Saturday Randomness

Happy Saturday! Nothing particularly special about today, except that it started out around 39 degrees this morning, with a beautiful bright sun shining through the American Flag as we put it out for the day.

I love how the sunshine makes our flag glow so beautifully!!  Made me feel like singing the Star Spangled Banner, but I will spare you that...just imagine it in your own mind and sing along! Be sure to stand and place your hand over your heart when you do!  We are very thankful and proud that our flag is still standing!! Amen?

Yesterday afternoon I picked this tiny little bouquet of wildflowers from our back yard. Actually, we can thank Sandra, A.K.A. "MadSnapper", from her Friday post HERE, where she showed some of these little red flowers from her yard and said they were named Emilia, or Red Tassel Flower. I knew I had to run right outside and see if I could find any in my yard, as I knew they had been there before. And sure enough, there were many of them out there blooming, along with these other little wildflowers, so of course I had to bring a little bouquet inside to enjoy in my kitchen.  Thank you, Sandra, for sharing them with us. I love these!!

And then, once again, we can thank Sandra at MadSnapper for inspiring this random picture. In her Thursday post HERE, she shared a "Make Do Tip" for a jar or bottle opener made from some rubber shelf liner that she bought at the dollar store. That was a very clever idea, and it reminded me of this thing that I have in my utensil drawer. Does anyone know what it is?

Yes it is a jar and bottle opener, and I've had it for years. I thought I originally got it from the Fuller Brush Company or Stanley Home Products. I used to sell for both of those companies many years ago.  But I don't see it listed in their products, so now I'm not sure where I got it, but it does do the job. We always called it a "husband beater", because it could even beat a husband's grip when necessary! However, even this is getting difficult for me in my "old age", and I like Sandra's Made Do Tip of using the rubber gripper stuff that she got from the dollar store even more.  Thank you again, Sandra, for giving me lots of interesting ideas!  If you don't already know Sandra, you might want to get acquainted with her. She's a very special lady!! And she's also from Florida!!

Okay, more randomness...Where do you think these came from?  If you guessed popsicles in my freezer, you'd be right.  I had two of these strawberry popsicles left in my freezer, but they were old and kind of frostbitten, and I needed to make room for the FREE turkey I got at our grocery store for buying $100.00 worth of groceries yesterday! That's right! A FREE 12 lb. turkey!  Anyway, I am not planning to use it right now as our DIL has a 20 lb. turkey that she is thawing out from HER freezer that we need to use, so I had to move things around in my freezer to make room for the turkey,  and these popsicles were in the way. So they melted in the sink and I preserved the sticks so I could share them with you. I knew you'd want to see these little riddles. Perhaps you can share them with your family around the Thanksgiving table.  Well, maybe NOT the one about vampires...that's not exactly proper table talk. LOL.

Since today was such a nice cool day, it was a good day for doing a little bit of baking. I had a couple of overripe bananas sitting on the counter that needed to be used, and so of course they became Banana Nut Bread.  HERE is a link to an OLD post where you can find my recipe.  The banana nut bread baking sure smelled better than those overripe bananas!  I've gotten to a point in life where I simply can NOT tolerate the smell or taste of overripe bananas. By overripe I mean any banana that no longer has any shade of green still on the peeling! LOL.

Back to pleasant smells in the kitchen...I do love the smell of fried onions and squash cooking. Here they are cooking in my husband's grandmother's very old iron skillet! That skillet has to be at least 100 years old, and it still cooks everything just fine!  Can you even begin to imagine the good food that has been cooked in that skillet over the past 100 years?  I believe it probably started out being used on a wood cookstove in Nanny Martin's kitchen, and then gradually she got a gas stove.  Eventually when I got it  I had an electric stove, but now I also have a gas stove, and I believe the skillet is happier here on this stove. It is also great to use for baking cornbread in the oven, among other things...

And speaking of Nanny Martin, I just found this OLD post where I talked about these same two items! And I gave you more of the history in that post.  Below is her lovely old platter, and I had it out tonight because I was cooking a pork loin roast in the oven (after I took out the banana nut bread), and the platter was waiting to hold the roast when it came out of the oven.  I love using these old family "heirlooms".  They make me feel connected to them in a very special way. Especially as we come to Thanksgiving, and I think about all of our family members who have gone on before us who we used to celebrate Thanksgiving with...times have changed. The faces around the table have changed, but there are still these things that bring back memories and reconnect us to those who meant so much to us in our lives.   Cherish your loved ones while you have them near. Don't let anything come between you to keep you from enjoying one another's presence while you can. Life is short, and someday all we have left are old pots and pans and dishes, but hopefully lots of good memories.

Oh, another random picture as I was sitting here at my computer this afternoon and looking out the window from  my "room with a view". This was the view:

I love how that geranium is blooming, and the afternoon sun is making it glow!  The Christmas cactus is also starting to get more buds on it, so hopefully it will be blooming by Christmas if not sooner.

While I was waiting for the pork roast to roast, I took a little walk outside for a few minutes just to get some fresh air and enjoy the beauty of this lovely cool afternoon.  I walked over to my little "hiding place", where I can see the cove of Still Waters Pond. And guess who was there?

Yep, the Canada Goose couple was resting there in the afternoon sun...can you see them?

This is a little blurry, but can you see the goose hiding behind the bushes in the water?

There's the other one, sitting out in the water a little further:

I couldn't get the focus on this one because of the weeds in the foreground...but I didn't want to blow my cover either and scare them away...

I am excited to see them over in that area, as that is the same area where perhaps this same couple built their nest last year. Time will tell. It may be too early for nesting just yet, but the fact that they are hanging around there tells me that they may be staking out their territory before any others come to claim it.  I hope so! It always makes things so exciting around here!

Oh, last night when it started getting so chilly, I decided it was time for my first official cup of hot Ovaltine for the season.  Yes, I said Ovaltine...

This is what I use, and I highly recommend it. I can tolerate this much better than pure hot chocolate, and this actually has vitamins and minerals in it so it is good for you! It's lower in sugar too than regular hot chocolate.  It can be drunk hot or cold, but I much prefer hot. And I find that it relaxes me before I go to bed at night. It doesn't hype me up like real chocolate would do, and it actually acts more like a warm cup of milk before bedtime...very soothing and comforting.  At least that's how I feel about it!

This was the devotional reading from this little calendar from the other day. I liked what it said, and wanted to share it with you.

That "heavenly fire" comes from God's Holy Spirit, and when we are faced with struggles or adversity, or if someone is attacking or hurting our children or other members of our family or our friends,  the Holy Spirit kindles up that "heavenly fire" and gives us the spark and energy to face our enemies and be strong in the Armor of Christ (Ephesians 6:10-17)  I am very thankful for this strength that comes only from God when needed most.  And yes,

"Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord."

Psalm 144:15

Nothing random about that.  God's love and strength and blessings toward us, His children, is very intentional.  And I am very thankful for that special blessing.

Happy Thanksgiving week! I do hope you will have a blessed and wonderful and happy time with family and/or friends...or even just you and the Lord...a special day of thankfulness!

Amen.