Family, Fun, and Fireworks

Well. I went a little over a month without posting. I never intended to skip a month, but I also don't want to write just to be writing. 

So here we are in July. It's been a busy summer so far. I finally got some flowers in my teeny tiny front porch garden, and I put out some new garden lights. Pictures are at the end.

We got a new aquatic center in my town and it's awesome! It's more than a water park--the outdoor pool has slides, a lazy river, and a splash pad, but also there are pools inside: a heated therapy pool and a regulation size pool for swim meets. Also, there is a fitness center with work out equipment and a walking track on the second floor overlooking the 3 gyms, where it seems that pickle ball games are held several times a week. At least when I'm walking that's what seems to be going on.

I've been there twice with my grandson to swim, and I've been going there in the mornings to walk on the indoor walking track during the recent heat wave we've been experiencing. 

I prefer walking outside, of course, but I'm not risking my health by walking even in the morning when it's 85 but feels like 95. So, I'm thankful to have somewhere to walk indoors. Summer will be over eventually, though, and I'm looking forward to it, watching daily as the days get shorter again. I can't wait for fall!

There was no shortage of celebrations with family for the 250th birthday of our nation. On Saturday, June 27th, we attended the annual Red, White, and Blue Celebration on the ASU campus, where we saw the best ever firework show that I posted about a few days ago.

Then on Friday night, July 3 we went out on Lake Norfork for their fireworks show. It was also amazing! There's something about fireworks on the lake, with the image of the fireworks reflected on the surface of the water. It's magical.

Finally, Saturday night, on the actual 4th we had a cookout at my daughter and son-in-law's house and our own little fireworks show in the street in front of their house. I'll post pictures at the end of this post.

Fourth of July is a very special holiday in its own right, and even more so this year with the 250th birthday of America. It's very special to me personally, too; probably my almost favorite holiday, second only to Christmas. We really got into it when my kids were growing up. It was a big deal, and my mom really enjoyed it as well. She loved summer--she was opposite of me in that respect--and she always came out for the evening to celebrate the 4th of July with us. It's one of my best memories with her.

Happy 4th of July! I hope you all had a wonderful celebration of Independence Day with your families.

Blessings to my friends, and God Bless America! 

My teeny tiny flower garden

MHCC walking track 

Rhett, Jennifer in front; in back I'm on left and Matt's mom on the right

ASU fireworks

Rhett and Zoe

Zoe and me carrying supplies to the boat

Things are Looking Up

In my life, bouts of mild depression have always come and go; this is normal for me. I'm so much better than I was when I was first diagnosed with severe depression around 25-30 years ago, but life is still sometimes a tightrope. I find it helps, of course, to pray and read my Bible daily, watch my diet, and make sure I get my exercise, which is mostly walking. Lately, even with all that I've been a little down and looking for something to bring brighten my mood.

I tell you this not to gain sympathy or pity, but to encourage. Sometimes when depression tries to creep back in, I start to feel like I don't measure up; like I'm not as good as others. I want to close myself in away from people and not even go outside. I know, however, that this is the opposite of true, and of what I need to do. 

I know from years of walking on this side of the darkness I was once in that I am not the only one. If others can be encouraged by reading about my struggles and victories, I have to share.

So, in looking for something to perk up my mood, I decided to re-watch (for the 4th time I think) the original Downton Abbey series that was on Masterpiece Classics and aired on PBS for six consecutive years starting around 2012. I have all six seasons on DVD, plus the 3 full length movies, but they are also on Prime.

Success! Clouds of despair have been once again dispelled. Watching this has helped me out of the slump I was in. I had my 1 or 2 (or occasionally, 3) episodes to look forward to every evening. I find that a little treat like this keeps me going. I can do my chores around the house as usual and have the energy to get through the day, knowing I have my "show" to look forward to. 

I finished the series Saturday night and last night I watched the first full-length movie. I am feeling so much better! I have 2 more movies to go and I'm already thinking about what will be next.

In other news, because I still have a determination to have a daily walk since March 2025, I'm still walking! I managed to do this even when I was feeling down, because deep down I know I have to in order to prolong my mobility. In spite of not feeling like it, I've managed to walk 6 days out of 7 for the past month, so I'm still getting walks in for my health. I'm so thankful I'm able to do this, but it's not like I'm bounding with energy. At my best I'm not a high-energy person. I struggle some days to get out there and put one foot in front of the other over and over again until I've walked for at least 30 minutes. Other days, I walk 2 miles. Most of the time, it's 1.5 miles; that's my average.

