Friday Photos....

Happy Friday!  I do have a few new photos to share today.  We have had a beautiful "winter" week here in central Florida.  Our high temps have been in the low 70s and it has been sunny with lovely blue skies.  We went to the farm (Joe's client) on Wednesday...

Majesty is gentle and beautiful.  Loves carrots!

Pistol is aggressive and not very nice, but he loves carrots

and tries to get them all.  I have to push him away all the time.

Vanna has a lame leg and is afraid of Pistol.  I have to toss the

carrots to her.  She is a sweetheart.

Doc is a sweetheart and also loves carrots.  He and Pistol are nearly

joined at the hip, but Doc is sweet.

I didn't have carrots left for the goats but they were getting fed grain

five minutes after this photo so they did not go hungry.

Tex was out of his kennel and got several dog treats from me.

I didn't see the three littles but Roho also got treats in his kennel.

Their kennels are HUGE, by the way, with straw and igloos

to keep them warm on cold nights. Tex and Roho are working dogs.
The three littles live in the house with the owners.

We only saw a few cattle on our way out.  That tree is heavy with Spanish moss.

On Thursday, my day started with a dental appointment.

It went well. My gums are good and, except for the tooth that needs to

be pulled, everything looked good to the tech and the dentist. 

I also had an appointment with our Chiropractor, Dr. Lucido, Thursday

afternoon.  He says my hip is a little out of kilter and did an adjustment.

He also said my lower back muscles are a tight mess so he worked on them

a bit. Told me to not sit for more than 30 minutes without getting up (I think

he knows about our marathon TV watching) and to ice my lower back and

keep doing the stretches I got from the knee therapist.

This was my devotion yesterday morning. I subscribed to Mornings With Jesus,

by Guideposts.  I really enjoy the messages and this one hit home for me.

I have been feeling guilty about saying no to helping with an event at

church next weekend that would have me on my feet and walking around

for much longer than I know I will be comfortable doing. 

When I read this, I also remembered my mom saying that she

found saying "no" to be the hardest thing to do, but she learned to do it.

There was a time when she was out at one meeting or another nearly

every night of the week... plus having four kids, a husband,

and a nearly full-time job.  She was wonder woman, Girl Scout Cookie Chair,

Band Boosters, PTA, Church Choir.... on and on. Bless her.

We need to say no sometimes and not feel bad about it.

So, happy weekend!!  Thanks for your visit!

Peace & hugs!  God bless!! 

Thankful Thursday with Rebecca Jo...

It is time to share our blessings with others via Rebecca Jo's Thankful Thursday Meme.  You can find her HERE to join in at Knit By God's Hand.

I am thankful for humor and laughter!!  My brother-in-law (Joe's older brother, Lou) sent these to me yesterday and I giggled all the way through them.  On this Thankful Thursday, I am thankful for family and for laughter and for learning a new word that is SO fun to say!!  I hope you enjoy these. 

The first time I heard about Paraprosdokians, I liked them. Paraprosdokians are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected and is frequently humorous. 

(Winston Churchill loved them).

1.. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

2.. The last thing I want to do is hurt you ... but it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4.. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5.. We never really grow up -- we only learn how to act in public.

6.. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.

7.. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8.. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

9.. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

10. In filling out an application, where it says, "In case of emergency, notify... " I answered " a doctor."

11. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

12. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

13. I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.

14. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

15. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

16. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

17. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

Sadly this is true!!! So...  Spread the laughter, share the cheer, let's be happy, while we're here.

Thanks for your visit! Peace & hugs!  God bless!!

Whimsical Wednesday...

Baby, it's cold outside!!  Layers are in right now!

She is wearing this vintage velvet jacket with her jeans

but needs some boots to wear with them...

Boots #1?

 Boots #2

 or Boots #3?

There is no linky. This is just for fun. Choose your pair of boots and let us know why!

Read what others write and have some fun!

(Photos from The Storybook Of Dreams & Beauty)

My thoughts:  I think the jacket is very cute but doesn't look especially comfortable.  I probably wouldn't wear it, even if it came in my size.  As for the boots...  #2 would not be good in the cold.  I love the flowers on #1 and the bees on #3, and the heal on #3 looks much easier to walk in.  I think the flowers on #1 will complement the outfit best.  Granted, I would not wear any of them but this is just a whimsical thing...

Thanks for your visit!!  Peace & hugs!!  God bless!!

Tuesday 4...

