Tuesday 4~ Summer

Summertime and the Living is Easy? 

Hosted by Anne! 

Well, we hope it's easy anyway.

Welcome back to Toni's Tuesday 4!   Always good to 

have you here. Let's concentrate on the little bit of summer 

that is left shall we?  Weneed to enjoy every season to the 

fullest I  believe.. what say you? Not much more of 

summer left so we better enjoy it while it lasts.

1. What do you like to do in the summer?  As I am older

 now  I  do not especially care for  the hot weather so 

 being outside is no fun for me.  But I do love visiting

 friends and family, especially while the children are out

 of school. 

2. What is your favorite summertime food and beverage?

I love   half sweet / unsweet ice tea  or  regular Dr. Pepper 

 which is my  guilty pleasure. Amanda who studied 

biology and biochemistry told me that no human should

 never ever use  anything  artificially sweetened so 

 I  dont drink  any diet drinks.   but I will drink an occasional

 reg.  Dr. Pepper.  I love veg   and fruit salads,    Mexican  foods,

  and ice cream  during the summer. Another guilty pleasure is

  Denali Moose tracks chocolate ice cream.  Oh , my!  Of course 

I have to eat little  else to make up for it!

3. How do you beat the heat?  Stay in the house. I remember

  when I was growing up and we had no a/c I would go to

 bed with a wet washcloth on my face.  Here where we live

  it is  very humid  in summer and that really knocks the wind

 right out of me. Sometimes we drive down to the lake and  

such sitting by the water  in a shady  place   is  so cooling 

 as the  breezes  waft in from off the lake!

4. What do you really like about the summer season?  It 

was so much easierto answer this question  while I was

 teaching because summer meant summer break. a respite 

from the noise and hub bub of school.  Now  being retired,  

I have no say  unless I have a wonderful time planned 

with our  grands,  I  could just  pass up summer and 

move on to autumn which is my favorite season.I love

 decorating for fall!

Happy Homemaker Monday

 

Our hostess is found here~

The weather: I was excited about this new week, for the forecast said rain the first part of the week, which we need badly, then much cooler the rest of the week. 

Well, it has changed!

Monday partly cloudy 89/68

Tuesday  rain 88/67

Wednesday sunny 85/ 60

Thursday sunny 85/61

Friday cloudy84/65

Saturday cloudy 83/66

  Bah, I am ready for 70’s!

                       

                             Things that make me happy

 

 ::

But I have much to be happy about. We had a grand day yesterday at church. A dear young lady we have known for some time is now engaged to our pastor’s son. The shower was yesterday. It has been eons it seems since I was at a shower.  But the best part was getting to know many more of the women in the church.  It was a lovely time! 

Books I'm reading:

The Book Woman's Daughter, by Kim Michele Richardson, a sequel to  her book  I read last year, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. This was a wonderful book,   and I know this one will  be  amazing, as well!

 A book I picked up at Church, Gentle and Lowly,  The Heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers

by Dane Ortlund.  What an awesome book. 

Paul David Tripp  says it best,  "I have read no book that more carefully or tenderly displays the heart of Christ!"

Shows and Movies

So now on Netflix we are enjoying watching a couple of Outlander shows   at a time as we are working our way through season 5.

Menu Plan:

Monday:  chef salad

Tuesday: spaghetti and salad

Wednesday: chicken strips , slaw, and sweet potato fries

Thursday:hamburgers 

Friday:  fish and chips

On my To Do List

• Design my gallery wall in the living room
• Sort through the cabinets beneath the bookcases in the den to purge things and define some areas of storage  
• Marketing
• Laundry
• Go for allergy shot and then on to Bible study
• I need to purchase some new greeting cards and get back into my habit of sending correspondence 
• Take a meal to my friend who is having a surgical procedure midweek
• Prayer meeting

In the craft basket:  

   Develop my plan for creating the gallery wall in the living room.

Looking forward to this week:

Lynn is getting much done on the den reno and this week we are calling the blind company to set up our order for plantation shutters. Here are my bookcases as of today!

  

  

                                           On my mind:

I really cannot wait until I can get hubs to help me put the gallery wall together. To clue you in, it is only 3 pictures, all special art that has been curated esp-

ecially  for this project. The theme of the selection 

is the wildlife we actually saw while we were in Scotland. You might guess what three animals will be included!

