Tuesday 4~ Summertime

 Summertime

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4...
Summer time is upon us.


1. What special memories do you have about summer when you were younger?

Between the two of these links below from older posts about my summertime adventures as a child, you will get the big picture of just about everything I can remember.  Let me suffice it to say that I have a lot of happy summertime memories of vacation trips through the mountains, camping in the State Parks (in a tent) along the way to and from Ohio to visit relatives. Those were the happiest times of my young life. In addition to these memories  there were day trips to the beach or the springs that are all around us in the Ocala National Forest. Some of these excursions  (to the springs) were with the school summertime program, and that was always a lot of fun. 

I hope you will take the time to click on these links and get the whole story of my summertime childhood memories. They are too numerous to repeat  writing again! LOL. (and my memory is fading. LOL).
Here's a link to some of my favorite summer memories

And HERE is another link to more summertime memories

2. What is the highest temperature you've experienced in summer? What about so far this summer? How do you weather the heat or humidity?

We've been having heat indexes of over 110 degrees, which means the actual temperatures were in the very high 90's, with humidity also in the high 90's. Last week we were under a heat advisory almost every day. So far this week it has been a tad cooler, only in the high 80's and lower 90's, which is a nice break. We've also been getting more afternoon pop up thunderstorms. We still need a lot more rain to fill  up our pond, but at least the grass and plants are being watered for me. LOL.   As far as in my whole life, probably the highest temperature I've experienced would be what we had last week, although I do remember times when the actual temperature was over 100.  I know some places in the country have hotter temps than that all the time, but they don't have the high humidity usually to go along with it, which truly makes it feel a lot hotter.  

When it is this hot we stay indoors with our air conditioning running around the clock. We avoid going out in the afternoon as much as possible, and try to get all of our errands and outdoor chores done in the early morning or after the sun starts going down in the evening.


3. What's been on your menu so far this summer?

Nothing extra special, I'm sorry to say. I try to avoid using the oven as much as possible, so very little baking is done or any kinds of meats/roasts that have to be cooked in the oven. However, yesterday afternoon was cloudy and rainy and a bit cooler, so I decided to cook a meatloaf in the oven. We can eat on that for a few days with sandwiches, etc.   We do eat more salads and fresh fruits in the summer.  

I had a root beer float last night. Does that count?

4. What is on your reading list this summer... anything to recommend to us? What's on your TV this summer. Any music you're liking this summer?

I have still been "binge reading" books from this author, Rhys Bowen. I am about finished with this stack, and will take them back to the library tomorrow, where there is at least one more waiting for me to pick up. I think I have a couple more on "hold", which means when they are available from other locations in our county they will transfer them to our library and I will be able to check them out. Ilove that we have this system so that we can order books online through their website and they keep me quite covered with good reading material.  I enjoy these mysteries by this author.  She is quite a prolific writer.

We were surprised to find this little book inside our mailbox last evening when I went out to get the mail. It was not something I had ordered, and it was literally just placed in our mailbox with a card on top addressed to us, but not sent through the mail. It was a gift to us from our Pastor, who apparently was passing by and put it in our mailbox.  We were surprised and blessed by the little gift, and we definitely called him afterwards to let him know how much we appreciated it.

The book is delightful. It is the story of the two ladies who were the original authors of the song "Jesus Loves Me".  They had written the words into a novel they had written, which was published into a book.

Here are the original lyrics:

The novel was entitled "Say and Seal", written in 1860 by Susan and Anna Warner. The Gospel Hymnwriter William B. Bradbury later read the book and the words to the song, and he added the chorus that we know so well and set it to the melody that we sing still today. Actually, we sing this little song every Sunday morning in our church when our children are dismissed to go to Children's Church.

The little book tells the life story of Susan and Anna Warner and their family. One thing that really stood out to my hubby and me (we read this out loud together last night...it's a short book and well worth the read...) was the fact that early on in their lives they had suffered some severe setbacks in their financial status along with other great sorrows.   This says below that "Anna Warner lived long enough to realize that had there been no black sheep (one of their brothers), no moments of bereavement, no stock market crash, no eviction from New York (city), no financial worries--if there had been none of those things, there would have been no books, no worldwide ministry, no thousands of inspired Cadets (West Point was across the Hudson River from their home, and the ladies did Bible studies with them in their home), and no "Jesus Loves Me."   (Page 91).

That little paragraph really spoke to us, because we have also experienced great setbacks and difficulties and sorrows in our lives, and yet God used those experiences to shape and mold us and literally make us stronger in our faith.  Oftentimes it's the things we fear the most ever happening that become the very things that help us become the people God wants us to become.  Those life experiences teach us to rely more on God and His faithfulness, and not so much on our own resources and strength. 

