A January Blog Post

life guard chairs at Jacksonville Beach
January 2019

Today I'm linking up with Joyce and friends to answer the Hodgepodge questions. 

1. It has been said January is 'the month of opportunity, inspiration, and change.' Which of the three do you need most right now? Elaborate.

The holiday season preceding January seems to take a bit more out of me every year, even though I've slowed down considerably. In following BillieJo's blog, Afternoon Coffee and Morning Tea, I've been intrigued with her thoughts on using winter as a time to rest, just as nature does. That seems like a pretty good idea to me. 

So to answer the question, opportunity, inspiration, and change do not resonate with me in the month of January.

2. Do you consider opportunity as something that comes to you or something you create for yourself?

Life has taught me that I tend to be pretty impulsive. I'm thinking opportunity is something I need to allow to come to me because creating it for myself tends to involve decisions that have not been well thought out. 

3. The British Museum opened on January 15th, 1759. Do you like visiting museums? Do you have a favorite?

Yes, I like visiting museums and special exhibits in public buildings. My two all-time favorites are in Washington DC: The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and The Smithsonian Museum of American History. 

Since I have been an avid quilter for much of my adult life, sometime I would like to visit The National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. I have been through Paducah many times (always while en route to either Illinois or Florida), but it's never been at a time when it was convenient to visit the quilts. 

I'll step off the Hodgepodge briefly to share snapshots of some of my quilts. I have made quilts for many babies, both in my family and for church baby showers. But these here were made for home decor.

Carrots for my mother's kitchen wall
(she made the brown autumn leaf decor)

variation of the American flag
for my home

pre-cut pink squares assembled by hand
and hand-quilted
(most of my quilts were machine pieced and quilted)

Kandy Korn table topper

Moose in the Woods 2002

This last one is an Irish Chain pattern (one of my favorite patterns, used many times) with a stenciled moose in the center surrounded by evergreen trees. I never did actually quilt this one but chose instead to  "tie it off" with old buttons. I hung this on the walls of 3 of our houses over the years.

4. It's National Oatmeal Month (yes, apparently it gets a whole month as opposed to a single day). Do you like oatmeal? Yes How often do you eat a bowl of oatmeal? Not often enough. Pouring a bowl of Cheerios is much faster. How do you like yours? I like oatmeal from the packets because preparation is easy. What about an oatmeal cookie? Of course! Include chocolate chips, too! Is that a sweet treat you enjoy? Need I answer this??? 🤭

5. What's something useful you learned in high school?

Driver's Ed is what most quickly comes to mind. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We watched the confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth. I thought he handled himself very well. I also appreciated the comments by one of the Republicans who addressed faults and imperfections -- which we all have. (Remember Romans 3:23 that says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.") 

When people are repentant of their mistakes, God is not done with them and nor should we. Yes, we need to be discerning in what we entrust to them in the future, but to close the door on them completely is not God's way.

I think of the Apostle Paul, known in the New Testament as a persecutor of Christ-followers until God confronted him in a powerful way that completely changed him for the good. 

Forgive. Relate wisely to others. Leave judging to God. 

Until next time, grace and peace. We all need it. 

The Hodgepodge questions were taken from this link:

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2025/01/hodgepodge-questions-volume-585.html

Sunday Afternoon Musings

Amelia Island beach web cam
Sunday January 12, 2025

Visiting the Amelia Island beach web cam this afternoon, it's not surprising to see people fully clothed (meaning, no swim wear). It's winter here in Florida. We've got no snow, although it's come closer to us than most years with some of the white stuff in Atlanta, north of us about a 5-hour drive. 

We don't often drive to either of the coasts (Atlantic and Gulf), which are something like 60+ miles from our house to both to the east and the west. Gary and I aren't much for sand between our toes any more, but I take pleasure in watching the crashing waves via web cam. It's like a mini-vacation.

It's Sunday afternoon and we're watching our Denver Broncos get trampled on by the Buffalo Bills. The Broncos. Anyone who knew my late husband was aware that was his team. Would you believe even though Gary is not from Colorado, the Broncos have been one of his preferred teams? So here we are. I'm sorry this is their last game of the season. We lost, 7-31. Moving on to something of comfort...

A few days ago, Linda included this in her blog post:

After seeing this, all I could think about was Banana Pudding. I asked Gary if he would like some. He gave me a thumbs up and smacked his lips together, which I took to be a definite "yes!" Our next grocery trip included the purchase of Vanilla Pudding (the cook and stir kind), a box of Vanilla Wafers, and a bunch of bananas (6 or more).

