Friday Foto Friends: Valentines and Mugs. LOL.

 Good Friday Morning Friends!  I hope you are having a marvelous day! We started out pretty cold again (for us), at 34 degrees, and there was frost on the still very dry Still Waters Pond. I didn't take any pictures of it, but here's how it looked yesterday morning, if that counts.  LOL. This was after the not so great rainfall we had the night before...less than 2/10 of an inch! It seems like when the rain comes marching down and across our state it hits our city limits and splits itself around us without dropping hardly anything over us! I don't get it. It's like there's a big dome over us keeping the rain from hitting the ground, or our pond.  The only good thing it did was dampen down the smoke from those fires for a day, but guess what? The smoke was right back up again this morning, and we are now in a "RED FLAG WARNING", with high winds expected and extremely dry atmosphere, which will be like adding fuel to the fire of any smoldering ashes. So please pray for our area and many other places in central Florida that are having similar issues. It could be catastophic if we don't start getting more moisture in the air.  

Yesterday was a very damp and dark and bone chilling kind of day.  The kind of day you want to stay indoors and make soup. I didn't make any home made soup but I did eat some Campbell's chunky beef soup and it was pretty good in a pinch. Then we had cabbage cooked with kielbasa and mashed potatoes for supper, which was as good as having soup!

Blackie stayed inside for most of the day, and entertained himself with this ball...

when "Daddy" wasn't entertaining him with the string game.

Meanwhile I entertained myself by putting out the Valentine's Decorations:

I know, it's kind of busy looking, but hey! This season doesn't last as long as Christmas. Before you know it it will be gone and we'll be celebrating St. Patrick's Day! And the Easter comes soon after!

I was feeling whimsical and brought out my lovely Pink Flamingo cookie jar...(You can click HERE for the story about when that became a part of our lives).  Sadly, it's not filled with any good homemade cookies anymore. I may have to do something about that.

I'm "living life in full bloom"...in spite of the weather!

While I was trying to figure out what to put out on display, I was looking at the different mugs I have that have different kinds of sayings on them, so I pulled out a few to share, but then decided to put them back away for now.  But here's the pictures I took anyway:

Let's "Rejoice in each new day"....

The mug above on the left has a quote by Hans Christian Anderson that I like. It took a few pictures to get the whole message:

"The whole world is a series of miracles, but we're so used to them we call them ordinary things."

This is another of my favorites with Job 37:34 on it: "Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God."   I bought that mug way before we ever moved here to Still Waters Pond, because I loved the design of a bird house and a Chickadee, beside a pond next to a little cabin. When I saw this mug I said, "Someday I am going to live in a cabin beside a pond and watch the birds."  Well, I do live beside a pond and I do a lot of bird watching. It isn't exactly a cabin, but it will do just fine.

"Make Things Happen"...I know I bought this mug thinking about one of my "One Words" one year, and for the life of me I can't remember which one it was now. LOL.  Might have been "Believe".  If I find it I will update this.   

20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  Matthew 19:20

I think that's the verse I was thinking about...when we believe and have faith in God, we can "make things happen"!!

Here's another favorite...another one that says "Rejoice"

But it also says, "Oh, sing to the Lord a new song; Sing to the Lord, all the earth." Psalm 96:2

And this is the one I've been using the most lately: "The Lord is my strength and my song."  from Isaiah 12:2

Back to Valentine's Day...Lily Grace and her friends are all dressed up and ready for their Valentine's Tea Party...

Which reminds me, it's time to get some Valentine's Cards sent out to some family and friends...just a few, but I don't like to let the day slip by without notice!

I guess that's it for my photos for today.  The day isn't over yet, but I need to go fix lunch for a hungry hubby (and me too) so I guess I will say so long for now.

I'm wondering if you also have coffee/tea mugs that say things that mean something to you? Maybe you can share some of your favorites sometime.

I think my favorite for today is the verse that says 

"I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."  Matthew 19:20

That's a good message to close this on. I hope it brings some hope to you as well.

Wednesday Treasures...Smokey Start to Our Day...

Good Morning everyone! Welcome to my Wednesday Treasures for this week.

As you can see from the pictures below, we are still dealing with a LOT of smoke in our area from the woods/brush fires that started this past weekend on the west side of our town...

This is how it looked at our house this morning as I put out the flag at sunrise...We are on the east side of town, approximately five miles from the fire, but the smoke continues to blow over our way day and night...mostly settling down on top of us for the night...

