INSTAFriday Episode #13

 

Okay, so I have to admit, and it was not planned - I'm as surprised as you are, the last time I posted an INSTAFriday was November 6th 2015, I know, right?!? I have been so AWOL that I have to apologize, not just to the few of y'all who actually take your precious time to read my ramblings but also for myself; I've kept this blog going since June 2006 because I love the diary aspect of it; guess that's why I keep resurrecting it and bringing back my INSTAFriday Link-up (feel free to play along)!

It's November and here in Croatia it should be quite chilly, with even some fluffy, white stuff, but i'm not complaining. I purchased this Peach Jam Iris a couple years ago and it's not let me down. It's a re-bloomer which means it blooms in Spring and late Summer but this year it's really earning it's keep; bloomed for me 3 times!! God truly is the Master Artist!

Each month I write Scripture with my KJV Scripture Writing Group on Facebook and this month is all about thankfulness. Along with the daily Scripture writing passage we are also writing one thing a day that we are thankful for. (If you are interested in the group or the schedules you can find them here).

Just 'cause. 

My sweet friend Patty gave me some Eucalyptus and I got these beauties from my garden. Love Fall!

Just 'cause. 

Nuff said. Amen, amen and amen!!

The thoughts of a parent with a wayward son are never far from that son. He's on my heart hourly. Praying for restoration. 

So, this is Tori. Okay, so I'm Tori but this little cutie is also Tori. Tori is my namesake and the daughter of one of our couples in church. This week Tori is staying with us as her Mommy just gave birth to her little sister Esther. She makes me both miss our little grandson Garren and glad to have her all at the same time. 

So, there it is, INSTAFriday and the first of many after my very long hiatus. 

INSTAFriday

I'm a little #crochet crazy lately. Loved making this cute little owl hat with the pattern from #repeatcrafterme . Now to see if it fits the little head it was made for. #yarn #crocheting #crochetlove

A photo posted by ↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞ⓉⓄⓇⒾ↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠ (@johnnysgirltori) on Nov 12, 2015 at 4:39am PST

Psalm 40:1-3 I remember the day that He brought me out if a horrible pit and established my goings. Wow, what an amazingly merciful God we serve. #Jesus #Bible #Scripture #salvation

A photo posted by ↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞ⓉⓄⓇⒾ↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠ (@johnnysgirltori) on Nov 11, 2015 at 11:13pm PST

Made some amazing #glutenfree pumpkin bread, first I've had in 1.5 years. Delish!! #Autumn #pumpkin

A photo posted by ↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞ⓉⓄⓇⒾ↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠ (@johnnysgirltori) on Nov 11, 2015 at 5:42am PST

Sweet little bunny all done and waiting for the arrival of a sweet little one. #yarn #crochet #crocheting #amigurumi

A photo posted by ↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞ⓉⓄⓇⒾ↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠ (@johnnysgirltori) on Nov 11, 2015 at 3:18am PST

You might be a crocheter if... #crochet #crocheting #yarn

A photo posted by ↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞ⓉⓄⓇⒾ↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠ (@johnnysgirltori) on Nov 9, 2015 at 2:32am PST

Because fall #timehop

A photo posted by ↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞ⓉⓄⓇⒾ↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠ (@johnnysgirltori) on Nov 7, 2015 at 10:05am PST

Are you kidding me? It's November and almost 70 degrees? Loving it! #Croatia

A photo posted by ↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞ⓉⓄⓇⒾ↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠ (@johnnysgirltori) on Nov 7, 2015 at 4:07am PST

Road closed due to the harvest. Interesting.

A photo posted by ↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞↞ⓉⓄⓇⒾ↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠ (@johnnysgirltori) on Nov 7, 2015 at 1:46am PST

Okay Guys, there's my INSTAFriday post. I'm crazy running to get it done this morning. I hate that but today is Johnny's only day off and we're going to do and enjoy the crazy warm weather.
Have a great weekend friends!!

INSTAFriday #12

I seriously say this absolutely every Friday but I can't believe it's Friday already. Can you guys believe that we only have 48 days, 13 hours, 55 minutes and as of the time of this post 56 seconds till Christmas! What? How did that happen? 

Croatia has been unseasonably warm this year so Johnny and I took some time to go to the driving range. It was fun but more so it was amazingly beautiful. I am in love with the colors this year. 

Oh guess what I'm making? A crocheted rug for my super-room. I had some old sheets a friend gave me and so I ripped those suckers up and starting stitching. I can't wait to show you the finished project. You can find a tute here. 

