Author: Lisa -Southern Patches

Hello everyone, my name is Lisa I am a southern girl born and raised in East Tennessee. I love discovering new places and things to do. I have a lot of favorites, shopping, traveling, knitting and photography are all at the top of my list. I am married with my fur babies my only children. This blog is actually named after my beloved basset hound Patches. She passed away a few years ago but will always have a huge part of my heart. Come with me and we will explore some wonderful places and discover some really fun things. Are you ready?

Weekly Happenings On The Homefront

Hello friends, how was your week last week? I had a busy one but lots of different and fun things going on.

Last Monday, I started the day making sour dough bread. I had a couple of requests for it the last time I posted it on Facebook. Today was the second stage of the bread making, stirring the ingredients and forming it into a ball to let it rise. I baked it after I got home. I also grabbed takeout for dinner on the way home because I didn’t get home until about 6:00. I hate to start cooking that late. We go to bed really early. I Worked on a blog post and some of my tassel earrings and went to bed.

Frozen fog on the way into work on Monday morning. So eerie.
Some of my tassel earrings I have been working on. I will have a selection to sell very soon with lots of different colors.

Tuesday fairly uneventful I had done some grocery shopping for my mother in law over the weekend so I delivered those things to the Assisted Living Center. Work and home.

On Wednesday I had an early morning dental appointment. I had also promised my co-workers that I would make some of the cinnamon roll casserole that has been going around Facebook and TikTok. I wanted to make it on a day I was working so it wouldn’t be left at home. It is ahhhhhmazing!!!! I put it in my crock pot at 5:15 and it takes 2.5 hours to bake. You should try it.

This is a picture of the casserole just before it starts baking. Sadly I forgot to take a picture of it after it baked but it looked pretty much the same.

I had lunch with the sisters and then, in my never ending quest to rid myself of clutter, I made my weekly delivery to Goodwill. I left work a little early and ran home to feed and walk the babies because Hubs had a late night and I had to go back to work for a little bit, for a team meeting. Got home late, then it was Bedtime. Whew!!! a long day.

Thursday morning I was awakened to rain and thunderstorms. You know the kind of day it is nice to just stay on the couch. But work beckoned and off I went. I did get to have lunch with a sweet friend that I don’t get to see a lot. We used to work together many many years ago. He moved on to other jobs and other states but has landed back in this area and we try to get together every few weeks.

Friday I had to head into Knoxville early for routine blood work for my upcoming physical. Work, home, WEEKEND!!!

On Saturday I delivered a Butterfinger cake to my sister for Valentines Day and played with her new kitten. Did the grocery thing and home.

Sunday I made pancakes for breakfast and then put baby back ribs in the crockpot to cook for most of the day. I also made Hubs a coconut cream pie for Valentines. Wow I have baked a lot this past week!!!!!

We really don’t go all out for Valentine’s Day. I put out a few decorations last week. We don’t really do gifts or anything. I usually get flowers. My husband always likes to think of different things or things that are unusual. When I opened the box he got for me I knew it wasn’t flowers or so I thought. But it was. It was a real rose dipped in 24k gold. It’s beautiful and I love it.

I love my rose but I don’t love the stand it is on. I will have to search for something a little more authentic.

I worked on a new knitting stitch I saw on YouTube and had a nice day of just hanging around the house.

Before I knew it the weekend was over. It was this morning and time to head back to work. Why do days off go by soooo fast? How was your week? What are you planning for this week? Some fun I hope.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!

Happy Birthday To My Blog

Can you believe that Southern Patches is three years old!!! I am so happy that three years ago I had the courage to hit publish and launch my very first blog post.

I remember how nervous I was doing the first few posts. But it didn’t take me long to really start to love blogging.

I know that with YouTube and vlogging, blogging is not as popular as it used to be but I still love it and hope to continue for a long time.

I cringe sometimes when I look back at my first posts but that’s what it takes to learn. You just have to jump in there and do it and know it will get better.

I have published 213 blog posts over the last three years. This is a wonderful way to document day to day happenings in your life. I also like to take lots of pictures so this is a great way to store lots of my pictures.

I have met some wonderful people through this blog. People from different states and even different countries that I feel like are old and dear friends. I may have never met them if it hadn’t been for my blog.

