Friday Foto Friends ~ October Beauty

Happy Friday Foto Friends Day!  We've come through a whole first week of October, and there's been some beautiful things to see all around. Were you watching?

Since I am actually writing this on Thursday evening, I am limited to what I've seen up until now.

If something else pops up tomorrow morning I may have to amend this post, or just start a new one. We shall see what develops.  

Meanwhile, this was our sunrise Thursday morning:

It was a foggy start to the day, and the sun was trying hard to break through the fog. I think it was still a beautiful morning...don't you?

Then I noticed the most wonderful thing.  Another rose blooming in the Memorial Garden.

The thing that made this rose so special was that yesterday (Wed, Oct. 6th) was our grandson Noah's 22nd birthday.  This rose actually started to open yesterday, but I didn't get outside to get a good look at it.  This morning it really caught my eye, and I realized that it was blooming especially for Noah's birthday.  You see, Noah is Matthew's son.

I sent a text to Noah this morning with these pictures. I know he was probably working, so he hasn't responded yet, but I hope he appreciates the idea that a rose is blooming in his Daddy's Memorial Garden especially for his birthday week. I explained to him that this rosebush really only blooms for special occasions, and it has done so consistently even though it was transplanted from one house to another two years ago.

Of course I cut it and brought it inside so we can enjoy it all week. They last much longer that way, and I snip a little more off the stem each day to keep it fresh longer.

Happy Birthday, Noah!!   Oh, I neglected to tell you that we had a wonderful conversation with Noah on his birthday.  And he was so sweet to send me a video of the beautiful fall foliage along the roads as he traveled through Maine to the Fryeburg Fair.  He is spending the week there, working at the "blooming onion" booth...don't ask me how or why...but he seemed happy to have that to do. Work has been hard to find up there during the pandemic and he had to kind of set his plans aside for a while, but hopefully he will get back on the right road soon.  Meanwhile, he's having a good time and he's a great young man. I wish we were there at the Fair and could have one of his "blooming onions"! We used to always take him to the Fryeburg Fair for his birthday when we were able to go up there to visit each year. So that is a very special memory for us.

Moving right along...one afternoon I was sitting out in the Secret Memorial Garden, enjoying a nice autumn breeze and the late afternoon sunshine on Still Waters Pond.

I spied something way out there on the island that landed on top of those wild tall weeds...I forget the name of them...I know Annie from Cottage by the Sea knows...help?

Anyway, I zoomed in on it, and it was a dragonfly!! The sun is just glowing all around and through these so that they light up like torches!

I had a little visitor while I was sitting on the swing:

He said to tell you hello!

His lazy cousin was taking a rest in the loft of the bluebird house, which he has taken up for his own residence.  I told him he'd better move out before the bluebirds return in the spring, or he might find himself invited to be the main course at dinner! LOL.

I hesitate to tell you that I saw this huge bubble in one of the bird baths this morning. Yes, the bird bath needs cleaning, but it is under the holly tree and berries keep dropping in there and it's been raining and hot, and well, I can't scrub anything with this bad arm...so anyway, something was making a huge bubble that I thought was more interesting than whether or not my birdbath is clean or not:

If you look closely, you can see my reflection upside down taking this picture:

I think this bubble is very noteworthy, don't you?

One bright sunny morning we took a walk at our usual walking place, and these sweet little purple wildflowers were blooming everywhere:

And they were loaded with these bumblebees everywhere:

I had to be careful not to get stung while trying to take their picture!

I also spied this beautiful bright orange butterfly...he makes a lovely contrast to that dead looking wood:

And there are many of these bright yellow flowers blooming in clusters too. But you see why I don't pick them to bring them home in a bouquet? They always have some kind of bugs on them:

But they are so bright and cheery in the autumn morning sun...

Now, can you see the two Buckeye Butterflies on this leaf below?:

I think they were being quite "chummy"...

The certainly are well camouflaged...and again, very autumnal in appearance.

Here's a few more pretty purple wildflowers:

And here we are back home again...and look who found a new friend?