Zoi, is so funny. She thinks she's a cat and insists on sleeping on the back of the couch. 

I finally finished a special little blankie for a special delivery coming in January. I love how it turned out. I used a tutorial from Yolanda Soto Lopez, so easy and it works up pretty quick. 

Did I tell you how much I love Fall?

My feed was full of trees, I couldn't get enough. 

The only thing that made the amazing Fall colors better is that I got to experience it with the love of my life. 

Oh I have to say how excited I am that our Mueller has yarn now!! Not just yarn but cheap yarn. They're small skeins but they are only 7 kuna which is about a buck! Can't beat that. 

It's been so warm here that there have been lots of bugs going around and sadly my baby love caught one. I thought it was adorable that Zoi was watching over him while he slept. So sweet. 

Finally, I post a lot of Scripture on my feed. This one really spoke to me. Absolutely everything you need to know to succeed in life. 

Anyhoo, there's my INSTAFriday post for this first week in November.

Can't wait to see yours!

INSTAFriday #11

Crocheting something special for a special little girl who'll be here in January.

We have a new little one in our church due to arrive in 

January. She's gonna be super-loved by us all. The sweet couple in our church is naming her Hannah after our daughter. What an amazing honor!

Preparing low calorie, individual, freezer meals today. Italian chicken and rice with veggies. Yum! Oh yea and only 208 calories!

 So, after a long year and half of eating entirely low carb I've decided to give low-cal a go. I need something to change things up a bit. Johnny's at his goal and has maintained for over a year but I've still got some to go. So, I cooked up some Italian chick and rice with veggies and popped those suckers in the freezer. Today, i'm going to make 4 more pasta meals. 

Am I the only one who thinks that Hepher 🐮 naming his daughter Hoglah 🐷 is funny?

Okay so I just thought this was funny. I didn't even notice the Hepher's daughter Milcah! HA! 

Love the view from my computer as I work. Missing my Nana girl today!

I'm missing my Nana girl lots lately. I love being able to look up and see her smiling face. 

🎉🎈Happy birthday to our first born Cody!!🎈🎉 23 years ago today you changed our lives. We're so blessed to be your parents. We love you son! Hope today is wonderful and this is your best year ever!!

I can't believe I have a son old enough to be a father. How did that happen. It seems like yesterday he was a toddler and now he's a man. 23 years sure pass fast.  

Look @waynecody we have sun only for your birthday. Wish you were here to enjoy it.

What's the opposite of drought? Yep, that's what's been going on here. It's been so rainy. I was glad to see that it was sunny on our son's 23rd birthday. 

Prefect Christmas gift, a world travel toilet seat. Super cool!! #why #whynot

Okay so Johnny and I recently took a trip to the hardware store and I was mesmerized by these toilet seats. Yes, toilet seats! Are they not the most amazing things!

We have such cool stuff in Croatia!! Only the coolest toilet seat ever!!!

Love this one the most. Although I think if we had those in our bathrooms we'd spend way more time in there than we already do. :0) 

Okay lovies, that's my INSTAFriday for October 23rd, 2015. I'm gonna add the link-up for those who want to participate. BTW, make sure you add your name to the link-up so we can find you!

InstaFRIDAY #10

My Instagram feel is seriously lame these days, I admit it but it is what it is. Life has been pretty quiet here lately especially with the weather being a little lot wet. It's okay cause rain means green and flowers and that's cool but after days of it you sure start to feel a little Noah-ish. 

I guess rainy days are good for one of two things. Actually more but I'm thinking that they're good for sleeping and office work. So I got a little crafty this week and made that paper garland I was telling you about. No, you can't see it yet, I'm waiting for a big reveal of my Super-room. 

BTW, brace yourself! Yesterday of no fault of my own, uhhh, I completely cut through my Silhouette mat! No, I'm not kidding. I was gutted and so sick. It's hard to get stuff like that here and a Michael's store is a long piece from here. Anyhow, after bawling for a while I remembered the fix all in the drawer and got out my trusty duct tape. I know, Redneck is what you're thinking. Not really but I know a life saver when I see one and Duct Tape is just that. So I flipped it over and taped away and for now, while looking rather ghetto it's working. I found a site here in Europe but the mat's double what it would be in the States and I'm not about to be ripped off so I'm looking for a different option. I'll let you know what I come up with. 

