...SUSAN'S SPACE

..AND THE WINNER IS...

**ANNOUNCING**

***

the 'LAZY BLOGGER' Award

winner:

ME!!

To what do I attribute this great honor?

hmmmm......

1. Lack of organization

2. Too much time on Facebook

3. Preoccupied with other things

4. LAZINESS!

***

But, now that I'm here,

let me wish everyone

HAPPY

VALENTINE's

DAY!

Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove.

O, no! It is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests and is never shaken.

It is the star to every wandering bark,

whose worth's unknown,

although his height be taken.

--William Shakespeare

***

*Couple in heart, from

Harrison Fisher's 'American Beauties',

1909

Hope you have an extra SWEET Valentine's Day!!

NICE THOUGHT

The world is but a canvas to the imagination.
--Henry David Thoreau

An Artist at his Easel

T. Worthington Whittredge

1820-1910

Both of my daughters know I love the daily flip calendars of Bible verses or of quotes, and I received one of each type for Christmas. Here are a few humorous thoughts on aging from the Barbara Johnson
'I Don't Suffer From Insanity...I enjoy every minute of it' calendar:

Inside every older person
There's a younger person,
Wondering what happened.
--Ashleigh Brilliant

***

No matter how incongrously our
youthful minds fit into our aging bodies,
we can refuse to be old.
We can celebrate our youth--
no matter how many decades
we've been youthful!

***

You know you're getting old
when you yearn for those
blessed old hymns
of days gone by,

*"Go Tell it on the Mountain--
and SPEAK UP!"

*"Nobody knows the Trouble
I Have Seeing"

*"Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
(I've Forgotten Where I Parked)"
***

Thanks, Jami! I'm enjoying this calendar!

AND SINCE WE'VE NO PLACE TO GO....

For those of you who aren't on Facebook, here's what our yard looks like this week.
9" of snow...even more than we had last week & the week before. It's quite unusual for us to have more than an inch or two.
I think it's a beautiful sight, but our friends, who have indoor pets aren't so happy about having to take their pets out for a walk with all this snow & ice.

Wishes for everyone, but especially for you, Jami!! S: )

MONDAY MUSINGS

Here's what Maxine thought of my

'clean slate' idea....

If you made any New Year's resolutions,

here's hoping you have better luck than Maxine!

Perhaps Ziggy has a better approach....

It's worth a try, don't you think?

A NEW YEAR

Here we are at the beginning of a new year!

I came across this wonderful poem written around one hundred years ago.

The Land of Beginning Again

I wish that there were
some wonderful place
In the Land of Beginning Again;
Where all our mistakes
and all our heartaches
And all of our poor selfish grief
Could be dropped like a
shabby old coat at the door
And never put on again.

I wish we could come on it
all unaware,
Like the hunter
who finds a lost trail,
And I wish that the one
whom our blindness had done
The greatest injustice of all
Could be there at the gates
like an old friend that waits
For the comrade
he's gladdest to hail.

We would find all the things
we intended to do
But forgot, and
remembered too late,
Little praises unspoken,
little promises broken,
And all of the
thousand and one
Little duties neglected
that might have perfected
The day for one
less fortunate.

It wouldn't be possible
not to be kind
In the Land of Beginning Again,
And the ones we misjudged
and the ones whom we grudged
Their moments of
victory here,
Would find in the grasp
of our loving hand-clasp
More than penitent lips
could explain.

For what had been hardest
we'd know had been best,
And what had seemed loss
would be gain;
For there isn't a sting
that will not take wing
When we've faced it
and laughed it away
And I think that the laughter
is most what we're after
In the Land of Beginning Again.

So I wish that there were
some wonderful place
Called the
Land of Beginning Again,
Where all our mistakes
and all our heartaches,
And all of our poor selfish grief
Could be dropped like a
shabby old coat at the door
And never put on again.

--Louise Fletcher Tarkington

There is such a land. It is called Regeneration. We enter that land spiritually when we are born again, and all who are thus born again shall enter that land eternally when Jesus comes again. In the eternal Regeneration of Christ's Kingdom, earthly things shall "be dropped, like an old shabby coat at the door, and never put on again." --Duane V. Maxey

Wishing you many blessings in the New Year!!