I'm on a quest to read all the Mitford books (by Jan Karon) and I do off and on, but the next one I needed was not in at the library. Instead, I read a book I bought at the library book sale, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Delightful book, set in England.

Now I'm reading The Thursday Murder Club.

I also went on a short little shopping excursion with my daughter and grandkids last weekend. We checked out our town's brand-new Aldi and walked through a local flea market looking for treasures, which is a favorite activity. 

So, things are looking up.

I haven't taken as many pictures while walking lately, but I'm posting a couple. I hope you are all doing well. I'm actually fine; pressing on in spite of occasional blues.

Until next time, blessings, friends!

"I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13 NLT

Shielded in the Storms

I haven't posted in a while, but I'm still walking daily; as much as the crazy winter-spring weather will allow. Stormy weather and extreme cold, back-to-back this week, teamed up to keep me indoors some. I may be investing in a walking pad for those days so I don't lose momentum. 

In my last post, there was snow on the ground. We only got the one snow this year, sadly. It's long gone, of course. I think it was mostly gone when I posted in mid-February. 

The creek finally got replenished with all the spring rains we've been having. I'll post a video of it that I took the day after the first big rain a couple of weeks ago. It was back to being a real babbling brook. I love the sound of it. Somehow it perks me up and brings me joy.

As I've said before, I'm all about the joy. I try to immerse myself in things that bring me joy; books I love, good music, flowers, and just a good walk in nature. Of course, I also try to hang around people that bring me joy, like my family and friends. These are all helping me a lot lately to rise above the dark days when they come, which are happening not nearly as often as in years past. Focusing on the good and the joy that is around me is so important for my mental health. 

Anxiety tries to invade, with the thunderstorms and threats of tornadoes that are prevalent in this season, but I pray scripture out loud (don't laugh; it works!) on stormy days and I distract myself with a good movie or book to take my mind off it. 

Another thing that helps me lately is being thankful for the blessings in my life. I'm thankful for my family and friends, of course. I'm also thankful for little things, too, like my weekly sugar-free caramel macchiato over ice, beautiful sunsets, and babbling brooks.

If you really look, you'll see something to be thankful for. 

Hope this brought someone some encouragement. Until next time, blessings, friends.

"The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving." Psalm 28:7 NLT

*PS. The above scripture is a good one to pray during storms. God IS my strength and shield in storms.

Books I Read and a Very Cold Walk

It occurred to me that I haven't posted what I read from October through December 2025, so I want to post that here, since I was doing that in 2025. I will probably not be posting what I read in the future unless it's an extraordinary book.

I was on a reading slump in 2025; I came nowhere near hitting my goal of 35 books. I think the final count was 22. I was busier with other activities like a little volunteer work, some Bible studies, and watching some TV series. Therefore, I didn't spend as much time reading. 

In October I read Longing, by Karen Kingsbury; third in the 4 book Bailey Flanagan series. It's a really good story. I recommend this series. I also read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. This book is really good but be warned; it's about a school shooting. I didn't read it when it first came out because I just couldn't; it triggered my anxiety since I worked in a school. Now that I'm retired I'm glad I finally read it; it was very well done. 

In November I only read one book: Loving by Karen Kingsbury. It's the 4th and final book in the aforementioned series. 

Finally, in December I read Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. If you're not familiar with his work, it's fantasy; one of the DiscWorld books. It is also hilarious; especially if you like British humor (or should I say humour?).

I'm not setting a reading goal for 2026. I want to just read for pleasure at whatever pace I want. So that's the 2025 books I read, done and dusted as the Brits say.

On to current events: I wasn't going to go for a walk today because it was so cold. Then I checked tomorrow's forecast which said the high was projected to be 29 degrees, so I changed my mind. I had already skipped yesterday, and I try to never skip 2 days in a row, let alone 3.

It was 39 at about 4:00 pm, the warmest it would be today, so I wrapped up very well and headed for the walking trails. Since it wasn't windy, it was not too bad. It helps that I was listening to some fast-paced music on Spotify to put some pep in my step.

There was ice on the creek! It was 14 degrees when I got up this morning, and I guess it just didn't all melt during the day, even though it was above freezing in the afternoon. I tried to get pictures, but it doesn't show up well. They are posted at the end. I walked 1.5 miles and headed home for my warm and cozy living room. 

