Friday Foto Friends...This n That

 Hello Dear Friday Foto Friends! This has been a tough week for our country, with the election on Tuesday and all the negativity of that which just keeps on going and going and going, and then the very horrific shooting in California...such a heartbreaking situation there.  More than ever our nation needs to come together and pray.  It is time to put aside our differences and try to work together in peace and harmony, to make a better future for our children and children's children.


I am writing this on Thursday afternoon...just trying to lighten things up a bit with some photos from in and around my neck of the woods.

I told you about "Bobby the Squirrel" a few weeks ago HERE.  Remember? I found him at my mother-in-law's house, which is currently being renovated and prepared for sale, and I brought him home to live with us.  Well, it appears that one of our backyard squirrels has discovered "Bobby", and is very curious about him.

I watched this little squirrel go up and down that tree several times, and each time he came back to where he could get a closer look at "Bobby".  I believe he was trying to figure out how to jump over to join him in the bird bath, but he was just a little bit afraid.  It really was funny to watch.  I've noticed that the birds don't seem to mind having "Bobby" there. They often come and perch on his head and then jump into the bath to get a drink.  Bobby seems to have found a happy home here.

Speaking of my mother-in-law's house, the work is done, and we will soon be putting a "For Sale" sign in the yard. Here is the finished product:  Front

And back yard:

Some of "Nanny's" roses blooming in the back yard

Her sons, my brother in law and my hubby...kind of a bittersweet moment together, realizing they will probably never be back in this house together again.  It looks a lot different now than it did, as my brother in law has done a complete make-over of the house...floors, kitchen, paint, bathrooms, etc., so it doesn't look much like it did when Nanny lived there.

My favorite thing that was done was putting the kitchen sink under this window. Originally it was facing a wall, which never made sense to me. Now the new owner will be able to enjoy looking out the window at the beautiful back yard while she works.

The new kitchen has many more cabinets and is more functional. Also has a dishwasher, which Nanny never had...and a built in microwave and self-cleaning oven. She never was much for "modern conveniences".  She liked doing things the old-fashioned way.

(This picture was just updated to show different new countertops. The first one was with countertops that were not done to the quality we wanted, so these  are the new ones. Much better!!)

The dining room has a new patio door, new light fixture, and new flooring throughout the whole house.

It is our prayer that whoever buys this little house will love it as much as "Nanny" did. She truly loved her home and was very sad when she couldn't live there any more. Below are just a couple of old pictures of happy days at her house. The first was Easter, and the grand- kids were going to have an Easter egg hunt in the front yard.

And here's a happy picture of Nanny in her house with most of her grandchildren, celebrating her birthday, again this was several years ago...  Nanny is now in her heavenly home, and she's not missing this little house anymore.  But we will always miss her laughter and smile and how she loved us all so much.

Okay, back to the present.  I thought these yellow wildflowers growing along side the pond in my neighborhood were bright and cheerful...

 They just made me smile as they lifted their faces to the morning sun...

And this lily was getting ready to open it's petals to the sun as well...

Speaking of moving right along...I saw this house being moved this week ...

They are doing road construction in the little town that we are planning to move to, and someone decided they wanted to save  this old house rather that have it demolished to make way for the new road.  I don't know where it is headed, but would love to see it when it is relocated to its new "home".*  *Postscript: HERE IS the follow up to that story!*

Speaking of neighborhood and neighbors...remember when I shared with you about the little bear on the fence?(check HERE for that story)  Well, it seems this has become a new event on our fence post...The other day this appeared on the fence...and what fun we have had with Mr. Crabby since then.  My neighbor just thought we might enjoy having this fella, so that is what we've done. Mr. Crabby has shown up in the strangest places inside our house ever since...under pillows, in sock drawers, among the bathroom towels, in a lunch box...you never know when or where Mr. Crabby might show up next!

 And then today I looked out on the fence and discovered this lovely bride and groom...well, they are a little disheveled...apparently they've spent some time in a box of sawdust or something, and her lace veil is a bit worn...but they still look like a lovely couple, don't you think? I've since cleaned them up and who knows where they may end up?

Maybe right here on my kitchen windowsill, next to the newlyweds who will celebrate their 1st anniversary this coming Sunday!!

And last, but not least, some of you may have already seen this photo on my Facebook this past week, but this rather thin looking bear came crossing by this week, checking out our for sale sign:

 I wonder if he was wanting to check into the "Bear Crossing B&B" guest room that I had just set up the night before...

I guess he took this sign seriously that is in our front yard...

Well, even though he didn't come inside, he looks happy anyway!!!

Okay, I guess that's enough for this week's Friday Foto Friends.  I want to stop and count my blessings for the week...
1.  Our health...never want to take it for granted. Hubby has been having a few little tests here lately, and so far so good, and we just want to praise the Lord for our continued good health.
2.  Our family...we are so blessed to have a very loving family...even when we all don't agree on everything politically, we can discuss without resorting to hurting one another's feelings...and still come out of our discussions knowing that our bond of family love is much stronger than any political agenda or issue.
3.  Our church...Precious people who are becoming more like family to us every week as we get better acquainted.  So thankful for the loving affirmations we are receiving from people who seem genuinely happy that we are there worshiping with them. What a blessing this has been for us.
4.  Also thankful for how our church has encouraged our "kids" while our daughter in law is recuperating from her surgery...they continue to bring meals and show love to them in so many ways. This has been such a marvelous gift of love.

Okay folks. Let's cross over to Deb's place at Breathing in Grace and check up on our other friends to see what they've been seeing this week through the lens of the camera!!  Have a blessed a glorious week.  And please pray for our nation, our President, and all our newly elected congressmen and Senators, Governors, etc.  Our Gubernatorial and Senator race here in Florida is still up in the air and there will be a recount apparently. Please pray that this will be done fairly and without incident.