Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

I can't keep up with these weeks flying by so quickly! They say that is what happens when we get older...the days and weeks and years just fly!  Do you remember when you were a child in school, and it seemed like that 3:00 bell would NEVER ring? (or whatever time you were let out of school for the day). I remember watching the clock for the last half hour or so, and thinking 3:00 would never get there!! But now, here it is 3:00 today, and I have no idea how this day flew by so quickly! LOL.  

Well, really, I do know...let's see, we took a ride this morning just to get out of the house for a while. Once in a while we like to drive the 30 mile drive back down to the community where we used to live in the Ocala National Forest.  There's a lake and a boat ramp/park where we like to go and see the water...today when we arrived there was a couple letting their dog run free and frolic in the water since no one else was around, and so we decided to drive on through the woods/town and come back by there later on our way back.  Dogs running loose are not one of my favorite things when I don't know them or their owners.   

However, we did stop back by there on our way back out, (and the people with their dogs were gone) and this was what I took a picture of...Isn't she a beauty?

Actually there were two butterflies flitting around, but I couldn't get them both to be still long enough to get a really good picture, so this one will have to do:

I also managed to get a picture of this little Bluegill down in the water! They were swimming around so fast I was fortunate to get this picture!

But I digress...

We decided to drive by our old house and see if anyone has purchased it yet.  It has been on the market for at least this whole year.  The people who bought it from us 4 years ago sold it to some investor, who has totally renovated it inside, but they are letting the outside be taken over by nature! According to "Zillow", it still has not been sold, and the price is still set much too high, in my humble opinion.

 Click HERE for a previous post showing some pictures from this house earlier this year, when our son stopped by to see what was going on there.  

And this is a picture from our last visit there, which was in February.  I wrote about that visit HERE.

The big sycamore trees were still bare, as was a lot of the other foliage...

Here I am, back in February,  sitting in the little pergola that we built in memory of our son:

That looked pretty good compared to what we saw there today.

These are the pictures from today:

It was so overgrown with wild grapevines and other wild growth that I couldn't even step inside to sit on the benches.

These are some of the trees we planted in the back yard about 6 years ago:

These are two Drake Elm trees that we planted in memory of our fathers, one for each of them on their 100th birthdays.

They have grown so much they may need to be trimmed back!

There are several Crape Myrtle trees in there, struggling to survive as they are being trapped under the many wild grape vines, which are, by the way, loaded with wild grapes right now! I did make grape jelly one year with the wild grapes that grew next to our yard, but this area we always kept trimmed back and neat and pretty...

It's like a jungle there...and if they don't start taking better care of it the  house will soon be returned back to nature.

This is what the front of the house looks like with the trees all full of leaves:

I know it's not my problem anymore, but it does make me kind of sad to see it so overgrown and neglected. We had so many happy memories at this house during the 7 years that we lived there. I do hope someone will purchase this house soon and rescue it before it is too late. They'd better have strong arms and backs so they can maintain all that yard work! That's one of the reasons we left there...we just couldn't keep up with all of the yard work by ourselves.  

So those are the photos for the Friday Foto Friends post.  Now, what am I thankful for? 

Well, I am thankful for our current home and the blessings of where we are, near our kids and church and friends...and not quite as much yard work as before.  Hubby and I did go out and do some weed-whacking with the new weed eater he got for Father's Day. I used it for quite a while and appreciated the fact that it is light weight and easy to use, but my arms are still hurting today because I am terribly out of shape (among other issues!) LOL.  I am thankful we got it done, however.

I am thankful for the fact that this home overlooks Still Waters Pond, and we are able to enjoy so much beauty here, watching the birds and any other wildlife God brings our way. We currently have been seeing a lot of Cardinals...there are some young ones as well as the parents, and they enjoy dining at the bird feeders:

Do you see both of the birds in this picture above?

And here's either Mom and Dad, or it could be Dad and one of the youngsters...

I am happy they enjoy these fancy bird feeders!