In my opinion, it's important to get the "cook and serve" kind, not the instant. The instant pudding mixes tend to get watery after sitting for a while. While our grocery store had banana pudding, it was only in the Instant variety, so I opted for Vanilla Cook and Serve.

I used 3 cups of Saco Buttermilk (3 Tablespoons of the powder combined in a blender with 3 cups of water) for a richer flavor and texture.

To make the pudding, I stirred the boxed pudding mix with the re-constituted buttermilk powder in a large saucepan on the stove. In a clear pyrex bowl I began layering the Vanilla Wafers and sliced bananas (using the entire box of cookies and all 6 bananas). After the pudding came to a boil, the liquid was poured over the wafers and bananas. Thoroughly drizzled between the wafers and bananas, the outcome was wonderful. The bowl was covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for about 5 hours to cool and solidify. 

Mid-afternoon we spooned out generous portions and enjoyed it on the lanai. Yes, as the graphic earlier in this post says, "... banana pudding ... makes everything better." 

Yesterday was especially fun as 4 (no 5!!) bloggers gathered for lunch at a local Bob Evans restaurant. Several of us say from time to time that we need to get together, but as it turns out, that is easier said than done. However, we were able to make it happen. 

Linda and I had only a few miles to drive, while Pam and Terri had to drive 1 to 2+ hours to "meet in the middle" (sort of). And then Terri pleasantly surprised us when she brought along Cheryl, who hails from Indiana but is in Florida right now on an escape from snow. (click on their names to see their blogs)

left right back row: Pam, Linda, me
left to right front row: Cheryl, Terri

We talked about how each of us decided to become a blogger. All of us have been at it for many years (over ten, if I remember the conversation correctly). While now 4 of us live in Florida, back at the beginning when we all began blogging and eventually became friends through social media, we were spread out in Florida, New York, Indiana, and Colorado. 

Over the years we all have gone through serious, life-changing stuff and have grown in our Christian faith in the process. We blog about family, friends, our interests, and the disasters. Clearly, the Lord has preserved each one of us in spite of the hits that sought to bring us down. I see God's faithfulness and goodness when I look into the face of each of these precious women.

Internet graphic

May we determine to cherish the people God puts in our lives because their stories speak to us, and our stories speak to them. 

Until next time, grace and peace.

Watching Our Words

unwinding with colored pencils

This post is my response to Joyce's Hodgepodge questions. To see her blog and to link up with other participating bloggers, click here: 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 584

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2025/01/hodgepodge-questions-volume-584.html

.My responses are hi-lited with blue.

1. At the end of every year (or at least since the mid-1970's) Lake Superior State University posts a list of words they think should be banished from the Queen's English for misuse, overuse, and/or general uselessness. You can read more about the decision making process here, but this year's list includes-

cringe

game changer

era

dropped

IFKYK (If you know you know)

sorry not sorry

skibidi

100%

utilize

and period. 

Which of these words/phrases do you use regularly or even just every now and then? I seldom use any of these words; some I had not heard of before.

How many did you have to look up? 

just one: skibidi. (see the Wikipedia explanation of it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skibidi_Toilet) 

Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Skibidi. A talking head emerging from a toilet is crude. I realize this is probably something the younger generations enjoy, but it comes across to me as indecent and invites even worse language and degrading forms of communication. We should be encouraging more wholesome forms of expression.

Is there a word/phrase not on the list you'd like to add? If so do share, then tell us why. Yes, but I won't list them. Just assume if it's in the realm of "skibidi" then I'm against it.

2. Your favorite soup? Do you make this one yourself or is it from a can? Just this past week I needed to use up half a carton of half and half that has been sitting in the refrigerator. I combined it with Campbells Tomato soup and it was so very good! 

3. How do you feel about winter? Here in Florida, I welcome temperatures that encourage long pants, socks, and sweaters because that is a blessed relief from our long summers. 

What's one winter activity you look forward to? Just about any activity that is opposite of heat and humidity. We ride our bicycles after breakfast most days of the year unless the temperature is truly frigid and/or the wind is too strong. 

4. The Pantone color of the year for 2025 is mocha mousse (sample pictured here). What say you? The website describes it as 'a warming, brown hue imbued with richness. It nourishes us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort'. Is this a color I might find in your home or wardrobe? Is it one you might add in some big or small way in the year ahead? This color is beautiful; I've been a fan of brown for a long time. For years I decorated my home with brown, black, off-white, and a rusty orange type of red. 

a chair in my former color scheme

Now that I am with Gary and living with home decor he and his late wife chose, the color scheme is different and I’ve adjusted. (But I did bring with me my brown Queen Ann chair and it fits in nicely.)

