Friday Foto Friends

Good way to start my Friday morning...Morning Tea Time with Blackie...

"Someone" has decided that he likes my lap best here lately...

This was last evening...

we both took a little "cat nap" for a while...

It was very peaceful and relaxing to sit with a warm kitty in my lap for a while,  but it does make it difficult to get much done! LOL.    However, last evening it felt good to just sit and relax with Blackie. I had started out my day by having to be at a dental appointment by 8:00 a.m. for a "periodonal maintenance cleaning". What a way to start the day! And then I finished up the afternoon with an ultrasound mammogram as a follow up to my regular mammogram, because it had shown some areas of "concern", but they said it most likely is because of "dense tissue"...which comes with "old age". Although I won't know the results of the ultrasound for a few days, the technician who did it said that he didn't see anything to be concerned about, so I will take that as a good thing and not be too concerned. I wasn't too concerned anyway, but it's always a good idea to follow up with things when there is any question or doubt.  

All that being said, it was nice to sit in my chair and relax with a warm kitty in my lap for a while. However, Blackie could probably just stay there forever if I'd let him, but eventually I had to pry him out of my lap (with his claws clutching at my leg...LOL).  He is a character, and I think God knew we needed him.

I don't really have any new other pictures to share with you today, but I thought I'd go back a week or so to some that I took and never showed you because there was too much other stuff going on (Easter, etc.)

I know we've all been watching the flight of the Artemis 2 around the moon...and at the time of the launch I took some pictures that I wanted to share with you...

First off was this calendar picture that I forgot to include with the batch of April calendars....This is the one that has quotes from Billy Graham on it, and I found this month's quote to be quite appropriate for what we are currently experiencing:

Isn't that perfect?

Well, what is even more exciting and 'perfect' to me, was that I was able to literally see the rocket launch from our front porch, over 100 miles away!  Here is when it was going up into space:

Yes, that little smoke trail going out toward the eastern sky was the trail of the rocket going up into space from Cape Kennedy!

I was really excited to be able to see it all the way from here! That was pretty amazing!  And also amazing was that we were having a beautiful full moon at that time as well...

Here's a few pictures I took at that time, this was in the early morning...while the moon is setting over Still Waters Pond:

And these were as the moon was rising the night before.

I was just amazed to think that those four astronauts would be literally circling around that big old moon and sending us pictures from the dark side of the moon!

And now they are on their way home and hopefully will touch down safely today, so we are praying for their safe return to earth.  

May God bring them safely home with no issues.   News article about their expected trip home.

Okay, I have to go. Today we have grocery shopping to do and we want to get out before the Friday rush.

May God be with you today and this weekend, and may He give you peace and joy and comfort and strength!!

 

Wednesday Treasures and Wrong Turns

 Good Wednesday Morning!  I'll start out with these pictures of my "Wednesday Treasures" for today:

"Someone", a.k.a. "Blackie", or should I say "King Blackie", has discovered how to leap up onto the back of Daddy's chair and perch there near his favorite person...

I must say he totally surprised Daddy by jumping up there behind him...

And he became rather aloof when we noticed him and started taking his picture...

This morning is cool and rainy !!! Yes!!! Praise God! It rained yesterday and is going to rain more today!! Still not enough to fill Still Waters Pond, but it's a start! Anyway, because it is cooler and rainy, it's a good day to bake biscuits:

and eat them with some of this delicious Cherry Berry Jam that Mari from "My Little Corner of the World" brought us when she was visiting here in Florida last month :

They were so good, along with some scrambled eggs and bits of our Easter ham...

It was a lovely way to start today after yesterday's very LONG day...read on...

