Wednesday Treasures

 It's about time I moved away from anniversary stories and posts to something new! However, we did have a wonderful anniversary, and I am so thankful that we lived to see another year together. I don't believe in waiting for the big ones, like 50 and 60, to celebrate. No one is promised tomorrow, so let's be sure to celebrate each day and give God thanks for His many blessings and mercies. Amen?

As I am continuing in the "Happiness Challenge" for the month of August, here's some things I am happy about...

Waking up to a brand new day, with the sun shining brightly as I put out the flag this morning...

Especially after the way the skies looked last night...our son Benton took this picture as he was leaving work around 6:00 p.m. not far from here...

Also, his wife Rose was driving home from her job at Home Depot 15 miles away in that storm. She literally had to pull off the road for a few minutes because she couldn't see to drive! 

And yes, those clouds brought in a humdinger of a thunderstorm at our house that lasted well over an hour, bringing us almost 2 inches of rain! Praise God!  

However, I was not too happy about the very frequent and powerful lightning and thunder that was relentless all during that time.  This picture was taken out our front door during the storm...I was trying to get a picture of the lightning flashes...

And although you can't see the actual flash of lightning, look at the difference in the color of the skies between the picture above and this one below, which was taken during an actual flash of lightning:

Yes, it lit up the skies like it was daylight! There was one flash so bright and so close I thought for sure it hit our house, but thankfully there is no sign of damage today.

Oh, but HERE'S something I was very happy about during the rainstorm...if you look out there beyond the tree, you can see an actual PUDDLE ON TOP of STILL WATERS POND!  Yes! The water actually puddled on top of the pond for while, which is a sign that the pond "bottom" is starting to get saturated with water, and if we had a few more days of rain like what we had last night, we just might begin to have our pond fill up again...(it's going to take more than a few days, but you get the idea...progress is being made finally!!)

However, here is how it looks this morning...there's no puddle...it's all soaked in, but if you look really closely there are some Doves out there on the pond having some breakfast of many some worms or other kinds of creatures that came to the surface during that storm!  And I bet there's more water back there where all that green vegetation is...so I'm very hopeful that little by little our pond is coming back.

As I walked around the back yard this morning, I noticed that my zinnias that I planted are getting taller and hopefully will bloom soon. These are new ones that I planted after the other garden bed of zinnias all died from the intense heat and dryness and a fungus of some kind. Hopefully these will do better.

And finally my Rose of Sharon bush has decided to bloom! I've been waiting all summer for it to bloom! It just needed more rain to help it.

And there's even more buds for more flowers! Hooray! It's little things like that that make me happy!!

And speaking of "little things" that make me happy...Having a lap full of my kitty makes me smile, even though he inhibits my progress on working on the computer...he doesn't like me to move my arms above his head and will often grab them and sometimes bite them, not too hard, but enough to let me know he doesn't like that. So that's when  I tell him that I don't like that and down he goes!  

I saw where the other day was National Black Cat day, and people were all showing their pictures of their black cats on Facebook. I may have shared a picture or two in one of the posts. I had no idea black cats were so popular!  Here's Blackie, enjoying playing footsie with me:

He loves my shoes and spends a lot of time grabbing them and biting them, thankfully not enough to reach my toes...He is a character and he definitely keeps us hopping. 

And here's one last Happy thing...I just got this copy of "The Little Squirrel"  on Amazon, written by my friend Katheryn Masterson.  I may have mentioned that I am saving them to send to a little friend for Christmas.  These books are so very well written and such delightful stories. I am so proud of Katheryn for embarking on this journey in her life.  She is the granddaughter of my friends Maura and Woody who passed away recently.  I know they would both be so proud of Katheryn's endeavors as an author.

Well, folks, I need to run along. To be honest, I haven't felt well the past few days...let's just say that all that good food I was eating to celebrate our anniversary finally caught up with me and my tendency to have IBS...and so this week my body is trying to recalibrate and recuperate before we go on Saturday to meet our extended family at a restaurant to celebrate all the August birthdays and anniversaries together...and then hopefully we will be done "celebrating" for a little while so I can get back to "normal", whatever that is...LOL.  But it's all good, and I am extremely thankful to have something to celebrate!

1. Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with thee.

Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;

As thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:

Great is thy faithfulness,

Great is thy faithfulness,

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed thy hand hast provided;

Great is thy faithfulness,

Lord unto me.

2. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]

3. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine and ten thousand beside. [Refrain]

(Based on Lamentations 3:22-23)

Lamentations 3:22–23 (KJV): "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

Amen...and have a blessed and beautiful day.

Hooray for March!

Yes, Hooray for March! Surely Spring is just around the corner! Here in Florida, where we live, it is already feeling a lot like spring and we've been enjoying some pretty picture-perfect weather for a few days!  

Yes, it's time for the March calendar revue...

No, this isn't one of my pictures, although it is rather familiar, isn't it? LOL.  

Except for the rocky shoreline, (and lack of water lilies) that could easily be mistaken for my header picture with those Adirondack chairs on the shore of our own Still Waters Pond. No, our pond isn't quite that large or "clear", but still, it's pretty doggone close!

Oh wow, this Thomas Kinkade painting is certainly gorgeous! That is really beautiful...

And this is one of my favorite verses, which is also the inspiration for the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness"... 

Ah, it's tea time again...that's a lovely tea setting and interesting snacks to go along with the tea...

I like these thoughts...although I rarely share tea with a total stranger, but you never know when you might meet someone at a gathering of some sort and end up sitting at a table and sharing "tea" with a stranger, and you end up being wonderful friends and/or "family".  Yes, I can see how that can happen...

And I always love what Susan Branch puts on her little calendar each month...always something fun and uniquely interesting thoughts to ponder:

Yes, it is "lovely to be lovely us"...

And now we come to the John Sloane Country Seasons calendar...and this looks like someplace that a lot of you ladies out there in blogland would enjoy being!  I personally am not much of a seamstress or quilter, but I still love to look at fabrics and notions and dream about things I would love to do if I had the time, energy, skill, and patience...and a good sewing machine... all things I am rather short on. LOL.

Those were fun, weren't they?  Great way to start off the new month!

Now back to real life...as most of you know, our oldest son Benton is a bit of a woodworker. He and his wife Rose have a business known as "Ben & Rose's Country Woodshop", in addition to their Etsy site, BRCoastalRusticDecor.  Lately Benton has started building wood planter boxes of all sizes and shapes, and he sells them at local Farm markets. Today he was at a garden market up near Keystone Heights, FL.  We went up to see how he was doing, and he had already sold a truck load of stuff to one customer, and before the morning was over he had sold quite a bit more and had some orders to make more! Wow!  

 

Last week he was also at a local Farmer's Market and did quite well.  These are just some pictures of items he makes and sells, among others...

That swing is actually small, and is for little plants like succulents.  I told him that Lily Grace would fit in it just fine too, and I'm sure she'd love one, but he only laughed at me...why??? LOL.

Spring is a great time to sell these planter boxes, apparently, judging by his sales today! So hooray for some encouraging news!

I told him I need one of these trellises for a plant in my garden...hopefully he will find time to make one for me.  Of course I'll pay him for it, but he has to make time to build some extra, and they they get sold before he can give me one...but that's a good problem to have!  So we are happy that this new venture is taking off quite well already!!

This morning I noticed this unusual bird in a tree over across the pond. I wasn't sure what it was until I enlarged the pictures and then looked it up online...

And it is an Anhinga, whick I've seen before, but never realized they had those white feathers on their backs and on the tips of the tail!  

You can click on this link for more information if you wish:  Anhinga.  They are also sometimes called a "snake bird" because of the way they move their long skinny neck.

Always something new at Still Waters Pond to enjoy!

No new pictures, but the Sand Hill Cranes continue to trade spaces on the nest and come visit our yard foraging for food. We've been a bit more lenient than during normal times about throwing out some extra bird seeds for them especially for the mother because she has to spend so much time on the nest and doesn't have much time for foraging around looking for food.  It was funny yesterday I saw her out in the yard kind of just wandering around near the bird feeder, and as soon as I stepped out on the back porch she literally ran right toward me so fast because she expected me to have some bird seed for her. Thankfully she was right.  I wish I'd had a video of that, because it was really funny to see her take off running directly toward me.  I think we've already spoiled them a bit, but it's only for this nesting period.

Also, it must be mating time for cats in the neighborhood. Our neighborhood Blackie kitty was taking a nap on our back porch this morning, and we suddenly heard a loud "cat fight" going on. It was another male black & white tuxedo style cat up on the porch picking a fight with Blackie, who is also a male.  Must be a some kind of territorial dispute, but I was kind of like that mother Sand Hill Crane and went running out the back door and chased off that black and white cat so fast he never had a chance to look back. However Blackie took off in the opposite direction, and I haven't seen him since. I'm sure he'll show up at dinner time over at the neighbor's house, at least I hope he will. We shall see.

