Friday Foto Friends and Happy Thoughts

 I can't believe Friday is almost over and I haven't posted any new photos today!  I've been a bit behind in a lot of things this week, but I'm trying to get caught up.  Thankfully I do feel much better, and also hubby is feeling better too. He had a bit of a scare with his eye that just had cataract surgery two weeks ago. It was hurting a bit and he was having a lot of difficulty with bright lights, so had to wear dark glasses most of the time, even in the house. He did go see our local eye doctor to check it and make sure there wasn't anything really wrong with it, and he couldn't find anything, but assured him that sometimes it takes longer for some eyes to heal than others, and his symptoms seemed to be normal for some.  Thankfully as the week as progressed, his eye has gradually gotten better, and he's not having to wear the dark glasses in the house quite as much now. However we are keeping the blinds closed most of the day and using very minimal lighting, which tends to make me get a bit claustrophic, but thankfully this is only temporary. Whew!! And Praise God!

With that all being said, between the two of us, we haven't really ventured very far this week, except for a trip to Walmart yesterday because we were getting desperate for some things that we couldn't buy here locally. Thankfully we made it there and back (I drove) without incident.  

So what else is happening? Nothing much.  Here's what few photos I have managed to take...

The marigolds are still blooming...

And I took this picture looking out the back door at the pond, and there's Blackie in his favorite blue chair.  It's funny that this chair suddenly appeared in our front yard one day out of nowhere.  At first we left it there thinking it must've fallen off the back of someone's truck and that they'd come back looking for it, but after a couple of days no one came, so we decided it was a "gift" to us...in perfect condition, so we put it on the back porch, and immediately Blackie claimed it for his own personal chair. He doesn't like it when I sit in it either. LOL.  

Anyway, I noticed that the bottlebrush bush was really blooming again...

So I went outside this afternoon and tried to get a close up of the blossoms:

However, if you look closely, you will notice that the blossoms have a lot of honey bees on them...there were a lot more than what you see here.  I decided not to get too much closer and be happy with what I got before they decided to "get me". LOL.

By the way, I am still doing the "Happiness challenge" for August, and all these things make me happy. I'm happy I didn't get stung by the bees! LOL.  And I was happy to see this interesting cloud pattern when I put the flag out this morning.  I just love looking at clouds and sunrises and sunsets, don't you? No two are ever the same, because our Mastor Creator is always creating more and more beauties for us to enjoy. We are blessed by such an "Awesome God".  

Remember when I told you about this strange insect HERE in this post?

Anisomorpha Buprestoides...Southern Two Striped Walking Stick

Well, yesterday poor Blackie had a scary experience with this creature that was not too pleasant. If you read the information about this insect, you will note that it is "particularly well known for its very potent chemical defense spray which it deploys from a pair of glands which open at the front of its thorax."

Apparently Blackie got too curious about this creature while it was under a chair on the back porch.  When I went out to call him in for his supper, he came running into the house and was acting rather strangely, and started drooling on the floor, and then went and hid under one of the bar stools in the kitchen. He didn't want me to pet him or touch him, and he kept drooling. That's when I went back outside to see what he might have encountered (praying it wasn't a snake) and I saw this critter on the porch.  That's when I figured Blackie must've been sprayed by it.  I looked it up and it said that it could cause excessive drooling, among other unpleasant and possibly dangerous problems for cats, especially if it got in his eyes.  Blackie didn't want me to mess with him, but he finally calmed down and stopped the drooling. He wasn't interested in his water, so I put out a little bowl of milk and he lapped that up.  Then he seemed fine and went on to eat his supper and didn't show any other symptoms of trouble. Thankfully I think the spray missed his eyes and he probably didn't get too much in the mouth or face or things might have been worse. He seemed fine for the rest of the evening.  Before we let him back outside I went and took a broom to that creature and knocked him off the porch. However, I did notice a very strong chemical odor when I did that. Thankfully it didn't hit me on my face or body. SO, now we know not to mess around with these "Devil Riders", as they are also called...and from now on when I see one I will make sure it is "removed" from the premises as safely as possible.  I am happy that this story had a happy ending and that Blackie is just fine today.

I am also thankful that yesterday we had an opportunity to do something special for someone else. I am not telling you about this to bring any kind of "glory" to myself, but to share how meaningful it is to help someone else.  We have a dear man in our church who has been battling cancer for several years, and he is now nearing the end of his battle and we expect he will soon be entering heaven's gates.  Although he is under hospice care, he is at home and his daughter and wife are caring for him. Actually, his wife is not in real good health herself, and the daughter is the one trying to manage everything along with having her own husband and other family concerns to take care of.  So our church has been trying to help out by bringing meals to them this past week. And yesterday was our turn. It was such a blessing to be able to bring some comfort and share some love with this dear family. It reminded me of when our son was in his last stages of his battle with cancer, and we went up to Maine to be with him, and their friends were bringing meals every night for our family...and it was such a blessing to not have to worry about stopping to think about what to cook or if we had enough food in the house to even make anything. We were just so thankful and blessed by the gifts of others during such a difficult time.  I was happy that we were able to give back to this dear family and show them some love in Jesus' Name. 

