Wednesday Treasures: Just Popping In

 It's Wednesday night...and the moon is bright!

This is the scene from our front porch tonight..."Silent Night, Holy Night..."

All is calm...all is bright...Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace..."

A little bit earlier there was a beautiful sunset over our own Still Waters (still dry) Pond.  Do you see the duck in the tree?

I'm thinking this may be one of the Muscovy Ducks that I really don't appreciate so much, but he does make for a beautiful picture in the tree at sunset, so I have agree that even a duck I don't like has a purpose in life...

God says in Psalm 46:10-11 NKJV

10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

And with my enforced "quarantine" this week, I am learning to appreciate the stillness and the presence of God.  We took a little ride to try to catch more of the sunset before it totally disappeared...and to get out of the house for a little bit.  Hubby is going stir crazy I think...but he also thought I needed a change of scenery for a little while too. So we rode over to another lake nearby to catch the rest of the sunset...(a lake that is NOT dry!!)

I hope we didn't disturb these fishermen too much.

It really was a beautiful night.

And just so you know, we do still have some beautiful scenes on our own Still Waters Pond in the daytime...even if there isn't any water...This Great Blue Heron flew up into a tree to check out things. Actually there were two of them. I was thinking maybe they were looking for a place to build their nest because they do nest in the trees, but the other one flew away and this one still hangs around during the day to "fish"...for what, I'm not sure...maybe frogs...

We also had two of these interesting Wood Storks fly in for a few minutes. I didn't get a picture of the other one. They have been here in the past years as well, but they saw that there was no water and they took off pretty quickly. 

Mister Red Shouldered Hawk manages to keep finding food here however.  I see him flying about all around and over the pond throughout the day.  There is life out there, just not like what we are used to.

He saw something down there on the dry pond bed and gobbled it up and flew away:

And actually, you can barely tell it, but it was raining a little bit yesterday afternoon! It totally surprised us! but it didn't last for long.  The forecast does show rain coming this weekend, so I am praying it will be something worth waiting for!

Today was a good day for soup. It turned a little cooler, and I've been wanting soup. This was a quick one, however. I opened up a can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup and added a can of mixed vegetables and some onion flakes, garlic powder, and pepper, and Ritz Crackers, and it was really good for a  quick lunch.  I actually also made beef stew in the crock pot for supper with some fresh home made biscuits. I forgot to take any pictures of that, however. It was really good, and there's some leftover for tomorrow. Hooray!

We were watching What's My Line while we ate our lunch, and I was surprised to see Gloria Swanson as their special "mystery guest".  This was from early 1950's.  I was thrilled to see her, because I actually met her in person on my 10th birthday. (which would have been a few years after this particular program).  I wrote about that memorable event HERE, several years ago.

While I'm resting, I am doing little bits here and there of decorating things that I have available to work with. Tomorrow Benton is coming over to bring in the boxes of decorations from the shed along with our tree so I can get to the rest of it a little at a time.

Lily Grace and my "Margie Doll" (see link for more information on her) wanted to be dressed in some Christmas dresses, so here they are.  Margie Doll is my doll that I've had since my 7th birthday, a gift from my Aunt Margie, so that's why I named her Margie Doll.  Lily Grace you all should know by know...but if you don't, you can read all about her in her own blog, The Adventures of Lily Grace. That link will take you to a post written several years ago when Lily first learned about an Advent Calendar.  We haven't written any new adventures in a while, but maybe we need to think about that.  Lily still has adventures...but Mommie is just too tired and busy to write more than one blog at a time. LOL.

Here's the rest of Lily's friends.  We'll be getting things ready for Christmas more and more as the boxes are opened and things are rediscovered!

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts and prayers regarding my illness. I am getting better day by day, and I'm trying not to do too much, but you know how it is...there's just so much to do during this Advent season!  But God has me here in a time of waiting and resting...and I want to use this time wisely to prepare my heart for the Advent of our Lord...yes, the Advent of the Christ child that we celebrate at Christmas, but also the 2nd Advent of our Lord, Who will "come with a strong hand...and His arm shall rule for Him; Behold His reward is with Him, and His work before Him..."  (see these verses below.) Yes, Christ is coming again...and we need to "Be still and know that (He) is God..." and prepare our hearts for this very good news, for those who believe.  There is so much for which to prepare our hearts...I hope we are all ready...

Isaiah 40:8-11 NKJV

"8 The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever.”

9 O Zion,

You who bring good tidings,

Get up into the high mountain;

O Jerusalem,

You who bring good tidings,

Lift up your voice with strength,

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,

And His arm shall rule for Him;

Behold, His reward is with Him,

And His work before Him.

11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;

He will gather the lambs with His arm,

And carry them in His bosom,

And gently lead those who are with young."

Amen

I hope you enjoyed my "Wednesday Treasures" for tonight.  Have a blessed and peaceful rest of your week.

Tuesday 4~ December Smiles

 December Smiles

Welcome, welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we sometimes like to be very silly. December is a fun month filled with expectation and hope. We should be light hearted and thankful as the month progresses. What do you think?