If you are unsure about starting a blog I would definitely encourage you. I have had so much fun these last 3 years. I have learned so much about blogging and writing.

I picked out a few of my favorite posts and some of the posts that got the best response from readers. If you haven’t read them you might want to go back and check them out.

  1. Saying Goodbye to my brother Allen. Published 2-19-2018
  2. Making Fried Apple Pies Published 7-20-2020
  3. Sister Lunch. Published 8-14-2019
  4. It’s Blackberry Winter Published 5-6-2020
  5. In The Days Of COVID. Published 1-24-2021
  6. Strawberry Moon. Published 6-6-2020
  7. Fireflies In The Great Smoky Mountains Published 6-12-2020
  8. A Week In Chattanooga Published 10-9-2019
  9. Biltmore Estate At Christmas Published 12-13-2019
  10. Mainly In Maine Published 10-17-2018

Thank you so much for reading my blog. Does it make a difference in your life? Probably not but if I can share something that helps you along the way, makes you laugh, or share a recipe or experience that you like, that makes me so happy.

And always remember

Love your day your way

A Weekend Estate Sale

Last weekend I went to an estate sale in town. Several times a year there is a company that moves items from an estate and they sell them over the course of several days. I have probably mentioned it before. I go every time there is a sale. I don’t always buy a lot but I like to see all the different items.

A sale like that gives you a glimpse into the lives that the owners had. Their hobbies, style, memories. It sometimes makes me a little sad that they didn’t have someone to leave these things to. Or maybe they did and these are the things that were left that no one wanted. I see so many quilts and cross stitch pieces that I know so much time has gone into. I feel the need to rescue them. I don’t, always. I know that if that person who made it was like me the joy came from actually making the piece and admiring it or sharing it with someone at the time. I always come away from these sales feeling like I know the family.

So anyway I went to the sale on Saturday. The sale always starts on Thursday. On Thursday morning at 9:00 AM people are lined up to get in. Everything is full price on Thursday. On Friday everything is reduced to 25% off. On Saturday everything is 50% off. On Sunday and sometimes Monday everything is 50-75 % off except for items the family has a firm price on. I usually go on Saturday because that is when I have the most time to look. I sometimes go back on Sunday or Monday to see if anything is left that I might want and get it for a really good price.

On Saturday I went to the sale and got there around 10:00 AM I saw a few interesting things. The person who had these items loved to paint. And not just your usual flowers or scenery but some really funky colors in an abstract sort of way.

Just look at these colors is that not cool?
This old farm table sold almost immediately.
I loved this old clock but we have an old kitchen clock and barely know where to keep it.
I loved this tray but I have several and no where to put them as it is.
Hand carved animal. Someone liked to carve wood.
O.K. This painting I almost brought home. It is called Hippie Bus. Look at the colors. But I just couldn’t. I had no idea where it was going and until I finish the total decluttering of my basement I am not bringing anything like this back in. I hope it finds a good home. I showed this picture to my husband and he just shook his head no. He did not feel the same way about it. I think it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
Creepy Dolls!!!
I so loved this bench. And it looked great but it was almost falling apart.
I guess that’s why it was still there on Saturday. I passed on it.
More creepy dolls!!!!
I loved this oil painting but it was really not for me.
The Halloween costumes and figurines were really old. This family must have loved Halloween.
Old luggage set. Loved them but I couldn’t really use them. I especially loved this color.
I did purchase this cake stand it was only $6.00 after being $12.00 and the 50% off. I love the really thin top.
I got six of these Early American Life magazines that have some fantastic articles in them. I got each one for .50 and I will pass them on to my sister when I am finished.
But my absolute best find was this Margaret Smith Purse, the tag had Gardiner, Maine on the inside and it was brand new. It still had the plastic on the handles. I looked it up on EBAY and another one just like it was listed for $45.00. I got this one for $2.50 after the 50% of the $5.00 price tag. SCORE!!! I love it!!!! I will probably use it to carry knitting projects like socks or mittens.

Only three items purchased. I know exactly where I will put them and what I will use them for so I don’t feel too bad about bringing them into the house.

Do you like estate sales?

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!!

