Saturday Wanderings

 I really haven't been "wandering" anywhere much lately, so don't have much to tell you about. I do want to thank the Lord that we are finally feeling quite a bit better since our bout with that nasty virus over the past two weeks. We are finally able to sleep through the night without coughing, so that is a real blessing. And little by little we are building our strength back...just not quite ready for any marathons yet...but then again, we weren't ready for that before either. LOL. Anyway, we are very thankful to be so much better.

  Since Lily Grace wrote to you on Independence Day, that left me to tell you what happened the rest of the day since then.  Not a whole lot, but let's see what I can remember!  

Since we were home alone (sounds like a good name for a movie! LOL), we really didn't feel like having a BBQ for just the two of us. The day before we had made tacos, and I had a lot of the meat mixture left over. I always add a can of diced tomatoes to my meat mixture with the spices, etc., and I also had added a can of pinto beans instead of using refried beans since I didn't have any.  So, anyway, on Thursday I decided to make what I have called a taco lasagna casserole, by layering tortilla chips in the bottom of a casserole dish, then the meat/tomato/bean mixture, shredded cheese, then more tortilla chips/meat mixture/cheese and a few more tortilla chips/cheese on top, and baked it in the oven for about 30 minutes or until heated all the way through.  Then served it with sour cream and lettuce and tomato. You could use salsa instead of the diced tomatoes or Rotel, but I used what I had and it was very very good.  Hubby said he'd rather have that than the tacos next time!  I'm glad I had made so much meat mixture that I actually froze a container of it, so it will be an easy dinner sometime again when I can't think of what to fix for dinner! LOL.

After supper when it was starting to get dark, we kept hearing a lot of firework booms very close by. So I went outside to try and see if I could see where they were coming from.  I soon discovered them somewhere way over on the far side of the pond, so I stood outside in the dark, with mosquitoes feasting on my bare legs, and took the following pictures:

Psalm 46 seems to go along nicely with these photos:

1 God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear,

Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,

The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;

God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;

He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,

Who has made desolations in the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;

He burns the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Amen

Not too shabby for a backyard fireworks show, huh?  

Well, then when it really got dark we decided to jump in the car and drive into town to see the fireworks from our little downtown.  We found a spot to park in a parking lot close by where we could watch them from the cool, air conditioned comfort of our vehicle.  I got a few videos, but not sure if they will work here or not, but I will try.  Here is the best one.   I hope this works!

For such a small town, they do put on a really nice fireworks show, as well as they had a parade earlier in the day and other activities in the park all day long. We didn't participate in that because it was so hot, but for those who love to do those things it was a lovely day!

So, what else? Well, today, our son Scott came home for the day, and it was sure good to see him again. It's been a few weeks since we were sick and he was busy.  He grilled some delicious BBQ chicken for us, and I made deviled eggs, a salad and some boiled tiny new potatoes. I also baked a devil's food cake. So this was our more official Independence Day dinner! No pictures to share, but you can just imagine how good it was! Most of all, it was just nice to have him here with us for a while!

I guess that is all for our "Saturday Wanderings" today.  I hope you are having a blessed and peaceful holiday weekend, wherever you are.  

Psalm 46:11 

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

4th of July Celebration

Happy Independence Day from Lily Grace and Bailey and friends!

Since Mommie and Daddy have been sick all week, Mommie said I could write the post for today! I know some of you may not even know who I am, so you can read more about me HERE.    

And since we can't have a family party here today, Mommie said it would be okay if I had my own picnic with my friends.  Bailey (my doggy) and I went outside to take these pictures, but we soon found out it was just too hot to have a picnic outside...

so we went back inside where it is nice and cool and had an indoor picnic with my special friends.

Below are Rebecca, Valerie, me, Margie, and Anne of Green Gables.  We had a really nice time on our little picnic, and finished up with a delicious cake that Rebecca brought over and we had pretend home made ice cream, since Mommie couldn't make any real homemade ice cream this year like in years' past.  Here's a link to one such gathering many years ago with some very special people.

Oh, and my little friends over at Pamela's Victorian Cottage had their own picnic outside too!  I don't think it's as hot over where they live...(actually they are standing in one of John Sloane's special Country Seasons calendar paintings from July of 2020...it made the perfect place for their 4th of July picnic)

So that's what we've been doing here today. What about you? Are you having a special picnic wherever you are?  Are you celebrating the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave"?  What good food are you eating?  Hamburgers? Hot dogs? Chicken? BBQ?  Homemade ice-cream?  We are missing all of that today, but Mommie says maybe we'll have to have a special picnic later this summer when everyone is well and also when everyone is back home again, since my big brother Benton and Auntie Rose are away on a vacation right now.   

