I Have Moved!

Hello Readers!

You may or may not have noticed that there has been no action on A House and Yard for quite some time now.

You may or may not have wondered what happened. I am under no delusion that anyone at all has been pining away because they haven't received a post from A House and Yard in such a long time. That's okay.

Many things have happened and many changes have been made. The very short version of the story is that I am not writing here at a House and Yard anymore.

However.....and this, I think, is extremely exciting....I am writing again, but on a new blog.

I hope you will visit me at my new place Treasures Hidden, a blog by Calista Baker.

At Treasures Hidden you will find me writing about treasure hunts. Treasures hidden in darkness.

Sometimes this world can be a dark place, but I have learned that even when it’s darkest there are treasures to be found. Little glimpses of light. A kind word or a smile. A sense of peace in the middle of chaos. The smallest flicker of hope. You just have to look. And sometimes you have to be patient enough to wait for it. There are times when the found treasures seem random, but they are gifts from God Who loves you and me more than we could ever know.



I sure don’t claim to have all the answers. I am simply a person who has lived some life and has some difficulties – like you. My personal darkness includes the fight for my marriage and family. In this battle I faced fear, depression, and hopelessness – to name a few.

However, along the way I have found a good deal of treasure. Treasure hidden in the darkness. I will share these with you, because sometimes it’s hard to find them for yourself when you’re in the trenches of life battles.

It is my prayer that after lingering at Treasures Hidden for a few moments 

you will come away with more hope than when you arrived.

Hope to see you soon!

Calista Baker
Author of Treasures Hidden
www.calistabaker.com

The Jesus Character

As part of our church’s drama team, I got the text early in the week.

“Can you fill in on Sunday morning for the sketch? The girl who was scheduled has to go out of town unexpectedly.”

I agreed and received a quick rundown on the script. My director concluded with this comment, “Yours will be the Jesus character.”

Being familiar with church-drama-lingo, I understood this to mean that my character would be the straight man and the one with the right answers for the other character who would be struggling with some sort of problem or choice. The “Jesus character” is always loving, kind, forgiving, compassionate, patient, full of wisdom, and – well – like Jesus.

That particular week also happened to be a week of relationship challenges. Harsh words spoken. Unresolved issues led to a face-off, a dead end, and the ever-popular silent treatment vs. the just-get-over-it-and-act-like-it-didn’t-happen treatment.

Do You Need A Better Plan?

Maybe I should just say, I need a better plan.

Okay, okay. I just need a plan. A plan for the morning. I don’t have one. Well - wait – unless you count the one about boiling the water for my morning French-pressed wake up elixir. Straight up. Black. Strong.

Yeah, I should have more of a plan than -

1. Get up.
2. Boil water.
3. Make coffee.
4. Drink coffee.
5. Don't burn mouth.

After I get the coffee down, it’s pretty much haphazard. What does haphazard actually mean, anyway?

Haphazard:

happening or done in a way that has not been planned

synonyms include: random, hit-or-miss, slapdash, jumbled, careless, irregular,

all over the place (haha – very funny)

Ouch. Guilty as charged. And sorry I asked.

You know, I used to be an organized person. When the kiddos were young and still at home, it seems I accomplished so much more. And I know I had a plan for each and every day. What happened?

When It's Hard to Not Look Back

Does so much of the past year beg to be forgotten? Never to be thought of again? 

Swept under the rug. Thrown out with the garbage. Burned. Buried.

...in someone else’s yard.

 ...in a land far, far away.

But, it can’t be truly forgotten. To be truly forgotten would be as if it never happened. However, it cannot be treated as if it never happened, because it has shaped us for the rest of our lives. The hurt, the sadness, the loss, the grief, the anger – no – rage, the loneliness, the emptiness. And the scariest of them all, hopelessness.

I don’t know about you, but it was the hopelessness that threatened to pull me under more than any of the other emotions.

What the past year can be is:
• forgiven
• learned from
• redeemed

I was blown away by a quick look online for the definition of redeem. Want to see it?

Of Playing Dress Up and Forgetting Not to Blink

There have been so many years of watching my four girls play dress up. Daughters transformed into princesses simply by putting on a discarded lacy slip or a costume. Tangled hair yanked into submission under the authority of a sparkling headband. A little bit of blush. A touch of lip gloss and let the twirling begin.

It didn't matter there was neither music nor prince. The girls would primp and dance and giggle all for the joy of simply being what they were – little girls playing dress up.

Tonight brought a different kind of dress up. This one was not pretend. One sister a bride.

Coconut Lime Bread

My, oh my - where have you been all my life?

I don't normally share recipes, but this one is too good to keep to myself. This yummy bread was in the March, 2013 edition of Better Homes and Gardens. I tore the page right out my magazine (yes, I still tear and keep recipes on magazine pages) and put it on the kitchen counter.

Make a Bud Vase / Votive Holder

My daughter, Steph, and I tackled a little project the other evening.

This is a great way to reuse baby food or other small jars and scrap wood.

Flower Beds Galore!

Well, our hot Kansas summer is in full swing and I am allergic to sweating while working in the yard. As a result, my project list has moved back inside.

However, I realized I hadn't updated on the yard projects I started in the spring. So, here you go....

Along the front fence line, where I had planted my grandma's peonies...

 ...I put these flower beds down to protect them from the lawn mower.

My plan is to add perennials in the fall - daisies, coneflower, stuff like that.

How to Make a Brick Walkway

I am extremely excited to share a big project with you today!

