Friday Foto Friends~Family Time!

 Happy Friday Everyone!   

If you are one of my Facebook Friends, then you've most likely already seen some of these pictures, but there are some others that I reserved just for you here in Blogland, so don't go away...

Yesterday we traveled about an hour south to meet up with hubby's brother Billy and his family at our favorite meeting place, "The Mason Jar".  Above you will see left to right: My sister in law Peggy, their daughter (our niece) Shannon, whose birthday we were there to celebrate, although her birthday isn't until later in May, but because of their college and family schedules, this was really the only time we could get together for awhile. Next comes our nephew Nicholaus , my hubby John, his brother Billy, our son Benton, our sweet daughter in love Rose, and  your's truly. I guess I'm holding my bag because I had gotten out my cell phone to have this picture taken. A very sweet lady who was sitting at a table near us came over and offered to take our picture. That was so sweet of her. 

Of course I had already been taking a lot of pictures ever since we got there, so here they are...

No trip to the Mason Jar would be complete without me hugging the bear in the lobby.

I also thought he needed a little kiss.

Son Benton thought he would imitate the bear...

And then kiss the deer...

He should've kissed the "Dear" beside him instead. LOL.

Hubby wanted to get in on the act and was "interviewing" the bear, asking him what he thought about all the crazy people who come in there and want to hug and kiss him and the deer.

The bear just grunted and and basically wished we'd all just go away and let him live in peace...

He's lucky this old timey hunter  on his motorcycle with a side car for his hound dog was only interested in deer instead of bears...LOL. Yes, that's a real photo there in the lobby...

 

Well, back to the real people...as I said, we were celebrating Shannon's 22nd birthday! Isn't she beautiful?  She's currently finishing up her Associates degree as a Paralegal and also another Associate of Arts degree to prepare her for finishing up her Bachelor's degree in pre-law studies. Then she hopes to use her paralegal degree to help her work her way through law school.  She's very ambitious and smart!

Her brother Nick is working on his Master's Degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Auburn University.  He's a pretty smart guy too!

Two lovely women, Peggy and daughter Shannon.

Oh, here's two handsome guys: my hubby John and his brother Bill. (we call him Billy, and he calls his brother Johnny.)

While we were standing outside of the restaurant I noticed this old Cracker style house across the street. I told the kids that's the kind of house I would love to have out in the country...but with an open front porch and a screened in back porch, and maybe not have the roof quite so rusty. LOL.  I just love those old style country houses.

Well, when we got back home Blackie was waiting and watching for us outside from his tree. So, even though it wasn't quite time for his supper and we needed a nap really badly, we let him come on inside. He took a little nap somewhere in the house and when I came out of the bedroom he was waiting for "Daddy" to come out to sit with him...and as you can see, he was waiting on top of "Daddy's" laptop...

He looked at me as if to say, "Hey! You're not my Daddy! I'm waiting for him right here where I know he will be any minute now!" LOL.  He just wants to be near his "Daddy".  LOL.

However, this morning we just came home from shoppping at Walmart, and while I was putting things away Daddy went in the bedroom to take a little nap, and so Blackie decided to take a nap this time on the shelf beneath the TV. He likes to hide from us in different locations, I think hoping that we won't find him and just let him stay inside forever.

However, I know he loves being outdoors too. Lately the bluebirds are still trying to lure their babies out of the nest, and I've noticed that if Blackie (or even me) walk too close to their house, the parents swoop down over our heads to warn us off.  So I've actually been letting Blackie stay indoors more during the day so he won't get too close to the babies if they should leave the nest and fall to the ground...I know I can't be there all the time to protect them, but at least I'm trying to do my part.

Well I guess that's all the fun for today. It's time to fix some lunch. So I will say "Hasta la vista, baby!"

Just some "food for thought" from God's Word before I go... 

Matthew 10:29-31

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 

31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Amen.

Friday Foto Friends

Good way to start my Friday morning...Morning Tea Time with Blackie...

"Someone" has decided that he likes my lap best here lately...

This was last evening...

we both took a little "cat nap" for a while...

