MERRY CHRISTMAS

Trusting everyone had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Ours was not traditional....For once we were the quests and not the host. None of our children could make it home for Christmas so we decided to head south and warm up. Instead of the gray colder weather we had been having we had lots of sunshine and about 80 degrees. We went to see some friends that had moved back down to St. James Island, we had never been there and they ask us to come so we packed the summer clothes and headed south. There was no snow, no ham or turkey, just plenty of sunshine and seafood....... it is good to break tradition once in awhile. Looking forward to a NEW YEAR and trusting God that it will be a good one.

We just received some great pictures from our daughter in Illinois, taken when we went up in Oct. for a visit. This is a four generation picture, myself, daughter, grand daughter, and her two beautiful children. She has been blessed with a girl and boy, nothing like having GREAT grandchildren to help you count your blessings.

Hope everyone has a safe and HAPPY NEW YEAR. We are staying home and will probably not stay up till the ball drops in New York, what about you, do you have New Year traditions to keep ?

Mean ole Mr. Cold caught me...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words....I sure hope that is true as I do not have that much to say. I have managed to catch a bad cold. My nose will not stop running, and I 'm coughing my head off......

Honey and I went to our church Christmas party Saturday, had a great time, lots of good food, singing, and then we played that gift exchange thing where you can take someone else's gift when it is your turn. It's not all about the "gift" as much as it is the fun of the game. We ended up with the country candle and the Hershey kiss candy dish which is really a fondue pot.

The camellia in the background is the first one of the year, we have two bushes and they are beautiful when they are all in bloom.

I felt very tired when we got home and thought I might be coming down with something and sure enough Sunday morning I knew but I teach a class of ten year olds and I did not want to miss so I made myself go and by the time I got home from church all I wanted to do was go to bed.

I spent some quiet time on the porch and could not resist taking this picture of the tree tops and the pink sky.

Don't forget to pray for our troops and for PEACE

We should never take for granted all of the blessings that we enjoy as Americans, the price that so many pay so we can live in a free country.

Can you believe only 10 days until Christmas ?

Turkey Thursday but FISH on Friday

You could not ask for a more perfect day ! WHERE ELSE BUT PARADISE----The Florida Keys.
After a long day in the kitchen, cooking and then cleaning up
turkey,turkey, turkey.....how about some FISH? We decided to go south for Thanksgiving, it has been COLD in north Fl. so we went south to warm up. Left home early Wednesday and was making great time, after seven hours on the road we were ten miles from our daughters house when we got held up behind a bad wreck, sat there for way over an hour.It was a beautiful sunny day and we had ocean on both sides of the road but it is hard to enjoy when you know someone is in a bad situation just ahead of you. We later found out a man died. One of the hazards of living in the Keys.
On a lighter note, the weather on Friday could not have been any better. Our son-in-law took us out in the bay fishing. We anchored up in three different spots and caught fish in every one. Yellow tails were everywhere---also snappers and some small groupers that we had to throw back, I cried as they were set free as I knew how good they would have tasted. Oh well maybe next time they will be big enough to keep. We were very happy with our catch, and yes we had fish for dinner last night. We had a wonderful time, it was good to get away, but after four nights our bed sure did feel good. Hope everyone had a BLESSED and HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I'm BEAD befuddled !!!

Where have I been and WHAT IN THE WORLD have I been doing....I can sum it up in one word BEADS! Be careful what you ask for. I had made several sets of polymer clay and glass beads and I thought it would be nice if I could sell some of them. I thought about an etsy account but I do not know the first thing about how to start one, I thought about consignment but felt like after I gave them a cut I would not be making enough to make it worth while. Then a friend at my church said, "get some together and I will take them to work with me, I work in an office full of women"
So I got busy and made display cards, and business cards, and sent her off with five sets.....they all sold and people want more and they are asking for special colors and can I make bracelets ????
This was suppose to be a (fun thing) to relax with..,mmmmmm not so much anymore. Maybe I'm selling them to cheap? $20.00 a set what do you think? CLICK ON PICTURES FOR A CLOSER LOOK.

