Thursday Thankfulness

 I am SO thankful that we made it up and back safely the one hour trip for hubby's cataract surgery this morning, and everything went just fine! We will have to make that trip again tomorrow morning for his post-op exam, but at least he will be allowed to eat breakfast and have his coffee before going! His appointment this morning wasn't until 9:30, and then of course he couldn't eat or drink anything until the surgery was over, so yes, he was quite happy to get back home before noon and eat some lunch!  And I feel like a "smartypants", because I put a pot roast with potatoes and carrots, etc., in the crock pot before we left this morning, so supper is already cooked too! 

It sure smells good! It's been a while since we had a pot roast! They put the chuck roasts on sale this week so I felt like I could splurge a little.  Ha! Can you remember back when a pot roast was considered a bargain meal?  And ground beef was one of the cheapest meats you could cook in so many different ways? I think we lived on ground beef casseroles of one kind or another back when we were first married. (and beyond).  But nowadays it is the most expensive meat that I buy! Pork and chicken tend to run a bit cheaper, so we eat more of that than we do beef anymore. Therefore, this pot roast dinner is a bit of a luxury...a celebration meal! 

Thank YOU all for your thoughts and prayers on our behalf today! That really means a lot.  Also, I wanted to thank you all for so many fun comments on my "New Town" dream idea on the Tuesday 4 meme this past Tuesday. It seemed like just about everyone wanted to come live in my new town! Wouldn't that be fun?  We could all have so much fun together...but then, what would we have to write about? And who would read our blogs?  We'd already know everything everyone else was doing! LOL. I guess we'd better leave things the way they are, but it sure seems like it would be a fun idea!!

Last evening's sunset/skies were so amazing. We had a nice bit of rain, and then the sky turned perfectly golden for a while...

although these pictures don't do it justice. Everything looked like it was bathed in gold!

And then it changed and became such vivid oranges and purples and gold ...

It looked like the trees were on fire!

And even though Still Waters Pond is still very still and dry...we can still enjoy the sunsets out there and give God the Glory for the wonderful things He has done!

Every little bit of rain is greatly appreciated...and so are these beautiful sunsets!

Jeremiah 32:17 KJV

17 "Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee."

Reminds me of this happy chorus we used to sing in church sometimes:

When we find life is getting difficult and challenging, it's good to be reminded that "Nothing is too difficult for Thee (God)".  

Yes, I am thankful today (and every day) for Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and all that He has done for us, and that NOTHING is too difficult for Him! I am thankful for our family and the blessing they are, and for our friends here in Blogland and in the world around us, friends old and new. I am thankful to live in the United States of America, where we are truly blessed with amazing freedom, a magnificently beautiful country, and the right to live where we want to live, work at the kind of occupation we love, and enjoy the fruit of our labors, and the freedom to worship God openly and happily without fear.  May we NEVER take these freedoms for granted, and may we truly pay attention to the strange things that are happening in our country these days with people thinking that something like socialism or Communism (actually the same thing in a different uniform) can really be good for our nation.  I don't like to get political here because it oftentimes brings out the "anonymous" dissenters who like to degrade our country and our beliefs, but we need to be paying attention to what is taking place in certain parts of the country, or we may find ourselves losing those freedoms we hold so dear and we will end up like Cuba or Venezuela or God forbid, like the former USSR or Nazi Germany.  We need to pay attention, and remember that once our freedoms that we  hold so dear are lost, we may never get them back again.  May we continue to place our Trust in God, and never let go of the freedoms so many have died for. Amen.    

Monday Night Sunset and More...

I looked outside and could see that there was a beautiful sunset, but it wasn't showing up well from our house,  so I told the hubby to "hurry up and get dressed and let's take a ride over to the boat ramp at Lake Ida really quick before the sunset gets totally down and we miss it."  I think he grabbed his pants and shoes and wallet and keys faster than I've seen him move in a long time.  We drove the back roads from our house to that neighborhood, less than one mile, and we got there just in time to see the last of the colors slipping quickly down behind the trees. Thankfully there was still enough beauty visible to be worth the trip.  This is what we saw:

Jeremiah 32:17 "Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You."

Then I heard the honking of some Canada Geese, and was thrilled to see they were there on the lake, preparing for take-off:

(Yes, there were a couple of people sitting on the dock, fishing. I apologized for interrupting their peaceful evening. They didn't seem to mind.)

