Photo Blogging Challenge (April 2016): Vibrant

At the beginning of the month we took a trip down to Tennessee to visit family.  Our timing was perfect.  We left gray, cold, snowy weather and drove into sunshine and landscapes green and lush with spring flowers - just right for this month's Vibrant challenge. 

 

  

 

 

We ended the month by tackling our burn pile.  Finally, the dead River Birch was dry enough to catch.  We also had last year's Christmas tree on the pile, and just two flicks of the lighter, things were crackling. 

 

 

To see more, visit A 'lil Hoohaa

 

AMDG 

A good read: The Chestertons and the Golden Key

Have you ever been asked if you could pick three people, past or present, with whom to have dinner, who would they be?  The first for me is always easy, it would be GK Chesterton.  So, when I started reading The Chestertons and the Golden Key, I found myself getting a little jealous of sisters Clare, Joan and Cece.  After all, what GKC fans wouldn't want to spend time with such a brilliant and genlte man?  Although this story is a work of fiction, it is, in fact, based on the real life friendship formed between the Chestertons and the young girls. 

While in town, Cece and Joan spy visiting author GK Chesterton and his wife, Frances.  Knowing that this is the favorite author of their older sister, Clare, they run home to fetch her.  Thus begins a wonderful adventure full of hijinks, hope and love.   

Nancy Carpentier Brown weaves a delightful tale, that, although geared for young readers, adults will thoroughly enjoy as well.  The book is illustrated with lovely drawings by Anna Engelhart.

AMDG

TToT(15): Catching Up

 

I seem to be better at doing these monthly rather than weekly, so here it goes.  Catching up since last time.

 

one:  At the beginning of the month we drove to Tennessee to visit my aunt and uncle.  As always, it was great to see them.

 

two:  There was something different about this trip.  Usually we are ready to come home, but not this time.  We could have stayed much longer.

 

three:  We had great timing throughout the trip.  We left later than we had wanted, but it ended up working in our favor.  We missed the bulk of a heavy rainstorm and only had to drive in light rain and drizzle.  By the time we arrived, it was clear, sunny and twenty degrees warmer than when we had left.

 

four:  We went back to Cades Cove, but went on a Monday morning rather than Sunday.  Big, BIG difference in the amount of people there.  As in a whole lot less.

 

five:  While at Cades Cove we saw a bobcat, a coyote, and some interesting birds.  When there are a lot of people and traffic there, the critters tend to hide.

 

six:  We missed a snowstorm while we were gone.  From what we gather there was about four to six inches of snow, all which was melted by the time we got home.

 

seven:  Sunsets over the lake are stunning.

 

eight:  I've been seeing more and more critters around here on my morning walks with the hairy beast.  In just the last two weeks I have seen a muskrat in the stream, a large owl fly by and land in a tree, deer cross the road, and a pileated woodpecker pounding  tree looking for bugs.  The owl was a first for me.

 

nine:  I've got to copy off of Christine's post last week.  The asparagus is growing!  I say that excitedly since I hadn't seen any until late this week and had thought it had all died.

 

ten:  I will be heading outside to plant a tree in the front yard.  My aunt had dug up and potted a Japanese Maple for me and I have just the perfect spot for it.  I love getting plants that had their start in the yards of family and friends.

 

bonus:  The Cavs have won their first three playoff games against Detroit.  Dare we hope for a sweep of this series?

 

Check out more goodness at  one of these hosts:

 A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, The Meaning of Me, Thankful Me, Uncharted, The Wakefield Doctrine .

 

AMDG

Just When I Thought I’ve Seen It All

On Tuesday we came home after visiting family in Tennessee.  It was a wonderful trip and we were pleasantly surprised at how well the drive had gone.  We hadn’t run into too many doofuses (or is that doofi?).  That is until we were about an hour or so from home.

Let me set the stage.  It was around 6pm, give or take, and rush hour traffic in this rural area was not very heavy.  The speed limit was 70mph and most people were pushing past that a bit.

We were driving in the middle lane of the three that are there.  We noticed a silver Buick Lucerne hanging out in the left lane up ahead.  Car after car came up behind it, slowed down, waited, and then finally passed on the right.

As we approached the car we were guessing that about who the driver could be.  I figured it was an elderly driver.  Whoever it was didn’t get the concept that the left lane is the high speed, or passing, lane.

The person wasn’t old, not at all.  It was a young woman with apparently better things to do than pay attention to the road.

Her right hand, which held a cell phone, was resting on the top of the steering wheel.  She had her sun visor down and the cover of the vanity mirror on it flipped open.  And, she was leaning up to the mirror putting a contact in!  All at seventy plus miles per hour!

We couldn’t get away from her fast enough.

I’m still shaking my head.

AMDG

First Photo: April 2016

 

What's the saying?  A day late and a dollar short.  That's me recently.  Good intentions but behind as always.  The picture was taken on time, processed on time, just not posted on time. 

 

At least Spring has arrived on time, and in all its glory.  Green is showing up everywhere along pops of color - peach and purple hyacinths and golden yellow daffodils. 

 

Yeah God!

  

AMDG

Easter People

 

We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery - the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. “We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!”. We are not looking for a shallow joy but rather a joy that comes from faith, that grows through unselfish love, that respects the “fundamental duty of love of neighbour, without which it would be unbecoming to speak of Joy”. We realize that joy is demanding; it demands unselfishness; it demands a readiness to say with Mary: “Be it done unto me according to thy word”.  

- ANGELUS St. JP II

 

Wishing you and yours a blessed and joyous Easter!

AMDG

Lent, huh?

