Friday Foto Friends: Robins, Hush Puppies, and Kitty Cats...

Good Morning!  It's Friday already...and I know some of our friends in the southeast and northern parts of the country are expecting a major winter storm this weekend, so you are definitely all in our thoughts and prayers. Praying you don't lose power due to the heavy ice on the power lines, and praying you will be able to stay "snug as a bug in a rug" in your warm cozy home.  Whatever you do, please stay safe!  Strangely, it will be in the high 70's and low 80's here in north central Florida this weekend, but that polar vortex of cold air will slip down our way next week, and we will be back in the 20's and 30's for a few days too (morning temps).  I know that's not the same thing as you will be having, but for us it is still a challenge. Thankfully no ice or snow is expected here, but we will know that winter isn't over yet!  Please stay in touch with us here in Blogland as you can, as we will be anxious to hear how you are doing. 

We had a few stragglers from the Robin flock fly in for a drink and a bath this week on their way further south.  I guess they got a late start and realized they'd better get a move on if they were going to escape all that freezing weather up north!   I was happy to see them enjoying their bathtime before they flew away:

In my previous post HERE, I mentioned having grilled catfish and hushpuppies at Cracker Barrel.

One of our blogging friends from across the world and below us in New Zealand admitted to not knowing what "hush puppies" were, except for the shoes.  So I thought I would share some information for her benefit, and perhaps for others from our more northern part of the country, who may not be that familiar with what exactly a "hush puppy" may be! I looked up the following information on Wikipedia, and shared a few excerpts for you below:

 Link to history of Hush Puppies (the food, not the shoes)

"Typical hush puppy ingredients include cornmeal, wheat flour, eggs, salt, baking soda, milk or buttermilk, and water, and may include onion, spring onion (scallion), garlic, whole kernel corn, and peppers. Sometimes pancake batter is used. The batter is mixed well, adjusting ingredients until thick, and dropped a spoonful at a time into hot oil. Many older recipes call for the batter to be cooked in the same oil as the fish it accompanies. The small corn dumplings are fried until crispy golden brown, and cooled.[9] Hush puppies are often served with seafood or barbecued foods. They are commonly made at home or served in restaurants advertising home-style food.



The first recorded use of the word dates to 1899.[5] The name has no verified origin. Etymology is attributed to a variety of sources; one such source alleges that the food was given the name when hunters and fishers would feed the food to dogs they brought with them in order to "hush them", or get them to quiet down."

This is a link to a recipe I found online that sounds pretty authentic. but there are a lot of variations, according to your particular tastes.  I have often used a Jiffy Corn Muffin mix and added the chopped onions to it, and it turns out pretty good, but most people use white corn meal I think rather than the yellow.  Again, it's whatever tastes good to you, and if you do them right, you will want more!

Regarding the Kitty Cat:

Blackie continues to explore our house when he comes inside for his breakfast every morning (yes, that's the new routine, even when he still sleeps outside because it is warmer right now).  He decided to be brave and jump up on one of my antique needlepoint chairs (they belonged to my grandmother), which really isn't a place I want him to be...but since he was there I took his picture before he could undo the needlepoint on the chair...

That box is supposed to be his entertainment, not the chair!  But Blackie has a mind of his own, I am discovering, and it tends to be a rather stubborn mind I've also discovered!

Still, it was a good "photo op"...

And here's the kicker...This is what the pillow says on that chair:

Yes, Blackie seems to know just how to get to my heart.  "All things grow with love" is so true.

Here's some words about LOVE from God's Word...and there is a special kind of love that we experience with God's creation of animals...

1 John 4:7-11

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 

10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Okay folks, that's it for this morning...gotta get a move on. I do pray you will have a blessed and beautiful day, regardless of the weather, and may God be with you and keep you safe and warm.

Monday Monday

Happy Monday Morning in Mid January!  Welcome to a little bit of winter/spring? here in FLorida!  Two days ago it was in the 80's, and today it started out in the low 40's...and as the week progresses it will actually dip back down to below freezing again!  

The Robins have finally arrived on their migration from the north to the south for the rest of the winter!

They have been all over the place the last couple of days, looking for worms or bugs or berries or whatever they can find to help store up energy for the rest of their flight southward.

Matthew 6:26-27   

"26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

They actually got here a little bit later than usual. Normally we've seen them come through in late November, and in some times past this holly tree was loaded with berries just waiting for them. But sadly most of the berries have already been picked by other birds and/or squirrels, so there weren't a lot left for the Robins.