What else has been going on?  Well, Mommie said there has been some activity on the empty lot next door this past week.  One day she heard a big dump truck over there, and looked outside to see lots of piles of dirt on the lot!

It started out with just a couple of piles, and then over the next two days more and more pile of dirt showed up!  There were two big dump trucks that just kept bringing more and more dirt!

Mommie says they must be getting ready to spread them out and build a foundation for the new house!

That must mean that there's going to be a lot of activity going on over there in the next few weeks!  

Mommie said it's a good thing she's not a little kid anymore, or she'd be over there building roads and tunnels in the dirt with her trucks and cars!  I said, "Mommie, did you ever do that when you were a little girl?"  And she said, "Oh yes!"  She said that she and her big sister (my Aunt Doris) used to play in a big pile of dirt that was on their property one time, and they had so much fun building roads and tunnels for their little cars and trucks to drive through.  She said they would get all dirty and full of sand and have to get hosed down with the garden hose to get all that dirt off of them before they could go back in the house, but because it was so hot, it felt good to get hosed down!  I didn't know Mommie and Aunt Doris used to have fun playing like that when they were little girls! That sounds like something a boy would do!  But Mommie said they had lots of fun playing outside and in the woods when they were little.  They didn't always just stay indoors and play with dolls!

Now I wish I could go over there and play in those big piles of dirt!  I wonder where I could find some cars and trucks to play with?

OOOOHHHHH!   I just went inside my brother Scotty's room, and looky what I found!!!!

He has LOTS of cars!!!  Do you think he would mind if I play with them in the dirt????

Uh, yes, my Mommie said he would mind very much and I am not to go near those cars, and especially I am not allowed to take them outside and play with them in the dirt!  I guess I'd better not think about that idea again.  I don't want to make my brother Scotty unhappy with me.  But he doesn't live here anymore...just his cars live here...but still, I'd better obey Mommie and not go near those cars.  Besides, he's supposed to come home sometime this weekend, and I could ask him, but I know he won't let me do that. Besides, Mommie says we can't mess up the piles of dirt and they are not on our property so we cannot play in them.  She said she was just thinking about how much fun it was when she was a little girl, but she said it wouldn't be that much fun anymore because the dirt would stick all over us in this hot and humid weather,  and we'd be such a mess!  So, I guess Mommie knows best, but it sure sounded like a fun idea.  What do you think???

Well, I guess I'd better close this little story and go back and play with my friends. 

Meanwhile, here's a few pictures Mommie took when she was outside...the first two are of the island (she calls it "Goose Island") and the pretty white puffy clouds in the skies.

Mommie says we should celebrate all the beauties around us on this Independence Day.

And this is one of those big old Red Shouldered Hawks that live over there, and he was making lots of noise, so Mommie took his picture so he'd quit squawking at her. LOL.

Mommie said we can only see his silhouette because the sun was so bright behind him.

But he was sure big!  Here he turned his back on us:

Mommie said these are just some pretty little wild marsh pink flowers alongside Still Waters Pond. They are really pretty down there in the weeds, so she wanted to take a picture of them.

Mommie said we should close this special 4th of July post with a very special song, "The Star Spangled Banner", and it is being sung by a very amazing singer, Sandi Patty.  I wish I could sing like she does, but she is pretty unique and wonderful.  So please listen as she sings our National Anthem.

Happy Independence Day everyone!!

John 8:36 NKJV

 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, 

you shall be free indeed."

I hope you enjoyed this Independence Day post from me.  It's been nice visiting with you again.

Love, Lily Grace and Bailey

 

Happy First Day of July!

Happy 1st Day of July!  The month where we celebrate our nation's freedoms, and essentially our own freedoms and hopes for a better future...

Our front door is proclaiming our pride in belonging to America, the land of the free!

And as is my custom on the first of each month, we have the "roll call" of the calendars!  I will start with this wonderful little Susan Branch calendar today...Oh, I love this picture for so many reasons....

That little redheaded girl with her sunglasses on reminds me of this picture and story HERE, of another little redhead with her sunglasses on, many years ago:

This quote below goes well with both of those pictures...

