Tuesday 4~ How?

This is a cute house...no, it's not the
house I live in, but I really love it. It has a lot
of character!

How?

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4...continued in Toni Taddeo's memory.

Let's jump right in...

"King" Blackie, making himself right at home.

1. How did you end up in the place where you are living?

Long story, but after our son got married and moved to this town, we started coming here to go to church on Sunday at the sweet little church where they were married. We fell in love with the church, the people, the small town and its affordability. We were living about 30 minutes away, in the middle of the Ocala National Forest, and far from "civilization", so to speak. The now much too large house was suddenly empty and there was nothing to hold us there, so we put our house up for sale and started looking in this town where we now live. It took about 9 months to sell our house and move here, and we are very thankful for how the Lord put it all together perfectly for us.
HERE is a link to a post I wrote just after moving into our current home.

Sunrise Monday morning...

Closer view of the sunrise through those trees...it was golden bright, for certain!

2. How did you end up with the job you have/had?

I'll go with the last job I held until I retired. Due to some unpleasant circumstances at a previous job, I had left there when things got beyond what I could "live with", and then unfortunately I was unemployed for about nine months before I could find another job that was right for me. After many interviews and even some second interviews for jobs that I thought would be good, nothing seemed to be working out. Then one day I intereviewed for an office position at a large church, which I thought with my background in churches and church offices I would be a "shoo-in", but unfortunately I was not chosen for that position. I was getting very discouraged, when about 3 weeks later the office manager from that church called me and asked if I was still available, and if I would be interested in a different position in that church office. I asked what position, and she said "Mine".  She was leaving to go somewhere else, and her position as the Financial Administrator for the church was open and she and the Pastor of the church both thought I would be a good fit for it. It was a much bigger and better paying position than the one I had previously interviewed for. Of course I said yes that I would be interested, and so not long after I was hired and began my work there. I had no idea what a mess I was stepping into. The woman who was leaving the position had not done a very good job of bookkeeping, and there were a LOT of big messes to clean up in every aspect of that job. I honestly thought I had made a huge mistake once I saw the magnitude of what I was going to have to do. But God was with me, and He guided me through it one step at a time, and eventually everything that needed to be "fixed" was fixed and things worked out very well from then on. It was still an extremely challenging position, but I thank God for His guidance and constant support throughout my 6 years there until I was able to retire.

Click HERE for a link to the day I retired.

3. How did you end up with your life partner?

This picture was taken after we were engaged.

Long story short...We met while attending a community college near my home. We were introduced by a fellow whom I had dated briefly, but we were just good friends and had graduated high school together. He introduced me to my future hubby at lunch one day in the college dining room, and from then on we became inseperable...and we got married about 10 months later...and we've been together ever since...it will be 57 years of marriage this coming August!  I believe it was definitely a "God-thing"...a "match made in heaven".  Not saying everything has been perfect all these years...no, that would definitely not be true, but God had a plan for our lives, and He has been the glue that has held us together in spite of sorrows and trials and tribulations and many many moves.  Without Jesus Christ at the center of our home and marriage, I don't know if we could've survived.  And that's the honest truth! But I am VERY thankful for the life we have had together, and I wouldn't have wanted it to be any other way.  Well,  maybe less trials and tribulations...but those things helped us to grow stronger.

Ecclesiastes 4:11-13 NKJV

11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;

But how can one be warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.

And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Link to when we were engaged ,   And another link about our marriage

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Leaving for our honeymoon right after our wedding. My dress sure was short! LOL.

I picked some of our azaleas and my little favorite "fairy flowers" this morning.

And I picked one of the roses on the new rosebush that we planted over the weekend. 

It smells SO good!!!

4. How did your weekend go and how is the week ahead looking?

This past weekend was great. You can read more about that in the last post I wrote. The week ahead...well, I guess I need to look at one of my many calendars...actually we don't have too much planned, but that's always subject to change! I had Ladies' Bible Study on Monday afternoon, and I will have choir practice Tuesday night. We are practicing for our Easter Cantata, and it's sounding pretty good so far!  Other than that, the rest of the week is kind of "up for grabs". Somehow the days always manage to get filled up.