Never a dull moment here, that's for sure!  

Carrie Underwood and CeCe Wynan singing 

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father

There is no shadow of turning with Thee

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Blessings all mine with 10, 000 beside

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Processing Christmas-Day Two

 If you read my last POST HERE, you will know that our Christmas celebration came in two parts. I thought I'd take a little break between posts to give you (& me!) a chance to get caught up with everyone else. We are all sharing our Christmas stories and it's so wonderful to see and hear how you all celebrated The Birth of Christ in your homes.  We each have our own special traditions and foods and decorations and things that we like to do at Christmas time...it's fun to hear all about it.  And even for those who don't have a lot of family nearby, it is good to do something to commemorate the day and honor Christ's birthday in whatever way is meaningful to you.  I've really enjoyed reading your posts. We are like one big family here!

So speaking of family...on our "Day Two" of Christmas, my sister and her hubby and daughter and her hubby traveled a couple of hours to spend the afternoon with us. This was the only picture I got of our family together, as the rest of the time we were too busy either eating or opening gifts, or just enjoying visiting and I totally forgot about taking pictures! (Something must be wrong with me! LOL)

I love this picture because our son Scott, who you see at the very top of steps in a teal colored shirt on the left side, actually set up my phone camera with a timer on the bumper of a truck in the driveway, and ran and leaped up to the top of the steps between all of us and managed to pose for the picture before it snapped! Amazing! And it still turned out this good! These young people with such quick minds and agility just blow me away! LOL.

Anyway, our original plan had been to go out to eat for lunch at a local BBQ place since my hubby and I would be going to church (he teaches the Adult Sunday School class and I sing in the choir, so we didn't feel like we could skip it just because company was coming), and I knew I wouldn't have time to prepare any kind of meal for everyone who would be arriving right at noon.  However, the day before, after our own family's Christmas dinner was over we determined that we had a LOT of leftovers, and I called my sister and asked her what they had for leftovers, and we decided we both had enough that we could put them together and have a great pot-luck dinner instead of having to go out to eat!! Great idea! And it worked out perfectly. We still had leftovers! LOL.

One fun thing we did was make a bowl of Christmas punch, with lime sherbet, cranberry juice, ginger ale and orange juice. (or you could use pineapple juice, but I didn't have any). We used this beautiful green punch bowl set that my mother in law gave me years ago. It has been used for many Christmas parties at church and our home over the years.  I put my niece to work making the punch right away and she laughed and said now she felt like "an old church lady" making the "church lady punch".  I guess that's what we'll call it from now on! LOL. (Sorry, forgot to take a picture of the finished product).

Lunch being done, our next event was our annual "White Elephant Gift" exchange...where each person brings a wrapped gift  that is something you'd like to get rid of...or it could be something nice, but the idea is to not have to go out and buy gifts for everyone.  We play this game, which is like what some of you call a "Chinese Auction" or "Dirty Santa", where people can take your gift if they want it and you have to get another one, etc., etc., but everyone still ends up with a gift, whether you like it or not! LOL.

There were some very "interesting" gifts passed around.

Like this "Mark the Moose". LOL

Or this "Ginger and Chili Chutney" and other interesting delicacies...

Which really aren't bad, but their expiration date is next month, so we'd  better eat them up fast! LOL. 

Anybody want some marmalade or chutney or relish? You have to come here and get it!

But we did also exchange some very special gifts between us...

One thing that is a tradition from my family is that my father used to buy each of the ladies one of these Amaryllis plant kits each Christmas, so we could plant it and watch it grow:

So, I have kind of taken over that tradition and make sure to find these every year for each of the women who will be present at our Christmas gatherings.  Sometimes they aren't as easy to find, or they may be already starting to grow in the box, like that one above was doing...I just planted it in the pot yesterday, and look at it already!!  But it will grow and have beautiful flowers, and then in the spring you can plant it outdoors and it might bloom again later. They do come back each year as well. (here in Florida)

I also received some very special and meaningful gifts from my sister and my niece as well. They just really touched my heart.

