It's Sunday...A Day of Rest

 It's Sunday, and I am home instead of being at Sunday school and church.  Had a bit of a "bug" yesterday and today, and I just needed to stay home and let my body heal.  I've been taking a lot of little naps...seems like that is what is needed most.  This morning after hubby left for church I decided to treat myself to being a "guest" in my own house and went and laid down on the bed in the guest room to see what it would feel like to be a guest here. LOL. 

I pulled Nanny Martin's restored quilt* up over me, and I went to sleep pretty quickly, so that is a good sign that the room is cozy and comfy.

Then I made the bed back when I got up so I wouldn't be tempted to lay back down...

I am enjoying the new little shabby chic nightstand that was given to me by my son at Dixie Cottage, and am very grateful to have it.

It will be a nice spot to put a cup of tea and a good book when I feel like reading...

And when I awaken from my nap I can refresh myself with a pitcher of warm water...(or I could just go across the hall to the bathroom where there is real running hot and cold water! LOL)

*(That photograph is of my hubby's "Nanny Martin", who created that quilt originally. See this link for the story about this quilt being restored)

Speaking about being restored...

Anyway, I am thankful for the comforts of home when I don't feel up to being out there in the world. Sometimes we just need to "retreat' and let our body be restored.

Interestingly the sermon today at church is from the 23rd Psalm. How do I know? Well, our Pastor records his messages ahead of time to put on the church website so that people who are shut in at home can go online and hear the message and also sing along with the choir on one of the hymns.  Our choir pre-records the song at our practice time earlier in the week, so that is why you will notice that I am singing in the choir when I am not there at church today. LOL.  Here it is for you if you want to listen to a good message and hear us singing "Oh, How I Love Jesus!"

"There is a name I love to hear; I love to sing its worth

It sounds like music in my ear, the sweetest name on earth.

O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus

Because He first loved me.

It tells me of a Savior’s love, who died to set me free

It tells me of His precious blood, the sinner’s perfect plea.

O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus

Because He first loved me.

It tells me what my Father hath in store for every day

And, tho’ I tread a darksome path, yields sunshine all the way.

O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus

Because He first loved me.

It tells of One whose loving heart can feel my deepest woe

Who in each sorrow bears a part that none can bear below.

O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus

Because He first loved me."

While I was sitting here writing this to you I was blessed by a little visitor out on the porch. I couldn't get a good picture of him while he was sitting on the porch rail right outside my window, but he soon moved out to perch on the post that holds one of our birdhouses, and there he posed for me so sweetly so I could share him with you:

Isn't he sweet? This is a little Eastern Phoebe, and he is a welcome visitor since he loves to catch flies and bugs.  You can often hear them calling "Phoebe, Phoebe" as they sit and watch for the bugs to appear.

This was a sweet gift to see him today. I love the ways God blesses us when we need little reminders of His Presence.

This little bird sits "Beside the Still Waters" here at our own Still Waters Pond...,

very fitting with the sermon today from the 23rd Psalm, where God leads us beside the still waters...where He restores our soul...

A Psalm of David.

Psalm 23

 "1 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.

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."

I hope this has been a refreshing and restorative retreat for you today. May the Lord bless you and keep you in peace.

Amen.

\

Wednesday Treasures

This Anhinga was cooling off in the pond this morning.  

I've been a bit sloth to post here lately...it's been too hot to spend much time outside...haven't been out on the kayak because of the heat, and it seems as though the birds and the other wild things have gone into "hibernation" as well, probably also because of the heat.  After all, it is the middle of summer in Florida! We do still take our early morning walk and an evening walk, but even then the humidity is enough to take your breath away!  And so I am taking my cue from the critters and staying inside and out of the hot, sultry, muggy summer weather.   Even my poor geranium plants that were on the front porch had to come inside to escape the heat. I am trying to save them, but I hope I am not too late!

This red one looks pretty sad.