Tuesday 4

Four questions weekly

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman? Tuesday 4 #4

Welcome to another Tuesday 4 invented by Toni Taddeo and kept in the memory of her.
Do You Want to Build a Snowman is a song from the movie Frozen, but I think it would make for some great questions too.

Here we go:

1. Have you built snowmen, women or even entire families of snow people like little sister Tootie did in Meet Me in St. Louis?  I built snowmen when I was in school but never an entire snow family.  Did you use a carrot for the nose?   No, I don't think so.  Probably a stick. 

2. Are you hoping for snowmen to melt soon in hotter weather?  We don't have to worry about that in Florida. Tell us about your favorite time of year and please let us know why you love it. List some ingredients of that season that make it special for you.  Winters in Florida are the best!

3. Remember bundling up as a child?  Yes. It took so long to do then you had to go potty and all those layers had to come off again!  Is dressing up something you enjoy doing?  Why?  Dressing up in winter clothes? No. Dressing up fancy... no, not so much anymore.

4. In Frozen, the little girl desperately wants to reconnect with her sister and reminds her of the happy times of building snowmen.  Are you disconnected from anyone you'd love to reunite with?  No one comes to mind.  What happy times with friends and siblings brings you fond memories and smiles to you?  I am 68 years old.  There are way too many happy times to list here but I know I am blessed to have so many wonderful memories and more happy times to come.

Link up with us and join in. People love to hear about you and your thoughts. It brings people closer together and helps make friends and relationships.

Linkback on your post so others will know and join in with us. The more the merrier!
Blogging and answering questions preserves a part of you for posterity as well.

You can find the questions HERE if you want to join in on Tuesdays.

Thanks for your visit!  Peace & hugs!  God bless!!

Monday's Weekend Recap...

We spent another quiet weekend!  Helen and Cheryl came for dinner on Saturday. I already posted about that.  This is an older picture of our friends...

On Sunday, we went to Sunday school and church.  Our old neighbors from the old neighborhood dropped in around 4:00 to visit. It was great catching up with them and their family.  They have a new great-grandson and their youngest granddaughter is graduating in May.  They were our neighbors for 25 years and some of you will remember that we took care of their cats when they traveled and they took care of ours. It was great having them next door and it was great seeing them yesterday. This is an older picture of them... but they look exactly like that and not old enough to be great-grandparents!

They left at nearly 6:00 so we decided to forego the leftovers and just order Philly Cheesesteak subs from Jersey Mike's, which is five minutes away.  The leftovers will still be good tonight!

I am having lunch with a few of my girlfriends today! Looking forward to that.

Thanks for stopping by!  Peace & hugs!!  God bless!!

Sunday Stealing from Swap-bot...

You can join Sunday Stealing HERE.  Thanks to Bev Sykes for this week's questions!

Winter Questions

Our host is Bev Sykes of the blog "Funny the World". . Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Winter questions are stolen from Swap Bot

How do you get past the gray skies during winter?  We don't have gray skies in Florida very often!

Do you like snow? Why or why not?  I don't like snow at all and don't care to see it ever again!  Too cold, too hard to drive in, I hate shoveling snow and cleaning off the car before going anywhere!

What are your favorite activities to do during the winter?  Go to the beach. Cook on the grill. Sit outside enjoying the weather!

What does a perfect winter day look like to you?  78°, sunny, no humidity.

What are your favorite meals/food you enjoy eating during the winter?  If it is cool, chili is good.

What is your favorite winter holiday and why?  I don't really have a "favorite".  Any day in Florida, in the winter, is a holiday!

What is your favorite pizza flavor and toppings?  Thin crust, pepperoni, mushrooms, hot peppers.

What are some items in your daily bag/ backpack?  Wallet, phone, chapstick, plus way too much other junk! LOL

Your favorite snacks.  Salty... usually chips or pretzels.

Some foreign countries that you would like to visit?  Italy again; Scotland; Ireland; Germany

What things remind you of home?  My childhood home?  Weldon's Ice Cream; Buckeye Lake; the Sweet Corn Festival...

If you have one, some items from your Amazon Wishlist?  The new Keurig K-Duo coffee pot and a new sewing machine.

What was your favorite Christmas gift?  The cross necklace I got from Joe.

We are off to Sunday school and church this morning and then our day is free.  We had Helen and Cheryl over last night for dinner.  I did baked chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, lima beans, a salad, and cherry pie with ice cream for dessert.  We were all full.  There are leftovers for today!

