Friday Foto Friends: Skies, Cranes, Cats and Butterflies!

 Good Morning everyone! It's a beautiful Friday morning here in our neck of the woods.  Currently 81 degrees at 9:30 a.m., but it "feels like" 86, which means it's still hot and humid here!  We should get some thunderstorms this afternoon...thankfully!  We need the rain so badly here on our Still Waters Pond!

Here's how the skies looked this morning as the sun was rising actually behind us in the east, but reflecting on the clouds in the west, making it look like there was a sunrise over Still Waters Pond!

It's always a surprise when I see the sunshine in the west in the early morning like this! 

As you can tell by these and the following pictures, Still Waters Pond is still in need of a lot of water!

Where you see all that green grass is actually where there should be water!! We just haven't had enough rain this summer to fill it back  up like it should be.  I'm hoping that will change soon as we head into September.  Thankfully we haven't had any hurricanes here yet, but September is usually the time they develop in this area, so hopefully if they do they will only bring us some much needed rain and nothing worse!  So thankful that Hurricane Erin stayed out to sea, but still I know it did some damage along the coastal areas along the shores of the Atlantic. Praying no one we know has been affected by flooding or other damage.

Here's how the skies looked over the pond a couple of afternoons ago...I like how the sunlight was shining through all those clouds...

I think we may have gotten a good thunderstorm out of this, but still it's not quite enough.

Come rain or shine, our sweet porch kitties don't mind, as long as we remember to feed them on time! LOL

And also as long as no one disturbs their nap time, which is practically any time at all...

Yesterday afternoon I noticed this beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly enjoying the nectar from our Bottlebrush bush.

I was so happy that it hung around long enough for me to go out and get some good pictures of it.

There were also some bees enjoying the flowers...but I stayed as far away as I could from them!

Apparently they don't bother the butterfly and there were plenty of flowers for everyone:

I hope you don't mind so many photos! We just don't get to see these very often, so I like to take advantage of these photo ops when they occur!

While I was out there watching the butterfly, the Sand Hill Crane family came walking up along the shore of Still Waters Pond...

One of them apparently prefers to walk in the pond instead of on the shore, but it is still so shallow out there they could pretty much walk all the way across the pond!

Since they saw me out there, they figured it must be 'dinner time', and yes, it was. We usually throw them a handful of bird seed in the afternoon and morning (if they show up).  

And believe it or not, this one below is "Trumpet", the "baby" crane, who is now definitely as big as his parents. He was actually standing in our little "kiddy" pool getting a drink of water when I took these pictures!

Mama Crane also went to the pool for a drink, and Blackie our kitty just sat on the porch and watched. The cats and cranes don't bother each other. They seem to have respect for one another.

Oh, I guess I came to the end of my pictures for now.  So I will pause to say thank you to all of you who have been so faithful and kind to read my posts and make such wonderful comments.  I don't always leave replies because I'm not sure if you come back to read them or not, but I do read every comment and appreciate you all so much. I can't seem to figure out how to connect through email to you directly from my blog. My computer wants to send me to some other place and it takes so long to get it figured out that I give up.  Please know that I appreciate each and every one of you, and I look forward to hearing from you and also to read your blogs if you have them. I know there are some who make comments who don't have blogs, and if I can make a connection with you I will, but if there's no blog to connect to, there's no way to send a personal message. Still, I enjoy hearing from you. I am always surprised when I find out how far reaching our blogs really are! This is a happy place, and I thank you each and every one for your friendship here.

I need to get moving...hubby has a doctor appointment in a few minutes, so it's time to go. I am feeling much better than last week, and am so thankful. Tomorrow we are traveling an hour or so away to meet up with our extended family at a restaurant for lunch and for an August birthday/anniversary celebration! There are so many in our family who have either birthdays or anniversaries in August that we have made it an annual tradition to get together to just celebrate family!  I'm sure I'll have pictures to share from that!

(internet photo)

(internet photo)

Amen.

Still Playing Catch up!

 We'll  start out this post with some scenic views on the St. John's River from today...but more about that later...

Thank you all, for your kind and encouraging words on my most recent post about my experience in the hospital, etc.  It's been an interesting journey, but one that I am so thankful to God that it really wasn't as bad as it could have been! I am still playing "catch-up", both here in Blogland in reading your posts and trying to keep up with what's been happening in your lives, as well as here in my own little world and trying to keep up with what's going on in our own family/church/friends, etc., as well as trying to regain my strength and energy so I can keep up with daily routines.  

