Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Linking up with Hodgepodge

Linking up with Joyce over at her blog



www.fromthissideofthepond.com

Every Wednesday Joyce features a few questions. 
Everyone is invited to stop by and link up or just read.
Today, I stopped by and I linked up.!


1. Times Square is the setting for the infamous ball drop signaling a brand new year....when did you last 'drop the ball' on something?


I'm afraid I dropped a rather large ball throughout this entire past year and I hurt some people's feelings. This has been a year for change for me on a very personal level.

I made a bucket list.

One of the items on that list was to be a blonde (insert phrase: before I die). So I did, for the entire year. I also chose to eat out at a restaurant on a large holiday, a first in 35 years for me, and I was just so glad we did. This holiday was a day for no work, just relaxing, taking the time to visit and get to know one another.

I also decided to slow down but I may have slowed a bit too much. And I sort of distanced a relationship that just left me drained all the time, to tell the truth, I distanced more than one. Thereby making room for other relationships to build, ones that lift me up.


2. What is one thing you resolved to do in 2013 that you actually did?
I actually felt that
I had made time for myself.

I paid more attention to the people I love. I listened more. I gave more compliments and encouragement. I redirected my own reaction to negative conversations and stayed in a positive place. I actually felt that I had made time for myself, even to think and react, and to say no. Saying no is not as easy at it looks.



3. Jack London is quoted as saying, "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." Agree or disagree? Why?

I had prayed for guidance
so hard my knees were sore.


I neither agree or disagree, it's not that simple for me. I have been blessed with times in my long life where the inspiration was pouring down on me. Right after my Dad died, I filed for divorce and was out on my own for the first time. I had prayed for guidance so hard my knees were sore. Then everything I needed and wanted became choices set before me. I had lived most of my life without choices, and I felt so blessed that my creativity just flowed. I guess I don't think that you can go after inspiration with a club, but you sure can use it to pry something out of the way.


4. What was the best thing you ate in 2013?


Thing?
One thing?
Oh, you know I can't narrow it down to one thing.

I guess it would be the Kobe steak at the Fisherman's Wharf in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was able to cut it with my butterknife it was so tender. It was topped with a mustard reduction and braised asparagus spears, laying across a potato souffle. It was also very pretty.

I ate all of it, then dessert too.


5. Share an anti-resolution...that is, something you plan to keep on doing in the new year.

I am keeping my traveling suitcase in the closet and ready to pack anytime. I want to see more things, meet more people, go to new places and then come back home and rest.


6. The Pantone color of the year for 2014 is radiant orchid.  Like or no like? Would I find this color anywhere in your home or wardrobe? Will you add something in this shade to either?

Yes, I love it. I have always been a purple fan. When it is done right, it is gorgeous. When it is done wrong, it looks like my old kitchen, a color mistake (note to self - not every color you love is meant to be on 3 walls). I think I will get a new radiant orchid scarf to keep me warm in winter, and to tie around my straw hat this summer. Function, utilization and getting the most for my money is my motto.

7. In three words or less sum up your 2013.

A better me.


8. Insert your own random thought here.


They say life comes in seasons just like the earth. I feel that I have entered a new season and it is fall. It is time to be open to change, in everything, in people, and in myself. I also think fall is a time to just stop and breathe, good deep breaths.


Monday, December 30, 2013

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
2014

Since I first clicked on that publish button back in March, I have wondered who I am? 

 I mean...
what kind of blogger am I
and who do I want to be?
Do I know?

The list of blogs that I follow grows daily. I love the choices, new faces, and new ideas that we all share. I have all of them saved in folders on my favorites bar. What ever my mood, be it cooking, shopping, crafting, reading, looking, wondering, or dreaming, it's just a click away. 

I am a slow thinker! 
How about a decorating blogger? Well, my house is usually in transition. I like to study on it, try out several options, then decide and keep it forever. My husband is very spontaneous, if he sees something he likes he is ready to have it. Together we manage to do a few projects around the house every couple of years because that is how long it takes me to decide on what I want done. Plus every photo I take, there seems to be a pile of something hidden in the background. How do those decorating bloggers get their house so clean and organized? Do they photoshop that pile of papers, magazines, out of their photos when they post?

How about a cooking blogger? Well, no chance of that happening. I am a self taught cook, I HATE onions, and I peel my pickles, and don't like my food to touch. The only reason I cook is because I like to eat. I LIKE to bake, especially cookies and cakes, because I LOVE to eat cookies and cakes. Oh, I have dreamed of gourmet meals being served on my good china on a linen tablecloth with candles burning. In real life, I have one that won't eat this, one that won't eat that, a couple who are allergic to something, and one who can't chew very well. 

Try serving that on a big platter
and then take a photo.