I'm sorry I missed yesterday totally...but thank you for all of you kind comments on my Monday post and before that too.  I am way behind in commenting/reading other's posts. Last week was so busy and this week seems to be starting out the same.  Yesterday hubby and I both had appointments with eye specialists in a city about an hour + away from us...and my eyes had to be dilated, and that pretty much took care of the rest of the day for me. I was unable to read or write as my eyes stayed pretty much dilated until bedtime!  I went to the specialist to determine whether or not I am ready for cataract surgery.  Although the doctor said that yes, my eyes are pretty much ready for cataract removal, they aren't that bad yet and I could wait a while if I want to. However, he did say that he's more concerned about the possibility of something he saw that makes him think I could have the beginnings of glaucoma, and he wants to do further tests on that the next time. However, my next appointment isn't until July, so it can't be anything too urgent. He just wants to watch it for now.  So I will be praying about that and hoping that what he saw was not really anything to worry about.  

The most interesting part of our day yesterday was the trip there.  I told hubby that I wanted to try a different road that connects to the main road that we normally take to travel to that city. I thought it would be a kind of by-pass to a lot of traffic that we normally have to go through.  And so he dutifully followed my instructions to turn onto that road, trusting that I knew where I was going. It was actually a very nice, quiet road, without any traffic and many lovely scenes of woods, pastures, cows, and farms. However, when we came to a certain crossroad, we weren't sure whether to turn left or right to get to the next connection road to the main road we wanted.  I didn't have my map app open yet on my phone, thinking I knew where we were and that my "instincts" said we should turn left and it would take us to another road to turn right, which would get us to the road we wanted.  Oops!! I guess my "instincts" aren't as good as they used to be in giving directions.  No sooner than we made that turn and then the next one, it became obvious to me that we had missed our connection and we were heading a bit out of the way from where we wanted to go. It would get us to our destination eventually, but it would take us a bit more to the west before heading due north east. And hubby didn't want to turn around and backtrack for fear of it making us late for our appointment, so we continued on in the direction we were headed.  It was a lovely ride through the woods and country and there was no traffic...so all seemed perfectly fine until we came to the end of the paved road and discovered that there would be nothing but a dirt road for the next 5.5 miles! 

I forgot to mention that it was raining! Yes! Precious rain! Finally! Of course while we are trying to drive through the woods on an unfamiliar road! But still...and actually it was a blessing on this dirt road, because it was just a light drizzle and it kept the road dust from swallowing us whole. (And it wasn't enough to be muddy yet).

Here's what I didn't tell you OR my hubby as we were driving on that long, very remote road through the woods...the little "town" we had passed through ??? (Where? I didn't see any town???) was named Bardin. It's nothing more than a spot on the map, and apparently there was a small grocery store, but I didn't notice it because we were so intent on figuring out if we were going to make it to our destination on time.... (we did, thankfully, with time to spare, so no harm done).

But I have since looked it up online, and yes, indeed there was a little grocery store...we just missed it...

(Google earth view)

I vaguely remember seeing this, but we didn't have these blue skies yesterday and again, I was concentrating on making sure the road would get us "somewhere" on time...

Internet Photo

(From their Facebook Page)

Anyway, there was a lot more that could have been seen in the little community of Bardin, if we had been so "blessed"...LOL...you see, there is a legend of a creature known as the "Bardin Booger"...yep! That's what they call him...and there have been books and stories and newspaper articles written about him...

I looked him up on the computer to see what I could find out to share with you:

"AI Overview

The Bardin Booger is a legendary, Sasquatch-like creature reported in Putnam County, Florida, specifically around the small town of Bardin since the 1940s. Often considered a regional variant of the Florida Skunk Ape, it is described as a tall, hairy,, foul-smelling biped that sometimes appears in local lore as a harmless,, costumed figure.
The Florida Times-Union +3

Key Aspects of the Bardin Booger:Origin: Sightings began in the 1940s, with reports describing a tall creature resembling a man covered in fur or a "raincoat".

Characteristics: It is often described as a 6 to 9-foot tall hairy creature. Some legends claim it carries a lantern or smells intensely, sometimes inhibiting witnesses' ability to act.