And so I decided to do something a little different today.  I think it would be fun if others of our friends wanted to do this as well...pick a day of the week to share your special collections, hobbies, things that are extra special to you. Some of you do this already in your regular posts and we always enjoy seeing the things that you love to do or things that are particularly special to you.  I know many of us are at the stage in life where we are trying to "downsize" and eliminate extra "baggage" of so many things.  When we moved last summer I honestly tried to do that. But I am afraid I did not make a very big dent in the accumulation of 50+ years of marriage.  So much of what we have has been given to us through the years by family members, good friends, and just "stuff" that we enjoy having.  Trust me, I know all too well that it is all just "things", and that we can't take it with us.  I also know the Bible verses so very well:  

Matthew 6:19-21

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, 

where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 

where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I am trying to live by that truth, and pray that God knows my heart that these things are only temporary.  Quite frankly, I am greatly looking forward to the day that I can leave this world and leave all the stuff and cares behind. But in the meantime, since I already have all these things, (and I am definitely not trying to add to these collections), why not enjoy them and share them with others  so you can enjoy them along with me?  

All that being said, today I wanted to share some special quilts with you. No, I did NOT create these lovely quilts. These were all gifts in one way or another...some are handmade, some are not.  I'll share the history as we go.  So sit back, get a cup of tea or coffee, or iced tea or lemonade since it is so warm, and let's enjoy the show!

This quilt block is probably the oldest "quilt" that I have. 

Here is the description  on the back, in my mother's handwriting:

What is interesting to me is that it was made by my paternal grandmother Elva Hill Mursch's "grandmother", Grandma Benner

However, my Grandma Elva Mursch was adopted as an infant, and this "grandmother" was really her adoptive grandmother.  I am still in the process of researching my grandmother's birth parents, and will write another story about that someday.  But I have to keep in mind, this "Grandma Benner" was the only grandmother my grandma ever knew.  She never knew her birth parents or grandparents. This framed quilt square is a family treasure.

Now, this quilt is a store-bought quilt, but it is still very lovely. It was given to me by a friend years ago, and I love to use it on our bed.

These next few pictures are from a lovely quilt that was actually created especially for us by some of our church ladies at one of the churches where my husband served as Pastor. So that makes it another very special gift quilt.

I forget what they called the pattern...maybe you will know. Every square is a different quilt pattern.

Now this is another special "treasure" quilt. My father actually created this

"Tumbling Block" wooden quilt, and gave it to me for Christmas one year. He made one for each of his children that particular year, and each one was a little bit different color. I think you could call this an original "Barn Quilt", since it is made of wood and each side of the "block" is a different piece of wood.

Now, this is another special quilt, especially made for me by my good friend Paula.  It is what I call my "nap quilt", as I use it to cover me when I lie down for an afternoon nap. 

I love the bold colors and design. It is just the right weight to keep the chill off when napping.

Now moving into the guest room...Here is my hubby's grandmother's  antique sewing machine, where she used to sew many dresses for her four daughters, as well as make many many quilts. (Although I believe all of her quilts were hand sewn)

This is one of "Nanny Martin's" hand made quilts. She made a quilt for each of her grandchildren and gave it to them when they got married. This is ours. You can read more about this quilt HERE and HERE.

And this is "Nanny Martin", my husband's maternal grandmother. I am so thankful that I was privileged to know her before she passed away. She was indeed a very special woman.

As I said above, this is her Singer Sewing machine,

And these jars are filled with some of her buttons and wooden spools of thread.

Below is a Wedding Ring Quilt that I was blessed to purchase from the estate of a former member of one of our churches. It is a very old hand stitched quilt as well:

I have it on the foot of this bed in the guest room, where it can also be used as a "nap quilt".

The quilt on the wall is actually a vintage tablecloth that was quilted by the sister of a dear friend of mine who has since gone to be with the Lord. You can read more about this quilt HERE.

These cute little guys are sitting in an antique chair that belonged to "Nanny Martin". The tapestry blanket is not necessarily old, but it was a gift from my mother...

