Flying High With Gratitude

 

Japanese Tea Garden jigsaw puzzle

In the week since my last post, life has been good for us. Yes, the oppressive heat continues, but we are blessed with excellent air conditioning and our retired lifestyle does not require us to be outside much.

We are working on one jigsaw puzzle after another. I think Gary spends more time on them than me, but then, I have my blog community to occupy a lot of my time. Per the snapshot above, I baked chocolate chip cookies one afternoon while Gary "puzzled."

We have special news to report: Gary's 5th great-grandchild was born the other day. He's now got 3 boys and 2 girls, all under the age of 4. I'm not sharing pictures since the parents prefer it that way, and in this day and age, we all understand that. But take it from me (the step-great grandmother) that they're all cute cute cute!

Moving on to the Hodgepodge questions for this week, if you want to participate with your blog, click on this link:

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2026/08/hodgepodge-questions-volume-667.html

1. August 19th is National Aviation Day...do you like to fly?

Flying itself is fine with me as long as it's in a pressurized jet. All of my life I've had a strong tendency to get air sick in small 4-seater-type airplanes. 

As far as travel via flying these days, no, I don't enjoy air travel any more. I'm a small person, so even though the seats are big enough for me, larger people on either side of me often think they can take up some of my space.

Using techie apps, my cell phone, and such to get a reservation, to sign in, etc -- all of that is fast becoming a mystery to me that I do not enjoy, especially if I'm flying by myself.

I will add that I come from an aviation family. My father was a career pilot, and one of my sons is, too, traveling all over the world as a Senior First Officer. 

Last time you were on an airplane? 2021

The date is chosen in honor of the history and development of aviation, and celebrated on the birthday of Orville Wright. Have you ever been to the Kitty Hawk area of North Carolina? The city of Dayton in Ohio (their birthplace)

I have not been to Kitty Hawk or Dayton.

2. In what area of your life do you tend to 'wing it'? Is this an area you should be winging? 

I can "wing it" very well with preparing salads, pasta meals, and putting stuff between 2 flour tortillas with melted cheese to "glue it together." Should I be winging it? There've been no complaints, so all is good.

3. A favorite book, song, or movie that relates to flight in some way?  

click here  for movie trailer

My family watched the first Top Gun movie, the one that came out 40 years ago, many times. (I teared up when Goose died). The more recent sequel is okay but I prefer the first one. 

4. Soft serve, gelato, sherbet, frozen yogurt, or good old fashioned ice cream...what's your pleasure? Your favorite flavor? How often do you indulge? 

Nothing can beat simple soft serve vanilla ice cream, but I also like sherbet.

5. I never get tired of______________________. 

I never get tired of a lot of things (the Lord's blessings are everywhere), but for the sake of brevity, I'll say I never get tired of my recliner. Right now I'm sitting where the little pillow is with my MacBook Air on my lap. The "feels like" temperature outside is about 112 degrees today (aughhhh!) but here in my chair, blogging with my friends in air conditioning -- it's really good!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

This thought has been turning over in my mind a lot lately. Every thought, word, and behavior is a seed for our future. If we are smart, we will sow [plant] the best seeds we can as much as possible.

Quoting the late Dr. Charles Stanley, "We reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow." 

The older I get, the more clearly I recognize that truth. I've seen it in my life with both the good and the bad seeds I've planted. For me, youthful impulses are pretty much a thing of the past (I hope!). My focus is setting myself up for more positive outcomes.

A simple morning prayer I learned as an adolescent goes like this:

Lord, I wake to a brand new day

in which to show my love for You.

In all I think, and do, and say,

help me to be good, and kind, and true."

On a light note, my parents taught both Sister and me to pray. The above photo (from the Internet) could easily have been both of us, back in the day. (smile)

And here is a "prayer" that circulated a few years ago. It  makes me smile but is also heavily weighted with truth:

"Lord, I've tried to live an honest life. I have not lied, gossiped, overeaten, been lazy, stole anything, or otherwise misbehaved. But now I'm getting ready to pull back the covers and put my feet on the floor, so I'm really going to need Your strength, protection, and guidance to get me through this day."

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara

Peace on a Hot Summer Day

 

Summer is nowhere near the finish line here in Florida. August is when we continue to run the AC at full blast while leaning closer to the TV weather forecasts regarding tropical storms (hurricanes). Although storm surge and flooding are not the biggest concern for us. We are far enough inland (about 90 minutes both east and west from the oceans) so that wind, rain, and lightning are the bigger threats.

