Treasures from Mama...

In the part of southeast Texas where I was born parents are commonly referred to as "Mama" and "Daddy". Even big old grown-up manly men refer to their parents in this way. After we moved north to Colorado we exchanged these terms for "Mom" and "Dad". But I think my mom always preferred "Mama" and I even use this term sometimes when signing emails or texts to my kids. It's a word that is full of affection.

As many of you are aware from reading my blog, my mom has dementia. But long ago she created a document of her last wishes. Among them were instructions to send me the copies she had kept of emails we had sent back and forth over the years. My faithful step-dad (Daddy Glenn) has seen to it that her wish was fulfilled. When I came home from work last night I found a HEAVY box sitting on my porch filled with treasures that Mom had saved for me. Thank you, Mama!

 My mom's name is Mary Jane, hence the M.J. on these albums.

 I especially look forward to reading through the "Warm Fuzzies" notebook.

 I remember this day. We were watching daughter Micah show her 4-H animals. :)

A similar stack of notebooks was sent to my brother James. He and Mom kept in touch via email over the many years he and his family were missionaries all over the globe. I can imagine his pleasure at reading through them.

I'm so glad we're a family of writers. These memories can be passed along as part of our family history. When we fly away to heaven they will no longer be needed, because we will see each other face-to-face and we'll have all of eternity to spend together. But for now, it is so nice to have them.

Thanks, Mama. And thanks, Glenn, for faithfully carrying out her wishes. I love you both!

It's a rainy day in Minnesota. I don't  have to worry about whether or not I should go outside and mow. I think I'll just read some emails, talk to my little brother in Texas, and maybe go visit my daughter and grandgirls later. Hope you all have a great day!

Shalom.

A very fishy post...

I suddenly realized that all my ideas for this post had to do with fish...

First of all, here are my latest ATC's for  a swap called "Go Fish!"

 My hostess requested that I make a copy of a card from a previous swap because she liked it so much. So I made this for her host card.

 The trout is my favorite. :)

 While looking up fish images for my cards I came across pictures of darters. I never knew these little jewels existed! So tiny and colorful. God created these little guys who most people will never see. But what beautiful little creations! I hope these were returned to the river they came from.

Thirdly, my favorite fishy snack! I used to love sardines in mustard sauce, but I find that the newer version of mustard sauce is pretty insipid. So instead, I buy these in olive oil (they're the cheapest brand I found) and then I add plain old mustard to them, mash them up, and plop some on a cracker. Yummy!

I'm looking forward to some rest time tomorrow. I will have to make a foray into town to see the eye doctor about some new glasses. I'm so ready for a new pair! I hope to have a relaxing day.

 

God bless all and shalom!

A cool evening after a hot day...

89 degrees on my car thermometer as I left work this afternoon! That's hotter than I like it. I prefer somewhere in the low 70's, or even cooler. But it's summer. We've been looking forward to this all winter, right?

Well, now it's cooling off. I opened my west windows and my east sliding doors when I arrived home. There was a terrific wind that whistled through my screens and blew the curtains around. It was very comfortable indoors and I enjoyed just listening to the wind and putting my feet up for a while.

Now the cool fresh evening breeze is rustling the grass outside and the birds are singing their evening songs. Isn't it wonderful how they seem to have a special song in the early morning and again in the evening?

I took this photo this morning while the robins sang joyfully.

This was a view of the evening shadows and sunlight.

 

After a long hot day the grass blowing in the evening breeze looks so enticing. Do you ever feel like you'd like to just sit down in the tall grass and enjoy some solitude while it blows around over your head? Why don't we do this when the urge strikes? (Because our neighbors would think we were crazy, that's why. If I lived further out in the country I might just do it! Well, woodticks might factor into it, too.)

I've often seen a beautiful spot in the woods as I drive down the highway and wondered, "What would happen if I just pulled over, got out of the car, hiked down through the ditch and took a nice walk in those woods?"  Well, I'd most likely be arrested for trespassing, because everything is private property these day. Remember being a kid and never even thinking about the concept of private property? You would innocently meander across property lines all the time, thinking the whole world was your playground. I think Heaven will be like that. No private property. Everything for our enjoyment. Woods and meadows enough to explore for all time. Ahhhhh... See you there, kindred spirits! :)

Today was a pretty good day. I spent a lot of time worrying during the night hours, thinking it would be the hardest day ever because of the way workers were scheduled. Instead, God changed my perspective. He provided and things went more smoothly than usual. Thank you, Lord! (At 1:30 in the morning I woke up and had to close the window. The loons were making so much noise on a nearby lake, they weren't helping me to get back to sleep! But I do love the variety of calls they make.)

Well, I finally finished another two page spread in my Sketchbook Project sketchbook. I still have some captioning to do, but here's the jist of it.

 

It's a beautiful evening. I think I'll go enjoy it some more. I spent a few minutes outside in my deck chair eating a banana split of sorts, enjoying the fresh breezes. I tossed a lump of chocolate ice cream to my barn cat friend and he enjoyed it. (Yes, MK, I'm grazing again! Wish I could enjoy grazing on fruits and veggies instead of ice cream!)

 

Hope you're enjoying your summer days. Shalom, friends.

ATC's and library assistant applications...

Well, I didn't get the library job. (Thought I'd cut to the chase.) I'm okay with that. I think I'll be happier with myself in the long run if I stick it out at the deli for another year and a half. Then I can find something different to do and have a clear conscience. I wasn't feeling good about jumping ship when the deli was so short-handed. Anyway, it was a good experience just giving it a try. The interview was interesting. I now have a better idea about what the job entails. Maybe someday I'll give it another try, or maybe I'll try for something totally different.