We never realize just how much such a simple thing as a meal can mean to someone who is going through such a difficult time until we experience it for ourselves.  We can never repay those who do something special for us, but we can pay it forward and help someone else along the way. 

And so with that I will say good night. Tomorrow we travel about an hour and a half away to meet up with our extended family to celebrate the August birthdays and anniversaries together at a restaurant. It will be a fun time just being together.  

Philippians 4:12-13 NIV

12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, 

whether living in plenty or in want. 

13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Wednesday Treasures and the Photo Challenge a day late

 

I am a day late, and most always always a dollar short! LOL.  I started writing this yesterday, and then we made a trip to Walmart, came home, had lunch, took a brief power nap, took hubby to the PCP for his pre-op appointment for the upcoming cataract surgery. We were blessed to be able to get in on such short notice, because the pre-op needs to be done no later than one week prior to the surgery, and his surgery is set for August 6th, which we only found out about on Tuesday! So, with a quick call to our PCP Tuesday afternoon, they had him in on Wednesday afternoon! One of the "perks" of small town living and having a doctor's office that always tries to take care of its patients in a timely manner.

So now it is Thursday morning, and I am in a bit of a rush this morning as well. We are having someone come over for lunch today, and I've been cleaning house and making preparations for that. I will share more about this special day in a later post, because it is something special that I hinted at last week.  So stay tuned!

Meanwhile, yesterday's Photo-a-day challenge was a "TREE".  So here is my favorite tree at the Kenwood Boat Ramp where we like to go take walks...

Psalm 1:1-3

"1 Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper."

Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV

7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

And whose hope is the Lord.

8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not fear when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

These are the trees around our "Still Waters Pond".  Even though the pond is still very dry, the trees continue to grow and flourish.  They have not "been anxious in the year of drought", and their leaves are still green.

Matthew 7:17-18: "So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit." 

This is the bottlebrush bush/tree that I planted several years ago, and it has grown beautifully this year in spite of the drought. The birds and bees and hummingbirds all love to come and delight in the nectar of the beautiful red flowers that have bloomed better this year than ever!

Here's a picture of that bush during one of the few rainstorms we had this past week:

Well, duty calls. I have a lot to get done before noon today, so I will leave this for now. I don't have a picture to share, but Blackie either brought in or one came in with him this morning, a little salamander type lizard. He chased it around the house for a few minutes until finally the lizard had to give up.  I shooed both Blackie and the poor lifeless lizard out the door, and that's where Blackie is staying for now. LOL. 

So with that I will bid your adieu.  Perhaps that picture could be my "Ordinary Moment" for today's photo challenge.  Although Blackie is anything but "ordinary"! LOL.  Have a blessed day everyone. 

Monday Monday! Praise The Lord!

It's Monday morning, and a beautiful day so far!  I was just outside walking around and watering my plants, and I could hear the birds singing in the treetops so sweetly!  I love how they always lift up their voices in praise to their Creator every morning! It's truly a wonderful sound!! 

I don't have any new bird pictures to go along with this, but I will just post the pictures that I did take while I was outside...

All Creatures of Our God and King

(St. Francis of Assisi originated this song in 1225)

1. All creatures of our God and King,

Lift up your voice and with us sing

Alleluia, alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam,

O praise him, O praise him,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Our small bottlebrush bush finally blooming after about 4 years of watching it grow!

The Zucchini and Yellow Squash plants are growing, but I think they need some fertilizer. I thought the potting soil we bought had some in it, but apparently not much.  But still, they are growing. I have to water them every day.

The "Beefsteak" tomato plants are growing also...

2. Thou rushing winds that art so strong,

Ye clouds that sail in Heav'n along,

O praise him, alleluia!

Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,

Ye lights of evening, find a voice.

O praise him, O praise him,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

It's a sunny, breezy beautiful day! God Bless America!!

3. And all ye saints of tender heart,

Forgiving others, take your part,

O sing ye, alleluia!

Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,

Praise God and on him cast your care:

O praise him, O praise him,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Blackie and I enjoyed some "Secret Memorial Garden" Bench time together. It was so pleasant this morning.

This picture was taken earlier this morning...Even though I put my purse on that chair to keep him from getting on it, he got up there anyway.  He definitely has a mind of his own, but I keep trying to teach him. Not long after this picture was taken he woke up and was sweetly "removed" to another location.