Thank you, Annie, for being our hostess each week here on Tuesday 4.  If you'd like to join in the fun, click HERE to add your post and/or read other posts.

 To end this post, I wanted to share this song "My Tribute" by Andre' Crouch.  It kind of answers all the questions about "HOW".  

"How can I say thanks

For all the things You've done for me?

Things so undeserved

Yet You gave to prove Your love to me

The voices of a million angels

Could not express my gratitude

All that I am

And ever hope to be

I owe it all to Thee

To God...

Be the glory

To God...

Be the glory

To God...

Be the glory

For the things He has done.

With His Blood

 He has saved me

 with His power

 He has raised me

 to God

 be the glory

For the things He has done

Just let me live my life

And let it pleasing, Lord to Thee

And should I gain any praise

Let it go to Calvary

With His Blood

 He has saved me

with His power

He has raised me

To God

 glory

For the things He has done"

Source: Musixmatch

Amen.

Tuesday 4~ A Cozy Home

 A Cozy Home

From our hostess Annie:
"Hi Friends! It's another Toni Taddeo Tuesday 4.. even though I keep hitting the 5 when typing.
Here it is a chilly Sunday evening and summer seems far off but I hope your home is warm and cozy... Speaking of cozy, here are some questions about a cozy home."

1.  What’s one feature in your home that makes it feel especially cozy or comfortable for you? 

I like that our home is laid out so that I can be in the kitchen and not be too far away from the activities in the living/dining room. 

I love that our dining area is open to the kitchen and the living room, so that we are not isolated from each other and we can spread out when there is a larger group gathered.

2.  How do you like to personalize your living space to reflect your style or personality?

This is my "Room with a View", where I do all of my writing.  It is also a room where I am surrounded by special things that have happy memories of loved ones attached...

And where I can be imaginative and creative...

as I surround myself with the beauty of God's Creation from outdoors as well...

Also, I love that this room is attached to the living room and while I am in here writing to you, I am not that far from where hubby is sitting and watching TV and we can communicate throughout the day/evening without having to shout through walls!  Our last house was divided up by big rooms and walls and I often felt isolated when I was in the kitchen and the family was just too far away. I like the coziness of this home much better!

3.  Are there any home maintenance tasks you find particularly important for keeping your space comfortable year-round?

Oh goodness, there are so many...maintaining our HVAC system and changing the filters regularly (reminder to Pam...it's time to change the filter!)  Regular housekeeping chores, both inside and out. 

Today we paid some fellows (friends from our church, actually),  to come and do some major mowing and other yard work for us since hubby just really isn't up to maintaining it like he used to.  We especially needed to have the grass/weeds cut down again beside the pond before the rains really get started and that area becomes very wet  and  won't be able to be cut again until next winter or spring. However, I had warned them that the big mower most likely will get stuck if he gets too close to the pond, as that ground is very mucky.  Normally it can only be cut with a weed whacker. However, apparently he thought the ground was a little firmer and he tried to go ahead and use his big mower to cut it.  Aha! He gut stuck just like I said! Thankfully our mower was available to attach to his and they were able to pull it out of the mud.  I really had to bite my tongue to keep from saying "I told you so!" LOL.  

I am thankful that no damage was done to either mower or the men doing the work! And I am thankful for all of the work they did for us throughout the whole rest of the yard. They worked way beyond what we were able to pay them, and they are truly a blessing to us. They will also be coming back to trim some big oak trees in our front yard before the hurricane season arrives in full force.

4.  What’s your go-to way to unwind or create a relaxing atmosphere at home after a long day?

Sitting in my recliner and reading a good book, with a hot cup of tea, (or ice water if it's too hot for hot tea). Hubby is in his recliner next to mine, watching sports or whatever he enjoy on TV or laptop.

And that's what I'm going to go do right now as soon as I hit "publish" on this post!

This reminder is sitting here beside me as I write.  So, yes, let us do just that!

Amen and Good Night my friends!

Tuesday 4~Staying Put/Moving On

 

Staying Put/Moving On


Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
Sometimes we live in the same place where we were born and remain there all of our lives.
Sometimes we move away and never come back because of jobs, marriage, circumstances of all kinds.
Sometimes we choose where we will live and we have definite reasons for staying there even though we might be far from family.


