The Promise of Spring

In her book, A Time to Write, Loula Grace Erdman advises that if you want to write, it is important to set down a thought when it comes. She tells of an author who had such a wonderful idea he fell on his knees to thank God for it. When he got up, he had forgotten what it was. “Write it down first,” she insists, “then thank God afterwards.”

Today was the warmest day we have had in months. So I took a break from my computer work to go out and clean up some of the debris left over from the fall. Had I not done that, I would have missed seeing these sweet little spring flowers under the dried oak leaves that fell from the tree too late to clean up before winter. Somehow, it seemed right to ‘set down the thought’, before it was lost. Sometimes the most mundane chores, offer the most rewarding blessings if you are looking for them. The promise of Spring was made real to me today. Easter is just a couple of days away. The flowers reminded me of Jesus’ resurrection and the miracle of rebirth – a thought worth writing down.

Stop by Wall to Wall Books for vintage, new and used books for your reading pleasure and craft and hobby needs. 

Tried and True Memories

I made a meal today for the family of a friend who's dad passed away. Whenever I want a recipe I can count on, I pull out my 'tried and true' recipe book. Don't you just love the old standbys that you know will never fail you? 

I recently shared one with a couple of ladies who tried it said they loved it. I believe the words were scrumptious, yum, and so good. 

I thought I would post it here on my blog to give credit to my mom who passed it down to me. I don't know if it was her recipe originally but it has been in our family for 40 plus years and my first experience with it was at the holiday dinners at my mom and dad's house. So whenever I make it, I can't help but think of mom. I know she would be happy to know folks are still making this recipe and enjoying it.

Rosalie's Scalloped Potatoes

6 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons of salt

4 cups of milk

6 cups of sliced raw potatoes

1/2 onion, sliced thin (optional)
Melt 4 tablespoons butter; add flour and salt. Add milk slowly, stirring over low heat till sauce thickens. Add potatoes and bring to a boil. Put into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish and dot with remaining butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Yield: 15 servings

A Good Friday reminder...

I took the dogs for a walk this morning. We have a new one in the pack. His name is Rocky. Back in January we lost our Australian Shepard, Jessie to cancer. Rocky is so like Jessie that it is uncanny. He is a big guy, twice Jessie's size but his traits are exactly like hers.

When I walked him on the leash this morning, I was reminded of what my life was like before I met Jesus. As we walked along, Rocky pulling and tugging and spinning in circles, trying to get loose, I thought of how out of control I was before I met the Lord. Unlike me, fighting to hold on to Rocky, God let me do my own thing and run - allowing me to make choices, many of which were wrong, hurtful to me and hurtful to others. I realize now that I was never really free back then. Real freedom came when I allowed God to take over. Freedom and forgiveness - that is what I experienced. He could have ended my life at any moment but He had plans for me and He never took his eye off me. I am so thankful that Jesus would die on the cross for me, so that I might live a life of peace - happy to walk with Him, letting Him direct my paths.

It is a beautiful morning. Everything outside is coming alive. And as the Lord often does, He has reminded me, this morning, that I have much to be thankful for.

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. NKJV

A Little About Wall to Wall Books

I saw a sign the other day that said, “We buy junk and sell antiques”. It made me laugh but I think there’s a lot of truth in that. We don’t try to turn junk into antiques but we are great recyclers. My favorite way to recycle these days is buying and reselling books. And so we have opened an online book store: Wall to Wall Books.

I wish I could say my husband and I are the original recyclers but I know there are many who have come before us. We have always enjoyed buying used items at garage sales and thrift shops, fixing them up and adapting them to our needs. At first it was out of necessity but as time went on it became a fun hobby. When we discovered online auctions several years ago, we soon realized that not only could we continue with our hobbies but have an outlet for the overflow as well.

The decision to sell primarily books after selling anything and everything, comes from the fact that we have a house full of them. Books of all kinds. Books are easy to ship safely and can be shipped at a reasonable price. If a person is able to read, sooner or later, they will be looking for a particular book.

In the past, we have sold new and used books for any and all hobbies, including crochet, cross stitch, knitting, plastic canvas, quilting, scrapbooking, sewing, woodworking and tole painting. As an online seller, we found it was important to have some good reference books and price guides to determine what an item is and what it is worth. We will be listing those types of books also as they become available. Sewing patterns and some WWII magazines are also something you will find on our site.