However, I know there are other holly trees all around the pond and I am sure they are finding enough to eat, because they are still out there, coming in swarms...and even covering the dry pond. So there must be something out there for them!

Anyway, it's always fun to see them as they pass through. We will look forward to seeing them again later in the spring on their way back north.

Even though it was a chilly start, the sun was coming up and brightening our day so it feels a little warmer.

It was a beautiful start to the day, and we are thankful for the sunshine, even though I'm still watching for that rain to come and refill our pond!

Speaking of our pond, someone posted these pages on Facebook from some old sales brochures from this community, from back in the late 1960's, when they first developed this area.  In the picture below, if you look at that half moon shaped pond at the bottom of this aerial view of our neighborhood,  that is our Still Waters Pond from back in the very beginning!  Do you see the two little islands that kind of look like eyebrows?  Those are the islands I can see from our yard as we look at the pond. That green strip of land on the east side of the pond is where our house is now. (it would be the top side as you are looking at the picture, with the street running at an angle, which is actually the street that runs in front of our house).  There were no trees around the pond then, or actually not many trees at all in the neighborhood.

I love that it says you will have "carefree outdoor living in an ideal climate"...LOL. They meant wintertime I am sure.  Anyone moving here in the summertime soon learned there was not such a great "ideal climate" in the summer, and you spent more time indoors with the AC, if you had it! Back then they didn't have central AC, so I believe a lot of these homes were built mainly for "snowbirds" who only spent the winter here.  "So Where the Sun Stays"..."You can escape from a teeming city atmosphere. Be free of winter's blizzards, smoke, smog, and pollution.  There's fun-in-the-sun living all year long".  LOL.   That's debateable for sure!

This picture below is another view of our pond, taken from the west side of it and looking across to where those two islands are with only a few palm trees on them. That chalet/A frame looking house would have been directly across the street from our house if our house was there,  but our house wasn't put here until about 2003. Just look at Still Waters Pond!!No lily pads, and lots of WATER!  But no real trees around it either.  It wasn't the lovely bird/wildlife sanctuary that we enjoy now.

Here's a more recent aerial view of the pond, taken from a different angle, our house is at the bottom of the picture, with the street running in front of it. Across that street is where that A Frame house used to be.  And yes, that is a 4 lane highway running on the south side of the pond. Back when this area was developed, it was just a two lane highway, and I'm sure it was much quieter.

This is a view of the pond from our back porch, as it looked when we still had water in Still Waters Pond:

Again, those A-frame houses would have been on the street across from where our house is now:

And this is the house that is in that location across the street from us now:  (Or rather the huge magnolia tree that is across the street! LOL)  I don't know what happened to those A-Frames, however. I think they were promotional homes back in the day, but for some reason they didn't survive the test of time!  

Yes,  it was a snowbird's paradise for the time, with inexpensive mobile homes, carefree living, lots of lakes and sunshine!  Sadly, now so many of those mobile homes are over 50 years old and they don't look quite as nice as they did then.   We are thankful for the house that we have that is much newer and more modern, but yes, it is an old time "trailer park" from the 60's-70's in most of the rest of the neighborhood.  There are quite a few newer manufactured homes throughout the neighborhood, but there are still a lot of the old, which I wish some could be removed...but it is what it is. We bought our house here because it was affordable and on the pond, and close to our kids who live in a different neighborhood about a mile away, and we love our community and church.  There are some things that I wish I could change about the neighborhood, but for the most part people are friendly and the community is quiet, except for a few loud trucks and cars now and then passing by, but we are thankful to have a place we can afford and enjoy our retirement. Oh, and we have some nice new neighbors next door to us in that new house I told you about many times before. They are sweet Christian people and we are thankful to have them as neighbors. 

Switching gears a bit...since the weather IS getting so cold, our little friend Lily Grace was hoping to go sledding! She got this nifty sled for Christmas (it was a thrift store discovery that was just the right size for Lily, so of course it couldn't be passed up!)  So she's looking for a nice snowy spot to take a sled ride.  

Since most of the winter scenery has been put away with the Christmas stuff, we had to discover some clever backgrounds to find just the right place for her to go sledding.  This place looks like it will do just fine. I see lots of children over there sledding down that hill and having a great time, so Lily Grace is on her way to have some winter fun!

Whee!  What a ride!! 

That was fun!!!

After all of that excitement Lily Grace went back inside and had some hot cocoa with her friends! That was a fun adventure for a chilly day!!

Speaking of cozy adventures...yesterday the "kids" came over after church and we had lunch together, and then these guys all snuggled up on the couch together:

Yes, that's Benton holding Sugar, and Rose holding Spice. One big happy family!!