1. Are you far from family and if so why? Would you like to have them closer and have you discussed that with them?
Our two living sons are close by and that's the way I want to keep it.  We've already told Benton and Rose that if they ever move, we'll be moving too.  We don't want to be too far from our kids as we get older.  Our only grandson and his mother (family of our son Matthew, who is in heaven, which is too far away for now, but not forever!) live in Maine, which is too far away, but that's where their life is and even though we'd love to have them closer, I don't see that happening.

2. How did you come to live in the state you are in? How about the city/town.
My hubby was born in Florida, and my family moved to Florida from Pennsylvania when I was almost 6 years old, so I grew up in this state. My hubby grew up about 20 miles from my home, and we met at a community college in my freshman year and got married that summer. We moved to and lived in Orlando until he finished his Bachelor's Degree. However, once hubby graduated, we made LOTS of moves to other states over the almost 56 years of our marriage, primarily because of work, going to Seminary and serving in the ministry.  We finally moved back to Florida to stay about 28 years ago, mainly because our elderly parents were here and we needed to be near them to help them in their latter years of life.  We moved to our current town about 6 years ago because our son got married and moved here and we started visiting the church where they attended, and fell in love with the church and little town and decided to move here.

Living beside "Still Waters Pond" keeps us happy...

3. What good things keep you living where you are?
What's good about your state and town?

The main reason we stay here is because this is where our kids are. Also we love our house and Still Waters Pond and also the church where we attend.  

The town itself has some good things and some not so good.  It still has some "rough edges' and tends to be a poorer area that attracts a lot of people who live on the margins of life..i.e; drug activity is very high in this area, and a lot of roads are still dirt roads and there are a lot of run down houses, etc.  On the bright side, the town is starting to see a bit more development of businesses and newer homes coming into the area and new people migrating here from the north and other places, because it is still relatively inexpensive to buy land and homes here compared to other parts of the state. There are some pretty places to live here, especially on the lakes and ponds, of which there are many, if you can find affordable land/houses on the water.  We were blessed to find this house, which was a "foreclosure", so we got it quite "cheap" all things considered, and thankfully it didn't need a lot of work, but we have done quite a bit as we have been able to do it.

What's good about our state?  (Florida) Well, the climate, especially in winter, but not so much in the summer/hurricane season. Our fall and winter and spring are mild and beautiful, and that is why so many "snowbirds" come here to roost for the winter months from up north. Also we do not have to pay a state income tax in Florida, and other taxes are relatively low compared to other parts of the country. 

Also, I still have a sister and her family living in Florida, and my hubby has his brother and family also in that same area about 2 hours away from us.  So we enjoy getting together with our extended family whenever we can.


4. What things might convince you to move to another state or just another town?

As I said before, if our kids decided to move far away due to work, etc., then we would probably consider relocating to the same area. We are at an age where we know we are going to need more family assistance as time goes by, and we don't want to be dependent on strangers to help us, plus we just love having our family together for holidays, birthdays and all things in between.  I think because we were away from our families for so many years while our kids were growing up we missed out on being home for holidays, etc. and now I don't want to be away from family anymore. 

And that's pretty much it for this Tuesday 4. You can click HERE to join in the fun! 

Proverbs 23:18 NIV

18 There is surely a future hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off.

Postscript for my records and if anyone else is reading this, you will have it too!  Someone mentioned that they didn't know I'd lived in other places besides Florida, so this link will give more information about our many moves.  LINK to our many moves

Tuesday 4~Home Where the Heart Is

 

Home Where the Heart Is

Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
This week let's talk about home or the house in which you grew up.


1. What do you think of this picture.. the staircase. Do you like how it looks? Does it say "home" to you?
Would you like something that looks like this?

Although I think the staircase is beautiful, I am not fond of the floral carpet on the stairs as well as the floral wallpaper. It's a bit too much.  As far as this saying "home" to me? Well, not really. The home I grew up in did not have any stairs. And I really wouldn't want them now at this stage in life.  They are pretty, but very impractical for old folks like us!