Cultural Impact: It is a well-known, lighthearted mascot for the Bardin community. Local residents, such as the late Billy and Lena Crain, used to dress in costumes, sing songs, and appear at local events to celebrate the legend.

Location: The sightings are concentrated in the rural, swampy areas near creeks in Bardin.

Explanations: While some view it as a real, undiscovered animal, others attribute the sightings to misidentified wildlife, a local hermit, or a person in a suit."
The Florida Times-Union +4

Here's a "song" written and sung about the 'Bardin Booger'.   I have actually read the book that was written about it, but I don't have a copy to share,  and they are no longer in print apparently. 

Well, all fun aside, we finally made it safely through the woods and "swamp" where the "Bardin Booger" might be living, and we were quite happy to get back to the familiar road that we normally take to this eye doctor.  It runs alongside the St. John's River, and here's some pictures I took as we passed by in the rain...

As I said,  all's well that ends well...we made it to our appointment on time, and then we headed back home on the right road,  and because it was already past our lunch time, we stopped on the way home to eat lunch at a new restaurant that just opened up in Palatka, "Master Steak and Seafood", and we had the "special".  

(Not my plate...internet photo...but the Country Fried Steak looked like this:)

They gave us huge portions and we had to take home a 'doggy bag'.  

So all in all, it was an interesting day. As I said earlier, my eyes stayed dilated almost until bedtime, so I wore dark glasses in the house and I think Blackie was afraid of me. LOL.

Hubby said last night that he was glad we had prayed before we started our trip yesterday. We were thankful that He kept us safe and got us on the "right track" even though we might have made a wrong turn.  I learned a good lesson....

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

"Lean not on your own understanding..."   Definitely consult with God before making any wrong turns...and also study the "map", whether it be on your phone or on paper, ahead of time, and be sure of which way you are supposed to go before you begin your journey!!!  Thankfully God was with us and it turned out to be an interesting adventure. But we probably won't go that way again. LOL.

Have a blessed and wonderful week. I am trying to get caught up with my reading of your posts...but please bear with me. Tomorrow is another busy day...and today I am trying to get caught up with things here at the house.  You are all very dear to me.  

 

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Easter Monday Recap: Hallelujah! Christ Arose!

 Golly! Here it is Easter Monday already! I never got around to writing yesterday on Easter Sunday, because it was just such a busy day from morning 'til night! But it was all SO good!! What a  joyous day it was!!  Let's start at the very beginning and journey through the day together, shall we?  

The first thing I noticed was that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb!  And all of "nature" was in awe of the great event that had taken place there...the tomb was empty!!!

And so I rushed outside to see...and even the cross had been changed...and I thought I could hear the angels singing..."Alleluia! Jesus Lives!!!"...for after all..."With God, all things are possible!"...

What a glorious morning! We rejoiced to say, "Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!"

So then we got ready to go to church...and here is the "message" for the day...our choir sang the cantata "I Will Embrace the Cross".  If you wish to listen to the whole thing, I think you'll enjoy it. This prerecorded last week at our rehearsal.  If you go all the way to 26:26, you will find a bit of a surprise as I sing a solo. The only thing I will say is that I give God the glory and thanks for getting me through this. My voice was about gone that night. But thankfully Sunday morning God refreshed me and my voice and I believe it sounded a lot better...at least my hubby said so. LOL.  I am just thankful to be able to sing for the glory of God  and I pray that the message of the whole cantata was a blessing to those who listened and participated.

After church we came home and the family gathered here for dinner. Thankfully Rose had baked the ham and made the deviled eggs. I did the scalloped potatoes, but I will confess they were the quickie variety from a box...but I added extra cheese to make them extra good.  Yes, I  much would prefer to have my homemade scalloped potatoes, but on Easter Sunday morning with all the other stuff I had going on this weekend, there was just no time for slicing potatoes, etc.  Anyway, they were very good. We also had "Amish Fruit Salad", and broccoli, and a tossed salad and Hawaiian Rolls.  All in all it was a feast.