There is a portrait of my paternal grandfather's mother, so she would be my paternal Great-Grandmother Mary Vogt Mursch.  She passed away when my grandfather was only about 12 years old, after bearing at least six children, two of which did not live past age two. My great-grandfather remarried and had one more child with his second wife. 

This lovely black and white "lap quilt" on the dresser was created by my friend Paula! She actually made this for my mother in law, and when my mother in law passed away I asked our friend if she would like to have it back, but she declined and so it came to me.

This lovely cross-stitch was lovingly created for me by a dear friend many years ago.

Proverbs 17:17

"A friend loves at all times..."

These two little bears were gifts from my sister Doris.  And yes, it is true:

"Sisters are the beary best!"

This pillow is very special.  The embroidered design was done by "Nanny Martin", and I created it into a pillow for my husband's cousin Janice for her birthday, as Nanny Martin was also her grandmother, and Janice used to always have poodles.  You can read more about her story here: 

This little picture on the wall in the guest room is kind of special:

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow...

Don't walk behind me, I may not lead...

Just walk beside me and be my friend."

Albert Camus

I will close with that thought.  I hope that you have enjoyed this little walk through my quilts and memories.  I do hope that you will share some of your special "treasures" with us in the near future. It is such fun to share these things with others. Since most of you will never come here to stay in my guest room, and I probably won't ever get to visit you and your home, this is one good way to share our special "treasures" with one another.  I do hope you will, and be sure to let me know when you do!!

Okay, it's time to go crawl under my "nap quilt" and take a little nap! See  you later!

Friday Foto Friends...A Special Journey-Updated for my records...

Howdy Friday Foto Friends!  Another busy week has just flown right by...and it has been filled with a lot of good things, some interesting things, and some great times with loved ones and friends. I already told you about our wonderful Mother's Day weekend visits HERE in my "Thankfulness Journal".

Well today (Thursday) we took another trip to visit with some very special friends who live a couple of hours away from us.  You might remember these dear friends from our visit with them last August... Click Here for "A Day Spent With Special Friends"   .  Since that time things have not been so wonderful for them. Our dear friend Howard was diagnosed with colon cancer this past winter, and he has been suffering quite a bit for the past few months.  We've wanted to go visit for some time, but there never seemed to be a good time for them, due to the side effects of this cancer itself.  However, we knew we couldn't keep putting it off, so today we ventured south to visit...traveling through intermittent rain, but not bad enough to cause any problems.  I did not take any pictures while we were with our friends today, but we spent every minute just visiting and appreciating the wonderful friendship that we have shared for about forty years.  When God blesses you with true Christian friends who have been there for you through good times and bad, you find it hard to see them struggling with such health issues and feel so helpless to do anything to help. We did pray together and that is the best thing we can ever do.

So now, on a brighter note, I do have a few pictures to share from our actual trip along the country road today...

We "flew" past this old red caboose rather quickly, and I wasn't even sure if I'd captured a picture at all, so was delighted to see that it did turn out pretty good...Not sure what is being done with it...but I always love anything to do with trains, so was happy to see this...

All along the road I kept seeing these beautiful wild phlox and other wildflowers, and I finally convinced hubby to pull off the road and let me take a few pictures.  I was hoping to also get pictures of the many little white and yellow butterflies that were flying all over these flowers, but they were moving too quickly for me to get any pictures of them...so just imagine little butterflies flitting from flower to flower:

This patch of wildflowers was right next to a huge big field of vegetables...yellow squash, corn, and other stuff I couldn't determine...but it sure looked healthy and green!  So wonderful to see!!

Aren't these wildflowers gorgeous?  Our God is so awesome...

On the other side of the road were these yellow wildflowers, sorry for the window reflection, but you get the idea...also you can see the railroad tracks running alongside the road.