And yes, Scott was here for the afternoon too, and you can see he's nice and comfy in his flannels...LOL. He finally set up the display case that Benton built for him for Christmas, and put his collection of Camaro cars in there.

Looks pretty neat!  Also his Aunt and Uncle gave him that book for Christmas that is displayed below about Muscle Cars, so he added that to his collection.  Yes, he keeps these things here at home in his room even though he doesn't stay here all the time anymore. He works about an hour + away, so has a room that he rents from a friend who is close to his work, but this is still his permanent home where he keeps his "stuff".   That's fine with us. We enjoy having him come home whenever he can, even if to do laundry! It's always a joy to have your kids come home.  

One last thing...I've been enjoying these poinsettias that I bought back before Christmas. Thankfully they survived the freezing weather a couple of weeks ago because I put them under the back porch where the frost wouldn't be able to touch them. Looks like I'm going to have to do it again this week!

The spots on the petals are actually rain drops, as it was misting rain a bit yesterday with the cold front coming through. They were sparkling like diamonts, but these pictures don't do them justice.

So please just imagine that all those spots are like diamonds sparkling in the sunshine, okay?

Thinking of sparkling or looking radiant...I will close today with this portion of Psalm 34:1-8

I 

"1  I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

And let us exalt His name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,

And saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,

And delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"

Amen.

Have a blessed and beautiful week, my friends. And be radiant!!

Wednesday Treasures ~ And a Prayer Request

 

I started to publish this post last night, and then when I went over to my Facebook page I saw this announcement from our dear friend Barbara at Sweet Tea and Sandals:

"Tom Mims is being transferred to hospice care tomorrow. All of our children and grandchildren are en route now. Pray for sweet times together. Visits will be severely limited due to COVID restrictions. Pray we have more time with my Beloved, the love of my life. Holding on to Joshua 1:9, "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear for God is with [me]."

To say I am in shock would be an understatement. We've been following the story of Barbara's "Beloved" Tom for the past three weeks, as he has been in ICU with COVID, but the hope was, until last night apparently, that he was getting better and would soon be transferred to a different hospital that specializes in lung care until he could go home.  However, after reading Barbara's post in her blog (highlighted above), his lungs are in very bad shape and it seems as though Hospice is the best option for him at this time.  My heart is breaking for them and for their family. This picture was taken of them when they came to visit us in our new home last fall. They so graciously brought us some storage totes that they no longer needed after their big move the previous summer into their new home about an hour away from us. We had such a great visit with them. Such gracious and loving people. Tom celebrated his 70th birthday this past Sunday, and their 50th wedding anniversary is upcoming in December. Please keep Barbara and Tom and family in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.  

After that news I really wasn't sure if I wanted to continue my regular post.  But since it was already written, and perhaps we all need some beauty and joy in our hearts right at this moment, I will go ahead as planned...but my heart is truly heavy this morning as I prepare this.  Here is what I had already written last night:

I hope you don't mind if I share a few more pictures of the Robins and Cedar Waxwings in the holly tree. They are still diligently at it, eating every berry in sight. I believe the tree will be bare by Thanksgiving Day! I can't imagine how they can eat so many berries in such a short amount of time, but there are a lot of birds and they just keep flying in and out all day long.  It has been fascinating to watch. The only downside is they like to fly back to the big oak trees in our front yard and sit there until they are ready to fly back to the holly tree for more berries. While they are in the oak tree, they are right over top of our car, and you can imagine what they are doing to our car while they sit up above...yes...so we have had to park our car in a different location until they are gone! What a mess! We had to take the car to the car wash yesterday morning.

So enjoy these pictures of the birds while I look for something else to share with you for my Wednesday Treasures:

Look at that face!  I think he sees me!

This Cedar Waxwing is doing some fancy acrobatics, hanging sideways on the branch and apparently he is flexing his wing out to give him balance as he picks the berries of the branch.

Now he's a little more upright and in better position.

There aren't as many of the Cedar Waxwings as the Robins, so I am thrilled when I can get a picture of one.

These two robins seem to be working very closely. Maybe they are related.

And this lone Robin sat there looking out over Still Waters Pond for a long time. I think he was contemplating where to go from here. Maybe calculating how far they will have to travel to get to the next big holly tree when this one runs out of berries!

