Blessings in the Furnace

Pindo Palm in our front yard
https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/trees-and-shrubs/palms-and-cycads/pindo-palm/

To say it's been HOT would not be news because much of the USA has been enduring it for weeks now. I start out this post with thoughts about how we are coping in this 'furnace' of summer in Central Florida. 

To make the best of it, we try to do our outdoor activities in the morning hours, sometimes finishing those tasks with sweat dripping off our noses and running down our backs ..... 🥵 We then come in to take our showers, and spend the remainder of the day indoors with the blessed comfort of air conditioning. 

Gratitude 🙏. Are we thanking the Lord for the 'ordinary' blessings He supplies to us every single day? It is disturbing how our current culture has relaxed, even outright neglected, to voice gratitude to both God and each other. As one of my praying girlfriends said the other day, the Lord loves to hear our thankfulness. People like to hear or read it, too.

This is Hodgepodge Wednesday for those of us who like to answer Joyce's questions/writing prompts. Here are my responses:

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 613 

1. On July 29th 1957 The Tonite Show premiered with Jack Parr as its host. This marked the beginning of the modern day talk show. Do you watch any daytime or late night talk shows today? 

We watch a fair amount of FOX news throughout the day/evening when we're not tuned into old movies and westerns, as well as local news.

Do you have any thoughts on the hubbub surrounding the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, or are you more in the camp of 'who is Stephen Colbert? 

Yes, I know who Stephen Colbert is but we don’t watch any late-night shows. We turn off the TV at 9 pm and head for bed. Sage people have said of the social scene that "nothing good goes on after midnight." I would add that not much good is aired on TV after about 10pm.

2. What's the best part of your day? 

The best part of wakin’ up is Folgers in your cup! 🤭 

One of the best parts of my day is when Gary brings me my morning cup of hot coffee. We sit in the pre-dawn darkness with our coffee mugs listening to quiet instrumental music and plan our day. (although often Gary tells me he's "going to do nuthin'", that is seldom the case)

3. What's something your generation does that you actually dislike? 

Setting a poor example with personal grooming. Let's just say I'm not a trend-setter nor much of a follower of popular or current fashion. (I will leave it at that)

4. When you cook, do you clean as you go, or clean it all up once you're finished cooking? What's the last thing you cooked/baked in your own kitchen? 

I clean as I go when it's practical (when a pot doesn't need stirring or other close attention). Gary does the majority of our cooking, but I do the baking and other things on occasion. 

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

By the way, the above is a link to one of many recipes available on the Internet for a very quick and husband-pleasing cookie. Gary loves these.

5. Sum up your [our] July in ten words or less.

Hot weather, decluttering, medical appointments, reading quietly in air conditioning

 6. Insert your own random thought recent ponderings here.

Hold on. This will be a little heavy, but I hope it will be of some help to those who may be needing these insights.

Yes, as mentioned in question 5, I have been doing more decluttering. To be fair to myself and Gary, since neither of us like clutter, I have been doing more 'purging' as opposed to 'decluttering.'

To elaborate on that: the years are adding up since grief barged into my life, turning my world upside down. A couple of years after that event, I emptied my house of nearly all the furniture, and trashed, gave away to family and friends, donated, or sold the kitchen stuff via consignment and FB Marketplace my knick knacks, hobby supplies, and those things I just did not need any longer nor would have the space to store them. 

But even with that said, I still brought a few pieces of furniture, all of my clothes, my files and office necessities, sewing notions, my cast iron pieces, and some Christmas decorations.

a "keeper" --
one of several miniature room boxes
made by Sister years ago

I also kept things of Tom's that I just did not know what to do with and wasn't ready to explore that issue yet. About a dozen Bankers boxes were stored in closets.

Gary, too, eliminated some of his things. We have managed to get along just fine within the square footage of his floor plan, which is less than what I had. 

In this month (July) the time had come when I felt I could handle the emotions of opening up those boxes to see if I could reduce the number of contents. And I did.

Yes, a random tear was shed here and there, but for the most part, I was mildly surprised how the grief has lessened over time. I thank the Lord for that. One cannot be at peace and live a meaningful life if grief is the focus of every waking moment. 