How about a crafting blogger? No, the thought of so many unfinished projects and various supplies taking up space in my brain exhausts me. I think that it aggravates my compulsiveness to put things away. If I can't finish it and put it away by dinner, then, where, I mean seriously where, will, I, keep, it? 

How about a photo blogger? I know nothing about photography. I have had the same point and shoot digital camera for five years. It takes pictures of houses for our business and does a very fine job. It's both reliable and easy. It's been years and I still am not sure what all the buttons do on this little camera, so no photo blog for me. However, I did get a new camera for Christmas, so I am looking forward to more buttons and learning how to use more buttons. (insert exhaustion here...)


I've met some fantastic people. 

They have shown me photos of places I have never been, shared their ideas about how to express ourselves, and how to turn a house into a home and bring people together, on a budget, with duct tape, cotton balls and flowers from my garden. Maybe I will just get to know more people, make more friends, and share ideas and laugh more.






Friday, December 27, 2013

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Where is my MERRY?

I just don't feel like
MERRY Christmas,
again this year.  

I thought last year would be my last SAD Christmas, that with some help from a friend, who is blessed with great therapy skills, I would be back to my ol' Merry self.

I've dealt with sad times before, had many losses throughout my long years, and not had this much time lapse between the laughs and giggles. In 1996, I lost my Father, I cried, and then made a major decision that changed my life for the better and opened up a new world of happiness to me. I grew up that year.

But two years ago last night, at exactly 9:45pm, I watched my brother bleed to death and die right in front of me, feeling helpless, screaming for God to give me 24 more hours with him so I could have a time to say goodbye. 

I would tell him how important he had been in my life, thank him for teaching me to drive when I was 15 and for pulling my foot out of boiling water when I was just 6 years old, for fixing everything I ever asked him to fix, for taking good care of my big dog when I was out of town, and especially for being the best biggest brother I had ever had. The list was long, I needed at least 24 hours. But God said no, and took him home, leaving me there with him on the porch, covered in blood. His last words to me were "I need you".

I had been dealing with it, had been happier, had more happy times this past year. Then yesterday, December 23rd at 9:45pm, it changed and this morning it is still here. Tears...

I tell myself 
"I am a grown up, people have sadness in their lives, it is a part of life, get over it, let it go, move on, and allow happiness to fill up and move the sadness to the back, life goes on."


But on December 23rd at 9:45pm,
it comes back. 

His face, his expression of life leaving him, stays, imprinted in my mind, even though I pray for God to release me from this, this memory, to make it fade and be replaced with his laughter, his quick witty comments, his caring and quiet voice.

So I pray again this morning, the same prayer I prayed last year on December 23rd, to fade this memory and wipe away my tears.


I want
MERRY back. 





Monday, December 23, 2013

Our family is changing...


"A happy family is but an earlier heaven."
George Bernard Shaw

Happy Holidays to everyone including our family near and far!
Our family seems smaller this year. 
We have lost several of us to cancer this past year, job relocation's and just that old thing we call life. Many of us have to work hours that vary, others have taken on a second, sometimes third job, so getting together as one big family is more difficult this year but we still managed to get a few of us together for a photo.



Our family has bachelors, men who work hard, are great fathers and who have dedicated their lives to raising their children.


And we have many generations.



Yes, the tellie stayed on with the volume muted,
 it was a very important night for our sports fans.

And we had funny gifts,
like this battery powered whisk!
My uncle is an awesome cook,
so he will get many hours out of this new gadget!


A big thanks to my cousin for allowing us to crash his house after he had been up since 3am working overtime.

Our family is changing.
We are getting older,
the younger generation is getting more mobile,
having to move farther for their careers,
going to college far away,
and visiting farther distances.

We even discussed ordering pizza
instead of cooking for our
next years "Dirty Santa" Party.

I hope my Granny,
up there in heaven,
understands.

I miss her
homemade chicken and noodles
so much.
And my Aunt Pat's homemade hot rolls,
my Aunt Mildred's homemeade peanut butter fudge,
and Aunt Donna's laughter, and her pancake turner,
which she used as crowd control when necessary.



Sunday, December 22, 2013

Let it snow...

Or ice,
as it sleeted all afternoon and
into the night, then dusted us with snow.

I was just over visiting with


 and felt my heart fill with memories looking at her little back stoop with her sled and tricycle...

so I decided
to share a memory of my own...

This is my Dad pulling my brothers around town on an old car hood just a few blocks from where I live now.

Have you ever done this?
Yes I have. Oh, so many times!

I am still getting used to my new camera and all of it's settings. I chose the snow setting this morning and took a few steps outside onto the patio (for fear of falling on the ice, I didn't go much further)


The ice and snow on the bushes




Little doggie foot prints on the front porch, a complete U-turn!!


Then I went back to the patio and turned around and saw this...




This little lady
does not like to have her photo taken.

So she turns her head as soon as she hears the shutter snap.