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV

"9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 

10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Does that last verse above remind you of something?   How about the first verse to the song Jesus Loves Me?

"Jesus loves me, this I know,

For the Bible tells me so;

Little ones to Him belong,

They are weak, but He is strong."

And the chorus:

"Yes, Jesus loves me.

Yes, Jesus loves me.

Yes, Jesus loves me,

the Bible tells me so.

So yes, this was a great little gift to find in our mailbox last night. You know, I used to sing this song to my babies while they were still in my womb.  And I continued singing it to them every time I rocked them to sleep.  More than anything, I wanted them to know "Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so!"  If they never learned anything else from me, that was the one thing most important of all.

I guess this answered the question about what we are reading and what music we are liking this summer. 

As far as TV is concerned, hubby is watching the FIFA Soccer matches, and then together we watch things like "Maine Cabin Masters", "Castle Impossible", and the old Price is Right shows from when Bob Barker was still on there, among other things.  I am not into TV as much as he is. I enjoy reading and writing more than TV.

Well, friends, I guess that's all for now. It's been raining pretty hard while I was finishing this up. Another severe thunderstorm blew through.  

Oh, one last thing...I'm falling behind again in my photo-a-day challenge.  I never did do yesterday's "shadow" picture. It's been too cloudy!

And today (14), is "On the floor".  Let me take a look around and see what I can find...

Well, the only thing on MY floor is probably a lot of dirt and dust to be swept up, so I decided to look outside my window in my room with a view, and I saw this little Wren on the porch railing. 

Because it has been raining and is so cloudy, it's not very clear, plus I am taking this picture through a tinted window.

He was having a conversation with the Red Headed Woodpecker doorknocker.

And finally he flew down to the "floor" of the porch, although he is not very clearly seen here, but he is on the floor, so that should qualify for this picture! LOL.

And with that I will call this post finished!  I hope you are having a lovely summer day wherever you are! Blessings to all of you, and remember, "Yes, Jesus Loves Me (YOU!)... The Bible tells me so!"

Amen and good day.

Friday Foto Friends~Be My Guest

Today was one of those kinds of days when you just don't feel like doing much...Oh, I did my normal routine in the morning...cuppa tea while checking messages, and then reading our devotions together before breakfast...This morning we had fresh blueberry pancakes, sausage links and scrambled eggs for breakfast...So I guess I did do something!  Then after cleaning up the breakfast dishes I went outside for a little while and checked on the garden...

I picked our very first tomato!! And yes, we are "thankful and blessed!"  I intended to eat it today, but for some reason I forgot. It probably needs a day on the shelf to finish ripening up at bit anyway.

I saw this little brown moth on the marigolds...looked it up and it appears to be a Dusky Herpetogramma If you want to know more, you can click on that link. It says it feeds on the leaves of grasses. So I'm not sure what it's doing on the marigold, which is supposed to keep pests away from our garden...hopefully he'll be happy to eat that instead of my squash and tomatoes! LOL.

Back inside...Blackie is watching the birds outside. I'm trying to keep him inside a little more during the day because the Bluebirds are nesting again, and they do not like him hanging around!! He likes to lay in the grass right under the birdhouse...which is like an invitation to get bopped in the head by an angry Bluebird parent! So, if I can keep him from getting into trouble, so be it!

Today a fellow was coming to mow the grass since our big mower is no longer working and it is going to be too expensive to fix, so we decided to pay this friend to mow rather than spend more money on equipment that we are getting too old to operate anyway.  He is very reasonable and does a good job, so we are thankful that he is available.  He also was cleaning out the gutters today as they are full of leaves and with the rainy season hopefully coming soon, we need them cleaned out.

Anyway, hubby was outside with the guy watching him climb up and down the ladder and making sure he didn't fall...and I decided that I really wanted to just go lay down for a few minutes. I haven't been sleeping well lately, and my body was just plain tired.  Instead of going into our bedroom, I felt the lure of the guest room drawing me in to come and "be a guest" in my own house for a little while...to see what it feels like to lay down in someplace different and feel like I'm on a little holiday...

This little sign hangs in the guest room. It originally belonged to my maternal Grandmother, and then my mother put it in her guest room...and it was one thing I really wanted to take home with me for my guest room when the time came to disperse the treasures among the remaining heirs...

"Welcome Guest, and howdedo!

This small room belongs to you.

And our house and all that's in it~

Make yourself at home each minute.

If the temperature displeases,

Take a couple of our breezes;

And if that should chill you later, 

Sit upon our radiator.

