Saturday Review in Pamela's Wild Kingdom

 Goodness Gracious! This week has been one for close encounters with the wild side of life! LOL.

Thank you all for your kind comments on my last post HERE, about our close encounter with the dogs at the boat ramp. I haven't heard anything else about them and I hope they are safe at their home, but I do pray the owner will take better care of them and not let them run wild in the neighborhood. We see way too much of that around here, and it is really sad.  But now I will move on to another close encounter...not so much with me, but well, you'll see:

I noticed out my window that the Sand Hill Crane couple was out there, but they were acting kind of strange, hopping up and down and looking at something on the shore.

So when I looked a little closer, I could see this opossum out there, drinking water from the pond.

The Cranes were very curious about him and came over for a closer look, but the opossum just kept drinking, totally ignoring the cranes.

He was very thirsty, which to me, is a bit suspicious, especially to see him in the middle of the day. They are normally nocturnal creatures, and seeing him out like this in the heat of the afternoon sun is very unusual. But I looked it  up online HERE, and I guess it's not all that uncommon for one to be out in the daytime.

The Cranes kept a watchful eye on him and he just ignored them.

He was very thirsty, which makes me wonder if he was sick or something.

On closer inspection (using my zoom lens...I'm not about to get close to a opossum...they have a lot of very sharp teeth and can really bite!), it looks like he may have been injured on his back. Either by another animal, or a near miss with a vehicle. But it isn't bloody or open or anything like that, so it may be an old wound healed over.

The Cranes were very curious about him for sure!

Finally he'd had all he could drink, and he turned away, again, totally ignoring the Cranes, and headed back toward the woods and the cool shade of the day...

He's kind of cute in his own way...One of God's special creatures!

The Cranes watched him go, and then they also went on about their business...

You can see that bad spot on his back better above. I'm not sure about it, but he seemed to be okay and I wasn't about to get any closer.  And this picture below is the last I saw of him:

I pray he's okay!

Now onto the next adventure in Pamela's Wild Kingdom!  You may recognize one of the actors in this next scene...Yes, that's Blackie, and another neighborhood kitty who hasn't been named. I keep calling him "Yellow", but that's not a very nice name, so maybe "Sunshine" would be better.  Anyway, my neighbor has been feeding these kitties for quite a while, and she is having some health issues which make it difficult for her to go out the door and care for them like she always has. So I told her I would be happy to help out.  

You will notice that Blackie is not content to just eat out of  his dish, but he likes to eat out of "Sunshine's" dish as well! No wonder he looks so fat and sassy!

They are used to being fed twice a day, so for now at least I am going to be going over and doing this to help her out.  Oh, and as soon as Blackie was finished eating I noticed he came right over here to our house and plopped himself down in one of our chairs on the back porch, as per his usual habit. 

I don't know where Sunshine goes during the day. I've seen him around the woods and sometimes in our yard, but never on our porch. He's much more skittish than Blackie around people.

Now, for the news you've been waiting for, the completion of the "Washing Machine Saga"  Well, after thinking about it and praying for wisdom, (There's that word again!), and also after doing some research about different options...

And after pricing the options of having this one repaired vs. buying a new one with a longer warranty, with all of those costs, etc. factored in, we decided we would be better off in the long run to go ahead and purchase a new one with an extended warranty, which BTW, the extended warranty costs LESS than the cost of the service call to come out and diagnose the problem, not to mention the cost of labor and parts on top of that...so I shopped online, doing comparisons between different brands and models at the two main big box stores, (Lowes vs. Home Depot), and after all was said and done, we ordered one from Home Depot to be delivered free within two days. Lowes couldn't deliver anything for more than a week, and their prices were higher.  So Home Depot won the toss!  Anyway, they would have charged an extra $50.00 to haul our old one away, so our son came over and between him and hubby they managed to get the old one out the door and onto his pick up truck.

And he took it away to his house, where his smart wife is going to check things out just to see if she can fix it. I told her if she can, it's hers, but I also told her not to get rid of her 15 year old washer that she inherited from her mother!  It may be old, but it's still working and I wouldn't get rid of that unless it was totally falling apart!

Bye Bye Old Washer!

So, with the old one out of the way and everything else cleaned up and ready and waiting, the Home Depot delivery people arrived this morning around 8 a.m.!  They said they would've been here sooner except it was so terribly foggy they took their time, which I commended them for. It was definitely another very foggy morning!  Here they are, unloading the new washer from their truck. You can see how foggy it is!

And here is the new washing machine, all set up and ready to go. It is a different model than what we had before, 

and it is actually a larger capacity than the other one, with a stainless steel tub!