2. Did you love growing up in your family home? Could you live in a house like that today?

This is a picture of how my family home looks today.My father built this home back in 1957, and I lived there until I left home to get married at the age of almost 19.  My parents lived there until they passed on from this life to heaven...my mother died on May 7, 2006, (19 years ago tomorrow!) and my father died on April 19th, 2011...14 years ago. It's hard for me to believe they've been gone that long and that our family home has been in the hands of "strangers" ever since my father died.   I've posted a few links at the end of this with some other old posts I've written over the years about the home I grew up in.  It was very special to me, and YES, I loved growing up there. 

There were six members of our family...my parents and us 4 children:

Here we were on probably our first or second Christmas in this house:

And here we are with our parents many years later in the same location: (you can see that I outgrew my older sister, and that is why I call her my "little big sister" to this day!)

3. What did your bedroom look like when you were a teen?

Sadly, I don't think I have any pictures of my bedroom...if I do it doesn't show much. I shared the bedroom with my sister until she moved out when she got married.  We had twin beds and my dad had built a nice big desk for us, picture a long table top about the size of a door, with a divider underneath with drawers, so we each had our own side of the desk.  My dad was a cabinet maker/woodworker, and he also built us a built in chest of drawers and a closet with cubby holes up above. It was all very neat.  I'm sure there's pictures somewhere, but I don't have them. When we were teenagers, my mother made curtains for our window that were white with big red megaphones sewn unto them, as we were both cheerleaders for our school. So our color scheme was red and white for a while, and then when Doris moved out I changed things to have lavender accents on white. I don't remember what Mom did with the red and white curtains, but somehow we changed them.

Oh, and our house only had one bathroom for all six of us. That was somewhat challenging, but we survived.  My brothers also shared a bedroom, and daddy built the same kind of furnishings in their room.


4. What kind of vibes or atmosphere do you like to foster in your home today? Sophisticated, homey?

(these photos were taken during the winter, hence the blanket on the sofa)

I think you've all seen enough pictures of my current home, and yes, it is very homey and lived in. I want our home to always be comfortable and cozy for anyone, family or friend or guests we've just met.  However, we do have more bathrooms now than when I grew up!  There is a full bathroom on the guest bedrooms end of the house, and then we actually have TWO bathrooms in our master bedroom!  Each bathroom has a sink and toilet, and then one has the shower, and the other one has a garden tub that we never use because it is too hard to get in and out of. The house came that way, which was a surprise to us, but I sure do love it!

These links are here for your interest if you wish, but also for me to be able to return to and remember!

Here is a link to one post I wrote about my old family home.

And Here is a link to more info about the town I grew up in

Here's another one!

I hope that no matter where you live or what kind of home you have, the most important thing is the love that is inside.  

Tuesday 4: "Home Sweet Home"

Home Sweet Home


Welcome! It's time again for Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.


How would it be if we talk about some things related to home?

1. What styles of décor do you like? Mid Century? Colonial? Contemporary?

Our home is a combination of family "heirlooms", most of which were handed down from our parents and/or grandparents.  Nothing is particularly valuable, except for its sentimental value. I've written about our furnishings before in places too numerous to list here, so I will just share one picture I took this week and explain. Well, you know me better than that. When have I ever been able to share "just one picture"? LOL.

This is our sofa. It is over 30 years old, and actually is still in great condition, except the original fabric underneath is a blue, taupe, and mauve flowered upholstery.  After so many years I got tired of it and decided to get a slipcover for it.

During the winter months I had put this buffalo plain flannel comforter over it to make it more wintry and cozy.

And now, I decided it was time for something more spring-like for a change:

This tapestry throw was something I had given my Mother years ago, because it had a pleasant farm scene on it, and she always loved the farm  and longed to be back living on one.  There's a cow on the top of it you can't see in this picture.

There, now you can see it:

And a sleepy cat taking a catnap beside the rocking chair on the porch:

I was happy I could reclaim this for my own when we were cleaning out my parents' home after they both had passed away.  When I look at this now I think of them both and how wonderful they were...and how comfortable their home was....and that's how I want my home to be...very comfortable for anyone who comes to visit.

2. What makes your bedroom comfortable?

Our bed and just the general coziness of it...and being with the one I love...

3 What do you think makes a home comfortable and welcoming?

The people who live there.  Warm hospitality...love and people who truly care...

It really has nothing to do with furniture or things. It's all about the love that is shared in that home that makes one feel comfortable and welcome.

