Friday Foto Friends & Happy Things!

 Hi Y'all!  (Using my southern drawl here). LOL.  I really don't have much of a true southern drawl, at least I don't think I do. Even though I grew up here in Florida, we moved around so much in our adult years that I think I lost a bit of the drawl. But I remember one time when I was about 10 or 11 we went up north to Ohio to visit my grandparents and other relatives, and we got there early enough in the summer that my cousin, who was the same age as me, was actually having her last day of school.  (We got out earlier here in Florida).  And so I went to school with her that day since it was the last day and they were basically just having a party day.  I remember that her friends were so amazed at the way I said things, that to me, were just normal.  They kept asking me to say "I", yes, just a simple "I", like "I am so happy to be here", and then they'd laugh and laugh at the way I said it.  I think I then said, "Y'all are just so crazy!" And then they'd really laugh!  

This is a picture of my cousin Cheryl and me, but this may have been a year or two later than the time I was thinking about. This was taken in the summer before we both turned 12, me in September, and Cheryl in November.  She's a lot more petite than I am...everyone was a lot more petite than I was. LOL. She's holding her little puppy.  

We were all dressed up because I believe this was the time our mothers took us downtown Columbus, Ohio, to the Lazarus Department Store to shop and to have lunch in their dining room while ladies came around and modeled outfits for us while we ate. And what did we eat? Would you believe we had their lunch special of "Turkey Dressing and Gravy"? (without the turkey). 

 I just realized I wrote all about this a few years ago HERE, with more detail.  That's what happens when you get to be my age...you start repeating all your old stories. LOL.  And that old post has early pictures of a young Blackie on our back porch, before Blackie was our cat, and I still thought "he" was a "she".  I guess he won out and is now the ruler of that porch and our house too.

Which brings me to this picture of our back porch  (except Blackie isn't on there at the moment), and my "happiness challenge events for today".  The fellow finally finished the pressure washing of our house, after several issues with his equipment malfunctioning and having to delay the process several days...Anyway, I LOVE how nice and clean the porch looks now, like brand new again!  

The whole house all the way around is clean again and looks so nice! Oh, if you look hard enough, you will see Blackie in the grass in front of the steps.  He came out from under the front porch to greet me when I came outside.  I guess he was staying under there to keep cool. As I've said before, he is still an indoor/outdoor cat, and he spends a good part of the day outside, but we bring him in to feed him in the morning and he stays inside for a few hours in the morning and during the hottest part of the day in the afternoon and evening. But he loves to be outside where he can watch the birds and enjoy exploring whatever is going on in the yard. It works for him and for us too, and he normally stays close to the house, unless something frightens him and he has a hidey hole somewhere that he runs to. I'm sure eventually he will become a full time indoor cat, but for now this works for all concerned.  

So this morning we drove the hour + away for hubby's follow up to his cataract surgery from last week. Thankfully everything was really good and the doctor was very pleased!  He doesn't want to see him again for 6 months!  Praise the Lord!  And since it was lunch time by the time we got back closer to home, we decided to stop in Palatka at Chili's for lunch. After all, we are still celebrating our 57th anniversary, which isn't until Sunday, and you already heard what a disappointing lunch we had the other day. so we decided we needed to celebrate his good news at the eye doctor as well as our anniversary today! Hey! You only live once...and 57 years is a long time to be together, and we are so happy that God has allowed us these many years together, so we are going to keep celebrating! Besides, Chili's has great lunch specials for $10.99, which includes your beverage, an appetizer and entree'.  It really is a great deal!

Here's hubby with his hamburger and fries... (and look at those pretty eyes!)  He already ate his soup appetizer...

And here I am, with my side salad, soup and hamburger. (no fries for me!)  They actually gave me a huge salad instead of the normal side salad...not sure why, but I ended up having to bring home half of my hamburger and half of hubby's fries.  We certainly couldn't complain about the amount of food today! It was literally more than we could eat! And for a much better price too! And it was really GOOD!   So all's well that ends well!

I guess that brings me to the end of this post for today. I hope this Friday finds you all doing well and that you have a blessed and beautiful weekend.

I love this benediction from Ephesians 3:16-21, and so I want to share it with you, and I hope it will bless you as it does me...

"16 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 

18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 

19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 

21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Happy Sunday Morning

I keep this old postcard as a marker in my Bible. You can see it is getting rather worn with age, but it reminds me that Jesus tenderly cares for His sheep...and we are "the sheep of His pasture".

Psalm 100 KJV

100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; 

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: 

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; 

and his truth endureth to all generations.

