Middle of the week is sometimes called Hump Day.
So it is what it is.
I'm just checking in to say hi and planning on sliding into the rest of the week.
Got our state refund today .. yay for small favors...
We are seeing some new life on our fruit trees, despite all the weeds surrounding them. (Isn't that like Life?)
There's always some weeds in our lives that want to snuff out the pleasures of a new day. So I say to myself .."look up and enjoy the perks of Spring".
Love Ya..
Today is the start of a new week.
Nothing very exciting is on the horizon for us.
We did have a really nice Sunday though. We went to our son's and daughter in law's home for dinner after church.
Yummy pot roast and all the trimmings. Of course this photography family didn't take a single photo!!
We both had a decent nights sleep and actually feel quite human today...😃
Always enlarge the pictures to get the best effect.
A few days ago, when the weather finally cleared up, Dave and I went out in the front yard to pull out some weeds.
We have felt like our home looked abandoned compared to the others up and down the block.
We worked really hard in this area and another area but just couldn't finish it..
The "old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be".
We went back out the following day and got to it.
The best thing about being in the front yard is chatting with all of the neighbors as they walk their dogs and pass us.
Dave would tease the people and say something like.."there's plenty of weeds to go around. Help yourself..its good exercise.."
They would laugh and be on their way.
About 20 minutes after a gentleman and his 2 dogs had stopped and gabbed for a bit,
He returned .. no dogs...
Just He and his GLOVES..
He said hi, put me to work!!
My jaw literally dropped and I said something really intelligent like "Are you Serious???"
He said yes he wanted to help. He's retired and had been working in his own yard earlier that morning.
He grabbed a hoe and cleared so much weeds .. I felt like crying...
Tim is AWESOME!!!
Now our front yard is presentable and we have acquired a True Friend.
We are Blessed!
As I have said many times
I love our neighbors.
THANKFUL THURSDAY
Today is our photo club challenge meeting.
The challenge is to share a photo that puts meaning to Psalms 23.
It will be really fun to see everyone's interpretation of these verses in the Bible.
I chose Psalms. 23:3b
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
My take on these verses is that the Lord is our Light and our guide along the paths of our life. We have no fear as we continue to walk with the Lord. He is our Lighthouse.
Thanks for looking and I appreciate your comments more than you will ever know.
What do you do when it's raining outside?
Why, of course, you climb into the kitchen sink
and clean the very awkward window!!
Now its done and am I ever glad...
Of course after the rain gets it out of its system
The outside will get cleaned too.
And now it's on to the taxes for Dave and I..
It just doesn't get any better..😇😃
Where has this week gone?
We're back to Thankful Thursday again.
Last Tuesday I was whining and feeling sorry for myself and some of the financial difficulties we are facing.
The phone rang and it was our next door neighbor saying that they had not seen us in quite a while. She said you have probably eaten dinner already but she had made more pasta than they could eat. Stick it in the fridge and have it tomorrow!!
And that's what we did...
Wednesday morning I get a call from our neighbor on the other side of us. Hye said I was shopping and thought you might like a chicken from Costco...
I was shocked but graciously and humbly said thank you.
So
Last night we had Shirley's yummy pasta and tonight we will have Chicken Ala Something or other...
Blessed
Thankful
Humbled
And now its time to pay it forward!
Thanks for looking
Yesterday was such a wonderful day.
Our Easter service at church was beautiful and the music touched my soul.
After church we went to dinner at some friends home or maybe one should call it a Ranch-ette.
We have known Beth and Wes since they were in high school. Our kids were best friends with them and Dave and I were also good friends with their parents.
We have been in each others lives for about 40 years. It really does make one feel old when those kids have kids planning weddings and becoming grandparents too.
We were all friends from our church in San Francisco and many made the move to the Greater Sacrament area. It was like Old Home week with about 35 people (lots of kiddos running everywhere) bringing gobs of delicious food and we were scattered all over their property.
I never got photos of most of the crowd. I spent most of my time visiting with 2 dear friends. Solveig is in her late 80's and Begnt is 90..Oh that I could be as sharp as they are. I brought a letter that we found in the midst of some old photographs. The other couple is from Sweden and the letter was written in Swedish. We had a good time translating it. It was from my GreatGrandfather to my Grandfather in 1923. Fascinating.
Yay, it didn't rain. This was my view from the porch.
Unfortunately all of my photos are blurred in the transferring process from my phone to Picasa..oh well.. it is what it is.
I feel so blessed to have these friends and that all of the generations can be together for fun and fellowship.
There is always so much to be thankful for.
A few days ago our door bell rang. When I went to answer it I saw a charming young man standing there.
He glanced at our weeds in the front yard and said he would like to be hired to do some yard work for us.
Now we really Can Not afford to hire anyone ... but I felt a prompting to continue the conversation. I was holding a ball point pen in my hand and he looked at it and said Oh Bayside.. I was holding a pen from our former church... "I go there and my Dad works there" said the cute High Schooler.
I said well let me talk to my husband and come out to the back and see what we Desperately need done.
He said my friend and I can come right now and do it for X amount of dollars.
Dave and I discussed it for a Nano Second and said YES.. it was weeds on the hill behind the retaining wall. Not something We have the energy or balance to do if we can help it.
Long story sort.. they weeded 3/4 of the area in one hour and we got the worst of it done.
Job well done!
Fast forward to today.
Our neighbor across the street came over and "finally" paid us for some things he had bought from us several weeks ago..