This is how it looked yesterday afternoon on our still very dry Still Waters Pond:

And this is how it looked this morning...

I copied this photo from Facebook from this morning, when there were road closures of our main east-west and north-south roadways. They actually had to cancel school for today because the smoke was so thick the buses couldn't run their routes. Also some businesses have had to close yesterday and today due to the smoke.

They say the fire itself is contained, but it is an extensive 300 acre prairie/woods/peat bog area, and the roots of trees/palmettos underground will continue to burn for a long time.  We are definitely praying for the rain that is SUPPOSED to come tonight around midnight and last for the night and much of tomorrow...praying that it really comes and does what rain is supposed to do! RAIN for a long enough time to put out the fire and  soak into the ground.  All prayers are appreciated!!  For those of you who have lived around places that have frequent forest fires, etc., you know how unpleasant it is to deal with thick smoke everywhere, even seeping inside your house, making it difficult to breathe after a while.   I am thankful that the fires did not do any major damage to any homes or people/livestock, but the smoke is not good, especially for the many elderly people we have in this community.  So thank you for your prayers for the rain to fall and keep falling!!

Oh, I almost forgot, son Benton sent me these two amazing pictures the other evening, taken from the boat ramp on Lake Ida, which is not far from their house.  That is the smoke at sunset...Pretty amazing, but still, this is serious stuff...

Meanwhile, for the second morning in a row, "King Blackie" has taken up residence on Daddy's lap while daddy is trying to enjoy his morning cup of coffee. Daddy is well prepared with a towel on his lap, in case of "fleas". (and also to help protect him from sharp little claws that tend to dig in when he wants to move...)

This is what is written on his coffee mug:

I think that pretty well says it all.

Psalm 31:19 NKJV

"19 Oh, how great is Your goodness,

Which You have laid up for those who fear You,

Which You have prepared for those who trust in You

In the presence of the sons of men!"

We do feel very blessed and thankful for God's protection over our home and family and friends throughout this past week especially, with the fires and the cold weather and wind and storms.  We even feel blessed to have this little black kitty showing us love and affection in his own way...sometimes we find out that God knows what we need even when we don't think so,..

Okay, it's time to fix some lunch and move on with our day. We just heard from "the kids" that they are coming over tonight and we are going to make tacos or some rendition of Mexican style food here together. That's always a lot fun! So yes, we are "simply blessed" and thankful.  

I pray your day is filled with blessings and unexpected joys as well.  Bye for now!

Tuesday 4~Things About You

 Things About You

Hi dear friends and welcome to Tuesday 4.. Toni Taddeo's invention and our pleasure to continue in her memory.

This week you are the topic.

1. What is something you are proud of that we don't know about?

I will have to think about this. I think you know just about everything there is to know about me, including what I ate for breakfast yesterday! LOL.  I'm not sure "proud" is the right word...how about thankful?  I am thankful that I have been married to my wonderful husband for going on 57 years, and that we were blessed with three amazing sons. I am thankful that our sons have turned out to be wonderful adults.  One of our sons is already in heaven, but I am thankful that I know that is where he is and that we will see him again someday.  I am thankful that he left us with one amazing grandson, and that our grandson called us recently to tell us about his current job and the things he's been doing.  He's 26 and lives in Maine, so we don't see him very often, and so it's always a blessing when he calls us.  I am also thankful that I have two wonderful daughter in laws. The one who was married to our son who passed away took such good care of him when he was dealing with cancer, plus she held down a very good job and raised their son to be a fine young man. She also trained to become a firefighter during that time and continues to volunteer in their local fire department. She is a hard worker and a wonderful person. We just don't see her often either because they live in Maine.  My other sweet daughter in law Rose is right here close by, and you all hear about her quite often. She is such a blessing to us, and I am so thankful God brought her into our son's life and ours at this time in our lives. She is also a hard worker and someone who is always looking for ways to help others.  So, yes, I am proud of my family, but mostly I am thankful to God for them.

2. What subject or things are over rated or talked about too much in your opinion.?

Politics for sure.  We have gotten to where we don't even want to listen to the news anymore. But we pray for our country and it's leaders every day.

3. What things and topics should be talked about more often or are under rated in your opinion?

Our faith in God is something that we should be free to share anytime, anyplace.  Not "religion", but faith, and what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. I am thankful for this blog forum where we can share our own personal beliefs freely. It is my hope and prayer that sharing my faith will be an encouragement to others and not something they wish I'd just be quiet about.