As you can imagine,  I was pretty excited to be able to witness this beautiful sight...not just a sunset, but the geese taking off in flight, heading off to their nighttime resting place, wherever that may be on the other side of the lake somewhere.

I watched until I couldn't really see them any more, and the sun was almost totally down, so it was time to head back home.

It was a trip worth taking, and I'm so glad hubby was willing to humor me in such a hurry! 

We've missed seeing the Canada Geese on our own Still Waters Pond this year, thanks to the lack of rain and the fact that the pond is totally dry. I am thankful to know that they still have plenty of places around where they can swim and fish and build their nests. Life goes on...just not on our pond this year. I am still not too sure if our Sand Hill Crane couple is building a nest on the pond or not.  They do land on the pond every day and go around behind the island where they nested last year, but I can't get around there to check because I'd have to cross over the new neighbor's yard to get there and see if there's a nest.  We will just have to wait and see if they present us with any new baby "colts" in the next month.  The cranes are not as dependent on having a full pond upon which to build their nest, but the fact that there is no water makes them more vulnerable to predators who can walk across the dry pond to get to their eggs or new babies...so that makes it a little more precarious for them. Like I said, time will tell. We will definitely be watching.

On another note, I keep trying to get a picture of Blackie with Lily Grace...but Blackie isn't really all that interested in sweet little girls dressed up for Valentine's Day.  

That, plus the fact that he really doesn't like to have his picture taken at all makes it difficult to get a good photo when he's on the move.    Oh well, we tried, Lily!

Maybe next time!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be a busy day, so I probably won't have much time for visiting/reading/commenting. Hubby and I both have fasting blood tests first thing in the morning, and then we will go out to breakfast to "break the fast".  After that there is a Celebration of Life at our church at noon, with a reception to follow.  Sadly this is for a dear lady who was very sick with COPD complications for a long time, and she was quite ready for Jesus to take her home.  She is greatly missed...a former children's Sunday School teacher for many years, and also she was very active in our women's ministries.  She leaves behind a husband and adult children and grandchildren.

We have another dear lady in the local Hospice house right now. I went to visit her and her husband on Saturday. She was not responsive at all, but I do believe she could hear and I hope she knew I was there. This dear lady is the one who crocheted a beautiful shawl/cape for me while she was actually doing chemo! (the story is HERE). She has been battling cancer for about 2 & 1/2 years, and a stronger woman than her I do not believe I've ever known.  She truly has fought a hard battle, and was so determined to keep fighting, but it appears that her battle is almost over, and soon she will be able to say with the Apostle Paul: 

2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV

" 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 

the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, 

but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

I am truly going to miss her smiling face and determined spirit.

Tuesday night is choir practice, and we've started working on our Easter Cantata, so that takes some extra work and energy in addition to our regular music that we prepare for each Sunday.  It's hard to believe Easter will be here before we know it. I believe Ash Wednesday is next Wednesday, February 18th, so that is the beginning of Lent.

Of course, this weekend is Valentine's Day, and then hubby's birthday is on Monday, the 16th, but we will celebrate with our kids on Sunday afternoon.  I am trying to convince him to go look at a new recliner (for him). His is in pretty bad shape and it's time to replace it.  The kids have already told me that they will chip in to help cover the cost as their birthday gift to him.  He doesn't know that yet, but I may have to tell him so he will be more willing to go shopping for the chair.  Hopefully we will do that this week, but it probably will have to be ordered and so most likely it won't be delivered until next week.

I guess that about sums it up for now.  I will check in with you all as soon as I am able.

Psalm 89:1-2 NIV

"1 I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;

with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known

through all generations.

2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,

that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself."

Thursday Thankfulness

It's Thursday afternoon and I want to give thanks to God for some blessings today...

This is the beautiful rose that Rose and Benton gave me for Mother's Day! This is the first blossom, and isn't it glorious?

There a several more buds getting ready to open...so delightfully unique and lovely!

It's name is "Double Delight", and yes, I am doubly delighted to have this wonderful gift that keeps on giving! Thank you, Rose and Benton, for this very thoughtful rosebush gift!

Well, today is the day that Blackie Sue is going to her appointment to be "fixed".  Actually she will stay with one of the volunteers in charge of this "operation catnip" tonight,  and they will take her to the clinic tomorrow and bring her back home here on Saturday.  

