Friday Foto Friends~Friday Blessings

Whew! Thank Goodness it's Friday! LOL. Not that it makes much difference when you're retired, but I still love Fridays because they are the beginning of the weekend, and who doesn't love the weekend?

Here's a few pictures from a ride we took the other morning...some fall wildflowers alongside the road...always makes me smile and say "Stop the car! I want to take a picture!" LOL.

I love all the purple and golden wildflowers that show up in late September and October...

I call these God's bouquets!

I won't even attempt to identify them...just enjoy the natural beauty of God's Creation all around us while it lasts!

And I always enjoy seeing some cows grazing in the pastures...

Mooooooo!

 Hubby loves to watch college football on Saturday afternoons and I just like to piddle around doing little things. We may take a ride in the morning and see if there's any interesting flea markets or yard sales going on. Tomorrow morning our church Thrift Store is having a yard sale, so we may stop by there and see what fun stuff they are trying to sell. I may see something I donated (and hope someone else will buy it!) LOL.

Our Church Thrift Store

And for the Blackie fans, here's a few pictures of this character. This is what he loves to do while I am trying to write on the computer. Most of the time he is batting at my hand and not allowing me to type, or he lays his head on the keyboard and causes all kinds of chaos.  Quite often I get a page open up from Google Help asking "how may we assist you?"   And I want to say, "Someone please come get this cat off of my computer desk so I can get something done around here!" LOL.

I guess he thinks he's helping me. LOL.

Someone asked me what Blackie thought about Lily Grace's new "cat costume".  Well, here's his first reaction. He refused to look at her...literally turned his back on her when I put her down on the floor and asked him to come say hello to Lily...

But Lily Grace was not going to be ignored by Mr. Blackie, so she marched right over to where he was sitting and asked him to please notice her cute little cat costume...

At first he wanted to bolt...

I'm not sure what he's looking at...he refused to look at me or Lily Grace..Maybe he's saying, "The things I have to put up with to be the King around here..." LOL.

But at least he didn't make her a chew toy...There's still hope they will become good friends. LOL.

Praise God!  We have had a wonderful rainy afternoon today! And I couldn't help but notice this Red Shouldered Hawk way out on the pond,  standing next to a PUDDLE on top of the dry pond bed! I think he was fishing for worms or tadpoles. LOL.

Yes, that is water along the edge of those bushes...everytime it rains, that puddle gets bigger!

One day at a time!

And  please don't judge me for the weeds in the flower bed! I know what I have to do. But the kids gave me these pots of mums for my birthday, and I needed to put them someplace  where I could water them (before the rains came back) and this was the closest to the garden hose. Maybe tomorrow if it's not too hot I will pull some weeds and plant the mums appropriately. (Or maybe I'll get Scott to do it for me when he comes to visit...that's a thought! He's a pro! And so much younger and stronger than I am! LOL)

Oh, one more thing, thanks for saying a little prayer for hubby today when he went to the dentist. They x-rayed and examined the broken  tooth, and said he had 3 options. Pull it and be done with it, Do a root canal and put a crown on it, or do an implant/crown.   Option one wouldn't cost us anything because our insurance would cover it, but he'd have a big gap on the top left side of his mouth where it could be seen and may cause the surrounding teeth to weaken over time. Option two would cost a bit of money, but it could be done next week with a temporary crown, and then the permanent crown a week or so later. Option three was the most expensive and would take 3-4 months for the gum to heal before they could put the actual crown on top of the implant/screw.  After much discussion we decided on option #2, the root canal and crown. Our medicare advantage plan will cover a part of it, and we can put the rest on a Care Credit plan with no interest for a year.  (of course, I am still paying for MY root canal and crown that I got earlier this year...but I guess that's the high cost of getting old). Nothing comes cheap or easy these days,  that's for sure.  I told hubby that we will tie a red bow around his new crown for Christmas as that will be his Christmas gift. I guess I'll have to do the same for mine. LOL.  

I am just so thankful that God has provided a way for us to take care of these things. No, we don't like to use credit unnecessarily, but there are times when that is the only option and we are thankful that it is available. We will trust God to help us pay it off as soon as possible, but we are thankful to not have to put things off that could cause further issues and make matters worse and possibly bigger expenses in the future.

Well friends, I will close this post for tonight. It's always wonderful to hear from you, and I  look forward to visiting more with you as the days go by. Take care, and may God open the doors for you that you are asking, seeking, and knocking about.  Amen.

It's October!!!

 It's October first! And you know what THAT means!  It's time for the Calendar Roll Call!!

No better way to express the essence of Autumn than with this beautiful picture by John Sloane, from his Country Seasons Calendar..."Welcome to Autumn"...