What I've Done

Got this from Janet's blog, Lavendar Loft

What I've Done.....
I HAVE….1. Started my own blog YES
2. Slept under the stars YES
3. Played in a band NO
4. Visited Hawaii NO
5. Watched a meteor shower NO
6. Given more than I can afford to charity YES
7. Been to Disneyland/world YES
8. Climbed a mountain YES
9. Held a praying mantis NO
10. Sung a solo YES
11. Bungee jumped NO
12. Visited Paris NO
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea YES
14. Taught myself an art from scratch YES
15. Adopted a child NO
16. Had food poisoning YES
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty NO
18. Grown my own vegetables YES
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France NO
20. Slept on an overnight train NO
21. Had a pillow fight YES
22. Hitchhiked YES
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill YES
24. Built a snow fort NO
25. Held a lamb YES
26. Gone skinny dipping YES
27. Run a Marathon NO
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice NO
29. Seen a total eclipse YES
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset YES
31. Hit a home run NO
32. Been on a cruise YES
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person NO
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors NO
35. Seen an Amish community YES
36. Taught myself a new language NO
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied YES
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person NO
39. Gone rock climbing YES
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David NO
41. Sung karaoke YES
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt NO
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant NO
44. Visited Africa NO
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight YES
46. Been transported in an ambulance YES
47. Had my portrait painted NO
48. Gone deep sea fishing YES
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person NO
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris NO
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling YES
52. Kissed in the rain YES
53. Played in the mud YES
54. Gone to a drive-in theater YES
55. Been in a movie NO
56. Visited the Great Wall of China NO
57. Started a business YES
58. Taken a martial arts class NO
59. Visited Russia NO
60. Served at a soup kitchen YES
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies YES
62. Gone whale watching NO
63. Got flowers for no reason YES
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma NO
65. Gone sky diving NO
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp NO
67. Bounced a check YES
68. Flown in a helicopter NO
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy YES
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial YES
71. Eaten Caviar NO
72. Pieced a quilt YES
73. Stood in Times Square NO
74. Toured the Everglades YES
75. Been fired from a job NO
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London NO
77. Broken a bone YES
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle YES
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person NO
80. Published a book NO
81. Visited the Vatican NO
82. Bought a brand new car YES
83. Walked in Jerusalem NO
84. Had my picture in the newspaper YES
85. Read the entire Bible YES
86. Visited the White House NO
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating NO
88. Had chickenpox YES
89. Saved someone’s life NO
90. Sat on a jury NO
91. Met someone famous NO
92. Joined a book club YES
93. Lost a loved one YES
94. Had a baby YES
95. Seen the Alamo in person NO
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake NO
97. Been involved in a law suit YES
98. Owned a cell phone YES
99. Been stung by a bee YES
And…100. Ridden an elephant NO

Looks like a hurricane !

Of course these pictures loaded backwards? We had a lot of trees toooo close to our house, so we had a man come and take out a BUNCH of them and top the rest. Now that's all good but the bad part was he said he would cut us a deal if he did not have to remove what he cut.....well what you see on the ground here is just a small portion of what we have to deal with. We will be cutting and burning for a long time.

As you can see here, these were way to close to the house. If they had been a nice hard wood with good roots it might not have been a concern, but these trees are water oaks. They are known for limb breakage and they have no root system so they can pretty much fall over whenever they decide to.

Three of these came down, and the rest got topped. This is just the front. We had seven removed on the side and three topped. And in the back, we had some really BIG trees with limbs that hung over the well, and some that were going towards the house, so they had to come down. We are giving away firewood---- we have had two people come get some and there is still a lot left. If you live close to me and need wood come on over, we'll load you up! All chain saws welcome. I will try to get out there today to take a few "clean up" shots. All of this FUN COST US ABOUT $900. I would hate to think what it would have been if we would have let him clean it up!

Annual Event

This will probably be the one and only post for Oct. We will be leaving on a trip to Illinois this week and I will not be home until the end of the month.