If a hungry pang is twitchin', make a raid upon our kitchen;

Help yourself to book or blotter,

easy chair or teeter-totter;

All is yours that you like best.

You're at home now!

Welcome Guest!"

by J.P. McEvoy, 1927

And so as I lay there upon the bed, instead of closing my eyes and resting like I should have been doing, I found myself looking around the room and imagining what it would feel like to actually be a guest in this room for the first time...

It's a cozy little room, filled with many treasures from loved ones who have gone on to heaven...

Nanny Martin's Singer Sewing machine...and her jar of buttons...

Quilts to lay across the bed and curl up under if the "breeze"  gets too chilly...

Many volumes of antique books, filled with stories of romance, adventure, and mystery, many written in the late 1800's  or early 1900's...the kind of books that you won't want to put down once you start reading...

Family portraits lined up on the shelves...and Teddy Bears to snuggle...

I wonder what's in that old wardrobe?  Oh...if you only knew! There are boxes and boxes of photo albums and packages of pictures that never made it into albums...but the stories these old photos could tell... (You can click HERE for the full story on this wardrobe.)

And I wonder where that Indian Brave came from?  The painting was done by a young warrior himself, many years before he knew what battles he would have to fight for his life...who now rests with his loved ones who went before him to heaven and with the Lord after he fought the good fight...

2 Timothy 4:7-8 NKJV

"7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."

Oh, look at this lovely young lady taking her dog for a walk...can you imagine the work that went into stitching that beautiful vintage piece?  It certainly makes for a comfy pillow for some sweet young lady to rest her head upon....

This piece was originally embroidered by my hubby's grandmother, Nanny Martin, and was on a table scarf. Part of the scarf was soiled and damaged, so I rescued this part and made it into a pillow case. (HERE is a LINK to when I made this, and the story connected to it.)

If you need to refresh yourself, you could use this lovely pitcher and bowl with some hot water....Also, the picture of the lady(s) on the dresser...the big one is Nanny Martin, (Pearl Waters Martin) and the photograph inset is her mother, Georgeanne Jarrard Waters.

I felt extra cozy and comfy on this sweet pillow with the bluebirds embroidered (again from Nanny Martin) on the edges (or are they Swallows? I prefer to think they are Bluebirds, since we have so many of them here).

It's so pleasant  here...

I wonder what's inside those pretty boxes? Actually those are Lily Grace's wardrobe boxes...if you felt like playing with dolls, that could easily be arranged...

I pulled up this old quilt, which was the one that Nanny Martin made for my hubby when he was young, and she saved it to give to us for our wedding gift. As an inexperienced young bride who knew nothing about old quilts, I almost ruined it for good, but thankfully a dear friend new how to restore it and saved it for future generations to enjoy.Here's a LINK to that story too.

And what about the quilt hanging on the wall behind the bed? Here's that story...another special gift. It seems like everything in this room has a story.

Oh, I just noticed this sweet picture of the two little girls walking together, holding hands...like dear sisters or special friends...

I love what it says:

"Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow.

Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.

Just walk beside me and be my friend."

So, I really never took the nap I intended to take. But after laying there for a few minutes and looking around the room and remembering all the special people and gifts and memories that were surrounding me, I felt rested and refreshed and comforted.  I felt the love of so many who had gone on before us...and the heritage of their faith and love gave me renewed strength.  I was reminded of what the Lord told the Apostle Paul when he asked to have certain "thorn in his flesh removed" (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10),,,

And I concluded that perhaps I needed that "nap" just to be reminded of all that God has done for me and what He is continuing to do...and that even when I am feeling weak or weary and worn, He will give me His grace and strength to carry on and do the next thing, whatever it is that He needs me to do. I look forward to seeing how His power is going to be "made perfect in weakness".  Because the rest of that passage above is this: 

 

"Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

No, I don't want to be infirm, reproached, in need, persecuted or in distress, but oftentimes as Christians today we do find ourselves in such situations as that, and when whatever it is that comes along gives us an opportunity to stand up for our faith in Christ, then even in our weakness, He will make us strong. I know I can rely on Him, so I do not need to worry or fret over my own weakness or inabilities. God is in control.  Praise God!!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little visit to my guest room. It seems as though lately it has become more of a catch all room as we seldom have any overnight guests. The past couple of years have been difficult in some ways for us with health issues, etc., so we really haven't encouraged too many guests to come. But it is always available should there be an opportunity to serve someone in their time of need or who just wants a place to rest from the cares of the world for a while. God knows...yes...He is in control.

And Now I'll Say Good Night! My own bed is calling...