I think we go into Lent with all sorts of plans.  We want to make it a time of penance and spiritual growth.  We might try to give up something, maybe candy, or alcohol, computer time, TV,  or breakfast runs at Mickey D’s.  Or, we think to do something extra – daily rosaries, Eucharistic adoration, good deeds, spiritual reading.  

But, invariably we fail.  Okay, maybe you don’t, but I do, miserably.

Lent, huh?

I attended our parish mission with the hope of gaining some peace and new insights into our faith.  Miserable failure.  Really.  Miserable.

Lent, huh?

I need a beer.  Well, I want a beer.  Out goes that sacrifice.

Maybe I'll do something else instead.  Or try harder.  Or give up giving up.

This Lent has made me think that this is a time when God laughs.  You had plans?

Perhaps what we were doing wasn't what we were supposed to be doing.  This seems to be a time meant to be open to opportunities as they present themselves.

• Dealing with heath issues or helping another with theirs.
• Letting go of long held desires or goals.
• Being available and open to someone who needs an ear to listen. 

Lent, huh?

Not what we plan, but definitely what we need. 
 

AMDG

TToT (14): A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

It's been entirely too long since I've done one of these.  There's a lot of catching up to do.

- one-

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we decided one day that we were bored and the best time to start a new project was right before the holidays and right before I was to leave town for a work trip.  We decided to paint one of the bedrooms that we use as a sitting room.  I think this falls into the category of "We've done dumber things."  Just a couple of weeks ago, we finally finished (mostly) the painting and started getting the room back in order.

- two-

We replaced the ugly ceiling fan.  Thanks to Himself's good taste, we sent back the not so pretty light fixture I had picked out and installed this one.  Holy cow!  I didn't realize just how overwhelming the fan was in the room until it was gone.  The room feels so light and airy now.

- three-

I am very, VERY thankful for drop clothes when painting.  Ask me how I know.  Go on.  Ask me.  See that corner in the left of the picture?  When I was painting there I kinda tipped the paint tray over.  Thankfully, that green sheet on the floor in the right corner was moved over to the left corner when I did it.  No carpeting was harmed in this project. (Another "dumber thing" perhaps?)

- four-

I gave the hairy beast his annual haircut.  Over the winter he gets rather matted and starts to look like a Rastafarian pooch with all his dreadlocks.  He is quite patient with me, but needed a water break halfway through. 

- five -

We have had some tremendously awesome weather here for the beginning of March.  Sunshine and temps in the sixties and seventies just revive my spirit and make me smile. 

.

- six -

I've go my sewing "mojo" back.  I started on a quilt for my niece maybe a year ago.  Nothing difficult, but somehow I just kept avoiding it.  With some inspiration from this dear blogger (check out her Irish chain quilt about halfway down the post) I got back at it.  I finished piecing the top and will be bringing it to a local shop to be quilted.  More to come on that.

- seven -

That sewing mojo?  It continues on.  I started and am making great progress on a quilt for the sitting room.  We had collected fabric with which I had intended on making a "raggedy" quilt, but decided to just do a "regular" one.  Good decision.

- eight -

 Have I ever mentioned just how much I love Amazon Prime?  I found a print I forgot I had and decided to frame it for the sitting room.  It's an odd size and I wanted a frame it without a matt, but wanted some color around it.  After looking at all the craft stores in the area for an unfinished wood frame, I searched Amazon and found just what I wanted.  Two days later it was in my hands and ready  for the dark green stain that we had leftover from another project.  It turned out better than I hoped.

- nine -

We celebrated Himself's birthday at Sis's house last weekend.  At her bedtime, my niece cannot possibly go to bed without a story or two.  Aunt Donna and Uncle Himself were more than happy to oblige.  It melts heart to see these two together!

- ten -

I took a vacation day on Monday and we celebrated the aforementioned birthday by going to the market and then out to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants.  It is in an old bank building, built when banks were grand and majestic.  Thankfully they kept all the beautiful architecture.  And, the food is as good as the ambiance!

Check out more goodness at  A Fly on Our (Chicken Coop) Wall.

AMDG

First Photo: March 2016

The view of the garden this month is not all that much different than the one at the beginning of February.  The garden is still brown and the grass a dormant green.  It looks the same, and, if you didn't know any better, nothing happened this past month.  

In those in between days, though, we saw snow come and go, several times over.

I think people are sometimes like that, too.  On all outwards appearances, they seem the same, but we are never privy to all that goes on.  

Life happens when we're not looking.

AMDG

Watch Your Language . . .You Never Know Who’s Listening

Last Monday, Himself asked me how my drive home from work was.  I grumbled something about getting behind every stupid, moronic, idiot driver that was out there on the roads.

I’m sure you handled it well, he responded.

I didn’t, unfortunately.  I said a whole lot of bad words.

He was surprised.  When someone is in the car with me, I usually keep calm and watch my language.  Not when I’m alone.  All bets are off.

Your mom is there with you.

Huh?

Pennies from heaven.  

My mom seemed to find money laying around wherever she went, sometimes in the oddest of places.  Most of the times it was coins, but on occasion it was paper money as well.  She and my dad started keeping a jar of “found money” and every July would tally it up and go spend it all.  One year it was well over a hundred dollars.

Now when I find coins, I look up, and say ‘hi’ to mom.  I keep a couple of those “pennies from heaven” in the cup holder in the car.  Mom rides along with me.

It must be something about Mondays that makes people exceptionally bad drivers.  I met a few more of them on the road today.  And, I didn’t say any of those “uck” words that she so disliked.


AMDG