Persimmon Seed Winter Weather Forecast

I’m not sure why I had never heard this until now. According to folklore, a persimmon seed can predict the weather for the winter. Of course, you need one that is grown locally to supposedly get an accurate assessment of the winter for your neck of the woods.   A ripe seed works best.

The first I heard of this was in September when our homeschooling group visited Parker Pioneer Homestead which I blogged about here. At one of the stations, the lady showed us how when a persimmon seed is cut, there will either be an image of a spoon, a fork, or a knife. I was amazed at the clarity of the image! It was a tiny spoon just as clear as day! She also told us that it was almost always accurate.

Here’s what they mean:

Image from www.hoosierweather.com  Source: http://www.hoosierweather.com/weather_lore.php

If the kernel is spoon shaped, you will have lots of heavy snow. Think about shoveling snow. Spoon is equal to shovel.

If the kernel is fork shaped, expect a lighter powdery snow, thus a milder winter.

And if the kernel is knife shaped, you will be “cut” by cold icy winds….more ice than snow, bitterly cold.

Then just the other day, my daddy brought one home to show to Joy and Luke, not knowing that we had already seen it. This persimmon was taken from another area, but still fairly local to us. It was the same – spoon.

See it?

My dad also said that Texas is supposedly getting some knives. Therefore, according to the persimmon forecast, Texas might expect a little more ice and icy winds. 

According to Farmer’s Almanac and the persimmon seeds so far, for most of the US and Canada, it is mostly spoons, with a lower percentage of knives. Either way that’s not supposed to be a mild winter. So, I guess you better get your snow shovels ready!

I guess we shall see if the folklore predictions are true. If you haven’t seen this, check it out! It is really cool! (No pun intended). :)

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Please come back on Monday and check out the fundraising auction that will run through Thursday for the Bryant family waiting to bring home their beautiful 8 year old daughter, Leiney Grace, from China!

Have a great weekend!

Faithful Friday - "Name Above All Names"

It’s time for Faithful Friday again! I thank you so much for stopping by on Friday. We’d love for you to participate. If you have something to share from your Christian Walk, grab the button below, and head over to Joy’s blog (Doodlebug), and leave her a comment letting her know that you are participating so we can visit!

Just the other day driving down the road, listening to K-Love on the radio, this song really spoke to my heart. It was just one of those times that the tune first caught my attention. I thought the music was beautiful and listening closely to the words, it reminded me of all the things that Jesus is to me. The tears welled up in my eyes as I pondered all that He truly is. Honestly, how can I make it through a day without Him? The song is “I'd Need a Savior” by Among the Thirsty.




There are so many names for Jesus mentioned in the Bible. That really made me think of how grateful I am to Him for all that He is to me. There’s so much in His name. Every name for Jesus describes what He does and is to me. Every time I thought of one, I would get excited and think that just might be my favorite. Then I would think of another and think, no that one just might be my favorite. It's hard to beat Savior. But then again I love Wonderful Counselor. I seem to be depending on His counsel alot these days. Then there's Prince of Peace. Wow! Only He gives true peace in the middle of turmoil, and then there's Creator. Creator of everything.

Did you know that there are at least 100 names for Jesus mentioned in the Bible? How awesome is that? He really is everything we need. Just take a look!



Jesus. Name above all names.

What about you? Do you have a favorite name for Jesus?

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Don’t forget to come by this coming Monday to check out the fundraising auction hosted here on my blog for my friend, Jan, to help bring home precious 8 year old Leiney Grace. Come do some Christmas shopping!

Isn’t she beautiful?

Be blessed and have a great weekend!

Our Little English Major :)

This is what our littlest student learned over the summer. :)

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Be sure and come back tomorrow for Faithful Friday, and even better, we'd love for you to participate! And remember Monday is the auction fundraiser hosted here on my blog to help the Bryant family who is bringing home their 8 year old daughter, Leiney Grace, from China!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a great day! :)

Our Little Sock Monkey

On Halloween, we spent a very low key family evening here at home. We actually attended a funeral visitation for a dear friend’s mother first and ate out for dinner (BBQ). We just realized sitting there, that we ate at the exact same spot last Halloween, and didn't even plan it that way. Afterwards, Luke did get a chance to wear his sock monkey costume that he won from Joy of Miracles, Markers and Me. Since we didn’t get to attend any church harvest parties or carnivals this year, we offered to take the kids to Walmart to pick out their favorite snacks and candies; go home and play a board game; and watch a family movie together. So we came home with candy of their choice, cookies, and popcorn; played our game, and watched our movie. It was much more relaxing and we all had a good time.