Grief is a very interesting experience that I don't wish on anybody and yet if we submit it to the Lord, He matures us greatly through it. I am listing here some of the lessons I've learned (and in no particular order):

~ not everyone grieves the same, so don't judge how people handle it

~ grief brings out surprising emotions and responses in ourselves and others

~ all sorts of things will trigger the emotions, such as music, photos, memories, material possessions

~ moving on with your life helps but does not erase all the hard feelings

~ some people seem to want the grieving to be sad forever

~ some people don't understand that even with the comfort of the deceased being in Heaven, their physical absence from the here and now is a huge adjustment both emotionally and practically

~ along with the death, it is not uncommon to lose some living relationships, too

But to also address some lessons learned with a more positive bent:

~ God is true to His promise that He is with us in that "valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23:4)

~ God heals the brokenhearted [He restores us] Psalm 147:3

~ God supplies everything we need (Philippians 4:19)

~ God enables us to survive and even thrive after the devastation of grief has come (Philippians 4:13)

~ God has good things in store for us, more than we can possibly imagine (Jeremiah 33:3)

~ in God's economy, no experience is wasted. He uses all things for good in the lives of those who love Him, who yield to His purpose for them (Romans 8:28)

To wrap up this post, I return to my earlier thoughts on gratitude. We all, every one of us, have countless things for which to be grateful, and those things all come from the very hands of God. We please Him greatly when we intentionally thank Him. 

Until next time, grace and peace. 

-----------

To answer these questions on your blog, link up here:

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2025/07/hodgepodge-questions-volume-613.html

Surviving the Fever of Summer

 

from FaceBook

This morning as I begin to compose this blog post, we have a very strong rain storm outside. Our usual habit is to ride our bicycles for about 45 minutes (4-5 miles) within our gated retirement community, but when we stepped out on the front porch to look at the weather, it was clear we should stay home -- at least for the time being. 

We took our seats on the front porch to watch the varying shades of slate blue gray clouds in the distance from which the rumbling of frequent thunder rolled in our direction. Lots of quick, sharp lightening lit up that area, too. It was a wonderful show that we enjoyed in silence until the wind picked up enough to signal that rain would get us wet. 

I must include the fact that the temperature was cool! Oh my, what a relief! We've been under heat advisories for days now, from noon to 6pm, as the "feels like" temp was around 105 degrees with plenty of humidity. It's been the kind of weather that makes some people say, "I could NEVER live in Florida!" 🙄

horses at Dudley Farm in Newberry, Florida

That's okay. Our lack of a state income tax and other positive aspects have been bringing in a lot of people, creating too much traffic and messing with the charm of our 1,200 horse ranches, just within our county.

one of our lakes

Here is a snapshot I took the other day on our bike ride, at one of the places where we always stop for a drink of water. All of the water to the right of the palm trees is overflow caused by the afternoon rains we've been having. This is our rainy season. Pretty dramatic. 

Now that the patriotic holidays are past us and we are in the harsh reality of a Florida summer, our daily routines are dictated by access to air conditioning. As stated earlier, we ride our bikes early and get any yard work done pretty much by late morning. On the days when errands need to be run, we may skip the bikes and get out to the grocery store and such before heat and the worst of the traffic sets in.

a sand castle decorates our bathtub

As you can imagine, once the outside activities are done, a good shower is mandatory. About once a month I take a bath. 🤭 (Don't worry, or get your hopes up, this won't be a racy post.) 

Naughty or Nice (True Confessions)

https://myjournalmemories.blogspot.com/2024/12/naughty-or-nice-true-confessions.html

Dec 17 2024

Last December I blogged about the flood I inadvertently created with our walk-in tub.  I don't care to re-visit that nightmare, but if you do, or if you've not read the story, click here.

the seat, jets, and control panel

Anyway, while I prefer to shower, which is quick and holds no danger of testing my husband's commitment to me, we do think the walk-in tub should be used from time to time to keep the mechanisms working properly. That's why I take a bath only about once a month.

It is required to climb in and shut the door (SECURELY) before ever turning on the water. One has to wait some minutes for the tub to fill and once that is done, the jets are turned on and the bath can take as long as desired. The jets are comfortable but loud, so relaxing to music is out of the question. The actual bathing doesn't take long. So what is one to do while sitting there?

bath tray

The fear of accidentally dropping my phone into the water defines the decision to keep my phone far out of reach. I decided this was a good opportunity to read a book. I also decided to treat myself to a tray so I could rest my arms and to hold the book. In the above snapshot is the one I got from Amazon for about $50. As you can see, it has a flip-up thingie to support an open book (magazine in this picture) and a beverage cup (NOT glass). 

I have long since lost track of the site where I found this tray but if you Google it, there are many many trays to choose from. Most, if not all, of them are adjustable, sliding to the width you need according to the dimensions of your tub. 

from Face Book

With tongue-in-cheek, I thought the above graphic was applicable as I move beyond the flooding disaster to a more pleasant interaction with our walk-in tub.  