Devotionals, Scripture Reading

Sunday Stealing

Upstream Life

 

 

 "Funny the World". . Welcome to Sunday Stealing.   Hosted by Bev.

 

 

1. Your favorite sport.  I love to watch favorite teams  which 

sport.  but if it is jsut watching a sport I prefer   basketball 

because of the fast pace of the game.
2. A quote to live by. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, 

whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, 

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commend-

able, , if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy 

of praise, think about these things.
3. A city in the US you would like to move to. I suppose 

Massachusetts to be closer to our family.   But I wouldn’t 

really want to live there esp. in winter!
4. 3 beautiful little things in your life. Maputo wonderful 

little grand daughters surely count for two. And that leaves 

my daughter who is much smaller than me!
5. What made you laugh today?  Did I laugh today? I hope 

so but truly do not remember!
6. A good deed you did today..  I made hubs the nicest 

tomato and cheese sandwich iv3 seen in many long months. 
7. Activities you like to do when you are bored. I like to read, 

or watch a YouTube video on places I  love to visit!  Scotland,

  Ireland,  Boston, etc!
8. Are you a procrastinator? Unfortunately, yes! 
9. Your thoughts about dying. It is nothing more than a 

transition from this life to eternal life.  No reason to fear if 

you know your Savior, Jesus Christ, and He knows  you!
10. What super power would like to have? I’ve always loved 

the idea of being able to fly. As a child I  used to have dreams 

about flying!
11. Top 3 Netflix series. Virgin River, Outlander because I 

read  and loved the books,  Intersection.  
12. Things you want to do before you die. Become a better 

person with each passing day, love more and better, make a 

difference in my grand daughter’s lives. 
13. Your biggest fears.  Falling down, escalators.. I used to 

have no problem. Suddenly I am extremely dizzy at the 

thought of them. Hard to think of another one…

14. What makes you angry?  Right now it is the herds of deer 

that are taking over our neighborhoods.  They are eating 

everything.   

15. Do you listen to podcasts?yes, I enjoy them!

Saturday 9

She's in Love with the Boy

Welcome to Saturday 9. 

 Hosted by Samantha~

She's in Love with the Boy (1991)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song tells the story of Katie and Tommy. She 

waited for him to pull up in his beat-up Chevy truck. 

Tell us about your wheels.

We  drive a 2021 Pearl white  Subaru.

 

2) Katie and Tommy stay out until 12:30 AM. What 

time did you go to bed last night? It was about 

10:00pm

3) The lyrics tell us, "What's meant to be will always 

find a way." Do you agree?If that means  by the will 

of God, yes, I do believe it!

4) This was the first big hit for Trisha Yearwood. 

While she's found her greatest success in music, 

she's also written top-selling cookbooks. Are you 

a better singer or cook? I  would say I  am able 

equal in those two categories, but only if I'm in 

good voice with no allergy junk going on.  And when 

I try I am a great cook!

5) Trisha also appeared in six episodes of the TV 

drama, JAG. She played a medical examiner and 

forensic pathologist, which means her character 

had a medical degree and (at least) one year of 

additional training. That's (at least) five extra 

years of higher education. Do you enjoy taking 

classes?  Back in the day I loved taking classes 

of all sorts. Of Course, there were  credits (College 

classes) as a teacher I had to work for  every 5 

years,  but aside from that I loved  classes  given 

out at various businesses,Home decorating,  

Cooking,   Painting,  cake decorating,   florals, 

etc.

6) In real life, Trisha earned a degree in Business Administration before going into music. She uses 

what she learned in school, keeping a close eye 

on her finances and those of her superstar husband, 

Garth Brooks. She says she likes and trusts the 

people hired to their money, "but I check on them.

" Do you keep a careful eye on where your money 

goes?  Sad to say, that is  the one main area I need 

to bone up on.  Hubs  does that  and I need to be 

trained!!! 

 

7) In 1991, when this song was popular, Dances 

with Wolves was a hit in the theaters. Have you 

seen it? Yes, and I really enjoyed it!!!