It reminds me of this song, which I'm sure many of you will remember from back in the day..."One Day At A Time"

Linda Randel, Gaither Homecoming

One day at a time, sweet Jesus

[Chorus]

One day at a time, sweet Jesus

That's all I'm asking from You

Just give me the strength to do everyday

What I have to do

Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus

And tomorrow may never be mine (Ooh)

Lord, help me today, show me the way

One day at a time

[Verse 1]

I'm only human, I'm just a woman

Help me believe in what I could be and all that I am

Show me the stairway I have to climb

Lord, for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time

[Chorus]

One day at a time, sweet Jesus

That's all I'm asking from You

Just give me the strength to do everyday

What I have to do

Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus

And tomorrow may never be mine (Ooh)

Lord, help me today, show me the way

One day at a time

[Verse 2]

Do You remember when You walked among men?

Well, Jesus, You know, if You're looking below, it's worse now than then

There's pushing and shoving, and it's clouding my mind,

So for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time

[Chorus]

One day at a time, sweet Jesus

That's all I'm asking from You

Just give me the strength to do everyday

What I have to do

Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus

And tomorrow may never be mine (Ooh)

Lord, help me today, show me the way

One day at a time (Ooh)

I am very very thankful to have been given the blessing of another day to keep living and praising the Lord, and celebrating the good things in this life...like our 56th Anniversary, which was Saturday.  I'm sure many of you already saw the pictures on facebook, so I will spare you the details from 56 years ago...Here's a link to last year's anniversary, which has a link to previous years, so you can go back and look as much as you want. LOL.  In looking at last years', I just realized that we did the same thing then as we did today, and I even wore the same top! LOL.   Here's what we did today to celebrate belatedly since I really wasn't feeling quite up to par on our actual anniversary on Saturday. (but we did do something then, which I will get to in a minute).

We went to our favorite restaurant on the St. John's River, Corky Bells!

Here's hubby...(which again, I am very thankful that he is feeling better these days as well, and he was willing and able to take us out to lunch)

And here's your's truly today:

 

And here I was last year...yep, same top, necklace, glasses...just had shorter hair, which, if I recall, was a mistake by a new hairdresser that I never went back to! However, in both pictures, it was a windy day, and you really can't tell much about my hair as to how it should look! (I think I was also a few pounds lighter last year...something I need to work on)

This was my food today...broiled shrimp and grouper, baked potato, and coleslaw (which I had already eaten when this picture was taken, and it was sure good!) Oh, and hush puppies, which I probably shouldn't have eaten, but they were so good!

And here's hubby with his food...same fish/shrimp, only he prefers fried.

I didn't spend much time down on the deck/dock today as it was too hot, but I took this one selfie mostly because I wanted to get the blue skies and clouds in there too. That one cloud looks like a big duck! I should've worn a hat...that hair! LOL.

I couldn't stay long because I was unsupervised. Hubby had already gone back into the building, and as you can see, some of us need more supervision than others. LOL

We are very thankful indeed that we were able to go out today and do this, as it is our tradition, and last week things were so crazy I wasn't sure if we'd ever get to do this again! Yes, I am very thankful.

On Saturday, our "real" anniversary day, our sweet kids came over and brought us some supper...

Rotisserie chicken, salad, and some boiled potatoes that we buttered and smashed with our forks and added cheese and sour cream.  

I had actually decided that we needed some dessert, since it was our anniversary,  so I made a peach dump cake, which is so easy. You just take a white (or yellow) cake mix, and I melted a stick of butter and poured it in a 9"x13" pan, dumped the cake mix on top, added the 3 eggs and instead of the cup of water I used the juice/syrup from the large can of peaches. (I drained the peaches first, reserved the syrup, measured out 1 cup to use). I also added a teaspoon of cinnamon and a teaspoon of vanilla.  I stirred it all up until the mixture was completely moistened,  and then added the peaches and stirred them around. Then I baked it at 350 for 30 minutes.  We put whipped cream on top, and it was so good.

That was the extent of my activity for the day! I was still kind of weak and wobbly from my hospital stay, and just had to pace myself and do things a little at a time.

We don't usually buy gifts for each other on our anniversary, but the Lord provided these flowers for us from our own garden of zinnias. 

On Sunday we did go to church, and it was so good to see people and get hugs and thank them for their prayers, and also to give thanks to the Lord for His protection and healing.

On Monday I had an already scheduled appointment with my PCP for a follow up, and so it turned out to be perfect timing so she could hear the whole story of what happened to me last week. She checked the records that were sent over from the hospital, and gave me a good check up and said she really thinks I'm going to be just fine, but she is referring me to a cardiologist for further monitoring of this condition, which appears to be very mild and in the early stages, praise God!  Here's a passage from Psalms that gives me hope and encouragement.