4. Do you share your home with pets? Would you tell us about them please?

We don't have any pets of our own, but we do love our grandpuppies, Sugar and Spice:

We are always happy when they come to visit. They are such sweet little girls.

Right now we are on Baby Bluebird alert. 

This one is getting up his courage to stick his head out further and further from the nest...

Daddy was enticing him with a juicy bug, trying to encourage him to fly up and get it.

But as of this moment he has not "flown the coop".  I will keep you posted.

So that's it for today's Tuesday 4.  Click HERE to go visit with our other friends in their cozy homes.

Happy Valentine's Day! Tuesday 4 and More

Sorry it's taken me all day to get this written, but it is still Valentine's Day, so here we go...

Hello and Happy Valentine's Day!  There's so much happening around here that I don't know where to begin.   So I guess I'll start with our weekly Tuesday 4, which today is about, guess what?  Valentine's Day! Of Course!  So hold on tight because I intend to go way beyond the four questions for today and share some other interesting and fun things. Be sure to stay around for the whole story! But first things first:

Hi and welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

Happy Valentine's Day!    

$24 billion dollars are spent on Valentines Day gifts! 145 million cards are sent out and the average spent on gifts is $197.50 per person.

1. As a kid did you exchange Valentines at school with the other children?

Oh yes, I can remember making the little Valentine's shoe boxes, all decorated with paper hearts and with an opening cut in the lid to receive the valentines from our classmates.  It was always so much fun to read the clever things the others would write.  Seems like I remember one of the boys (This was in elementary school, remember), writing something like, "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. Sugar is scarce and I wish you were too!"  Yes, that's exactly what was written. I guess it must have traumatized me so much that I can still remember it over 60 years later! LOL. Actually, I thought it was funny and I probably wrote something equally saucy back to him. Those were fun times and happy memories. Not everyone wrote something that "mean".  But we were kids and we all grew up together and made lots of fun memories over the 12 years of our school days. I learned early on not to take everything kids said to me seriously, or I would have been a very unhappy child. You see, I was  a redhead with freckles, and that alone was enough to make other kids come up with things to say like "I'd rather be dead than red on the head".,  or they'd call me "Carrot Top", or "Freckle Face".  My response was usually something like "You're just jealous because you don' t have red hair!"  My red hair did give me a bit of a temper, which actually probably made me stronger as I fought back instead of being a crybaby.  It's a good thing I calmed down as I matured...LOL. (probably ought to ask my sister or my hubby about that. LOL.)  And now people can't even tell that I used to be a redhead. (Well, at least not by the hair color!)

2. Do you have special traditions for the day or does it pass on without much hoopla?

Nothing extremely special. Hubby and I usually exchange cards.  We don't spend a lot of money for Valentine's Day.  However I did buy some ribeye steaks the other day because they were on sale at a very good price, and we went ahead and ate them that night because I didn't want to wait until today and have to freeze them and then thaw them, etc.  And besides I thought I was going to have to go to choir practice tonight, but it was cancelled because there are a lot of people sick and battling colds, allergies, etc. like I had last week. 'Tis the season, with pollen filling the air and covering our cars and outdoor furniture.  Thankfully we had a good rain over the weekend, washing the air clean again, so hopefully people will stop sneezing and coughing and start feeling better.  Thankfully I do feel better now, praise God!  Anyway, the steak dinner was our Valentine treat to each other.

3 Today is the number one top day for flower and candy gifts. The only other holidays that approach it are Christmas and Chanukah. Do you ever receive candy , jewelry or flowers for the day? Which is your favorite?

None really that I can remember, except I buy the little boxes of sweetheart candies for fun. I can't eat chocolate and I'd rather have flowering plants than cut flowers so I can plant them and see them grow and bloom again and again...and I've never been much of a jewelry person. I buy what I like when I want something, but that's not very often.  

Here's Lily Grace and her friends, having a Valentine Tea Party.

She was going to mail out these valentines to her friends, but my being sick last week kind of slowed things down and it just didn't get done.  I'm sure her friends will understand...

But we did scatter little hearts here and there and things do look festive for the day...

And even the family at Pamela's Victorian Cottage had a sweet little Valentine's Tea party.

