Friday Foto Friends: Sunset, Full Moon, Kitty Cat, and Living Life...

 Friday is almost over, and I'm just now getting around to writing anything!  Not that I've got anything all that important or exciting to share...it's mostly been a quiet couple of days, although we did go out to lunch today with our "kids" Benton and Rose.  We went to Sonny's BBQ and had some ribs. That was a nice way to finish out the week. No pictures of that however.  

Right now as I sit here at my desk in my "Room with a View", I am looking out the window at the last remaining remnants of the sunset out across our still very dry Still Waters Pond.  Here's a few pictures that I took as the sun was going down, taken from outside in the yard, and then some through the window...

Psalm 74:12-17

"12 But God is my King from long ago;

he brings salvation on the earth.

13 It was you who split open the sea by your power;

you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.

14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan

and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.

15 It was you who opened up springs and streams;

you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;

you established the sun and moon.

17 It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made both summer and winter."

Psalm 27:1-3, 7-8, 11, 13-14

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me

to devour me,

it is my enemies and my foes

who will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,

my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

even then I will be confident.

7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord;

be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”

Your face, Lord, I will seek.

"11 Teach me your way, Lord;

lead me in a straight path

because of my oppressors."

"13 I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord."

Oh, I was so surprised to see a full moon tonight!

But it kept playing hide and seek with me...

Still, even that was beautiful!

Even in the midst of unusual winter weather, drought, and a lot of uncertainty and turmoil in our world, I repeat these verses from Psalm 27:

"13 I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord."

Amen.

I hope you enjoyed this beautiful way to begin this post!  I thought about saving it all for the end, but it was too beautiful and special to keep until then! Sometimes we have to write and share as we are being inspired at the moment!  

Now I can move onto other things...which really isn't anthing terribly significant, but still you might find some fun and interest here...at least I hope so.  

I know some of you have been really rooting for our outdoor cat Blackie to become a full time indoor cat...well, with this cold weather we've been having, he is spending a LOT more time inside than I ever expected would happen.  We bring him inside at night and he sleeps in the closed kennel all night on these cold nights.  Then I let him out of the kennel  and he has breakfast and then spends some time with us wandering around the house until daylight (or when it gets above freezing outside, whichever comes first). 

He has made himself quite at home...I think he can read those pillows..."Home Sweet Home", and "Stay Awhile".  He thinks they were made with him in mind...

Oh,  then he got brave enought to jump up on the top of the sofa and lay there for a while, the King of the Castle...  It's amazing how quickly these little creatures think that they "own the place". LOL!

I decided to wash that flannel cover and put something different on the sofa, and then thought I'd better put a towel on that for him so his dark hair doesn't shed on the light cover...(and also still trying to make sure there are no fleas getting into the furniture...)

What a cozy little picture.

And again, oftentimes he is up having his breakfast before my hubby comes out of the bedroom in the morning for his coffee...and so Mr. Blackie sits outside the bedroom door and waits patiently for him to come out.  I thought it was so cute that he is so enamored with hubby...but what he really wanted was to run inside the bedroom doors as soon as the opened so he could go hide under the bed!  He LOVES to play hide and seek.

He also loves to scratch on things, so I bought him this scratching thing at the store the other day...I didn't have to tell him what to do with it. He figured it out immediately:

Of course, it helps that it is infused with CATNIP scent. I didn't notice that when I bought it...but oh my goodness, he sure loves that thing!

 This is what it looks like:

And this is what happens when he decides to play with it:

Here's a short video to show him in action:

And here he is claiming his territory!  He says, "This is MINE! Don't you dare try to take it away from me!"

Lol!! Who'da thunk it would be such a hit? Wow.

You can tell I know very little about cats. But I'm learning fast!! I have to, because he is really fast!! Like I've said before, it's like trying to keep up with a two year old! Such amazing energy! (of course, when he's not doing this, he's sleeping all day, so I guess he's storing up that energy!)

I saw these dishes at the Dollar Tree the other day,  and it put me in the mood for spring, so I brought a couple home with me to get a jump start on spring decor.  I think I'm trying to tell Old Man Winter it's time to go!

I like what that says, "Live life in full bloom".  What exactly does that mean to you?  First thing that came to mind was "Bloom where you're planted."  

I was looking ahead in my little devotional Tea Time daily calendar, and came upon this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt:

I would say that man lived his life in "full bloom". 

Perhaps these verses from Psalm 37 also help us to understand how to "Live Life in Full Bloom":

Psalm 37:3-6

"3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday."