I call this "my chocolate chair"

If I were to offer you a choice right now of either a cup of mocha or a cup of mousse which would you say yes to? I’d take the mousse, thank you, since mocha tends to have espresso, which is a stronger flavor of coffee than I like.

But a real favorite of mine is when Gary prepares a mug of hot chocolate and then floats THREE of those huge-size marshmallows on top. Wow! That is a creamy mouthful of joy!

5. Which of the following winter related idioms can best be applied to your life in some way right now? Choose one, then tell us why you chose it.  

snowed under

on thin ice

tip of the iceberg

chill out

break the ice

snowball effect

not a snowball's chance in hell

get cold feet

the cold shoulder 

“The cold shoulder” is another way of saying “rejection.” I’ve done studies on that word and the psychological ramifications of it. Did you know rejection is one of the most painful emotions and terribly cruel? I think all of us have experienced this. 

Also, referring to the first question above, with our current culture being what it is, I think “skibidi” has (unfortunately) “not a snowball’s chance in hell” of being eliminated any time soon. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

In Philippians 4:8, we are taught to think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. 

Also, from Psalm 19:14,  "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer." 

It hurts my heart to see people, especially those who profess to be devout Christians,  use crude language and to be entertained by it.  

Until next time, grace and peace.

Adapting to 2025

Plumbago bush in our yard
January 2, 2024

Please forgive if you get tired of me saying every winter how thrilled I am to have flowers like this in my yard in the dead of winter. 

my deck in April 2017
Castle Rock, Colorado

After many happy years in Colorado, where snow on my property was most definitely an annual event, now the delights of warmer winters in Florida are a welcome change.

The snapshot of snow-covered deck furniture was taken during my last winter SPRING, actually, in Colorado. My Colorado friends know scenes like this are entirely within the realm of normal. But in all fairness, I hasten to add that the elevation of my home then was 6,000 feet higher than the near sea level where I live now.

what a difference a few feet can make! 😏

Time marches on and so many aspects of our lives quickly change. This new year of 2025 has gotten off to a terrible start, as you all know if you keep up with the news. I won't get into that but will share with you Gary's words to me just about any time I leave the house without him: 

Be watchful, be careful

Look around you

... and similar admonitions to be aware of what's going on around me as I drive, exit and enter the car, enter and exit stores, encounter other people, and so forth. Also, if you see something, say something. This is how we have to live now.

Moving on to more pleasant topics...

at-home service call

After we bought our Ford Maverick truck in late 2023, we were introduced to the practice of service calls where the dealer sends the workers to our house instead of us having to drive 20-30 minutes to the service center. The above picture was taken as the serviceman from Ford prepared to change the oil in our truck. He moved the vehicle into the street and did it all right there. We've had them come for other services, too. It's worked out very well. So that's something new to us in our rapidly changing world.

my basement storage in Colorado 2017

Another change that has come back to mind recently is my storage options as we packed away Christmas decorations. The husband-and-son-built shelves in the basement of my last Colorado house held even more banker boxes than illustrated in these pictures, all carefully recorded by number with a computer spread sheet identifying the contents for easy location. It was a thing of beauty! an organizational delight! (This professionally-trained secretary was in her glory!!)

These memories came to mind as I wrapped and tucked away the nativity animals into only one of two banker boxes now designated for Christmas. Retirement and other life alterations define my current home with much less square footage. But it's okay. "In acceptance is peace," as the missionary to India, Amy Carmichael, was quoted as saying.

Christmas trees and boxes

I've said before that a few years ago I was more than happy to unload my 6-7 foot artificial tree onto my daughter's family so I could buy a table-top tree that has much fewer ornaments and gets stored away upright in a closet, covered with a plastic bag. 

When Gary and I celebrated our first Christmas together, I saw that he had already been doing that same thing for years. His tree is the white one and mine is underneath the black bag in the corner.

my December wardrobe

Do my readers have special clothing they wear just for the holidays? I try to not buy much along these lines since these things are appropriate for such a short span of time. I've had all of these for anywhere from 3 to 8 years (when you only wear them one month out of twelve, as long as you don't stain them, they take a long time to wear out!). I carefully fold them after New Year's Day to store in a box -- no sense in having them on hangars taking up that space for 11 months.

Veterans Memorial Cemetery
Bushnell, Florida

Continuing on the subject of packing away Christmas, today we drove to the cemetery to retrieve the artificial wreaths we had placed at the graves of our late spouses a month ago. Not all of the grave areas had wreaths, for reasons unknown to us. 