4. Let all things their creator bless,

And worship him in humbleness,

O praise him, alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, Three in One:

O praise him, O praise him,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

This rose was blooming in the garden, but it needed to come inside where we could enjoy it. It will last much longer in here, and I love to "stop and smell the roses" every time I pass by.

Another thing to praise God about: The Blueberry Farm is open and they have beautiful lucious blueberries!  This was our first batch. I will go back and get more to freeze, but I wanted to enjoy these while they are fresh picked right from the farm...

And so we had homemade Blueberry Muffins this morning:

Along with some scrambled eggs and cantaloupe:

I went outside and checked on my blueberry bush that I've had for a few years, and it is really loaded with berries too! I really wonder about this drought we are in...and the cold winter we had...some things are actually growing better. Of course, I do water them almost every day...

This is the whole bush. It is loaded with berries that are still ripening! What fun!

Now I have another story to tell you that is really strange... The other day our AC started not cooling properly...Yes, we've had days warm enough to need the AC already. This is Florida.  We've often needed AC on Christmas day!  Anyway, it was actually Easter Sunday, after everyone had left after a lovely afternoon, and I noticed that our thermostat was registering a temperature that was several degrees higher than it should be.  So I sent a text message to our AC repairman asking him to call us in the morning, which he did.  He came over Monday morning to check it out, and couldn't quite figure out what was going on with it, and said he would have to come back later in the week when he had more time to take it apart and look it over really well. Thankfully it is still under warranty, but he did remind us that we would have to pay the labor charges.  We understood that, but we were concerned about  him having to "take it apart" and needing more time to figure it out...but he assured us he would be fair. He's a good man and is always fair, so we weren't too worried.

So you may wonder what this towel is.  Well, on the day that he came back and took apart the the unit, he found this towel in the bottom of the outside air handler...

Yes, down inside this unit:

That was pretty astounding.  He said that somehow it had been sucked through the ductwork into the outside unit! What????? How could that happen?  He said he's seen some pretty strange things before in AC units, but this was pretty unusual.  After I thought about it, I remembered a day when I was changing the filter on the AC unit inside, and I had a little "accident".  This shelf unit below sits beside the cold air return/filter...

Do you see what is on those shelves? Yes, Towels. Those are mostly old towels that our son uses when he comes home and is dirty from mowing or working on his car, or we use them for dirty clean up jobs, etc.   Do you also see that gallon of bleach on top of the shelf? Well, here's the story that I figured out must've happened  to somehow get that towel inside the ductwork:

One day I was going to change the AC Filter. In order to do that I have to pull that shelf unit out away from it so I can open up the grill in front of the filter.  On that particular day I was in a hurry I guess, and I neglected to remove the gallon of bleach from the top of the shelf (along with the other items up there) before I tried to move the shelf.  When I did that, the shelf shifted in my hands and the gallon of bleach fell to the ground and burst open, splashing bleach all over me and everything around it. Thankfully this is the laundry room and there was nothing of any great value that could be harmed, but it just made a huge mess as you can imagine. I was grabbing those towels and mopping up the bleach (you should see the outfit I was wearing...talk about a tie-dye look with unusual bleach splash patterns all over me. Thankfully I was wearing my old house clothes...nothing good!)  Anyway, apparently I had already opened the grill over the filter and big cold air return duct before this happened...I don't totally remember all the details because it was such a big mess! But apparently one of those dry towels fell into the open duct, and it was eventually sucked all the way through to the AC unit outside.  This happened over a year ago, and so it took that long to travel!  There are some small bleach stains on the towel, so that was my clue as to what must've happened!

Anyway...thankfully it didn't do any permanent  harm to the AC unit, and once it was removed everything started working properly again. And thankfully all we owed was a service call amount, which wasn't too bad all things considered! Whew!!! Praise God it didn't do damage to the unit, because that most likely would NOT have been covered by the warranty!!  

UPDATE:  Someone reminded me that I may have blogged about the bleach spill before, so I looked it up and sure enough, HERE IT IS!  Thank you, Martha Jane Orlando of Meditations of My Heart, for having a good memory!!

So now we are nice and cool as a cucumber and thanking God for His mercy! And I will be more patient when changing the filter from now on for sure!!!!!

Psalm 150 NKJV

Let All Things Praise the Lord

1 Praise the Lord!

Praise God in His sanctuary;

Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;

Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;

Praise Him with the lute and harp!

4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;

Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!

5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;

Praise Him with clashing cymbals!

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

Monday Monday ~ Blessings

 Psalm 96:1-6

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

3 Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples.

4 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;

He is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the Lord made the heavens.

6 Honor and majesty are before Him;

Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

Happy Monday! I thought I'd start out with that beautiful Swallowtail Butterfly enjoying sipping the nectar from the Bottlebrush Tree in our yard.  When I first planted that bush, it was small, and I really didn't think about how large/tall it would get. I mainly wanted it for my butterfly garden area so it would attract butterflies and hummingbirds. 

