Happy Wednesday Everyone! I hope your day has been extra special for you! I know mine has...and here's one of the reasons why:
This smiling group of people you may recognize, at least some of them...yes, we are blogging friends and we brought along some of our favorite subjects for our blogs...hubbies!
Left to right there is Mari Bruins, a.k.a. My Little Corner of the World and her hubby Bob, who traveled all the way from western Michigan to visit Your Friend From Florida, Terri D'Orsaneo, and she instigated this little get together with your's truly and my hubby John on the back row, and we met up at the Cracker Barrel in Ocala with Barbara Mims and her hubby Gary, a.k.a. Journal Memories. We had such a great visit! One thing I have discovered since joining this "blogging family", is that bloggers are a wonderful group of people to know! It sure would be fun to meet ALL of you someday too!! Thank you. Terri, for being the one with the true gift of hospitality to help bring us all together! What a blessing!! Oh, and speaking of blessings... Mari brought us each a jar of these wonderful "Cherry Berry" Jam preserves, straight from her part of western Michigan, where the best kind of tart cherries are grown...the kind that make the best cherry pies. I can't wait to try this on a fresh hot biscuit! Thank you, Mari!!!
Today is another special day, because it is also the birthday of our "baby" son, Scott! However, because he is working and living a couple of hours away, we will not be celebrating together until Sunday afternoon. Still, we called and sang Happy Birthday to him this morning before he went to work. I just can't believe my "baby" is 49 years old already!!!
Speaking of "babies"...our current "baby" Blackie was helping me in my office/Room with a View" early this morning...He likes to check out the waste basket to see if I threw anything important away...
Speaking of "children", here's my "Big Baby Boy"...the oldest, a.k.a Ben & Rose's Country Woodshop...
and these are two of the planters he has made for me to grow my new vegetable garden. I will use these for the zucchini and yellow (summer) squash plants. He's still making one for my tomato plants.
Meanwhile, I have all these things growing in my kitchen that need to get planted before they get too big!
Meanwhile, I took these pictures Sunday morning next to our church parking lot. The purple wisteria vine is growing profusely and blooming beautifully, although I think it might even do better if it had been pruned a bit before it started blooming. Still, it is quite lovely, and I will close this post with these thoughts tonight from John's Gospel:
John 15:1-10
15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Love and Joy Perfected
9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
Good Night my friends! I hope you have a blessed and glorious rest of your week.
It's great you spent time together and I'm glad Blackie is helping around the house. That should lighten the load for you a lot! Cats are big helpers. I like those planters. He is a talented guy for sure.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Annie! Yes, Blackie is a BIG help! LOL. He dusts the dust bunnies out from under the bed and tables quite often. Some days he looks more like a gray cat than a black one! LOL. And yes, I like the planters too. Now if I can just get things to grow in them, it will be really nice! Yes, he is talented and very sweet.
DeleteOh, Pamela, what a joy it must have been to meet up with so many precious blogging friends! I so wish we could travel to Florida to spend time with so many of you, but because of Danny's health issues, that's not possible. Life's reality set in, doesn't it? Have fun with and give my love to these wonderful folks!
ReplyDeleteCats do like to check everything out. Always curious. Happy birthday to Scott. My boys are ages 46 and 41 and Michael would be 49. Boy our little boys sure grew up fast! Where did that time go?
ReplyDeleteLooks like a nice time with your blogging friends. Those cherry preserved are probably delicious and on a nice homemade, flaky biscuit...makes my mouth water just that in my about it. Have a nice week, Pamela.
Blackie is sure a typical CAT... and you are now very much typical Cat Parents. still smiling. love your planters and those plants do look ready to be planted. LOVE the lamp. Happy Birthday to Scott, my baby just turned 59, Dan the owner of 9 cats and a Mastiff.
ReplyDeleteI am jealous and would have loved to be in Ocala with you for lunch... the only bloggers of your group that I know, are you and Mari....
Happy Birthday Scott!!!! And, oh I am so sad I couldn't meet up with you all. Thanks for the smiles, Pam.
ReplyDeleteI am a bit jealous of that lunch gathering, would have loved to be there too, but it made me smile big to see all of you blogging friends together! What fun! Blackie is helping you all right! My cats do the same thing, and they like to swirl around my feet when I'm trying to walk. The planters are gorgeous, and happy birthday to your son, I love the beach pic, where does the time go?
ReplyDeleteWhat a happy post---I saw that my wisteria is starting to bloom, too! Love to see it survived the winter's cold!
ReplyDeleteThe wisteria at you church is so pretty! It is such a southern thing! Pam, our lunch gathering in Ocala was so very special and so wonderful. When blogging friends become in-person friends, too, we get double the fun and double the love. I'm so happy we could make it happen!! Mari and Bob left this morning and texted that the landed safely. I miss them already! Sending a hug!!
ReplyDeleteIt was such a highlight of the trip to be with you all in person!
ReplyDeleteWe got back home about an hour ago, are unpacked and the laundry is started. We returned to a temp of 31 and said we need to go back to Florida! :)
The beautiful Easter decor that Benton made came home safely and I'll soon be rearranging my mantle to put it there. It will be treasured!
Happy Birthday to Scott - love the photo. Our oldest turned 43 this year and I'm just not sure how that happened!
It's wonderful that you were able to meet some blogging friends in person! I have only ever met one blogger IRL, and I was nervous beforehand but there was no need as of course we already "knew" each other really! It sounds as if you all had a great time, with some flying miles! Wow.
ReplyDeleteThe planters look great. It must be a blessing to know people or have family members who are good at making things. I wish you lots of fun and an abundant harvest! (With the number of zucchini plants you have bought, you might need to open a greengrocer's!)
Wisteria is a beautiful plant. We have it here as a garden plant and it doesn't tend to grow too madly. I read that it had naturalised in the southern States, and in some places has become a problem. I have a Japonica in my garden, and in my hometown in Japan there was a famous one which had blooms of over a metre long!