Thankfulness In Pictures This Week

Inspired by my sweet friend over at Life on a Back Road, my post today is about things this week that I am thankful for.  I hope you’ll visit her as she attempts to post each day this month.

On bed rest, waiting for surgery next week, to say that I am anxious would be an understatement.  Fearful, is more like it.  I am so thankful that the Lord is addressing my fear.  Verses leap off the page as I spend my morning time with Him.

 

 

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness…For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”  
                                                                                                        Isaiah 41:10, 13

His “text message” is that He’s going to hold my hand through this!  Wow!  That makes me feel seriously better!

I’m thankful for the surety of the changing seasons that God gave us.  Autumn being my favorite, I get a thrill over even the tiniest of fall things, down to seeing the backside of a fall wreath hanging on our side porch door.

I’m thankful for my hubby’s servants heart and hard working hands, who is pulling more than his fair share.  And I must add, I’m thankful for his fried okra!  He makes the best!

I’m thankful for my relationship with my children. I couldn’t have dreamed up such incredible kids! But God did, and oh how He has blessed me with all three of them!

Here I’m pictured with my oldest daughter, who is my middle child.  She and I frequently are told that we look like twins. ‘Tis rather amusing that her computer’s facial recognition signs me in as her - hee hee - she’d better behave herself!  She does, actually, and polishes her halo twice a day (…and her room, and anything else that my little clean gal can put a shine on!) :D

I’m thankful for the cozy crackling sounds and warm glow as we lit our first fire of the season on Sunday.  

For that matter, I’m thankful for the “lightered stumps” (Huh… I wonder, is that just a southern phrase?) that make for excellent kindling. 

It just occurred to me that lightered stump is quite possibly an unusual thing to put in a thankfulness post, but I am thankful for it, nonetheless. :)

So my next thankfulness subject amused me as I realized the irony of my fire/kindling subject.

I needed a distraction from dreading surgery.  So yesterday my Boy Genius and I set out on a quest to choose a new tablet that would suit me. 

Android?  iOS?  Fire OS (Kindle)?  7 inch?  8?  9?  Oh the choices!  He spent the day with me showing me youtube reviews, he told me techy things that flew right over my head, he patiently repeated and explained further… 

We decided to go for the new Kindle Fire that was released today.  (No affiliation at this point in blogging, just telling you about it.) So I’m thankful for this distraction, and something to look forward to and fiddle with as I recover. 

I’m thankful for a new Victorian chair too, that I am excited about.  I found it at a church rummage sale, but it was already on hold.  I was third on the list of prospective buyers – the first being a lady that owns a bed and breakfast, the second being a church member, and then me.  That didn’t sound too promising.  But the next morning, my hubby was bringing it inside, asking me where do I want to put it!

As I type, I keep getting attention from a certain little someone, so I must add her to my thankful list.  She keeps getting so close as she piles up in bed with me, that I’m having a time capturing any picture here worth posting, but I’ll just post it anyway. :)  

This kind of post is difficult to stop on, because God is infinitely filling our lives with so many reasons to be thankful.  But let me end here by saying, I’m thankful for you, and your visit today!  

Time for Summer Ramblings

Hey there, dear bloggy friends.  What have you been doing to pass the time this summer?

We’ve had a leisurely summer, and stayed cool by watching a few family movies.  My favorite “at home” movie picks so far this summer are:

1.  Unconditional - It was so well done and underscores God’s love.  Although very clean, I wouldn’t recommend this one for the kiddos, unless the parents check it out first due to some intense moments and violence.  Keep a Kleenex handy, a full box of Kleenexes handy!  You can see the complete trailer here, and read a review here.  You don’t want to miss this sweet movie!

2.  Last Ounce of Courage – This movie does a heart good in patriotism.  Good stuff!  See a review here. 

I have been on a history kick and have enjoyed a few afternoon “Sunday drives,” taking pics of old houses:

Isn’t the entranceway to this home beautiful?  Serene.  Peaceful. 
This old southern home is just down the road from us. 

Across the street from it is a home that General Sherman stayed in during the Civil War; 

I guess he liked it, because it’s still here!

I don’t know the history of the one below, but perched gracefully on a hill near the railroad tracks, I suspect it has a story too…

I have a thing for this house, and need to do some investigating and see if I can find out some history about it.

