More Family Celebrations!

 As I promised you yesterday, I am back with more exciting times of celebration with the rest of our extended local family.  I say "local", as we gathered in the middle of  our two hour radius, so we each only had to travel about an hour or so to get together, which makes it easier for all of us to make the trip.  Our car's AC has been acting up lately, so thankfully our kids were able to take us in their big quad cab Dodge Ram truck.  Rose and I rode fairly comfortably in the back seat, but we both decided that we wouldn't want to travel very far in that position.  

So anyway, we all gathered at a nice restaurant that we have used many times before for such gatherings. They were very accommodating for our large group of 11 people today, even though they had a "full house" with a poker tournament going on! (Pun intended).  Thankfully they did allow us to make a reservation ahead of time, so we had no problem getting a table.

So here's the roll call of family, some of whom are also celebrating August birthdays and/or anniversaries:

We start out with my sister Doris and me, with her husband Art, of course.  The reason being, it is because of my sister and I that we join these various families together to celebrate.   

So here comes my side of the family...My hubby John and his brother "Billy".  "Billy" really goes by Bill now that he's grown up,  (and he just celebrated his 70th birthday earlier this month)

Well, maybe he's grown up...

You see, that's "Billy" on the far right, when he was just barely 15 years old and my hubby's Best Man at our wedding 55 years ago.  And that's my sister Doris on the far left, who was my Matron of Honor.  

And that's her little daughter Debbie, my niece, who was almost 3 years old when she was our flower girl.

And here Debbie is now, with her handsome hubby Darrell.  Debbie will celebrate her birthday later this month, and they just celebrated their anniversary a week or so ago as well.

Now this might get confusing...This is Peggy (below) on the left, "Billy's wife", and they will also celebrate their anniversary later this month.  And you know Rose, our sweet daughter in law, below:

And even though Rose isn't seated next to her hubby, our son Benton, you know they belong together.  And Benton will also celebrate his birthday later this month!

And last, but certainly not least, this is our nephew Nicholaus, the son of "Billy" and Peggy.  "Nick" will also celebrate his birthday later this month, on the same day as our son Benton.  It's interesting to note that our first child and Billy and Peggy's first child were both born on the same day, but 31 years apart.  Some people just take longer to figure things out than others I guess. LOL.  Just kidding.  

Nick is starting his senior year at college this week! So please say a prayer for him!

So that's the birthday and anniversary roll call for August! I hope it wasn't too confusing for you!

A couple more "outtakes" just so you know how much fun we were having...

some people never do grow up it seems. LOL.

I think I will close this happy family celebration with this card that my sister sent me one year for Christmas:

Proverbs 17:22  NKJV

"22 A merry heart does good, like medicine,

But a broken spirit dries the bones."

Good Night!

Saturday Wanderings and Bright Ideas

 Good Saturday Evening from Still Waters Pond!  

I was outside this morning doing some yard work, and the Crane family came ashore, not realizing I was in the yard.  It was a great photo op for me, although I only had my cell phone with me and the quality isn't as good because I had to do the zoom lens and they just aren't quite as clear as I'd like, but you get the idea!  Look how much "Little Abe and George" have grown in three weeks!! 

They still stay close to Mama and Daddy, and one of the colts started to go in one direction and the others went the other way, and he turned around and found himself all alone. I literally heard him say "Mama!"  And Mama came running back to him and made sure he stayed with the group from then on.

I had to stay pretty still until they moved on. I didn't want to get Mama or Daddy riled up at me for being too close.

I finally decided to go around to the front of the house in the other direction and go in the front door, since they were pretty much blocking my passage to the back door. LOL. Glad we have two ways to go!

This evening hubby and I went for our walk in the woods, and I came across these bushes that were blooming profusely! I had never seen them there before!

I used my "Google Lens" feature on my cell phone is find out what it was, and it is a Sparkleberry bush (or tree)

It will get berries on it that resemble a kind of blueberry, but they are seedy and even though they are edible, they are probably better left for the birds to enjoy! I love these little white flowers and would love to have this growing in my yard! I may have to go back to the woods and see if I can dig up a small one to transplant.