I am thankful for my new cell phone...(this picture was from the other day, when it was 87 and raining. Today it is 96 and bright and sunny...very HOT!

I ordered this phone to replace my old one because it was dying. It wouldn't keep a charge for very long at all.  This new phone is actually reconditioned, but it is a newer version than the iPhone I had before. You can get some very good deals online for reconditioned phones if you aren't locked into a phone contract.  It works great and I am very happy with it. However, getting it set up and ready to use, transferring data, etc., was very challenging.  I called the customer service people to help me, and, well, let's just say it was an extremely exasperating experience trying to understand people who do not speak English very well, and just when I thought we had something figured out the call would drop, and I'd have to call back again and start all over again with a new person. This took over an hour to accomplish, (and SEVERAL phone calls!) and by the time I was done, I was really done!! I hope I don't have to go through that again! But everything is fine now, and I am VERY thankful for that!

I am also thankful that my brother called the other night just to chat. He lives in N.C., and we don't get to talk very often, so it was a real treat and joy to hear from him. Our family is planning reunion up at their place in September, and I hope and pray we will be able to attend.  

There are some other things I am thankful about...some medical appointments that we were able to schedule sooner than first thought, and answers to prayer about several things.

Oh, this one is a big thing...last evening we were pulling out of our driveway, planning to go to our walking place on the other side of town and take a walk, even though it was still about 90 degrees, but we needed some exercise. Anyway, just as we were pulling out, there was a man walking down the middle of our street, no shirt, and his jeans kept falling down around his behind, and he was carrying a plastic gallon jug that looked empty, and he was acting VERY strange. We took one look at him and thought he had to be very high on drugs or drunk or something.  We decided not to leave our neighborhood, but stayed in our car and I called 9-1-1 and reported this man and his strange behavior. We drove around the block and kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't go up to our house or any of our neighbors, and we kept talking to the dispatcher for a few minutes. She assured us someone was on the way. Well, we drove around the block several times, not wanting him to notice us as we didn't want him coming up to our car. He wandered down the street, still in the middle of the street as other cars passed him. He was definitely out of his head high.  Finally we saw the deputy car come into the neighborhood and we watched to see what would happen. The man started to run into the woods, and then we decided to go back home and stay out the way.  Shortly after we saw an ambulance come. Apparently they did take him away, and we don't know anything more.  It left us feeling rather unnerved throughout the evening. Our neighborhood isn't perfect by any means, but this was not the norm. I am thankful that there was no harm to anyone in the neighborhood, and we prayed for this man that he would get the help that he needed. God knows who he is and exactly what was wrong. 

So on that note, I will say that I am thankful to God for His watchcare over our home and family...and am thankful that we know we can depend on Him to keep us safe.

Psalm 91:9-12

9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

10 No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

12 In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Thank you, Lord!

Amen.

Friday Foto Friends and Thankfulness, Part Two

 Hello, and welcome to Friday Foto Friends and Thankfulness, Part Two! If you wonder why I need a Part two, well, if you read  yesterday's post HERE, you will remember that I told you that our 21 year old air conditioner (and heat pump) was going to have to be replaced.  It had finally reached the point of no return, and we knew it was time to bite the bullet and buy a new HVAC unit.  Our repairman managed to help it to keep running for a few more days, but he said with a leaky coil it most likely would not last long. So thankfully we were able to schedule the installation of the new unit for today.  

The original HVAC unit for our house, approximately 21 years old.

Well, this story was not over by any means.  Last night we settled down to bed at our usual time (around 10:00 p.m.) and all was cool and well. Suddenly, around 12:00 midnight I woke up with a start. A thunderstorm had started, and perhaps it was a loud clap of thunder that woke me up, but I honestly believe it was God.  Why? Well, as soon as I woke up I realized that I could smell smoke! 

