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!

The Quiet Place.... Another of "Toni's Creative Adventures" UPDATED

This post was originally written on 1/18/2018, and is another of our dear friend Toni Taddeo's "Toni's Creative Adventures".  As I shared another of these creative adventures with you here last week, I did so in loving memory of our friend Toni, who very sadly passed away a few months ago after a fierce battle with breast cancer.  I wish that I had participated in more of her creative adventure memes because they always were fun and entertaining as well as mind challenging.  Those that I have participated with I will share with you a little at a time over the next few weeks.  Perhaps it will stir up some creative ideas in your own mind. I am certain that Toni would be pleased and honored if anyone wanted to use these same prompts to create your own stories and share them here in memory of Toni as well.

So, without further ado, here is what I wrote on January 18, 2018:

Here is my "Creative Adventure" based on Toni's meme for this past week:

http://toniscreativeadventures.blogspot.com/

The Quiet Place
1.  While looking for a quiet place to rest my tired body after a bad day at work I stumbled on a: path through the woods that I had never noticed before in my usual wanderings.  The sunlight was shining through the trees, filtering through the branches, beckoning me to follow the light...like a shimmering, glistening angel, smiling down and reaching deep into my weary soul..."Come, follow me..."

And so I did...and as I followed that glorious light into the depths of the woods,

my path diverted and began a descent down through the trees...and there suddenly appeared a body of water...and it seemed as though the woods whispered to me...

I was stunned!  How could this lovely place have been there all along and I'd never known it?

As I stumbled further down the path I gasped at what was there before me...

   2.  It was the most beautiful place that I ever could have imagined!

So peaceful, serene, calm...exactly what I needed...

3.  I turned and spotted what, to me, was the perfect place to just sit and marvel at the works of God...

And as I sat there along the shore of this quiet, peaceful little lake, I felt the cares of the world just slipping off of my shoulders and gliding down into the water, washed away and carried off into the depths of the "sea"....It was as if I could hear Jesus, as He walked along the shore of Galilee...that place where He called His disciples to Him, saying, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men..." (Mark 1:17)...and where He healed so many of their diseases and afflictions...(Mark 3:10)...
I know I heard Him say, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest..." (Matthew 11:28)

4.  After a long quiet while I knew I had to get up and head back home...and as I began my ascent back up the little hill through the woods to the dirt road that led back to the pathway home I discovered something I had failed to notice ever before.  There was a little sign saying "Lake Galilee Shore Road"...

I turned and looked back down the slope toward the water and wondered..."Could it be?"

I declare I could hear Him calling to me..."Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace..." (Mark 5:34)

What do you think?

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Although the story may be a bit altered by creative license, the pictures are of a real place along the shores of Lake Galilee...not in Israel, but right here in Florida, not very far away...

"Go in peace..."

-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back to the present (3/25/2020), I would like to give you a little history on the pictures above of "Lake Galilee Shores"...Yes, that is a real place, located not far from where we are currently living.  When I took these pictures a couple of years ago, we had just begun our search for a potential location for our new home. We had decided that we truly wanted to relocate to this area, and we also knew that we wanted to look for property that was on the water in one way or another.  We came across this piece of property, and it was for sale. We fell in love with it immediately, and thought seriously about purchasing the lot with the intention of eventually building our home there.  However, it just wasn't in God's timing. The more we checked into the reality of building on that property, the more we knew it would quickly get beyond our ability to afford it, and so reluctantly we had to give it up.  But it was a struggle. I loved the idea of living on the "shores of Lake Galilee".  I could envision writing a book of devotions with that theme, and I thought for sure it was where God was leading us.  But God had another plan.  It would take another 18 months before His plan was revealed and brought to fruition, and now we sit here on the shores of "Still Waters Pond".

And even though it isn't on the shores of Lake Galilee, Jesus is still calling us to "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men..."

So my little creative adventure really did come true after all!  I love it when God's plans come together, don't you?
I hope you enjoyed this brief interlude from your "captivity at home" with this little creative adventure and also "the rest of the story", as our old friend Paul Harvey used to say.  
Have a blessed day my friends, and stay healthy and safe! And "Go in Peace"....

"Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming"

I discovered this rosebud blooming on my memorial garden rosebush today, and this is what came to my mind:

Today is the 3rd Sunday of Advent, which is known as the Sunday of "Joy".   From our Advent service today in church:

"Our joy is in God and in His son Jesus Christ.  Like peace, joy is a gift from God.  It overtakes us and fills us when we remember what God has done and what He has promised to do.

We light this candle today to remind us that Christ came, and is coming, so that all people might have a rich and abundant life.  We thank God for the hope He gives us, for the peace He bestows, and for the joy He pours into  our hearts."

Let us pray:  "O God of Joy, Emmanuel, send Your light into our hearts at this time.  Help us to be ready for the time of Christ's appearing. Fix our hearts and our minds upon those things You have done and those You have promised to do that we may have the joy You have promised.  As we worship You, strengthen us so that we may always do Your will and so bless You and the world You have made. Amen.