For those of you who live in the region where there are scenes like this, I know you can well imagine the "thrill" of raking leaves with your children...and perhaps falling into a pile of leaves as soon as they are raked up!  That's what my little boys did way back many moons ago when we lived in Ohio:

This is from the Susan Branch calendar for October:

I see that she listed October 12th as "Indigenous People's Day", and neglected to add that it is also "Columbus Day". Although I have no problem in setting aside a special day for the "Indigenous People", I do have a problem with the movement to erase Columbus Day from our calendar. But I won't get political here...just wanted to remember that in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And who remembers the names of the three ships?  The Pinta, The Niña, and the Santa Maria.   And please be kind...no debates here regarding this special day from our history. Thank you.

Oh, the Susan Branch calendar did add something really good...a recipe for Corn Pudding!  Who doesn't love a good corn pudding at Thanksgiving (or any church pot luck dinner?) Yum!

Well, after raking the leaves out on a chilly, windy, autumn day, why not come inside for a cup of hot tea with me? Although this particular picture doesn't depict our typical kind of fall fare...and is that a grasshopper on that teapot? It is an interesting Japanese design.

This is actually a teapot designed for drinking "sake" during New Year's celebrations in Japan...

Okay, if you like that, be my guest, but I will be serving tea...

It's really not that difficult:

Now, this is more like it...wow! What a beautiful stone cottage beside the creek... This painting by Thomas Kincade is entitled "The Valley of Peace".  It certainly does look peaceful now...and I love the verses included on the picture and below..."Casting all your care upon him; (the Lord), for He carethe for you." 1 Peter 5:7

And now we move on to the Billy Graham calendar for October...love those beautiful red apples...

And I love this promise quote from Billy Graham...especially the part, "God has not yet finished with us."   That's good to know, isn't it?  

And I love this verse from Psalm 139:16...God knew us even before we were born...and every day of our lives is already recorded in God's book!! Wow...that's certainly a major thought to consider...

And last, but not least, we can ponder all these things while we cozy up in front of the fire in this lovely little cabin in the woods...Oh my! I can hear the fire crackling in the fireplace, and perhaps there's an apple pie in the oven and something good bubbling on the stove...chili? soup? stew?  What's your favorite comfort food to make on a chilly fall day after being outside raking leaves and/or taking a walk in the woods on an autumn day?  Any of the above sound good to me, but chili is probably the easiest to make, so that's most likely what I'd do.  Gosh! This all makes me anxious to have those cooler fall days get here!  Here in Florida we may have to wait a while, but we can still pretend...

Speaking of using a "physical calendar...", my friend Debbi from Debbi's Front Porch, sent me this picture.  I told her I couldn't believe how much that actually looks like me...

It reminded me of this picture below, taken many years ago at our last house, and when I had a permanent in my hair that looks just like that lady above! LOL.  In this picture I wasn't writing on my calendar, but I was writing a post on my blog and wearing my favorite flannel shirt, that I usually start wearing again about this time of the year every year. I will probably continue to do so until it just falls apart from wear...don't you have any special shirts like that? It fits me the best of any of the flannel shirts I own, and is the most comfy of all. Anyway, I thought the resemblance was uncanny and had to look up this old photo to show you! LOL.  

HERE is a link to the story about when this flannel shirt was brand new.

Meanwhile, while we wait for flannel shirt weather to begin again, this was our sunset last night...the last sunset of September...

Still no significant water in Still Waters Pond,  but over under those green bushes it is very wet, so keep praying! It's supposed to rain a lot this week...and I heard we are in for a wet winter, so there's hope!

And here's the sunrise this morning, October 1, 2026!

It's going to be a great month! I can feel it in my bones! LOL.

Thank you for hanging in there with me through all the calendars this morning. I pray that your October is off to a great start too! Now I have to go call the dentist as my hubby broke a tooth last night...actually the tooth was apparently cracked around an old filling, and a part of the tooth broke off while we were eating dinner. So now we can add that to the calendar...a dentist appointment! 

God bless you all with His love and kindness and tender mercies throughout this month and beyond. Amen!

Monday Monday~More Blessings

Sunrise Sunday morning!

 It's already Monday evening, but it's been a busy day and I'm just sitting down to think about what to write. I know tomorrow is Tuesday, and I should do the Tuesday 4, but it's all about reading, and to be honest, I'm not doing a lot of interesting reading right now...I'm just barely getting through a few Amish fiction books that I think I've read before some time ago, so I'm about ready to take them back to the Library and look for something else.  Anyway, I didn't see anything that I honestly could answer on that meme for this week, so I'm going to pass. Sorry...sometimes we just have to bow out if we don't have anything interesting to say! 