Today is our annual Pioneer Day festival, held in the local park downtown. I was unable to get photos of the art work, and I did not want a picture of the "crowd" so I took one of the old cabin and the big oak trees, laden with moss and ferns and the two items I bought.

My favorite is the old lady....she has a clay face and pots but her clothes appear to be papier-

mache.

I would love to try and construct something similar, just might be my next project. I also bought a handcrafted shelf made out of cedar. This man also made bookcases, benches, etc. I got his card as I would like to order a bench made for the yard or a table for the porch.

Hope everyone has a safe and not to "spooky" Halloween. I will be back the first week of Nov.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANET

By the time I get this posted it will be midnight here, which makes it Sept. 21st.

I will be jumping the gun in Ca. but I won't have time to do this tomorrow and I do not want to let it slip by. My friend Janet on The Lavender Loft (jkb) is having a very important birthday, it's one of the BIG ones!!!! I tried to contact a few people that I knew would want to know. Sorry if I missed you but you can always wish a belated Happy Birthday. I just had to put this card on here, it is one I received last month on my big 65.....from a friend in Tenn. On the inside it says, "attitude is everything"

So with that said all that is left is, Janet, hope you have a fun filled, memory making, blessed and very SPECIAL day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY much love, Gail

Can you believe this is that?

If I had not taken this so close up you might have been able to see the BRIGHT pink color better. I picked this off of the bush in my last post.
When the flower opened up it was white, later that afternoon when I looked out my kitchen window the flowers had turned to a bright pink. I just had to pick it and bring it in to enjoy, that turned out to be a big mistake, as by morning it had pretty much wilted. So I will know better next time. Is this a common thing with a Rose of Sharon, the color change that is ? I have never owned one before so I did not know what to expect.

Beauty and the Beast

I started this Rose of Sharon from a cutting two years ago. Last year it bushed out real nice but never had any flowers. You can imagine my delight when I saw all of the buds about a week ago. However my joy was diminished as soon as I spotted the huge spider living on the top......it is as if it's web just connects up in the sky somewhere. I was very tempted to end its miserable existence but then I remembered that spiders catch bugs and bugs eat plants, soooooo it got a reprieve. Our three acres are full of all kinds of spiders this year. The worse part is trying to mow, if you have to go under any limbs you are sure to run into a web, I HATE THAT !!! I kill as many as I can with out hubby seeing me, he says, "leave them alone, they kill mosquitoes" well snakes kill mice but if I come across any guess what their fate will be? I think if you click on the first picture you can see part of the web coming down and attaching to the plant. Oh well from the kitchen window I can only see the flowers-----not the beast. I'm thankful for this plant that flowers this late in the summer when most everything else is spent by the heat. This week it FINALLY came down under 90. Fall is on its way and I'm sure glad, how about you?

Look Ma, no hands!

My little horse lover! Our granddaughter is getting to do what I always wanted to do, take ridding lessons. I have always loved horses but never was able to own one, I hope it will be different for Mia. Every time they come here for a visit the first thing we do is head for the stables.
I have been working on a pillow with some of her favorite horse photos on it, her birthday is in Oct.

Time really gets away from me, it will be a month tomorrow since I last posted, I finally got around to adding the GOLD CARD my friend Janet sent me, it is on the side bar..........a big THANK YOU to her, not to many can boast of having a good friend as she has been for all these years. Not much else to report so I think I'll try and catch up on some of your blogs, please forgive me for not always commenting, I will try to do better.

Am I REALLY 65 ?

And still playing with dolls and all the other fun stuff like polymer clay, beading, scrapbooking and the list goes on. Sixtyfive years ago today I was born in St Johns hospital in Springfield, Il.