When the lady came to pick her up and put her in the carrier it was a bit of a struggle to get Blackie to go, and here's my memento to remember her by while she is gone. Thankfully it's not very deep and really doesn't hurt, but it will remind me to say little prayers for her throughout the next couple of days as she goes through this bit of "trauma". (and yes, I did wash it thoroughly).  And also to pray for those who will be taking care of her, that they will treat her with kindness. I am sure they will.

Sunshine is kind of moping around on the back porch since she left.  This picture was taken a few minutes ago, looking down through my window in my "room with a view"...He is laying down right outside this window where it is cool and shady, but also about as close as he can get to me without being inside the house.  I wonder if he realizes I am right through that wall? I think he does. 

I've been outside a couple of times to reassure him, and he had a LOT to say to me! 

"Meow, meow, meow! Where did they take my friend Blackie Sue? Is she going to come back? Why did you put her in that cage and send her away with a stranger? Meow, Meow, Meow!"   I gave him some extra little treats and petted him some more and talked extra sweetly to him.  He rubbed my legs and didn't want me to go back inside the house...and he really wanted to come inside.  But then he settled down there in this spot outside my window and he's taking a nice nap. He'll be fine, and Blackie Sue will be back before we know it.

I did have the lady look at him (which surprisingly he allowed her to get near him and lift his tail), and in her opinion he has already been fixed!  He's quite furry and it was hard for me to tell, but she is quite certain. So that made me happy that we don't need to go through this again with him!

These were some fun pictures I took of Blackie Sue and the Duck yesterday...

Yes, that duck thinks he's one of the family and isn't at all afraid of the cats. As you can see, Blackie Sue just turns her back on him, and then scoots out of his way:

Oh, do you see Trumpet in the background, and Mother Crane down there keeping an eye on Mr. Duck?

No one wanted to pay him any attention up here. So finally Mr. Duck decided to take off and fly away to the pond. 

There he goes!

I managed to get a picture of the full moon early in the morning yesterday. It's been too cloudy at night to get a picture.

I am thankful for so many things...my family, our home, our church and friends, our health...things we should never take for granted.  God has been very kind and gracious to us, and we are very thankful. 

This is a verse that we would be wise to remember when things might catch us off guard or take us by surprise...

So if you are facing uncertainties in your life, health concerns, family issues, financial matters...remember that there is NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING too difficult for God!!

Amen.

Have a blessed and beautiful rest of your week, my friends.

Thank you for being here!

 

Friday Foto Friends, Sunshine and Moon And Mockingbirds

 I've been seeing some beautiful things on Facebook the past couple of days that have spoken to me. I shared one of them yesterday HERE, and then I saw this picture (below) last night and had to share it because of what I was actually doing when I saw this picture...read on for more of this story...

"To stay positive amidst chaos, cultivate gratitude, surround yourself with positivity, and focus on what you can control.
Don’t forget, you can control how you view, process and react to events. Most people handle stress and unfortunate circumstances with a knee-jerk, panicked response. Sometimes simply switching off can make a huge difference to how we feel. This doesn’t mean that we’re sticking our head in the sand. It means that we’re limiting what we’re exposed to for our own well-being.
𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙡𝙙-𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙝 𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩. Laura Ingalls Wilder
Artist ~ Prernaverse"

So, what was I doing when I saw this picture?  Enjoying some fresh air and "Sunshine"!  I had just gotten this new magazine in the mail, and thought it would be so nice to sit in the garden and read it:

The azaleas are so pretty right now! I was really enjoying this beautiful spot.

Yeah, that's me sitting out there in the Secret Memorial Garden, with my kitties nearby. You can't see Sunshine in this picture, but she is laying down in front of the bird bath, and Blackie is sitting right there in plain view.  

Hubby took this picture of us from a distance, but here are some that I took during this beautiful time of relaxation and pure peace and joy:

I had just fed the kitties up on the back porch, and then I went down to sit in the garden, and immediately Sunshine followed me!

It was so beautiful, sitting there beside Still Waters Pond, feeling a delightful breeze and the warmth of the afternoon sun.  It was a picture perfect kind of day!

So Sunshine laid down in the shade and was very content to relax there with me.

And soon, Blackie saw that we were having such a good time, so he came down off the porch to join us:

They both just laid there, enjoying the peace and calm and beauty of the afternoon with me.  I never knew having two "wild" (LOL) kitties could be so blissful... (I know, they don't look very "wild", do they?)

After a while they decided to go lay in the grass in the sunshine and watch the birds, who of course, would not come near their birdhouses or feeders while the kitties were laying there!