And of course, no July would be complete without a visit to the beach!  I wish I could say that I will be doing that sometime soon...I bet the salt water and air would be very therapeutic for us right now! Maybe not quite there yet, as hubby is still a few days behind me in his recuperation status, but perhaps we can think about it in another week or so. Sure looks inviting, doesn't it?  But thank you for your thoughts and prayers, and thanks be to GOD OUR HEALER, we are getting better day by day and we are so very very thankful!

I love this Thomas Kincade calendar, which always has the most beautiful paintings as well as the perfect scripture verses to go along with it...

Oh, who wouldn't love to be playing hide and seek in a field full of what my mother called "hay doodles"?  What a beautiful bucolic scene from our John Sloane Country Seasons calendar!

Again, another picture that reminds me of a precious old photo found in this old post from a few years ago.

This was on my Grandpa's farm back in the early 1940's. My Grandma Tedlie is on the far right. The other people are some of my cousins and my Aunt Belle. It was harvest time. Most of these people are already enjoying their eternal reward in heaven.

Then there's always time for tea, no matter what the season...

What a unique and interesting tea set! Maybe a little fancy for my taste, but it is lovely. And I totally agree with what Noel Coward said below:

Of course, here in Florida in July, iced tea is the most preferred form of tea!

So yes, we are getting off to a good start on our first day of July. We really are turning the corner on this covid thing, and I can tell a big difference in how I feel today.  Hubby had a later start than I did, and he's still got a ways to go, but he's getting there. So thankful for a cool house to recuperate in.

As  I've mentioned before, our kids were also sick,  but being young and more vigorous than us, they have recuperated quickly, and this morning they took off for their much anticipated trip to Minnesota.  Yesterday they wanted to come by to say good bye to us, and called us before arriving to let us know they were on their way home from the store and wanted to stop in.  So we got ourselves presentable and also prepared for the doggies to arrive like we usually do. We always prepare a bowl of ice water for them (with ice cubes in it) and set their beds with their toys  out in the living room.  The pups always expect things to be exactly like this when they arrive.  So you can imagine our disappointment when the kids arrived without the doggies!!!!!  What???? No puppies, I cried? (almost literally cried, still being weak and weepy with illness, I said).   Well, they were on their way home from the store and didn't have the pups with them.  We almost didn't let them come in the house! LOL.  But we did relent and had a nice little visit with them, but I let them know that I was very disappointed not to see the doggies before they go away for almost a month!

So, sure enough,  later in the evening they called again and asked if they could come back over and bring the puppies this time! Of course I said YES!!  I think they got the idea that we really care more about seeing the puppies than them! LOL.

Here's Sugar, who right away went and found her bed and her ball!

And here's Spice, who was having a "bad hair day". She was so funny. The pups had just been groomed on Thursday to get their summer cut before the trip.  Apparently Spice is confused about her tail that keeps touching and tickling her backside. She couldn't feel it as much before her coat was cut off...

And so she went through these antics of twisting and turning and flipping all around for the whole time she was here.  

She was so funny.  Every time she'd get up to walk, she'd twist around to see who was following her!  That tail kept tickling her behind and I think she thought there was someone else there!

I told Rose she was going to have to trim a few extra hairs off her tail or something, because it was obviously driving her crazy!  I said her new name was "Twisted Sister", because she'd walk all twisted trying to get around and look at that crazy tail following her.

Oh, and they certainly know who loves to spoil them!  Yes, Grandpa loves to sneak a few snacks to them when they come over, but he always asks permission first to make sure it's okay.  

Yes, I'm afraid we will miss these "girls" while they are gone for almost a month!  Oh, we'll miss Benton and Rose too, but honestly, they just aren't as much fun as these pups! LOL!

Well, I've sat here as long as I can for now. Time to go take a little nap.  I don't think we'll be having any big July 4th celebrations at our house this year. No home made ice cream or BBQ.  Our son Scott may come over the weekend briefly, provided we are totally well. We made sure he knew not to come this past weekend as we certainly didn't want him to get this bug!  It will be a very different and quiet celebration here than what we've normally done in the past, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.  We are just thankful to be able to do anything at all!

So, since we are on the theme of furry friends...here's few 4th of July memes to close this out:

No matter what you are doing this week, always take time to remember the price so many have paid for our freedom to do whatever it is we are doing.  Here's a song that brings goosebumps to my body everytime I hear it:  "God bless The USA"

"Proud To Be An American"

If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
I'd thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
'Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,
Across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
Well, there's pride in every American heart,
And it's time we stand and say:

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land! God bless the U.S.A.

And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up... next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

Amen!