The following are my responses to Joyce's Hodgepodge meme for this week, and then a summary of my current thoughts. If you want to link your answers to your blog, click here.

1. I saw a meme on Instagram that went like this-'The movie Dirty Dancing came out in 1987 and was set in 1963, so if remade in 2026 it would be set in 2002. Now I need a little lie down in a dark room for a while." 

Time is crazy isn't it? So...what were you up to in the year 2002? 

My current photo program doesn't allow me to readily retrieve many pictures from 2002. Here's one I took in 2018 that can illustrate the thought of "looking back."

a boardwalk along the Florida Atlantic coast

In the year 2002 my "nest" had been empty for 5 years. My second grandchild was born (out of an eventual total of eleven). We were living in Colorado in a two-story house with 2 cute Cocker Spaniels named Buddy and Pal. Most days I got my housework and other necessities of life done as early in the day as I could so the rest of the time until late afternoon could be devoted to sewing quilts. I kept very busy for years making baby quilts for all of my grandchildren, those of my sister, and for friends and baby showers. 

That was 7 years before I began writing a blog (I didn't even know what a blog was at that time).

2. "Me? I'm scared of everything..." What's something that scares you that you'd like to try anyway? 

I have a healthy fear of a lot of things and I can't think of a one that I'd like to try. 

3. Watermelon-yay or nay? Which melon is your favorite-watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew. 

Cantaloupe is my favorite of these listed, but it's hard to find a good one. You just never know how tasty it is until after you've brought it home and sliced into it.

Of the watermelon food/beverages listed which would you say yes to...

watermelon salsa~watermelon feta salad~watermelon sorbet~

a watermelon Jolly Rancher~a watermelon margarita 

me at the Watermelon Festival 2025
Chiefland, Florida

I prefer my watermelon plain, all by itself, leaning forward to bite off a juicy wedge while the sweet juice drips on my shoes the grass. Watermelon is said to be very nutrient-dense.

my Gary at the Watermelon Festival 2025
Chiefland, Florida

4. August 12th is National Middle Child Day. Are you a middle child? If not, where do you fall in the birth order in your family of origin? Do you think this has influenced your personality? Elaborate. 

I am the first born of two daughters, but I gave birth to a middle child. My husband is a middle child. 

Middle children are blessed to observe the mistakes and successes of the older siblings and to make good choices for themselves.

a recent photo of my middle child
who has officially entered "middle age" 

It has been said that the first-born tends to be bossy. (They are wrong, of course. 🤭)

click here for movie trailer

There is a line in the 2006 biblical movie, The Nativity Story, where the three wisemen have a lighthearted moment. While gazing at the night sky, one of them says, 

“..... if I’m right.. and I usually am....” 

I have quoted that to my family about myself on several occasions, but instead of agreement, I get raised eyebrows and wry smirks! 🥴

5. Would you rather talk to everyone at a crowded party for a short time, or have a significant conversation with two people? Explain. 

I'm okay with attending a "sip 'n smile" (as Gary calls them) but during his career days, he had to attend too many and now avoids them if at all possible. 

I get along well enough at such occasions because I make friends easily. But short conversations at those parties are preferable. It's good to keep the topics light because many times the room is much too noisy to accurately hear everything that is being said. Even my $$$ hearing aids cannot really drown out enough of the background noise to catch all that is being said. 

A significant conversation with just one or two people is best done in a much quieter atmosphere, and yes, I definitely enjoy that, too. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

In 2017, when my late husband shocked me with the idea of a cross-country move from Colorado to Florida, I bought a sign that looked exactly like the arrow below. It was meant to be a rather tongue-in-cheek marquee of our late-in-life change in retirement plan.

However, as time moved on, the sign began to sort of taunt me every time I passed it on the wall in our new home. It reminded me of the multitude of changes, good, bad, and blended somewhere in-between that were building the story of my life.

I began to see the value in the popular term, "mindfulness," directing my mental attention to "right now" instead of mentally chewing on the past or worrying about the future. 

No matter which direction our lives go, our mental state has a huge bearing on our happiness and contentment. 

Since I am a devoted believer and follower of Jesus Christ, the Bible has been my rescue when my thoughts tend to spiral downward into dark places. This one is a favorite with me and covers a lot of ground:

Don't worry about anything;

instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need,

and thank Him for all He has done. 

Then you will experience God's peace,

which exceeds anything we can understand.