The amount was the exact amount we had forked out to pay the kids!! ..
Blessed to not have that chunk of cash missing from our checking account.
Then I am reading my daily devotional.
This is what it said:
I am the God who Gives and Gives and Gives.
When I died for you on the cross, I held back nothing; because Giving is inherent in my nature, I search for people who are able to receive in full measure.
I look for people who are receptive and are willing to being open to be filled with my abundant riches.
When our finances are so more than "Tight", God blessed us and we give him praise!
Morning Clouds
Happy Easter....
It seems that the weeks are going at warp speed nowadays.
This one is no exception.
So
I thought I would just give you several thought for this mid-week day.
That's it for today..😃
Our photo club is finally resuming after some time off.
The challenge for this coming Monday is : HIDDEN BEAUTY
Most are posting such lovely scenic photos.
I thought I would go "Out of the Box"
Or "Out of the Shell"... hee hee
Here's my Hidden Beauty in every day things...
Gotta have a sense of humor when I can't compete with the more professionals.
Oops, I think I like the first one better..more balance..
Well we'll see what others think when we have our Zoom meeting Monday evening.
Fun any- hoo...
Thanks for looking
Yesterday was the first day of Spring...
Does it feel like Spring time where you live?
Our temperature got up to 75F yesterday ... so glorious ...
By the weekend we are suppose to be down to 58F with rain and snow in the mountains.
Its such a fickle time of year.
Here's the sum and total of my Spring - Easter decorating for this year.
I really went ALL OUT ! 😄
Happy Middle of the Week !!
Today is filled with many UPS and DOWNS but through it all
the Lord holds my hand.
Missing a friend that passed away several weeks ago. We just attended his
"Celebration of Life". It truly was that, and now we and his family go on and cherish the memories
There are blessings with our sons and their families that make our hearts full.
I guess this blog post is about Things off the top of my head...
I know this is a good day and I am blessed.
BEE-CAUSE
HAPPY SPRING
So happy to see the sunshine this morning.
I'm enjoying my first cup of coffee and cruising the Blogs.
My opinion...
Last night was a wonderful time for us.
Our Small Group/Bible Study "Family" had such a fantastic time together.
We have been gathering at our house for the last 10 years.
Deep and loving friendships have been bound together .
Last night was no exception. We hadn't met since December 5th so there was a whole lot of catching up to be done...
Lots of laughter, some heartache, some trauma, some silliness and great food.
Love Overflowing.
These photos are mostly for me but CANDID SHOTS are never really flattering.
We celebrated 3 birthdays with a yummy chocolate strawberry shortcake. It was delish.
Potlucks are the best.
Dave and I were sitting at the end of the table so we could get 11 around it together.
So unfortunately our faces aren't shown but that's ok.
Feeling Blessed...
Ok, here are 2 more of my sketches from so very long ago.
These two were done in my senior year of High School art class.
I'm posting them here mostly for me and my annual journal.
Both of these were done in 1961.
Sure makes me feel old when I see the dates in print.
Hmm..I don't know why this came out so dark. Guess I will have to go back in a fix it. To be continued...
ok not happy.. will redo these to photos.
Well, lets see if this worked..
Dave and I have been cleaning out some closets and drawers...long overdue.
We found an old Art Pad of mine. I knew it was somewhere in the depths of our "treasures".
I remember when "Hootin' Annie" would post some of her sketches and paintings.
It got me thinking about several things I did as a young girl.
My Aunt was an artist and when she came to visit in 1955, she brought me some artist pastels chalk and paper.
She decided to give me at 11 years old a lesson. She made a still life and proceeded to put what she saw to paper.
I wasn't used to looking and putting it down on paper, but I am a pretty good copier.
The first photo is what my Aunt Phoebe drew. Pretty much a quick sketch.
Almost makes me want to get out the pastels again..Almost...
Several of my friends have been going through some difficult times.
Those times are both emotional and physical.
I've been praying for them especially.
That made me think about some photos in my archives that seem to tell the story better than my words are able to say.
Yesterday I was browsing some wonderful blogs and came across Sandy's blog Big Little World.
She was talking about some birds and their colors and very vocal chattering.
It made me think about an incident last month.
The family and I were having our lunch on the San Francisco Presidio grounds.
The Bold critters wanted our sandwiches too.
One came to our table and Dave and he had quite a conversation.
My Hubby would say something to it and it would answer back in a vast variety of songs, chips, and twitters.
Finally we had to shoo him away along with other curious birds.
Too much competition for our sandwiches.
This guys feathers are almost iridescent in the right light...
Unfortunately the gray and slightly drippy day didn't do the Starling justice.
A fun memory.
Many thanks for all the concerns and prayers.
I am feeling more like my OLD self today. Its amazing what a decent night's sleep will do!
This was me yesterday....
This is me today...
EMERGING
It seems I have gotten my sense of humor back 👀😏
Be sure to enlarge the photos to see the detail.
I'm so glad I have a ton of photos in my archives from so many years ago.
They sure come in handy when I'm Sittin' on the Inside...Lookin' at the Outside..
😊
Boy sometimes sleep is elusive and the tummy is upset.
That's me today. We stayed home from church and I feel like I am going in slow motion.
So this is all I've got...
This picture is of a menu we are trying to sell.
It is from the Princess Cruise Lines and dated 1973.
I love the pose of the Virgin Islands boy looking out to sea.
Thanks for looking.