I thought my new "Dollar Tree" plates for spring looked really pretty, don't you? They are so inexpensive, and it was fun to have something different to use.

After dinner we all had to hunt for our Easter Baskets...yes, that's a family tradition...and this year our "Easter Bunny Kids" brought baskets for hubby and me  and hid them when we weren't looking, so we had to hunt for ours too!!   I found mine!

John found his! (we wrap them in grocery bags so that no little critters or cats or dogs might find them first).

Scott found his!

Rose found hers:

And Benton was the last one to find his! He was perturbed because he had been so close to it several times and didn't see it! LOL. It's always a fun time and a happy tradition that our big kids look forward to even at their great ages! LOL.

Then we posed for a family portrait, and Sugar and Spice wanted to be in the picture too:

(of course we couldn't bring Blackie inside to join us, or there would've been a turf war between the dogs and the cat!)

Oh, but Lily Grace and Bailey joined in the fun, and there was even a new little puppy in a basket for them to play with and enjoy!

Oh, and Lily was so excited to discover this flower had the same name as she did!

However, I was reminded by a few people that Easter Lilies are highly toxic to cats, and so last night we took it outside and put it in a wooded area of our fenced lot where Blackie never goes, so that hopefully he will not come in contact with it.  It was pretty while it lasted in the house, I but we didn't want to take any chances on the pollen dust falling on Blackie and making him sick!

So all in all, it was a wonderful Easter Day, and we rejoice in knowing that because Christ arose from the dead, we too shall live!!

I was SO happy that our church sang this wonderful old hymn yesterday. "Christ Arose". No, this isn't our church, but maybe you'll want to sing along with this church from  FBC Atlanta.

Low in the grave He lay—

Jesus my Savior!

Waiting the coming day—

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes

He arose a Victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

2

Vainly they watch His bed—

Jesus, my Savior!

Vainly they seal the dead—

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes

He arose a Victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

3

Death cannot keep his prey—

Jesus, my Savior!

He tore the bars away—

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes

He arose a Victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

He Arose! Hallelujah! Christ Arose!!!!!!  

Easter Saturday...While We Wait...

 It's the Saturday after Good Friday...the day before Easter...and the tomb is still closed...we wait for the sunrise tomorrow...or perhaps I should say, "we wait for the SONRISE" tomorrow! For those of us who know "the rest of the story"...that death could not hold our Savior in the tomb...we look forward to the dawn tomorrow...because we know that the stone will be rolled away...and the tomb will be empty...and the angels will proclaim that Christ is risen as He said...but today we wait...

Hear what Jesus said to His disciples before His crucifixion...

John 16:19-22

19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 

20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. 

21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 

22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

At the time, the disciples did not understand what Jesus was trying to tell them...but once Christ was resurrected from the dead, it all made sense to them, and their sorrow was soon replaced with great joy!

So we who already know that Christ is risen from the dead can rejoice in this knowledge. There's no reason to be grieving now...we anticipate the remembrance of this joyous Easter morning and we can live our lives with joy and peace and much thanksgiving for Christ's amazing grace and gift of salvation! 

"Amazing grace (how sweet the sound)

that saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

was blind, but now I see."

And so today, while we anticipate the joy of the resurrection morning tomorrow, we have spent the day having another kind of celebration. Tomorrow is my sister Doris and also her husband Art's birthdays.  Yes, they were born on the same day, just 2 years apart.  I was thrilled when she said they would love to come to our house to celebrate...because they live 2 hours away, and it's getting harder and harder for them to drive all the way here and back home. We often choose to meet somewhere 1/2 way at a restaurant to celebrate different occasions, but it's always so much nice to be able to relax and enjoy being in our home together. Sadly, none of their or our kids were free today to come for a party, but they said they didn't mind that. They will have a party with their kids tomorrow after church to celebrate Easter and their birthdays at the same time.

