FROM MY BAY WINDOW


This is a shot from the bay window in my upstairs office/sewing room/computer room.
Notice how the light 'exploded' on the old Victorian ephemera Bible verse fan.

Here is a closer view....
I love this verse. The whole passage states as follows:
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
--Colossians 3:15-17.

TUESDAY TRAVELLIN'

We're off to Florida for a few days. Since I won't have computer time
until later in the week, I'll just leave you with this little poem......



Isn't it strange that Princes and Kings
and Clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
and common people like you and me,
are builders for eternity?

Each is given a bag of tools,
a shapeless mass, and a book of rules,
and each must be e'er life is flown,
a stumbling block, or a stepping stone.

--Author unknown

SCRIPTURE for SUNDAY

Pensive (La Songeuse)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir

"We tend to think that what is really good is the fulfillment of our desires. But, in reality, the highest good in the universe is whatever God chooses for our lives." Nancy Leigh DeMoss
*****

May the God of peace...equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight. Heb.13:20a, 21a
*****

WELCOME, SPRING!

One of the first signs of spring in our yard is when the tulip trees begin to bloom. They send out their blooms first, then leaves, later. Gorgeous pale pink blossoms on a bare tree....a sight to behold!


Often, in a rush to get ahead of the other spring flowers, the tulip trees begin to bloom before we've had the last frost, ...in which case, the lovely pink flowers are turned to brown mush overnight. Fortunately, this year, we've been able to enjoy them for several days, so far, and no frost in sight.



^ Blooms not yet opened. ^

When Spring Appears

Meadowlarks
give lusty cheers
when spring appears
when spring appears.

Buds and seeds
prick up their ears
and blades of grass
show eager spears.

And only icicles
weep tears
when spring appears
when spring appears.
--Aileen Fisher

A Prayer in Spring
by Robert Frost
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid-air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

ANIMALS ARE AMAZING

My daughter, Jami's boss came across this story in pictures, and I thought I'd pass it along.........


These little bunnies, about 6 days old, were attacked by a dog and orphaned. Two out of the litter of five didn't survive, and these three weren't doing very well.


Noah is a non-releasable, one-legged homing pigeon/rock dove, that is in the rehab center. Noah kept going over to the bunny cage and looking in -- even sleeping in front of the door to the cage.




Then, suddenly, there were only two bunnies in the cage. But when Noah moved a bit from the front of the cage, to everyone's surprise...there was the tiny bunny..under Noah's wing..sound asleep! That little bunny rabbit had crawled through the cage, preferring a featherbed, no doubt, to snuggling up with its littermates.




Now, they are all together and the bunnies are doing GREAT! When the bunnies scoot underneath Noah's feathers, he carefully extends his wings out to surround them and then they snuggle. When one of them moves and they start sticking out here and there, he gently pushes them back under him with his beak. It is beautiful and amazing to see!

***

I'm reminded of verses in the Bible where our Heavenly Father's
tender loving care is likened to a mother bird sheltering it's young.
This is just one of many....
'He will cover you with His feathers,
and under His wings you will find refuge....'
Psalm 91:4a
***


MARCH 17th

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

I'm just a little American girl
I can't do the Irish lilt
I can't even dance the Highland Fling
Though I'd try if I had a kilt.
My gown is green my hair is red
But my folks are American born and bred
And I'm bringing you in my American way
Greetings for St. Patrick's Day!

It just wouldn't be St. Patrick's Day without a touching rendition of
'O Danny Boy', so sit back and enjoy...
Oboy, oboy!......
(Please mute Playlist first)

IT'S HERE!

Watch out, Ziggy!
(He's going to lose more than fifty cents on this one!!)

SCRIPTURE for SUNDAY

Today's Scripture is the verse I have chosen for this two weeks
for the Siesta Scripture Memory Team memorization.
It is one of my favorite verses:

'The Lord is my light and my salvation --
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life --
of whom shall I be afraid? Ps. 27:1


SILLY SATURDAY










SHOE RE-DO

Awhile back, I posted these two pictures & said to stay tuned for what I had planned for this shoe. Well, the next thing I knew, it was Thanksgiving, then Christmas, and celebrations and company, trips, etc. The poor shoe was the last thing on my mind.
Finally, in February, I decided it was time to get busy. For the rest of the story, just click on the address below, and check it out...........



(C. C. Crafters' Gallery,
..my other blog)

SPRING FORWARD


Did you remember to turn your clocks
ahead one hour?


Postcard from around 1910
Artist: Ethel Parkinson
Quote: Shelley



'Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.' --Will Rogers, New York Times, Apr. 29,1930



What are you going to do with that extra hour
of 'Daylight Savings Time'?



'This time, like all times, is a very good one,
if we but know what to do with it.'

--Ralph Waldo Emerson


'.....for it is time to seek the Lord'
from Hosea 10:12



BEAR UPDATE

The bear has been back to our house three or four more times since I wrote
'The Bear Came Over the Mountain' post a few days ago.
He's been on both front and back porches, and has been to several of our neighbors' houses raiding bird feeders.

Some brave person followed him one evening, & was able to capture this picture..........













'Bears Dancing'
Wm. H. Beard

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY!!

HAPPY
BIRTHDAY

TO OUR

TERRIFIC, 'FAVORITE'

SON-IN-LAW, JEFF!!



Birthday Graphics
With lots of love,

from

Mom & Dad B.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LISA!



She's sweet, pretty, talented,
and oh, so demure!
A great daughter, sister, wife,
mom and teacher (for sure!)
She can sing, play or speak...
Just hand her a mike!

But look out, folks ---

--She's now got a bike!



***


Have a wonderful birthday, Lisa!
We love you!
Mom & Dad

TODAY



TODAY
Nixon Waterman
(written around 1900)


We shall do so much in years to come,
But what have we done today?