If you looked at the link I posted above about our Day Spent with Special Friends (you could click this link as well), you will see that my dear friend Evelyn had done some very special things for me on that day last year...i.e.; she restored//salvaged a beautiful old quilt that my hubby's grandmother had made for us as a wedding gift...and I wanted her to see how I was using it now in our guest room:

Yes, this is a different quilt from the wedding ring quilt featured last week HERE (Welcome Guest), but I wanted to use it here as an alternative. The original squares on this quilt are still rather fragile to be used regularly due to the age of the fabric used, but it will serve very nicely as a "nap quilt".

I also wanted Evelyn to see that I am now using the beautiful art/plaque she created, using some of the scraps from this quilt...The antique picture in the center are some "borrowed ancestors"...no one we know, but this is just an art creation. However, I do have plans to insert an old picture of my hubby's grandmother in this space as soon as I can make a good copy of it...then it will represent her as the creator of the original quilt.

UPDATED ON 5-20-18

 I wanted to add the following pictures to update the "art/plaque" that my friend Evelyn created for me last year.  She had suggested that I should replace the picture with "Nanny Martin", the creator of that quilt, and add something that belonged to her to the plaque. So I did that today, and here are the results:

This is a picture of "Nanny Martin", possibly not long after she was married (at the age of 15 in the year 1912.)

I added the little pin with the clear aqua stone that you see on the bottom corner of her picture. That belonged to her.  Also I added the larger key, which I believe came from her house. The fabric pieces surrounding her picture are scraps from this quilt that she made.

I guess we have come to "The End" of today's pictorial display.

Here's three little deer running away from the scene of the crime last evening...

they had come searching for my petunia plants and couldn't find them...

Someone (Annie from Cottage by the Sea) said I should name the deer "Petunia"...so that is what I shall call these little rascally deer from now on. They all look the same, so they will all just be called "Petunia"

Now let's escape over to Deb's place at Breathing In Grace and see what our other Friday Foto Friends have been up to!!  Oops! I just saw that Deb is unable to host our gathering tomorrow....I hope she is okay...we will miss her this week.  So, I guess we are on our own...I may as well go ahead and post this tonight and you will see it tomorrow when you wake up!

"You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalm 16:11

Praying for dear friends tonight...many with serious illness...

Praying for those who have difficult family situations that are hard to deal with...

Praying for peace in our nation and world...

Praying for our President and our leaders...

And Thanking the Lord for good friends...

Amen.

A Day Spent With Special Friends

Do you have any special friends...you know the kind...the friends that have been friends what seems like forever?  They've been in your life in one way or another through good times and bad, happy and sad?  Fun times and deep times of spiritual growth and service...

Uniquely gifted, uplifting and giving...

Special Friends.

They don't happen to come along very often in life.

If you are fortunate enough to find such friends, hang on to them with all you've got! 

They are a rare treasure, not to be taken for granted.

We have been blessed with such friends...true gems in the rough stones of life...

And here is one such couple.

We went to visit them at their unique "RV" retirement home, and also at the log home of their son and his family...

Below is our friend's woodworking shop, where he has created many unique and wonderful things throughout the years, in addition to helping his son and daughter in law build their log home.

And this is his wife's "workshop", where she creates many lovely things, in addition to playing beautiful music in between her sewing, quilting, crafts, and recycled jewelry creations

The quilt my dear friend is holding below is another of her wonderful gifts to me.  I already showed you one quilt that she repaired for me a couple of months ago HERE.  At that time I showed her this old quilt that had been lovingly created by my husband's grandmother many years ago. (I forgot to take a BEFORE picture!)  It was a wedding gift to us from his grandmother. (48 years ago!) "Nanny Martin" had made a quilt for each of her grandchildren to be given as wedding gifts.  The only problem was the fabric that she used was very old...possibly scraps of material dating back to when her own four daughters were very young.  As a young bride I did not know how to properly care for a quilt...and after I used it quite frequently and perhaps a little carelessly, I tossed it into the washing machine...only to discover to my horror that the fabric was literally falling apart in many places. Even the batting was lumped up and coming out of the quilt...and I was so ashamed and heartbroken.  I had to hide the quilt away so that my mother in law would never see what an awful mess I had made of that lovely old quilt...especially after I tried to piece it back together by sewing new cloth onto old...and you know what that does...

