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Well howdy-do Sugar Pies! I really wanted to get a blog post finished before now but as you will soon see I had more things on my plate than I had time for! It reminds me of Thanksgiving Dinner…the food looks so scrumptious and since a lot of it is only prepared during the Holidays we tend to pile up our plate with too much! I think that’s where the old saying “her eyes are bigger than her stomach” comes from! Well, one of the things I had my “big eyes” on was setting up a little retail space at a beautiful home decor store in Ozark Missouri called The Feathered Nest! This past year the owners Scottie and Randy opened up part of their store to booth rentals. So my sister-in-law Linda and I went in together and rented a little spot in this gorgeous store! It was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but the timing was not right until now. Of course with any new venture comes a lot more work than expected…but it’s fun work!

Come take a look!

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The Feathered Nest located at;

1603 South 3rd Street

Ozark, MO 65721

Phone(417) 581-5090

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Lot’s of rustic elegance!

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The owners of The Feathered Nest, Scottie and Randy, offer decorating and cooking workshops, antique/shopping tours to the surrounding towns and States (Arkansas, Kansas City, Nashville & Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, etc.) Scottie  and his wife also host an amazing Christmas Home Tour at their home.  Scottie is Kin to Abraham Lincoln  and has the most fascinating artifacts handed down to him that he even decorated room in his house and  titled it the “Abraham Lincoln Room”).

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This was Abraham Lincoln’s bed featured in Scottie’s home

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(Back to the store…) Every season Randy and Scottie celebrate at the shop with a very festive and magical open house party. But every time you step into The Feathered Nest there  is always joyful music playing, it smells good and the staff is always jolly.

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Even the Powder Room door is darling!

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And here is mine and Linda’s little booth! We have a lot of vintage goodies, as well as newer items. Linda is an amazing crafter, jewelry maker, knitter and makes gorgeous crochet scarves, including a skinny one for a mini tree with a Santa hat topper. A lot of what you see here has already been sold! The Christmas Open House was the first weekend in November and the shop was packed with happy shoppers!

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Thankfully I am sharing this booth with Linda so not only is it more fun but we split the rent and the work!

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The other thing I’ve been busy with is getting started on my Christmas decorating! But I was stopped in my tracks due to this cute coat stand…formally a front porch post from a darling old Victorian house somewhere…it weighs 80 pounds or more…I strained my back carrying it from my car through my house.  It was very unwieldy, not to mention heavy, and as it fish-tailed about I must have twisted something because I had an achin’ back for almost a week! Of course I didn’t think to wait for someone to help me! No! I had ants in my pants and had to decorate with it immediately! I learned my lesson…owie!! Thankfully I’m feeling better every day!

img_6243This week I also had the fun of meeting Michelle Duggar of the 19 Kids and Counting  TLC show! Michelle and her beautiful family were in Branson, Missouri, where I live and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time!  Her husband Jim Bob took our picture! What a beautiful Mama she is! So very gracious, and tenderhearted! I loved chatting with her! She shared about how excited they are for baby #20! Jim Bob and Michelle’s children are just as adorable as they are on their show! I’m inspired by their God-given parenting example as all of their children are lovingly devoted to one another and by the way they reach out  to serve people in other parts of the world. It’s so refreshing to  see such a wholesome family devoted to God, adhering to high moral values and having a lot of fun in the process! God bless the Duggar Family!

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So many exciting things have been happening but now it’s time to turn my heart toward Thanksgiving!

It’s time to begin preparing for that special day and to think about all that I am thankful to God for. I found a scripture a few days ago that seemed to pop off the page…

Psalm 94:19 “In the multitude of my anxious thoughts within me, Your comforts cheer and delight my soul!”

Wow! I would venture to say that all of us have an anxious thought…something we’ve worried about…something that makes our heart hurt. But oh my darlin’s! God is here…and in the sweetest most endearing things His comforts cheer and delight our soul if we just look for them! Let’s open our eyes, smell with our nose, listen with our ears the blessings that God and placed all around us.  Let us be quick to thank Him!