Life so far has been very full of ups and downs, blessings and heartache. I am so very thankful for each and every day the good Lord gives me. Hopefully there will be many more. When I went to the mailbox this afternoon, it was full. Three books my honey bought me came, lots of cards, one very special one had pictures of our granddaughter, you can see her on the horse. She is taking riding lessons and I hope to do a post of just her soon. A box FULL of all the stuff I like came all the way from my dear friend Janet in Ca. she sure has my number. You can see the goodies better if you click on the picture. The picture of the doll (that I could not turn) was also a birthday gift. Next tuesday my friend and neighbor is taking me shopping and to lunch, and the next week when my pastors wife gets home from general assembly we are going to hit a few antique shops....at this rate my birthday will last all month. Maybe getting OLD isn't so bad after all. As you can see I have not posted for two months, June was filled with VBS and 18 days of visiting with our girls. I'm not sure what happen to July but it sure seemed to go by fast. So a great big THANK YOU to all my family and friends that made this a wonderful birthday.

And remember, YOU ARE JUST AS OLD AS YOU THINK YOU ARE! I'm still thinking 16.

How about you ?

Bag and Blocks

I thought I would show you this bag I finished and these blocks I am working on.....you will have to click on the picture to see any details. I took a picture of the other side of the bag but didn't have time to add it to this. I am deep into house cleaning. Thank God we have company once in awhile, house cleaning is just not to high on my list of things to do. I spent most of the morning cleaning out cupboards, where the pans are, and the plastic containers, and the one that I keep bags in. I save the plastic bags you get from the stores, I use them to line my small garbage baskets with. Before we retired I use to buy the small bags....a lot of things have changed around here since I do not work. We even eat leftovers and you guessed it, that is what we are having tonight. Honey will be thrilled that I will be doing some special dishes and some baking while the girls are here. I must say though I am really very blessed, he is not picky, and he always thanks me and tells me how good it is. If I do not get a chance to blog while they are here I will be back soon.
I just checked the picture only to find it is a bit blurry and I forgot to mention the baby in the hat, that's our granddaughter, Mia, the one that is coming for a visit. She is no longer a baby, she will be eight in Oct. The other side of the bag has two pictures of her, I'll try to show it later.

Can you say "CRASHED"

No pictures, nothing funny or witty, just a brief message:
Nine days can seem like an eternity....that is how long it took me to get back on line.
On Monday the 26th of May my phone went dead. I called my provider, they said they would get right on it. They came out the (next day), the problem was my computer. The modem had crashed, for the second time....and it knocked out my phone line.
The next day I drove to the nearest town, 25 mi. to buy a new modem. When I tried to connect it I discovered she had sold me one for DSL which unfortunately I do not have, I live out in the country and all that is available is dial up. So that meant another 50 mi. trip, only to find out they were not stocking what I needed anymore. However the
man said he had just marked down some EXTERNAL modems and that was what I needed....... when I got home and opened the box I found the manual had been used, written all over and the disk was not the right one. Optimist that I am I went through all the motions of trying to connect only to find it would not work. Back over, another 50 mile trip, and that was this morning so end of story .....as you can see I'M BACK.
So nine days, three trips, much aggravation, some learning lessons, but there was a bit of compensation on their part, they gave me a $20. gift card for my trouble and gas.
With gas $4.05 a gal I'm not sure that covered it but at least they did SOMETHING.
Our daughter and grand daughter will be here for 2 weeks in a few days, so you may not here much out of me for awhile again, until they leave. Thank you for being so patient with me.

The Source

As you know if you come here often, I do not say to much about what I believe and sometimes I think I have a really great thought about something someone has posted but again I try to refrain from putting in my two cents worth......as was the case last week. I never want to appear pushy or make the appearance that I think I "know it all". It seems that the more I think I have learned the more I find out there is to know. Last week Janet from the Lavender Loft did a post and asked many questions, mostly about artist, and some about knowing who we are, etc. . Then on a following post she said that Sherrie had been so inspired that she had done a whole post on these thoughts. I read her post and enjoyed what she had to say.