But to address the idea of "Be the architect of your future," since I gave up needlework a few years ago, another pastime needed to take its place. I decided reading would be good. Aside from stacks of books on the lamp tables and such, this habit is easier to accommodate than the sewing machines, scissors, patterns, fabric, ironing boards, etcetera that filled up my sewing rooms. 

Gary reads a lot, so we enjoy each other's company as we read together in the same room, usually the lanai with the ceiling fan quietly whirling above us. We take breaks over coffee or tea (and sometimes with cookies), talking about our books. We both read biographies and history-based accounts. Gary has read a lot of war stories that have enriched our conversations, while I have more of a bent toward psychology, as well as memoirs. Several times one of us has read a book that the other has just finished.

Here is a sampling of books that have kept me busy this summer: (some I've shared before -- they are worth mentioning again)

Battlefield of the Mind 
Joyce Meyer, author

The Let Them Theory
Mel Robbins, author

Loving People Who Are Hard to Love
Joyce Meyer, author

In the Presence of My Enemies
Gracia Burnham, author

Healed By Horses
Carole Fletcher, author

Cold Before Morning 
John Paul Jones, Jr, author

(Click on the titles of the books to be taken to a link for further information and for ordering.)

While most of the books I read are authored by born-again Christians, that is not always the case. No matter the author or the genre, I look for validation of Biblical principles in what I'm reading. Much of what man considers to be 'common sense' originated in Scripture.  

Agapanthus in our front yard

Having reached the three-quarters of a century mark, I've more time to ponder things I've personally experienced or observed, seeking to "connect the dots," trying to understand why life, personalities, trends, etcetera have taken certain turns.

A couple of conclusions you may have seen, as I have:

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Life gives you lemons to make lemonade.

And this one for me, since I like to write:

Putting pen to paper to get at meaning ...

I conclude this post with a refreshing snapshot from the back yard of some of our children. Taken at night with accent lighting tucked in and around the flora and fauna, the peaceful surface of the swimming pool is a delight after a day of summer's fever.

T and M's back yard

The Lord is thy keeper:

the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

Psalm 121:5

Meditating on the comfort of cool shade reminds us of the Lord's constant and comforting presence, demonstrating His love and mercy.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Showers of Blessing

 

Rain in our back yard

This afternoon we are [finally] getting a very long, hard rainstorm. Although the Central Florida weather maps on TV often show a great deal of rain, the western half of our county usually gets much less (if any) of that. But this afternoon as we have been sitting on the lanai reading, dozing, and sipping on coffee (for Gary) and tea (for me), a pounding rain has been just outside the windows. 

rain pounding on the patio

All that landscaping rock delivered a month or so ago is now thoroughly rinsed clean of dust and associated debris. 

The tall pine trees and palm branches are swaying in the wind, creating a gentle picture that promotes calm in my spirit. The tiny Gecko lizards that love to sit atop the pagodas in dry weather, scurry off to their hiding places when it rains.

We are having an odd sequence of things of late that I won't detail in today's post except to say that plans added to our calendar in ink should have been written with a pencil due to changes and cancelations that have had to come about. I am reminded of this scripture from Proverbs 16:9,

The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.

This verse states that humans make their plans but it is God's ultimate sovereignty and control that directs our lives. 

Yes. I see that.

With that said, I don't have my usual diary-style of writing plan today and will depend on the writing prompts from Joyce's Hodgepodge provided for this week. You can click here if you want to do this on your own blog and link up with other participants. 

1. What's a characteristic you admire in others? Elaborate. 

The ability to choose words wisely and to communicate briefly what needs to be said. And to get to the point. 

2. Do you have a favorite mug? Let's see it. Why is this one your favorite?

Mary-with-the-French-last name gave this mug to me in 2018 when I visited her family's Alabama lake "cabin." (it was a spacious house!!!) I like it because of the scripture (written on both sides, which makes it perfect for both right- and left- handed people.) I also like it because the handle fits my hand well. 

3. July 15th is/was National Give Something Away Day... will you (or did you, depending on what day you answer these questions) give something away? If so, what? Do you regularly give away or do you tend to 'accumulate'? 

How interesting that this subject has come up. Earlier this afternoon I stumbled across an interesting Youtube video: (click on the title)

7 Ruthless Decluttering Tricks Seniors Use 

to Clear Entire Homes in 48 Hours

The video teaches to look at your stuff according to these principles:

1) can't live without it

2) might need it some day

3) give yourself permission to be wrong about a few things instead of being trapped by everything

waiting to go to its new home

Both Gary and I have eliminated things as we have brought our lives together under one roof. Recently he gave this rocking chair to one of our (his) sons. Gary gave it to his late wife at their first Christmas, so it was only right to pass it on to her son. It's a very comfortable rocker. Our (Gary's) daughter-in-law said they have a guest room of antiques and this would be a perfect addition.