Thanks for your visit!  Peace & hugs!  God bless!!

Take a Stroll on the Saturday 9...

Click HERE to join in!!  Thanks to Sam for this week's questions!

Go Where Baby Lives

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants' posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Go Where Baby Lives (1957)

Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here. 

1) The lyrics tell us that the girl of his dreams lives up on a hill. Is there a hill near your home? Or is the terrain pretty flat where you are?  Central & South Florida are pretty flat, but our Polk County has the highest "hill" above sea level, at 325 feet.  Lakeland is 215 feet above sea level and we do have a few hills that would be fun to sled on if there was ever enough snow (ha ha).

2) Another clue to her whereabouts is that she's about a mile from town. Will you be staying close to home this weekend, or will you be traveling a mile or more?  We will be staying close to home, but our church is about six miles away.

3) Sam admits she's crazy about the sax solo. Is there a particular musical instrument that you love to listen to?  Trumpet.  Brass is boss!!

4) This is the only record The Strollers made for States, a company based out of Chicago. States was only in existence for five years (1952-57) and this was the 63rd or 64 records released before they went out of business. Tell us about a business in your neighborhood that recently closed its doors.  A restaurant called IM Burger closed after only a few months in business.

5) More than 60 years after its initial release, this song enjoyed new popularity when Xfinity used it in commercials for their wifi. What company is your internet service provider? Are you happy with it?  We have Spectrum for TV, Internet, and our land-line phone.  It is much too expensive but is mostly reliable and is our only choice unless we go with a satellite company like Direct TV. 

6) In researching this week's song, Sam googled "strollers" and was surprised to discover how many different types of baby buggies are available today. When did you most recently push a child in a stroller?  Twenty-one years ago.  Grandson Tristan is 23 years old and we pushed him around Cypress Gardens when he was twoish.

7) In 1957, the year this song was released, President Eisenhower celebrated his second inaugural with a parade featuring more than 50 marching bands. The mercury never quite reached 45º that day. How's the weather outside your front door?  This weekend we are back in the high 50s at night and mid-70s during the day. Our normal winter weather!

8) One of the best-selling books of 1957 was Peyton Place. This steamy saga of small-town life launched two films, two television series, and several made-for-tv movies. Is there a book that you enjoyed that was successfully turned to a movie?  They did a decent job with The Hunger Games and with the Harry Potter books.

9) A Peyton Place-inspired question: Can a man be physically unfaithful to a woman, but still love her?  I am sure every man who has strayed would say yes, but adultery is no way to love your wife (or husband).

Happy Saturday!  Thanks for your visit!

Peace & hugs!  God bless!!

 

Friday Photos...

I don't have many photos to share today on this chilly Friday.  Our weather is improving but it has been COLD for us here in central Florida.

We went to the farm (Joe's client) on Wednesday and instead of staying outside to take pictures I sat in the office where it was much warmer.  I did give the dogs their treats and the horses got carrots.  I just didn't hang out for long.

The sun was out, creating shadows, but it was cold!

 Three of the four horses. Majesty left after the carrots

were gone. This is Pistol, Doc, and Vanna.

Wednesday evening we had our small group meeting, already reported in yesterday's post.  We do enjoy it.  One of our group invited us to the Thursday morning Bible Study at our church so Joe and I both went to that yesterday.  The Pastor leads it and the study is about the subject of his coming sermon, so we found it to be very interesting!  It is another fun group and we were welcomed warmly.

There is nothing on the calendar today so no alarm clock for the first time this week!  We talked about going down to Homeland to visit the Alafia River Rendezvous, which is a pre-1840s Camp reenactment (similar to the Scottish Games or a war reenactment).  We have gone before but it has been a few years because of my knees. It involves a good bit of walking.  We decided to let it go again this year since Joe is still recovering.

We have friends who do it every year and love it.  There are about 1,300 people in the camp, dressing as frontiersmen/women.  They cook over fires, live in tents, and enjoy music and visiting.  There is a general store selling leather goods and hides, there is a restaurant, a broom maker, etc., and they also do demonstrations of woodworking and cooking.  Here is a link   It's BIG!  I will say that they are quite comfortable there.  They have real beds, tables, and chairs.  The white canvas tents are two and three rooms with wood-burning stoves for heat (needed this week!).  There is a separate port-a-potty area with men & women's facilities surrounded by fencing so that the "modern" part of the camp doesn't really show.