4. Are there any things you've changed your mind about in the last few years?

Cats.  I never had much interest in cats or having a cat in the past. If you had asked me if I were a cat or a dog person, I would've said dog, even though we didn't have one. We love our two grandpups and enjoy it when they come to visit.  But then God arranged for me to take over the feeding of two neighborhood kitties that our neighbor was feeding until she became too incapacitated to do so any longer (and is now in a nursing home most likely permanently).   You've all seen the stories about Blackie and Sunshine...and how much it grieved me when Sunshine suddenly passed away.  Now Blackie has captured our hearts and right now is sitting in my hubby's lap, which I never dreamed I would see happen a few months ago!

I believe it's one of those things that God arranged for a reason...He knows what we need deep inside...and sometimes having a small furry animal depend upon us for care and love is a good thing...and to see how he responds with love back to us is even better.  

So that's the Tuesday 4 for today. You can join in HERE if you wish.

One more thing, those fires I was telling you about in our town are still going on. Here is a picture of the smoke in the skies last night:

NO, that is NOT a sunset! That is the smoke in the west at the time of when we should be having a sunset.  At that point we could not smell it here at our house, but when darkness came the smoke surrounded us and became quite noticeable. When I stepped outside for just a minute to bring Blackie back inside for the night (he was sleeping in his chair on the porch and I had to wake him up because freezing temps were on the way. And yes, he spent most of the day outside because it was a bit warmer and that is where he wanted to be), immediately my hair and clothes smelled like smoke and I had to change clothes. I would've washed my hair too, but I had just taken my shower and didn't want to start over.  It is still smokey out there this morning, which means the firefighters are still at it. This is the 4th day.  May God protect them and give them reprieve from the fire soon.

Here's some thoughts and prayer for the day from Psalm 25...

Psalm 25:1-5

"1  To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

2 O my God, I trust in You;

Let me not be ashamed;

Let not my enemies triumph over me.

3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;

Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

4 Show me Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

On You I wait all the day."

Amen.

It's February! Oh, and Ground Hog Day!!

 Oh my, today is Ground Hog Day! I'm sure we are ALL anxious to hear what Mr. Punxatawny Phil is going to prognosticate today!!! I have a feeling he won't even want to come out of his burrow at all!! I'd better go turn on my TV and watch, and then come back to this.

(a little later, Sunrise, Feb. 2, 2026, 26 degrees)

A Frosty Still Very Dry Still Waters Pond

Meanwhile, (I began writing this at 6:00 a.m., and the groundhog doesn't appear for another hour), I am baking some Banana Nut Muffins, and they sure smell good!  I haven't tried this recipe before, so I will have to let you know later if they were really good or not. I kind of overloaded the cups so I only got 9 instead of 12. Looks kind of messy..."but the proof is in the pudding", as they say.

I will have to say after eating these that they were good, but they could've used another banana in the mixture. I only had two small bananas, and I think three would've made them more moist and tasty. Also, I sprinkled brown sugar and cinnamon on top before they baked, and I think they would've been better with a little bit of melted butter mixed in with that before sprinkling. The topping was too dry. I'm not sharing this recipe because it needs to be tweaked. They were good, just not good enough to share the recipe!

So, yesterday was the first day of February! And boy, she sure came in like a lion!! Saturday night the winds were whipping up around 20-40 mph, and the temperature dropped down to 20 degrees, with a windchill around 10 degrees. There was a wildfire in an area across our little town, and those poor firefighters had to be out all night battling the blaze in the cold and wind. Thankfully they got it under control. Some of our church family members live in that area and were told to evacuate, but then before they really could get out, they lifted the order. Still the smoke was so thick it couldn't have been very healthy to stay there. I'm just thankful that apparently no homes were burned or people hurt that I know of. It was mostly in a wooded/grassy area of about 300 acres. We are very thankful to the Lord for His protection over our community in the midst of all that.

We weren't sure if we would go to church or not yesterday because of the low temperatures and high winds, but by church time the temperature had risen to about 28 degrees and the sun was shining and the wind wasn't too bad, so we decided to go.  Although our little old wooden country church building  was struggling to get warm, there were many warm hearts and thankful souls present, which soon warmed everything and everyone up. (except for my toes...they were pretty much frozen by the time church was over, LOL).

