Thursday Thankfulness

 Happy Thursday! Wow! We have been having some lovely days this week...low humidity, early morning temps in the low 60's, highs in mid 80's, which is good with low humidity, and nice breezes. It's beautiful, but we still need rain! No more rain in sight until next week sometime, but we will enjoy these lovely days as much as we can in the meantime.

Sunrise this morning!

We are indeed thankful for this little bit of cooler air before the really hot summer begins, so we took advantage of it a couple of mornings ago and drove over to the Kenwood Boat Ramp to take a little walkabout...

People are always asking me about alligators here in Florida...so here's a sign that will tell you all you need to know about them...

And no, we do not have any alligators in our own Still Waters Pond. Of course it is still bone dry, but even when it had water there was no sign of them there. It is much too shallow for them to survive there, so we are thankful for that.  They have plenty of lakes around here to enjoy.

These signs are also at the boat ramp:

Manatees are also a common sight in some areas of our lakes and rivers, but we mostly see them in the winter when they come closer to the surface to find warmer water.  

The skies are so pretty!  Yes, I am thankful for this beautiful place where we can go and just enjoy God's wonderful creation, away from the maddening crowds.

It was so lovely yesterday afternoon that I just had to get outside in our own yard and enjoy the gentle breeze  and some sweet time of peace and quiet in the "Secret Memorial Garden", overlooking the still very dry Still Waters Pond:

And enjoying being surrounded by our little garden that is still growing! What rains we have had have been very helpful,  and we are very thankful for that!

I decided to make it a little tea party for one...

This is my garden bench that son Scott originally put together for me, and then son Benton did some further refreshing on it after it started getting weather worn.  The sign painted across the top says "Mom's Secret Garden".  I am so thankful for my boys. They sure know how to bless me and take good care of me.

Soon I was joined by my best little garden buddy:

At first he just wanted to lay down in the dirt and look up at the birds in the trees...

While I battled a myriad of mosquitoes who discovered some "fresh blood" and decided to swarm around my bare legs and arms. Thankfully I remembered where this bug repellent was and hurried back inside to get it before I was totally eaten up! That is one disadvantage to life in Florida in the warm weather...

Soon Blackie decided to join me on the bench...

and it wasn't long before he decided to snuggle up next to me on the cushion:

Blackie sends his love to all of you!  I wonder if he knows how many fans he has out there in Blogland? He sure is a character!!

Yes, he is a character...here's his attempt at playing "hide and go seek" earlier today...

He thinks he's hidden...

He moves around under the bed like this thinking we can't see him. As long as we keep calling him and asking "where's Blackie?, he will keep moving around the under edge of the bed. Finally I just have to leave the room and ignore him and pretty soon he shows up in the living room with a look of "Hey! Didn't you miss me anymore?"   LOL.   Yes, I am thankful for this little furry rascal that has come into our lives. He does brighten our days.

Speaking of brightening our days...The rosebush still blesses us with roses every few days, and the tomato plant is blessing us with tomatoes! They may be a little small, but they are delicious! It's exciting to eat what we grew in our own garden!  And this drink in the middle is my first Root Beer Float of the season!  The other day we stopped at our local "Hog Wild Burger and Shakes" place for a hamburger on our way home from that trip down to that "Stuff and Such" place I told you about in my last post HERE.  They didn't have any unsweet iced tea, and only had soft drinks in the bottles, so I got a root beer, which is one of the only soft drinks I will drink.  (The other one is Ginger Ale, and maybe an Orange soda once in a blue moon if there is no other choice).  I couldn't drink the whole bottle, so I brought it home and saved it for a Root Beer Float...ta da!  Yes, it was good! Now I wish I had some more root beer! LOL.  I will have to put that on the grocery list.

This morning hubby and I had our quarterly fasting lab work done, which meant we had to go out to breakfast afterwards.  I say "had to", because that is our little traditional treat for being stuck with a needle so early in the morning before breakfast! LOL.  So we went to our local "Nana's Country Cafe". This is the only picture I took there this morning:

This sign was on the wall, and honestly, I still haven't quite figured it out. I took a picture of it so I could ask you to help me understand it! LOL. I know it must be funny, but I'll be darned if I can make heads or tails of it. Does it have something to do with "cow pies?" That's the only thing I can figure out. Anyway, regardless of the "questionable" sign, our breakfast was good, and I am thankful we are able to enjoy these days.  Next week we go back to the Dr. to find out the test results. Good thing we ate our biscuits and eggs and bacon and 'taters AFTER our blood was drawn. LOL.

One more thing before I go...This past Sunday afternoon we attended the Celebration of Life for a dear lady who had attended our church until she moved away to live with her children.  She was 93 years old when she passed away. 

Her name was Mary, but we all called her "Granny". Such a beautiful, sweet Christian woman.

Before she moved from her home here, she had a little "yard" sale and sold some of her "treasures".  This lamp was something that I loved and bought from her. She wanted me to have it and told me how special it was to her.  She said she used to use it as a night light at night, and it made her feel safe to have it on.

On the back of the bulletin from her "Celebration of Life" was this poem.  I don't know if you can read it or not, but the last couple of lines are what struck me the most:

"Celebrate the life I lived, I will be watching from above.

I am always with you, Sending you my LIGHT and love."  

I told her family members that I have "Granny's" special light here, and we will keep her light shining here in our church and community in memory of her.

The family also gave us each one of these beautiful handkerchiefs with a Red Cardinal on it. 

It was a very moving service and testimony of a life well  lived...a dear woman who loved the Lord and her family and was faithful to the end.  

Made me think about my own life and letting my light shine while I am here, and also that I hope I will leave a lasting "light" shining in the lives of my family and friends in some way or another.

I will close with these words from Jesus found in the book of Matthew...

Matthew 5:14-16 NIV

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 

15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Good Night friends...until next time, be blessed...and be a "light" whereever you are!