Monday Monday from the Back Porch

 Here it is Monday afternoon, (EVENING NOW!) and I can't believe how far behind I am in reading your posts and writing my own!  I kind of took the weekend off from blogging...not intentionally exactly, but it just happened that way. Nothing major going on except for the usual Saturday and Sunday routines...church, family, and catching up with things around here.

This morning's sunrise...I love how the sun is glowing through the flag. 

The temperature was a tad bit warmer this morning, around 59 degrees, and with just enough humidity to create some fog out over Still Waters Pond

Sunshine and Blackie were wide awake and watching the activity out there...and it appears that some critter came and knocked over the birdbath during the night while trying to get a drink of water. What's silly about that is that we have put a little kiddy pool filled with fresh water right there on the lawn, so that thirsty critters can come get a drink any time.  But some raccoon probably (or it might have been Sunshine the cat...he likes to drink out of the bird bath too!) tried to get a drink from the bird bath and over it went! Thankfully it's not breakable.

If you look out on the pond, which is basically all dry land except for a few puddles here and there, you will see the Great Blue Heron and the Sand Hill Cranes, going through their morning routines of finding food out there somewhere...

With the sun shining through the trees, it looks like a beautiful fall morning. And it is exactly that.

Sunshine says good morning to you.

He was being particularly clingy and not eating his food this morning. I think he wants to be fed some of those fancy cat foods they advertise on TV. He must've been watching the commercials through the window.  

I put their normal food out as usual this morning, and Blackie  dove right in and started gobbling it down. But Sunshine kept following me back to the door and acted like he wanted something different. I would redirect him back to the food, and he'd look at me like what, Meow Mix again? And then he'd follow me back to the door. We went back and forth several times before he finally gave up and decided to go ahead and eat a little bit of what was provided. He tends to be a more finicky eater than Blackie (and if you look at Blackie, you can tell he eats most anything and everything!)

  

I think he decided to just nibble on Blackie's ear for a while instead. LOL.

I'm thinking they both need to learn that this is the season of Thanksgiving, and they need to be thankful for what is being provided.  Actually, I think they are thankful. They are sweet kitties, and we are enjoying them, and I want them to be happy and healthy.

Updated this evening...Well, I decided that since Sunshine really didn't eat hardly anything all day long it was time to try something different.  I had recently purchased some of this food, but hadn't tried it yet:

I wish I had recorded the looks on their faces and the sounds they were making ( VERY LOUD MEOW, MEOW, MEOW!)  when Daddy (yes! He wanted to be the one to feed them the GOOD stuff! LOL) came out the door and let them get a little whiff of what was in the bowls...Oh my goodness! I've never seen them so excited before!!!

Well, see for yourself!  They both gobbled this food down and licked the bowls completely clean in no time at all!  I was certainly impressed!  I had no idea how much they would LOVE this kind of food as opposed to the dry stuff! Shows you how little I know about cats! SO, I think we've decided to alternate the dry food with the wet food and see how they do for a while...or mix it together. What do you cat people recommend?  It certainly did my heart good to see Sunshine especially eat so well and be so happy and animated about it.  I guess they've moved up a notch in their status here on the porch. LOL.

Switching Gears:

We took a walk Saturday morning, and I was pleased to see these little bits of fall color...

Here in Florida we don't have a lot of the real showy autumn leaves like you do further north, so we celebrate any bits of color we see.

Our weather has been really beautiful...sunny days starting out in the 40's-50's mostly, and ending up in the mid to high 70's...perfect fall weather...(just too dry still).  We will enjoy this kind of weather for most of the winter, with the exception of a few really chilly days and nights now and then, but for the most part, this is the norm from November-mid April at least.  

Do you remember the old 1970's-80's Florida tourism commercials encouraging people to come to Florida in the wintertime...

"When you need it bad, we've got it good..."

I remember them because we were living up north, and we were from Florida originally, and we really "needed it bad"...LOL.

Now there are so many people living here and trying to move here that they don't bother running these kinds of commercials anymore...we may need to put a gate up at the border of Georgia and Florida and hang a "no vacancy" sign on it!  

But seriously, if you are coming to Florida to escape the winter weather, be sure to let me know so if there's anyway possible to meet you, we will try!
.