Of course, I had to bring some home with me to just enjoy! Who doesn't need a little "sparkleberry" to brighten up their day?

Speaking of brightening up my day...

LOL...When I sit in my recliner next to hubby to read, I turn on the lamp that is between us. However, the bright light shines in his eyes and bothers him, so today he tried this remedy:

He said it helped a lot, so I guess it will have to be okay for him to wear a hat in the house if I want to keep reading! LOL.

And more things to brighten my day:

Actually, this was last night...Yes, these are the "kids",  kidding around in my bathroom!  They just finished installing something extra special that they created for me, but Benton is being silly acting like an old man...that's my cane in his hand that I use occasionally as needed, mostly nowadays to close the bathroom door when I forget...it's the perfect reach and hook to push the door closed from the throne! LOL.  TMI.   

Here is what they had just installed for me:

I bet no one else in the world has a super duper toilet paper holder like this one!  Here's the scoop:

The original toilet paper holder would not stay attached to these very thin manufactured home walls, even with the mollies in the wall to hold the screws in place. Every time I'd pull on the TP, the roller thingy would fall out and the paper would go rolling across the floor...you can visualize how much fun that was. Because the studs in these walls are 24 inches apart, in order to fasten something to a stud board, it would have to be at least 24" wide.  Hence, you see the creation above!  That board is a little over 24" wide, and they fastened it to the studs on each end, and then fastened the toilet paper holder to the board so it won't keep coming loose! Benton did the carpentry, and sweet Rose did the painting...even the sweet little Chickadees and flowers! That part was a real surprise! I love it!

Here's another couple of items in my bathroom that they created for me over the past few years:

They know I love bears...we used to see them regularly at our last house, so this is to remind me of them.

And this nice little shelf/towel rack. No, I didn't take that photo. It was a gift. But I have seen a Little Blue Heron like that here on Still Waters Pond and do have a picture of it. Some day I think I will start framing some of my own photos...but I do love this one.

I am certainly blessed to have such talented and thoughtful "kids".  

Now, you can blame this part on fellow blogger the Mad Snapper  (a.k.a. Sandra), who recently posted a post on her blog about toilet paper roll art, (Part 1 is HERE) and she blamed it on Myra, of Respice, Prospice.  So, since they were talking about toilet paper rolls, I thought I might as well keep it going...so these pictures were taken through the "lens" of a toilet paper roll...blame it on the eclipse, Mad Snapper said.

It's good to be silly and have some fun, don't you agree???

I like the Old King James version of this verse:

Proverbs 17:22

22 "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."

I hope you have a "merry heart" today...we don't need those old dried up bones!

Good night!

A Visit to Ireland- A Creative Adventure Revisited

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and also in memory of our blogging friend Toni Taddeo...I wanted to repost this special little story.  I've shared it several times now over the past few years, but since St. Patrick's Day only happens once a year, I hope you won't mind reading it again if you already have, and if you are a newer friend here this may be your first time to enjoy this little Irish Fairy Tale.  Here is what I wrote in 2021, and prior to that when Toni was still here with us.

3/16/2021:

Our dear friend Toni Taddeo,  also known in the blogging world as Treasures By Toni, passed away several years ago.  Toni left us with such a wonderful heritage of creative writing adventures, poetry, and interesting blog themes. Those of us who were privileged to have been Toni's blogging and Facebook friends miss her daily smiles and wisdom.  Our friend Annie over at Cottage By The Sea has picked up where Toni left off with a Tuesday 4  weekly theme in memory of Toni.  You may want to check that out.

