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Freshen Up Friday

Our Top Pin
Better Homes and Gardens

We would all love to have a garden like this photo above, wouldn’t we?  We picture ourselves sitting out in a yard like that sipping sweet tea and lingering over a novel on a perfect summer day.  However, most of our yards are more like:

well, maybe not THAT bad, but perhaps it’s more like:

It’s just kind of plain and needing some help.  Maybe your yard is advance beyond that.  Whatever the state is, if you’re needing some additions to freshen up your yard and you are on a budget, let me give you a few ideas that will help you to Freshen Up the Yard with Frugality!

  • Get cuttings of plants from a friend that has plants that spread.  Some examples would be, Herbs, Lilies, Ornamental Grasses, phlox, Lambs Ear, etc.
  • Go FIRST to the clearance section at your landscape place.  Lowes always has a section of things marked down.  Sometimes they need a little TLC, but they will usually be half price there!
  • Buy things that will spread (such as the before mentioned plants).  Plan accordingly when planting them; leave room for growth.
  • Buy perennials so you they’ll return year to year.
It’s about time to get some things growing.  Start by getting an idea of one or two areas you want to embellish.  Start small with something your budget and your back will both be able to handle, and work up to the full-blown plan bit by bit.  Don’t let those window boxes go naked again this summer!  Brighten up your porch with a flower pot or two!  Go on, freshen up that yard!

See you in church!

Be refreshed,


Today is Day #19 in the House Cleaning challenge.  The chore for today is to clean up the entryway, garage or car.  I’m going to take care of the front porch and side door entries.  Come back at 6 PM and I’ll show you how it turned out!

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Day #18 House Cleaning Update

Who loves cleaning out the refrigerator?  It’s not my favorite task, but that was the challenge for today and I’m glad I got everything straightened up in there!  I did find one “mystery”  container.  Hmmm.

The starting point:
I emptied out a few containers of left overs, wiped down the shelves and drawers, then reorganized things a bit.  
Now it looks like this:
Then the freezer before:
I organized and straightened up the shelves and baskets ~

How did your day of cleaning go?

Other posts related to the House Cleaning Challenge:
(I started with Day #5)
Day 5 Challenge Update
Days 8, 9, 10 Challenge Update
Day 11 Challenge Update
Day 12 Challenge Update
Day 15 Challenge Update
Day 16 Challenge Update
Day 17 Challenge Update

With love,

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A Peek Inside the Parsonage

Things stay so busy in the parsonage.  There are always pressing needs and concerns.  There are church members to care for, our own family’s needs, housework, studying, planning, and preparing for upcoming events.   It can be overwhelming at times, but it’s then that we know we just need a little time away from Johnson City. My husband will pry my fingers loose of all that I’m involved in and make plans for us to go do something together.

We had the blessing of going to Pigeon Forge yesterday to tour the Titanic Museum with a group from our church.  That is an incredible outing!  When we arrived, we were each assigned the name and identity of one of the passengers of the ship.  I was Edwina (Winnie) Troutt.  She was a 27 year-old woman on her way from England to Massachusetts to visit her sister.  At the time of the ship’s sinking, a man handed her a baby to take with her on the life boat!  She was saved from drowning in the icy waters and lived to be 100.  Whew!  Glad I she made it!

Walking through the museum and learning the history of the building of the Titanic, of its crew and passengers, and of its claim to be “unsinkable”  was a stern reminder that life is fragile.  There is a day that all of us will come to the end of life here and will be faced with eternity.  How will we spend the last day the Lord gives us?  It was a challenge to my heart.  Maybe all that “stuff” that I was so concerned about isn’t so critical!  We need to each live today to the fullest – first for the Lord, and then with those that we love.  We won’t have them forever.

The group all enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Pottery House Cafe’ afterwards.  This is one of our favorite places in Pigeon Forge.  The setting is so pretty and the food is really good.  If you have the chance to visit Gatlinburg, you need to stop off at The Old Mill area and eat at Pottery House!

Here’s the outside patio area.  It’s a great place to eat on a pretty spring day!

I’m thankful for a husband who makes me take a break every now and then.  This time away was refreshing, enlightening and fun!

What do you do when things get stressful?

From the parsonage windows,


P.S. Today’s house cleaning challenge is to clean things that are repeatedly handled – switch plates, door knobs, etc.  Get out the Lysol and make it sparkly and germ-free!

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Day #16 House Cleaning Update

Deep cleaning the bathroom(s) was today’s challenge.  I did it!  I have a couple other projects I want to do in there, like wash the shower curtain, but the bathrooms are clean.

Before:

After:
 Shower wiped down, washcloths tossed into laundry, toilet and sink cleaned.
Things in general just straightened up!
After:
Sink and mirror cleaned, towels replaced with fresh ones.

Much better!  Anyone else take today’s challenge?

With love,