Having acquired a ton of music books over the years, I am including them on our site too. And cooking - who doesn't love cook books? I have lots of 'em and they are easy to find at yard and garage sales. Please feel free to try a couple of free recipes that were given to me by my mother. These dishes were always at our traditional dinners and are still favorites of my family.

Check out Wall to Wall Books and see if we have something you are looking for. We are just getting started with lots more books to list, so if you don't find the book you need, please email your request off to us. We are always happy to check our inventory. We try to offer the same customer service we like to receive ourselves. Thank you for reading our blog. We hope to see you in our store one of these days!

Saying Goodbye to a Friend - January 4, 2010

     I said goodbye to a friend on the phone today. She didn’t answer me but I was told that she responded with her eyes. It was our Jessie. We had taken her in for emergency surgery for what was thought to be a large kidney stone. It turned out that Jessie was full of cancer. She stayed overnight at the animal hospital and Alan went in the next morning to see her and decide what to do. The surgery had taken the life out of her like nothing else could. He had no choice but to put her down.

     Jessie was our ‘Alpha’ dog. She was an Australian Sheperd. From day one she was determined that she would be the one to run the place. Alan was second in command and I was third. The rest of the dogs have come in line by order of seniority as they’ve entered the household. Even when she was a sweet looking puppy, she seemed to command authority. I never in the 10 years that she was with us, could get her to quit barking and jumping on the front door, when someone pulled in the driveway or walked up to the door. But I always felt safe with Jessie in the house. No one could get by her without a good scolding and stern warning that she was in control. Once you were in, she wanted to sit by you or crawl up on your lap if she really took a liking to you.

     She was my most loyal friend. When I was having back problems and consequent surgery, she never left me except when someone came to the door. And when I went to the garden, the rest of the dogs would go along but they were always busy sniffing around the trees or scoping out the raspberry bushes and burn pile for critters they might rouse up. Not Jessie. She would take her position near me, and move as I moved, keeping her eye on our surroundings and the house and driveway which are quite a ways from the garden.

     Jessie was trained for search and rescue. She was always enthusiastic when it came to learning something new. We would ask friends and family to hide in the grape vineyard or around the property. I’m telling you, when they were found, they knew it. She would be so excited that she would almost bowl them over when she found them. I often thought that if a person was lost and Jessie was the one to find them that they might have a heart attack when they saw her coming at them full speed. She really excelled when it came to tracking and finding her target. Although she was like a wild thing at times, she always seemed to know when to act appropriately, with other dogs or when she was in a parade with lots of commotion around her.

     This is a sad start to the New Year for me. I expected Jessie to come home from the pet hospital feeling like her old self. Just Christmas Eve she was helping us all tear the wrappings off our Christmas presents. Even the other dogs seem a bit subdued today. I’m sure they are wondering where the boss is.

     I’ve heard people say when they’ve lost a dog that they won’t get another because it is just too hard to go through it. But I think of what I would have missed without Jessie. It is such a joy to have a friend who asks so little and gives so much. An email from a friend says it all.

     “Sorry for the loss of your close friend. Only those with dogs can appreciate the emotions attached to the friendship of someone who asks nothing, yet gives so much to us. I’ve always thought that dogs got the short end of the stick on longevity. You have my deepest sympathy.”

One Potato, Two Potato, I Potato You!

Did you hear about the heart shaped potato the lady gave to President Obama when he was on the Dave Letterman show? Well, this isn't it. This one is from our small crop in the backyard. Alan brought it to me the other day and said, "I have a present for you." I smiled when I saw the potato. Every time I get one of his little gifts, I know why I love him. When they say, it is the little things that matter, I know it is true. Nothing says, "I love you." like a heart shaped potato.

I remember something that happened when I was working in a shop in my late 20's. During one of our breaks, we ladies were telling about the gifts we received for Christmas from our husbands. Most everyone got rings or watches or clothes or something personal. The funny thing is, I don't remember what Alan gave me that year but I remember what the youngest girl in the group got. Her husband gave her her own chainsaw.  If you think this is meant to be a funny story, it is not. The room got quiet when she told us what he got her. Not much else was said. But later, when she was out of ear shot, she was the butt of jokes about her and her husband. I suppose I laughed and joined in, I don't really remember. What I do know is that now, nearly 40 years later, I wish I had stuck up for her.