103 

Psalm 103:1-5

"1 Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

3 Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

4 Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

I like that part about "your youth is renewed like the eagle's".  Wouldn't that be nice? 

So anyway, this is the latest update.  Thank you all for your friendship here. May God bless each and every one, and may He "satisfy your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles!" Amen.

Here's another link to a previous anniversary (51), and it shows me wearing the same top on our 50th anniversary!! LOL. I guess when you like something, you wear it until it wears out!  There's also a lot of OLD memories from our wedding, etc., if you want to go back down memory lane, for those of you who are new here.  I like to add these links so I can go back and find them again myself. The older we get, the more help we need. LOL  Good night!

Friday Foto Friends: It's All About The Heart

 Well Friends, this certainly was a week full of surprises! If you are a Facebook Friend, you probably already know what my week has been all about...but there's so much more to the story. So you might as well fix yourself a cup of tea or coffee and find a comfy seat, because this may take a while.

Let's just jump right in at the beginning, shall we?  Early early Wednesday morning, around 5:00 a.m., I was sleeping comfortably in my bed. But suddenly I started having a very disturbing and frightening dream. 

In my dream, I saw this chest of drawers (above), which originally belonged to my maternal grandmother's mother, but it now resides in my bedroom, and it is very very heavy.  In my dream, this chest of drawers was literally tipping over and on top of me, right onto my chest. I could actually feel it crushing my chest as it fell.  I woke up in a panic and in pain...my chest felt like that chest of drawers was on top of it, and my left arm felt weak, as well as my left leg. When I tried to stand up I felt dizzy and nauseous.  I immediately tried to awaken my hubby, who was sound asleep. Finally I managed to arouse him and awaken him to the reality that something was very wrong and I needed to go to the hospital. Somehow we managed to throw some clothes on and decided to just drive there (about 15 minutes away) rather than wait for an ambulance. Probably not the best idea, but that is what we decided to do. Thankfully, at that hour of the morning there was no traffic and also thankfully, when we arrived at the hospital emergency room, it was empty and I was taken in immediately as soon as I said "I think I've had a heart attack!".  

Thankfully the emergency room staff sprung into action and began checking my vitals and did an EKG. I never lost consciousness or anything like that, but it sure felt like a textbook case,especially for a woman having a heart attack. I remember the doctor saying he wasn't sure if I was having a heart attack, but he didn't like how high my blood pressure was. Anyway, they did all the normal things that should be done.  (I assume...I've never had this happen before, but it felt right to me).  

After a while they seemed to agree that I wasn't having a heart attack, but according to a chest x-ray, I apparently had pneumonia.  That, along with the other symptoms I was having, was enough reason for them to decide to go ahead and admit me for further observation. They also ordered a CT Scan of the chest and also the head.  

With each new event, I found that I was floating along in a bed, being carried here and there and back again, but I was in perfect peace.  When they wheeled me out of the room where the CT Scan took place, I saw a little white gauzy looking figure perched above the door. I asked the attendant what that was, and he said, "Oh, that's Jesus!"  We have Him around in all kinds of places.  Even though I knew it was just a piece of gauze bandage made into a little figure, somehow it was comforting to know that these people wanted something to represent Jesus in that place. I said, "Well, I know Jesus is here with me, but I guess I just didn't expect to see Him perched above that door wrapped in gauze, but I like that."  

I don't think I saw anymore little gauzy "Jesus" figures in the hospital, but I did see Jesus in many real people...there was a woman Chaplain who showed up in my room when I got back there, and she just kind of pushed around the nurses and attendants and stuck her head out and said, "Do you mind if I pray with you?"  Of course I said "Please do!".  She showed up again the next day to pray once more, and then said she was on her way to have an MRI done on her head and neck, and I said that I would be praying for her, and I did and I have. I hope everything went okay and that she is going to be fine.

I saw Jesus in the nurses and aides and even the lady who came to clean my room. I felt His presence with me all the time, and it was very comforting.

I finally got some food for supper, after not eating all day long. It was surprisingly good for hospital food, and I was SO thankful to finally be fed!

This was the view from my window.

I'm glad it was good food, because I was not allowed to eat anything again after midnight, as they had scheduled a nuclear stress test for me the next morning. Oh, and they also did an ultrasound/echocardiagram, which was interesting to see.  I wish I could've taken a picture of my heart beating. It would remind you of an ultrasound of a baby in utero, the way it moved around. The nurse doing the test assured me there was no baby in my heart when I told her I thought it looked like there was. (They might have been thinking I was a little cuckoo by now).  