His peace will guard your hearts and minds

as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 New Living Translation

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara

Returning to the Puzzle Metaphor

 

Those of my readers who are students of the Bible are familiar with the above verse. Truly, in God's calendar, there is the right time for everything. It may not seem like the right time to us, but the God of the universe is in charge and even the most untimely events are in His ultimate control and for accomplishing His purposes.

Me (yellow) and Sister D (orange)
watching a Colorado rodeo during a rain storm
2017

It's just been an odd-feeling time. I'm starting to lose count of how many of my peers have recently died, but the number has increased even in the short time since I began composing this post!! 

Sister D and I (pictured above) have been close BFFs since, I don't know, maybe 2003? We met at church in Denver. Then sometime after that, 3 more gals became close with us for a total of 5. We got together often to celebrate our birthdays and for anytime we just needed girl talk, food, and laughter. Oh my, the laughter!

Then one of our group, a single gal, suddenly died. Probably a heart attack or something similar. She had put her dinner into the microwave and stepped out to her patio to wait for it to cook when Jesus came to get her. She was found a day or two later after her employer reported she had not shown up for work. 

We all sat together at her memorial service and bawled out loud together. We knew she was in a much better place, but her absence was deeply felt by all of us.

Years went by and 3 of us moved out of Colorado but still kept in touch. One remained in Denver.

left to right: BeeBee, Peggy, Sister D, me

The year after I moved to Florida, the 4 of us all got together at my home in Jacksonville. At the time my house was huge, so I could accommodate my 3 guests each with their very own bedroom and not everyone had to share a bathroom! (!!! those were the days!)

L-R: me, Peggy, BeeBee, & Sister D

My late husband was the designated chauffeur and he rented a larger vehicle so we could sightsee together in comfort.

L-R: me, BeeBee, Peggy, & Sister D
St. Augustine

We took them to Jacksonville Beach, walked the pier, and ate lunch. On another day we went to St. Augustine. Lunch on St. Simon's Island was a big hit, too. The laughter was frequent mixed with occasional tears as we remembered our dear Sandy and shared tender things one tells only the closest of friends.

A photo moment on St. Simons Island, Georgia, 
L-R: me, BeeBee, Peggy, & Sister D

Then a few years later, after a mighty battle with health problems, our Peggy was called to Heaven. Her battle was long but my understanding was that her actual passing was gentle. Again, we have no doubt where she is today.

This past week another one of us slipped off to eternity. BeeBee's service was today and although Sister D and I could not make it to Texas for the observance, we were there in spirit (and also in the slide show of photos from BeeBee's life). 

BeeBee had a strong ability to make us all laugh so hard that we ached. One year for Sandy's birthday, she invited us to her apartment. Just as lunch was finishing up and we thought it was time to leave, she told us to stay. A visitor was coming. 

She had hired an Elvis impersonator to come croon his songs to us. It was so real and kind of intimidating as he got right into our faces to sing and carry on. We will still be talking about that for all of eternity, I'm sure of it!

In the mix with all these memories, Gary and I have been informed of the recent deaths of others. When news of 2 more long-time family and/or friends came just this afternoon, I felt almost inconsolably sad. As many of us at this season of life are discovering, this is when many in our peer group come to their earthly end. That's just the way life works.

I'll be honest and just admit it. Food provides a measure of comfort. Recently I commented about the benefits of pasta. Today it was ice cream topped with blackberry jam -- and TWO scoops, please! Gary suggested this. Very timely.

I was texting with Sister D (who is not my relative except we have called each other Sister D and Sister B for years because we are sisters in Christ). Sister D said her dessert of choice today is a peach dumpling (because the Palisade Peaches in Colorado are out right now -- I miss that!).

Getting back to the subject of jigsaw puzzles (my last post), Gary and I completed one the other day that had 6 missing pieces! SIX!! Today I returned it to the library in our community center with a note.

Sometimes in our lives there are losses that make us feel incomplete. Yes, as Christ-followers we know we will see our saved loved ones when we get to Heaven. We have no doubt about that.

But to be real for those of us still standing on earth's dirt, the absence of our loved ones is real. It's left to us to learn how to get along without them and that's no easy task. 

Sometimes (often, actually) those of us left behind don't handle the situation very well. Things are said and done that are regretted later. "Mistakes were made," to quote a current grocery store commercial. 

But eventually the sting of the loss softens. People need to relax and let go of the fear, the anger, and all the negatives that came into play. We are all doing our best to cope and to be at peace with ourselves and with each other. 

If we do that, the picture tends to come together and even become beautiful. 

Until next time, grace and peace be yours in abundance. (I Peter 1:2)

Barbara