And furthermore:

Psalm 122 KJV

 1 "I was glad when they said unto me, 

Let us go into the house of the Lord.

2 Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:

4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, 

to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.

5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.

8 For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.

9 Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good."

This is a good way to start our Sunday morning...being happy about going to "the House of the Lord", and also praying "for the peace of Jerusalem..."  In these turbulent times, Jerusalem (Israel) definitely needs our prayers, as does our own nation and other places in the world.  And may we never forget the part of verse 6 that says, "They shall prosper that love thee."   May our nation always remember that and not forget to pray for the peace of the people of Israel. Amen.

I am still continuing to remember things to be happy about during this month of August "happiness" challenge.  There are so many things, I may forget to count them all. But at least I will give it a try!

This morning I am happy that my wayward kitty Blackie came back home. Yesterday he got a bit scared when we had a fellow here power washing the outside of the house. He didn't want to stay indoors with all that noise going on outside, so we let him out so he could go wherever he wanted to go. Well, not too long after there developed a very loud thunderstorm with some extremely heavy downpours of rain in addition to the exceedingly loud thunderbooms and flashes of lightning.  Our power washer fellow had to stop working and will finish the job later. But Blackie apparently was so scared he took off for parts unkown, and when he didn't show up for his dinner around 3:30 in the afternoon, I began to get concerned, because he NEVER misses a meal! I called and called, and checked the places where I thought he might be hiding (he likes to go under the shed), but to no avail.  I continued calling for him long after dark, thinking he'd show up when it got dark and he could run back home under cover of darkness and not feel threatened by someone seeing him. That's what he'd done before when he got scared away because of some big dogs running loose in the neighborhood. But by the time we were ready for bed he still had not shown up. As you can imagine, I was rather worried. I know we are not supposed to worry...but alas! I am still human, and I do worry sometimes!  Hubby kept reassuring me that Blackie would be back in the morning in time for his breakfast, and so we said our prayers and prayed for our wandering kitty and went to sleep.  I did wake up a few times in the night and wondered if he was out there, but I decided not to worry and prayed again and went back to sleep.

Well, you can well imagine my relief and joy this morning at 5:30 a.m. when I went to the back door to let him in to feed him like we normally do (yes, he does normally stay out at night and that seems to work best for his routines and habits), and yes! There he was,  waiting at the back door to come in for breakfast just like nothing was any different than usual!

Of course I told him he gave me quite a fright and that I really didn't like that, but I was so happy to see him I couldn't stay too upset with him.  He just looked at me with those big yellow eyes like Mr. Innocent and he really didn't know what all the fuss was about. "After all", he seemed to be saying, "I AM a Cat! What did you expect???"   

So, I am relieved this morning that Blackie is back home again safe and sound and back to his old tricks. And yes, he is still an indoor/outdoor cat, which seems to work for him just fine. I just wish he'd tell me when he's not coming home for dinner! LOL.  I suppose he picked up a lizard or some other little creature to tide him over until breakfast.  After all, he IS a cat!!! He knows how to survive on his own...but I do think God watches over him as well.

Speaking of creatures...I discovered THIS creature(s) on our deck railing yesterday afternoon.

This strange looking critter is actually TWO different creatures "together"...(as in mating).  It is a "Southern Two-striped Walkingstick", also known as a "Anisomorpha buprestoides".

"This species, and another in the same genus (Anisomorpha ferruginea, whose range is more west and north, but may overlap with A. buprestoides) 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. The "Devil rider" name for this insect likely comes from this defense, as well as the fact that they are most frequently encountered in the late summer and fall when they are active adults at a time when almost all of them are found in mating pairs, with the smaller male riding on the back of the larger female." (Wikipedia)

Thankfully they did not spray it's "very potent chemical defense spray" on me when I took its picture! Shew! That was a close one! LOL.  I am happy about that!

Some other things I am happy about...fresh peaches on cereal!

(hubby's breakfast)

Or mixed with my peach yogurt....I did add some organic granola to this after I took the picture, It was SO good!!

And I promised a  picture from when the kids came over on Friday night to make home-made pizza! Here it is after it sat and cooled. I forgot to take a picture when it was fresh out of the oven or when we were making it. It was SO good!  This was all that was left of two pizzas.

And we are always happy when our two grandpuppies come to visit:

This is Spice

And this is Sugar.  They the sweetest things! (But don't let Blackie cross their path! Oh no! That would be disastrous!)