Yeah, I like those thoughts...when we trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land wherever we've been planted, feeding on God's faithfulness...delighting ourselves in Him, commiting our way to God, trusting in Him (again, that word Trust!),  then we will see God give us the desires of our heart and also He will bring those things that are truly good for us to pass...and He will help us to do what is good and just and right.   I'd say that's definitely living life in full bloom, with God at our center and source.  

(Yes, they also had tea towels to match...plus the one in the middle was a gift from a dear blogging friend years ago! I wonder if she will remember it! I still love it and keep it out in my kitchen all the time.

So, "You Grow Girl!"  Go live life in full bloom!

Okay, that's all for this Friday evening! Praying for everyone in the path of the big winter storm this weekend on the east coast. Please stay safe and warm, and I pray you will not lose any power. We are going to see some really cold temperatures here and maybe even a snowflake or two.  But I'm still thinking about spring!! It will come sooner or later! Hopefully sooner!

Good Night! God is with you, no matter what the weather!

Remembering the Challenger-Updated

UPDATE January 28, 2026...I just realized that today marks the 40th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, so I wanted to repost this post that I wrote back in 2019 to remember this day. I will make updates as needed in the post...

Dear Friends,

Today I  am reposting this to take  you back in time to a sad, sad day in the history of our nation...Thirty Three years ago today  40 years ago today,  1/28/1986, we were all horrified as we watched the Space Shuttle Challenger blow up as it was launched into space, with 7 courageous, wonderful crew members on board.  I'm sure all of us who were living at that time can remember where we were when this disastrous tragedy occurred.  I was living in Gainesville, Georgia, and our kids were out of school for the day due to an unusually extremely frigid, below freezing morning. We actually were visiting with some friends so our kids could have something to do when the news came on the TV...and from then on our eyes were glued to the set as our hearts were breaking.  

My mother and father were at their home in Tavares, Florida, the home I grew up in, and one advantage to their home was that one could always get a good view of the rocket/space shuttle launches from the back yard...even though Cape Kennedy (Canaveral) was some 100 miles away from our home.

Because this particular launch was to be so historical, my mother was right there watching with her camera in hand  (I wonder where I got that trait????), and now I am privileged to have these shapshots, with my mother's own written narrative on the back of each picture, telling the sad and tragic story of the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger.    Therefore, I am sharing this bit of history with you today, on the 33rd  40th anniversary of that horrific event.  I hope you can decipher my mother's handwriting...and can sense the horror she felt as she witnessed this sorrowful disaster. I'm sorry the photos aren't clearer, but they are pretty good for 1986.  

I will let my mother's notes explain each preceding picture:

"Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look on the earth beneath.

For the heavens will vanish away like smoke,

The earth will grow old like a garment,

And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;

But MY salvation will be forever,

And My righteousness will not be abolished."

Isaiah 51:6

"I, even I, am He who comforts you."

Isaiah 51:12a

Internet Photo from Facebook 1/28/2026

Link to video with President Reagan giving a memorial tribute.

"The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives,” President Regan said in an address to the nation that night. “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye.”

Link to the History Channel information about the explosion.

The Wednesday Hodgepodge! New For Me!

I have never done the Wednesday Hodgepodge before, but this one sounded interesting to me so I thought I might give it a try!  Joyce over at From This Side of the Pond blog is our hostess, and I've been reading other blogging friends' posts from this weekly meme for a long time, but never got around to joining in until now.  I always thought it was interesting that she writes "From This Side of the Pond", and I live on a pond, albeit a very dry pond at the moment.  So here we go...

 The Wednesday Hodgepodge

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 638

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then skate back here on Wednesday (January 28th) to add your link to the party. See you there!


1. I live in the south so we're pretty much only talking about the weather right now. Give us a weather report from where you live. Does the kind of weather you're having today affect your mood in some way?
As I am typing this, here in north central Florida, it is currently 30 degrees.  We will be having freezing temperatures every morning for the next week, and only warming up into the 50's mostly.  This winter has been unusual for us here in Florida already!  As far as affecting my mood? Well, I will be thankful when the freezing temperatures are over and we can get back to our normal kind of winter with cooler days and plenty of sunshine,  although we need rain desperately here on MY side of the pond!  (For those of you who are new to my blog, I live on a small pond that I've named "Still Waters Pond",  and it has been completely dry this past fall and winter due to no rain in our area to speak of for quite a while. So we keep praying for some good rain to fill it back up!)