We did get a big treat. When we got back from the States we headed over to one of the good restaurants here in town and the only one that serves any sorta (good or bad) Mexican food and had our hopes dashed against the rocks. It was closed. Actually it was there but now it was now pizza joint #2567 in our town. We have pizza out the wazoo here. 

Anyhow, we took our loss, mourned and went on with our less spicy life. So then the other day a lady at church was telling us about this really cool new restaurant named Santa Maria. What?? Our restaurant? For real, it was our Santa Maria, it had just moved and forgot to send a forwarding address. So, guess who got to go to Santa Maria? Yep, you guessed it, Us! Date night was super yummy thanks to my honey-man and delish food. BTW, I know it's mushy and all but I seriously love this man and adore those lines around his eyes when he smiles. I'm one happy chickie. 

Oh speaking of happy; We headed to Hungary to do a little shopping. I have no idea why I didn't take photos. That would have at least raised the interest level a little on my Instagram feed but alas I didn't. I did however fine these beauties! These Chocolate O's were Ah-mazing! They were seriously close to Oreos and it's been a really really long time since I had a cookie, like a year and a half! So these were delish and gone in two days!

Okay so I know what you're thinking. Why in the world would I post a photo of a seriously worn out skillet and a rather average pancake. Well, glad you asked. First off the pan, well, I know I need to replace it but I am a skin-flint and tend to use things till they're done, I know, this one is almost done. Anyhoo, what you see is dinner. Johnny had the pancake in the pan. It's low-carb, low-glycemic, no GMO, and you can just imagine all the other good stuff but what it did have was gluten so that left me out. So mine are the sadly thin ones in the back. They are made from egg and cream cheese and are also low-carb and gluten free so I was in business. Plus, the cream cheese pancakes crepes are actually delish and served their purpose perfectly.

So there's my lame InstaFRIDAY for this rainy week in October. I bet your feeds were much more interesting, so lets see!

Make sure to link up below!

INSTAFriday #9

Are you kidding? I seems like yesterday was Monday how did we make it to Friday already? As soon as summer is over Fall flies by and before we know it it's holiday time. 

(let me just stop for an impromptu grammar lesson. I am seriously the kind of girl that thinks of what i'm gonna type and if there is a word I can't recall how to spell I just pick another, as is or has been the case with the word "fly". Okay so time "flys" or "flies"?  So I knew it was fly for singular and flies for plural but I honestly had no idea what to use in the place of "time flys or flies." So, finally today after a thousand times of replacing the word fly with another I finally know.  In the case of "time flys or flies." It would be the plural form flies. Go firgure! That was my problem all along, why use the plural form for flies but alas, it's flies. Wow, this grammar lesson has lasted forever. Time flies when you're having fun or is it time's fun when you're having flies?) 

Anyhoo, before all my time flies away, on to INSTAFriday.
This week was pretty quiet. Actually I didn't get out much at all. Johnny was gone for 3 days and when he was home I just felt like cuddling on the couch, which we did a lot of in front of the first fire of the season in the wood burning stove. I love Fall!

This is hilarious! You know the old adage, "as long as there are children in the house you'll never have peace in the bathroom", well I need to rewrite that as "as long as there are children or doggies in the house you'll never have peace in the bathroom". Apparently Zoi feels the need to take up the post of guarding the bathroom door when it's in use. She's crazy, she'll sit there and scratch and it sounds like someone is knocking. Oh well, as least she feels useful. 

My second photo on my Instagram feed is this. My happy place in the morning is at my desk with my Bible and coffee. I'm so thankful that the Bible is a living Book and is new every time I read it. BTW, you can take the girl out of Texas but you can't take Texas out of the girl.

Also, if you see my pen, well...it's only the best Bible marking pen ever! If you don't know about these, they're amazing. They are the Pilot Frixion Point pens and they are completely bleed proof, smudge proof and erasable! Yes, erasable!! They erase everything and leave absolutely no mark whatsoever. They are wonderful. They are also extrememly hard to find in stores in the States but you can get them online here. Also I got mine on Amazon where I found them to be the least expensive.

So, Happy INSTAFriday to everyone!! I hope you'll link up today so I can come and check out your INSTAFriday shares too!

INSTAFriday #8 Belated

I'm not even sure If I can do this or not but I'm going to. I'm posting a belated INSTAFriday. I know I should have done it yesterday but It was the first day I felt good well better not disgusting all week. So yesterday I actually showered and went out with the hubby, after I got dressed of course and we even stopped or coffee. I usually get a head cold once every year but I missed last year and I was hoping this year would follow suit. At least it's done and over with so I can look forward to the rest of the season. 