Tomorrow I will probably walk at a local church that has an indoor walking track above their gym. I made a rule to not walk outdoors if it's below freezing. I love cold weather, but even I have my limits.

That's it for now! Blessings, my friends!

"Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." 3 John 1:2 NASB

Ice on the creek

Ice, bottom right

It was cold, but I was bundled up well

The creek had ice in places

A November Sunset

One morning last week I got a cool picture of the sky, which was covered in little puffs of clouds that looked like cotton balls to me. The sun was attempting to peek through, and it just captured my attention. I guess I'm easily amused, but the weather and the beautiful earth in general just fascinate me.

Two days later, we had our first hard frost, and I said "so long" to my little flower garden. I expected the summer flowers to succumb, so I didn't even cover them. The mums, however, I thought would survive. I covered them, but while the plants are still alive, the blooms did not survive. I guess I should have taken them inside.

I guess the season for flowers is over for the year, even though it got to 70 again a few days later. This got me to thinking about seasons a lot lately, and how they come and go in our lives in various ways. It made me a little sad.

So to cheer myself up, I've been looking for beauty in the season that we are in presently. Flowers may be a thing of the past for now, but we still have the trees in their fall colors, the night sky, in which the northern lights were visible recently and of course, we have sunsets.

I rarely get pictures of sunrises because 1- I'm a night owl, and 2-there's a large stand of trees behind my house to the east. This prevents me from getting early morning pictures for the most part, on those rare occasions I'm up that early. Sunsets, though, are right up my alley. Sunsets, and northern lights! I suddenly remembered about the northern lights the other night and got some pretty good pictures, considering all the streetlights around here. 

The sky looked reddish-purple to me. I've seen pictures where the sky was hot pink. I was just glad to see what I did. I tried again the next night and it was just ordinary night sky.

Tonight there was a beautiful sunset as I was finishing my walk. The sun was lighting up everything it touched. 

It kind of reminded me how the SON, Jesus, lights up everyone and everything HE touches. We live in a dark world, which seems to be getting darker. But the Light of the World is still touching and changing lives every day.

Now that's something that will cheer a person up! 

Blessings, my friends! 

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12 ESV

Changing Seasons

I hesitate to say this, but...I do believe it's finally fall! About a week ago, it went from the 70s on the morning walk to the 50s. I'm so happy! I had to walk early to be able to endure it; the temperature was getting to 85 some days. Now, I can walk anytime of the day because it's much cooler. I think our high today was 60.

We've even had some rain for our parched land. Overnight I've gone from walking in short sleeved shirts to wearing long pants and sweatshirts for my daily walk. Plus, I don't have to put my hair up when I'm not getting sweaty. It's wonderful! (I'll post an un-glamourous picture of me walking a couple of days ago for context).

When I wrote last, there were workers moving the art work around at the ASU campus. I thought they were adding new ones, but it appears they have just rearranged them, spreading them out to more areas of the walking trails. Most of them are closer to the trails now, like the one of the catfish, entitled "For the Love of Rivers." It had been too far off the trail before for me to be able to see the title until they moved it. I'll post some pictures of the art.

Also, beginning last week they started putting up the drive through Christmas decorations on the ASU campus! So exciting. The Christmas decorations at ASU are breathtaking. I will be posting pictures when I drive through.

Speaking of Christmas, I will start decorating my house soon. I can't wait! I know it's too early for some of you. I get it; I used to not want to rush the season and fussed about it all the time. I don't know what happened; I have had a change of heart. I respect your right to wait a while, but this is my favorite time of year. I'm rejoicing in the cooler weather and the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. I leave up some of the fall decor as I start decorating for the holidays, but it's mostly Christmas at my house by the time Thanksgiving arrives.

In years past I would post "from the patio" and show the sun's movement from rising in the northeast to the southeast. I haven't done that lately but I got a picture just as the sun topped the trees behind my house. It's moved so much since the last time I posted about it, I believe on the longest day of the year in June. I know it's nerdy of me, but I am fascinated by some aspects of science.

I guess this is getting kind of long, but let me just end this post by saying how joyful this time of year makes me. For the first time in years, I'm feeling better emotionally as well as physically. Slightly shifting my meds and adding in some vitamins has made an amazing difference. I actually had the energy to walk to the end and back of the more level path a few days ago--1.88 miles in all. Now that it's cooler I hope to lengthen my walks, at least on some days. 

Blessings to my friends and family!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again; Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4 NIV

Where Are You Autumn?

