Alas poor York I knew thee well...

Well my computer wasn't named York, but he/she is dead. I'm hoping to revive her long enough to get a back up of the last pictures I took.

With that said, it may be a while before I will be posting regularly as I will need to borrow a computer to do my blogging and that isn't always convenient when an idea to post pops into my head.

I hope I can get the old dear repaired soon, but until then, my random thoughts will just have to stay in my head rumbling around making me dizzy.

Later
D

Friday Foto Finish Fiesta - Oh Baby

This adorable little girl, is me at Christmas when I was just 3 years. Also see those shiny shoes? I guess I loved patent leather shoes, because I can remember wearing them all my life. In fact I have a old pair from about ten years ago, in my closet that need to be thrown away.

As a little girl I hated to get dirty. All my life I've heard the story about the time I "ran away" from home. I was mad at my Mom and said I was running way. Mom wisely didn't argue with me, but watched from a window as I carried my little suitcase and walked down the sidewalk. It had been raining earlier in the day and there was a mud puddle at the end of the walk. She said I walked to the end of the walkway but when I came to the mud puddle, I paused, looked around then turned and walked back to the house. As I came in the door, she asked me why I had returned. My answer was I couldn't leave, I'd get my shoes dirty.



That trait did not last I'm afraid.

Want to join the fun? Drop by Candid Carrie's web site. Tell her I sent you.

Later
D

Clouds

I love clouds.


When we were on vacation I took lots of pictures of the beautiful clouds.


Now that I'm home and vacation is just a memory, I like to look at these pictures and remember the wonderful time we had


OK, I'm starting the countdown to next summer's vacation already. ;-)

Wonderful Wednesday - Somebody's Praying

There are many things we can and should do for others. We can give a hug when a friend is sad. Laugh with them when they are glad. We take food when there is an illness or death in a family. We visit those that are no longer able to go out on their own. We can transport to doctor, dentist, or shopping. This is all very important and part of what Jesus tells us to do for others.

But We are to pray for each other too. I've been asked to pray for someone in need and find that is a fearful request. That I am charged with lifting up a pray request to God, makes me realize how unworthy I am. When someone tells me they are praying for me I am humbled.

I've followed Ricky Skaggs' musical career for many years. I first met him at Ralph Stanley's first Bluegrass Festival in McClure VA in 1970 and I was impressed that someone my age was already playing music professionally.

His version of Some body's Praying has always touched me and one of my favorite songs. I'd like to share that song with you.

Listen and enjoy.

Medieval Help Desk - Just too funny

For many years I've worked in IT and too many of those years I worked the Help Desk. For that reason this video appeals to me. I laughed until I had tears. It's been around for years and you may have seen it already but I needed a good laugh today and this came to mind. I hope you enjoy it too.




Later
D

Brasstown Bald GA - Friday Foto Fesita

On our vacation in July we went to Brasstown Bald the tallest mountain in Georgia. As a small child my family lived very close to this mountain and North GA still holds a piece of my heart. From the base of the tower I took a picture of the parking lot and our car. It was a long way down. See the little circle around my car way down there. I am afraid of heights so standing there looking down, made my hiney tingle (as The Pioneer Woman says.) But thankfully the wall around the base of the tower is over waste high so I was actually able to stand there and take lots of picture and enjoy the view.


Here is a close up of our car


When we got back to the car I turned and took a picture of the tower. My son and daughter in law walked up the mountain. I'm not up to that so I rode up in the van, but we did walk down, and I annoyed my son all the way down taking dozens of pictures. Looking at how tiny that tower looked from the parking lot I think I was very smart.



These pictures brought back some wonderful memories of our vacation.

This is a Friday Foto Finish Fiesta, go by Candid Carrie's web site and join in for all the fun. Tell her I sent you.

Chinese Evergreen

I tend to have houseplants that thrive on neglect. I just don't seem to be able to remember to re-pot, trim or prune, let alone water my plants. I would have thought that all my plants would be dead by now, but I've discovered several plants that can tolerate my brand of care, Chinese Evergeens. There are two versions that I've collected over the years. I started when I saw the lady that took care of the plants in our office trimming and cutting these plants. I asked what they did with the cuttings and she said they were thrown into the trash. I asked for some and the rest is history.

They don't require a lot of light. They can survive not being watered for a week at a time when we've been out of town.

It appears when they become root bound they also will bloom. I've had this plant for several years and only in the last couple of years has it bloomed.

If you are considering taking the plunge into house plants I'd recommend this plant as a hearty plant that can thrive without a lot of hands on care. A little water and not much more is all it takes.