Okay, I found some interesting things, but these aren't my treasures. However, they are vintage treasures from the past. We went out for lunch with some friends after church on Sunday to a different place than where we normally go. This place is a little further down the road, and we've been there before, but they recently changed owners and the new folks have cleaned it up a bit and made it more interesting. I enjoyed walking around taking pictures of some of the things they have sitting around.  Maybe you will like them too:

The new owner has been buying mismatched vintage dishes from the thrift stores and using them for their dinnerware. This pretty little Johnson Brothers saucer was used for our bread.

Here's the pattern/name in case you are interested! I loved it!

They are starting to sell more gift items. I love this vintage gas stove they are using for display:

And this vintage General Electric refrigerator reminds me of the one my parents had when I was growing up. I can remember learning how to defrost the freezer! I was so happy when, for my parents' 30th wedding anniversary, we four kids went together and bought them a new frost-free refrigerator! It was harvest gold, in keeping with the times. 30 years later, for their 60th wedding anniversary, we bought them another one, this time it was a lovely almond color. That one lasted them the rest of their lives as my mother passed away around their 64th anniversary and my dad lived five years longer. I believe we sold it with their house.  Anyway, I digress....let's keep moving on before I get too nostalgic.

I went into the ladies' room, and look what they had!

Thankfully, that wasn't all they had, but I thought, gee! I could've used that last week while waiting for them to come clean out our septic tank...which they did finally do by the way, thank the Lord!!

Also they had this granite ware in the ladies' room, sitting on top of a enamel topped "Hoosier Table"

This is the label that is still on the table. My Hoosier Cupboard originally had a label like that too, but it had been painted over so many times that it kind of dissolved when I stripped the cupboard to refinish it. I always wished I could find another label to put on my cupboard, and I must admit I was tempted  to "borrow this", but I knew better.  Maybe I will print a copy of it and glue it on my cupboard. That would be okay, wouldn't it? LOL.

Gee, I wish I'd known! I could have brought my laundry and washed my clothes while we dined! LOL. How many of you remember using a wringer washer? I know my mother had one on the farm in PA., but when we moved to Florida in 1956 we got an automatic washing machine. It was still a few years before we got a dryer, however, so clothes were always hung on the line. They smelled so good!

Now if you get bored you can always take a little ride around on the tricycle, or in the cute little kiddie car! Hard to believe we were ever small enough to ride in such a thing!

Now, someone tell me. Is this a chamber pot, or just a pretty casserole?

I thought maybe since it was in the hutch it was a casserole or soup tureen? Maybe, maybe not.

They had a lot of old photographs from the little community that used to be where this place was. It's long gone now, but apparently at one time it was a "thriving" little town.

When you step up on the front porch of the restaurant, "Pappy" wants to tell your fortune. He seems to be better at cracking funny jokes and insulting people in a fun way. 

Here is the restaurant: Hog Wild Country Cafe'.  They have great BBQ. Right now they just do lunch and supper. I wish they had breakfast too.  Just seems like it is a breakfast kind of place.  Anyway, we had a good time, and enjoyed seeing all the fun memorabilia. There's much much more to see, but these struck my fancy this time. Maybe next time I go I'll show you the rest of it!

So now I am getting ready for Thanksgiving. Started doing some housecleaning today (writing on Tuesday) and will finish that up tomorrow. (Wed.)  I have a friend actually coming over to help me a little bit. She does house cleaning for a living and needs some work right now, and I need some help with some things so it sounds like a win win to me.  Then I will get busy and bake the pumpkin pies and start getting other things ready to cook Thursday morning. My sweet daughter in love is cooking the turkey at their house and will bring it here when ready! What a blessing to have our children living near by. And as of this moment, my sister and her immediate family will be coming to join us for dinner. If the weather is nice enough, we may just dine outside on the porch, to help keep the fresh air flowing around us. Pray that everyone stays safe and healthy. That is our biggest concern for this day.

I hope that you and yours will have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. No matter how big or small our gatherings may be, let us take this opportunity to truly thank the Lord for bringing us safely through this year and all that it has involved. And for those who have had illness or even may be fighting it right now, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, praying that the Lord will give you strength to keep going and the peace to know that God is with you and will never let you go. (Praying especially for Barbara and Tom Mims, and also some of our other blogging friends who have also been diagnosed recently with Covid.) If we've learned anything lately, it is that this illness/virus is truly a serious and vicious foe that is not to be toyed with. 

The 23rd Psalm seems to be the most appropriate message I can share with you today, in light of all that has transpired in the past 24 hours:

Psalm 23

23 The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

Sunset on Still Waters Pond, 11-24-2020

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

Amen.

Sunrise~ A new day is dawning. Let us give thanks to the Lord, and not take anything or anyone for granted. May God be with you all. Amen.