Wednesday This and That...

 Tea Time with the Cardinals...

This afternoon Mr.  and Mrs. Cardinal were quite active at the bird feeder, preparing for the cold weather that is coming up tomorrow night.  

As Mrs. Cardinal flew down to the "Tea Time" feeder, I decided it was time for me to have a cup of tea as well, to take the chill off of the afternoon.  

I enjoyed watching the birds flying back and forth to the feeder while I sipped my tea and relaxed a bit from my labors.

 

Mr. Cardinal wanted to see what Mrs. Cardinal was finding so interesting...

They were certainly a beautiful bright spot of color against the drab backdrop of the wintry landscape and DRY Still Waters Pond.  Hopefully the rain that is scheduled to usher in the cold front will bring us some much needed rain. We keep hoping and praying!

So what kind of exciting things do You do on a dreary winter day when it's too chilly/windy to go outside and "play"?  

Well...some people play with soldiers and have battles...

It's been a long standing tradition that my hubby's brother would give him a bag full of soldiers for Christmas...and at some point there would be a major battlefield set up and "Daddy and the boys" would play "war".  However, we forgot to do it while they were here the other day, so someone was anxious to try out his new soldiers, but he needed someone to be the "enemy', so I was elected.

Nerf "dart" guns serve very well for the purpose.  And for a few wild and crazy moments, we shot our weapons across the battlefield at each other and then tallied up our losses.  I think in the long run, hubby won this battle, but I'm still getting used to the rules of the game. We may have to have another round soon.

This very very short video doesn't really show much because I was trying to aim my weapon and shoot my camera , or was it the other way around...oh yeah, aim my camera and shoot my weapon at the same time! Either way, it was fun.  But we are looking forward to the kids coming back over so they can have a real battle! Stay tuned...

Oops, I just checked and the video didn't work after all, so nevermind! It was too short to show much anyway!

Oh, and why does his brother give him these soldiers every year? Because he remembers his big brother playing with soldiers and setting up battlefields for all of his young childhood years, and it's one of those fun brother memories that brings back thoughts of happy times as kids.  Actually, I think his brother needs to come over and play!!! It's too bad they live 2 hours away!! We have to remember that for the next time they are together!

Now, on another note, with the colder weather coming this weekend, getting down below freezing they say, I am getting more concerned about Blackie being outside all night, even though he seems to be fine, but this is going to be colder than we've seen yet...and so because he isn't really ready to become a full time inside cat and roam freely throughout the house at night, we thought we might try something else. I saw this at Walmart today and decided to buy it and give it a try:

 

I set it up on the back porch for a few minutes so he could see it and to see what he would do with it. He went right inside and explored for a minute, but of course I did not zip it shut, so he didn't feel trapped inside.

He had fun exploring his new "tent".

I also brought it back inside and he did come inside and look at it again, but I don't want to scare him off from it so right now we are just letting him come inside occasionally and look it over, and then tomorrow night I will attempt to get him to come inside and then zip it up for the night. One question I have...do cats need to use the litter box during the night?  I'm thinking not. I don't want to put a litter box inside this with him...what do you think, those of you who have more experience than I do with cats? I would appreciate your thoughts on this, especially if you have dealt with outside cats coming inside. Thank you. You all have been such good helpers with good ideas. 

Meanwhile, I've been wanting some really good fresh juicy Florida grapefruit for a while. You'd think living in Florida it would be easy to find, but no it isn't.  Florida really doesn't grow as much citrus as it used to when I was growing up here, and it's getting harder and harder to find, especially as far north in the state as we live.  But I did manage to find some at Walmart, and yes! It had a sticker on it saying it was from Ft. Pierce, FL., so I know it's got to be good! (We actually used to live in Ft. Pierce, and that is where my husband first served as a Pastor of a small church many many many years ago!!)

Normally I usually only eat one half of a grapefruit at a time, and save the other half for the next day. But this tasted SO good to me, I ate the whole thing at one sitting! LOL.

And yes, I am on a statin drug, and I know it says not to eat grapefruit with statins, but that means don't eat it at the same time as when you take your medicine, at least that's what I have heard and believe. So I ate the grapefruit in the evening and I take my meds in the morning. I have not suffered any ill effects and if had to choose between the two, I'd much prefer the grapefruit!! LOL.

Tomorrow I will be at the dentist for several hours, having the other side of my mouth deep cleaned and then the root canal done and a temporary crown put on. They said I will be there for at least 3 hours. And I doubt I will feel any too perky when I come home and the numbness wears off, so I don't expect to do much tomorrow.  Hopefully I will be back to normal on Friday...and on Saturday I am looking forward to seeing "Your Friend from Florida", Terri Dorsaneo, as she comes passing through here on her way back home from a whirlwind trip to Georgia and back! We will have lunch and a nice little visit before she has to head on down the road another two or three hours to her home.  

I am borrowing this photo from her recent post, which I think I have a copy of already but can't find it now so I am copying it from her blog. This was when she and her dear hubby Joe came by to visit us way back in 2017, when we lived in our previous home...and obviously it was right around Christmas! We have met a few times since then in person as well, but this was the first time, and I am so thankful that we got to meet her dear Joe. He was truly a very sweet and friendly man, and he and my hubby enjoyed visiting with one another.  He is greatly missed.