Yes, that is Lily Grace with a big old scarecrow! She said she wanted to name him "Joe"

So please welcome Joe the Scarecrow!

Well, it is bedtime and I need to get a move on.

Oh...thank you so much for your continued prayers for our niece Shannon. I found out tonight that she has already gone back to school, albeit, in a wheelchair, but she is able to get around to her classes and is trying to keep up with everything. Although her father said she is very very sore and tired when she gets home. Your prayers are still very much appreciated. I hope she isn't over-doing it. But then again, she is 17 and strong and healthy.  And our prayers are being answered.

So why should we be surprised?  God said Ask, Seek, and Knock...

Matthew 7:7-8

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers on behalf of Shannon.  We give You praise for the healing we see taking place in her body.  We continue to pray for her soul and spirit to be turned toward You, so that she will know it is YOU who is healing her and who has a plan and purpose for her life. Amen.

Have a blessed and wonderful weekend, friends!!

 

Wednesday Treasures~Special Gifts and Blessings

Do you ever get up in time to go watch the sunrise? While our sunrise is still a little later in the morning, (around 7:25 a.m.), we have a great opportunity to look outside the door and watch what God is doing to usher in the morning light.

But you need to pay attention, because it changes almost every couple of minutes...

And if you dilly-dally, you will miss it altogether.  This may not have been the most outstanding sunrise ever, but it still has its own kind of beauty...look at the clouds and the way the sun eventually displaces the clouds...or not...depending upon whether or not it is going to be a cloudy day or sunny.  Anyway, This was our sunrise this morning. I enjoyed it. I hope you did too.

Remember a  couple of weeks ago when our kids got us a "new to us" BBQ grill?

Well, we promised the "kids" some good rib-eye steaks as soon as the price of steaks came back down enough for us to buy enough for the whole family.  Thankfully the price did come down, and we were able to add to the ones we already had in the freezer so we had enough for everyone...

So here's "The Kids" having their steak dinner thanks for a wonderful gift.

I forgot to get pictures of Scott grilling the steaks, but a picture of the results is even better...

(this one is mine...)

We all agreed the new grill did a great job...and so did the grill cook!!

When the kids arrived for their steak dinner, they came bearing gifts: (again!...they remind me a lot of God, you just can't outgive Him!)

Not only did they bring me four more pots of fall mums, but they also brought this beautiful teal water pitcher. It was something that they had in their store, "Dixie Cottage", and I know I had admired it and told them one time that if they didn't sell it I would just love it.  Well, guess what! They said this was my belated birthday present!   What they didn't know was that it was also a "Hall" pitcher, made by " Hall Superior Quality Kitchenware", Made in the USA.

And that I have collected Hall teapots and other items for a number of years. Mostly they have been gifts or I have "inherited" them from family members.  Here are a few pictures of my current collection.

Most of these items have the following or a similar stamp/marking as this:

With the exception of the one small burgundy colored teapot that has this marking:

I originally told you about this particular teapot a few years ago HERE.  

I just re-read what I wrote in that post in 2017, and updated in 2018...and I realized that I still haven't followed through with the ideas expressed in that original post. Jeepers...why do I keep coming back to this every few years? Maybe God is still trying to tell me something?

Now this has me thinking. That's a dangerous thing. LOL.

This morning I printed this photograph that I took and sent it to our niece in a "get well card"

Thank you all for your continued prayers for Shannon.  She is home, but is in a lot of pain and it is going to be very challenging for her as she heals over these next few weeks.  Your continued prayers are very welcome.

I hope the picture will be a comfort and inspiration to her, but now I think it is a message to me as well.

Here we go again.  

But first things first.

I have to get past the surgery on October 25th before I can even think about anything else.

Okay...

That's it for today folks. 

Have a blessed and wonderful Wednesday!

 

Tuesday 4: Kitchen Dreams

Monday night:  I realize this post is supposed to be about Kitchens, but we had this beautiful rainbow show up in our sky this afternoon, and it wasn't even raining here.  I believe it is a sign of God's promises to us and it was especially wonderful today.