Just two lazy kitties, laying in the green grass on an almost spring day! It definitely feels like spring here in Florida!

Meanwhile, back over where I was, as soon as the kitties moved away, this Mockingbird came and sat in the Holly Trees right in front of me:

Isn't he handsome?  

It made me think of this song, which I haven't heard probably since I was a child!

Here's the song "Listen to the Mockingbird" sung by Dolly Parton and Stuart Duncan.

Here is the history of the song:  Listen To The Mockingbird

And although this Mockingbird did not sing for me while he sat there in the tree, he certainly gave me plenty of time to enjoy his beauty and give thanks for such a perfect day!

Did you know that the Mockingbird is the Florida State bird? You can read about that HERE

Here's a link to 10 fun facts about the Northern Mockingbird from the Audubon Society, if you wish to read them.

Until I did this little bit of research on this song, I never really knew the lyrics or what they were about. I only remembered the part that said "Listen to the Mockingbird, listen to the Mockingbird".   Little did I know it was written prior to the Civil War.  Here is part of what it says in Wikipedia about this song:

"Listen to the Mocking Bird" (1855) is an American popular song of the mid-19th century. Its lyrics were composed by Septimus Winner under the pseudonym "Alice Hawthorne", and its music was by Richard Milburn.[1][2][3]

It relates the story of a singer dreaming of his sweetheart, now dead and buried, and a mockingbird, whose song the couple once enjoyed, now singing over her grave. However, the melody is moderately lively.

"Listen to the Mocking Bird" was one of the most popular ballads of the era and sold more than twenty million copies of sheet music.[4] It was popular during the American Civil War and was used as marching music. Abraham Lincoln was especially fond of it, saying, "It is as sincere as the laughter of a little girl at play."[5]

Lyrics

I’m dreaming now of Hally, sweet Hally, sweet Hally,

I’m dreaming now of Hally,

For the thought of her is one that never dies;

She’s sleeping in the valley, the valley, the valley,

She’s sleeping in the valley,

And the mocking bird is singing where she lies

CHORUS

Listen to the mocking bird,

Listen to the mocking bird,

The mocking bird still singing o’er her grave;

Listen to the Mocking bird,

Listen to the mocking bird,

Still singing where the weeping willows wave.

Ah! Well I yet remember, remember, remember,

Ah! Well I yet remember

When we gather’d in the cotton side by side;

‘Twas in the mild September, September, September,

‘Twas in the mild September,

And the mocking bird was singing far and wide.

When the charms of spring awaken, awaken, awaken,

When the charms of spring awaken,

And the mocking bird is singing on the bough,

I feel like one forsaken, forsaken, forsaken,

I feel like one forsaken,

Since my Hally is no longer with me now.

QUARTETTE

Listen to the mocking bird,

Listen to the mocking bird,

The mocking bird still singing o’er her grave;

Listen to the mocking bird,

Listen to the mocking bird,

Still singing where the weeping willows wave.

Listen to the mocking bird,

Listen to the mocking bird, the mocking bird still sing o’er her grave;

Listen to the mocking bird,

Listen to the mocking bird,

Still singing where the weeping willows wave.

Hawthorne, Alice, "Listen to the Mocking Bird" (1850). Historic Sheet Music Collection.

I guess we all learned something about the Mockingbird today!

Now, before the day was completely over, this happened...a full moon was rising:

And then there was the Lunar Eclipse!

NO, those aren't MY pictures (above),

But here are my pictures below, and yes, I did get up at 2:30 in the morning to take them!

Oh, How I wished I had a good camera that could take better pictures of the moon and the stars! It was a perfectly clear sky, and I could see all the constellations of the stars, and the moon was just amazing! I stayed up for about 20 minutes, just watching and enjoying every minute of it.

I wish I could show you what I really saw.  It was amazing!  I just stood in awe of God's beautiful creation in the heavenlies, and gave Him glory!

And then I woke up again this morning around 5:30, (actually, I hardly slept at all last night...that lovely dinner we had yesterday at the Mexican place was talking to me! LOL) and here is how the moon looked as it descended over Still Waters Pond:

Jeremiah 32:17 NKJV

 17 ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You."

I hope you enjoyed this beautiful time with me.  And remember, there is NOTHING too hard for our Lord God, no matter what you may be facing today.  You can always rely on Him to take care of everything you need. Amen.