I woke up my hubby and told him I could smell smoke, and so we both got up out of bed and started walking around the house, sniffing the air, and trying to determine where the smoke was coming from. (Picture two septuagenarians tiptoeing through the house in their p.j.'s , with a flash light in hand and sniffing the air like a couple of bloodhounds). The scent seemed to be strongest in our bedroom, because the bedroom door was shut holding in the smell. However, the smell was evident all over the house, and so we determined it must be coming from the AC vents.

Now, mind you, it was pitch black outside and there was a thunderstorm going on at the same time. It was literally pouring down rain and lightning was flashing and thunder was booming. However, we knew we needed to go outside and check the AC unit to see if it was on fire.  

Now picture those two septuagenarians putting on raincoats and shoes and carrying an umbrella and a flashlight, and checking out the AC unit in the  dark and the rain.  There was no smoke or fire that we could see or smell on the unit. But if there had been, the rain may have already put it out. However, on further inspection, we could see that the coils had frozen up once again inside the unit, which told us that the motor was probably seized up and the friction was causing that burning smell and could erupt in a fire if not stopped.  So we carried our dripping bodies and shoes and raincoats and umbrellas back inside the house and shut down the power to the AC unit.

Oh, we did also consider calling the fire department, but decided that since there was no actual smoke or flame, and the power was off to the unit, there really wasn't any need to do so.

Then we tried to go back to bed. As you can imagine, it was difficult to get back to sleep after all of that, and the scent of the smoke was still very strong in our bedroom, so we left the door to the room open and turned on fans to help clear the air. It was raining too hard to even consider opening windows.

Sleep was fitful, but after praying and asking God to protect us and our home from any further harm, we finally drifted off to sleep.

When the AC repairman arrived this morning, you can bet we had a tale to tell him. He was quite concerned and began dismantling the old unit to get ready to install the new one, and after checking things out he determined that yes, there had been some burning going on inside the motor area...and that same strong burnt smell was very much present once the unit was opened up.

Somewhere inside these coils is where the culprit was.

Well, after a couple of hours of hard labor...oh, yes, there is a "repair woman" as well...

she's the daughter of our repair guy, and does a great job as his assistant!

The new HVAC unit was installed and up and running and our house is cool once again!

We waved good bye to them and said a prayer of thanksgiving for God's protection over our home through the night and for providing good repair people quickly and reasonably.

This is a favorite and appropriate Psalm for this episode, don't you think?

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust.”

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler

And from the perilous pestilence.

4 He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

And ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not come near you.

8 Only with your eyes shall you look,

And see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

10 No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

12 In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation.”

Amen.

Oh, and by the way, we wondered why our smoke detector had not gone off to alert us. Maybe the smoke wasn't quite strong enough yet to trigger it, or just maybe it needed a new battery? Yep...apparently it did, although it had never alerted us to that either. We replaced the battery, and the test button says it should work now, but I may be looking for a new one next time we go to town.  A good reminder to check the smoke detectors in your houses regularly!

Okay, have a blessed and safe and pleasant rest of your Friday. Thank you for bearing with me on another long tale.  God bless you all!!

Thursday Thankfulness...Psalm 91 at work

 I hadn't really planned on writing again today, but then I received something special via text late last night and I wanted to share it with you, as it is again, another "sign" of God's protection and care for our loved ones.

I've mentioned before that our grandson is on a cross country camping adventure.  Occasionally he texts us some pictures of where they are as they continue their journey across country, and are currently still in the southwest.  Last night, just as we were getting ready for bed I heard my phone make the familiar texting jingle, and my first thought was, "Oh No! Who's sending texts this late? I hope there isn't a problem!"  So I quickly went to my phone and checked, and here was the message I found from our grandson:

"Made it to the Grand Canyon. Got stuck in it for a night but I was able to hike out.

It was very hard. It was a 4 mile hike out up 4500 feet. My legs are super sore. 

Hope all is going well with y'all. 

Much Love."