Something else I am happy about...My friend Katheryn Masterson has written another book (actually there are more than this) and I just received this one from Amazon. Again, Katheryn has written such a sweet story about one of our favorite little creatures, the Ladybug! I am collecting these little books to send to a special little friend for Christmas.  I don't have any little grand or great grandchildren in my life to read these books to, but the stories are so good I want to share them with those who do.  They are well worth the money because the stories are so engaging and entertaining as well as educational.  I'm so proud of my friend Katheryn for embarking on this adventure in her own life!

One more thing...Today would be my Daddy's 108th birthday! He's been celebrating in heaven since 2011, and there's hardly a day that I don't think about him or am reminded of him in some way every day. Here's a family portrait of my family. I'm the little redhead on the front right end,  holding onto (or he's holding onto me) my Daddy's hand.  This was on our farm in Pennsylvania, many moons ago.

And here's my Daddy when he was a little fella, probably close in age to what I was in the above picture (give or take a year). He's standing there with his big sister, my Aunt Marion. You can't tell it in the picture, but my daddy was also a redhead. That's where I got it from.

And here is a four generation picture...My Daddy, "Grandpa Choo-Choo", in his train room, showing off his trains to his Great Grandchild and my grandchild Noah. Our son Matthew is holdling Noah, and I am looking on. I wonder if Matthew and Grandpa are playing with trains in heaven?  

Anyway, I couldn't let the day go by without remembering what a special and wonderful man, Daddy, and Grandpa he was. I was truly blessed to have such a good father.  He helped me to understand just how good our Heavenly Father is, by setting such a good and godly example. I am very thankful for that blessing.

And so, now it is evening. Sunday morning came and went...we went to church, came home and had lunch and a nice visit with our son Scott. It has been a very happy day.

Good Night and God bless you all!

Happy Friday Foto Friends

Happy Friday Everyone!  Even though I am retired and no longer have to go out to work every day, I am still always happy to see Friday roll around. Friday just seems to have a special spark to it that makes me feel happy and free!    

And I am always happy to see our fine feathered Mrs. Ruby Throated Hummingbird stop by for a visit and a drink... 

Isn't she amazing?  Of course, since this is the female, she doesn't have the beautiful ruby throat that her mate has, but she is beautiful in her own special way...

What a blessing and joy to see her up so close (thanks to my zoom lens on my camera!)

Yes, drink away my little friend. You may have babies to feed somewhere out there...

Hey, our friend Debby over at Days of my life-Window to My World is participating in an August Happiness Challenge. She got the idea from another of her blogging friends, and I like the idea, so thought I would try to do the same thing.  There's no linky to link up to (that I know of).  Just post one thing each day that you are happy about.  You aren't limited to just one thing, but making an effort to find one special thing each day is a good start! Of course, I am already a week late in getting started, but I think I've probably shared something just about every day that I was happy about anyway.  This time I will just make more of an effort to say it out loud! Maybe you would like to join in for the rest of the month with me? Why not? What have we got to lose? Maybe a lot more to gain...smiley faces and a spirit of joy and happiness will lift our spirits and carry us through those difficult days when we have a hard time finding something to be happy about. So here we go!

Proverbs 17:22 New King James Version

"A merry heart does good, like medicine,

But a broken spirit dries the bones."

Today I am happy that my hubby's post-op appointment with the Eye Surgeon was perfect! The doctor was very pleased with what he saw, and said to keep doing what he's doing each day (eye drops 4xday), and come back next week for another checkup.  We made it up there and back with no issues, for which I am very thankful since I had to do the driving again. I really don't mind doing the driving, but I just can't relax and enjoy the view along the way when I do!  Oh well...it's pretty much the same as it was the last time, so no big deal! LOL. 

I am happy also that our "kids" called and asked if we would like for them to bring over the makings for home-made pizzas tonight. Of course we said YES!!!  I will try to remember to take pictures later, but that may have to be in tomorrow's post. I love that our kids live close by and that they actually seem to enjoy hanging out with us "old folks".   We are so thankful and blessed.  

Oh, here's some more of our "fine feathered friends".  I am not certain if this is the female Mrs. Bluebird, or if it is one of the young bluebirds finally out of the nest.  It's hard to tell. Usually the babies have more speckles on them, but the Daddy bluebird was bringing some food to her up there on the limb, and it made me think it might be a baby...

It just seems to act more like a juvenile bird than an adult.  Here's the Daddy below with the one in question...

This is a closer view of her...still not sure...

Whichever one it is, I enjoyed watching it!

There can never be too many birds to watch in my estimation!