Well, folks, that's all for now. I will update you on everything that happens in the next few days in my next post. 

Now here is some good food for thought for today from Philippians 4:4-7, 19.

"4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, 

with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 

7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

"19 And my God shall supply all your need 

according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Be Blessed, my friends!!

Friday Foto Friends-Bluebirds and other Delights!

Happy Friday! Does it seem possible that we are almost at the end of January already? This month has certainly flown by...but it's not over yet. This weekend promises to bring us more really cold winter weather, down in the very low 20's each morning...so I bet that's why this Bluebird has had his eye on this birdhouse the past few days...

Caught him in mid-flight here...but he was very busily flitting around this house and back and forth up into the tree...there were other bluebirds about as well, so perhaps the competition is stiff to claim the birdhouse before the frigid temperatures come rolling in...

He looks it over this way and that...

Checking all the corners and floor and roof and every part...

But I never saw him actually go inside. He did look in the "window" a few times, but he's still not sure.

I'll keep watching and let you know what develops.  I wonder if this is the same Bluebird who was here last year? I wish there was some way to tell, but I don't think I'm quite up to putting a band on his little leg.  No matter...we will enjoy watching them whoever they are! I'm not particular! As long as they pay the rent and keep the place tidy...that's all that matters! LOL.

And as long as they can stay away from this fella.  Mr. Red Shouldered Hawk had found something tasty to eat way over on the other side of the pond. Sorry this isn't clearer, but he was a LONG way away, and of course as soon as I spotted him, he flew away.  But these predators are always on the lookout for things like unattended bird nests and rodents and lizards and whatever they can snatch up in their sharp talons and have for dinner. Even though I enjoy watching them, I don't want them to find any baby birds!!

So let's move back inside, shall we? 

If you've been following the development of my Amaryllis plant since Christmas, you will remember that it already had one batch of blossoms early on.  Then it sent up this very tall 20" high stalk, and soon two new buds appeared...this is how it looked the day before yesterday: 

And THIS is how it looks this morning:

Both blossoms are fully open!

It has been so much fun to watch this flower grow and bloom. I highly recommend that you purchase an Amaryllis bulb kit for yourself each year. They usually are available before Christmas at places like Lowes, Home Depot or Walmar, in the garden center.  They aren't very expensive...and they are so much fun to watch develop right inside your home during the winter. Then, if you wish you can plant the bulb outside and it will bloom again possibly this summer or at least again next spring. Of course in some climates it is best to leave the bulbs in a pot so you can bring it back inside in the winter. 

Such a bright and beautiful delight on these cloudy, dreary winter days!

Now, someone here in blogland mentioned Gingerbread recently, Nana Diana Takes a Break, to be exact...and that set my mouth a watering for some warm gingerbread with whipped cream on top.

So I made some last night. Forgot to take a picture with the whipped cream, so you'll have to use your imagination...but it was every bit as delightful as I remembered the way my Mama used to make it. (click that link for the recipe). 

I've been having a hankering for some fresh grapefruit. I remember the days when we could go out and pick our own grapefruit (and navel oranges) off the trees in my father's yard, and oh! how I've missed that wonderful juicy treat! Well, yesterday afternoon I got a phone call from one of our church friends, asking me if I'd been out on my front porch lately. I thought that was a strange question, since she knows we are staying indoors most of the time due to this "bug" we've been fighting and also because it has just been downright cold and windy and not all that pleasant outside lately. Well, anyway, she said I should look on the porch, and so I did, and there to my wondering eyes was a bag full of beautiful fresh grapefruit!! How did she know I'd been wanting some?  God must have whispered in her (husband's) ear...I say her husband because he's actually the one who picked the fruit off their tree and brought it to us. She said she was just the "messenger".  They have also been fighting this "bug" this past week,  as are about half the people in our church...so we've all been staying away from each other and trying to get well before we get together again.  But isn't that amazing how God provided this grapefruit for us to enjoy...and also to help heal us from this bug!?  God is so good.

So what else have we been doing while staying indoors?  Well, another one of our blogging friends recently mentioned (Your Friend from Florida, Terri!) that she liked to watch a show on TV called Escape to the Chateau, which is series of documentaries about this young English couple who buy a very old French Chateau, and are renovating it while supporting themselves by having it serve as a wedding venue...while also raising their two very sweet little children...anyway, I thought I'd check it out, and got hooked on it...and even hubby enjoys watching it with me! So that is a win-win! That should last us for a little while, and when we run out of that show, something else will come up.  I think the Murdoch Mysteries new season is starting up again later in February... 

So I guess that's all for today, folks!  I hope you've enjoyed seeing the things that have brought us some delight this past week in particular!  We are very thankful to be feeling better, but still have some residual sinus/cough issues so we are staying mostly at home except to make quick store runs. We are truly thankful for God's grace and healing power.

Okay, time to get moving. Have a blessed and wonderful Friday and weekend!