Almost immediately after I posted how calm it has been lately and how I love retirement, it got busy. I just spent two weeks of having something I had to do every day. This included some doctor appointments, some volunteer work, and picking up grandkids a few days after school. 

I'm not complaining about any of it; especially picking up the grandkids. I love that I live here now and can do that. There was just a lot that happened within this 2-week period, and I was exhausted by last weekend. 

One of my appointments involved bloodwork for a suspected vitamin deficiency. Turns out I'm deficient in B12 and need injections to supplement my low supply. After the first shot, I'm already feeling better. I was wondering where all my energy had gone, and why I was kind of sad!

I'm still walking daily, except on Sundays. I'm thankful I always wake up with the energy to accomplish this, because I believe it is good for me. This morning, I discovered that the college is moving the walking trail art exhibits around. As I walked, I noticed some were gone but then discovered that they had only been "shuffled," as one of the campus personnel called it. They are rearranging them and adding in some new ones. I'll post some pictures when they are finished.

In other news, it's still feeling like summer here, and I am OVER IT! Fall is my 2nd favorite season (after winter), and it still gets up to 85 degrees some days so it might as well still be summer. It is generally cooler in the mornings, which is good, but it heats up quickly. 

We also need rain very, very badly. I can't remember such a dry fall in recent history. 

Someone needs to find autumn, or at least write a song about it, something similar to the one from The Grinch, only it needs to be "where are you autumn?" LOL! I'm about to become a real grinch if it doesn't become sweater weather soon. 

Sorry for the negativity. I do tend to get cranky when summer drags on too long, though. I am not a fan of hot weather.

Even in the midst of a long, hot dry spell, I am still thankful. God has been good to me, and I'm still convinced HE is the reason I wake up eager to get out to my favorite walking trails every morning. I enjoy my walks so much.

As I continue to pray for rain, I also thank God every day for my good health at the age of 70 (going on 71 in 3 months). I'm so blessed.

I thank Him for my family and friends that He has given me, and I thank Him for enabling me to write this blog. Writing is a passion of mine; it makes me happy. 

I am including some pictures, as usual, from the last couple of weeks. A pretty sunset from a late walk, some of my fall decor, and my refreshed tiny garden, with mums. These things bring me joy. I will try to get them all labeled. 

Be blessed, my friends. 

"On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah." Psalm 62:7,8 NASB

Sunset on a late walk

Some living room decor

front porch

front porch

My tiny garden, refreshed

Close up of mums

 

Find the Joy

Hello September! I'm so happy we finally got to the "ber" months! It's my favorite time of year. I'm encouraged and feeling better now that we are seeing that the end of summer isn't too far off.

Walking in the mornings has been so good the past week with the cool front we are currently enjoying. I realize it's September, though, so summer isn't over in Arkansas but the reprieve from the heat has been welcome.

I'm still tending my "tiny little garden" and it's still looking pretty good. The petunias, bless them, are a challenge because they require constant deadheading to keep them blooming. I may rethink having them in the garden next summer. 

Since I rent, I have all my flowers in pots, so I'll be replacing them with some mums and fall decor pretty soon anyway. I'll rotate the summer pots to my off-season "storage area" (behind the hedge right by the house). I will be sorry to see the vincas go; I received them for Mother's Day and found that they don't have to be deadheaded, and they are very prolific in blooming. They are annuals, though, so I can't keep them for next year.

Listen to me go on and on about flowers! Who knew I would learn to like gardening, even on a mini-garden scale? The thing is, I've found them to be an unexpected source of joy. Something shifted in me this summer, and I found myself arranging the 5 potted plants I managed to fit into a little area by my front door into a pleasing, joyful thing in my life. 

Know when it happened? 

When I stopped lamenting over not owning my own place and therefore unable to plant a real flower garden. That's when it happened. Truth be told, these 5 plants were all I had the headspace for in this season anyway. Five plants, creatively arranged into a part of the landscaping that had room for them. Five plants that don't have to be moved so the mowers can mow and trim weeds.

Five potted flowers. A source of happiness and a reason to smile in a season when it's been tough at times. By the grace of God, though, every morning I wake up, go for a walk, and come back to water my little garden if I didn't the night before and they need it.

I didn't start out with the intention of talking so much about my flowers, and the joy they cause. Somehow, though, it just seems right. Maybe someone reading this needs to find something to make them smile. I hope I've encouraged you to do just that. 