However, the cost was very comparable to the old one, and the extended 3 yr. warranty was, as I said, less than the cost of one service call!  They set it up and turned it on, and I loaded it up with dirty clothes and have already washed three loads today! I love it! It was well worth the frustration of the other one breaking down to finally get one that works much better! So this saga has a happy ending.  Did I want to have to spend that money to buy another new washing machine when the old one was only 15 months old? No, I didn't, and hopefully we can pay this one off quickly before we have to pay too much interest on it (like, as soon as we get our tax return back!, which I need to get to work on right away!)

This verse popped up in my devotional reading for today:

Matthew 25:21 NIV

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! 

You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. 

Come and share your master’s happiness!’

I know that this probably doesn't really count as what Jesus was teaching in this parable, but right now I feel like I've been trying to be a good and faithful servant in dealing with a "few things", like making wise decisions regarding mundane things like new appliances, etc.,  and perhaps maybe even Jesus is rejoicing with me for taking care of these things in a wise and prudent manner. I am very thankful for His guidance in this matter as well as in the much bigger matters of life.  If He cares about things like working washing machines, can you imagine how much more He cares about the really big things that pertain to our lives? Yes, He does...He knows our needs, and He always provides.

Matthew 6:31-33 is a favorite passage...

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, 

Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) 

for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; 

and all these things shall be added unto you.

I hope you have enjoyed this post today, and that you will see God at work in the "mundane things" of your life as well.

Oh, I almost forgot!  Hubby's eye appointment went very well yesterday! The doctor said his eye is seeing so much better because of removing the cataract that he may not need to have the cornea surgery anytime in the near future, for which we are VERY thankful!! So thank you again, for your prayers concerning his appointment yesterday!  That is a big answer to prayer!

Wednesday Treasures

 I didn't have anything new to share until I looked out the window this evening!

It was so beautiful...I broke out in song...

1 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!

Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near,

join me in glad adoration.

2 Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning;

sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining!

This flock of ducks flew over while I was out there watching the sunset!

Have you not seen all that is needful has been

sent by his gracious ordaining?

3 Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;

surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,

if with his love he befriends you.

4 Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!

All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him.

Let the Amen sound from his people again;

gladly forever adore him.

And then the moon starting peeking out from the clouds...

And as the sun disappeared in the west, this is how the moon appeared:

And one last look at the sun setting behind the trees...

Those are the lights of the gas station/convenience store on the other side of the highway beyond the pond.  We can only see it at night and especially in winter when there aren't as many leaves on the trees, but I love to see the lights across the pond.

Oops! I blurred that a little bit, but I like it, don't you?

This is how it looked early this morning!

I hope you enjoyed these "treasures" from this evening's sunset.  It was truly majestic.

Amen!

Okay, so, I would like to end this post on a totally positive note. I wish I could, but you need to know that my life is full of frustrations and issues just like yours. It's not all lovely sunsets and sunrises and birds and flowers and trees... Thankfully, right now my frustration is not something terrible or life threatening, thank the Lord.   But it is frustrating, none the less.  You've seen this washing machine before HERE, about 1 year and 3 months ago, to be exact.  

If you re-read the previous post that I linked above, you will know that this washing machine started out on a rather shaky note. When it was first delivered, within 24 hours I was calling for them to come pick it back up because it wasn't working properly. They replaced it with another, that has worked perfectly until NOW, three months after the one year warranty expired. Of course.  And no, I didn't purchase the extended warranty. Yes, I should have. Lesson learned. It would be worth it to do so, and if I had it to do over again, I would certainly have done so, and I highly recommend it if you are buying any new appliance today. They are NOT built to last more than a couple of years. Trust me! I should know better. And it is too expensive to have them repaired, IF you can find someone who knows how to repair these electronic gizmos. SO, NOW we are trying to figure out the next step. Should we pay for someone (if we can find someone) to come and fix it...or should we replace it? I wish I could find a good used washer that is about 10 or 20 years old and still working. That would be worth buying. The older the better.  So we are going to sleep on it and pray about it and try to figure out the next step tomorrow. I really DON'T want another one of these NEW washing machines. They are built to fail.  My One Word "Wisdom" is getting a work out.

Oh, this is the verse that is on a devotional reading for today's date:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV

"16 Rejoice always, 

17 pray without ceasing, 

18 in everything give thanks; 

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

So, on THAT note, I will rejoice, and pray, and give thanks. This is God's will, and therefore I believe He will provide and show us what to do about this situation.  

Stay tuned.

Good Night my friends.  Let's go back up and look at that sunset again and sing that song once more, shall we? That's a much better way to end our evening, rejoicing in what God has ordained!

Amen!

Friday Foto Friends~At the End of the Day

 I know, Friday is almost over and I'm just getting around to posting anything. But I was waiting to have something worth posting!  I'll start with the last thing first, because this is what I've been waiting for all week...