Now, let’s fast forward a few years…

In it’s day, the local old geezers used to meet here, gathering around the fireside on wintery mornings, getting their fill of warm coffee and juicy gossip in this old country store.  I hear tale that a feller could get educated here! :)  Kinda puts me in the Mayberry mood!  (Who am I kidding?  I’m always in the Mayberry mood!)

We got a little Indian history this summer, too, as we traveled to a reservation and attended an Indian fair, which was chock full of handcrafted items,

and fun entertainment. 

(Did you know that Manhattan Island was purchased from the Indians for about $24 in trading goods?)  (Random trivia moment…) 

Back down here in the south…

Here are my sweet gals as they attend a bridal shower on a sunny, Sunday afternoon.

We are looking forward to that special wedding, which is just around the corner.  Don’t you just love weddings?!

Speaking of things we love, we’re due to pay the library a visit soon. There’s nothing wrong with a digital book, but there is nothing like a library full of good books.

 

A hamster on a wheel is a fitting description of me

each morning this month on my treadmill, where I catch a little reading time.

My dear friend over at Life on a Back Road

       has me motivated with her

 “Put One Foot in Front of the Other Challenge.”

I have had to slow down the past several days,

                                            but I am holding out hope

                                              that I am soon to be going again.

Christmas in July is always a way to refresh the mind and spirit,

and I’ve been having fun over at Mrs.T’s Christmas Kitchen.

You will find lots of inspiration and ideas over there!

After my little sweetie's sewing lesson on Wed. afternoons with a kind lady that lives at my mom’s retirement village, we oftentimes sit outside at McAlister’s Deli, chattering with my mom while enjoying their yummy sandwiches and sweet tea. 

One such evening, several weeks ago, our 30 minute drive home was breathtaking.  As soon we pulled into our driveway, my youngest and I scurried over to the pond, with flip-flops on our feet and cameras in our hands, attempting to capture the beauty of God’s painted sky, which I will leave you with.  Hope ya’ll are having a fun summer!  Stay cool!

A Century Ago

Happy New Year! 

As we celebrate the dawn of 2012, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back 100 years ago (and no, I wasn’t around then :-)). 

Care to join me?  Let’s begin this journey of 1912 with some top headlines of the day...

The year kicked off with New Mexico becoming the 47th state on Jan. 6.

 

Shortly following, the union also gained Arizona on February 14.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It!

Word traveled speedily in the spring of 1912 with tragic news.

After a four day journey, the “unsinkable” Titanic hit an iceberg on April 14, sinking in the North Atlantic's frigid waters.  About 1500 lives were lost.

The ocean liner Carpathia rescued just over 700 survivors, on April 15.

In other major news of the year,

Taft and Roosevelt battled it out in the Republican primary.  However, Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected as the 28th president of the United States in this three way race.

Famous people that were born in 1912 include:

Julia Child          Art Linkletter
Perry Como        Vivian Vance
Dale Evans         Gene Kelly

 

Humanitarian and founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton, died at the age of 90 in 1912.

Beloved Canadian novelist, Lucy M. Montgomery’s Chronicles of Avonlea was published in 1912.  One of my favorites!

The Tale of Mr. Tod, by Beatrix Potter was first published in 1912.  (Her complete works were a Christmas gift for my oldest daughter.  She was delighted!)

Also, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ creation “Tarzan of the Apes” was published in “All-Story Magazine”. (His book was published in 1914.)

Cars of 1912:

Louis Chevrolet sits in his prototype, which goes to production as the first Chevrolet in 1912.

A 1912 Ford Model T—isn’t this family cute!

Music:

This was the Ragtime dance era.

 

Fashions of the times:

Weren’t these dresses lovely—so feminine, so modest, and so pretty.  Besides the obvious reasons of dressing modestly, it’s classy.
 

You would pay about 9 cents for a quart of milk.

A gallon of gas was 18-21 cents.

A house would cost around 2000-5000 dollars.

An average income would be just over 14 dollars/week.

People and Places of 1912:

 

 Above is a crowd gathered for the World Series. 

   Titanic Survivors in picture above.

A few ads of the times:

Vintage Magazine Covers of 1912—what artwork!

Thanks for joining me!