To respond to the question about accumulating, after emptying my 2-story house a few years ago so I could move in with Gary, I nearly abhor the idea of buying more "stuff." We are blessed with plenty.

And yes, I have a bag in the master closet to which I often add more things to be donated. 

4. You're planning a trip. Do you prefer exploring big cities or smaller, more off the grid towns? World Atlas lists these 12 'off the grid' towns to see in 2025. How many on the list have you seen? Of those listed, which one would you most like to visit and why. 

Middlebury Vermont

Middlebury Vermont - I may have been there during my leaf-peeping tour bus vacation in New England in about 2007.

New Hope Pennsylvania - sounds good to me

Rehoboth Beach Delaware - my family visited this beach several times when my children were school-aged.

Medora North Dakota - haven't been there but lived in SOUTH Dakota for 4 years. That's probably enough of the Dakotas for me at this stage of my life (lotta wind and snow).

Ouray Colorado - lived in Colorado for many years but never made it to Ouray. Crested Butte is probably the closest I got to Ouray. All beautiful "God's Country" in my opinion.

5. Have you ever... 

ridden a motorcycle? yes

been to a Disney park? yes

met a celebrity? depends on how you define 'celebrity', but yes

Tell us something about whatever you answered yes to on this list. I had emergency surgery about ten days after delivering my second son. My mother had already flown out from Chicago to help us. My father rode his motorcycle from Chicago to South Dakota to visit us and to see the newest baby. Although I was terribly weak from blood loss and surgery, when Daddy asked if I wanted a ride on his motorcycle, I quickly agreed. My mother had a fit about it, but Daddy kept the ride short. He took us to I-90, getting on at one exit and getting off at the very next exit. I just held on tight to Daddy's waist and it was great!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

40 years of Christmas newsletters

Returning to the subject of decluttering, the above photo is the folder where I have collected the Christmas newsletters I've written since 1980, the year my first husband and I had been married ten years. I have enjoyed composing these letters and kept them all. (One year, 1989, our Beagle wrote the letter for me!) I realized the folder had a lot of duplicate copies, so a few weeks ago I eliminated the duplicates.

a Printshop program on my computer 
was a big help
I no longer have access to that program

While I consider myself to be pretty efficient (aka 'ruthless') at de-cluttering, it is not a favorite chore. Memories, both good and bad, get stirred up. That may have a lot to do with why de-cluttering is avoided by so many. 

quiet road in Newberry, Florida

He restores my soul:

he leads me in the paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Psalm 23:3 

May this be the desire and prayer of us all, that the Lord would lead us in paths of godliness.

Until next time, grace and peace.

*P.S. After that rain storm mentioned above, we learned the total amount was 5+ inches!

Recently.....

our potted Mandevilla 

Our younger, more rowdy days are behind us. I have learned this about myself over the years:  hot sticky weather combined with loud fireworks out on the driveway are not a good mix for me. 

Especially in this season of my life, I prefer quieter celebrations. This past holiday weekend was exactly that. Here are snapshots from the memories we made.

front yard

As with all patriotic holidays, Gary posted the American flag in our front lawn. There was no breeze for this photo-op, but the colors still looked great in the morning sunshine.

If you look closely in the grass, to the southwest of the flag pole, you'll see a small blue-green rain gauge cup. The rainy season is here. We've had a good downpour on several days recently. I think it was on July 3rd that we got a full 2 inches in one storm. 

On the subject of rain, I will stop here to express my sincere condolences to our fellow Americans in Texas who have had the catastrophic flooding and shocking loss of life. I pray for any who may still be in need of rescue and for the comfort of those who have personal loss. As one of my Daughters-in-Law who is a former first responder said on Facebook, remember the many who are working on the search and recovery. Even though this is the career for some, it's not an easy calling.

My favorite and trusted donation agency for catastrophes like this:

Samaritan's Purse
click on the link to contact

In times like this the shock is profound. I have no other words about this tragedy that have not already been expressed by so many. When we can't find the words to pray, the Lord reads our hearts. 

holiday garments

Returning to the 4th of July, I wore the two shirts I save for patriotic occasions.

front row parade seating in our back yard

Where we live, nearly every other house has a golf cart in the garage. Holiday parades are the norm. We don't have the space nor a desire for a golf cart, but are content to pull out our canvas patio chairs to watch the celebration drive by.

one of 20 or 25 golf carts in the parade

Our community is huge, so the parade is limited to one of the primary loops, which is on the other side of the berm behind our house. Generous decorations, honking horns, waving flags, calling out to on-lookers, and some with their own music -- it's a fun tradition. 