On another note, our "boys" were here yesterday for Sunday dinner...Scott came from his place where he works and stays up in Jacksonville, and Benton came over after church as Rose was working.  Scott came primarily to do his laundry and eat lunch and visit with us. He tries to come every other week. It's about an hour & 1/2 drive.  He also came with a purpose to 'clean  his room'.  When he moved out some time ago he only took the essentials with him, like his clothes and personal items, because he is renting a room in a house that is already furnished, so he didn't need much.  However, over time his room here has become more and more of a catch-all room and a lot of his stuff was getting scattered and littered about as he'd pull things out of the closet to look for things, etc., and I was tired of looking at the mess in there and mostly would just shut the door so I didn't have to deal with it. I did not take any before or after pictures as it is still a bit of a work in progress, but it looks SO much better after he got rid of a lot of cardboard boxes and cleaned out the closet so that everything that is left is nice and neat. The room is now so much better I could use it as a guest room if needed. Once I tweak a few more things I will take some pictures.    Anyway, in the process he found his old football lettermen's jacket from when he was in middle school:

He was surprised he could still fit in it!

Then of course I had to look for his team pictures to go along with it, and was happy that I had organized  my pictures so that I could find them! (That's was a small miracle in itself! LOL)

Wasn't he a good looking 7th grader?

This brought back some fun memories for him.  

So all in all it was a pleasant weekend and I am so thankful to have had our kids here to enjoy.  It's a blessing that I do NOT take for granted.  

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

"5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths."

Our choir sang this song this past Sunday, but this recording by the original artists is so much better, I think you'll enjoy it more.  The message is really powerful...

Here are the lyrics so you can understand it as you listen:

"You've Already Won"

There's peace that outlasts darkness

Hope that's in the blood

There's future grace that's mine today

That Jesus Christ has won 

So I can face tomorrow

For tomorrow's in Your hands

All I need You will provide

Just like You always have

Chorus:

I'm fighting a battle You've already won

No matter what comes my way, I will overcome

Don't know what You're doing, but I know what You've done

And I'm fighting a battle You've already won

There's mercy in the waiting

Manna for today

And when it's gone, I know You're not

You are my hope and stay

When the sea is raging

Your Spirit is my help

He'll fix my eyes on Jesus Christ

I'll say that it is well

Oh, I know that it is well

I'm fighting a battle You've already won

No matter what comes my way, I will overcome

Don't know what You're doing, but I know what You've done 

I'm fighting a battle You've already won

I know how the story ends

We will be with You again 

You're my Savior, my defense 

No more fear in life or death 

I know how the story ends 

We will be with You again

You're my Savior, my defense 

No more fear in life or death

I know how the story ends 

We will be with You again 

You're my Savior, my defense 

No more fear in life or death

I know how the story ends

I'm fighting a battle that You've already won

No matter what comes my way, I will overcome

Don't know what You're doing, but I know what You've done (thank You, God)

I'm fighting a battle You've already won

I'm fighting a battle You've already won

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Bryan Christopher Fowler / Bethany Joy Barnard

You've Already Won lyrics © So Essential Tunes, More Songs From Wellhouse, Songs From Wellhouse

I hope this message blesses you, and if you're fighting a battle, whether it be in your health, or that of a loved one, or other issues that are a great concern, just know that Jesus Christ has already fought this battle and won it for us. We don't have to fear life or death...we know how the story ends...we will be with our Savior for eternity...we don't need to fear whatever is happening here. God is in control.  

"I know how the story ends!"

Amen.

Friday Foto Friends~Happy Thoughts and Blessings

 Where did this week go?  Wow! and what a week it was!! I know it has been a pretty exciting and nail-biting kind of week, but we all got through it, and now we continue to pray for our country and our new President elect and his family, and that all will go smoothly during this period of transition.  Regardless of which side of the aisle we are on, may we come together in unity and prayer for the good of our nation.  "One Nation, UNDER GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL!" Amen!

I posted this picture of the sunrise yesterday morning on Facebook and said, 

"The dawning of a new day".

And then I shared this Psalm, which I think is very appropriate for our nation right now.  May we read it prayerfully and consider what God has done and is doing in our midst.

Psalm 33 NKJV

The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History

1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!

For praise from the upright is beautiful.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp;

Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing to Him a new song;

Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4 For the word of the Lord is right,

And all His work is done in truth.