Then we sang this little chorus to the tune of "Away In The Manger":

"A candle is burning, a candle of joy. A candle to welcome brave Mary's new boy.

Our hearts fill with wonder, and eyes light and glow as joy brightens winter like sunshine on snow."

For those of you who have been a part of "blogland" for a while, many of you will know our dear friend Toni Taddeo, from her blog  "Treasures by Toni".  We were very saddened to learn that Toni passed on to her heavenly home this weekend.  But she left us with a wonderful legacy to follow. Toni's "treasures" were many poems written from her heart, and many positive, inspiring, and encouraging words shared with us both in her blog and on Facebook. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.  We know Toni loved the Lord and was looking forward to being with Him.  Here is her last post written on Facebook on 12/13/19, just one day before she took that "walk home" with the Lord:

What's It Like?

"What's it like you ask me about the new changes in my life?

I answer it's hard to explain as my mind still sees no difference

My body is broken and the pain tends to take over at times

But I'm a person with a strong mind and beliefs and resilience

I can cope and accept what life has thrown my very way

For I am blessed with a love so great from my family

Most of all My Lord who walks by my side and holds my hand

Each step of the way and will walk me home personally."

Toni Taddeo 12-13-2019

R.I.P., Toni Taddeo.  

Toni's Creative Adventures: The Garden Surprise

Good Morning Friends! It's time for another of 
Every two weeks our friend Toni, also known from her other blog   http://treasuresbytoni.blogspot.com/, comes up with these fun memes for us to create our own adventures.  If you have a bent for creativity, why not join in the fun?  Just go to  http://toniscreativeadventures.blogspot.com/ and copy and paste the outline to your page, and fill in the blanks.  Then be sure to let Toni know you've played along.  The more the merrier!

The Garden Surprise
1.   Walking through a public garden I came across the strangest and most beautiful ancient garden gate.  It was surrounded by lush and fragrant blossoms of every hue. 

Internet Photo

And beside the gate was this marvelous stone with the following inscription:

Internet Photo

"Pause, friend, and read before you enter here.

This vine-clad wall encloses holy ground.

Herein a mellowed garden dreams away the years,

Steeped in serene sweet light and muted sound.

Herein tranquility and peace abide,

For God walks here at cool of evening-tide.

Pause, friend, and strip from out your heart

All vanity, all bitterness, all hate;

Quench, for this hour, the fever of your fears,

Then, treading softly, pass within this gate,

There, where the ancient trees wait, hushed and dim,

May you find God, and walk awhile with Him."

Pearl Hiatt, Brookgreen Gardens, SC

2.   Truly in awe of what I could see, I stopped and pondered where it might lead.

3.   Could it possibly be meant to just be admired or is it possible to actually open the gate and walk through it to find that tranquil, peaceful place?  Could there truly be such a garden, where "the ancient trees wait, hushed and dim..."
Oh how marvelous if even, "for this hour" One could "quench...the fever of my fears"...Might I actually be able to "find God, and walk awhile with Him"? 
  

What did I have to lose?  The ancient stone suggests that "herein a mellowed garden dreams away the years.."   All that I must do is "pause...and strip from out my heart all vanity, all bitterness, all hate..."  and then just tread softly, and "pass within this gate"...and perhaps I may discover the beauty of spending a "cool evening tide", walking with my Lord.

And so I entered the gate and discovered this lovely bench, where I could sit a while and rest and contemplate the beauty of this place...

And I looked to my right as I sat down and noticed this lovely chalice filled with wine, and the bread...which was broken...for me?  

I know I heard  Him say, "Yes, child, for you...This is My body which is given for you...

Take and eat." 

And then He said, 

"Likewise, take the cup...This cup is the new covenant in My blood...shed for you...

Do this in remembrance of Me."

Oh! What joy and peace filled my heart...all my burdens and fears just melted away as I sat there in His Presence in this lovely garden...such comfort as I'd never felt before surrounded and enveloped me in a velvety mantle of love. It was difficult for me to even consider having to leave.  


4.   I'm so glad I decided to visit this garden today or I never would have known such peace could exist in this world. I learned something in that garden that I could take with me and remember anytime I found myself feeling alone or fearful...just take a moment to pause and draw near to the Lord...wherever I may be...and He will be there waiting for me....just through the garden gate of my heart and soul.

Toni's Creative Adventures-The Bridge Across the Bay

It's time for another of Toni's Creative Adventures!  Our friend Toni sets up the outline for the adventure, and we have to fill in the blank with our own adventure.  So, here goes for my adventure this week:

http://toniscreativeadventures.blogspot.com/ The Bridge Across The Bay
1.   Walking slowly on the bridge across the bay I suddenly stopped to watch the sunrise as it slowly lifted its bright and glowing face above the horizon.

2.   A feeling of peaceful serenity came over me as I stood there rejoicing in the beauty of that moment...a new day was dawning...full of promise and possibilities...a day that had never been before and would never be again.

3.   The sun rays in the water captured the sheer beauty of the perfect stillness of the morning and the golden glory of God welcoming me to embrace the joy of this new day.