Our friends are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and decided to renew their vows at the Rendezvous.  I borrowed their picture from her Facebook page.  Both of their sons got to be there for the ceremony and dressed accordingly.  It is great for them to have this memory!!

After Bible Study yesterday we decided to pop into the new Publix Greenwise for a few things.  We bought focaccia (not my pictures) and Joe's favorite Philly-style big pretzels.  We got a few other things too, but only intended to get the pretzels. LOL

Happy Friday, all!!  Thanks for visiting today!

Peace & hugs!!  God bless!!

Thankful Thursday with Rebecca Jo...

Thursday is a great day to count our blessings and Rebecca Jo, Knit By God's Hand, gives us a venue to do just that!!  Visit her HERE and link up with others who are also counting their blessings!

** I am thankful that Joe is feeling much better on day two of his meds, and that the ortho doc finally called and scheduled an appointment for his shoulder!!  It is not until mid-February, but he has an appointment!

** I am thankful that I have a new surgery date!  May 12th.  That gets me through the Mayfaire art festival, Mother's Day, and our 35th wedding anniversary!

** I am thankful that I got to give the horses carrots today and then spent the rest of our time at the farm (Joe's client) in the office where it was a lot warmer than it was outside! It was COLD yesterday morning!!

Pistol, Doc, and Vanna

Majesty was too far away to get in the picture.

** I am thankful for our wonderful neighbors.  We went out to dinner Tuesday night with Jill and Murray, to a new-to-us Thai place called Gosh.  Delicious!  Yesterday, Sharon stopped by to chat and catch-up with us. We hadn't seen her other than to wave for a couple of weeks.

** I am thankful for our small group from church.  We had dinner with them last night and always enjoy the food and the fellowship!

**  There is so much more, including that I am thankful for each of you!  Thanks for your visit!

Peace & hugs!!  God bless!!

Whimsical Wednesday...

There isn't a linky or any rules.  Just pick the shoes you would wear

with the dress, then check out what everyone else thought!

(Photos from The Storybook Of Dreams & Beauty)

Have fun! 

 She is wearing blue velvet but needs to decide

which shoes to wear...

Shoe #1 

Shoe #2

 Shoe #3

My thoughts:  The dress is beautiful and (if it came in my bigger size) I would wear it.   A navy ballerina flat would be my first choice, but she looks like she can walk in heels.  I'll lose the bows on #3 and go with them.  #1 would be a second choice.  What do you think??

---------------------------------------------------------------

Joe got an antibiotic, some prednisone, and some stronger cough medicine

at the doctor's office yesterday.  The ortho appt. fell through the cracks and that

is why we haven't heard about the MRI yet but that is supposedly back in the works.

Not sure he even needs it now.  My surgery is rescheduled for May 12th.

Thanks to all who have been praying!!

We are off to the farm (Joe's client) today and we have our church small group

tonight for dinner and fellowship.  A good day!

Thanks for your visit!!  Peace & hugs!!  God bless!!

Tuesday 4...

Tuesday 4...

Hobby Girls...
Tuesday 4     ^#3

Welcome once again to Tuesday 4 where we are interested in helping to make new friends in the blogging community and get to know one another as well as supply you with some blog material!

Here are this week's questions for you to ponder and share with others on the subject of Hobbies and interests. If you don't have a hobby, there are things that interest you from collecting to politics, everyone has something they especially find interesting.

Here we go!......

1. Do you have a hobby or a special interest?   Not so much now, but I used to make jewelry and I can crochet.

2.  Gardening is a hobby for some.  Do you garden or grow house plants?   I have a brown thumb and do not enjoy working outside or with plants - at all.  Not my thing though I appreciate beautiful plants, flowers, and yards.

3. If you could design a dream garden or park, how would you do it?  See my answer above.  I appreciate God's design all around me. 

4. Do you like being outdoors?   I am not an outdoors person.  Perhaps when my knees are both working and pain-free I will enjoy walking again. 

I reduced the questions to four.  This was much too involved for someone who doesn't care about gardening and plants, so forgive the abbreviated version!  You can join the Meme by clicking below!  Thanks to Annie for continuing the Tuesday 4!!
Join in.. link back to us and make new friends and get to know what others think and feel. 

(Joe has a doctor's appointment at 8:00 this morning about his shoulder and the cough that has gotten worse.)

Peace & Hugs!!  God Bless!!