My week started off with a lovely bouquet of flowers from my main squeeze. 

He know's just what I like. I like roses bit not particularly. I would much rather have a mixed bouquet than roses any day and these were perfect. 

I was a little chilly the first part of the week so I made my first pot of stew. No, before you ask, those are not pickles and this isn't Russian soup. I actually cheated and used frozen Italian seasoned veggies and it was delish! I topped mine with a slab of Mozzerella and it was to die for!

Okay so this is something completely new for me. Amigurumi. Yes, I spelled that right. It's basically Japanese for crocheted stuffed doll. In my case it's a bear. I found the best ever tutorial (of any kind, she's a great teacher and so easy to follow) on YouTube for making this little guy. After I fdinished I crocheted a quick granny stitch blankie and attached it to the bottom of this little guy. I'm sending him off to the capital in a few days to a brand new little boy. Anyhow, if you ever wanted to try something like this, this is the tutorial for you. 

I was so excited to see flowers on my clematis I planted last Spring. When we left for the states it was just starting to bloom and I was so bummed that I wouldn't get to see it. It's been so crazy warm here lately that everything is still in full bloom. I love these!

I posted this photo this week of my kiddos. This is the photo that is on the visor of our car. I miss them all so much. I'm so glad we had them here with us for the first 15 years. Now I'm praying that grand kids will be coming my way over the next 15. BTW, empty nest isn't as awesome as I initially thought. 

Finally, I found this photo the other day of our preacher and his wife and us right before we left for the field in 2000. I know we look different but it's us I assure you. It seems like an eternity ago that we left and arrived here. I'm so thankful for a Pastor who taught us to stand tall and stick out the hard times. 

Okay, before anyone asks, yes that is my foot in the bottom of the photo. Don't look too close, my nails need serious attention. 

Anyhoo, that's my belated INSTAFriday. I figured better late than never. Hey if you want to join me, it's not too late. I'm gonna add a link up just in case there are some takers.

I'm also linking up today with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for her Friday Fave Five

INSTAFriday #7 Link-up

I am in shock! How can it be Friday already? Where are the days going? As of yesterday we've been home already 3 weeks! It seems like we arrived yesterday and now we're already on week 4! 

The weather's turned a little chilly and wet here which I guess is to be expected since it's September and the kids are all back in school. It has to be wet and cold or those kids won't have stories to tell their kids about standing in the cold rain waiting for the school bus when they were kids. Oh yea, after walking 12 miles to the bus stop. 

Anyhoo, my Instagram feed started out Sunday with a photo of my favorite preacher. I am so proud of my Johnny. He's become such an amazing man over the years and even if he weren't my husband I would still be very impressed. 

Oh yea and that blue suit, well it makes it a little hard for me to pay attention to the sermon. I love being in love with him. I know it's mushy but I don't know how else to say it. 

This empty-nest stuff is for the birds! (Ha, I made a funny and didn't even try.) While I'm loving the alone time with Johnny and the peace, I can't stand the quiet. I never dreamed I'd miss noise so much. He's also been in a bit of a funk lately because of it. Between knowing they're not here are worrying about them there, (yes, I know that the opposite of faith is worry) it's been a learning experience. I need to study harder so I'll quit flunking the quiz. 

So Johnny and I decided to have a frivolous Monday of just gallivanting around for no good reason so we headed to Zagreb, the capitol of Croatia. It's not far, only about an hour and a couple tolls.

As we headed toward downtown I happen to see this at a stoplight. I know, it's art right? If you say so.



Then we headed to the Botanical Gardens that I've wanted to visit for 15 years. We've driven and walked past this place numerous times but since today was all about being frivolous we stopped. I loved it! The flowers were still in bloom and everything, I mean EVERYTHING was labeled. The crazy thing is that Johnny loved it. He even talked about how cool gardening would be. Oh be still my heart! I have hope.

Oh yea, and the lily pad house was amazing. I have never seen a lily pad this size. The flower blooms which weren't bloomed were the size of a small child's head.  Is that not unreal. I was so solid too, a child could have floated on in. On the bottom side of the pad it was covered with monstrous thorns. Very jungly. (is that a word?) It is now.



We had such a good time meandering through town and down back alleys. Most of the towns in this part of Europe look the same but I never get tired of strolling down the cobblestone streets.

