Tuesday 4~ Hello January

 Hello January

Welcome to the New Year friends and to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
Toni liked to talk about each new month and it's meanings.
January was named for Janus the two faced god who looked behind and ahead. Its the warmest month in the southern hemisphere and the coldest in the north.
Garnet is it's gem stone. Garnets come in all colors but the rarest is the Tzavorite.
January 7 is Eastern Orthodox Christmas because some eastern churches use the original Julian calendar which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.
January become the first month of the year in 450BC for the Roman world .
Let's talk about two faced January.


1. Looking back, what do you hope continues or does not change in your life?
I do hope we continue to have good health and strength as the days go by. The older we get, the harder it is to keep up with things, and so I pray for renewed strength, wisdom and health for the New Year and beyond.  


2. What good came to you from the previous year?

I am so thankful for so many things...our home, family, strength, health, and God's continued provision for all our needs.  What more could we ask for?

I sat down this afternoon with a cup of tea and a "York Peppermint Patty", a very rare treat for me as I normally do NOT eat chocolate, but it just sounded so good I couldn't resist...and I picked up the new issue of Country Living Magazine that came in the mail today to look at it.  

And I turned to this page and the little caption down at the bottom of the page caught my attention. I almost missed it because it was written in white and rather small...

But the words "Country Wisdom" caught my eye since "wisdom" is my "One Word" for 2025.  I like what this says:

So to answer question #2, "What good came to you from the previous year?"...Well, maybe a few more "nicks and scratches...the architectural equivalent of hard-earned wrinkles and laugh lines..."  I don't mind that at all...especially those laugh lines...and I do hope to earn a few more in the up coming years.

3. Are there things you hope to accomplish in the new year?

To be honest, I haven't really thought that much about it. Just keeping up with our daily lives, maintaining our home and property as best we are able, and spending more time with friends and family as we are able.  Seeking what God wants for us..."Where He Leads Me I will follow..."...a favorite old hymn that sometimes finds me doing new things I never expected...but because I trust God to lead me, I know whatever it is it will be good.

4. January's flowers are the carnation and the snow drop. Do you sometimes buy flowers for your home? What kinds of flowers to you like best?

Carnations & Snow Drops
I must admit I've never seen "snow drops" before! Those are very pretty!

I rarely ever buy fresh cut flowers.  I prefer those that are grown in the garden or in the woods or along the road...i.e.; "Wildflowers" from "God's Garden".   If I do buy flowers, they are in pots to be planted in the garden...mums in the fall, and other plants for the butterfly garden in the spring/summer. Oh, I have a couple of pots of Poinsettias right now on the back porch  that I bought for Christmas, and now I hope they don't freeze in our plunging temperatures this week.  They are hiding under the table on the covered porch, so hopefully they will be okay.

There's something else hiding on the back porch to stay warm for the night...

"Blackie" the neighborhood cat!

Oops! He saw me!  However, that didn't change a thing...he's too lazy to get up and come say hello!

Actually, yesterday afternoon I sat out on the porch for a while and sipped a cup of tea before it turned too cold to sit out there...

And Blackie suddenly appeared out of nowhere and saw me sitting in his chair, and turned around and went right back down off the porch! He didn't even stop to say hello! LOL. There are two other chairs on the porch that he could've sat in, but I guess he likes mine best!  

A little later I watched the sun setting over Still Waters Pond, and then I saw the the Sand Hill Crane family fly in and go around and land on the other side of the island somewhere out of my sight.

So I hurried up and ran over to the next door new house property and went around to where I could see them on the little marshy strip of land behind the island:

I guess this is where they will probably build their next this year, once "Abe" leaves the nest for good!

I won't be able to watch them quite as closely since this spot is out of my view from my house, and once someone buys the house next door I won't be able to go over there anymore.  Unless the neighbors are really friendly!  I hope they will be, but still, they probably won't want me to come running around on their property everytime I want to watch the birds! LOL.

Well, friends, this is all for this Tuesday 4. I 've got to run to choir practice, so I'd better get a move on. (No worries, I will drive, not run. It's getting too dark to run 3 miles! LOL. As if I could or would! LOL)

Happy January everyone!!