For the Stress test, they had to inject radioactive stuff in my veins and then take me to radiology for the test. I know now why they call it a "stress test"!   Yes, it was stressful, but while waiting for me to drink my Pepsi after the test (because the caffeine counteracts the stress medicines in your body! Who knew?), the fella who did the test stood at a distance from me (because of the radiation) and we chatted about the Lord. He was a wonderful Christian young man, and we enjoyed sharing our faith with one another. Then he took me back to my room and told me not to snuggle up with anyone for about 18 hours so the radiation could go away. I called my hubby and told him he couldn't come and hug me for another day or so.  Our 56th anniversary is tomorrow, and thankfully I should no longer be able to glow in the dark by then. LOL.  

Philippians 4:13 NKJV became my mantra throughout these tests...

13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Thankfully when I got back to the room, this lunch was waiting for me: Another very good meal! I ate every bite.  Oh, and that pink "blanket" you see is actually my pink bathrobe. Hubby brought me my things from home, and he decided at that last minute to grab this big pink fleecy bathrobe. I never wore it as a bathrobe, but it stayed on my bed as a cover on top of the blue blanket,  and I snuggled up in it all day and night.  It felt so warm and comforting. What a sweet hubby to think of that!!!

There's the sky outside my window:

This picture was hanging on the wall in my room, reminding me of my own Still Waters Pond...

"He leadeth me beside the still waters...He restoreth my soul..."

Supper was Turkey and dressing...another good meal!  

And this was the sunset outside my window, while I was talking to my sister on the phone and she was telling me about the sunset outside HER window!  It was nice to talk to my sister, (who lives about 2 hours away) and also my brother called me from North Carolina to check on me!

So that brings us up to this morning. They had scheduled an MRI of my brain, to make sure that I had not had a TIA (or light stroke).    Again, Philippians 4:13 rang through my mind as I prayed my way through that tight spot in the machine.   

During this whole time, I had posted my situation on Facebook, and so many people were praying for me, I was totally amazed.  Also people from our church were praying, and I knew that God was working through all the prayers and all the wonderful people who were serving God with their talents for healing.  I kept seeing these different verses and quotes on Facebook, and they gave me comfort:

Especially meaningful were these verses about "the Heart"

Psalm 139:23-24  NKJV

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

Finally, after all the tests were done and the results were compared, it was determined that I had not had a heart attack or a stroke, but they did discover that I have the beginnings of a heart condition called Diastolic Heart Failure. "What is diastolic heart failure?

Diastolic heart failure, also known as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), is a condition in which your heart’s main pumping chamber (left ventricle) becomes stiff and unable to fill properly."   Thankfully, "With the right treatment, you can effectively manage the symptoms of diastolic heart failure."  

So I will be getting referred to a cardiologist, who will help me navigate this new situation in my life.

Why did I have that crazy dream and feel like I was having a heart attack? Well, perhaps that was God's way of giving me a literal "wake up call" to discover this condition before it became worse.  Whatever it was, it certainly got my attention, and I thank God for His love and concern for me, and also for putting me where there were His people to help bring about healing in me.  Oh, and they gave me antibiotics for the pneumonia, which really seems to be rather elusive...no cough, no other symptoms, but it was enough to make them keep me in the hospital long enough to figure out this puzzle. And so I give glory to God for His intervention on my behalf. And now I have to learn how to properly take care of myself so things like this don't happen again! 

As I said in one of my posts on Facebook, don't put off saying "I love you" to your loved ones and friends...don't think you've always got tomorrow to get things done...tomorrow may never come. We need to always be ready to go home to meet Jesus.  One of my high school friends actually passed away this week, which was a shock to all of us. But I know he knew the Lord and he is with him today. Still, I know it is very hard for his family, and they are in my thoughts and prayers.  It could've been me...and my family who would be left alone. Life is short...make sure you are ready to meet Jesus face to face. 

If you made it this far in reading this post, thank you for sticking with me. Thank you all for being such wonderful friends.  Now go tell someone you love them.  

Oh, and one more thing...don't put off washing your hair...I had planned on washing it that morning, because I was too tired the night before.  So I ended up with dirty hair for a couple more days! Guess what was the first thing I did when I got home today??? Yep, I took a shower, washed my hair and shaved my legs! And then I took a much needed nap! LOL.  Oh, and the Kids brought over tacos for supper so I didn't have to cook!

That's all Folks! Good Night!