Last evening after I finished writing my last post we had a humdinger of a thunderstorm, with LOTS of thunder and lightning and hard rain. The rain gauge that I have on my phone said we have received 1.71" of rain in the last 24 hours.  More is expected later today. I sure hope they are right. Even though Still Waters Pond is still very dry, all this rain has to start making a difference soon. You all know what a happy day that will be when I see water on top of the pond once again!  

And as in all things, I give thanks to God for what He has done, and what He will do.  

Isaiah 25:1 NKJV

 "O Lord, You are my God.

I will exalt You,

I will praise Your name,

For You have done wonderful things;

Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth."

Well, folks, I will wrap this up because it's getting time to feed the kitty, and he doesn't like to be kept waiting...and then the kids will be coming over and bringing the grandpups, so Blackie will have to be back outside before they arrive!  That's definitely one thing we have to make sure we do! Those two grandpups are quite jealous of our kitty.  I don't think they like to be supplanted by the likes of him! LOL.  So I will say good night and I hope you will look for something special to be happy about...and be sure to let us know!   "Happy Trails to you, until we meet again!"  (Roy Rogers and Dale Evans...remember when?)

New House Saga Update

If you follow me on Facebook, you've been keeping up with the progress on our new house.  But if not, maybe I should take a few moments to record the week's activities so far...for my own record as well as for your entertainment. ...

The good news is on this past Monday we finally closed on our "new to us" house...

Here we are with our sweet real estate agent, Miss "Libby". (She is the agent who helped us buy our house).   I've teased her several times by singing the old commercial jingle: "If it says Libby's, Libby's, Libby's on the label, label, label, you will like it, like it, like it, on your table,  table, table...It says Libby's Libby's Libby's on the label label label"...
Thankfully she has a good sense of humor and is such a sweetheart to work with. She put up with all of my "I want to see this house even if we can't buy it until we sell our house" requests over the past year...and her patience finally paid off! On Monday she was happily sitting down with us as we signed our life away and became a member of the "Thirty Year Club" again, as the Closing Agent dubbed us.   Lord willing, our new house will be paid off in the year 2049...and I'll only be 99 years old! Isn't life grand?

So immediately following the closing we began the work list of things to do to get the house ready to move into.  The list is lengthy and involves a lot of hard work (and more money), but thankfully God has provided us with some good workers who do odd jobs and are great at helping folks like us who don't have a lot of "fixer upper" type skills...and they come reasonably priced, all things considered.

I teased our #1 son when he heard the list of things we are having done that we are spending all of his inheritance now so he won't have to worry about it in the future...I think he was just as glad that we weren't asking him to do all of these jobs since he has plenty to do on his own list...(did you see that our kids' business, "Ben & Rose's Country Woodshop" got a new workshop shed last week? Here's a link to their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BenandRosesCountryWoodshop/ where you can check out their products and projects. Here's Ben with their brand new shed workshop that will greatly help them expand their business:

God is so good...and He is blessing them in so many wonderful ways! We are so proud and happy for them. And we are very thankful to the Lord for making this all possible.

So back to the house story:

I told everyone on Facebook that one of my first chores was to clean the three toilets and bathrooms and install new toilet seats on the toilets.  Yes, we have three bathrooms...two of them are in our master bedroom! I've never seen two separate bathrooms in a master bedroom before,  but this one comes that way. We have  "his and hers" bathrooms...one comes equipped with a nice shower, and the other one comes with a nice garden tub. Guess which one I picked?  If you said the garden tub, you are right, however, I will be taking a shower in the other bathroom most of the time anyway...so it really doesn't work out like it was planned... But anyway...after I worked for several hours toiling away cleaning each bathroom and installing the new seats...hubby decided to try out one of the seats...and quickly exclaimed that "this seat is too small!"   And yes, I had to agree...they were the tiny little low, round "toidies" that seem better suited for a child than a 6'3" male senior citizen...or even a 5'7" female senior citizen...and so, while our erstwhile fixer upper workers were there replacing our front deck, hubby requested that they help us replace the three little potties with three taller, longer potties that are also more water efficient...especially since we are now paying for city water instead of having our own well.  I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures of my nicely cleaned tiny commodes before they were removed and thrown on the dump heap (not much market for used toilets)...but I did get pictures of the nice new ones that were installed today...wanna see?  I know, this is fully of "potty talk", but I do think it's important, don't you? I mean, this is something that everyone needs and uses sooner or later...(hopefully sooner rather than too late...Ha Ha)

 Yes, I know that all three bathrooms have the same "lovely" wall paper...remember this is a manufactured home, and they do things like that...and yes, eventually I intend to paint over this lovely wallpaper, but for now I have decided to live with it.  It's not as bad as it looks in these pictures...and with the right colors of accessories, towels, etc., it will be just fine...but don't you love my new potties?