It was very peaceful and relaxing to sit with a warm kitty in my lap for a while,  but it does make it difficult to get much done! LOL.    However, last evening it felt good to just sit and relax with Blackie. I had started out my day by having to be at a dental appointment by 8:00 a.m. for a "periodonal maintenance cleaning". What a way to start the day! And then I finished up the afternoon with an ultrasound mammogram as a follow up to my regular mammogram, because it had shown some areas of "concern", but they said it most likely is because of "dense tissue"...which comes with "old age". Although I won't know the results of the ultrasound for a few days, the technician who did it said that he didn't see anything to be concerned about, so I will take that as a good thing and not be too concerned. I wasn't too concerned anyway, but it's always a good idea to follow up with things when there is any question or doubt.  

All that being said, it was nice to sit in my chair and relax with a warm kitty in my lap for a while. However, Blackie could probably just stay there forever if I'd let him, but eventually I had to pry him out of my lap (with his claws clutching at my leg...LOL).  He is a character, and I think God knew we needed him.

I don't really have any new other pictures to share with you today, but I thought I'd go back a week or so to some that I took and never showed you because there was too much other stuff going on (Easter, etc.)

I know we've all been watching the flight of the Artemis 2 around the moon...and at the time of the launch I took some pictures that I wanted to share with you...

First off was this calendar picture that I forgot to include with the batch of April calendars....This is the one that has quotes from Billy Graham on it, and I found this month's quote to be quite appropriate for what we are currently experiencing:

Isn't that perfect?

Well, what is even more exciting and 'perfect' to me, was that I was able to literally see the rocket launch from our front porch, over 100 miles away!  Here is when it was going up into space:

Yes, that little smoke trail going out toward the eastern sky was the trail of the rocket going up into space from Cape Kennedy!

I was really excited to be able to see it all the way from here! That was pretty amazing!  And also amazing was that we were having a beautiful full moon at that time as well...

Here's a few pictures I took at that time, this was in the early morning...while the moon is setting over Still Waters Pond:

And these were as the moon was rising the night before.

I was just amazed to think that those four astronauts would be literally circling around that big old moon and sending us pictures from the dark side of the moon!

And now they are on their way home and hopefully will touch down safely today, so we are praying for their safe return to earth.  

May God bring them safely home with no issues.   News article about their expected trip home.

Okay, I have to go. Today we have grocery shopping to do and we want to get out before the Friday rush.

May God be with you today and this weekend, and may He give you peace and joy and comfort and strength!!

 

Wednesday Treasures and Wrong Turns

 Good Wednesday Morning!  I'll start out with these pictures of my "Wednesday Treasures" for today:

"Someone", a.k.a. "Blackie", or should I say "King Blackie", has discovered how to leap up onto the back of Daddy's chair and perch there near his favorite person...

I must say he totally surprised Daddy by jumping up there behind him...

And he became rather aloof when we noticed him and started taking his picture...

This morning is cool and rainy !!! Yes!!! Praise God! It rained yesterday and is going to rain more today!! Still not enough to fill Still Waters Pond, but it's a start! Anyway, because it is cooler and rainy, it's a good day to bake biscuits:

and eat them with some of this delicious Cherry Berry Jam that Mari from "My Little Corner of the World" brought us when she was visiting here in Florida last month :

They were so good, along with some scrambled eggs and bits of our Easter ham...

It was a lovely way to start today after yesterday's very LONG day...read on...

I'm sorry I missed yesterday totally...but thank you for all of you kind comments on my Monday post and before that too.  I am way behind in commenting/reading other's posts. Last week was so busy and this week seems to be starting out the same.  Yesterday hubby and I both had appointments with eye specialists in a city about an hour + away from us...and my eyes had to be dilated, and that pretty much took care of the rest of the day for me. I was unable to read or write as my eyes stayed pretty much dilated until bedtime!  I went to the specialist to determine whether or not I am ready for cataract surgery.  Although the doctor said that yes, my eyes are pretty much ready for cataract removal, they aren't that bad yet and I could wait a while if I want to. However, he did say that he's more concerned about the possibility of something he saw that makes him think I could have the beginnings of glaucoma, and he wants to do further tests on that the next time. However, my next appointment isn't until July, so it can't be anything too urgent. He just wants to watch it for now.  So I will be praying about that and hoping that what he saw was not really anything to worry about.  