NOTE: If you have small children or pets be aware this plant is poisonous so keep it out of reach.

http://www.plant-care.com/chinese-evergreen-aglaonema-care.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aglaonema

Things Can Change So Quickly

I gave our pup, Trixie, a bath the other day and was finally able to get some pictures of her clean and fluffy. So I played around with the effects on her picture. I thought it made her look rather regal.


But she is a dog that loves to get in the dirt. To dig and play.


So just a few minutes after the picture above,

she looked like this.


...guess it's time for another bath.

More Courthouse Pictures

I found a few other pictures of the old courthouse and decided to post them.

I am looking forward to visiting Blairsville again this fall.

The Old Courthouse

When I was about four my family lived in Blairsville, GA. This past summer we vacationed there and I took some pictures of the surrounding area. I love this picture. As a small child I recall my parents taking me to town and in my memories the courthouse is always part of the picture, when I think of Blairsville. This picture makes me feel happy and reminds me of my childhood. Maybe that's partly why I love old buildings.

This is a Friday Foto Finish Fiesta, go by Candid Carrie's web site and join in for all the fun. Tell her I sent you.

Never Forget!

Timeless Beauty

I love this picture. It is of our friend from Kentucky whom I wrote about in Remembrance. We were fortunate enough to see them again over the Labor Day weekend at the Armuchee Bluegrass Festival. I had my new camera with me and began to take so many pictures that everyone eventually ignored me. That is when I love taking pictures because they are no longer paying attention to me or the camera. That is when I get the best shots. This one came as she turned in her chair to watch her husband. She took on a classic pose and had such a beautiful serene expression on her face. This picture so captures their relationship. After all their years of marriage, they still look at each other with deep love and affection. That is the kind of love I want. It's timeless.

An Unexpected Pleasure

I had a wonderful day Saturday. My daughter-in-law and I went shopping and then had lunch together. It was a very pleasant day. I knew it would be, she is a joy and I thank God she is part of our family.

I always take a little "back road" on the way home from their house to avoid traffic and because it is fun to drive the curvy little road. Years ago this was a very rural area with farms and fields all around. Today there are still a few pastures and a small barn or two, but mostly there are houses and subdivisions with a few small ponds dotted along the way. On occasion I've seen cows, horses and a few geese near the ponds. Saturday, however, I came across an unexpected sight.

As I rounded a curve there was a line of geese crossing the road. Momma, or their leader, must have decided they needed to visit the pond across the road and they were all leisurely strolling over to visit the neighbors. Traffic stopped. I fumbled for my phone to catch some pictures. They didn't seem a bit worried about cars sitting there, motors running. No horn blew. No one yelled or shouted for them to hurry up. We sat there and watched the very orderly procession as they waddled across the road.

I know some kindergarten teachers that would love to have their students so orderly. When it was over we laughed and shook our heads as we drove away. An unexpected pleasure that made me smile and laugh. A very nice finish to an already wonderful day.

Why did the geese cross the road? To get to the other side....

Morning Has Broken

I saw this beautiful sunrise this morning and it reminded me of my relationship with Christ. He is always there, always available. But if I let clouds come between us, I can't see him as clearly. He doesn't move, it is always me that allows "stuff" to come between us.

LORD, I pray that I will clear away the clouds and focus on you. To clearly see you and your plan for my life.

Later

D

Food & Family

I subscribe to a lot of cooking and recipe newsletters. America's Test Kitchen, Cooking.com, All Recipes just to name a few. But perhaps one of the most helpful is from Kraft Foods Food & Family. What I like about this cooking magazine is that it offers recipes for things I have on hand in my pantry. The fall edition arrived today and there are some delicious looking dishes on it's pages. To be honest you can find the tasty yet higher fat recipes, but there are also healthy dishes as well. This is a well rounded magazine that has an entire section of healthy recipes.

You can sign up to receive the magazine free at their web site. You can also view it on line by clicking on the picture of the magazine.

I love getting free stuff. Hope you do too.

Later
D

Drop It

We are working on obedience training for our little dog, Trixie. One of the commands is "drop it" to get her to drop whatever she has in her mouth. The second part of that command is "leave it." This has been very challenging and it's going to require much more practice and patience on our part before we have success. She doesn't want to let go of her treasure, even when it's something that might do her harm. Then when we do get her to "drop it", she won't "leave it," she will pick it right back up.

I became very frustrated as we worked on this the other day and it occurred to me that this is very much like leaving our burdens at the feet of Jesus. The Bible tells us in Matthew 15:30 that those that were sick were laid at Jesus' feet and He healed them.

And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:

I had a "Wow" moment, with I realized that I too "drop" my problems at Jesus' feet only to pick them up again. I've not learned my lesson either.


Looks like I need to work on "drop it" and "leave it" too.

Later
D