Although this was pre-recorded earlier in the week, here is the video of our choir singing "I Know Who the Lord Is" and the pastor's sermon on The Prodigal Son.  It was all good, if you would like to watch!

So you may aske how have we been spending this very cold days? Or you may ask, "what about Blackie? How is he surviving the freezing temperatures, poor kitty..."

Well, look for yourself...

I think we are calling him King Blackie now...he has pretty much taken over our couch, our house, and our lives...there he is above enjoying watching Tennessee Ernie Ford on "What's My Line" old reruns from the 50's and 60's, relaxing on the couch and living his best life...

Although I am NOT pleased when he decides to lay on top of MY TV tray, the one that I use to eat my meals on while we watch TV...(yes, we do that a lot since it's just the two of us, or should I say the THREE of us???)  I've noticed that when I am eating my lunch on this tray he sits right at my feet and watches me very carefully to make sure I don't get anything on HIS tray. LOL.  Yes, I have to wash it thoroughly before using...LOL.  

And look who has started playing games with him!  Yes, Daddy, the one who really didn't want this cat in the house at all...now they are playing games...

And King Blackie has now claimed "Daddy's" lap for his naps.  Hubby is trying to get used to this new development in his life...he's not too sure about it, but I think Blackie knows exactly what he's doing! LOL.

Daddy also introduced the rubber bouncing little ball to Blackie, which BTW belongs to our Grandpups Sugar and Spice, who won't be happy to smell cat cooties on their toys...(we will have to buy them some new "cat scent free" balls before they come over again).

Blackie LOVES the ball...

And quickly showed us his skill at batting it around the room like a pro soccer player.

When he's not playing ball or catch the string or sitting in Daddy's lap, he's staring at that kitty in the mirror inside the curio cabinet, and is very curious as to just who that cat might be staring back at him...

And when he's finally worn himself out with games and tricks, he lays down on "his" couch in front of the "fire" and goes to sleep.  Peace at last...

When these freezing days are over I don't know if Blackie will be able to go back to being just an outdoor porch kitty anymore...we shall see how things go...

Meanwhile, this was the full moon Saturday night as the temperatures were dropping...looks like it was riding in on a big cloud...or was that the "weather bomb" they were predicting? Thankfully it didn't bring us any snow or ice...(unless you went outside in the cold and looked up into the sky around 6:00 pm on Saturday, you might have seen a snow flurry in the air, but they never hit the ground here)

Okay, so back to Punksutawney Phil this morning...Here he is...

Look at that face...who could not love such a face as this?

Probably this mob of people...there were a lot of boos from the crowd when he predicted..

Yes, six more weeks of winter!

Oh well, I think we all already figured that one out without his help!  

These kids look pretty happy about it...more sledding and ice skating and making snowmen and having snowball fights...

Oh, did I say it's time for the Calendar Express Roll Call for February! This one is John Sloane's Country Seasons painting. Perfect for today I'd say!

And, oh, doesn't that look warm and cozy? Well, maybe not. I wish we could see the inside. That might be warmer...

And we could have some hot tea and a few more of those muffins I made...

LOL...this is true, although the more you drink, the more you need to run to the "powder room". LOL.

Ah yes, February is  all about LOVE, and here on this Billy Graham calendar we are reminded that The Bible is God's LOVE letter to us!

1 John 4:7-11 tells us a part of this great love story:

"7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; 

and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 

8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 

9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, 

but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

Oh, isn't this Thomas Kinkade picture beautiful? Not exactly what February looks like this year, that's for sure, but something to look forward to...and a good reminder to "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth..." Colossians 3:2

Because here we have this promise..."As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9.   

Oh what a glorious day that will be!

And finally, this sweet Susan Branch calendar with a double heart to remind us to be united in love...

"7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God;"...

Amen!

I hope you enjoyed this Groundhog Day "celebration".  I hope and pray you are all safe and warm in your cozy homes today.  Oh, one more thing, we are SO thankful not to have lost power in the cold weather and wild winds of the past few days.  That was our biggest concern and prayer, and we are so thankful that God heard our prayers.  I know some of you have had frozen water pipe issues and maybe some power outages, etc.  I pray that these are being fixed as we speak and the most important thing is that you are safe.  May the Lord be with each and every one is whatever challenges you may be facing this week.   Thank you for your wonderful comments on my previous posts...I treasure each and every one of you.  

Blessings and peace today...