We have taken live wreaths in the past, placing them earlier in the month than the cemetery volunteers do. We have been dismayed at how quickly they dry out and look ugly. We don't know if our graves are to be included in the big wreath-distribution effort, so we have taken our own, and this year (last month) we took artificial ones. 

That has proven to be a good plan. We secured them to the ground with landscaping pins so when we got them today, they were just as we had left them. The red bows were fading from red to orange, but we can easily replace those next year.

Of course, visiting the cemetery is a somber activity, but we like to do it about once a month or so, schedules and weather-permitting. For us it's cathartic. Maybe visiting the cemetery isn't for everyone, but it works for us. 

One of my widow friends, Sue, has said to me more than once that grief never goes away. You learn to live with it. That may smack of hopelessness but it's not. It just means that we love our departed ones so those feelings remain and we learn to accept them. But (at least for me) it does get a little easier. 

from FaceBook

This graphic may be appropriate. Perhaps our goal should be the big dog .... Grow to where the "stuff" doesn't hamper us so much. Our survival and sanity are at stake.

Long Horn Steak House

On a lighter note, as I box up the Christmas memories for 2024, both of us received a number of restaurant gift cards for Christmas (as well as the luxuries of chocolate, fruit, popcorn, nuts and cheeses). We used one of those cards on New Year's Eve for our celebratory lunch. 

Be sure to note the Christmas balls dangling from the cowboy's hand as he galloped through the dining room. If you examine closely the horse's back knees, you can see Gary's handsome head in our booth. He's got a head of pure white hair (which I love!). 

The last of the chocolate disappeared yesterday, which is good because their weight has begun to show up on my bathroom scale!

link to purchase

In early November I began a personal study in my daily quiet times with the Lord with the reading of this book. Adversity in my life in recent years led me to think about Old Testament Joseph and how he handled his troubles. This was an intriguing study that had me underlining and hi-lighting many sentences that spoke to my own issues, helping me to make sense of many things. I highly recommend it.

blooming Azaleas in January

January has got off to a rough start. With our culture as it is, we need to be watchful, to be aware of what is going on around us. But we also need to be looking up to our Lord, believing He has it all in His sight. Nothing escapes His notice. For those of us who know Him and  believe Jesus has redeemed us from our sins, we can confidently agree with the Apostle Paul:

In all things God works for the good

of those who love Him,

who have been called according to His purpose. 

Romans 8:28 NIV

Until next time, grace and peace.

Farewell to the Final Friday

 

our front porch a few hours ago

Please note, with reference to the title of this post, this is not a farewell to blogging but it is bidding adieu to the last Friday of 2024.

I say that because so many times we skim-read and draw errant conclusions. My intention, Lord-willing, is to continue to spill my guts share my thoughts via blogging as we move into the New Year of 2025. 

And I say that because at this time of year, when many of us are more likely to assess where we are, where we are going, and considering course adjustments, bloggers may doubt their reasons for this writing platform. I've done that many times. But it's been nearly 16 years since my first blog post and I have no plans to stop unless I am led to do so.

Sister's Christmas dinner tables

Moving on, to finish up with Christmas this week, I want to share with you what comprised much of my Christmas gift-giving this year. If you're on FaceBook, you may have seen the ads from PersonalizationMall.com where you can order all kinds of items with the name of the recipients on them in artistic ways. 

I ordered 4 table runners this year for families with the names of all the children or grandchildren (see the white runner in picture above). I can just picture the youngest of my grands counting how many times they see their names on the fabric. 

For one couple that has cats and a mule(!!) instead of human kids, I sent personalized mugs and coasters. 

Even the man in my life got something special. All the gifts were good quality, fun to give, and well-received by all.

Since I've shared this much, I'll show you one more gift ordered from PersonalizationMall.com that I had made for Gary's birthday in October. The man doesn't lack for much, but I thought he should have a clock on his desk. I ordered this and inserted a professional photograph of us dressed in our finest. Above the picture is a small pewter plate that says, "Gary and Barbara," and below the picture is another plate that says, "Loving our life together." Yes, he liked it.