Let's be light hearted today and ask some not so serious questions shall we?

1. What is the dumbest rule you've ever had to follow?
You have to drink all your milk before you can go out to the playground. I never liked milk, and especially way back then it came in little tiny glass bottles (yes, I'm THAT OLD!) and it would get warm quickly. There was another 4th grade teacher on lunchroom duty that day (not my favorite 4th grade teacher), and she said I could not leave the lunch table until I drank every drop of that warm souring milk. I cried, I gagged, I begged and pleaded not to have to drink that milk. I was humiliated and horrified in front of everyone else in the lunchroom. But she was adamant, and I was literally sick to my stomach. I'm not sure how I ever got to leave the lunchroom that day, but when I got back to my classroom with my own favorite 4th grade teacher, that dear lady called me up to her desk and told me very kindly that she had heard what happened to me in the lunchroom, and she said to me, "That will never happen to you again, I promise." Oh, how I loved that dear teacher! Sadly she moved away mid-semester, but thankfully God provided a new teacher in her place who was just as kind and who actually liked me and gave me special assignments, like drawing the horses on our class mural we were doing about the pioneers moving westward.  She saw that I had a special talent for drawing horses (oh, where has that gone? I don't know!), and she restored my sense of self-esteem. I will always have a warm place in my heart for her and the former teacher, but NEVER for that other teacher in the lunchroom, who thankfully was never my teacher!!!! (I suppose I should forgive her. She never had children of her own, and she really didn't understand freckled faced red headed little girls who disliked milk so much. Okay, Lord, I forgive her, but I'll never forget that day!)

2. What is the weirdest or funniest thing a guest ever did/said in your home?

I will have to think about that one for a while and come back to this...we've had a lot of funny,weird guests in our lifetime. Being in the ministry, we used to do a LOT of entertaining, and we played a lot of silly games with our guests at our annual Christmas parties. Things could get pretty funny and we would all be splitting our sides with laughter, but I honestly can't think of any one particular thing that any one person said or did. But they all loved the parties and couldn't wait for the next year. 

3. If you had a warning label what would it say?

Watch out! I was born a redhead, and under this faded mop I am STILL a redhead, so beware!!What they say about redheads having a temper just might be true...and you don't wan't to poke the bear to find out! LOL.

4. What is the first thing you must do in case of a Snoopy/Charlie Brown Apocalypse? Who is the first person you call for advice when that happens? (Imagine that The characters of Charlie Brown series take over the world! What do you do as your first move? Who would you call for advice on how to live in that world?)

Well, I'd call Lucy, of course.  Wasn't she the one alway giving out advice?  But maybe Snoopy would be the best choice. He seems to have the best life in the series. LOL.

This was fun. Thank you, Annie, for bringing us together each week.  Click HERE to join in the fun

On a different note, I am home sort of in quarantine, but not really. I don't have Covid, but I do have Walking Pneumonia!  I went to the Dr. yesterday because I was experiencing a deep pain in my chest/lungs when I'd cough, which wasn't really often, but often enough to know something was wrong, plus the fact that I was so exhausted and had been sick over the weekend with some chills and general worn out from last week's festivities (or so I thought).  Anyway, this is the 2nd time I've had walking pneumonia in the past 4 months.  He put me on some strong antibiotics, a steroid, and cough medicine and told me to stay home and rest and stay away from people for a while because it is contagious! So here I am, thankfully you can't get my germs through the computer!  Frankly, I'm thankful to be told to stay home and rest...but then again, I've got so much to do getting ready for Christmas...but one day at a time. God knows what I need, and I will try to listen this time.

I did buy one special Christmas gift...for Blackie! What you see here is a pet warming mat, that warms itself as the cat's body heat reflects back to him. No electricity...just insulation... My niece Debbie told me about this when she was here on Thanksgiving, so I ordered one on Amazon, and it arrived already. I put it in Blackie's favorite chair on the porch and waited to see what would happen...

It has become his favorite place to sit and sleep!  Hooray!! This was in the daytime...

and this was at night (hence the reflections on the glass door)

After our sad loss of Sunshine last week, Blackie has been lonely and rather clingy, and well, frankly, so have I.  So I was happy to find something special for him that he seems to be very pleased with!!! And it really works! I sat this mat on my lap for a few minutes, and it was very warm indeed! What a great idea!

However yesterday morning he was busily watching the action out on Still Waters Pond.  There were two dogs over on the shore to the left, looking for water. They live in the neighborhood and keep breaking loose from their fenced pen, and they love to come to the pond and play in the mud over there, because there really isn't much water (however we are supposed to get some rain today and later this week, praise God!)   Anyway, the Sand Hill Cranes were out there, and they did not like those dogs in their territory!  So I watched the drama as they marched across the pond to shoo the dogs away...

Blackie also was watching, but he soon took off for parts unknown, because he was afraid those dogs were going to come around here and come up on the porch. He disappeared for the better part of the day until supper time.

Meanwhile, the Cranes started flappping their wings and hollering in their loud raucus calls at those dogs...