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Have you ever thought of the aroma of a Thanksgiving turkey roasting in the oven, or the warmth of a crackling fire or the familiar ticking of the clock at grandma’s house as one of God’s comforts that “cheer and delight our soul”? Or the words spoken with excitement “Time to eat!”…hands held around the table and grace being said…that first bite of mom’s savory stuffing and then Auntie’s creamy pumpkin pie?  Comfort. Cheer. Delight.

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How about the time spent with loved ones, good conversation shared over a hot cup of tea and fresh baked cookies on a crisp blustery day, where  smiles and laughter warm and revive your heart?  Or cozy slippers… a cuddly hug from a child… Christmas music…  falling leaves waltzing in a gust of wind way up in the sky…. or your family gathered around the dinner table…the smell of the furnace turning on to warm the house on early frosty mornings…these are God’s “comforts to cheer and delight your soul”. These are the things to be thankful for. Thank you Lord!

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Have you ever seen a sunrise that took your breath away? I captured this photo just over a week ago from my back porch…

it looked like fire on the mountain. In each sunrise God reminds us of His glory and power and His faithfulness…and that His mercies are new every morning! These are His comforts that “cheer and delight our soul”.  God’s Word is a comfort that cheers and delights my soul! We have access to His comfort every day! The Psalms are overflowing with comfort!

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“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting–a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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This Thanksgiving and everyday for that matter, I want to be fully aware of the comforts God has given me to cheer and delight my heart! As in years past, this year I wanted to  put together a Thanksgiving Tree as a reminder to me and my family of God’s love, grace, mercy and faithfulness.  Here is how I did it:

img_4854I started with this pot of branches that I use over and over for different looks throughout the seasons. It’s just a bunch of twigs I collected after an ice storm and put them in a small inexpensive metal container filled with Plaster of Paris. Here I placed the container holding the branches into this bronze urn. I found some crystal string-y things at a floral supply store to add a little sparkle by hanging them on a few limbs. It gives the look of dripping frost. I decided that I wanted to cut out oval shapes from copies of a yellowed vintage cookbook and stamp the words of things that I’m thankful for on them. I didn’t have an oval template so I looked around my house to see what I could use to trace…

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I found an oval!  This adorable antique little girl in this oval frame is my hubby’s Grandmother. Her name… little Miss Naomi Agatha Madsen. What a dreamy picture of pure sweetness! I will tell you more about her and share one of her recipes in just  a bit! Okay! So now I had my oval template!

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I also had this very old (about 118 years old!) cookbook to make copies from. I would NEVER cut this old book up, instead I make color copies so my new pages look old!
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Look how beautifully aged the pages are! There are so many wonderful things about this vintage cookbook…I have to share what I found before I continue my little tutorial…it’s facinating!  Each recipe has a copy of the contributors autograph. These women were the “managers of  World’s Fairs, Wives of Governors and other Ladies of Position and Influence”.  Copyrighted in 1893

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This cookbook is filled with snippets of newspaper and magazine clippings as well as handwritten recipes. This little scrap is actually two tiny pieces that were hand sewn together! There are several of these, and one that is sewn together with a sewing machine! Of course they didn’t have Scotch Tape back then so this gal put her thinking cap on. This one’s a recipe for Raspberry Foam. Interesting!

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Here is a receipt written out to Mrs. Creekpaum November 25 1898. The Salesman’s last name is Judd. Mrs. Creekpaum purchased a hose for 15 cents and something else for 35 cents (perhaps this cookbook?)

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Here’s a remedy that uses onions for pneumonia. This time she used a straight pin to hold two pieces together.

She also put an “x” next to certain recipes, perhaps ones she liked.