But today I wanted to do something a little different, in memory of Toni.  Toni used to do a "Toni's Creative Adventures" meme, where she would give us several unfinished sentences that we needed to complete with our own special creative adventure.  Here is one that I did, using Toni's prompts, back in March of 2018.  Since tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day I thought I would share this one again, as I also did last year at this time. So here we go, back in time and space to a happy place...won't you come along with me? Some of you have already commented in times past, but there are a few new friends who might not have ever seen this before. I hope you will enjoy it.

Original Post 3/12/2018

So, what did YOU do the Monday after the time change to spring forward?  I know what I did...I took a nap!  (I did yesterday too...and the day before that, and the day before that...) I actually look forward to nap time!  I snuggle down with my blankie and pillow and fall asleep within one minute (wish I could do that at night)...and I stay asleep for at least fifteen minutes...sometimes twenty or even thirty!

Well today I must have either fallen into a much deeper sleep, or perhaps something else happened...I'm not exactly sure... but I found myself...

1.   "Walking in a countryside in Ireland,  and I see a strange green glow coming from behind a large tree. Walking up to it I find a large pot of shamrocks...

 They were so lovely, they seemed to be glowing and smiling up at me...

2.   Being the curious kind I decide to pick a little bouquet...

3.   Much to my surprise as I bend to pick them, a sudden gale blew up and whirled me around and round and finally sat me down on a lovely garden bench. 

As I recovered from feeling a bit dizzy, I looked around, and sitting there beside me was a delightful little tea tray, with the prettiest little Irish red haired girl blinking her bright green eyes at me and asking me if I'd like to have some tea!

Well, of course, I said yes!  

And then she asked if I would do the honor of pouring since the teapot was so hot and a bit too heavy for her to lift...and so I did.  

As we sat there together, sipping our tea,  it was so peaceful and lovely in spite of the wind...and I noticed some dainty little wildflowers blooming across the lawn, and thought how perfect they would be for our tea table...

The little yellow flowers looked like miniature dandelions. 

The tiny purple flowers were so delicate and airy...it seemed as though they belonged in a fairy garden.  (Perhaps it was???)

4.   Deciding this must truly be an Irish fairytale, I laughingly think to myself that I must have fallen out of bed or hit my head or something, because how could I really be sitting in that lovely little garden in Ireland, sipping tea with this lovely young maiden when just a few minutes ago I was taking a little nap in my own bedroom many miles and oceans away?

Suddenly I woke up, sprang out of bed, rubbed my eyes and looked around my room. Everything looked just the same as it had before my nap.

And then I got up and went into the kitchen, and there on the windowsill was this tiny little bouquet...

But where did that shamrock come from?...  What do you think?

Thank you, Toni!  This was delightful!!!

Well, You have just come along with me on another of Toni's Creative Adventures...  and I wish Toni were still here to share more of her creative ideas with us.  These were a lot of fun, and I am sad that I didn't participate in them very often, because now all of her special creative adventures are lost to us.  Perhaps there are some of you out there who might have some of them saved in your blog archives, and maybe we could revive them again in memory of Toni...just a thought! It's another way to keep her memory alive and we could all benefit from the wonderful ideas she shared with us.

2021: Current picture in my kitchen! The little Irish Maiden found a little Scottish Maiden friend, and they picked some fairy flowers for us to enjoy for St. Patrick's Day!  

They had a little help from another little "Irish Lass", 

Miss Lily Grace....

who is all dressed up in her Irish Green so she won't get pinched!

And perhaps some help from the fairies as well...

Proverbs 17:22 (NKJV)

 "A merry heart does good, like medicine,

But a broken spirit dries the bones."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 I hope you all enjoyed this little adventure in fairyland with me. In the midst of  the current world situation we need a little levity and creativity to lift us above our troubles and help us to enjoy some lighter, happier moments.  Have a blessed and beautiful St. Patrick's day...and be watching for the little fairies and leprechauns to bring some cheer to your day!

Finally Back Home!