Sunday morning after spending some time in prayer I went to my computer to read a daily devotion, this one was from "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers.....a book that has been around for a long time. It so spoke to me and addressed some of the subjects that had come up, so I decided to share it. Hope you get something good out of what he had to say.
LIVING SIMPLY____YET FOCUSED
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin__they simply are!
Think of the sea, the air, the stars, and the moon____all of these simply are as well, yet what a ministry and service they render on our behalf. So often we impair God's designed influence, which He desires to exhibit through us, because of our own conscious efforts to be consistent and useful. Jesus said there is only one way to develop and grow spitritually, and that is through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was saying, "Do not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on Me." In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you "will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually____just as the lilies of the field.
The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and the lilies of the field___simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.
If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live__yet you will be unaware ,
on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.
LOOK AT THE BIRDS OF THE AIR.....CONSIDER THE LILIES OF THE FIELD
Matthew 6 : 26, -28

Book Shelves are for Books ?

This first picture was suppose be the last picture???

You will figure it out as you read on. It is tooooo late for me to try and change this now.

This whole wall in my computer room holds four book shelves, five counting the small one. Each shelf has books on it, really they are there, behind all of my "favorite things". Now if you want to see some of these treasures you will have to click on the picture for a close up. All of my books are separated into different categories, art, antiques, crafts, but most of them are on different subjects pertaining to my Christian faith. A lot of study books, books written by the early founders, commentaries, dictionaries, etc. NOTHING fictional.
This would be a good time to add one more photo

It is another book, this one will find it's home in the kitchen however since it is a cook book. It came in today's mail, a surprise gift from my dear friend Janet, you all know her from the blog The Lavender Loft. It looks very interesting and has a fig cake recipe that I can hardly wait to try. We care take the property next door and they have given us rights to pick the figs and the blueberries. Now that is what you call a blessing, as was the book that came today. Of course a big thank you went out right away. I guess if I get any more books I just might have to move out some of the other stuff. I've always wanted a BIG old Victorian house with a library but I guess this is as good as it is going to get.........and yes I am BLESSED......how about you?

Here Birdie, Birdie

All of these pictures will probably have to be clicked on to see what I am talking about. I was not able to get any closer, especially to the birds. I took the pictures out of the window in my computer room. This first shot is of our Manx cat that really does not want to get a drink but would love to catch a bird. I think she is going to get a new collar with a bell. Her name is Sweetie. The next picture is a beautiful yellow bird taking a bath and the last picture is of a Blue Jay and I think he is saying, "where did all of the water go and I wonder if I'll fit in this tiny thing"? That is why I added the larger tray of water that you see in the first picture. As I worked at the computer the other day I saw bird after bird come get a drink and take a bath. I filled that little one up about three times before I said, "this will never do" and added the larger one. They come one right after the other, small gray birds, big yellow birds, mocking birds, cardinals, and blue jays. I guess I need to get out my bird book and find out the names of the ones I'm not familiar with.

It is a wonder that we have so many birds since we have four cats outside. I guess the secret is feed the cats real good so all the want to do is lay around on the front porch and sleep.

Changes made...AGAIN

SORRY I HAVE HAD TO MAKE A FEW CHANGES IN THE COMMENT SECTION....

I HOPE THIS WILL NOT BE TO MUCH OF AN INCONVIENCE TO MY REGULAR VIEWERS.....

I TRIED TO OPEN UP THE COMMENTS TO "ANYONE" TRUST ME THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA.....

I WOULD HATE TO HAVE TO CLOSE MY BLOG, HOWEVER IF MY COMPUTER IS GOING TO BE SUBJECT TO VIRUS THE BLOG WILL HAVE TO GO.

So with that said, I hope everyone has a nice day and be safe and BE BLESSED!

Bears & Babies

A few weeks back, several people were showing their dolls, toys, etc. and I was busy working in the yard. Well I'm still busy in the yard but thought it would not take that much time to take a few pictures of some of "the kids". Mind you this is just a few of my favorites, some live in a trunk so they are not on display. I guess I'd have to say the doll and the purple bear on the bed take first place. The doll belonged to my Aunt Helen who passed away several years ago and the bear was bought for me by our youngest daughter for a birthday present. Also in the bear group I have two Steiff bears, one is a nine inch and the other one is tiny, about two inches.