8) Also in 1991, Seinfeld was a big deal on the 

small screen. It's still popular in syndication 

on cable channels and on streaming services. 

Do you more often watch broadcast TV or 

streaming/on-demand channels? I watch  

less and less on broadcast tv and go to 

streaming more and more.

9) Random question: Have you ever gone a 

day without laughing?  I think that it is possible 

that I have.  There have been some pretty  

difficult days in my life!

Friday Fave Fives

Hosted by Susanne. 

Due to my torn meniscuses in 2019, then shingles, gout,  staying home with covid,  a general lack of exercise, walking, etc, I got into pretty bad shape. I took several months of therapy, that helped but didn’t last. At my age I became pretty sedentary which was the worst thing I could do!

When  I heard about our trip to Scotland I knew I had to do something, so I started more intense therapy and I was  in a good place when we left in July. While I  was in Scotland I started every day with the exercises I could in bed before getting up. I was then able to do everything that meant so much to me, even though for major walking I did take a cane , (ie in Edinburgh and Glasgow). I write this to say, I am amazed and delighted that I am so much better after my trip. All the walking and exercise I got there has helped me so much. I used to get up and could not stand up straight because of lower lumbar issues. Now that is almost completely gone. I find myself walking nice and tall everyday! That lower back pain is almost a faint memory. I am getting around here in the house without thinking about it…getting chores accomplished that I couldn’t even think about before…  for this wonderful change  I am extremely thankful.

One example was walking up to the Queen’sView without my cane. Since we have been home for this last month I am very excited about the work that is being done in our den.  It was a slow start after we got over covid, Lynn had residual fatigue, but once he got started on the project he has really got a lot done.  The room required washing all the woodwork including the two bookcases, doors and window trim and eventually the window glass inside and out. Then the painting of the windows , then the bookcases -a few layers,  and the shelves- which some will be installed today so I can load the books back onto them along with some decor to be styled on them. Then, of course, there is still the window seat problem . We still do not have an exact plan for how to get the seat and front grill disassembled ..it is so tight and it looks like there will be some damage to the wood in the process so a rebuild is going to be necessary.  All this is due to the fact that the seat blocked the radiator heat and the den has always been a chilly room.  But I cannot wait to start moving the books out of the sunroom and onto the shelves. Progress is such a wonderful word!

This has been such a hot summer I am definitely right in there with all those who are pushing for autumn  to hurry up!  I brought the fall storage tubs earlier this week and have had so much fun styling various ares around the house. Today I will work on the fireplace mantel and once the sunroom is cleared of all the den decor, I can start out there. Decorating for fall is so cathartic for me. I just love it because the glorious colors and crisp air make it my favorite season!

Tomorrow is a sort of Red Letter day around here.  One of our dearest friends at church is a couple  we used to be members with at our previous church that  basically failed partly due to covid , then the pastor left.  Anyway, actually three of us families now go to the same church, and this one couple have  a beautiful daughter who recently graduated  from Liberty U and is a teacher .  Our new pastor has a son who was feeling like he would never find a mate , there just wasn’t anyone of age at the church, and he was thinking perhaps he would have to find a new church,  but instead he started praying  that God would intervene for him. Suddenly in walked the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen… in his church and the family joined the church that next week.   Never underestimate what God will do! Tomorrow is the Shower! There is so much joy in the church. God is so good!

You know, or may remember that once we painted the living room and  redid the decor, suddenly I really wanted to be rid of our wonderful piano, a Baldwin we bought  soon after I started working in 1974. I really enjoyed playing it for several years, but once Amanda came along, I just didn’t have that much time for it anymore.  My interest waned, and then I realized I was getting rusty, and then one day I realized my eyes had changed and I could not  read the music well. So there the piano sat , taking up valuable wall  space in the living room. I never thought to get rid of it until this change in there this past winter.  It was pretty sickening to think that pianos are not worth anything anymore and that I would  have to give it away, but we did …to a college friend of Amanda’s who we knew would appreciate it!  It is funny, I guess in my older age I sometimes find myself thinking “ I think I’ll go play the piano,” then stop myself and chuckle remembering , and also remembering how delighted I am that the living room seems so much larger without it. To everything there is a season! All is good!