They invited all of their little fairy friends to come and join them...

And I think it is safe to say they had a "Fairy Good Time".  LOL.

4. Zoos and Pet rescues will name cockroaches or unpleasant animals after your ex and issue you a certificate. They will even write your ex's name in cat litter for you. What do you think of this "tradition"?

Sounds pretty dumb to me.  Thankfully I don't have any "ex's" to write about.  And even if I did, I can't imagine doing such a silly thing. It's best to let bygones be bygones and be thankful they are "bygones".  Even old boyfriends from high school I can't imagine doing anything that crazy.  Not even the boy who wished I was as scarce as sugar back in elementary school. LOL. 

Here's some thoughts about LOVE from the "love chapter" in the Bible, I Corinthians 13: 4-13

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; 

but the greatest of these is love.

So that's the end of the Tuesday 4 meme for today. Hope you enjoyed it. You can check out what others wrote about HERE.  I wonder if any others would do what question #4 suggests???

Now moving on to the other things that I promised to share that have happened today...

The very best and most exciting thing is this:

Mr. and Mrs. Sand Hill Crane have laid an egg!!!!!  Early this morning, before it was fully bright enough to really see and get a good picture, we could tell something unusual was going on over on the little marsh island where the Cranes spend a lot of time. The camera just can't get a really good picture while it is still such low morning light, but after looking through the binoculars and then zooming in the best I could with the camera, we could definitely see that there is an egg on top of a pile of brush, and they are building up the nest more around it!!!

The both kept tending to it, adding more grass and sticks...

And a little later, when the sun was brighter I could get some better pictures...

And there you see Mrs. Crane sitting on her nest, keeping the egg nice and warm and protected from any predators...

She has been there all day long, and Mr. Crane isn't far away, keeping a close watch over  her while he forages for food. They do take turns, and sometimes she gets up to stretch her legs and walk around a bit and eat.  But it appears that she stays right there most of the time.

So this will be fun to watch. I'm so excited that they are in plain view where we can watch!! Don't worry, I will keep you posted.

And when the new little "colt" is born, I think he or she shall be called Valentine, since we first discovered the egg today!  I am assuming there is only one egg as that is all I can see, but there could be more. Time will tell. Stay tuned for further developments!

And while all that activity was going on out on the island, closer up on our shore there were more interesting events...

Mr. Cardinal came for tea...

And Mr. Bluebird was busily guarding their nest in the birdhouse by chasing away any other birds who came into his territory to feed at the birdfeeder...This is him taking a moment to scratch that itch...

Meanwhile Mr. Goldfinch flew in and had a  quick snack before he was chased away...

And then I saw a flash of bright orange in the tree...and Mr. Bluebird was in hot pursuit...but then the flash of orange landed in another tree nearby and stayed there for a minute or two, long enough for me to focus my camera and try to follow his movements from branch to branch:

He was hard to see, but I saw enough to know that it was a Baltimore Oriole! That is a bird that we do not see in these parts very often...he must be traveling through on his way back to Baltimore or wherever he goes...

I hope he hangs around a day or two and I can see him again, but at lease I was able to see this much, and it was a treat!

Here is a Link to info about the Baltimore Oriole if you want to know more about this beautiful bird.

Now, I am going to switch gears again.  I mentioned earlier that I prefer to buy or receive as gifts potted plants that I can plant in our yard and watch them grow and bloom over and over again as opposed to cut fresh flowers that are only good for a few days and then you throw them away.  For those of you who have followed me here for a long time, you will perhaps remember when we moved to our previous home in the Ocala National Forest, where all the bears and deer were...if not, just go back to my posts from the year 2012 through early 2019, and you will see where we lived and will understand the next group of pictures I am going to share.

When we moved to that house in the woods, it did not have any flowers or landscaping at all, except for a few very old azalea bushes, and well, now that I think about it, it did have a lot of wisteria, confederate jasmine, honeysuckle, holly trees, etc....things that just keep growing and growing and growing. It was beautiful in the spring.  But when we moved there I wanted to try and add some other flowering bushes and some trees, and we were blessed to have a friend who would bring potted plants from a nursery farther away and sell them at the flea market each week,,,and she kept me happy with lots of different kinds of plants coming my direction.  I think I made her happy too, because I became her best customer.  I planted a lot more azalea bushes and camellias.  But we moved away before they really took hold and grew very much, and I never really got to see them blooming as much as they would as they matured. 