Page One of our journey to and from Georgia this past weekend, with the primary goal of attending the "80th Birthday Celebration of Life" for my husband's cousin "Sonny", who passed away right around Thanksgiving.  He had told his wife Joy, while he was seriously ill and in ICU, that he wanted her to go ahead with the plans for his 80th birthday celebration regardless of the outcome of his illness. Plans had already been made to have such a birthday party, decorations had been ordered, and he assured her he would be there in spirit if not in person.  I will share more about that "Celebration" in a later post, but first I wanted to take you along on our little trip,  which was also a mini-vacation with our son and his wife and their two sweet pups, Sugar and Spice. To begin with, we had decided to rent a "mini-van", which turned out to be a Chrysler Pacifica, for the trip, so that we could all ride more comfortably and have plenty of room for all the "cargo".  That turned out to be a very good decision, and we enjoyed having that vehicle with all the latest bells and whistles (literally) and plenty of room for our long-legged men, we medium legged ladies, and also our short legged Pekingese pups and their crate. I wish I had taken a picture of us all packed in there, but you can imagine I am sure. 

My apologies to my Facebook Friends, as you have probably already seen most of these pictures.

We started out bright and early (well, it was actually still dark) at 7:00 a.m., and hit the Florida/Georgia line around 9:00 a.m.  Of course we all waved 'Good bye Florida, Hello Georgia" as we passed the signs. Do you do that? That's something we've done since childhood every time we go from one state to the other. I just wonder if everyone else does that?

We made a gas/pit stop around noon at a Buc-ee's...have you ever been to one of these super gas station department stores? 

Here I am meeting "Buc-ee" outside for the first time:

 It's not a truck stop, but a mega-pit stop with food, souvenirs, and all manner of things to see and buy, if you can stay long enough, and not get lost... I found it a bit overwhelming and also a bit concerning while I stood outside waiting for my hubby to come back out the door he and entered when he went to find the restroom. I was going to direct him to where the kids had moved the car after getting it filled up and where they were walking the dogs.  I stood there waiting for at least 15 minutes, and I was getting a little frightened when he still had not returned. I was about to go get our son to go inside and look for him to see if something had happened in the restroom, when I saw my son waving to me to come back to the car.  (Now, keep in mind, this is a very big place).  I motioned back to him that I didn't know where Daddy was. He motioned for me to come on.  That's when I realized that "Daddy" had already returned to the car, and apparently had gone out a different door from the building than where he had gone in.  I cannot begin to explain the sense of panic I had begun to feel, and then the relief that he was there safe, but also a bit angry at him for doing that to me! Of course, he didn't realize I was standing outside waiting for  him, so he was perfectly "innocent" and sitting in the car eating his sandwich while mine was getting cold.  I was thankful that all was well, but I also let him know exactly how I felt...sweetly of course. LOL.

Moving right along, I settled back into my seat and tried to relax for the next leg of the trip. Soon we were in Atlanta, amazingly we managed to drive through it with no major traffic issues. Thankfully we got there before rush hour. (Which, in Atlanta, is actually most of the time, but this was a bit of a lull in the action)

Here's a few pictures as we entered the city...

That's my sweet DIL trying to capture a picture of the gold dome of the State Capitol. I was doing the same thing...

Surrounded by skyscrapers and big buildings on every side...

Hey, there's the "Google" building, and TBS, (Turner Broadcasting System).

More buildings being built everywhere we looked as well...

Finally we got outside of the city and headed out toward the mountains...and there they are in the distance!  What a beautiful sight!:

And after a few more hours of driving, and then a VERY winding, steep, scary, nail-biting drive up into the "resort" where we had reserved a cabin for our stay,  we finally arrived at our destination:

The "Red Door Cabin":

It said to "Come on in & cozy up"...among other fun ideas...

And this little hand embroidered sign was on a table at the front door:

And yes, we gasped with joy as we entered the "little cabin to keep" and saw the soaring ceilings and the  stone fireplace climbing up the wall:

It wasn't long before our smart daughter in law figured out how to light the "gas" fireplace and the room began to warm up so that we could "cozy up" as the doormat had invited...