The most interesting part of our day yesterday was the trip there.  I told hubby that I wanted to try a different road that connects to the main road that we normally take to travel to that city. I thought it would be a kind of by-pass to a lot of traffic that we normally have to go through.  And so he dutifully followed my instructions to turn onto that road, trusting that I knew where I was going. It was actually a very nice, quiet road, without any traffic and many lovely scenes of woods, pastures, cows, and farms. However, when we came to a certain crossroad, we weren't sure whether to turn left or right to get to the next connection road to the main road we wanted.  I didn't have my map app open yet on my phone, thinking I knew where we were and that my "instincts" said we should turn left and it would take us to another road to turn right, which would get us to the road we wanted.  Oops!! I guess my "instincts" aren't as good as they used to be in giving directions.  No sooner than we made that turn and then the next one, it became obvious to me that we had missed our connection and we were heading a bit out of the way from where we wanted to go. It would get us to our destination eventually, but it would take us a bit more to the west before heading due north east. And hubby didn't want to turn around and backtrack for fear of it making us late for our appointment, so we continued on in the direction we were headed.  It was a lovely ride through the woods and country and there was no traffic...so all seemed perfectly fine until we came to the end of the paved road and discovered that there would be nothing but a dirt road for the next 5.5 miles! 

I forgot to mention that it was raining! Yes! Precious rain! Finally! Of course while we are trying to drive through the woods on an unfamiliar road! But still...and actually it was a blessing on this dirt road, because it was just a light drizzle and it kept the road dust from swallowing us whole. (And it wasn't enough to be muddy yet).

Here's what I didn't tell you OR my hubby as we were driving on that long, very remote road through the woods...the little "town" we had passed through ??? (Where? I didn't see any town???) was named Bardin. It's nothing more than a spot on the map, and apparently there was a small grocery store, but I didn't notice it because we were so intent on figuring out if we were going to make it to our destination on time.... (we did, thankfully, with time to spare, so no harm done).

But I have since looked it up online, and yes, indeed there was a little grocery store...we just missed it...

(Google earth view)

I vaguely remember seeing this, but we didn't have these blue skies yesterday and again, I was concentrating on making sure the road would get us "somewhere" on time...

Internet Photo

(From their Facebook Page)

Anyway, there was a lot more that could have been seen in the little community of Bardin, if we had been so "blessed"...LOL...you see, there is a legend of a creature known as the "Bardin Booger"...yep! That's what they call him...and there have been books and stories and newspaper articles written about him...

I looked him up on the computer to see what I could find out to share with you:

"AI Overview

The Bardin Booger is a legendary, Sasquatch-like creature reported in Putnam County, Florida, specifically around the small town of Bardin since the 1940s. Often considered a regional variant of the Florida Skunk Ape, it is described as a tall, hairy,, foul-smelling biped that sometimes appears in local lore as a harmless,, costumed figure.
The Florida Times-Union +3

Key Aspects of the Bardin Booger:Origin: Sightings began in the 1940s, with reports describing a tall creature resembling a man covered in fur or a "raincoat".

Characteristics: It is often described as a 6 to 9-foot tall hairy creature. Some legends claim it carries a lantern or smells intensely, sometimes inhibiting witnesses' ability to act.

Cultural Impact: It is a well-known, lighthearted mascot for the Bardin community. Local residents, such as the late Billy and Lena Crain, used to dress in costumes, sing songs, and appear at local events to celebrate the legend.

Location: The sightings are concentrated in the rural, swampy areas near creeks in Bardin.

Explanations: While some view it as a real, undiscovered animal, others attribute the sightings to misidentified wildlife, a local hermit, or a person in a suit."
The Florida Times-Union +4

Here's a "song" written and sung about the 'Bardin Booger'.   I have actually read the book that was written about it, but I don't have a copy to share,  and they are no longer in print apparently. 