With that being said, I will try to find something interesting to say today that you haven't already heard or seen before.   Thank you all for you wonderful comments on my last couple of posts. I haven't been able to respond personally, but I've enjoyed every comment, and I'm trying to get around to visit you at your site as well.  One day at a time, one post at a time. 😍

So let's pick up where I left off in my last post.  I am still enjoying the memories of that wonderful day. Honestly, that was one of the happiest days we've had in a long time...not so much because of my birthday, but because of the baptism that took place before the birthday party. I still can't get over the excitement on the face of our niece when she came up out of the water! This was something she really and truly wanted to do, and it showed in every movement of her being.  May she always have that joy and enthusiasm for being a child of God!! Amen.

Yesterday was a lovely Sunday...it was cooler here than it has been in a long while, and that was such a lift to my spirits and my body! I just feel SO much better when there's not so much humidity and the temperatures drop a few degrees. Now if it would just stay that way. And it was a wonderful day of worship in church as well, which is always a true blessing. 

Our son Scott came over as per his usual Sunday routine, to do his laundry and have lunch with us and relax a while before making that long trip back to his house for another week of hard work.  We had a nice visit and I made spaghetti and garlic toast and salad for lunch. The surprise was that he brought me a very special gift.  Scott is a very unique kind of artist. He's had no special training, and he doesn't have any fancy equipment to work with. He likes to use whatever he has on hand to create interesting things and/or paint a picture on a piece of recycled cardboard...I shared some of his creations HERE last year...on my birthday!

Well, this year he brought me another special treasure! I had mentioned to him last week that I would love to have a picture of a little log cabin...and so this is what he did this past week in his spare time after work:

He explained that the cabin is facing the water and the mountains, so that's why we can't see the front porch and door and windows. LOL.  He apologized for what wasn't exactly "perfection", because he was in a hurry...but guess what? I think it's absolutely perfect, and I love it!!!! He created it with love, and that's what matters most to me! I will treasure it always!

And true to form, he used a recycled lid from a box of tea bags, which he thought was appropriate for me since he knows how much I love tea!

This was the one he gave me last year for my birthday. Pardon the reflections in the glass...I told him the two belong together. It looks like a place I would love to live!

And after he left, I had another birthday surprise! This is a birthday that just keeps going and going and going! I stepped out on the front porch and found two Amazon envelopes that had been delivered. I knew that I had not ordered anything, so I had no idea where they came from. Here's what was inside:

First, there was this funny Halloween outfit for my new "Lucy Goosey" porch goose! I had just been thinking that I needed to find her something 'fallish' to wear besides a Happy Birthday outfit, but I hadn't had time to look for anything else and was debating on whether or not I wanted to spend money on such things...and then this appears out of the clear blue!!!

And then, in the other package, was this adorable "Black Cat Outfit" for Lily Grace!

Look at the tail that sticks out behind! Isn't it just adorable?

I haven't shown this to Blackie yet, but I can't wait to see what his reaction will be! LOL.

I don't normally set up any "Halloween" decorations until just before Halloween, but with all of this fun stuff arriving on my doorstep, I had to do something!!!  For now it is on the dining room table, but these things will get moved around a bit between now and Halloween.  We don't have a covered front porch, so I really can't just leave Lucy Goosey out there in the wind and rain, so she will probably stay inside with Lily Grace until Halloween day, and then they will help me pass out candy to the trick or treaters who show up at our doorstep!

Like I said, since I don't have a covered front porch, Lucy Goosey will be an indoor goose except for special holidays when she will be appropriately attired and ready to welcome our guests.
And yes, I did figure out who sent these fun gifts...my sweet sister-in-love, who loves to surprise people and bring smiles to our faces. She certainly has gone above and beyond this week! I am thankful and blessed and truly appreciate all the love from so many! Honestly, I never expected any of this, and I am truly humbled and blessed.

One last photo...I know it is poor quality, but it was taken with my cell phone from a distance and I tried to enlarge it, so it's not really clear.  I was trying to take a picture of that leafy growth on the top of the bottlebrush bush, because from a distance it looked like a cross! I was so engrossed in trying to focus on that, that I never even noticed the squirrel in the background on the branch of the pine tree!

It was a double blessing!  A little cross to remind me of Christ and His love  and provision for me and our wonderful family...and there's was one of God's creatures basking in the sunlight, maybe even saying his prayers of thanksgiving for the bounty of seeds and pinecone nuts he's able to forage from all of nature around him that God has provided.  

Some closing thoughts from King David...

A Psalm of David.

Psalm 103:1-5; 15-19, 22b

"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."

"15 As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

And its place remembers it no more.

17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting

On those who fear Him,

And His righteousness to children’s children,

18 To such as keep His covenant,

And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven,

And His kingdom rules over all."

22b  "Bless the Lord, O my soul!"

Amen.