We shall give our gold in a princely sum,
But what did we give today?

We shall lift the heart and dry the tear;
We shall plant a hope in the place of fear;
We shall speak the words of love and cheer,
But what did we speak today?

We shall be so kind in the afterwhile,
But what have we been today?

We shall bring to each lonely life a smile,
But what have we brought today?

Add to steadfast faith a deeper worth,
We shall give to truth a grander birth;
We shall feed the hungering souls of earth,
But whom have we fed today?

We shall reap such joys in the by and by,
But what have we sown today?

We shall build us mansions in the sky,
But what have we built today?

'Tis sweet in idle dreams to bask;
But, here and now do we do our task?
Yes, this is the thing our souls must ask,
"What have we done today?"

I don't know about you, but this poem really
spoke to me! Just think how much we could accomplish
if we turned our good intentions into actions!


But encourage one another daily, as long as it is
called Today, so that none of you may be hardened
by sin's deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:13

SCRIPTURE for SUNDAY

Very soon the beautiful spring flowers will be popping up everywhere like the ones pictured in this video. Maybe they already are starting to bloom in your area.
This song is one of my favorite choruses.
I hope you enjoy it!

I LOVE YOU, LORD
(words & music by Laurie Klein)
Please mute Playlist first.



I love you, O Lord, my strength,
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
Psalm 18:1-2a

IF WOMEN WERE IN CONTROL...























Hmmmmmmmmm......


HAVE A GREAT DAY!

HAPPY WEEK-END!

If I haven't visited your blog as often as usual, or failed to leave comments, I apologize!
This computer's been giving me fits! Slow, slow, slow, & we have DSL! It gets worse & worse with each new anti-virus program we install.
(Is anyone else having this problem?). There must be a disconnect somewhere, because only part of the letters show up when I'm typing, & I have to edit & re-edit until they're all there. Grrrrrrrrrr.
I haven't forgotten you, and will be checking your postings whenever I can get this thing to work.
Anyway, for now, I'm going to have some cheese with this whine, & just say:

Here's a short 'SILLY SATURDAY' to tide you over:


Ray & Bubba (mechanical engineers) were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up. A woman walked by and asked what they were doing.
'We're supposed to find the height of the flagpole,' said Bubba, 'but we don't have a ladder.'

The woman took a wrench from her purse, loosened a few bolts, and laid the pole down. Then she took a tape measure from her pocket, took a measurement, announced: 'Eighteen feet, six inches,' and walked away.

Ray shook his head and laughed. 'Ain't that just like a woman! We ask for the height and she gives us the length!'

Bubba and Ray are currently working for the government....... and
helped design the "stimulus package."

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

A friend sent me this, and I just had to share it with you.
(Don't forget to mute PlayList before watching)

HEY, DON'T BLAME ME!

Some days, you just can't win!




(Read the bottom of yesterday's post,
if this doesn't make sense).

THE BEAR CAME OVER THE MOUNTAIN


Here we have a picture of a Black Bear
(Ursus americanus)

Photo courtesy of the U. S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

The Black Bear uses its sharp, curved claws
to scrape insects and grubs out of logs.
He is the only kind of bear that lives in North Carolina.
He's a shy animal, but many people do not know that.
He's often mischaracterized as a fierce carnivore
in books and movies, but is really an omnivore,
eating mostly plants, insects, and some meat.
While they vary in color, most black bears
are black with a brown muzzle.
Each of their feet has five toes with sharp, curved claws.
They use their claws to feed on insects and grubs in logs.
----------------------
The black bear also apparently likes black sunflower seeds
and peanuts!
At least the one that tore into our back porch did!
We didn't get a look at him, because he came during the night
(two nights in a row, in fact!).
He ripped the screen on one end of the porch to come in,
and went out the other end, in the same way.
------------------------------
The picture below is of a part of our back yard and potting shed.
Notice round logs which the bear tossed to and fro.
The coffee can on the ground had been on the porch full of
sunflower seeds for the birds and chipmunks.


Here's the torn screen where he came in:


There's a glare from the sun, so it's
hard to see that the cloth on the picnic table
is all frumpled up.The can that was full of
peanuts is empty on the floor, and the floor is
littered with wet chewed peanut shells.
He must've sat here on the floor gobbling up those
peanuts and spitting out the shells. The rascal!

Oh yes, and he left some souvenirs in the yard..........
We have black bears wandering through our area now and then.
They seldom get this brave, though.
Needless to say, we've brought all of the bird feeders
and seed cans in for tonight.

SCRIPTURE for SUNDAY


1 Corinthians 13 is sometimes referred to as the 'LOVE' chapter.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now, these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

True love -- God's love --
is unconditional and never fails.


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!


Forty-five years ago, I attended a friend's
Valentine's Day wedding with my boyfriend, Bill.
As we walked out of the church after the ceremony,
someone (I can't even recall who) stopped us & said
"You're next!"
As it turned out, that person was right!
A few short months later, Bill & I were married
in that very same church.
So you can see that the 'Wedding Bell Blues' song playing
isn't really apropos.
I just like the song, because it's about a guy named Bill.

To quote a line from another 'Bill' song
(from Showboat):
'I love him because he's wonderful,
Because he's just my Bill.'

A very special
"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!"
to my sweet hubby, Bill...
my forever valentine!


*****
Here's a few more neat old Valentines.....

Hi, sweet little Miss Caylie!
This one's for you!





Here's an old mechanical valentine.

Notice the pacifier pinned to her dress.





A fancy, layered handmade Valentine.


And last, but not least.......
(This was given to me by daughter, Jami,
who scopes out any and all chipmunk cards)
I wish you all a
LOVE-ly Valentine's Day!