This is what we found at the bottom of the above walkway. it was the perfect place to get a cappuccino. We sat and did was all Europeans do, we sipped coffee, slowly and we watched people walk by. That's the national pastime of Croatia and I like it!

We chose this place for coffee, you know why? Because I loved the plants on the tables in old tin cans. I like quirky things (that's why I like y'all) and that's pretty quirky. The coffee was great even through the waiter was a bit of a jerk (I mean that in the nicest way).

We made our way back to the car and headed to the Promise Land! Okay so it's just IKEA but pretty close. I don't know why I love this place but I do! I always leave with some cool thinggy or two. This time several cool thinggys.

Anyhow, that's what dominated my Instagram feed this week. I don't seem to take as many photos as I did before. I guess without a cute daughter to photograph my feed has slowed down.

We enjoyed our frivolous Monday and I'm thinking it's gonna be a permanent fixture in our lives.

I'm also linking up today with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for her Friday Fave Five

Can't wait to see your INSTAFriday! Don't forget to link-up below!

INSTAFriday #6

Wow, I can't believe that we've been home 2 weeks already. Time has seriously flown and we've been majorly busy. I am glad however to be able to start up INSTAFriday again hopefully you guys will join in. 

I can't tell you how happy I was to be home and be able to enjoy the view from our 2nd floor terrace. We live in the city but Croats are so good at gardening their yards that it almost feels like we're in a garden. I love it!

Funny story: Growing up my mother always had Wisteria planted in every yard we ever had. She loved it and I love it. So 15 years ago when we bought a house here I went and bought some Wisteria and planted it in my yard. Well a year and a half later we had to sell that house when the Dollar plummeted. Anyhow, we have since moved 5 times and every time I've planted a wisteria in my yard. The problem is, Wisteria takes up to 7 years to bloom. So I would plant it but then we'd move before it bloomed so I've yet to see a Wisteria bloom in my yard. So when we moved here almost 2 years ago I planted Wisteria again. This time I actually went to the national pastor's wife (they bought the house we sold where the first Wisteria was planted) and got some of the very first Wisteria I planted here in Croatia 15 years ago. It's very happily growing in my yard in two different places. I have seen it bloom yet but I have great hopes it will before we leave this house. 

Until then, I'll enjoy looking at my neighbors Wisteria that grows up over the roof of out out buildings. 

While the neighbors garden looks awesome ours didn't so much. We have a huge patio area out back and when we got back it looked like that. Apparently it was a bumper crop year for weeds. Those weeks were 4 feet tall. We had a little work to do when we go home, needless to say.

 I know what you're thinking, that doesn't look real appetizing. Okay so it's not a foodie photo and it's not suppose to be. When our daughter was at home she always used the yellow plate. All my dishes are white but somewhere along the way I ended up with one special yellow plate and Hannah adopted it. We didn't dare use that yellow plate, it was hers! I sent this photo to Hannah to show her that the yellow plate was now ours. She got a chuckle out of it but later that day, I dropped the prized yellow plate and now ALL my plates are white.

I told you guys not long ago, (or did I?) that a baby was being born in our church and they were naming her after me. We'll here I am meeting Tory for the very first time. She is an amazingly good baby and she's beautiful. She's so similar to her namesake. HA! Anyhow, here she is, Tory. What an honor. 

Did I tell you I started crocheting? We'll I did. All those long road trips in the States were so boring and a girl can only sleep so much. So I started with hankies and moved up to blankies. I fell in love with this chunky turquoise and brown yard I found and Michael's. Plus I used a 40% off coupon so that's a win and it's big and chunky so that makes for a quick project. I'm all about seeing progress and quick projects. I probably should be on Ridlin, cause I have a seriously short attention span so quick projects are essential for my happiness and longevity. I'll share when I'm finished. 

Our daughter Hannah is one lively young lady. She has always had enough life in her for all of us. She is zany and fun and I thought she was one of a kind till I meet Agatha. Agatha is 75 and she is Hannah's personality twin. I'm so not kidding. She is so much like Hannah it's almost scary. They think alike and she's just as lively at 75 as Hannah is at 18. They are twinseys. Anyhow, we took this photo to send to Hannah when we got back. Agatha is sadly lost without Hannah. She talks about her all the time. It means so much to me to know that Hannah left such a hole in so many hearts, including mine. 

Okay so that's INSTAFriday #6 done! I'm actually surprised I had any new photos on my Instagram cause life's been crazy busy here. 

I can't wait to see yours! Make sure you link up for INSTAFriday so we can come take a look-see.