4.   Reaching the end of the bridge I thought to myself that today is an opportunity to begin anew...old things have passed away...today is a new creation...God has given this precious gift to me to use for His honor and glory.  What I do with this day is my gift back to Him. May I not squander this priceless treasure. 

Amen.

The Art Museum ~ Toni's Creative Adventures

My friend Toni at https://toniscreativeadventures.blogspot.com/ comes up with these great memes for writing a "creative adventure".  Here is this week's adventure...Toni's ideas are in bold, and my adventure fills in the blanks.  I hope you'll enjoy this little visit to  The Art Museum with me tonight.

The Art Museum
1.   With not much to do and living in the city, tonight I decided to visit the local art museum before it closed. As I entered I encountered: a tall, thin older gentleman, with wavy hair and glasses, smoking a pipe. He was dressed rather casually in off- white khaki pants and a soft blue flannel shirt.  His wrinkled white cotton handkerchief was practically falling out of his back pants pocket, and I couldn't help but notice a few splashes of various colors of paint on the toes of his shoes. In his shirt pocket were various sizes of paint brushes, rather worn with much use. In his right hand he held a small paint brush, and in his left hand he carried a palette of many colors.

2.   Looking straight at me and greeting me with a smile he said: "Oh, I'm so glad you could make it tonight. You are perfect for the model of the girl that I am trying to paint."

3.   Guiding me through the Great Room where all the great masters of art and their paintings and sculptures stood I was amazed to see: these grand old master artists hard at work. I thought I recognized some them from their portraits...but I knew it couldn't be possible that they were really there in person...I mean, that can't be Leonardo da Vinci over there dabbing the final touches on Mona Lisa's smile...can it?  It seemed as though the woman sitting for the portrait looked right at me for just an instant and winked! I was so dumbstruck I nearly tripped over the jar of paint sitting on the floor at the artist's feet.  

And then, as if that wasn't strange enough, the gentleman with the pipe took me by the hand and said, "Please keep following me...we really need to hurry!  Could you help me carry a few things?  I've got to get this painting done before it posts on Saturday Evening." 

As we hurried through the building we passed through a lovely garden, and there was a footbridge over a water lily pond, and on the other side a beautiful woman sat serenely under a canopy of lilacs, reading a book, and she looked like the epitome of springtime. Her bonnet was a delightful creation of pink flowers with ruffles around the edges, and her soft, pink gown spread out upon the grass so gracefully.  I believe I heard her say to the man painting her portrait, "Oh Claude, I could just stay here forever. It is so peaceful and delightful!"

Springtime, by Claude Monet', 1872

The gentleman with the pipe was getting impatient with me as I dawdled along, but honestly, how could I just rush through this magnificent place?  There was so much more to see...and so many of the great artists were there, painting, sculpting, creating the masterpieces that we could only read about in encyclopedias!  This was the opportunity of a lifetime! It was as if I were in a time machine, catapulting through time and seeing such marvelous beauty unfolding around me.  

Finally we entered a room, rather a studio, with many canvasses standing about on easels...each in various stages of completion, perhaps waiting for the next layer of paint to be applied. I recognized so many from the far regions of my memory. There were portraits of people, men, women, children, from all walks of life and ages, doing ordinary and extraordinary things...a family eating a Thanksgiving dinner, Baseball players and fishermen, children playing games and laughing and dreaming together, young lovers at the soda fountain after the prom, a little girl with a black eye and unkempt braids, her blouse untucked from her skirt and shoe laces untied,  sitting outside the principal's office, but looking very proud of herself...soldiers coming home from war, the young war hero telling his stories to the men in the neighborhood garage...and often, more times than not, the image of my "gentleman" seemed to look out from the canvas in various poses and styles...

"Tripleself" by Norman Rockwell

Suddenly I heard a voice over the loud speaker saying it was time for the museum to close.  I knew I had to hurry to find my way back out to the door before it was locked for the night.  The "gentleman" was so "lost" in his work back in his studio, he didn't even seem to notice that I had to leave. He never said another word, but stayed engrossed in his work, as if I didn't even exist.

I managed to find my way out to the door...


4.   Upon leaving I wondered If what I had seen was truly: real?  I hurried through the streets to get back home...all the while wondering at the mystery of where I'd been and what I had seen.  I was running so fast that I never stopped to realize that I was carrying a lot of art supplies in my hands, including a wet canvas...things I know I didn't have with me when I entered the museum. When I got home, my husband asked me where I had been and what on earth was all of this that I carried? There was no explanation for it. I was totally mystified.

However, on Saturday we received a copy of the Saturday Evening Post in our mailbox. And what do you think was on the cover of the magazine?  Yes...it was me..."The Girl Running with a Wet Canvas"...

Girl Running With a Wet Canvas, by Norman Rockwell

The End

For more information about Toni's Creative Adventures, you can visit her at this link:

https://toniscreativeadventures.blogspot.com/

Perhaps you'd like to try your hand at a creative writing experience? It is a great brain exercise! Obviously, that couldn't really be me in the picture...but then again...you'll never know for sure, will you?