Well, all fun aside, we finally made it safely through the woods and "swamp" where the "Bardin Booger" might be living, and we were quite happy to get back to the familiar road that we normally take to this eye doctor.  It runs alongside the St. John's River, and here's some pictures I took as we passed by in the rain...

As I said,  all's well that ends well...we made it to our appointment on time, and then we headed back home on the right road,  and because it was already past our lunch time, we stopped on the way home to eat lunch at a new restaurant that just opened up in Palatka, "Master Steak and Seafood", and we had the "special".  

(Not my plate...internet photo...but the Country Fried Steak looked like this:)

They gave us huge portions and we had to take home a 'doggy bag'.  

So all in all, it was an interesting day. As I said earlier, my eyes stayed dilated almost until bedtime, so I wore dark glasses in the house and I think Blackie was afraid of me. LOL.

Hubby said last night that he was glad we had prayed before we started our trip yesterday. We were thankful that He kept us safe and got us on the "right track" even though we might have made a wrong turn.  I learned a good lesson....

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

"Lean not on your own understanding..."   Definitely consult with God before making any wrong turns...and also study the "map", whether it be on your phone or on paper, ahead of time, and be sure of which way you are supposed to go before you begin your journey!!!  Thankfully God was with us and it turned out to be an interesting adventure. But we probably won't go that way again. LOL.

Have a blessed and wonderful week. I am trying to get caught up with my reading of your posts...but please bear with me. Tomorrow is another busy day...and today I am trying to get caught up with things here at the house.  You are all very dear to me.  

 

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April Fool's! And Much More

Hey! Look at me, Mom!  I'm a giant chocolate Easter Bunny and I'm sitting on your dining room table and you can't make me move! April Fool's!!! LOL.  

Do you see that pink tongue sticking out at me??? This young man is certainly getting sassy in his new life as an indoor/outdoor kitty cat!  The nerve of him to think he can get on the dining room table with all of my cherished little Easter Bunny collections, and pretend he's one of them!  I think he was jealous! LOL.  And for those of you who will most likely want to ask, "What happened to his ear?"  When we had him neutered through the local TNR program, that is what they do so that if he's released back into the "wild" they will know he's already been "fixed." Apparently it didn't hurt and he's never complained about it. Makes it easier to identify him if necessary. Well, I know who he is and where he is, and right now he's back outside! So there, Mr. Chocolate Easter Bunny wannabe! LOL. (don't worry, he'll be back inside soon. It was just time for him to go out and chase lizards for awhile like a good kitty. LOL.)

So, today is April 1st, also known as April Fool's Day! And Mr. Blackie already had his fun with us.  I wonder what other fun things will happen today! Do you play April Fool's jokes on people, or do they play them on you? It's all in good fun!

There was a full moon last night, and here's this morning's view of it through the trees as it was descending...

And here's the sun rise a little bit later...a lot of jet contrails in the skies this morning!

And again, just a few minutes later...a LOT of jet activity in the skies. I wonder if this is because of that  rocket launch to the moon this morning at Cape Kennedy?  Oops! April Fool's on me! It's not scheduled until tonight at 6:45 or thereabouts. My mistake. So I guess it's just a busy morning for air travel.

Oh, another April Fool's joke on us! We are on a community water system here, and they did send out a notice last week that there would be a need to boil water on April 1st after they do an annual system maintenance.  What didn't register with my little brain was that in order for them to do that, they would be turning OFF the water this morning! It didn't register until I went to start washing the breakfast dishes and hubby went to do his morning bathroom activities, i.e., shaving, brushing teeth, grooming, etc., etc...and also subsequently I went to do my morning bathroom routine of the same (except for the shaving, LOL).  Thankfully I had several gallon jugs of water that we keep on hand for emergencies, plus we have a case of bottled water for drinking purposes, so we will survive. It was just a shock to realize that we had no water right when we wanted it most! So my dirty dishes are waiting in the sink. I'm glad I didn't start a load of laundry...and also glad we have no particular place to go today so we really don't need showers, etc. Hopefully this little inconvenience won't last too long...but then we will have to boil our water probably for a day or two until they give us the all clear notice. 