5 He loves righteousness and justice;

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;

He lays up the deep in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

The plans of His heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

13 The Lord looks from heaven;

He sees all the sons of men.

14 From the place of His dwelling He looks

On all the inhabitants of the earth;

15 He fashions their hearts individually;

He considers all their works.

16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army;

A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

17 A horse is a vain hope for safety;

Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope in His mercy,

19 To deliver their soul from death,

And to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;

He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,

Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,

Just as we hope in You.

Amen!

And now, moving right along to what else has been going on around us here in our neck of the woods...

Not a whole lot. Hubby and I have been still a little bit recovering from that bad cold or whatever it was that hit us after our trip to the mountains.  We are MUCH better, praise God, but still have a little bit of a cough now and then and sinus issues, which I think are probably a kind of seasonal sinusitis that just comes with the season.  Hopefully, if the weather would cooperate and cool back down a bit and get rid of this warm, muggy, cloudy humid weather, we will feel a whole lot better.  I see that a cooler weather pattern is on its way next week, so that is encouraging.  

One good thing from this week (among others), our son Scott came home on Tuesday to vote and do his laundry and visit with us! I was so proud of him to take the afternoon off from work and make the hour and a half drive here so he could vote. This is still his permanent residence, but he stays in Jacksonville during the week, where he rents a room from a friend, so he can work in that area. It's always nice to see his smiling face come through the door:

Of course one of his first questions was, "Is there any Halloween Candy left over?"  LOL. Some kids just never grow up, and YES, I saved a bag of candy just for him because I knew he would be looking for it! LOL.

Scott wasn't our only visitor this week...this pretty young kitty stopped by and looked in our back porch door to see who was inside.

What a sweet face!  I've never seen this kitty before in the neighborhood, and she looks fairly young.

I took pictures so that if I see where anyone has posted pictures on our community lost and found pets, I can at least say I've seen her here in our neighborhood.

She soon took off and I haven't seen her since, but if she comes back I could be tempted to keep her! She just has such a sweet face!  But then again...no, I really don't need or want a cat...but then again...

Let's see, what else has been going on?  The kids (Benton and Rose and the grandpups) came over last night and we had pizza for supper.  We hadn't seen them ever since we came home from our trip, since we were sick, so it was so nice to see them all again.  I didn't take any new pictures, but you know what they look like by now! LOL.  Anyway, Rose brought me this magazine that she picked up in the mountains,

And inside were tucked all the leaves we gathered together while we enjoyed walking around the beautiful property where we stayed!  I was so happy she had done that!

These long leaves we had to look up to find out what kind of tree they came from, and I think they belong to a "sourwood tree"

Have you ever heard the song "Sourwood Mountain"?  I remember singing it many years ago...

Apparently the Bonanza fellas sang it one time, so you can listen to it in this video, and here's the lyrics below (their version may be a little different, but it's fun to hear)

Sourwood Mountain

Chickens a'crowin' on Sourwood Mountain

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

So many pretty girls I can't count 'em

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

My true love's a sun-burnt daisy

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

If I don't get her I'll go crazy

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

My true love's at the head of the holler

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

She won't come and I won't foller

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

Big dog'll bark and little one'll bite you

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

Big girl will court and the little one spite you

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

Chickens a'crowin' on Sourwood Mountain

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

So many pretty girls I can't count 'em

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

I sang this song while we were collecting our leaves together, at least the parts I could remember.  We had such a fun time.

We girls, including the grandpuppies, had a great time walking and finding the leaves...as you can see, there were many different kinds of trees to choose from!

It was a perfect time for leaf gathering...

I'm trying to figure out a way to preserve them better for the future, but haven't come up with any great idea yet...maybe you can help me?  

Maybe I could put some in a picture frame or something.  I don't know, but for now, we will just enjoy them there as is.

Oh, the Memorial Rose continues to bloom and smell so delightfully sweet. I did send our daughter in law Nicole a picture of it on her 50th birthday this week, and she did respond and appreciated it very much.  I wish I could've sent it to her for real so she could smell it, but I'm afraid it wouldn't have made the trip to Maine intact.  But she appreciated the thought behind it and we were able to wish her a happy birthday.  We continue to pray for Nicole and our grandson Noah, as they move on with their lives without our dear son Matthew,  who has been in heaven over 10 years now. (Still hard for us to believe that!)   That's why this rose is so significant, as it was originally planted right after he passed away.