Well, you can imagine my joy in hearing from him, but like any grandmother, you can also imagine the feelings and thoughts running rampant about what he must have endured being "stuck in it (the Grand Canyon) for a night but was able to hike out..."   To my knowledge, until this particular cross-country trip, our grandson has not had much experience in hiking and climbing or even camping, for that matter. Yes, he is 22 years old, and he isn't really alone. There's three other people with him, two girls and another guy. Again, I am not aware that any of them had any great experience in hiking/climbing, etc.  But they do have youth and resilience on their side, and hopefully they are learning important survival skills along the way.  Nevertheless, my first thought was, "Thank God they are out safely!"  Here's a few pictures he sent today to show where they have been:

Yikes! That's not my grandson, but one of their group. Making my palms sweaty, that's for sure!

And since he's taking these pictures, well, yeah...I am a bit nervous...

Pretty amazing, huh???

We had not heard from him for a couple of weeks and I was beginning to get concerned because he had been trying to communicate at least once a week. My husband and I have consistently prayed for them every single night, especially praying for their safety as they travel, camp in deserted places, and try to support themselves financially by doing whatever odd jobs they can find along the way.  This past week in particular I felt very strongly to pray for their safety even more deliberately. And now I understand why.  Being "stuck" in the Grand Canyon for a night sounds rather frightful to me. But they were never alone. God was always with them, and I praise God that He helped them get back out again with nothing worse than sore legs!  

Today he said that he will have to call when he can because they are "in the Navajo Nation and service has been spotty ever since the canyon."  I had to look up the Navajo Nation to see exactly what that was.

HERE is a link to their website.  I guess I didn't realize they had their own government, etc.  Very interesting stuff to read there!  

This led me to thinking about something I remembered that our grandson's father (our son Matthew) had done when he was a young boy in about 4th grade.  Like most young boys at that time he seemed to have an interest in "Cowboys and Indians".  He was taking art lessons and painted this picture of this Native American warrior:

It now hangs in our guest room.  I believe he entered it in the county fair back then and may have won a ribbon, but for some reason I do not have the ribbon. Anyway, it's a blue ribbon prize winner in my mind for sure!

And then his 4th grade teacher taught them how to make "Fry Bread", which is also known as Navajo Fry Bread.  Here is the recipe he had, written in his own hand:

HERE is a link to an online recipe for Navajo Fry Bread, in case you want to try it.  I see it calls for warm milk instead of warm water, so I don't know how different it would taste.  I do remember Matthew making this at home for us after he learned about it in school. Precious memories from days long gone by.  I wonder if there's "Navajo Fry Bread" in heaven?  If so, Matthew is probably enjoying some.

Okay, that's what I got for today... I am VERY thankful for God's protection over our grandson and his friends while they travel and explore God's beautiful country. 

Psalm 91 pretty well describes the prayer and comfort that I have for our grandson:

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

"1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust.”

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler

And from the perilous pestilence.

4 He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

And ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not come near you.

8 Only with your eyes shall you look,

And see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

10 No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

12 In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation.”

Amen.

Busy Days and Stunning Revelations!

Hello Friends! The past few days have been rather busy for us.  Seems like we can go for days and weeks with nothing much happening of interest, and then things come in bunches and you find yourself running from here to there and back again all at once!

But thankfully, these last few days have been all good things, so we are very thankful for that.

Yesterday we took a little ride down through the forest to the other side to meet up with my hubby's family to celebrate his brother's birthday, which actually isn't until tomorrow (4th), but this was the best time for us to get together. They live about 2+ hours away from us, so we try to meet in the middle when we can.

Here's the brothers Billy and John. Can you tell they are brothers?

And here we are together, with Billy's wife Peggy and their son Nicholaus. Their daughter Shannon had to work so couldn't come.

And here's Billy with our good friend Paula, whom we have known for many many years and she is one of those friends who is actually more like "family" to us all.

The Mason Jar is a great country restaurant, with good old southern cooking. I enjoyed a vegetable plate of Collard Greens, Lima Beans cooked with a little ham, Stewed Tomatoes, and Candied Yams and Cornbread.  It sure was good! Beats a hamburger any day!