"No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment;

for the patch pulls away from the garment, 

and the tear is made worse."

Matthew 9:16

Too bad I had apparently never read that verse as a young bride...

So anyway, back to the present...my dear friend told me after examining the poor old quilt that she thought she could rescue the remaining good parts of it and create something that would still be useful and beautiful...and here is the AFTER picture of her restored creation:

 She was able to use many of the unspoiled squares, making a few repairs to them, and placing them on a totally new backing and border. It is now more of a twin or double bed size coverlet, as opposed to its previous queen size.  But it is amazing that she was able to restore and use that much of that poor old quilt!!!

And here is a tearful me with my hubby trying to hold this quilt up in between my cries of joy so she could take our picture...

And then she gave me another unique creation, which is actually still a work in progress...This is an old picture frame with an antique photograph of someone neither of us know, so my job is to replace that with an old picture of my husband's grandmother...and the picture is surrounded by some of the quilt scraps from this quilt, and interesting old pieces of jewelry, buttons and lace, making a marvelous collage of ancient treasures.  I am going to finish it with a picture of "Nanny Martin", and perhaps a few of her old buttons and pieces of jewelry.  I'll post a picture of that when it is complete.

 So you can understand why I feel so blessed and thankful to the Lord for such friends as these!

After recovering from my shock over the miraculous restoration of our quilt, we turned to other interesting things in my friend's "workshop".  Below are some extravagantly decorated Emu egg shells!  The family used to raise emus there on the property, but no longer.  These are a few of her amazing creations!   Then notice the white feathery headdress beneath that...it was one of her granddaughter's wedding headdresses that my friend created!!

Of course I had to try it on for size!  Isn't it lovely?  Don't you think I should wear this to my son's wedding in November?  Well, maybe not. They are trying to "keep it simple"...and this is anything but "simple"

Next my friend modeled her "Minnie Pearl" hat...yes, back in the day our friends actually used to have a weekly "hoedown", and my friend portrayed "Minnie Pearl" to a "T".  Somehow the price tag has disappeared from this hat...but when she used to do her "act" it definitely had a price tag attached! Such fun people!!!!!

My friend also repurposes, recreates, designs jewelry, using vintage jewelry collected from family and friends and thrift shops.  Her creations are highly sought after by ladies wherever they see her work!

Our friends haven't always been playing and creating in their workshops.  When they were a little bit younger, in between their real jobs of being a building contractor (him)  and being a mayor of a small town somewhere in NC (her), they also took many groups of young people (teens) on summer mission trips to locations all over the world!  Here's some of their souvenirs from such trips...

 As you can tell...God has blessed our friends with the gift of giving of themselves to many, many people throughout the years...and sharing Jesus wherever they go!!!

After spending time inside we ventured outside to tour around the family property.  No, this isn't what you think it is...it is just an "ordinary" (not) tool shed!  So clever...

Their son, (with Dad's expert carpentry help) is restoring/creating this old "woody" vehicle...

And then we enjoyed visiting inside our friend's "retirement home"...their RV...and I thought this sign over her kitchen window was so appropriate and cute:

After which we enjoyed spending some time sitting in the gazebo, relaxing to the sound of water falling over the lovely fountain, watching the hummingbirds come and go, and listening to the woodpeckers in the trees behind us

Following this we toured the inside of their son's log home, but I won't show you too much more...except these interesting critters:

I just can't begin to tell you how blessed we feel to count these dear people as friends.  These verses sum it up pretty well...a perfect description of our friends and the kind of friendship we have had over the past almost 40 years...

"But above all these things put on love, 

which is the bond of perfection.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, 

to which also you were called in one body; 

and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,

teaching and admonishing one another in 

psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

And whatever you do in word or deed,

do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
Colossians 3:14-17

Enough Said!

Praise the Lord for such Special Friends!

Amen!