Have a very happy day today!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Doing Great!

A BIG thank you for all your prayers for our daughter.  We have her home now and she is doing very good, very sore though. She is having to give herself injections of blood thinners each day, and I am so grateful that her Dad is helping with that part.

I have been trying to read everyone's blog posts and enjoying the comments here in the land Of bloggers. Santa brought me sniped air for an early Christmas,which was a big help at the hospital. I have so much to learn though.  It came with no manual or directions! I just found Safari yesterday... New passwords to remember, oh.... So much to learn... I am going to try taking photos with it today, along with baking cookies, laundry, etc.


I am sharing this photo from our neighbors Dirty Santa party
which I made into a card for the hubs using pic monkey.

The hubs has taken the laptop for full time use to do his work since is received this iPad, today I hope to figure out how to upload some photos I took with it... So much to learn. I did manage to get some  photos taken with it, if I learn how to upload them I will share them today.

Please continue with your prayers for healing and good health as her body is healing, these blood clots have been hard for doctors to treat.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Christmas Card

I don't have a lot of time today
but did find a few moments to
read a few of my blogging friends posts.

Our daughter is having surgery
this morning, so please,
keep her in your prayers.

Have a wonderful Holiday!


linking up with Vee
over at 

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Today's "Our Daily Bread"





So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
 it shall not return to Me void, 
but it shall accomplish what I please. 
—Isaiah 55:11


As a workplace chaplain, I’m privileged to be in conversation with many different people. Some are skeptics of the Christian faith. I’ve discovered three major hurdles that keep them from trusting in Christ for salvation.
The first barrier, surprisingly, isn’t an unwillingness to believe that God exists; instead some doubt that they’re important enough for God’s attention. 
Second, some believe they are unworthy of His forgiveness. People are often their own harshest judges. 
The third hurdle? They wonder why God is not communicating with them if He is out there.
Let’s work backward through the hurdles to see what God’s Word says. First, God doesn’t play head games. He promises that if we read His Word, He will make sure it accomplishes His purpose (Isa. 55:11). 
In other words, if we read it we will discover that God is communicating with us. This is precisely why the Bible speaks so often of His grace and mercy toward all (v.7). His willingness to forgive surpasses our own. Once we learn that we can hear God in the Bible and once we see the emphasis on His mercy, it becomes easier to believe we have His attention when we cry out to Him.
God’s story is amazing. 
It can give hope for all of us. 
—Randy Kilgore
There can be times when one’s mind is in doubt,

Times when one asks what the faith is about;
But we can believe Him, we know that He cares—
Our God is real, as the Bible declares. —Fitzhugh

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Joining with Wednesday's Hodgepodge!



Linking up with Joyce over at



Thank you Joyce for building this
Wednesday Hodgepodge
for all of us to share!

Here we go...

1. Are you doing anything special to mark this season of Advent? If so please share.

Not really. This has been a year of change for us, traditions have been broken, life is less complicated and more unpredictable. This change was necessary for many reasons.

2. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen... and of course you recall, the most famous reindeer of all... so, which reindeer name beast describes your week?

It would have to be Blitzen because he would have to be a bit stubborn and a lot of fun to have been given this name. 


3. What's worse - too quiet or too loud? Which have you had more of lately?


In years past, too quiet would have been worse. I have chosen this year to be one of reflection and choice. So I have had more quiet lately, to the dismay of a few of my friends who loved the loud side of me. These friends will have to take over the large parties this year, as I am enjoying the quiet and closeness of my relationships, which was my gift to myself this season.

4. This question comes to you from Zoanna over at A Penchant for Pens – thanks Zo!


When you are administratively gifted, how often do you find yourself not trusting less gifted people to do what they've committed to do? If you are not so gifted that way, but are reliable, how do you feel when the stronger person (in that area) goes ahead and covers it before giving you a chance to come through?

I would say that depends on the purpose of the task. If the purpose is to bring people together as a team building exercise then I must trust others and allow them to rise or fall to the task. For the purpose is to get to know each other.

If the purpose is to accomplish a necessary task within a specific time frame, then just do it, and let the chips fall where they may. If I am the less gifted person (which we all are at times) I would welcome strong leadership to guide me though my commitments and if I am slow to respond, please go ahead and do it, then brief me honestly afterwards. I just hate it when people feel they must be coddled, it throws the project off balance, and the coddling can turn into gossip, changing the direction and end result and making it more difficult to get leaders to volunteer.

5. What is your most dreaded task relating to the holidays? Your most looked forward to holiday task?


I can't believe I am saying this but I hate gift buying. I am one of those persons who needs a list. I would much prefer to buy gift cards, and allow the gifted to choose what they want. When our children were little, they always had a list, the catalogs and sales fliers had pencil and ink markings all over them. Now that they are older, they buy what they want, when they want, so no list.