Okay, it is time to change the subject.  I mentioned that we were replacing the front deck.  Some of the wood was still good enough to use, but that which wasn't was replaced with new pressure treated lumber that should last a long time.

It is my intention to stain or paint the deck in about 30 days, as you have to wait for pressure treated lumber to "dry out" before you can put any kind of stain or paint on it.  So here are some pictures of the work in progress and then the finished product after the whole exterior of the house was pressure washed today:

Before:

During reconstruction:

After:

 We will also be painting the new frame around the front door when it is "dried out" and will also be removing/relocating the chain link fence that is in  front of the deck. In addition we will be repainting the shutters and front door with a fresh new coat of paint that is similar in color to this, but with a little more "pop" of color to brighten it up. These shutters are faded and some of the paint is coming off in places, so they need a fresh paint job...

Meanwhile, inside, we have been busy taping, prepping and getting ready to paint the "lovely" border

that goes all the way around the living room and master bedroom...here's hubby resting after working hard to tape all around the edges, etc.:

And here's how it looks after my whole day was spent today using primer to get the walls ready for paint.  We are going to paint the bottom half of the wall (including the border) with a creamy white that will give some contrast to the upper wall and hopefully will look like wainscoting when we are done.  I think we still need another coat of primer over the border before we paint...but these two rooms took all day just doing this much, so we shall see how much more primer we will do...

Of course several people have already told me that once I get all my furniture in this house you won't be able to see the walls anyway...so why work so hard??? Well, I know what is there, and I know what I want...so we will keep on working...

So thus far this is what has been done. We hope to get the painting done this week,  and then next week we have other projects planned, but you will have to wait and see.  Meanwhile we will be taking a couple of days off from our labors to celebrate our 50th anniversary this weekend.

Here we are fifty years ago August 16, 1969   "I now introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. John Steiner"

Stay tuned for further developments in all of these activities!

Psalm 66: 1-3, 10, 12

1.  "Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!

2.  Sing out the honor of His name;

Make His praise glorious.

3.  Say to God,

How awesome are Your works!"

10.  "For You, O God, have tested us;

You have refined us as silver is refined....

12.  "...but You brought us out to rich fulfillment."

Friday Foto Friends...Just Swinging In To Say Hello

   Thought I'd just swing in to say hello to my Friday Foto Friends!

 By Robert Louis Stevenson

(I have had this book since my early childhood. It is a real antique treasure !)

Here is why my face was so happy as I was swinging under that big old oak tree...Isn't this a beautiful sight?

"Up in the air and over the wall, 'till I can see so wide...

 Rivers and trees and cattle and all...

Over the countryside..."

I will only mention to you that when you ask me what kind of place are you looking for when you sell your house and move...Well...you see what I am looking for in these pictures above! It's not about the house as much as it is about the location. 

No, we haven't sold our house yet (but we are still praying...)  and No, we haven't bought another house yet...(but we are still praying...)  and if we were able to do so today, I think I would have signed on the dotted line.  Yes, it is available...yes, it is beautiful...oh, you wanted to know what the house is like?  Well, let's just say that we would definitely have to downsize a bit, and the road to get to this place is definitely "scenic"

And there might be some very interesting "neigh"bors along the way...(or maybe I should say, Hee-Haw!)

But I won't show any pictures of the house unless we actually are able to purchase it...which won't be happening anytime soon unless a miracle takes place pretty quickly before someone else snaps up this gem in the wild!

So we will just leave it at that for now.  There are many hoops to jump through before we can make an offer on any house...mainly a solid contract on our house first...but we can still dream and enjoy the scenery along the way...

And keep a "Happy Thought", as Robert Louis Stevenson did:

"The world is so full of a number of things,

I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."

And yes, we are waiting on the Lord to show us His plan...which might  WILL even be better than anything we could have imagined, so it is best to wait on Him.

Portions of Psalm 16

5.  "O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;

You maintain my lot.

6.  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;

Yes, I have a good inheritance.

7.  I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;

My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

8.  I have set the Lord always before me;

Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

11.  You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Thank You, Lord, for giving us wisdom and guidance in this process. We will continue to trust in You.

Amen.

Okay, friends, let us go over to Deb's place at Breathing in Grace and visit with our other Friday Foto Friends !  Hope you have a blessed and beautiful day, filled with happy thoughts!