Saturday Randomness

Happy Saturday! Nothing particularly special about today, except that it started out around 39 degrees this morning, with a beautiful bright sun shining through the American Flag as we put it out for the day.

I love how the sunshine makes our flag glow so beautifully!!  Made me feel like singing the Star Spangled Banner, but I will spare you that...just imagine it in your own mind and sing along! Be sure to stand and place your hand over your heart when you do!  We are very thankful and proud that our flag is still standing!! Amen?

Yesterday afternoon I picked this tiny little bouquet of wildflowers from our back yard. Actually, we can thank Sandra, A.K.A. "MadSnapper", from her Friday post HERE, where she showed some of these little red flowers from her yard and said they were named Emilia, or Red Tassel Flower. I knew I had to run right outside and see if I could find any in my yard, as I knew they had been there before. And sure enough, there were many of them out there blooming, along with these other little wildflowers, so of course I had to bring a little bouquet inside to enjoy in my kitchen.  Thank you, Sandra, for sharing them with us. I love these!!

And then, once again, we can thank Sandra at MadSnapper for inspiring this random picture. In her Thursday post HERE, she shared a "Make Do Tip" for a jar or bottle opener made from some rubber shelf liner that she bought at the dollar store. That was a very clever idea, and it reminded me of this thing that I have in my utensil drawer. Does anyone know what it is?

Yes it is a jar and bottle opener, and I've had it for years. I thought I originally got it from the Fuller Brush Company or Stanley Home Products. I used to sell for both of those companies many years ago.  But I don't see it listed in their products, so now I'm not sure where I got it, but it does do the job. We always called it a "husband beater", because it could even beat a husband's grip when necessary! However, even this is getting difficult for me in my "old age", and I like Sandra's Made Do Tip of using the rubber gripper stuff that she got from the dollar store even more.  Thank you again, Sandra, for giving me lots of interesting ideas!  If you don't already know Sandra, you might want to get acquainted with her. She's a very special lady!! And she's also from Florida!!

Okay, more randomness...Where do you think these came from?  If you guessed popsicles in my freezer, you'd be right.  I had two of these strawberry popsicles left in my freezer, but they were old and kind of frostbitten, and I needed to make room for the FREE turkey I got at our grocery store for buying $100.00 worth of groceries yesterday! That's right! A FREE 12 lb. turkey!  Anyway, I am not planning to use it right now as our DIL has a 20 lb. turkey that she is thawing out from HER freezer that we need to use, so I had to move things around in my freezer to make room for the turkey,  and these popsicles were in the way. So they melted in the sink and I preserved the sticks so I could share them with you. I knew you'd want to see these little riddles. Perhaps you can share them with your family around the Thanksgiving table.  Well, maybe NOT the one about vampires...that's not exactly proper table talk. LOL.

Since today was such a nice cool day, it was a good day for doing a little bit of baking. I had a couple of overripe bananas sitting on the counter that needed to be used, and so of course they became Banana Nut Bread.  HERE is a link to an OLD post where you can find my recipe.  The banana nut bread baking sure smelled better than those overripe bananas!  I've gotten to a point in life where I simply can NOT tolerate the smell or taste of overripe bananas. By overripe I mean any banana that no longer has any shade of green still on the peeling! LOL.

Back to pleasant smells in the kitchen...I do love the smell of fried onions and squash cooking. Here they are cooking in my husband's grandmother's very old iron skillet! That skillet has to be at least 100 years old, and it still cooks everything just fine!  Can you even begin to imagine the good food that has been cooked in that skillet over the past 100 years?  I believe it probably started out being used on a wood cookstove in Nanny Martin's kitchen, and then gradually she got a gas stove.  Eventually when I got it  I had an electric stove, but now I also have a gas stove, and I believe the skillet is happier here on this stove. It is also great to use for baking cornbread in the oven, among other things...