The "Devotions from the Front Porch" (by Stacy Edwards) book was from my sister, and the "O Holy Night" book was from my niece. Just a couple of examples of what is inside these books will show you how special they are:

"A Rocking Chair" on the front porch invites you to

  "Come unto Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28

And, can you imagine why I was drawn to read this one?  "The Lily Tree", a special tree planted in loving memory of an infant named Lily who never got to be held in her mother's arms...

"His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23

The other book, "O Holy Night",  (illustrated by Sarah Cray) has beautiful water color paintings accompanying the lyrics to several different beloved Christmas carols, including "O Holy Night",

And "Joy to the World"

Amazing to me how my sister and my niece both knew what I would love and enjoy. I was very humbled by these sweet gifts.

But I've been talking too much here and not getting to the very best gift of all, that literally brought me to tears!

Can you read what is engraved on the handle of this little baby spoon?

Yes, it says "Pamela Anne".  My sister gave this to me...and when I saw it I just couldn't believe it. This was my baby spoon!  Somehow she ended up with it among other silverware from our mother's things, and she said it was so tarnished she didn't realize what it was until she polished it. I'm not sure why it affected me so much, but I couldn't help but shed some tears as I held this tiny little silver spoon in my hand and thought about how my mother had actually fed me with this spoon when I was a baby...and the fact that it had my name engraved on it...well, that just blew me away. Then someone broke the spell and said, "Gee Mom, now you can say you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth!" LOL. Yeah, right!  I don't know who gave this spoon to my mother when I was born, maybe my grandparents.  I wish I knew. But no matter who...it just made me think about the baby Jesus, and how there were no silver baby spoons for Him when He was born in a manger, and yet He was the King of kings! He left the Ivory Palaces of Heaven to come to earth, to be born among the cattle and sheep and in a lowly feed trough...the Bread of Heaven, given for all mankind. And He did it for me, and for you! He knows my name!  It is written down in His Lamb's book of life...and He knows your name too...

How special is that???

Well, there were other special gifts in addition to this, but I think I will stop here. Maybe some others will show up in future posts. But I just want us to stop and think here about how much Jesus loves us!

He knows your name. It is written down in His book of those who love Him and those for whom He gave up His life.  

"Greater love has no one than this, 

than to lay down one’s life for his friends."

John 15:13

Now maybe you see why I am still "processing Christmas" in my mind. 

It's been rather "mind-blowing".

It's almost New Year's...and I still haven't come up with my "One Word for 2022".

Have you? I am praying about it. I am sure God will reveal it to me on time.

He always does.

Until next time,

be blessed my friends...Jesus loves you.

Morning Mercies

Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to see another sunrise! 

Thank You, Lord, for so many dear friends praying and sending their well wishes for my surgery.

Thank You, Lord, for hearing their prayers and bringing me safely through and on to better days ahead in which to give You praise and honor and glory! 

Thank You, Lord, for your healing mercy and grace.

Amen.

Dear friends, I am up early this morning with the sunrise, because I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for your prayers and support during this surgery experience!  I am SO thankful to be able to sit here once again at my computer and write to you.  Thank you for all the kind messages on my last post. I am not able to answer them all individually. I am limiting my time sitting up and doing things, but I just had to let you know that I am home and doing as well as can be expected!  I did end up spending the night in the hospital after all. I apparently do not tolerate anesthesia very well, and even after talking to the anesthesiologist before the procedure, and him assuring me that he was going to use medications that should not make me sick, I still got sick.  That coupled with the pain after surgery and the need for more strong pain medicine, well...I was in NO condition to get in the car and ride an hour home.  So thankfully they placed me in a very nice private room with a view,  (although this was at night and the blinds were partially closed so you can't really SEE the view)

View behind my bed:

View in front of my bed:

View from in my bed:  Beware...this is as scary as a Halloween Mask! LOL.

This is my current glamor shot. LOL.

I know I probably shouldn't show this, but it will maybe keep unwanted suitors away. LOL.

The only real issue right now is swallowing.  It hurts to swallow, and so I am limited to soft foods and liquids.   And just general pain from muscles and nerves that were strained and stretched, etc., but hopefully that pain should dissipate soon.

So, I just wanted to let you know that I am still among the living...and I praise God for His kindness and mercy.

And while I've been writing this, the skies got even more beautiful.  Looks like a pretty day, although you know the old saying, "red sky at morning, sailors take warning..."  But our weather report shows sunny skies.

"22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23

Amen.

Thank you all again.  May God bless you each and every one.