And soon the dogs took off and apparently headed back home...

But the Cranes kept up their tirade and dance until they were sure they were good and gone. I wish you could've heard them...

Here's a brief little video of them jumping, but you can't really hear them because I was inside and the tv is going on in the background. But it's still fun to see them jumping about. I think they are also starting their annual mating rituals, and hopefully they will still build a nest on Still Waters (dry) pond as usual.

 

Okay, I have to go. Thank you for being here friends... Oh, and here's the words of wisdom from God's Word for today...I guess I needed to be reminded of this today...

Colossians 3:12-13 NKJV

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Amen!

It's December!!!

Yes, it's the first day of December, and also time for the montly calendar roll-call! So here we go!

Oh, I love this scene from the John Sloane's Country Season calendar...doesn't it just make you want to be right there helping them carry in the big beautiful fresh Christmas tree that they just cut out in the woods?  And can't you imagine that mother standing at the door to welcome them has prepared some hot cocoa and cookies for them to enjoy once they come inside and take their snowy boots and jackets off?  I can just feel the warmth and welcome flowing out from the windows and doors...happy times are coming!! It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Maybe she has a pot of tea brewing for the adults...and look at those lovely little tasty meat pies...I bet those taste mighty good on a frosty day...

Tea time...I didn't use a saucer, but here's my breakfast tea this morning...using the Thomas Kinkade mug with the beautiful little white church in the village...my favorite for the Christmas season:

And speaking of Thomas Kinkade, here's his December calendar beautiful painting...another warm and welcoming home...and the message goes along with Advent...yes, we are now looking for "that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ..." to return in His second Advent to redeem us all...Oh! What a wonderful Christmas that would be...to finally see Jesus face to face and feel His warm embrace...

And to see all of this:

This picture is on the calendar in my bathroom...a beautiful scene to wake up to each morning...

And then I just saw this on Facebook this morning, and it really spoke to me...it's on a site called "Restful", and one of my old childhood friends had posted it on her page. I didn't see an author of the quote, but it really seemed to speak to me today...

(Picture from the Internet)

"There comes a quiet season in life

where you stop trying to impress everyone

and start trying to be at peace.

You stop rushing.

You stop forcing.

You stop explaining yourself to people who were never truly listening.

You learn that slow mornings are not laziness —

they’re healing.

And early evenings are not boredom —

they’re peace you spent decades earning.

Growing older isn’t about fading.

It’s about finally seeing clearly.

You start noticing the softness in things you used to overlook:

• the way sunlight warms the kitchen tiles

• the comfort of a familiar chair

• the peace of breathing slowly

• the joy of doing nothing but existing

You no longer need loud rooms or big circles.

A few real people — or even just your own company — is more than enough.

And somewhere between all the birthdays and all the heartbreaks,

you gain a quiet kind of wisdom:

The kind that isn’t loud,

isn’t showy,

isn’t trying to prove anything.

Just… lived.

You realize you’ve survived every single day you thought you couldn’t.

You’ve learned more from silence than applause.

You’ve grown softer, not weaker.

Kinder, not smaller.

Wiser, not tired.

And maybe — just maybe —

this is what beauty truly looks like:

A life that learned to bloom slowly.

A heart that stayed gentle in a sharp world.

A soul that finally understands its own worth.

Growing older isn’t a burden.

It’s a blessing hidden inside ordinary days.

A gift you only recognize once you’ve carried enough years

to understand what really matters."

 (copied from "Restful" on Facebook)

I guess it spoke to me because I've been so very tired this past weekend, and a bit under the weather after the hustle and bustle of last week's Thanksgiving festivities at our house. I ended up having to stay at home from church yesterday, missing the beautiful first Sunday of Advent and also a 5th Sunday potluck dinner after church...but my tummy would not allow me to even think about participating in another big dinner!  Oh my!  But I am much better this morning, and trying to get myself back in gear to get started on this journey of Advent and preparing my heart and my home for Christmas...

Because...'Tis the Season...

The Susan Branch calendar always has some fun food for thought...

And some words of wisdom as well...

Amen!

So I did manage to put away the Thanksgiving decor and begin to slowly put out some Christmas color and delights...

The little church has changed now from being the pumpkin patch to the place where the carolers are getting ready to sing...

"Joy to the World...Let Heaven and Nature Sing!"

Oh, here's my own little picture of "bringing home the tree"...but we haven't brought out our tree just yet...that is yet to come...

But things are getting ready for a "Christmas tea"...just you and me...

We can pretend we are in this little log cabin out in the snowy woods...

Sounds like fun, doesn't it?   Here in Florida...a girl can only dream. LOL.

I did manage to set up the grapevine tree on the front porch so we can have some lights shining in the darkness...

Telling the neighborhood the Good News!  

Not a full moon, but a bright half moon was shining down upon us as we lit up the night with the Good News that Christmas is coming...

Here's a song I've never heard before, but I love it...

A Star in the Night

A fitting end for this post today.

Happy Advent...Merry Christmas season beginning now!!