So, I decided that if they were going to drive all the way here, we would make it extra special somehow. We decided to invite some mutual friends who live about a half hour away, and who used to always participate in our family parties when we lived in the same town before moving here. One of our dear friends has just very recently, within the past month, lost her husband of over 71 years! Yes, that's right!  They were married for over 71 years! So you can imagine how difficult it has been for her...but she was thrilled to be able to come and spend the day with us. Another couple from the same town brought her with them.  So here we go with some pictures to show you how the day went:

After a delicious (if I do say so myself) lunch of homemade chicken pot pie and salad, we had cake.Art prefers a coconut cake, and Doris prefers an angel food cake, as I've told you about before...with daffodils in the center of the cake per an old family tradition.    Since it's almost impossible to find real daffodils here in Florida at this time, I had to resort to using artificial ones, but it still looked good and she was pleased. We just had trouble making her candles stand up straight,  but other than that it was all good. LOL.  

Here's Art blowing out his candles...

And then it was Doris' turn to blow out her candles...

Then we all had cake and Blue Bell Ice Cream and some fresh sweetened strawberries. It was really good.

I was excited to give Doris this gift.  I found it at the Deep Creek Trading Post here in our town...it is a little wreath for the hair with flowers and tiny fairy lights entertwined. The best part was that the yellow flowers were daffodils!

Here's the back of it. Isn't it sweet? I know, she probably won't ever wear it again, but I told her she has to wear it tomorrow for her family party. She said she didn't think she would wear it to church since she sings in the choir...oh well...at least she's a fairy princess for the day!  I remember us making such little flower wreaths of dandelions and daisies when we were little girls on the farm in Pennsylvania.  Not that elaborate, of course, but just wound around through our hair. Somewhere there's a picture of us, but I can't find it and Doris says she doesn't really remember that...??? What??? Oh well...she's 80! Some things we forget I guess. LOL.

The other gift I gave her actually is a gift from Benton and Rose and us.  I commissioned Benton to build some kind of sign for Doris' garden, and this is what he made...

Doris is the gardener in the family, and she spends a LOT of time in her lovely garden. So I am sure she will find a place to put this.

Oh hello...here's hubby and I...

Here's our friends Marian and Chuck...

And they brought our dear friend Maura, who just lost her sweet hubby "Woody".  We all missed him being there too, but we rejoice that he's celebrating in heaven today. He was almost 91 years old when he passed, and had lived a wonderful life.

It was a lovely and perfect way to wait for the SONRISE tomorrow.

Oh, one more thing I've been meaning to share with you. Last week we took a little ride, and I noticed something amazing on the tops of these very tall pine trees...

If you look really closely you can see little crosses on the very tip tops of the new growth on the trees:

Here is some information that I found on Google about this annual phenomenon:
"AI Overview

In Florida, and across the Southern U.S., many pine trees (especially Loblolly) develop small, yellow, cross-shaped, or "X"-shaped, growths at their tops during early spring. These, often referred to as "[Easter Crosses]" or "candles," appear as the tree grows new branches, with the phenomenon often peaking around the Easter holiday.
Lakeland Ledger +2

Even though the tree "experts" don't consider it anything unusual, for those of us who see the significance of God's amazing creation all around us, we consider this just another way that even the trees in God's creation rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“For you shall go out with joy,

And be led out with peace;

The mountains and the hills

Shall break forth into singing before you,

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

Isaiah 55:12

Okay friends, it's time to head to bed. It's going to be another busy, but joyful day tomorrow.  It's Easter~and our choir will be singing our cantata, "Embrace the Cross". After church our kids will be coming here for dinner. Thankfully Rose is baking the ham and doing some other things and I don't have to do too much. It will be a day of rejoicing and enjoying our family.  

Sleep in peace.  Tomorrow brings such Good News!!

.Good Night