Clear The Clutter Clear Your Mind

I may have mentioned a few times how much I hate clutter. Yeah like a few hundred times probably. But I hate it. Clutter doesn’t seem to bother some people like my husband, and some of my co-workers. It has come to my attention that clutter makes me a less productive person. Clutter clutters my mind. Personal flaw?? maybe, but that’s just me.

Why do places get cluttered? Think about it. Is it stuff that we don’t need? We don’t have room for? or maybe clutter is just things that are not properly put away. Do we have somewhere to put it? and if not then why did we get it in the first place? Did we actually need it? If we come to a point where we don’t need said item why don’t we get rid of it? O.K. O.K. I am getting ahead of myself and causing my blood pressure to escalate. I will circle back to this.

When I was growing up we didn’t have clutter at our house. We lived in a tiny house and we didn’t have a lot of extra things so we didn’t have a lot of clutter. We used everything we had. That happens with seven kids. My mama cleaned constantly. She hated clutter even worse than I do. Maybe that’s where I get it. I always wondered why she made such a big deal about things being out of place. But now I see where she was coming from.

If you have a small space and you don’t have room for a ton of things why do you get them? Maybe it makes you feel better having something new, maybe a treat for you, maybe you bought more than you needed of something like for a project and it just gets pushed back into a closet or your garage when the project is finished. Maybe you have a sentimental attachment to something a long lost relative or friend, spouse or your child gave you and you just can’t part with it. This is where you have to make the decision of what to keep and what to let go. Of course you are going to keep some of those things. But if you are like me and my husband we have been in our house for over twenty years. We can’t continue to accumulate without letting go of some things.

I vowed to make this year the year I reduced the unused and un-needed things in our house. I have done pretty well so far. Every week I take several bags and or boxes to our local Good Will. Which in our area is called SAMS. The donated items are sold and the money helps people in our area who cannot afford their electric bill or medication. I also donate to a place near my house that collects money for our local animal shelter. I love that these items will bring help to people and fur babies.

I will share with you what has worked for me:
Because I work forty plus hours a week away from my house and take care of my mother in laws needs outside of her assisted living center, I don’t have a lot of time to invest in a huge decluttering that would include every room, closet, garage and basement. If you have time for that, great!!! So here is what I did

1. Right after Christmas I collected several empty boxes from work. I put those in my basement and whenever I had a free hour or even thirty minutes I would work on filling them with things I needed to get rid of. Small bits of time really add up. And it makes the job not so overwhelming.


2. I went through my closet in my bedroom first. I did not even gather any of my husband’s clothes I did only mine at this point. I went through the clothes piece by piece and placed what I didn’t, couldn’t or wouldn’t wear into large bags.


3. I then went through the clothes a second time and looked for stained t shirts old scarves and Pjs and things I knew I wouldn’t wear or donate and I threw those out. (One time I almost got the bags mixed up. Don’t do that)


4. I went to SAMS once a week with a trunk or car filled with bags and boxes. The first three weeks were only clothes and shoes. I am still going every week.


5. I then started in my basement and started filling the boxes. I had several boxes of books, magazines and household items. I took those in and now have another load in my car ready to go. I usually go on Wednesday when I meet my sisters in town for Sister Lunch.


6. Last Sunday I cleaned out a closet near the laundry room. This closet had gotten so bad we would just open it and stuff things in and slam the door before everything came crashing out. It took two hours to clean it out. I threw away two bags of things that we could no longer use, I discovered a ton of cleaning supplies, and I found a box of things to donate. Now the closet looks so nice I just stand in front of it with the door open gazing adoringly at it. My husband walks by shaking his head at me.

7. Before I make a purchase I ask myself if I really need it, or do I already have it. I shop what I have first.

8. I go through my pantry before going to the grocery store. I had so much waste and clutter in my pantry because of this. I often joked that I could live out of my pantry for a month without buying anything.

9. After I have totally finished with the purging I will keep a box in my car and one in the basement and I will continue to get rid of the things I don’t need or use. I don’t want to get so bogged down with items that I don’t need that I can’t find a starting point to get rid of them.

10. Stay focused this is an ongoing process.

It feels so wonderful to start seeing spaces where once there was only clutter. I feel lighter, more focused and free!!!!! WHOO HOOO!!!!! Let me know what works for you.

Always remember

Love your day your way