It's Saturday..."For the Birds"

I had good intentions of writing something this morning, but got an early phone call from our realtor saying that there might be someone wanting to come back and see our house again, but she wasn't sure and just wanted to give us a heads up so we could be prepared just in case.  I thanked her and looked at the house and said, "Yep! I know what I've got to do today...CLEAN HOUSE!!  And so hubby and I dove right in and started picking up, cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping the floors, straightening up this and that, sweeping the porch, and doing all the stuff that should have been done already but we got lazy because no one has looked at the house in so long....

And so, two hours later the realtor called back and said, "Sorry, wrong house! Your's wasn't the one they wanted to come back and see again..."  I said, Thank you very much...at least my house is clean now in case anyone else shows up who would like to see it!  And then I relaxed and put my old clothes back on and messed up the kitchen fixing lunch, and laid down on the bed after lunch and messed it all up taking a nap!

So now I am wide awake, with a clean house, and decided I may as well sit here and catch up on my friends and write something so you know what I've been doing all day!

I wanted to do another episode of Pamela's Victorian Cottage...but Pamela's old house in the woods needed more attention so the dollhouse had to be put on hold...nothing's new there right now anyway...well, there might be a couple of things, but I haven't taken any new pictures...so it will have to wait.

Instead, I will share a few more pictures from "the neighborhood" outside my real house:

The only visitor we had today inspecting our house was this female turkey...she strolled past a couple of times, and I can tell she was not that impressed...

So she just kept on trotting by and down the road.  This is the 2nd day she's been by here, so I don't know if she has a nest nearby or what...maybe she thinks it's Thanksgiving...

I thought to myself that every house should have a lovely bouquet to welcome prospective buyers, so I went out and picked this bouquet of weeds, I mean wildflowers...

I think they are lovely, don't you?  They do cheer me up when I am feeling blue. 

Last evening I took my usual walk to the neighborhood pond, and saw the Sand Hill Crane Family strolling about on the other side of the pond.  I couldn't get over how big the two new "colts" are already.  I entitled this series of photos, "Me and My Shadow"...

Those youngsters stay right close to mama and papa Crane, right up underneath them like a little shadow.  So fun to watch.


I guess this post really ought to be titled "for the birds" (so I just added that to the title)
Here are some pictures from our morning walk yesterday morning. I missed my walk this morning because I was too busy cleaning toilets and such...so I am glad I had these lovely photos to show you today...Here is one of the beautiful Swallow Tailed Kites sitting in a tree watching the world go by:

Oops! I think he saw me! What do you think?

This was another one in another tree!

I think they are beautiful, don't you?

This one is not paying me a bit of attention...

I could hear this very loud rat a tat tat at the top of this dead pine tree...And there was this little woodpecker making as much racket as a big woodpecker:

Okay, I think that's all the interesting birds I saw in the past couple of days...not counting the myriad of cardinals, chickadees, titmouse, doves, and oh yes...the hummingbirds are definitely back, but I haven't gotten any good pictures yet...

So I hope you are having a beautiful and blessed Saturday. 

Here are some Scripture verses from my devotional readings this morning for your consideration and meditation:

Micah 7:18-20

"Who is a God like You,

Pardoning iniquity and passing over 

the transgression of the 

remnant of His heritage?

He does not retain His anger forever,

Because He delights in mercy.

He will again have compassion on us,

and will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all our sins

into the depths of the sea.

You will give truth to Jacob 

and mercy to Abraham,

Which You have sworn to our fathers 

from days of old."

Psalm 103:1-5

"Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And with all that is within me,

bless His holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all His benefits;

Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!! Thank you for stopping by for a visit!  Hey! Did you happen to see that turkey trotting down the road as you came by?  Just wondering where she was headed. LOL

Simplify My Abundance

This may be in deep contrast to my "One Word" for 2019, which is "Abundance", but in my search for abundant living, I am finding that I need to "simplify" my life first.  I'm also thinking that I should have made "simplify" my "One Word", and maybe it would have spurred me on to an abundance of simplicity...or simplifying my abundance...well...whatever or whichever, I need to get moving in this direction.  

(one of my new t-shirts I got for Christmas)

As many of you know, we are trying to sell our house with the intention of "downsizing" to a smaller home.  So far we still have no takers for this big old house. And I've been rather lazy about getting started on the downsizing process.  

But spring is springing abundantly all around us, and it seems as though with that new vitality of spring, it is time for me to begin some serious spring housecleaning.

(and try not to be distracted by the sweet little white wildflowers growing like a carpet in our yard)

Or by the abundance of azaleas that are really opening up and showing their pretty faces to the sunlight in the Secret Garden (above), and the Memorial Garden (below)

My hubby actually got the cleaning bug last week and reorganized and cleaned out his side of the closet. I was so impressed...

that I had to get busy and start reorganizing and simplifying the abundance of too many things in my side of the closet.  We were both happy to take bags of clothes to the church's thrift store, as well as take bags of old t-shirts that make great rags for painting/woodworking to our woodworking son and daughter in law for their business.