Here’s a few pics of our little sock monkey.

Joy didn’t dress up, but I did try to convince her to be the “Man in the Yellow Hat”. However, she opted to be simply Joy, which is special anyway. :)

And our little sock monkey fell asleep on the way home. The drive from town is just long enough to put him out. We had to wake him up for all the fun! :)

And he had to post for a couple of full length photos when we got home. Mama had to have those! Can you tell he had just woke up? :)

On another note, I wanted to announce a couple of things. First of all, next Monday, I will be hosting an auction for my friend, Jan. We met online as we were both waiting on our sons to come home from China. We hoped to travel together, but they ended up going a couple of weeks before us to bring their little two year old son, Hudson, home. They are now fundraising to bring home beautiful Leiney Grace, who is 8 years old.  Knowing the blessing of adoption, I am honored and excited to be able to help them in this way. So beginning at 7:00 a.m. this coming Monday morning, November 7th, and extending through Thursday, November 10th at 5 p.m., there will be several items for auction here on my blog. All the proceeds will go to the Bryant family to help bring home their precious Leiney Grace. Please keep them in mind and come over and shop for Christmas! You can take care of some Christmas gifts while helping to bring home a precious child of God, and thus making one less orphan in this world!

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I also realized I made a mistake on a previous post. It was supposed to read that I am planning a giveaway when I reach 500 followers, not 600. That’s not quite so far away. So sorry for the mistake…….I seem to be making several of these lately. I think it’s time for wearing my glasses all the time.

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And lastly, there have been several people over a period of a few weeks that have emailed me with questions concerning décor/colors, etc.. I haven’t had an email address to direct the answer. So please, if you email me with a question, I would love to answer your question, but be sure to leave a way to contact you!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

What If?

If you’re like me, you’re probably concerned about the direction our country is headed. What if you had another choice? A real conservative choice?



But I don’t want to persuade you or convince you. Please check him out for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Read more about Herman Cain and what he stands for here.

What do you think?

A Bench Makeover

My mother’s friend, Ms. Sally, gave Mama a bench that has been stored above the garage that is now The Cedar Loft. Since she had not done anything with it, Mama graciously gave it to us to be used in the loft. Thank you, Mama!

I forgot to purposely take a photo of it "before", but I found one in a shot that I took of the general loft area before we got started on it:

We finally got around to giving it a makeover! Jason used the sprayer and painted it the same red (heirloom red) as the kitchen cabinets in the loft. I then distressed it with my favorite antiquing glaze and then we gave it one layer of polyurethane to bring out the distressing.  Actually these pictures really don't show the distressing that well.  It shows up much more in person.

Here's the bench now:

I love all the little dings and dents in it. I think they show up a little more with the polyurethane. Actually, I think those dents are kind of special. Ms. Sally’s daughter, Tracy, was a friend of mine through school. Ms. Sally says that bench sat in their hallway near the telephone and those dents came from all the times her three kids sat on the bench talking on the phone.

When I first saw the bench, I knew it would be perfect placed at the foot of the bed for additional seating space for the small loft. I love the way it looks there.

Every little detail that we add just seems to more character to The Cedar Loft. It is coming along slowly now, but we will eventually get it the way we want it. In a way, not being able to do it all at once is a blessing in itself, because it gives us something to look forward to. And that’s always a good thing!

Thank you so much to old and new followers, for your visits and your comments. I’m thinking about a giveaway when I hit 500 followers, which means I need to give my carpenter some ideas too. Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

Faithful Friday - "Encouragement"

I’m a little later today getting my Faithful Friday post on. But I didn’t forget! Faithful Fridays was started by my daughter, Joy, as a way to set aside one day a week to share something from our Christian Walk with the blogging world. Sharing should be done everyday, in the way we live, and the words we say and in our relationships, but we like to specifically set aside a day and this is that day. If you would like to participate, just grab the button, and leave Joy a comment here, letting her know you are participating, so we can visit your blog too.