Maybe it's not flowers. Maybe it's the sun trying to peek through the clouds, or a funny face someone put on a tree on the walking path, or simply a calendar that you bought because you needed something pretty in your life. 

Find the joy. It's there. Be blessed, my friends.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Psalm 66:1 NIV

I Miss the Rain

Well, the blazing hot days of summer are here and they are wearing me down. Long gone are the rainy days I had grown accustomed to. I miss the rain. At least it was a little cooler while it was raining. Now we are stuck with 95 sweltering degrees, smack dab in the middle of summer.

I mentioned I might repost my post about why I love rain, and I've decided today is the day. I'm in a slump and I need cheering up. Tomorrow, I'm taking myself to the movies, but for tonight, I want to read about rain and my theory of why I love it. So, without further ado...the Puddles are Dancing, a post from 2014. 

One small edit that I should have made but will leave it alone in the blog itself. My primary love language is quality time; I just didn't realize it in 2014.

From June 8, 2014--The Puddles are Dancing

I love rain. If you've read my bio, you know that I love rain; it's one of my favorite things. But why? When most hate a rainy day, why do I find it so appealing? I asked myself this question this afternoon, as I sat here watching it rain during a break from the closet cleaning I've been inspired to do this afternoon.

It affects me differently than most everyone that I know. For most, it is sad and gloomy, and drains them of energy. For me, however, it makes me happy, even energized. I don't know why this is, but I have some thoughts on what it possibly could be. First, though, the things I love about rain.

I love the sound of rain. It is soothing to me. I love the melodious drumming of the rain as it drips off the trees, house, and carport. All the other noises have to take a back seat as the rain takes over in the music department for a while. Occasionally, there is even some thunder to add a punch of percussion to the tune.   

I love to watch it rain.  It is calming to me to watch the rain pelt down onto the pavement.  Seeing the rain pour out of the neighbor's gutters is mesmerizing.  Watching the puddles "dance"-- a term coined by my youngest son when he was much younger to indicate that it is, indeed, still raining, when the downpour has become light enough to wonder if it has stopped or not. Are the puddles "dancing?" Then, no, it has not stopped.  

Side note: Apparently, this irritates or annoys him, for when I mention puddles dancing, he still rolls his eyes.  But it stuck with me. And I love that it did.

I love the smell of rain.  There is no better smell than the air after a spring rain.  The air smells and feels like it has been "washed," and the trees and plants look so fresh and clean, even if only for a little while. This makes me happy.

These are some of the things I love about rain. But why?  Without intense psychotherapy, or having it revealed to me by God, I really don't know. I think, though, that it takes me back to a time in my childhood when I felt safe and loved.  

I can clearly remember getting ready for school when I was around eight, with the sound of the pouring rain outside. I was with my mother, and therefore, I was safe in my childish mind. She had to drive me to school when it was raining, and this made me feel loved. I remember being dropped off at my beloved elementary school--the one that I wrote about when they tore it down a few years ago. It was early morning, but because of the rain it looked dark outside from the classroom. This is a good memory to me. Therefore, what most perceive as gloomy is comforting to me.

You see, I don't have a bunch of memories of my mom and dad doing stuff with me when I was little. They both worked all the time it seemed. We were dirt poor, and they both worked long hours in factories to provide for us. In the fifties and sixties, the majority of the moms I knew, other than mine, did not work outside the home. Child-rearing was considered an honored profession in those days. Not that it's not today, but in today's economy, one income is generally not enough anymore.

Too bad that my child mind did not understand that working to provide food and shelter = love. My parents were good, and they loved me, but they never uttered the words to me. Since my primary love language is words of affirmation (even though I didn't know it then), I needed to hear it said but never did.  So, I picked up on the times when they showed me love with my secondary love language, quality time.  

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the happy times when I felt loved and safe were most likely punctuated with.... you guessed it.... rain.

I walked to school except when it rained. On rainy days, my mom drove me. Mom spending time with eight-year-old = love.

I could sit on the porch with my mom and dad, and sometimes my grandma, and watch it rain and feel loved AND safe, because quality time = love.

So, there you have it.  A glimpse into my heart and what makes it happy. I struggled with this one; but I really, really feel like God wanted me to share it. I live to serve Him and do His will, and I'm honored that He lets me write to express what He has shown me.

Do your children a favor; show and tell them you love them in all love languages, at least until they are old enough for you to know what their love language is. Then you can focus on that one or two. Until then, tell them you love them. Hug them. Spend time with them. It will make you both happy, and what may not seem like anything to you may just be their rainy-drive-to-school memory someday.