Next...well, I kept smelling an unpleasant musty odor coming from under the kitchen sink.  Usually I would just hurry up and get what I needed or put back what I used and shut the door really quick.

But it was getting worse and worse, and I knew I had to address the problem if I ever want to sell this house...

So I got down on my fanny and sat on the floor and started pulling everything out from under the sink cabinets, and discovered that the floor of the cabinets under the sink was quite wet, and it was spreading to the cabinet next to the sink as well, and it was quite a wet and stinky mess under there.

So everything is out on the kitchen floor, and I cleaned the cabinet floors and put a pan under the sink to see if we can catch the leak and figure out where it is coming from.  It wasn't real obvious, but I think it is coming from the hot water faucet...so we will check again in the morning and then determine if it is something we  can fix on our own or if we need to call someone.   I'm hoping we can do it, but then again...sometimes it is simpler in the long run to call a professional...can I get a witness on that???

Yes, it is time to simplify the abundance of things and clean and organize and refresh this old house.
It may be time to simplify the abundance of things in my mind and heart and clean and organize and refresh this old house that holds me together as well.

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, or the beginning of Lent...the 40 days leading up to Easter.  My husband has been asked to lead the Ash Wednesday service next week, as our Pastor is still not well...(Thank you for your continued prayers for him and for my hubby as well, as he will also be preaching again this Sunday).  This will be a first time for my hubby to lead an Ash Wednesday service, as we did not officially observe Ash Wednesday as such in our previous churches.  So we've been doing some reading up on the order of service and significance thereof.  One of the key sets of verses that stand out to me goes along real well with what I am experiencing in my pursuit of simplifying and cleaning up the "abundance" of too much...

Psalm 51:7-12

7.  "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8.  Make me hear joy and gladness,

that the bones You have broken may rejoice.

9.  Hide Your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

10.  Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11.  Do not cast me away from Your Presence,

and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

and uphold me by Your generous Spirit."

This is also a wonderful song, written and sung by Keith Green:

Thank you also for your prayers for the United Methodist Church denomination this week.  God has indeed answered our prayers, but the denomination still faces some difficult days ahead, and there may possibly be a split at some point. But we believe that God is at work and we will keep praying for those who have been hurt through this process...that they will seek God's face and find grace and forgiveness and peace.

So what about you? Are you working on any spring cleaning projects yet? I know many of you are still dealing with old man winter.  I pray that you will soon experience the joy of springtime in your home and in your heart as well...

Have a simply abundantly blessed rest of your week!!!

A Little Nervous Energy...And It Isn't Even Spring Yet

 The past few days I have been expending an enormous amount of energy...and it isn't even spring yet!  Although, here in Florida it has actually felt a lot like spring...cool nights and warm, sunny days...perfect days for opening the windows and letting in the fresh air!  And, since there will be a special ladies' gathering at my house later this week that has been planned for quite a while...I decided to take advantage of this beautiful weather and get some early spring housecleaning done.

 So, one of my sons helped me to do some planting and cleaning up in the "Secret Garden area...preparing the space for the new bench (when it is done...hopefully soon!)

And we also planted some Viburnum along the property line between our back yard and the neighbor's yard.  These plants will grow into a tall, bushy hedge, providing a natural "privacy fence" eventually.

Next we cleaned out a lot of dead palmettos from this cluster in the back of the house, which is also a part of the "secret garden".

Then I discovered this little cedar tree alongside the road, right in the path of where the road grader would be spreading dirt, etc., so I rescued it and transplanted it in our back yard. Hopefully someday it will be big and tall and shade a very sunny, bare area in our back yard...

Next, my hubby and I burned all the leaves, palmetto and tree debris that had accumulated...I only wish I had thought to roast some marshmallows and have some s'mores.  Oh well, we'll save that for a cooler evening...

Then I decided to wash some windows...actually over the past few days I have washed a total of 16 out of the 24 windows in our house....

And also washed our bedroom curtains, the bedskirt and all the bedding including the quilt bedspread and blanket...in addition to already having washed all the bedding from "Nanny's room" a couple of days ago...

Why all the frenzied cleaning and planting and working overtime...I guess it is a way to keep my mind off of the "loss" of my mother in law from our daily lives...

It seems that since my mother in law is in the hospital...and knowing that she will be going to a nursing home when she leaves there (click HERE for that story), I am trying to stay busy and not worry about her situation.  The hospital is a little far for us to travel to every day, so keeping busy seems to soothe my mind and conscience.  

For those of you who have been through this, you probably understand what's happening. 

I'm not sure how this frenetic pace equates to my idea of "REST" in 2017...But actually

I must say that I have truly rejoiced in the Lord during this season of activity...praising God for the strength, energy, beauty of God's creation all around me while working in the garden and also while making the windows shine for His glory.  

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,

My soul shall be joyful in my God;

For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,

He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

"For as the earth brings forth its bud,

As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to 

spring forth before all the nations."