Oh, and look at the view out the back door...those are mountains in the distance:

They became more blue in the sinking sun at the end of the day...

And the cozy ambience of the fireplace and the candles soon helped us all to relax and settle down for the night.

The next morning brought about "coffee time"... (and I had to learn how to operate one of those fancy Keurig machines). Thankfully the hosts of our Airbnb had provided complimentary coffee k-cups and even several choices of tea bags...

Which suited me to a cup of tea...even a red whistling tea-kettle!

One of the funny things in this cabin was this hallway of doors...we played "what's behind door #1, or door #2, or door #3, or door #4, or even door #5?  Steps to the basement, which was locked off, were behind #1, Our bedroom was #2, A small closet was behind #3, our bathroom behind #4, and a small laundry room behind #5!  I won't tell you how often I tried to open the wrong doors...lol.  I didn't take any pictures, but the kids had the 2nd floor, complete with a little den, their bedroom with another balcony overlooking the back yard, and a master bath with a jacuzzi tub!  All very lovely...

This was the view in the morning as the sun's rays were reflecting on the trees and mountains...

Looked like the trees were on fire!  So beautiful...

And then, this happened:

Deer started arriving next door and then they came over to our yard...and apparently they are used to being fed by the guests...but we didn't have anything to feed them at this time...

They were still very hopeful...

Lots of young ones and young mothers too...

As a matter of fact, as we drove out for the day, we saw them all  through the neighborhood wandering around from house to house. There must be hundreds of them living in this area...and they are quite tame...

Oh, this was the sign on the wall above the dining table:

And these were the windows in the living room:

Here's where I sat for a while having a cup of tea in the afternoon...

And yes, we did go buy a bag of deer corn, and look how many showed up for dinner!

This young buck was asking if there was any "seconds" for him...LOL.

On Saturday we met up with hubby's brother and his wife for lunch and then we walked around the little town of Ellijay, shopping in all the shops (don't think anyone bought a thing!), and just talking and laughing and having a good time. Here's a few pictures to show you how much fun we were having:

Outside of "Linda's Outback Antiques and More" shop was this cute sign, so we each had to take our turns getting our picture taken.  Above is Rose and Benton.

Here's Peggy and Billy

And here's the true antiques, yours truly and hubby John

Here are the three Steiner men

And the three Steiner ladies.  

Just walking around having fun. This was a cute toy store. It was good family time.  Later that evening was the "Birthday Party", so we had to go back to our respective quarters and get ready. But I will share more about that in another post.

On Sunday it was very cold, rainy, and foggy...not a good day to go out driving on that treacherous road for us flatlanders. So we stayed home and relaxed inside and played Yahtzee, made popcorn, and enjoyed a quiet day inside.  I had not played Yahtzee in years, so I had to relearn. But guess what? I even won a game!! It was fun doing this with our "kids".

We also made pizza for lunch and the boxes of "Sicilian Pizza" we had purchased had these silly mustaches as cutouts on the boxes. So DIL Rose and I thought we'd be funny and try them on:

Then son decided to get in on the act and we decided he looked a lot like Teddy Roosevelt!

Rough and Ready Teddy! LOL.

I should include a picture of the sweet grandpups, Sugar (the white dog) and Spice, (the brown dog).  Sadly, Sugar had picked up a tummy bug of some kind and was not feeling too perky, along with having to be taken outside quickly and quite frequently all night long. That made for a lot of stress and concern, but I am happy to report that she is just fine now. Apparently something just had to literally work its way out.

Tomorrow I will share more about the Birthday Party and other pictures.

For tonight I would just like to thank the Lord for being with us all the way there and back, and that except for Sugar having a tummy bug, everything else went very well.

Psalm 66:1-4

1 "Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!

2 Sing out the honor of His name;

Make His praise glorious.

3 Say to God,

“How awesome are Your works!

Through the greatness of Your power

Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.

4 All the earth shall worship You

And sing praises to You;

They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah

Amen and Good night for now.