2. Avocados, kale, cauliflower and cottage cheese have all had their time to shine. 2026 brings us the year of the cabbage. Is this a vegetable you like? If so, what are some of your favorite dishes that call for cabbage?

Yes, I do like cooked cabbage as well as cole slaw made with raw cabbage.  This receipe below is one of our old family favorites, and it's extra good right now during these very cold days! I made a big pot of this last week, and we enjoyed finishing up the leftovers a couple of days ago.  Here's the receipe in case you're wondering what to make for dinner at your house today:

Hobo Stew

Cook a couple of slices of bacon, chopped into smaller pieces, in the bottom of a large soup kettle or dutch oven.

Brown 2 lbs. ground chuck in the pot, and drain off fat.

Add 1 medium chopped onion to the meat and cover and cook until onion is tender

Add 1 can diced stewed tomatoes (I used the ones with green pepper & onion and celery added)

Add approximately 3 cups of water to the pot, cover and let simmer while you chop up the next ingredients:

Add four medium, peeled and cut potatoes

Add four or five peeled and sliced carrots

Add two cups of chopped cabbage.

Add salt and pepper and garlic powder to season.

If needed, add more water, cover and let cook until all vegetables are tender.

(All ingredients can be added according to how much you want to make! This will make a nice dutch oven pot full of stew)

Serve with fresh, hot cornbread. We like to crumble our corn bread onto the stew.

We used to make this in Girl Scouts, and would put all ingredients in a large metal coffee can, cover tightly with foil, and bury under the coals of our campfire and let it cook all day. It would be delicious for supper!

3. Was a Cabbage Patch Doll a part of your childhood? Or maybe your children's childhood? What's a toy trend from your childhood you remember wanting for your own?

I am too old to have had a Cabbage Patch doll in my "first childhood", but I was given one for Christmas one year by my brother in law in my "second childhood".   And I still have her today:

She was one of the "Little Astronauts", and I named her Robin Noel, because she has "red" hair, and I always said if I had a little girl with red hair I would name her Robin Noel. I ended up with three sons, all with brown hair like their daddy, so this is my little red headed girl. LOL. And also, with three boys, I had no good excuse to buy dolls for my children.  

As far as from my own real childhood, I had a Tiny Tears Doll.  And I still have her, although she is quite a bit worse for the wear...but she's over 70 years old, so what do you expect for a rubber baby doll? She was once stored in the attic at my parents' home (in hot Florida), so that is why the rubber on her arms and legs became cracked from the heat.  But I just can't bear to throw her away, since I've had her this long. I'll leave that up to my adults sons someday.

I also had one of the first original Barbie dolls (yes, I'm that old). HERE's a link to a post I wrote about her.

4. Something you've spent a lot of time doing lately?

Chasing around our outdoor cat named Blackie, who is trying his best to become an indoor cat, and we are working at that very gradually, especially with these very cold nights.  He comes inside to sleep in a kennel/crate, and then we let him out in the morning to eat and walk around the house inside until it warms up a bit outside.  However, I must stay it feels a LOT like following a two year old toddler around, watching out for where he goes and what he might decide to get into.

He also likes to play "hide and seek", and he thinks he's hiding from me under this rolling cart in our kitchen! LOL.

And here he is, waiting outside our bedroom doors for my hubby to come out.  Even though hubby is a reluctant participant in this experiment, Blackie is doing his best to win him over. LOL.

5. Somehow it's the last week of January...sum up your month in just three sentences.

We started out the New Year getting over bad colds that interrupted our Christmas holidays, but thankfully we are fine now. It's also been rather expensive due to some dental issues that had to be resolved. We are ending up the month with frigid temperatures and are hoping February will be healthier and warmer and filled with happy blessings.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Yesterday morning, on a chilly ride to the dentist to get my permanent crown put on, (which was another episode all its own), 

I learned something new and wonderful about our new to us car that we bought last year in the summertime...

That little symbol on the dash that looks like this picture below is actually a button for a heated seat!!!  We did not know we  had heated seats in this car, and boy, was that ever a welcome surprise!!!  Here in Florida we've seldom needed such a gadget, but let me tell you, it sure feels wonderful!!!!! Woo Hoo! Now I find myself looking forward to taking a ride just so I can turn that thing on! LOL. 

Okay friends, old and new, this was fun for my first go-round on the Wednesday Hodgepodge! Not sure if I will make it a weekly event, but we shall see how things are going by this time next week.  Until then, take care and stay safe and warm, wherever you are!! Thank you, Joyce, for allowing me the joy of joining up today!