Betzie from TIME ENOUGH had some wonderful babies, I really enjoyed looking at her collection. Now she has some real babies, they have four legs and they bark, and I can hardly wait to see some more recent photos of them. If you have time stop on by and check them out.

Sooooo cute! You can get to her site by clicking on it on my side bar.

I really need to thank my good friend Nancy for starting this whole thing, she bought me my first Boyde bear back in 1993. I have since stopped buying as I am retired and, well I've run out of room. If you like looking at this sort of thing let me know........I have more.

You can see the dolls better if you click on the picture to make it larger.

Lost in the Yard

I guess it was the wrong time of day to take these pictures as it is hard to see the area where I'm working because of the shadows of the tree. The first picture is at the top of the steps looking down and the second one is looking up at the steps. There will be one more step down and then the path will level off until it reaches the area where it will end. I hope to have a garden bench and a birdbath and of course some flowers.
At the rate I am working it might be next summer before it gets finished. I'm not sure if you can see the roots that I have run into but they sure do not make it any easier. Of course the deeper I get the harder it is to shovel the sand up to the wheel barrel. So now you can see why I have not posted lately....I've been in the yard. One of the best things about this project is the rocks are FREE.....my husband works in a sand mine and they do not want the rocks, so we were told we could have all that we could carry off. My honey will be glad when I finally say, "I do not need any more rocks". I have been thinking however how nice it would be to have rocks along the driveway........hmmm! Well it is nice and cool this morning I had better get to it. When it gets hot soon and it will, I will be back in the craft room. I don't do summer heat, not here in north Florida.

Playing in the dirt

This got planted in my rose bed last week, it was given to me as part of our 41st anniversary. Yellow roses is what I carried the day we got married, April 1, 1967. The other bush was a special gift from God. I guess I should have said tree, I have seen them growing in this area and they get really big. I have admired them ever since we moved up here and knew I wanted to plant one some day. One day last week my husband had been walking about in the yard, we have 3 acers, when he came in he asked me if I had seen the bush with the white flowers on it. We went out in the yard to see this and I could not believe my eyes.......there was the very bush I had been wanting. I went to one of our local nurseries to see what I could find out about it. I found out one that size cost $49.95 and it is called, "Granddaddy's Beard" not the real full name, but that is what they are known by. So not sure why we have not seen it before now but glad to have it, and it will get transplanted this fall to a nice "upfront" spot. The weather is beautiful today and the yard work is waiting, I'm working on a new path so there will be pictures soon. If you are one of those that love to work in
the yard I hope your weather is nice......if you are not and do not feel like you have a green thumb you can always plant some LOVE and watch it grow. BE BLESSED

Friendship and Fabric

My dear forever friend gave me my very first blog award, and can you believe I actually figured out how to put it on here, and on my sidebar. Thank you Janet, from Lavendar Loft, for being my friend ALL THESE YEARS.
And this is my latest project. I had green lace and I really liked them but with summer almost here I wanted something to block out the hot afternoon sun. I'm very funny about window treatments, it takes me forever to make up my mind and then I seem to stay with the same thing until I'm really sick of it. Everything else in the house I would move or change every few months but not curtains. I always look at kitchen curtains when I go shopping and even if I find something I like I always talk myself out of it. Not so this past week, I found some cottage style, bought them, hung them, and did not like them....
took them down, got into my stash of material, and a few hours later, hung these. The only thing I do not like about them is I think I made them to long by about 3 inches. I'm considering raising the rod, but as I said, I'm considering it, that may take awhile. Good thing we live out in the country with no neighbors, the room we added on two years ago still has NOTHING at the windows. We have lived here since June of 2003 and the only windows that I have changed is our bedroom, well after all it only has one window. Well I'm off to work in the yard before it gets to hot, I'll take the camera out with me, you never know what you might see that is worth capturing.