Isaiah 61:10-11

It is encouraging to me that God is at work in our midst...especially in the situation with my mother in law.  There is something beautiful and good coming out of this...perhaps even more than we know at this moment.  So, thank you for your prayers, concern and any words of wisdom you can share during this time.  

Dust and Bugs? Who cares?

One of my kitchen windowsills...after I cleaned it!  You don't think I'd take a picture of it dirty, do you?
Notice the birds on the bird feeder outside my window? That's what I look at...not the dust and bugs.

As I was washing up the dishes following our leisurely (thank you, Lord) Memorial Day breakfast this morning, I noticed that the windowsill above the kitchen sink was rather dusty and had a few love bug carcasses in the corners.  It's unfortunate that I didn't take care of that before we had a house full of company for a holiday indoor picnic a couple of days ago.  Actually, I have to admit that I had noticed the dust, etc. prior to our gathering, but it wasn't high enough on the priority list to get it cleaned up in time for company. I mean, having enough food to eat, tables and chairs set for everyone to have a place to sit, clean bathrooms with extra toilet paper and hand towels, etc....those are the priorities for a crowd! When you work outside of the home all week and don't have a housekeeper (except for my husband, who is still learning to be a wonderful house-husband and I don't want to push TOO hard), well, some things just don't make it to the absolute must-do list!

The tomatoes are ripe and juicy too!

So this morning, being a holiday and a lovely rainy, cloudy day with no particular place to go or any pressing urgencies, I decided to clean the windowsills.  After the fact as far as having them perfect for our party, but guess what? Not one of our guests mentioned the fact to me that those windowsills needed cleaning while they were helping me get the food ready for the dinner, nor did the wonderful ladies who assisted in washing the dishes after the dinner complain that my windowsills were dusty and buggy.  No one refused to eat at my table because I had dusty, buggy windowsills...no one pulled away from giving me a hug and laughing and smiling and sharing happy stories and sweet memories together because my windowsills were not tidy.  If anyone noticed them at all, I don't think they really cared.

My point is this...so often we put so much pressure on ourselves to have the picture-perfect house, like something out of House Beautiful or Country Living, before we will even dare to invite people into our home.  We tell ourselves that unless we can cook like Martha Stewart or Paula Deene or decorate like some decorating diva (I don't know any names for this one since I'm really not into that...) we can't possibly consider having a dinner party or picnic at our house. And so we don't ever open our homes to family, friends and especially not strangers.  We hide within our safe haven, where our immediate family doesn't really care if there are dust bunnies under the furniture or if the food isn't gourmet...and we never even try to practice hospitality because "it just isn't my gift." 

I could do that too, and I have done that...my last house was too small in which to do any entertaining, or at least that's what I told myself, and so we never made any friends in that community.  We had very few gatherings in that house, and it just never felt like home to me. Yes, it held all my "treasures", and our family had space to live and eat and breathe, but we never allowed ourselves to experience much laughter and fun with friends and extended family because I didn't think I could do it in that house. That was a lie.  I could've done it, but I convinced myself that no one would want to come there, so I didn't even try.

When we moved to this house in the forest, I determined that we were really going to live in this house, but we were not going to keep it just for ourselves.  This home was meant to be shared with others. Yes, it is bigger than the last house, but it isn't newer, or cleaner, and it certainly isn't close to any real city.  But my spirit is better here...my heart wants to reach out and make friends and entertain strangers...

"Let brotherly love continue.  Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."  Hebrews 13:1-2

Who knows?  The next person we meet here could be an angel in disguise!  I wonder if an angel would care if there was dust and dead love bugs on my windowsill?  Probably not.

So now, who wants to come be the next party at our house? I will warn you, the windowsills may be dusty and buggy again by then. I keep opening them every morning to let in the fresh cool morning air and to listen to the birdies singing while they eat their breakfast at my birdfeeders while I fix our breakfast before heading off to work. So the dust blows in and sometimes some bugs work their way in around the screens too. Also, when I throw a party, I usually ask our guests to bring a dish to share, because I don't want to do all the cooking! I like to sample your cooking too and it is so much more fun to have a pot luck than to try to eat my cooking alone.  Trust me on that one.  And you may get stuck helping to wash the dishes or put the leftovers away...and maybe even get to take some home with you.  This past weekend we had a lot of coleslaw left over thanks to a wonderful friend who brought enough for an army...I'd love to share some with you now!  We also forgot to cut the huge watermelon before everyone left because we had already had too much to eat!  So now we are eating watermelon and coleslaw for days...but the memories are so sweet. The laughter is still ringing in our ears...and we feel SO blessed. 

Again I say, "Dust and Bugs? Who cares?"  My final word is: "Mi Casa Es Su Casa"....My house is your house...so come on over!

This is the watermelon we forgot to eat! It's juicy and ripe!

Happy Memorial Day!

Thank you Lord, for those who have given their lives so that we may live in freedom and peace.
Amen.