I know...you're saying that I've already told you all about the new washing machine earlier this week!  Yes, that's true. I did tell you that we got a new washing machine on Monday...but what I didn't tell you was that by Tuesday it was not working.  Whether it was due to human error or machine error, I really can't say.  Let's just say that somehow within 24 hours of trying to use that thing, it's "mother-board" was scrambled and frozen up so that it became unusable.  And quite frankly, my "mother-board" was pretty much in the same condition!  I was determined that this machine was NOT going to get the better of me, but I finally had to admit that I was whipped and I had to surrender.  Thankfully, Lowe's policy is if you call within 48 hours from delivery, they will come and get it and replace it at no charge, etc.  There were some anxious moments when the message wasn't getting through to the "powers that be" at their warehouse in a timely manner, but after a couple of rather "pointed phone calls" expressing my great concern about all of the above (in a nice manner, of course), I finally got through to the supervisor and things began to happen.  So yesterday they sent out a truck to pick up the faulty machine with the "scrambled brain", and today they delivered a brand new one exactly like it, but hopefully with it's "mother-board" intact and ready to go.  Thankfully the delivery fellows actually took the time to make sure that it started up properly before they left.  I was very thankful for that.  Since they left here about 4:00 this afternoon, I have already washed two loads of laundry, and so far all "mother-boards", both machine and human, seem to be functioning normally...well...that could be left up to the eyes of the beholder to determine regarding the human model, but I am feeling sane enough to write this post, that is saying something! LOL.  So praise the Lord, I am trusting this washing machine saga is over!!!  (The real test will come this weekend when our son Scott comes home to do his laundry. I intend to be right there to walk him through the process the first time).  I still don't know why they can't just keep things simple like they used to be.  It really doesn't make any sense.  But, that's that and I'll move on to a new subject...

While we were waiting for the call to tell us the new machine was on its way today hubby decided we needed to go try out the new hamburger place in town for lunch:

I told you about this place back in June, when we went there for ice cream (and a root beer float for me!)  At that time, all they had was ice-cream because they were waiting for inspections for their fire suppression system/cooking grill, etc. before they could start cooking hamburgers.

Sadly, for them, it took several months for all the inspections to take place, and so they were delayed in starting up their hamburger menu until just recently.  Today was a good day for us to try it out.

Here's hubby waiting for his burger outside on the patio.

We decided we would get our burgers to go because we weren't sure if we would get a phone call interrupting our lunch or not.  

Here I am...can you tell my "mother-board" has been under a strain? LOL.  Hubby kept snapping pictures...

Actually I was swatting at a bee that was buzzing around our table...

Okay, I'm trying to settle down and behave.

I know this picture isn't exactly appetizing or appealing, but I wanted you to see how big and yummy this hamburger was...It really was good...there was lettuce and tomato and onions under the burger. It was very satisfying!

Still going in reverse here...we had a lovely Great Blue Heron visiting Still Waters Pond today...

He hung around most of the day, enjoying a peaceful day of fishing on the pond.  It was wonderful to see him there.

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day, and when I think of our wonderful and brave veterans, both living and those who have sacrificed their lives for our country,  I have to stop and give thanks to God for their courage and dedication, and also for this great country that we live in.  Even though there are many things about our country that are not so perfect these days, when we stop and really think about it, we are still privileged and blessed to be living in the very best country in the whole world.  We practiced this song at choir practice the other night as it is one of the hymns we will be singing this Sunday. I thought it would go along nicely with these pictures of last night's sunset:

1 O beautiful for spacious skies,

for amber waves of grain;

for purple mountain majesties

above the fruited plain!

America! America! God shed his grace on thee,

and crown thy good with brotherhood

from sea to shining sea.

2 O beautiful for heroes proved

in liberating strife,

who more than self their country loved,

and mercy more than life!

America! America! May God thy gold refine,

till all success be nobleness,

and every gain divine.

3 O beautiful for patriot dream

that sees beyond the years

thine alabaster cities gleam,

undimmed by human tears!

America! America! God mend thine every flaw,

confirm thy soul in self-control,

thy liberty in law.

I also wanted to thank all of you who took the time to comment on my last post, HERE.  What I loved the most was that each and every one of you expressed that you are very "ready" for Christ's return!  We don't know exactly when that will be, but we know that eventually we will each have to meet Jesus face to face.  It blessed my heart to know that whether or not we ever meet each other here in person on earth, we will all meet in heaven one day!  What a glorious day that will be!! I look forward to that day!

Well friends, I hope you have a blessed and wonderful weekend. Do you have any special plans?  Our church is having an "Agape Lunch" tomorrow, which is just a small gathering of whoever wants to come and bring a covered dish to share.  It is also our kids' 6th wedding anniversary! We will be celebrating with them on Sunday afternoon after church as they have stuff going on tomorrow.  It's hard to believe it's already been six years since they got married! I may have to re-share that post tomorrow,  if I remember...

God bless you all, and God Bless America!!