So much for the free advertisement. Moving on to other events of this past week: we made a short trip to Jacksonville. Our appointment would take us to downtown. 

one of several hotel trees

To avoid stress in finding the location on unfamiliar streets for a morning meeting, we drove up there the day before, checked into our hotel and then walked to a recommended eatery for our supper. 

suppertime

Our habit is to make lunch the big meal of the day, so we didn't want to eat a heavy meal. This place was very casual and as soon as we walked inside, I was reminded of the old TV show, Cheers. While this was more than a bar, it just had that "where everybody knows your name" feel to it. 

youtube link to theme song

Gary had the hamburger and I got chicken fingers. Lip-smakin' good, all of it. And a live Christmas tree in a bucket near our table:

Note, I've never watched an episode of Cheers but the song is catchy and tells what the series is about.

looking south from the 5th floor

The next morning a thick fog enveloped the downtown streets of Jacksonville but by the time our meeting was done, it had lifted. We were on the 5th floor with an expansive view of the St. Johns River. Had time (and Gary) allowed, I would have stayed by the windows staring out at this scene well into the afternoon. Such sights are mesmerizing to me. But alas, it was Christmas Eve and we needed to head back to Ocala.

Meadowbrook

We got back to town in time for the 3pm Christmas Eve service, which was our hope, wanting to get home before dark. As always, this church put on a wonderful program. We do not attend there regularly but for special occasions it is a wonderful place to be.

Christmas tree

Christmas morning began with our usual quiet cup of coffee and holiday music on TV. We opened our gifts in a peaceful atmosphere that is our preference in this stage of life -- and we are absolutely okay with that. We've done our time, so to speak, with the chaos and drama of young family life and now prefer calm and tranquility.

my niece and nephew-in-law

We did not have anything special for breakfast because we knew Nancy and Steve were cooking up a feast for later that day. Our usual Cheerios would probably run thin by the time that dinner came, but the temporary starvation would be worth it once we sat at their table. Both the menu and the company of extended family were very pleasant, a wonderful way to spend the holiday.

dish towels for "pretty" --
not to be used!

In our dinner conversation I remembered we had not yet driven to the town square to see the Christmas lights. On our way home, that was our destination. 

Ocala's town square

We also drove slowly past charming old homes in the historic district but I took no pictures of them, wanting to just enjoy what was before me. 

Ocala train depot in miniature

The next day, while much of the city was flooding the stores for returns, exchanges and spending gift cards, we drove to the local college to see a wonderful model train display.

The trains were running on their tracks, sometimes three passing each other at the same time. That was fascinating to me. 

The miniature scenes were intricate, very well done, and clever. 

While some scenes were very pretty, others were notable for their attention to detail and practicality in telling the story of real life.

This scene was so life-like that it looked like something out of a television show. I took this snapshot because Gary is a car guy and he can tell me the make and year of just about any car I see. This is a 1955 Chevy.

This scene was for me. While I do not drink, I come from Colorado, which is known in part for brewing Coors beer. I've been outside the brewery in Golden, a beautiful place to visit. 

And for the record, I did drink red wine for one solid year about two years ago, one small glass every afternoon, with the expectation that my cholesterol lab work would show an improvement. I developed an allergy to statin drugs after taking them for years, so I thought maybe the red wine would help. It made absolutely no difference good or bad. My numbers remained the same.

Truth be told, I'm one of those people that thinks wine tastes like vinegar and in spite of trying different kinds over that twelve months, my taste buds just put up with it for medicinal reasons. When my lab work demonstrated that was not the answer for me, I stopped drinking. No problem. 

I eat well, exercise and have no other contributing factors to the problem, so my doctor tells me I'm okay.

an oil change in 2024

With that personal revelation out of the way, I return to my summary of this week and real life. Did you know you can have a service person come to your home to change the oil in your car? We bought our Ford Maverick a little over a year ago and are diligent about keeping up with maintenance. The Ford dealership (that has our warranty) is on the far side of town, so when it's time for service to be done, they have come to our house several times, saving us the trip! Today was an oil change. Took only minutes, the fellas were pleasant and thorough and the only driving was to move the vehicle onto the street!

We decided this was the day to pack up the decorations. Carefully wrapped in tissue and plastic, just about all of our decor fits inside only two bankers boxes and is stored on a closet shelf.

A plastic bag is tucked over and around the two table-top Christmas trees and they, too, are stored on the same shelf with the boxed decorations. As I said earlier, we are enjoying the simplicity of our holiday at this stage of our lives. 

Quoting phrases from The Preacher in Ecclesiastes chapter 3:

                             There is a time for everything,

              and a season for every activity under the heavens...

              a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them...

                           a time to keep and a time to throw away ...

As we approach the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, may we forgive ourselves and others, learn from mistakes and regrets, do what makes for peace with others, and trust the Lord in all that comes our way.

Until next time, grace and peace.