Tuesday 4

 

 Hello and welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4

Hosted by Anne!

Let's share our home secrets with one another.   Maybe you have  some ideas other ladies would love to hear about.

1.   What household tool or appliance do you rely on a lot? Hubs does the 

vacuuming, but I love my Swiffer on my hard and wood floors!

2.   Which laundry detergent, fabric softener, and dish detergent work best for you?We use Gain,  those woolly balls, and Dawn.   

3. What soap do you like to use?   I prefer Gentle soaps like Dove.   

Where do you have soap in your home... It is stored in the hall cabinet and used in the shower. .  We also use liquid soap for hand soap in the bathroom and kitchen.

4.   What is the secret to a clean home in your opinion?Definitely staying 

on top of the clutter and trying to keep up the cleaning routine! 

Happy Homemaker Monday

 I thought I'd grab a post   from   mid 2018  as my form for today!

Our hostess is found here~

The weather:

Our temp now is 78,   which will also be the high today,  it is mostly cloudy and  low tonight will be 68.

   

                        Things that make me happy

 

 ::

 I have to say it is  the time Lynn and I spend doing FaceTime with our daughter and grands.  But  lunch together with  friends after church  yesterday was  a delight, as well.   When it is just us,  I am happy   when Lynn  and I watch something together on tv.  Too often he takes the upstairs tv and I the downstairs because our likes are so differnent!

Books I'm reading:

The Book Woman's Daughter, by Kim Michele Richardson, a sequel to  her book  I read last year, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. This was a wonderful book,   and I know this one will  be  amazing, as well!

I am still trying to finish, Stars in your Eyes,  the  Lynn Kurland book I took with me to Scotland but had no time to read. I am   on the  final chapters,  but I just do not want it to end!

 A book I picked up at Church, Gentle and Lowly,  The Heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers

by Dane Ortlund.  What an awesome book. 

Paul David Tripp  says it best,  "I have read no book that more carefully or tenderly displays the heart of Christ!"

On the blog last week:

Friday Fave Fives  said it all!

Shows and Movies:

We  rented  Netflix  just so I could watch Virgin River, I really    like that series!    So I am  watching  lots of other  films that  I have enjoyed.  To name a few,  Enola Holmes,    Catch Me If You Can,

The Age of Adeline, Persuasion,

Woman in Gold

Menu Plan:

Monday:  Hot dogs and Frito salad ( we never got to fix it last week)

Tuesday: breakfast for dinner

Wednesday: spaghetti and salad

Thursday: Chef salad 

Friday:  out with  friends

On my To Do List:

• Catch up on my bible reading.  I have gotten behind in 2 Kings.. I find it difficult to read
• laundry
• important correspondence
• wrap  wedding gift  and  fill out the card  take to church  for Saturday( I can't carry it )
• Bible Study  class
• Prepare the Guatemala bags to take to church when we take the  gift on Friday.. Lynn   buys  for a boy, I for a girl and we purchase school supplies, toiletries and  nice items that would bless them   for these children who live in a very poor  area of Guatemala.
• attend a shower brunch 

In the craft basket:  

  

My  "craft" this week is to purchase just the right 11x14 frame to finish off the wall art for the gallery wall in the living room this week.  I need to go to Michael's.  They are having a framing   sale! 

Looking forward to this week:

I do look forward to going to this shower.  I checked out the guest list of those coming online and I really know no one. It will pose a bit of a challenge for me,  but  lately I really have enjoyed getting to know more new people  at our new church.   

  

                                           On my mind:

I need to write down the medication I heard  about on tv this morning. I'd heard of it before but this time it really resonated with me.  With this brain fog I have now following my covid booster shot I  really  need a memory booster,  and Prevagen  is supposed to do just that.  But I will speak to my doctor before trying it!

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

July 05, 2022      PAIN

       by Pastor Chuck SwindollScriptures: 2 Corinthians 4:7–10

They called him "Old Hickory" because of his tenacity and grit. His mother chose "Andrew" on March 15, 1767, when she gave birth to that independent-minded South Carolina rebel. Wild, quick-tempered, and disinterested in school, Andrew answered the call for soldiers to resist the British invasion at age thirteen. Shortly thereafter, he was taken prisoner. Refusing to black an enemy officer's boots, he was struck with a saber—Andrew's introduction to pain.

