Blue Monday

I am  sharing on Blue Monday  with Smiling Sally!

 Im still trying to decide my  plans for the Fourth??? Are you???

One Thousand Gifts (181-190)

Click the above   button to visit Ann Voskamp, creator  of  the site and the author of One Thousand Gifts... this  is one of my favorite bloggers.   

  Every Monday  she is hosting this  wonderful  theme  whereby we join  in  counting the blessings of our lives online, I pick up at  16Mountaintop experiences1... this week   Ann encourages us to focus on the JOY we have in our daily lives

 today I pick up at 

181.  God's provision  through and  after the storm

182.  God's  rest and peace  when  the enemy is  doing all in his power to  rob me of it

183.  Strength to endure   the work and  clean up  and  life  concerns  without  electricity  in  temperatures  topping  100 degrees ( raking my parents  yard   so Lynn could    bag the debris, and    searching    out  resources we needed,  store after store after store  by myself) 

 I  generally would have  heretofore thought this was  too daunting to consider... but with God   we  can do all things

184.  God's protection  in  many areas

185.  Personal perseverance    that   for me only comes from  the Lord

186.  Allowing us our power  to be back on  after 24 hours....   SO sad that many  after  60 hours are still in the dark and heat

187.  Air conditioning is a huge gift of God

188.  Life together  in the church...   to see our  church leadership  

  loving the flock through their    acts of kindness and service  was truly awesome

189.  a caring phone call from  my cousin, Pamela  was a huge blessing

190.     My  parents living in Assisted Living  were unscathed by this storm...   Praise God  for his timing  in that!

Derecho

Living in  the Mid Atlantic  this  weekend  has  been  an experience   we hope not to endure again anytime soon....  The  extreme temperatures  have been  bad enough,    hitting  past the  century mark for days on end...   this has never happened to us  before in my memory...   but then  when the derecho hit us at 8:47  Friday night,    it blew our socks off...  literally!

source wikimedia

A derecho is a land hurricane or wind that travels like a

freight train in a straight line.... 

we had been hearing all

afternoon of the possibility of a storm with 2 inch hail and  

80 mph winds which would hit ahead of the the rain...  

 

well, it hit with a vengeance and immediately knocked off

 

the power grid over most of the state... the sky was such a

mass of black clouds, it looked totally surreal as live 

power lines bounced on the torrents reflecting fire in the

 

heavenlies ..my husband uttered more than once... 'this may  

be it!!!!"

And then we were in for the next 24 hours of life in over 

100 degree temps without electricity....

Praise God it was back on last night at 7pm and it took 5 

hours to cool our house down to be bearable again...

I will never take a/c for granted again!!!And sad to say 

tonight there are thousands still without power... My

prayers are with them!

Yesterday after traveling to every store in a 10 mile 

radius looking for ice I finally found it a t the Tanglewood 

Kroger.... but today they were out of it and the ice  

companies are out as well... please pray for cooler

temperatures and rain!!! We never got the cooling rain

during this storm....

we did have scenes like these

 

These are news photos from the DC area as I had no 

mind for capturing the troubling photos this weekend..

. but the devastation was far exceeded by the record 

breaking heat.... and lack of power.... and information... 

We were starved for information..... I am posting this  

to

remind everyone one never knows what they might be 

facing.. so be prepared.... with batteries, and radio, and  

plenty of water if youre on a well... we arent praise the 

Lord we could take showers but many of my friends can't

.. and dont expect ice and other conveniences... hotels  

all over this end of the state were filled over capacity last 

night ! If was wonderful to see the community,

 

friends and neighbors stepping up and offering help....

where it was possible! I must say I was disappointed that 

the news outlets and radio stations were not very helpful 

in getting news to the people... I expected to be hearing 

something since the conditions were so dire, but I never 

heard a thing of use on the radio anytime I was traveling 

in the car and had it on!

Funny email I got today

WHY GOD MADE MOMS

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?

1.  She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.

2.  Mostly to clean the house.

3.  To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?

1.  He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.

2.  Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.

3.  God made my mom just the same like he made me.  He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?

1.  God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.

2.  They had to get their start from men's bones.  Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?

1.  We're related.

2.  God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?

1.  My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.

2.  I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.

3.  They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?

1.  His last name.

2.  She had to know his background.  Like is he a crook?  Does he get drunk on beer?

3.  Does he make at least $800 a year?  Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?

1.  My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world.  And my mom eats a lot.

2.  She got too old to do anything else with him.

3.  My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?

1.  Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.

2.  Mom.  You can tell by room inspection.  She sees the stuff under the bed.

3.  I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?

1.  Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.

2.  Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.

3.  Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.

4.  Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?

1.  Mothers don't do spare time.

2.  To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?

1.  On the inside she's already perfect.  Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.

2.  Diet.  You know, her hair.  I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?

1.  She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean.  I'd get rid of that.

2.  I'd make my mom smarter.  Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.

3.  I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Daylilies

Return to A Southern  Daydreamer and  more  Outdoor Wednesday!  
  It is day lily time in our  area


  and  I love their faithful apperance!!


 Just a glance out of my  office window reveals  a  glimmer of day lilies...

   but  as I wander outside  they become much more prominent

   and at a closer look!!

and I'm not the only one who loves  them it appears!

Freedom

For more   WFW   visit here!

Let us celebrate and  adhere to our God-given freedoms in the coming week!!

Refresher on Ice

Visit Bunny Jean  for this fun  weekly party!!!!
  One of the  favorite  recipes I have  enjoyed  this summer  with  its  unyielding heat and  humidity is  something I put together  following reading  
Dr. Oz's  article in Woman's World magazine about the benefits of white and green tea ...   the antioxidants and    benefits  in  cutting the appetite  and for  digestion... really caught my attention...  Also,  the tea Pureh   is one that I am still trying to locate in my health food store... 
  Anyway  our local grocer  has  all  my  other immediate needs for creating the  most  wonderfully refrshing     iced tea....  and each  time I make it  I  try it  a bit differently.. 
     


I always begin with my glass 8 cup measure filled with water for the microwave.... then I add 2 white tea bags, 2 green tea bags,... then I start adding from my stash of teas.... for I know I need to use them up and replenish my hot teas before cold weather anyway...

so usually add a couple of roobios, and then a blackberry, or a lemon.\,  or a Winter spice, just whatever catches my fancy... . I try to have about 8-10 tea bags in... I set the microwave for 7:30 and then after it heats up I allow it to steep about 5 minutes, I add 3/4 c sweetner or 3/4 sugar depending on who my guests are.... My husband doesnt like sweetner... and I add it to my pitcher... It generally will fill the pitcher so I dont add any water.... I will add about 1/4 c lemon juice and some cut up lemons.... and refrigerate... this has been a huge hit everytime I have served it and it is so very refreshing! I love how each different type of extra tea will add just a bit of zing...but it is very encouraging to know that the green and white tea is so very good for the body!