My most looked forward to task would be decorating while listening to Christmas music. It is a low stress, do what I can, when I can, kind of project and it continues all they way up to Christmas Day. I love changing things around, re-using items in a different way, it is soothing to hold an ornament letting the memories from over the years flow. It warms my heart.



6. Facebook has released its list of the “most talked about topics of 2013”, Pope Francis took the number one spot. Does that surprise you? He was followed by election, royal baby, typhoon, and Harlem Shake. Your thoughts? What was your most talked about subject in 2013? (Facebook around the kitchen table, or wherever it is you talk)

I would have to say Pope Francis. For me this is a year of deep thought and life changes and Pope Francis was a breath of fresh air for me. Seeing for myself (on tv) that he hugged and prayed for a man covered in tumors, that he laughed as a child came up on stage and played with his robe, and that he chose to drive in a less expensive car was uplifting to me. In this day of public judgment and immediate gratification, he is leading by way of simple and human choices.

7. What's something you consider a necessity that others might view as a luxury?

Indoor plumbing, even when camping, I want a flush toilet and hot water close by. For those in my family who don't mind roughing it in the woods – I do, and I want to be within four wheeling distance to a REAL bathroom.


8. Insert your random thought here.

Hmmmm... Oh I must think long and hard, for my attitude was shaken up by cancer and death not too long ago.

But this is on my mind this year...

I have always prepared the holiday meals for our family and friends every holiday, every year for 30+ years. This year, I stepped back, mostly because the joy had been depleted from my heart. I wanted to take time... to make room and rebuild my joy, to not work so hard and delve into exhaustion and overload.

A few people are not happy with me, it seems the holidays are ceasing to exist because I chose to take this year off. A friend, even went as far as to blame me for her holidays being bad this year. This year was necessary for me and I have enjoyed getting to know ME again. I have enjoyed intentionally quiet times, slow times, and easy times with myself, my husband and my children. I have truly enjoyed one on one conversations with the people I love dearly.


I feel blessed to have been given this time.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Baby, it's cold outside...


For the past few days, we have enjoyed about 1 inch of snow and very cold temperatures here in southwest Missouri. It has made our night time just beautiful with the glowing of lights on the snow.

The deer in this photo are courtesy of picmonkey!


Emmer Lou (our chocolate Lab) has found her blanket next to the patio door to be quite cozy and warm. With these dark and cold days, it is hard for me to go outside to play with her so I bring her inside so she can watch me. She is so good to stay on her blanket with her big brown eyes moving right to left and back again. Normally she would be in the garage on cold nights, but it has been cold too many nights in a row, and a girl can get a bit lonely in the garage all by herself.

Tater Pie (our cat) is such a stress-free furry friend that can be comfortable just about anywhere, anytime she feels like it. Her new favorite spot is the blanket on the couch. She snores a little, then gets up for a bite of diced, baked chicken made especially for her.

Little Miss Lillie is so busy keeping track of everyone and everything that is going on around her that she seldom naps at gramma's house. We try to put little outfits on her only to have her get mad so we rarely get photos of her wearing her closet full of holiday attire. She has a mind of her own!

Add Baby Lillie striking a pose, Tater Pie snoring on the couch and Emmer Lou napping.

We have been busy baking cookies,
making fudge and
decorating for Christmas
around our house. 


Santa is ready and
even has a bag for some coal
just in case someone gets naughty
before Christmas.



Thehubs has been busy
decorating the outside
with his lights. 





Thehubs has his lights almost finished.
They are linked to music and turn on and off acccording to the musical beat.
I will post the video later.

Till then,
"Enjoy the Miracles"
of the season!

Friday, December 6, 2013

Six Word Friday - Present

Linking up with Adrienne at 

My Memory Art


Six Word Friday
"Present"

May Christmas
end the present year...

With evenings of beautiful sunsets...


With birds nesting happily in trees...


With Christmas Cheer in all hearts...


And with hope in all things!

Happy Holidays Everyone!




Wednesday, December 4, 2013

And they became brothers...


My brother lives right next door to us. In 1975, he bought 40 acres in the country. Over the next few years he built a lake, a road, brought in utilities and then built a shop. He had a dream. He wanted a place for our family to all live together, around a lake, in the country.

Today, we have seven homes on this dead end lane that wraps around his lake. Each home was built by family, each board, each nail, was planned, touched and placed by our family. His dream has come true and it will be this way for generations to come.



My husband became part of this family the day I introduced him. He and my brother are so much alike. They keep me in stitches all of the time. They fish together, work together, build things together and fix things together. They became brothers, not through blood, but through a friendship built on trust, loyalty and respect. One is my brother, one is my husband, both of them are my friends.

A brother is a friend God gave you;

a friend is a brother

your heart chose for you.


 Author: Proverb



Linking up with Adrienne

over at 

My Memory Art