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone that wasn’t in need of encouragement at some point in their life. We all have low points or just a time in our life where we need a little push, or know that someone cares about what we’re going through. Sometimes that comes through family or friends, and that’s great. We should encourage one another. But family and friends, because we are all human, will fail us. Not intentionally, but because we are all imperfect. However, there is One that we can depend on no matter what. First you have to know Him. His name is Jesus. And his invitation to know Him is open to anyone.

“Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13 (NIV)

And that’s not by how good we are or things we do, it’s a gift from God to anyone who desires it:

“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9


“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23


So you see, it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what you’ve come from, how bad you’ve been, how good you are, we all come to Christ the same way! And you don’t have to be in church to do this. You can do this anywhere; wherever you are. Jesus meets you right where you are.

After you know Him, then you have a special relationship with God and He is with you, everywhere you go and everything you do. He gives us encouragement through promises in His Word. And God’s Word can be trusted and depended on for all aspects of a Christian’s life:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Honestly, I don’t know how folks get through this life without that assurance. I know that I can depend on God, no matter what. If everyone else fails me, or if everything falls apart, He cares. He won’t leave me or forsake me. That is the only true comfort that exists.

Here are few scriptures of promise from God’s Word that especially encourage and comfort me:

“Be strong and courageous. Do no fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6


And this one is one of my very favorite sources of encouragement and comfort:

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

And there are more:

“It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8


“Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22


“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

God didn’t promise that we wouldn’t have problems, troubles, or tribulation. Because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin entered this world, at which time entered pain, death, and suffering. But God did promise us that He would be with us, giving us peace and comfort. We must seek Him for this and trust Him. God is faithful, folks. It’s true!

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27


“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world”. John 16:33


“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7


And He promises to guide us and carry us through these times:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” Psalm 32:8

And here's another of my very favorite ones for guidance because a lot of times I can’t understand why I’m going through a particular trial or why this is happening, but God tells me to not worry about understanding it but to lean on him and trust Him in all my ways and He will carry me through and guide me:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him; and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

And lest you think these words were meant for previous times and not for modern days, know that Jesus Christ never changes. What was real and true back then, is real and true for today.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8


I know how discouraging this world can be. Whether you’re going through something emotional, something financial, loss of a loved one, stress, depression, a tragedy, hurtful relationships, feeling of being alone, thoughts that you can’t escape, and more…….God cares! He yearns for you to seek Him, lean on Him, trust Him, and let Him carry you through.

I hope this encourages you as much as it does me. Remember first you have to know Him, and then boy when you do, just look what you have! You have something that has overcome this world! You have victory in any circumstance.

And can I add one more thing? If you’ve never seen the movie, Facing the Giants, watch it! I think God wants us to give Him praise through bad times as well as through the good times. Just continue to trust Him through it all. This movie is a good example of all of this. You will be encouraged watching it. One of my favorite quotes from it has to do with a point where fear and faith collides. When they do, will your faith win or your fear? Watch this movie! It is available on DVD.

Oh, and another thing..... When you get in your car or you’re at home where you can listen to the radio, find K-Love on your radio. It’s positive, encouraging, and uplifting music that continually feeds my soul. It’s available across the nation in most every city. You can actually listen at home on the link I provided above, and you can go here to find a radio station near you. Why not let these words flow into your ears and to your heart as you drive or are at home relaxing? I promise you that you will be blessed and encouraged!

I hope these words and God's Word encourages you as much as it does me. And from me to you, here’s a big hug to go with it too!

**EDITED** I just came from Joy's blog to preview her post (and she previews mine) and we both just discovered, without knowing what the other one was doing, that our posts coincide with each other. So please go over and read her post. She talks about how God can use your sufferings for Him and how some of these times when you need encouragement are actually a blessing. Read it here.

Be encouraged……and be blessed!
~ Tammy ~