And speaking of Nanny Martin, I just found this OLD post where I talked about these same two items! And I gave you more of the history in that post.  Below is her lovely old platter, and I had it out tonight because I was cooking a pork loin roast in the oven (after I took out the banana nut bread), and the platter was waiting to hold the roast when it came out of the oven.  I love using these old family "heirlooms".  They make me feel connected to them in a very special way. Especially as we come to Thanksgiving, and I think about all of our family members who have gone on before us who we used to celebrate Thanksgiving with...times have changed. The faces around the table have changed, but there are still these things that bring back memories and reconnect us to those who meant so much to us in our lives.   Cherish your loved ones while you have them near. Don't let anything come between you to keep you from enjoying one another's presence while you can. Life is short, and someday all we have left are old pots and pans and dishes, but hopefully lots of good memories.

Oh, another random picture as I was sitting here at my computer this afternoon and looking out the window from  my "room with a view". This was the view:

I love how that geranium is blooming, and the afternoon sun is making it glow!  The Christmas cactus is also starting to get more buds on it, so hopefully it will be blooming by Christmas if not sooner.

While I was waiting for the pork roast to roast, I took a little walk outside for a few minutes just to get some fresh air and enjoy the beauty of this lovely cool afternoon.  I walked over to my little "hiding place", where I can see the cove of Still Waters Pond. And guess who was there?

Yep, the Canada Goose couple was resting there in the afternoon sun...can you see them?

This is a little blurry, but can you see the goose hiding behind the bushes in the water?

There's the other one, sitting out in the water a little further:

I couldn't get the focus on this one because of the weeds in the foreground...but I didn't want to blow my cover either and scare them away...

I am excited to see them over in that area, as that is the same area where perhaps this same couple built their nest last year. Time will tell. It may be too early for nesting just yet, but the fact that they are hanging around there tells me that they may be staking out their territory before any others come to claim it.  I hope so! It always makes things so exciting around here!

Oh, last night when it started getting so chilly, I decided it was time for my first official cup of hot Ovaltine for the season.  Yes, I said Ovaltine...

This is what I use, and I highly recommend it. I can tolerate this much better than pure hot chocolate, and this actually has vitamins and minerals in it so it is good for you! It's lower in sugar too than regular hot chocolate.  It can be drunk hot or cold, but I much prefer hot. And I find that it relaxes me before I go to bed at night. It doesn't hype me up like real chocolate would do, and it actually acts more like a warm cup of milk before bedtime...very soothing and comforting.  At least that's how I feel about it!

This was the devotional reading from this little calendar from the other day. I liked what it said, and wanted to share it with you.

That "heavenly fire" comes from God's Holy Spirit, and when we are faced with struggles or adversity, or if someone is attacking or hurting our children or other members of our family or our friends,  the Holy Spirit kindles up that "heavenly fire" and gives us the spark and energy to face our enemies and be strong in the Armor of Christ (Ephesians 6:10-17)  I am very thankful for this strength that comes only from God when needed most.  And yes,

"Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord."

Psalm 144:15

Nothing random about that.  God's love and strength and blessings toward us, His children, is very intentional.  And I am very thankful for that special blessing.

Happy Thanksgiving week! I do hope you will have a blessed and wonderful and happy time with family and/or friends...or even just you and the Lord...a special day of thankfulness!

Amen.

 

Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

 Hello Friends!  This first picture should have gone with the Tuesday 4 post about Books!  But I didn't think about it until later, after reading everyone else's posts and comments on my blog.  That is how I felt after hearing how much so many of our friends love their books!   I've seen this picture many times before on Facebook, and I've always loved it because of the joy of these two dear old ladies sitting under the table having a cup of tea together with all of their books stacked up around them and just laughing and having such a great time! Oh, and eating bonbons  and candy and it looks like they have found the secret to happiness!  Yep! I could see myself and a good friend in this picture in a few years...(or maybe not so many years away...LOL). How about you? It just makes me smile...

So how has your week been going?  Ours has been busy, even without so many appointments...it just seems like the days get filled up.  Hubby got his new glasses the other day, and so when he went to pick his up I had the optician in our eye doctor's office take another look at my new glasses, just to be sure they are lined up right. She made a couple of little adjustments and I tried them again, and I do think they are better. My eyes seem to be adjusting finally, so that's good news.

On Sunday I had a little bit of sadness when I thought I had lost one of my earrings for good.