On to other things. Here are the last two of my ATC's for the Medieval Animal swap. They will be off to England, probably on Monday. Hard to get hold of an international stamp between now and then.

Hmmm...I hadn't realized the similarities between these two cards until I put them side-by-side! :)
And now for some glorious God art.

One of the locals. I'm their version of TV.

It's getting toward bedtime. Another day of frying chicken tomorrow (this will be the 5th since Saturday). I got a different shift today, but since the chef went on vacation this week and the chicken fryer had to fill in for him, I've been filling in for the chicken fryer. Not that I don't fry chicken quite a bit anyway, but...

I'm thinking that God is looking out for me in all of this job stuff. My house finally got listed yesterday, and that could be enough to deal with right now. I already see some problems with the listing and who knows what will happen in the next year. Changes enough, perhaps, without a job change as well.

Cheerio for now, all. Shalom.

A lazy day off...

It's a perfect summer day here. Partly cloudy, the sun peeking out and then hiding briefly, the wind wooshing through the treetops, a crow cawing in the distance. I've been mostly reading, drawing and painting.

My latest ATC swap is called Medieval Animals. That means any kind of animal as long as there is a medieval object of some sort in the picture. Here are my first two attempts:

 

The host of the swap admitted that she was no expert on history (nor am I), so if either of these don't qualify as medieval remember, it's all in fun. ;)

 I bought ingredients to make tostados yesterday, so I may just go build one of those. I had planned to have one last night, but dear daughter Micah bought me a cheeseburger after I helped her out with the girls. She was parked next to my car when I came out of work and she asked if I would sit in the van with the girls while she did a couple of quick errands. I do that now and then so she doesn't have to unload all three of them just to run in and do something, especially if she has several stops. I was glad to do it and got supper as well! At one point Audrey (3 yrs. old) had to go to the bathroom. After she and Mom returned we were pulling out of the parking spot when we heard a tremulous little voice from the back seat of the van saying, "But I'm not buckled iiiiin!" I'm so glad Audrey made us aware! Micah is known as The Car Seat Lady amongst her friends because she's a trained baby car seat technician (certified and everything) and so she doesn't slip up often. Thanks for the heads up, Audrey!

Some of you who did the Wind in the Willow Tour might remember my ancient swamp willows. They now belong to someone else, but I can still look at them. I just noticed yesterday that this poor little leaning over tree is sprouting a brand new swamp willow from its base. Is that cool or what? I hope the new owners will leave it there to grow.

 And this is the view from my chair. The wind keeps blasting through the window and scattering papers on the floor, but I don't care. I love the wind!

Well, I'm trying not to spend the entire day on the computer. We'll see how that goes!

Have a glorious day, stay cool, and shalom!

I cannot tell a lie...

I hijacked these lilacs from my old lilac bush next door, which no longer belongs to me. I figure nobody lives there to enjoy them, so I would borrow a few. (Everyone in town borrowed them when the bush belonged to us!)  Anyway, I put them in the window so the breeze could waft the fragrance around the house. The lilacs are late blooming around here!

I finished the ATC's for the In a Bottle or Jar swap. I showed the owl one a while back, but I'll put them all here just for the record.

 

No, I didn't draw the Jabberwocky. I cheated with a little collage. Well, it's not cheating, really. Collage is acceptable in most swaps. Anyway! :)

I took a huge leap of faith today. I put in my application for a job at the library! I've always wanted to work there, but jobs don't become available very often. I figure if I get the job I'll still have to work at the deli two days a week, but it would be so much better than working there ALL the time. And in the fall of 2016 I could drop the deli job for good. My boss wasn't thrilled, but she seemed to accept the possibility of my moving on. And I won't be totally gone, IF this goes well. I've put it in God's hands since He's the only one who knows what's down the road. But it's nice to feel like there are new possibilities!

Time to dig up some supper. Blessings and shalom to all of my friends and family out there!

Foxes...

It's getting dark out and I've been watching two foxes trotting around in my back pasture. Too dark for a photo. As I type this there is another fox south of the house on the hiking trail. It's making that unique fox sound known as The Vixen Scream. Listen to an example on this video. I haven't heard any foxes around for a year or so, so this is something special!



I've been watching a lot of a BBC show called Escape to the Country. It's the UK's version of House Hunters. I'm enjoying it immensely because this is what I wait to see on House Hunters International, only that show is usually on too late at night. Maybe you'll get hooked like me?


It's been a lovely, peaceful Saturday. I'm so glad I have Memorial Day weekend off. Yesterday I worked a 10 hour day because someone called in sick, so I was pretty exhausted. I slept in this morning, which is unusual for me. I had to MAKE myself stay in bed until I fell asleep again. Otherwise, I would have been up at 5 a.m. Force of habit.

I finished up my lawn mowing because rain is possible tomorrow. I also finished up some ATC's. Mostly I just rested and drank tea...and snacked a lot. It's that time  of night when the sky is deep blue and the trees are black silhouettes against the horizon. The birds are twittering as they settle in for the night. It's pretty peaceful except for some cars roaring in the distance. These tourists can be noisy! I've seen lots of walkers out and about and can hear bikers talking as they ride by on the trail. I'm thankful to be home rather than in town. :)

I hope you're all having a splendid weekend! God bless all and shalom!