Gopher Tortoise

It is a little difficult to see the hole where our friend comes and goes but it is the opening behind the stake. First I must tell you, it is NOT our turtle. It was here when we moved in a few years ago. It does not bother much since I put the little fence up around some of my flowers and we do not bother it. They were probably named Gopher as a reference to the pocket gopher, a small mammal which also creates lengthy burrows. This turtle is famous for digging underground burrows 10 to 35 feet long with bedrooms at the ends. The burrows are found in sandy, well
drained areas. Over 70 other kinds of animals have been found using Gopher Tortoise burrows in various ways. These include burrowing owls, raccoons, opossums, gopher frogs, spiders, insects, cotton rats, indigo snakes, coachwhips, and rattlesnakes. Now this last one is the one that concerns me, however we have been here 5 years this
June and we have not seen one anywhere near our property.
This is the first time we have seen it this spring. Two years ago I found about 10 babies running around in my flower bed, I'm not sure where they came from and I do not know where they went. We have not named it since it is not a pet and besides what kind of a name do you give a turtle? Do you have any suggestions?

Post card & craft

I tried to get this text higher on the page but for some reason could not. I know so many of us love the old post cards so I was happy to find this one and add my own words to it. I made the tree with the eggs on it. I wish I could say I made the eggs but alas they were a find in one of my favorite thrift stores. I did however find the branch in my yard, painted it gold, anchored it in the antique pot and placed a few yellow flowers around the base. Of course the Easter egg tree has nothing to do with the true meaning ....which is the resurrection of my Lord and savior, JESUS. So do you plan on going to a Sunrise Service, I have some beautiful memories of going to them in the Keys as they would always be at beach, there is something special about seeing the sun come up over the ocean. HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY. To see the details of the pictures on the eggs, click on the picture for an enlargement.

Last Day of Winter

Where does the time go? Life at our house has been anything but normal for the past week. My elderly neighbor's husband passed away and I have been helping her. They were only married a short time, it would have been 4 years this July. He used to live about 150 miles south of here, so when they married he moved and brought a LOT of stuff with him. Now his children want it. This has been so hard on my friend. They came yesterday and now hopefully there will be forgiveness and healing so life can go on. On a lighter note, today is the last day of winter. Our weather here has been beautiful. I went for a walk in the yard this morning and took these pictures. Can you see the bumble bee? I did not want to get into his space to much, and the poor butterfly is missing part of one of his wings so I do not know how long he will survive. Janet, if you are reading this I just want to say I think of you every time I see purple flowers blooming in my yard. Wish you were here, we could sit on the porch with a glass of tea and watch the wisteria feed the little critters.

SPRING HAS REALLY SPRUNG IN NORTH FLORIDA.......HOPE IT IS NICE WHEREVER YOU ARE. BE BLESSED

Garden of Joy

In all of the preparation and rushing about I forgot my camera....and I'm so sorry I did as I know the pictures of the skit would have been good.
Everything went well. The skit was cute and VERY funny, I'll tell you more later.
Both meetings, Friday night and Saturday morning were straight from the throne room of God. The main words were PURPOSE and GIFTS. Do you know your purpose, are you living your purpose, and do you know what gifts God has placed with you and are you using them. I was very challenged in my thinking and stirred in my heart. It was just the boost I needed to move me into being a "doer" and not just a "hearer of the Word".
The skit is called "The Garden of Joy". It is about a little Petunia that got planted in an onion patch, and all she can do is cry. A few feet away is a flower bed with roses, sun flowers, and daisies in it. I was a rose, I asked, as did all the other flowers, "why are you crying", after hearing the complaints of living in a stinky onion patch, I explained how I had lived in a lot of places, even in the dessert but I never cried about it, I just bloomed. The sun flower said, " do as I do and turn your face towards the sun and He will dry your tears", pointing up and speaking of God. The daisy said, "people pick my petals all the time, saying he loves me, he loves me not, but I know He loves me so I don't cry". We all tell Petunia she can live with us, she says where, and we all say, In The Garden Of Joy. Then we all sing a little chorus :
Jesus, and others and you
What a wonderful way to spell JOY , repeat.
J is for Jesus- for he has first place
O is for others- we meet face to face
Y is for you- in whatever you do,
put yourself third and spell JOY. (the skit had more to it but for space and times sake I cut it)