 It is definitely doing exactly what I wanted it to do! My only complaint is that it is getting quite tall and is starting to obstruct a part of our view of Still Waters Pond!

I thought about transplanting it to a different location not quite so central to our view of the pond, but then we wouldn't be able to see the hummingbirds and butterflies when they are on there...so I guess we can sacrifice the one to be able to enjoy the other, and yes, we can still see the pond.  And actually, once the blooming season is over and the hummingbirds and butterflies have moved further south for the winter we can trim the bush back down to a more reasonable level and let it grow stronger before the next blooming season begins.

Oftentimes in life we do have to learn to make some sacrifices of something that seems really good to achieve something even better.  It's not always easy to do, but when we think about the overall bigger picture, it makes sense. 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 seems to sum up this thought about making sacrifices in our lives now for that which is greater for us in the long run...that is, for eternity!

"16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, 

yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, 

is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 

18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, 

but the things which are not seen are eternal."

That is a good reminder for me today.  It seems like lately I've been making little sacrifices here and there in being able to do some of the things I enjoy because of my hubby's health issues, and then even this past weekend because of my own health issues. Nothing serious, just a virus of some sort, but I had to forego attending a baby shower at our church on Saturday and then also church services yesterday.  But I definitely didn't want to "share" any germs with the expectant mother or anyone else, and it was truly better for me to stay home and rest and get over whatever this is. Today I am just kind of washed out and still tired, so it is definitely best to just stay put and rest and recuperate.  

Friday evening we invited the kids over for "Taco Friday" (instead of "Taco Tuesday"). I was feeling fine then, and we wanted to give them a break from their kitchen redo that they were tackling all last week.  And no, they didn't get it finished yet, but at least they made some good progress. I will definitely post pictures when the job is done. 

And lest you think we don't pay enough attention to our Grandpuppies now that we have our own porch kitties...here's Rose holding Spice up to look out the window above the curtain we put up to keep the pups from seeing the cats out there.  Apparently the cats were not in sight at this moment or she wouldn't have been able to hold a squirming pup for long...LOL. 

And there's Sugar waiting her turn to look out the window, with her doggie toy squeaking away... LOL.

They sure are sweet pups and we enjoy them coming to visit...but the curtain idea really helps keep them from going crazy over seeing the cats.  At one time Sunshine peeked up over the curtain while sitting in the chair that it was fastened to, so we had to distract the pups really quickly and Sunshine was satisfied that there wasn't much going on so he moved on.  Blackie also peeked once as well, and again, quick thinking inside averted a noisy uprising. LOL.  

I guess there isn't much else to share today. I just wanted to check in with you and let you know I'm still here. I didn't get around to read very many posts over the weekend so I am a bit behind in knowing how all of you are doing.  Hopefully I will get caught up this week.  

Oh, one more special story...This is a picture of my dear friend Sharon and her son Robb. Sharon passed away from cancer in 2019.  Sharon adopted Robb when he was about two years old. Although Sharon was single, she raised Robb with so much love and care. He had some special needs and life was pretty challenging for them for a while, but with God's love and guidance, Robb grew to be a very fine young man.  They lived here in Florida for a good while, which is where we became acquainted, and we became their "Florida Family".  However, Sharon was originally from a very large family in Minnesota, and in her final days she went to live with one of her sisters there until she passed away.  Robb also went to live in Minnesota and eventually got a good job and met a very sweet young lady.  

We have stayed in touch with Robb through Facebook and also other family members. I was very thrilled and blessed to receive these pictures from Robb over the weekend:

Meet baby Ellie!  I knew she was expected, but she came a little bit early, so this was a pleasant surprise:

And here's Baby Ellie and her happy Mama:

Of course my first thought was how happy my friend Sharon would be to know that her Robb is now a Daddy, and that he has grown to be a very responsible and thoughtful man.  I know Sharon would've been thrilled to be a grandma, and I hope she can see Baby Ellie from heaven.  Who knows about these things? Only God knows for sure, but I have a feeling Sharon already knows all about little Ellie, and if people in heaven can pray for us here on earth, you can well imagine that little Ellie has been bathed in heavenly prayers and love ever since her conception.  

Psalm 139:13-16

"13 For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them."

I wish they weren't so far away, as I would love to play surrogate Grandma for little Ellie, but thankfully Robb has many doting Aunts and cousins and family members nearby who will definitely make sure that Little Ellie gets LOTS of "grandma"  kind of love.  She will be much loved and blessed for certain. I know that she will be added to my prayers and who knows? Maybe I'll get to meet her and hold her someday. 

Okay, that's all for now. Thank you for listening. Have a blessed and wonderful week my friends.