We finally put to use the bricks our neighbor gave us ... for free ... and made a lovely brick walkway out front. I did a little research online before starting, then we jumped on in. Here's how it went.

1. We measured the width and length for the walkway, using stakes and twine to mark the area.

I would recommend deciding on the pattern for your bricks before you decide on the width of your path. This will insure that your bricks will fit inside the designated area.

*ahem* I may or may not have done that myself, but would highly recommend you do it.

2. We went 15 feet out from the bottom of the stairs in order to make a nice boundary for the extra parking. The existing blocks were removed before the digging began.

3. Brian and Silas dug out a nice bed for the walkway. You will want to make it deep enough to make your bricks even with the grass level, so take into account the size of your bricks and the layer of sand you will spread before laying the bricks.

4. After all that digging you should take a break. It's hard work.

5. Before proceeding with the next step, call the crew foreman to inspect your work.

6. To prepare for laying the bricks, spread a nice bed of sand about an inch thick in your path. We worked in sections of about a yard each. As you can see, I placed the bricks fairly close together. Wiggle the bricks into the bed of sand to make them fit securely.

7. Here's a look at the progress. I decided to alternate my main pattern with a random pattern because there weren't enough bricks to do the entire thing with my main pattern. I love the patchwork look!

Continue laying bricks until your new walkway is filled.

8. After we finished laying the bricks, we filled in the sides with dirt. I used a two by four to pack it down tightly.

9. Next, dump generous shovels full of sand on your new fancy walk and rub it in using a broom. The goal is to work in as much sand as possible between the cracks. To aid in settling, after the first layer is done lightly spray with water before applying another layer of sand. This part of the process took quite a while to get enough sand in the cracks, so take your time.

10. We were expecting some rain, so I left plenty of extra sand on the surface.

Over the next couple weeks, I swept more sand into the cracks every few days. The hot summer sun has baked the sand into a nice hard seal around the bricks.

TaDa!!! New brick walkway!

Just for fun I decided to make a raised bed at the end of the walk. It seemed like there needed to be a destination at the end, ya know?

I stacked two layers of these funny-shaped bricks and filled it with potting soil and dirt that was dug out to make way for the brick path.

 And now, here are entirely too many pictures of my new brick walkway.

I am totally infatuated!

To me, it looks like the brick walk has been in front of the house since it was first built in 1890!

I hope you find these instructions helpful if you're thinking about installing a brick walkway in your yard. The entire process took several hours of work for three days with my husband, son, and myself doing the labor.

Happy Independence Day!

I will walk about in freedom, 

for I have sought out your precepts.

Psalm 119:45 NIV

God Bless America!

Linking to these sites:
     Yellow Bliss Road        

When A Yard Becomes Holy Ground

When I visited my mom recently, I had church in her yard. Here are some of my meditations from the last several weeks and a few more pictures of her place.

* * * * * * *

Sitting out here on the glider swing in Mom's yard was all the church I needed that morning. 

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

Bird song and rustling leaves led the praise. 

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and 

let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

Psalm 27:14 AMP

The same breeze strumming branches swirled sweet all around me, 

incense of wild rose, like the prayers of the saints.

...God has made me forget all my trouble..... God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.

Genesis 41:51-52 NASB

My soul, hungry for that which satisfies forever, finds rich food to be slowly savored. 

...those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit 

set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.

...the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].

Romans 8:5-6 AMP

Solitude that could be lonely is my invitation to sit awhile with the Lover of my soul. 

Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.

Luke 1:78-79 NLT

My Maker. My Redeemer. The One Who carries me and saves me every day.

Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you!

I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

Isaiah 46:4 NASB

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence 

and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:8-9 NASB

* * * * * * *

I hope you have enjoyed getting a peek at my mom's place as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you. 

If you missed the other posts, you can find them here and here.

Stay tuned, because we have been hard at work in our own yard the last couple weeks and I have some fun stuff to show you as soon as I get the mess cleaned up. To give you a little hint, the brick pile is considerably smaller than it was before.

Mom's Spring Flowers

As promised, here is the first of two photo-driven posts

showing you the lovely views in and around my mom's yard.

This mound is the storm cellar.

The storm cellar is cleverly disguised with iris,....

...peonies, and ground cover.

Here's the broad view of the backyard.

Getting closer to the tree you find an old wash tub brimming with green stuff.

(Guess I should have asked it's name. Some kind of succulent, I think.)

The iron kitty watches over the bluebird house.

One of my favorite spots....

...the swing.

The garden arch supports some pretty clematis.

Oh, look. We have visitors from the neighboring farm.

Hello there, ladies.

A scrap piece of picket fence makes the perfect backdrop for peonies.

This lovely peach iris thrives out back, too.

Mom uses this old treadle sewing machine base as a potting table. 

She simply rested the grate on top.

On passed the swing and into the side yard brings us to another flower bed.

Not much was blooming here yet, except these roses.

Another rusty garden surprise rests here.

In front of the house is this long bed with more iris and peony.

One of my favorites!

This entire slope was lifeless until Mom dug out and terraced the space, 

moving rocks, and installing boards for a gentle staircase.

Here's the slope from the other side, looking toward the house.

Do you see another rusty treasure? My son, Silas, and his friend, Cameron,

dragged the milk can from the creek near our old house and gave it to her.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace 

because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope 

through the power of the Holy Spirit. --Romans 15:13 NLT

Kitty and I will see you again real soon.