Isn’t it terrible about all the flooding and loss of life!   Gainesville, Haltom City and other areas have had extreme flooding.  Southwest Parker County has really had it bad along the Brazos River and 2,000 residents were ordered to evacuate this week.   The Lake Granbury area is bad too.  Water rose from outside yards to waist deep inside their homes in less than 20 minutes time.  Marble Falls in the Hill Country got 19.5 inches of rain in 9 hrs so they’ve had really bad flooding.   There are so many areas in Texas and other states that are having a hard time.   Remember them in your prayers!

For those of you traveling in Texas, be sure to stop in West, Texas, the heart of the Czech community in this region.  However, West is not west.  In other words, the community of West is not in west Texas.  It’s actually in the central part of Texas and was founded in 1882.  It’s located on I-35 between Dallas-Ft. Worth and Austin.   West is famous for its Czech Stop & Little Czech Bakery which is well known for its “kolaches” (pastry buns filled with either fruit, poppy seeds, cream cheese, or sausage) and also for its cakes, pies, cookies, breads, and fudge.  They also serve a variety of sandwiches.

It’s a family tradition to stop there when we’re traveling, and it’s a very tasty tradition I might add!

Treasures here on earth won’t last.  They weren’t made to last.  Several years ago my childhood home burned down and was almost a total loss. Many things that had great emotional value were lost in the fire. Those treasures are gone forever.  But the treasure we have in Christ can never be taken away from us.
 9 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth where they can erode away or may be stolen. 20 Store them in heaven where they will never lose their value and are safe from thieves. 21 If your profits (treasures) are in heaven, your heart will be there too. ”
TLB   Matt 6:19-21

“I DON’T HAVE HOT FLASHES…I HAVE SHORT, PRIVATE VACATIONS IN THE TROPICS.”

These are awesome vitamins, the only ones I have found that are 100% whole food vitamins, all natural, nothing synthetic. I started using these vitamins several years ago. They’re enzymatically active which I’m learning is so extremely important to our health. They contain all the cofactors that we need so we can absorb the nutrients needed to be healthy. I didn’t take these vitamins consistently in the past, but after having a lot of fibromyalgic symptoms start over a year ago I am now back to taking these vitamins daily. They are wonderful for FIBROMYALGIA as well as for everybody to supplement nutritives that are lacking in our food. A lot of the soil nowadays has had the nutritives depleted after years and years of farming. So sometimes we may be eating healthy foods, but if these foods were grown in soil that is lacking in nutritives, then the food will be lacking in them as well.

Visit Parker Health Solutions to find out more information about these great vitamins. (This is not a paid ad.)

I tried to find a waterproof curtain for the window above our bathtub.  We usually take showers and water would get in the window sill and also get on the cloth curtain.  I wanted to keep water out of the window sill but could not find anything suitable to prevent that from happening.  I finally thought of buying an inexpensive vinyl shower curtain liner and I made my own curtain out of it.  The vinyl is so soft and almost cloth-like.  I cut off the top of the shower liner (with the holes) so the bottom part of the liner would be the length I wanted for the window curtain.   I added two and a half extra inches to allow for the curtain rod insert pocket which would be at the top of the window curtain.  (The thin pressure type rod works great, by the way.)   I simply folded down the top of the new window curtain one and a half inches to form the rod insert pocket.  I used button thread to make simple stitches to make the pocket.  If your sewing machine isn’t in the attic like mine then you could probably just stitch it on the sewing machine.   It’s very simple to make and you don’t have to hem the very bottom or sides of the curtain.   We’ve been using the new curtain for several months now and it works great and looks fine!

I was raised on delicious apricot cobbler made from the apricot trees in our back yard.   And it is good comfort food when you need it.  But cooking the apricots, or any fresh fruit, destroys the valuable enzymes that are naturally in them.    Dr. Edward Howell, who was a physician and pioneer in enzyme research, called these valuable enzymes the “sparks of life.”    Enzymes are so important for just about all of the biochemical processes that go on in the body.  SO….instead of cooking fresh fruit and destroying the enzymes and most of the vitamins, cut up the fresh fruit and use it as a topping on your favorite ice cream.   (There are some great low-fat ice creams out there, so try different brands until you find one you really like and that’s even better!)  Doing this will not only bring great health benefits, but you will be adding spark to your life!

For a pie, this is healthier with the raisins and pecans:

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon butter

• 3 teaspoons vinegar

• 1 cup pecans

• 1 cup raisins

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon allspice

Mix well and pour into an unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Check out my post to read about Canton’s First Monday Trade Days.

If you’ve never been to First Monday Trade Days in Canton, Texas, then be prepared for an all day experience.  Be sure to wear your most comfortable walking shoes.  There is so much to see!  And you won’t want to leave until you’ve seen it all.   Some people make a two day event out of it.   Bed and Breakfast accomodations are in the area which are always fun.   Two of my best friends from high school and I left kids and husbands at home and celebrated our 50th birthdays one weekend in Canton.  We caught up on each other’s lives and had a great time!   Here’s a little background on Canton.  It’s the county seat and was established in 1850.  There was a bitter fight to move the courthouse to Wills Point in 1877, but Canton eventually won.   That’s a good thing because we probably wouldn’t have “First Mondays” if Wills Point had won.    A famous recipe from Canton’s Dixie Hotel way back in the 1940’s & 1950’s was for “Osgood Pie from Dixie House.”  If you go to the Recipes Category of my blog you will find the recipe there.  If you make the pie, let me know how you like it.   And…if you decide to visit Canton, remember that First Monday is on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday preceding the first Monday in each month.

Welcome to “healthyhomeblog.” This blog will hopefully help to provide information for a healthy home environment and tips for helping the busy homemaker. Please feel free to share your ideas through comments. Check back daily for more information. I’m looking forward to sharing with y’all.