Anyway, long story short, the other day our son and DIL took a ride down to see that house. It has recently come up for sale again. The people who bought it from us sold it last year to someone who apparently is a house flipper, and they totally redid the inside of the house and put it back up for sale at a much higher price. But they haven't done much maintenance of the outside or the grounds and things are really getting overgrown looking unkempt.  The house is empty, and so it isn't getting any "love".  The kids took some pictures around the yard and shared them with me:

Of course, since it is winter, a lot of the trees in front of the house are bare, but those will come back in the spring and summer and it will look a lot greener there.  Here's Benton with the sign he made when we lived there that says "Bear Crossing". He's holding the little bear on because it had fallen off. We put that sign there because that is exactly what it was...a Bear Crossing. The bears crossed over our yard day and night. It was their ancient trail long before that house was ever built, and they didn't change their routine just because humans decided to build a house in the middle of their territory. Many of you will remember that we had a little kiddie pool over there by those woods that the bears would stop at for a drink or to bathe. We had a night camera there so we could see who all came for a drink and a bath. Bears, both big and small, deer, raccoons, bobcats and coyotes were our frequent visitors.

In the back yard I had planted some very small cedar trees that I pulled up from alongside the road.  Now you can see how tall they are getting.

This is the arbor that Benton built in memory of our son Matthew. This was the original Memorial Garden. We had a little fountain there and it was a lovely place to sit and pray and remember our son. I planted those azaleas that are blooming. And behind it are the crepe myrtle trees that were already there, and the fence was covered with wisteria and confederate jasmine. It is all over grown and needs to be pruned really badly. It used to be so beautiful.

These are camellia bushes that I planted, and they had barely ever bloomed when we lived there, and now it looks like they are loaded with blooms. I found myself wishing they could have pulled up those plants and brought them home to me here, but that would be stealing, so I guess it's a good thing they didn't do it. I guess. LOL. The temptation is real...

More of the azaleas I planted. this area was the original Secret Garden, if you remember when I wrote about that.

Another look at the camellias...

I am  amazed that it has done so well with so little care...

And many of you will remember that when we lived there we added this front porch, and Benton used to paint signs for a living (he still does, just not as many signs anymore as furniture).  Anyway, this is one of the signs he made, and we fastened it up on the porch and left it there because it was covering a seam where two sections of the porch were joined together and it looked better to keep it covered. He was surprised to see that it was still there...

But the thing we couldn't quite get over is how stark and empty the house itself looked. They had actually painted it white and the shutters and front door are now a plain old brown instead of the pretty green they once were.  It's as if the house itself has no soul anymore. The new owners stripped a lot of the character out of the interior when they renovated it...and everything is just white and gray and cold.

Someone will come along and buy it and hopefully bring life back into it, but it sure brings to mind how much a house is just a house when there is no love inside. It takes the love of a family and the blessing of God to make a house feel warm and welcoming and happy again.

If you want to check out the listing, you can CLICK HERE. The price is extremely overpriced for the area, but then again, everything is overpriced these days of inflation.  However, I will say that it was a wonderful home for us while we were there. We made lots of happy memories there during the few years we lived there. It was the last home where our whole family was together before our son passed away. We hated to leave  behind the memorial trees and bushes that we had planted in his memory, but we took some with us at that time (the rose bush and Rose of Sharon bush that you've seen in stories/pictures here at our new Memorial Garden).

Time marches on. Lives change...we move on. And God continues to bless us wherever we are.

We carry the blessing of God with us, because He lives within our hearts and souls.  Unlike that house that is now empty and void of spirit and life, we continue to live and breathe and have joy and peace within because we have Christ living in us. He goes with us and never leaves us nor forsakes us.

Some thoughts to ponder as we close out this message and Valentine's Day post...

Hebrews 13:1,2 and 5-6

1 Let brotherly love continue. 

2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.

5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. 

For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

 6 So we may boldly say:

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?”

Hope you've had a blessed and beautiful day! Thank you for hanging in with me all the way to the end of this post! 

Good night!