Over the weekend we had some much needed tree work done in our yard.  I am always amazed at the abilities of these people who can get themselves out on a limb and cut it off...of course without being on the wrong end of the limb...

This fellow was up in our big giant oak trees in the front yard, cleaning up a lot of heavy and/or weak branches that were starting to hang down too low.  With August and September upon us, we are just entering our major hurricane season of the year, and trees can become our worst nightmare in a bad storm.

After cleaning up the front yard trees, they moved to the back side yard, where we have a lot of dense overgrowth of trees that were in bad shape and potentially dangerous to our neighbor's house.

So they started cleaning up a lot of little trees as well as the big ones, trying to let more light in the area so the good trees can grow stronger and healthier.

Sadly, they had to remove a few of my sheltering trees in the Secret Memorial Garden area, and I was not really very happy about that. I tend to be a bit of a "tree-hugger", and I would preserve every single tree if I could. But these "arborists" convinced me that the trees would be healthier if there weren't so many competing for the sunshine. 

I will be doing some revamping of this area once everything is completely cleaned up. Just may have to rearrange where we put the swing, etc. but it will still be fine.

Here they are preparing to cut down the remaining big dead pine tree that was the "twin" to other big pine that fell down a few weeks ago.

It was very dead and weak, and already starting to lean in the wrong direction.

This is a video that I took as the tree came down:

And below is looking at the space where it was above the trees in the middle after it was gone.

And here is why you can see it needed to come down. It was very diseased.

Next came the clean up. Because these were actually neighbors of ours doing the work, who are qualified tree experts but working over the weekend on their own time, they did not have the equipment available for removal of the debris. However, one of the men's teenaged sons and his friend wanted to earn some money and were willing to finish cutting up and loading and carrying the debris to a nearby disposal site, using their own pick up truck. Let me just say that these two young men earned every dime we gave them and then some, making numerous trips back and forth with loads of tree debris, working until dark...and never once complained or slacked off on the job. I was so impressed with them that I would recommend them for any job any time. 

Just two country boys with a truck, working hard and showing great respect in the process. Helped to restore my faith in the young people of today.

Now, here's a scoop! One of the tree trimmers (the boy's father) came back later to check on their progress, and also asked if it would be okay if he took out the kayak and paddled around Still Waters Pond.  He wanted to do a little exploring. That was fine with us. I haven't been out there all year, and I was happy for someone else to check it out.

Well, he came back quite excited to tell us that he spotted on the other side of the pond what appeared to be a "very large gator"..."perhaps nine feet long or more", and he could see where he had a trail going up on the shore over there.  I was incredulous, stating that we have never seen any evidence of a gator in this pond, but he was quite sure, and I know he knows what he's talking about, being a country boy "who grew up in the swamps around here" (his words, not mine).  

I tell  you, that's a stunning revelation, and one that will keep me from going out in the kayak probably ever again...I told my husband that here I was feeling sorry for myself that because of my neck issues I hadn't been able to paddle around the pond in so long...and now I believe that God was protecting me from perhaps coming upon Mr. Gator face to face, 

and I know I would have probably panicked and done something very foolish in trying to escape said gator...Yes, I believe God was definitely protecting me from dying of fright, even if the gator had no interest in me at all!

I think I'll stick to playing with Lily Grace from now on.

(This picture was taken on our outing with our blogging friends Terri and Barbara. You can see that someone was giving Lily Grace a sip of a cold drink because it was so hot. I love what good sports everyone is regarding this sweet little friend of ours!)

Now I will close this post, (which has taken all day to write because of other interruptions!) with a view of the sunset over Still Waters Pond the other evening. No sign of Mr. Gator out there...

I like what this passage says:

"You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You."

Isaiah 26:3

When we put our trust in God, we need not fear what any beast or storm or man can do to us. 

I also like this promise found in Isaiah:

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper,

And every tongue which rises against you in judgment

You shall condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,

And their righteousness is from Me,”

Says the Lord."

Isaiah 54:17

Thank You, Lord, for Your protection and blessings, no matter what comes our way.