Now if you'll excuse me...the puddles are still dancing. I think I'll watch awhile.

"Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies." Psalm 17:7 NLT

Thankful

Yesterday from 11am-7pm, Chick-fil-A was in town. As usual when they come here, about once a month, they were a hit. I stood in line for probably 20 minutes for my delicious chicken nuggets and waffle fries.

And they were yummy! I was finally able to eat without pain, following my endoscopy procedure that I had just had 3 days before, on Tuesday. Everything except the most bland food was burning as it went down, due to the fact that the doctor dilated my esophagus. (Aging problems; a subject for another day).

I was so thankful to be able to eat something besides mashed potatoes, especially since my favorite chicken place only graces us with their presence once a month.

Yes, my friends from my hometown of Van Buren, I know you have a whole restaurant of said chicken as compared to my monthly food truck. I’m so happy you finally got one! I’ll be eating there on my next visit back home.

I’m just grateful they have started coming here with a limited menu on a regular basis.

That’s the theme of this blog post; by the way. I’m learning to be thankful in all things. I look for things to thank God for, but I don’t have to look very far. He is SO GOOD!

As I stood there yesterday waiting to buy my supper, I was thankful for the pretty sunset going on behind the food truck.

After I got home, I was thankful I didn’t have pain eating my supper.

I was thankful yesterday morning that we got a nice rain shower for about 30 minutes. We had gone a while with no rain in these parts.

I’m trying to post more often, and when I saw the sunset yesterday evening I knew what I needed to write about.

I am thankful for so many things, but I only listed a few. Until my next blog post, take care, my friends. God bless you all.

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB

From the Porch: Why is the Tree There?

Rain kept me inside all last week, but I've been able to get to the porch

for my morning coffee and prayer time for most of this week. Sitting out there, I noticed something.

All the other condos in my neighborhood have very similar landscaping. We all have hedges by the front entrance and some other shrubs that are almost cookie-cutter identical. 

My front area, however, has a cedar tree by the driveway instead of a round shrub. As I sat there a few mornings ago, I was pondering why this is. 

I'm not a fan of bright sunlit rooms in my house. I know that's not typical. I like more of a warm, softly lit vibe. Bright sun hurts my eyes; I'm just very sensitive to bright sunlight. I almost always wear sunglasses on the rare occasion that I am outside on a bright day.

This cedar tree shades my living room perfectly. From afternoon through early evening in the warmer months, the sun hits my house increasingly toward the southwest as the summer wears on. Together with the window treatments and mini-blinds, my living room has a bearable level of afternoon sunlight, filtered so well by the tree.

Some would say I was lucky to get the house with the tree when I was looking for a place to rent. I feel like it's more than that, though. I think God had this place in mind for me long ago, when the tree was just a sapling. 

Laugh if you think it silly. I don't mind. I'm sure lots of people laugh when they read my blog. I'm not sharing content that I think will draw people in. I'm just sharing my heart. I know my God orders my steps. Why wouldn't He give me a tree to shade me from the harsh late afternoon sun? 

One more thing. It's a cedar tree; an evergreen. It's green year round, just like God's love is everlasting. 

I'm counting it as one of my blessings. I thank God for the tree that gives me shade.

Be blessed, my friends!

 "I will exalt You, my God, the King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable." Psalm 145:1-3 NASB

Snow!

Well, it finally happened: we got our first real snow here on the mountain. It flurried a couple of times since the first of the year, but it wasn't enough to write home about. 

It's currently 5 degrees out, at 3 something in the afternoon, usually the warmest point in the day. This morning I got up and went to church, then came home to fix some yummy homemade soup. About 12:15pm I looked out and saw snow! It was very fine, still is, but it is so cold it's all sticking, and piling up pretty fast.

I have been kind of down lately. Not only was I "trying" to take down the Christmas decor, not very successfully, but twice in the last couple of weeks we were supposed to get snow and didn't. I worked on packing most of Christmas away yesterday, and by late afternoon I had had enough. I was exhausted and sad. I got everything put away except the tree and the kitchen window vintage ornaments with the santas and trees (oh, and the snowmen display that I leave up through February) and decided to finish up today. 

But now it's snowing! I can't take down the tree when it's snowing! I'll try again tomorrow. I'm a happy camper! You all know how I love snow! 

I'm posting some pictures of the current situation. I may add more later.

Enjoy your snow day if you got some where you are! And stay warm and safe!