This is the remaining mate.  I knew I must've dropped it somewhere at church, and so we went back and retraced my steps everywhere, hoping to find it in some obvious place. I even sent this picture to the lady who does the cleaning on Monday morning to let her know to be on the lookout for it.  You may ask why be so upset over losing an earring? Well, this particular set had belonged to my hubby's grandmother, "Nanny Martin".  My Mother in law had given it to me with some other of Nanny Martin's jewelry years ago.  It has to be quite old, because if Nanny Martin were still living she would be around 128 years old. And even though I somehow can't envision the sweet, humble country woman that I knew, who was already in her 70's when I first met her, ever wearing these pretty dangly earrings, at some point in her younger life she must have because they were hers, and I sure didn't want to lose one of them.

This is how I remember her...

But this is how she looked as a young woman...

So anyway, back to the story...On Monday afternoon I went to the church to drop off my hubby for the Men's Bible Study, and also to pick up our church Secretary at the office to go with me over to the Parsonage for the Ladies' Bible Study. I showed her the picture of my earring, and she said, "Oh! It's been found!"  The Pastor was also there at that moment, and he said that his wife had it with her and will give it to me at the Bible study!  It seems that as I was leaving church on Sunday, one of our sweet younger women came up to me and gave me a hug.  She has very long beautiful hair, and apparently as I embraced her with a hug, my earring caught in her hair! I did not notice it at the time and neither did she, but when she was walking to her car she realized it was caught in her hair. At that point she wasn't sure where it had come from so took it back to our Pastor's wife and gave it to her to find out who it belonged to. I had already left the church, and I didn't realize the earring was missing until I got home. So you can imagine my joy to have this lovely earring returned to me.

(Nanny Martin's earrings, sitting on a quilt that she made)

Here is the matched set, along with another little black earring that also has a story.  It also belonged to Nanny Martin.  And I loved wearing that sweet little antique set of  black earrings. However, again, because these earrings are the old fashioned screw on type of  clasp, they often came loose, and sadly I lost the mate to this one at my parents' church many years ago. I searched and searched there at the parking lot and all around, but it never showed up.  So I've been sad about that one all these years, and then when I thought I'd lost the mate to the dangly pair, I thought that I would just wear the one dangly and the one little earring at the same time and call it a set  with a story!  Now I won't have to do that, but I am wishing I could turn the little earring into a pin or a necklace or something special. Not sure how to do that...but it's a thought anyway.    I am thankful that that which was lost has been found. Is it really that valuable? Probably not in monetary value, but to me the links to dearly departed loved ones have a special value that goes beyond worldly treasures. It's a way to honor the memory of someone who meant a lot to my husband and also to me.

Reminds me of this story in the Bible...

Luke 15:8-10 NKJV

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Now, here's another story...

The last few days that we've gone walking I could hear the Eastern Towhee singing in the treetops, but I could not see him.   So I got the bright idea to play his "song" on my cell phone to see what would happen.  You can listen to it here:

Well, let's just say that I almost found myself being sought out by this Towhee almost immediately:

He flew to the nearest tree and kept looking around, and then he flew across the road right over top of me and went to another tree:

And you could tell he was rather excited and maybe even distressed because he could hear that other bird singing, but he couldn't find it.  This was in the morning...and he flew back and forth several times over and around me until I turned off the recording and we decided to move on before I was possibly attacked by this excited bird.

However, the next evening we came back, and I thought I might try it again to see what would happen, and sure enough, as soon as the recording started playing, the bird flew to a nearby tree and started watching and singing back...

Then he flew to another tree and kept returning the calls from the bird on the recording:

He was really quite excited about hearing this other bird.  After a little while I decided that maybe we should go because I could hear other birds calling as well, and it seemed like they were getting excited.

So I learned one thing, if you want to attract a bird to come closer, just play a recording of his call on your cell phone and you may find yourself the center of some bird attention. I don't know if it is a good thing to do or not, but I did enjoy seeing the bird up close and have these pictures to share with you.

But maybe that was just cheating a little bit...not sure...but maybe I won't do that again because as they say, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature". LOL. (Remember that commercial for Chiffon Margarine? Now I'm dating myself...I see that was back in the 1970's! Some of you may be too young to remember!)

Well, that's all for tonight.  I hope you are having a wonderful week! 

Psalm 96:1-6

1 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

3 Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples.

4 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;

He is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the Lord made the heavens.

6 Honor and majesty are before Him;

Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.