I have always received little gifts from Alan for no particular reason or occasion. Like the little blue plastic smurf that he gave me when we were on a trip out west. It was cute and made me laugh. I set it up on top of one of the night lights in our motor home. Somehow it fell off and went down onto the bulb and melted, leaving a big gaping hole where his mouth should have been. When I saw it, I threw it in the waste can not thinking any more about it - until Alan found it. He said, "you're not going to throw this out are you?" I could tell by his expression that he thought I should have been more careful with it. That was when I realized how sensitive and sentimental he is.

In my china cabinet are a lot of little oddities that only he and I know the meaning of. I often wonder what my friends think when they are looking at my nice dishes and see the little blue smurf guy with a black, burnt hole where his face should be.  Do they tell someone and laugh at what they've seen? Don't get me wrong. Alan has given me many nice gifts over the years, but the ones that still remain in my memory and make me smile are the little things - like the little birds nest with 2 tiny speckled eggs in it and the little, miniature Dr. Seuss, plastic Cat in the Hat that he found.

I hope the girl who got the chainsaw, still gets odd and unusual gifts from her husband. I hope her life is easier now than when they had to work so hard to get in enough wood for the winter. I hope they still laugh like kids in bed at night over something silly that happened during the day.

One of my friends has dared me to put my potato on eBay. I might have to. I don't think it will fare too well for the next 20 years in my china cabinet.

Not everyone hates the retirement home!

In my wildest dreams, I can't even imagine someone being interested in a blog written by me - about what I am doing on a day to day basis. Good grief, I can't even get my husband to listen to me most days. And what to write about? What can I use for a title? Marie's Musings? Let's see - Google musings - see what it means. Definition: thoughts, especially when aimless and unsystematic. Yep, that pretty much fits. Should it be serious or funny? Since I don't dare post the funniest family events or videos for fear of retribution, maybe I'll start with the critters that inhabit my home. I've heard tell that our pets may soon be able to sue us. I hope they can get better lawyers than we've dealt with in the past.

My husband and I have always had a love for dogs, cats, horses and other animals. Through the years we have been a safe haven for many four legged creatures that have wandered in looking for someone to love them. Right now we only have four dogs and a cat but that could change at any moment.

Just three weeks ago, Charlie came to stay with me for a week. I am also a pet sitter for a couple of people. I was walking Charlie on a leash because as his owner says, "you can't let him loose - he will run!" Now that's another story. Well, Charlie and I were taking a walk up by my garden with my other 3 dogs. On the railroad tracks only about a 100 feet away, were three beagles looking at us and wagging their tails. I said, "Come on, Charlie, come on girls, let's go to the house." I sure didn't want my girls running over there and investigating. By the time I got back to the house, one of the beagles, an older gal who obviously had had some puppies in her day, came in to the yard and collapsed. She couldn't go any farther. Her companions had gone on their way leaving her to fend for herself. Without much coaxing, she came to my husband who hung around to make sure she was OK. Before she even got up, he was calling her Mollie.

After she got her wind back, she followed us to the house and came in with the rest of us. I put an ad in the paper the next day hoping someone would call and be excited to have found her. Day one went by with no calls. The next day I got one call. The lady wanted to know if the dog had a black face and brown and white body. I explained that Mollie had a brown face and a black and white body. On day three, a lady left a message saying she was sure it was her dog. When I tried to return the call she didn't answer. So the next day I tried again. This time I got her and she said, "it's not my dog!". She didn't say she found her dog but I had to assume she did. Well, by the time days four though seven had passed without any more calls, Mollie was beginning to like it here even though there were three dogs here ahead of her. Maybe that was part of the attraction. They looked fed and clean and happy. Maybe she would be too.

The other night I got a call from a neighbor telling me they thought they had found Mollie's owner. My husband took the call and I could tell from his reaction that he was disturbed. When I heard someone was coming for Mollie, my heart sank. How can you become so attached to an animal so quickly? Well, the girl came in all excited to see Mollie, but Mollie was not excited to see her. I asked if Mollie was an inside dog or an outside dog. She sighed and said, "no, she's not allowed in the house, she lives outside." Right away I knew why Mollie was perfectly happy sitting by me - I mean tight to me. She wouldn't leave my side. Dogs truly are pack animals and they are most content when the pack is all together. Mollie had already become part of our pack.

Short story beginning to get very long - Mollie is still with us. To my friends who don't understand how I can share my home with so many dogs, I say - when you start sleeping with one eye open every night to protect me and my stuff, you can move in too. There is still room in this retirement home.

By the way....Happy Birthday to our son, Walter today! Love you, kiddo!


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Wall to Wall Books