Still, I am thankful that we have water in our little world here at all. With the drought we are experiencing there is a real danger that water levels in the aquifer will continue to lower, which causes people's wells to go dry and also increases the danger of sinkholes in places that are prone to that.  So we continue to pray for rain every day. It's not just our Still Waters Pond that needs it!

Okay,  moving right along...since today is the first day of April, it's time for the calendar roll call!

We'll start out with this one that is closest to my desk...The John Sloane Country Seasons Calendar for April:

"Good Morning Sunshine".  Oh,  I love that for many reasons. Isn't it beautiful? Perhaps some of you can relate to that picture even better than I can. We don't have daffodils here (sadly), and I think most of the blooming trees are already bloomed out or haven't bloomed yet. Plus, we don't have those lovely rolling hills or mountains here either.  It truly is a beautiful scene that I would love to step right into, if I could.  Especially the daffodils. 

I've mentioned this before that my mother always put a little vase of daffodils in the center of an angel food cake for my sister Doris' birthday on April 5th. Since we moved to Florida from Pennsylvania way back in 1956, daffodils became very hard to find and so we often had to resort to using artificial ones. Anyway, my sister and her husband are coming HERE on Saturday to celebrate their birthdays with us. They both were born on April 5th. I will be baking an angel food cake for Doris, (it's her 80th birthday!) and a coconut cake for Art. (it's his 82nd birthday!)  I am on the look out for a pot of daffodils somewhere in a store between now and then, and if I can't find any, I will have to use the artificial ones. Tune in later (after Saturday) to find out if I was successful or not.

Back to the calendars...here's the log cabin calendar I have in my bathroom...this little rustic cabin looks like it's seen better days...but still there's a fire in the fireplace apparently, so someone must be at home. It would be fun to go knock on that door and say good morning! 

Love this little Susan Branch calendar and the pictures on it... that looks like my bluebird going into the nest.  

I just got up and went to the back door to look out and see if I could get a picture of any action at the Bluebird house, and this is what I saw:  If you look closely at the birdhouse, you will see mother Bluebird sitting in the door, and you will also see to the right a beautiful male Cardinal on the birdfeeder. Just after I snapped that picture the bluebird chased the cardinal away... (oh, look how beautiful the bottlebrush tree is blooming now!!!)...

The mother Bluebird flew up to the top of the post above her nest, and waited for the coast to be clear before she flew away to get some food for her babies...

Meanwhile, a female Ruby Throated Hummingbird flew up to the feeder for a drink (all this was happening in seconds of each other)

And Papa Bluebird kept a close watch over the nesting area while Mama went to find food. 

Yes, I am "in love with nature", just like that calendar above said!! God's creation is so interesting! There's never a dull moment, if you just look for it!

Okay, back to the calendars...This is the picture for the Tea Pot calendar this month...isn't it the strangest teapot you've ever seen?

This is in the description:

This Chinese Yixing Teapot has a lid  "shaped like the face of a panda..."

It's certainly different! LOL.

Let's finish up with this beautiful Thomas Kinkade calendar for April, with a picture of Notre Dame, in Paris, France.  

An appropriate picture and verse as we are in the middle of Holy Week.

And this is the verse at the bottom of the page.

Well, friends, I don't know where you are in your mid-Holy Week journey, but as we progress to the cross on Good Friday, may we be ever mindful of the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for our sins.

Here are some words to ponder that Jesus shared with His disciples as He was making His way to Jerusalem, knowing that He was going there to die for the sins of the world...

Luke 9:23-26

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 

24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 

25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 

26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

I wonder if we have truly counted the cost of what it means when Jesus said to all of us who would be His disciples... to "take up (his) cross daily, and follow Me."  As the days draw closer to Christ's return for His "bride", the church, I hope He will find us ready and worthy to be a part of His heavenly kingdom for eternity. I know for me, "this world is not my home, I'm just passing through", and I eagerly await  His trumpet call. Are you also ready to follow Jesus wherever He may lead? That's what this Easter journey is really all about...being ready to take up Christ's cross and follow Him wherever He may lead us.  It's truly something to think about while there is yet time.

And that's NO April Fool's Joke!!!

Have a blessed and meaningful Holy Week.