Oh,  my goodness! I was looking for a good way to close out this post, and I turned to this little devotional calendar for today to see what it had to say, and would you look at this?

I think God had that planned all along! I never saw this until right now! Wow! Talk about God putting things together...

That leaves me rather speechless! So I will just say thank you all for reading along and for being such dear friends.  And may we always have "beautiful roses in (our) hearts".

Have a blessed and beautiful day and weekend.

Tuesday 4~ October Memories

 October Memories

I have been putting off doing this meme today because we had other things to do to prepare for Hurricane Milton. But now it is evening, and I feel like it will be a good distraction for me to do this rather than continual watching the news and storm updates, which are very stressful.  So here we go:

Welcome to October's first Tuesday 4 kept in memory of Toni Taddeo.
You are always very welcome here and your participation is much appreciated.

1. What memories do you have of Octobers past?
Oh so many memories...starting with when our grandson was born in October 25 years ago, we would go up to Maine to visit him for his birthday, and we'd always go to the Fryeburg Fair in Fryeburg, Maine.

Click HERE for a previous post that will tell all about October memories.

This picture was taken the last time we went there in October for Noah's birthday and to the fair.   This was October of 2013.  The following May our son Matthew died after a 4 year battle with cancer, and our annual October trips up there stopped, But then we started having Noah come down and visit us for his birthday, and he did that for a few years until he graduated high school, and then, well, you know how it is once they graduate, things change.  But we have so many wonderful memories of happier times together.

2. Besides here in New Jersey, some of the coziest neighborhoods I've driven through were in rural Ohio and Pennsylvania. The picture reminds me of those times. Does this photo bring any thoughts to mind for you?

Yes, that house reminds me of this house, which was in a small rural community in Nova, Ohio, which we rented while hubby was going to seminary.  We had some interesting adventures while living there!

You can read more about THIS house and those adventures HERE. 

Our three sons were having a lot of fun playing the the autumn leaves!  (Circa 1979)

3. As weather cools I do enjoy Pumpkin Spice and Pumpkin Latte flavors in my coffee. Do you like flavored coffees or teas? Which are favorites for you?
I am not a huge fan of pumpkin spice flavored tea, but  I will enjoy an occasional cup of Pumpkin Spice tea during this season just because.  I don't drink coffee at all, so no pumpkin flavors there for sure! 

I was actually drinking some pumpkin spice tea and eating a piece of my daughter in law Rose's wonderful pumpkin spice cake, and feeling very thankful!

4.An orchard near me not only sells apples but pies and their famous apple cider donuts in the fall.
What kind of pies, cakes and pastries do you like to eat?

I LOVE apple cider donuts and fresh mulled hot apple cider!  It's not something that you will readily find here in Florida, since we do not have any apple orchards here (boo hoo!), BUT, in a couple of weeks (Lord willin' and the creek don't rise!"), we will actually be in North Georgia in the mountains, and we will go to an apple orchard there and get some fresh apples and hot apple cider and apple cider donuts! That will be one of the highlights of our trip there, so I do hope nothing spoils that!!  And apple pie is my favorite pie.  I will eat pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and I also love homemade cherry pie (made with the tart cherries that are meant for a real cherry pie...not that sweet canned cherry stuff!) I really don't eat a lot of pies and cakes and pastries anymore, as they just don't agree with me. I try to avoid a lot of sugar, and once you get used to not eating it, it's very hard to eat very much of anything sweet again! So I really try to limit what sweets I eat.  But I've always loved all of the above mentioned pies, and also my mother's homemade coconut cream pie with meringue. Click HERE for THAT story!

May God bless and protect our precious brethren in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and all impacted areas.   Yes, friends, we are praying and waiting and watching for Hurricane Milton to head our way, but as I've said before, where we live we are not in the high impact zone and we are not evacuating, but we still expect a lot of high winds and possible loss of power. So I may not be able to write again for a little while, but I will definitely try to let you all know how we are one way or another. Your prayers are very much appreciated for all of us down here in  Florida.

"I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you." Joel 2:25

Thank you, Annie, for sharing that verse with us above,  and also for the prayers. God bless you all, and good night for now!