WINTER WONDERLAND

I hope everyone has had a special time with family or friends this Christmas!
We have enjoyed a most beautiful White Christmas (the first in several years!).
There is still alot of snow on the ground.

Here are some of our pictures I'd like to share with you......
On Christmas Eve, our daughter Jami fixed an assortment of appetizers. In addition to some of the usual ones we have each year, she also served these delicious stuffed plum tomatoes, and Bacon-wrapped Stuffed Jalepenos. They were so good! I will be posting the recipes on my Recipe Blog shortly.

Table set for Christmas lunch.

Side table set for serving

Appetizers and

Hot Spiced Cider

We usually have brunch on Christmas day

instead of lunch,

but this year decided to have

Hungarian 'Christmas Soup'

served with Sourdough bread and

European butter, along with a

Fruit and Spinach Salad.

Bill made the soup,

which contains primarily

Kolbasi, Sauerkraut, & Mushrooms.

It was very good!

I think our relatives in Slovakia

would've been proud of him!

Paper whites starting to bloom

on Christmas Eve.

Amaryllis on Christmas Eve.

....then on Christmas morning.

The mantel lit up on Christmas Eve.

Our living room on Christmas morning,

after the gifts had been opened,

and the mountain of wrapping paper, bags

and boxes had been removed.

Chocolate Torte, anyone?

This is actually the cross tie wall

outside our back porch door.

Below is the door at the opposite end

of the back porch.

& the walkway leading to

garage apartment.

Jami had to put on my old snow boots

to walk around outside.

6"-8" of snow

with some ice underneath.

Here's her car in the driveway.

Front yard.

Closeup of snow-filled birdbath.

Front porch.

The pond.

(Neighbor's house in the distance).

I'm hoping the roads aren't too icy tomorrow,

but it has been a lovely Christmas weekend!!

Hope it was for you, too!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wishing

friends and family

a wonderful Blessed Christmas!

A JOYFUL YULETIDE?

I just had to share these

rather humorous old Victorian postcards!

Is that a holly bouquet he's giving her? OUCH!

And PETA would be all over this gal
for all the little critters she's wearing as muff & scarf!
*****
I'm sorry to have to report

that the economic slowdown

has even effected poor Santa Claus.

He had to let the team of reindeer go,

and has resorted to hitchhiking this year.

Uh-oh!

Santa's really fallen on hard times!

It looks like now he's even had to

pawn his red suit!

Some off these old postcards

from the early 1900's

may not have been intended to be funny,

but I get a chuckle out of them.

Hope you do, too!

WE ARE THE REASON

Another one of my favorites.....
(Please mute Playlist first)

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS CAROL

There are so many wonderful Christmas carols! This is one of my favorites!

O Come O Come Emmanuel!
The favorite O Come, O Come Emmanuel carol was originally written in Latin text in the 12th Century. Each of the seven verses featured an Old Testament prophesied name for the coming Messiah. The author of the words and composer to the music of O Come, O Come Emmanuel is unknown. It is , however believed that the melody was of French origin and added to the text a hundred years later. In 1851, five of the seven Latin verses were translated into English by John Mason Neale.

O Come O Come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Between now & Christmas, I hope to feature other favorite carols.
If you have a favorite, just let me know, & I will include it!

MUST SEE!!

(Please mute Playlist first)

DECEMBER IS HERE!

December has arrived & I've been away, so haven't posted in awhile.

December 1st was my daughter Jami's birthday. Jami, I'm so happy we were able to get together to celebrate with a birthday dinner at Red Lobster, Weds. evening! Hope this will be an especially great year for you!

Bill & I have just returned from another trip to Florida to check on & spend some time with my mother, as she had taken quite a bad fall (the second fall in recent months!), & was hospitalized again.
She's a trouper, though, & even in such a declining condition, still has her smile and sweet spirit!

As we turn our thoughts to the celebration of our Savior's birth, here is an early Christmas wish for you.....