You see, on Saturday morning, our beautiful 17 year old niece Shannon was in a very bad automobile accident, and for a while it looked like her injuries to her hip, pelvis, and back were quite severe.  They first thought they would have to put multiple rods, pins, etc., in her to hold everything together.  But when they got into surgery they found that they only needed to put one small rod in the back of her pelvis, and the rest they felt would heal on its own.  However, she will have to stay in a wheel chair for 4-6 weeks, without putting any weight at all on her legs until it is healed.  That in itself will be a major challenge for this very active young lady.  But we deem it to be somewhat of a miracle that this was the extent of her injuries. She took a direct hit in her driver's side door from a driver who ran a red light. Truly God had His angels surrounding her and protecting her from much more serious harm.  We give glory to God and praise Him for what He has done on her behalf.

However, I would still appreciate your prayers for this lovely young woman...physically as well as emotionally and especially spiritually.  May she fully realize that God has saved her life for a very real purpose.  Too often we don't get that second chance in life.  We thank the Lord that He has spared her. Oh, and as of this evening, because she did so well on her physical therapy today, they are releasing her to go home tonight.  It will be a challenge for her and her family, so again, your prayers are appreciated. 

Thank you, and Thank YOU, Jesus!

Tuesday morning:

So now we can move on to today's Tuesday 4 topic of "Kitchen Dreams"...

Kitchen Dreams

Welcome to Tuesday 4 in memory of  our blogging friend Toni Taddeo!

This week's questions were provided by Pamela Steiner who has the Closed Doors Open Windows blog.

Hey, that's ME again!! Thank you, Annie of Cottage by the Sea for putting this together for us each week.

So here we go:

1. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home...tell us about YOUR kitchen. 

Those of you who know me know that I believe in the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words".  So here are a few pictures of the basic parts of my kitchen...the sink, the stove, and the refrigerator.  I do spend a lot of time in my kitchen, and for the most part I enjoy being there.  At least in this house I can hear the activities in the living room, which is just around the corner, and I am not so isolated from the rest of the house as I was in our last home.  The kitchen actually is in the center of the house.  Probably the only thing I don't really like is that I don't have a good view out those three big windows. They look out front to the street, and the sun is really bright on that side for a good bit of the day, so I have to keep the blinds shut, and besides, I don't want people watching me in my kitchen as they drive by. If I could redesign this house I would have put the kitchen on the back side of the house, with windows looking out at the pond.  But other than that, I am content and happy here in this kitchen.

 

You can click on the pictures to enlarge if you wish.

What is your favorite part of your kitchen?

    

Where do I begin?  The wonderful part of this kitchen is all of the added little nooks and places that make it homey and cozy and a pleasant place to visit or just sit and read while I wait for something to cook... 

This is the coffee/tea area, where I fix our morning tea and coffee every day...

This is the tea/coffee cup cabinet just above, that we use for every day.  If you want fancy tea cups, you have to go into the other room where the china cabinet is to find them...but that's a subject for another day.

If you noticed the island where the sink is in the pictures above, well, this is what you see on the other side of the island.  There are plenty of seats if you want to come and visit with me while I am cooking...

 Or, you can "Come into my kitchen and chat with me while I prepare a pot of tea."

My paternal Grandmother did this needlepoint many years ago, and it was on the wall in her kitchen for as long as I can remember. I was quite honored and thankful to receive it when she passed away.  She also had done one for my mother that said, "No matter where I serve my guests it seems they like my kitchen best."  I don't know what happened to that needlepoint after my parents died and their estate was settled.  No one seems to know who took that home with them.  That makes me sad. But, I digress. I am very happy to have this one.

And then there is this wonderful old painting of the two old ladies sitting in their rockers and knitting or just visiting.  The caption that used to be legible on the frame said "The Gossips".  That wore off in time, but you get the idea.  This used to hang in my maternal Grandmother's home, and so I am very honored and thankful to have this as well.