Washington Monument souvenir from 1984-1988

Very early in our relationship, Gary and I discovered we both had not only lived in the greater Washington DC area, but it would not be unreasonable to imagine we might have crossed paths at some time, most likely in the underground metro (subway) system. We enjoy sharing with each other our experiences of living there. 

Watching the explosions of color within view of the Washington Monument and the Capitol was memorable. It's possible that Gary and I could have watched the same fireworks, but of course that was many years before life-changing events and circumstances brought us to meet face-to-face here in Florida. 

Our lunch on this 4th of July, was home-grilled hamburgers and French fries. All weekend we sliced into a Poke Cake made with strawberry Jell-o and Cool Whip until it was all gone.

PBS version of the 4th of July
Washington DC, 2025

When it was time for the fireworks, we enjoyed those at home, too. The forecast expected hard rain off and on all through the evening, but our plan all along was to enjoy the show from the comfort of our recliners in the living room via TV.

One of my favorite parts of the show was the Beach Boys, who gave us 4 songs.

Since our weather has been too hot and/or rainy to do much outside (with the exception of our after-breakfast bicycle ride), I read two books that gripped my attention so completely that I could hardly put them down and finished them both in just days.

In the Presence of My Enemies

This, from our public library's biography section, is the true story of a  an American missionary pilot and his wife who lived in the Philippines. In 2001 they were kidnapped by a terrorist group with ties to Osama bin Laden. Held captive for a little over a year, the wife tells the story with the co-author help of Dean Merrill from Focus on the Family. I remember when this happened but had never read the story. 

Cold Before Morning

This second book was not a terrifying read like the first one, but a good story of a Scottish family's history as they immigrated to North and  Central Florida. With the growing number of day trips we have taken to smaller towns north of Orlando, I was interested to read how this area was settled, the wars fought, and how Florida became famous for its orange orchards. 

Camp Blanding in Starke, Florida
(Florida National Guard)

Speaking of our day trips, this week we drove to Starke, Florida to visit the World War II Museum at Camp Blanding. Established in 1990, the museum features displays from Camp Blanding's history and involvement during WWII. 

There were many life-like scenes such as this one with descriptions of the guns, vehicles, and clothing from that war.

helmets

We were welcome to pick up, and even try on, this variety of helmets, some heavier than others (surprisingly heavy!).

example of where soldiers slept

Based on his Air Force basic training and years of service, Gary told me the three different ways airmen were taught to make up their beds. Depending on the requirements of the day of the week, the beds were made according to these designations:

Dust Cover

White Collar

Open Air

Gary made immediate note that the museum people did NOT know how to make Hospital Corners. (When we wash our sheets every week and then make our bed together, Gary makes a perfect hospital corner on his side. Mine, well, not so much, but that's mostly because the mattress is very heavy.)

We saw examples of practical (personal) matters in addition to the implements and techniques of warfare.

There was this famous painting by Norman Rockwell from an issue of the Saturday Evening Post.

dress made from a parachute

Since I have enjoyed needle and thread since the age of about nine, this dress really caught my eye. It was made by a French farmer's wife from two parachutes picked up from the field. The label says the parachutes "were from the D-Day jump of men from the 508th PIR outside of Ste-Mere-Eglise." 

As we returned to our car, Gary insisted my picture be taken beside one of the static displays of an army tank:

And of course I wanted his picture with an Air Force F106 Delta Dart.

Gary 

One of his duties in the early years of his military career was to guard aircraft on the flightlines in Japan, Minnesota, Thailand, and Maine. After that he became a Special Agent in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. 

Junior

As I close out this post of recent events with us, I am giving a shout-out to one of my sons who is celebrating a BIG birthday today. Named after his dad, now that Senior is deceased, Junior still keeps that designation to his name, even though by law that is not required. He tells me he is proud to have his dad's name and for others to know he is named after him.

"Brad, turn off the TV and go clean up that mess you left on the table! And pick up your jacket!!"

"Y'know, it'll be a relief when Brad goes off to college! I mean, can you tell me ONE useful thing that kid does around here?"

"Yes. He's the only one in this house who can set the clock on the VCR."

"Oh.... That's right ..."

I have saved this cartoon, clipped from our newspaper in the 1990s, because it spoke well for us at that time. I feel sure many of the readers of my generation can say the same!

Until next time, grace and peace.