwave to hot glue buttons in neutral colors over the heads of the tacks - now it looks pretty. I'm going to WANT to spend time in this space!

Do YOU get a fall cleaning bug too? Any project you are working on lately?

Beautiful Layout by my Sister In Law

Speaking of making me SMILE - this layout was created for me by my thoughtful Sister in Law Judy. She's always an encouragement and inspiration. I'm so glad we can share our Faith, Digital Scrapbooking and love of family. Thank you Judy, I'm going to treasure this.

Speaking of Rellies (fambily members) - my brother and sister in law, Dave and Neti are on vacation at the moment (green with envy here, folks) and they've been sending photos of their adventures. I'm going to share some on my next blog post - stay tuned in!

Whooooo - are you?

What Mr. Miles saw on his walk the other day. This is his little show and tell, as he invited me down to see, but I did not make it. This impressive bird stayed put through two of his visits!