Over in this corner I have my rocking chair. This is the rocker my parents bought for me when I was expecting our first baby,  so I rocked all three of my babies in this chair. It is very very special. It is also a good little corner to sit and read a book while I cook. Or you could sit there and visit with me, if you prefer!

Or you could visit with Lily Grace and her little friends while you wait on me.  They are having a perpetual tea party here, while Lily Grace entertains them with songs on her guitar.  They can sometimes be heard singing "Jesus Loves Me", or "This Little Light of Mine, I'm going to let it shine...", or just some other fun little song.  Never a dull moment in this part of the kitchen!

Speaking of Lily Grace, she has already shown you parts of the kitchen all decorated for autumn

I love this cabinet with it's open countertop where I can decorate for each of the seasons.  I know, it looks kind of cluttered. I realize that, but I have such fun decorating it that I sometimes don't know when to quit.  I guess that is part of what I love about this kitchen too...

I also love these little Scripture cards that I can change often. They are good reminders of God's promises to us.

Perhaps you've seen this before?  

2. If money were no object, what would be your "dream kitchen"?

Wow,  I don't really know.  I  might expand this room a bit so I can put the Hoosier Cupboard in here, and have a little more open space and open counter space.  This kitchen is a bit crowded when we have a group of people,  and the cooking area is definitely a little tight when we start trying to cook, wash dishes, etc. with more than one or two.   And I would definitely situate this room to have the windows overlooking the pond or some other such view.  

3. Tell us about a favorite memory from your kitchen, or from a kitchen in your past, perhaps your mother's kitchen or your grandma's kitchen?

Out of all my memories in many different kitchens throughout my life, this picture and memory is perhaps my very best and happiest.  Having all three of my precious little boys in the kitchen with me, baking cookies, and licking the batter off the beater.  There can be no more precious memory than this, especially since one of these dear boys is now in heaven...the one in the forefront, Matthew. 

And you can read more about this old house in the following post: https://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/2010/06/alarms-sirens-whistles-bells-and-things.html

Here is a link to cookie baking time with our boys many years later. More precious memories in our kitchen...

4. If you could invite anyone in the world (either past or present) to come visit with you in your kitchen, who would it be, and why?

I don't know why I wanted to ask this question, because there are so many people, mostly from the past, that I would just love to have sitting with me in my kitchen again.  Of course, those three little boys above, just like that once again, would be marvelous...and then of course my mother...Here she is in her kitchen, doing what she did best...making something wonderful for her family, most likely a pie or some cookies...

And here in this link is a picture of her visiting me in the Interesting old house and kitchen we had in Maine , many years later.

Also, I would love to have my mother in law, "Nanny", visiting with me again in my kitchen. 

 Here is a link to a recent post about her visits to my kitchen.  We made many memories together while she was staying with us.

Here is a Link to a post about my previous kitchen, which was probably my most favorite kitchen ever, except for the fact that it was so isolated from the rest of the house.

I hope you enjoyed this little journey down memory lane in my kitchen memories. I know I added a lot of links, but those are also for me so I can find them again more easily.  Also, if you click on the word "kitchen" in my labels, you will find a lot of stories that came from my kitchen memories.  

Yes, I do believe the kitchen is the "heart of the home".  It is amazing how many happy memories flow out from that one place, no matter how humble or how modern...it is where you can find love in the home.

My Little Kitchen Prayer

"Bless my little kitchen, Lord

I love its every nook

And bless me as I do my work,

Wash pots and pans and cook.

May the meals that I prepare

Be seasoned from above

With Thy Blessings and Thy Grace,

But most of all, Thy Love.

As we partake of earthly food,

The table Thou hast spread,

We'll not forget to thank Thee, Lord

For all our daily bread.

So bless my little kitchen, Lord

And those who enter in,

May they find naught but Joy and Peace

And Happiness therein. "

Author Unknown

Now let's go see what our other friends are sharing from their kitchens: http://tuesdaysplace.blogspot.com/2021/10/kitchen-dreams.html