Although he bore the marks of the blow for the rest of his life, Andrew's fiery disposition never waned. A fighter to the core, he chose to settle arguments in duels and lived most of his days with two bullets painfully wedged in his body. After he distinguished himself on the battlefield, his name became a national synonym for valor and stern persistence. When politics nodded in his direction, "Old Hickory" accepted the challenge: first the Senate, then nomination for President. The shadow of pain appeared again in another form as he lost a narrow race with John Quincy Adams.

Four years later, however, he ran again . . . and won! But pain accompanied the victory. Two months before he took office he lost his beloved wife, Rachel. Grief-stricken, the President-elect pressed on. Even as he was being sworn into office as our nation's seventh President, he fought the anguish of a raging fever caused by an abscess in the lung.

Some time later, one of the bullets within him had to be surgically removed. He endured that operation—done without anesthetic—in typically courageous fashion. Even his political career was painful. A nasty scandal split his cabinet, and critics clawed at him like hungry lions. Although he stood firm for many months, the telling signs of pain began to manifest themselves. He was one of the few men who left office, however, more popular than when he came. "For once, the rising was eclipsed by the setting sun," wrote a contemporary sage. And it was pain, more than any other single factor, which drew the qualities of greatness out of Andrew Jackson.

Pain humbles the proud. It softens the stubborn. It melts the hard. Silently and relentlessly, it wins battles deep within the lonely soul. The heart alone knows its own sorrow and not another person can fully share in it. Pain operates alone; it needs no assistance. It communicates its own message whether to statesman or servant, preacher or prodigal, mother or child. By staying, it refuses to be ignored. By hurting, it reduces its victim to profound depths of anguish. And it is at that anguishing point that the sufferer either submits and learns, developing maturity and character, or resists and becomes embittered, swamped by self-pity, smothered by self-will.

I have tried and I cannot find, either in Scripture or history, a strong-willed individual whom God used greatly until He allowed him to be hurt deeply.

It was just such a person who wrote these words for all to read:

Guests
Pain knocked upon my door and said
That she had come to stay,
And though I would not welcome her
But bade her go away,
She entered in.
Like my own shade
She followed after me,
And from her stabbing, stinging sword
No moment was I free.
And then one day another knocked
Most gently at my door.
I cried, "No, Pain is living here,
There is not room for more."
And then I heard His tender voice,
"'Tis I, be not afraid."
And from the day He entered in,
The difference it made!

—Martha Snell Nicholson

Excerpt taken from Come before Winter and Share My Hope by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 1985, 1988, 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. 

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

Friday Fill-in

Hosted by Bev

1. I am currently obsessed with  Youtube videos. I find

 them much more entertaining that  anything else on tv.

2. Today I am happy because  Hubs is making so much 

progress on painting the den and getting the work that

 needs to be done on the window seat accomplished.

3. The age I am is  72  and the age I feel,  mentally is  35,  

 physically ,  72.,
4. My favorite place besides home is, cavorting around 

Scotland.
5. Something I have been procrastinating is getting the 

guest room organized and  things all put away!

6. The last thing I purchased was  a couple of books 

 about Paris to send to my grand daughters who are 

 traveling there  in a few weeks.

7. The thing I love most about my home is that it repre-

sents all that I love.
8. My most prized possession .. that one is very hard.. I 

dont know that I can choose .

9. If I could be one age for the rest of my life, I would want 

to be 45.. the age  I was   a mother  and my daughter was 

10..   what wonderful  family life we might enjoy!

10. My outlook on life is optimistic, only because I know 

whom  I have believed and am persuaded  that He is able,

 to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day!

11. If you want to annoy me,take me for granted.
12. I am completely defenseless when it comes to people 

looking at me and thinking why  cant she lose weight?Ive 

lost 40 pounds,  but these last 40 just do not want to budge!

13. The bravest thing I’ve ever done  is going on in my life now... 

I am facing what comes fearlessly, knowing that God is in 

control.

14. Something that keeps me awake at night are memories.
15. My favorite meal in the entire world is  my chicken  and 

veggie air fry!