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Mrs. Creekpaum also saved this magazine article about Thanksgiving from McCalls magazine 1906

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Here’s her recipe for curing 100 pounds of meat!

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A song Titled “Mother’s Lullabye” tucked inside

img_4901The little snippets inside this cookbook tell a fascinating story of the woman who owned it! There are so many more things tucked inside the pages that paint a picture of a strong caring devoted mother and homemaker! This was a treasure that I found on ebay years ago.

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Okay! Back to my Thanksgiving Tree!  Make copies of  vintage pages from a book then trace your shape.

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Cut out shapes…I used pinking shears

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Stamp your words with Alphabet Stamps found at a craft store or online. You could also print the words on your computer.

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I “aged” the edges with a brown sponge ink pad

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Punch a hole and slip in a ribbon

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Make copies of family photos…include some silly faces!

Keeping with the brown and cream look I changed the photos to Sepia using Picasa.

I also cut them into ovals.

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Hang them on the branches!

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When my family gathers for the Holidays I know they’ll enjoy looking at our Thanksgiving Tree!


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img_4947I’m so thankful I live in the USA and for the troops who put their lives on the line for our freedom!

God bless our troops!

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I still need to add photos of grandparents and other loved ones, but this gives you the idea! It’s a wonderful and easy way to give that much needed “sense of belonging” to  our family.

img_4965img_4958img_4960img_4948Being intentionally thankful,

reminding ourselves of God’s blessings

and opening our eyes to His comforts that “cheer and delight our soul”

will make joy-bells ring in our heart.

A thankful heart is a happy heart.

A mama with a happy heart makes a happy home.

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As promised here is a little bit about Grandma Naomi Agatha Madsen including a recipe! Born just after the Turn Of The Century, she grew up to be the prayer warrior of the family. She fell asleep every night with an open Bible and prayers for her children and grandchildren fresh on her lips. What a legacy and a priceless gift, to blanket loved ones with warm prayers of goodness, mercy and grace. Oh, that we would do the same, with fervency! If we don’t pray for our loved ones, who will?
“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16B
Well, little miss “NoNo” as she was endearingly called, was the baker of many delectable, made-from-scratch, sweet and golden confections. One of which was her spicy, sugared, Gingersnap Cookies. A must-have on our holiday table. I would like to honor her this season by sharing this heirloom recipe ( which she would be thrilled and humbled that you would want it.). These will no doubt comfort, cheer and delight your soul!

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Grandma’s Gingersnaps

3/4 cup butter (softened, not melted)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
Mix together above ingredients until well blended, then add:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
Beat all ingredients well. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator or freezer at least an hour (for best results the dough needs to be COLD!!). Then roll into small balls (large marble size). Dip balls into a bowl of white sugar, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 preheated oven for 8 minutes (not a minute more, you want the cookies to be crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.)
Just wait until the buttery-spice aroma of these cookies meander it’s way through each room of your home, it’s so heavenly…you’ll wonder if Angels may have fluttered by.
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Well, Sugar Pies I’ve begin stocking my pantry in preparation for Turkey Day! One little thing that I wanted to share with you is this porcelain egg tray. I keep it with my baking supplies and it comes in handy when I need to get some eggs from the fridge, especially on big baking days just before Thanksgiving or Christmas.  It’s not only cute but it keeps my eggs from rolling around on my counter and from splatting on the floor! I got mine at Crate and Barrel but you can also find similar ones here. I’m a kitchen gadget girl and this is one of my faves!!

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Well darlin’s Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner! Have a HAPPY one Sugar! May your home sparkle with the warmth and goodness that Thanksgiving brings!! Keep a look out for the blessings that God is sending you to comfort, cheer and delight your soul! In fact I would love it if you would share them here in my comment section! Your words could be the very words that blesses another! What comforts, delights and cheers your heart especially this time of year? Do share!!
God Bless your darlin’ hearts!
Aunt Ruthie
P.S.  Come join me on FACEBOOK!!

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