1. What does retirement mean to you? Are you planning for it, not thinking about it, looking forward to it, or dreading it?
Oh, my goodness. I retired from teaching in 2003.... that seems so long ago, I think I should be 94, but I retired at age 53... after 30 years of teaching.... I loved the children, but the bureaucracy was getting to me... so I cashed in my chips and left the party... I never knew that my life could get so busy... I used to think retirement was time for a good rest and reflection.. hahahahahah.... as soon as it is discovered that you have retired you will be bombarded with requests of your time... but to be honest.. I love my life now.... I have learned things in retirement I never would have learned in all the years of teaching and my life then... retirement is a time of true commitment to things, time, others... not that I have to get up and go punch a clock but I get to get up and serve in my church, or visit a friend, or help my parents, dabble in oil painting, or spend precious time with my dear husband... over leisurely breakfasts, travelling, working around the house.... it is a time of sweet intimacy with your spouse... not so much the physical kind, but just having the time to really enjoy each other... the sweetest day of my life was the day 9 years after I retired my dear husband joined my ranks.
2. It's International Guitar Month...do you play? Does anyone in your family play? What's a song you especially like to hear played on the guitar or a favorite song featuring the guitar?
No one plays guitar in my family.... we are more a violin family.... still a stringed instrument so Im going to say it still fits in... my absolute favorite song played on violin would have to be Adagio for Strings! A most pensive and soulful melody!
3. What's your comfort food?
I love chinese food..
4. What's one activity or area of your life where you absolutely never procrastinate?
I have to say Joyce said it best...I too, love the sense of peace that a made up bed gives the home...
5. Who does the grocery shopping in your house? Does your local store bag the groceries for you or is it a do-it-yourself kind of place? Do you like someone packing your groceries?
Before hubs retired I did it all... now I love for us to do this together.... mainly because I never have a list.. he keeps the list and knows best what we need I am so bad!!!!
6. What's the coolest thing you've seen in nature?
I wish I could say Halley's comet that I looked forward to seeing all of my adult life.. after hearing how it's brightness lit up a daytime sky.. good grief ... we drove to the darkest area within 50 miles of home to look upon it, sat in the car all night long and never saw a thing.. but I deviate... I suppose it would be the great hawk that was roosting atop our lamp post right by the back steps that lead up to the driveway.. there I was bounding out the back door on my way to garden club one morning and about fell over as I approached the steps and looked up to see that menacing, yet majestic beast staring at me.... I only remember slowing backing back into the house and screaming for hubs to come look....alas, we did not get a photo of it.. But as it flew away, its wingspan looked to be almsot 5 feet across! Awesome majesty!
7. Share a favorite quote about home.
As I was researching quotes on home and ran across this one, I must say it will now be my quote to live by...
If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.
So now I know to get a sack and go around the house and fill it with all the stuff that doesnt fit those categories.. I love it!!!!!
8. Insert your own random thought here.
This week are enjoying a season of life that is marked by a precious milestone that makes hubs and I almost giddy with expectation... our one and only child and her family have purchased their first house..after living in a gorgeous condo for 6 years, now that they have two wee ones it was definitely time to take the plunge, but the sellers market in their area has been a nightmare... of bidding wars and disappointments... But this week their dream is accomplished.. and it is so great to see them strategizing to walk through the coming days to bring it all to fruition... for now it is time to sell the condo with two (2.5 and .25 year) daughters in tow.... Oh, how I wish I was there to just take those girls in hand and let the parents do the rest....oh how much fun it would be to just rock Lady Bug and sing with Miss Birdie!!! Here is just a sample of some of that cuteness!!!
Well, I suppose we will be going up to join in the 'fun' sooner rather than later!!! yayayayaya!!
1. What are two or three expectations you have of yourself?
My main expectation is to lead a life where the light of Christ is readily seen through love, compassion, and godly choices.
Secondly, I expect to take good care of myself that I may be a blessing to my family and not a hindrance.
2. In what way does your outdoor space need sprucing up this spring?
Our lawn always needs tender care.... an older lawn on this rocky soil seems to have tenuous longevity... We battle its care throughout the years. We are sprucing up the fence row with new plantings.. We will be planting my new hydrangeas on the southeast side of the house so we can enjoy them from the kitchen and the front porch..
I have not seen any of the falls listed...... Hubs and I do plan to see Niagara some day soon... as we are fairly close to it every time we go to our kids... He saw it as child and wants to show me..
Locally we have the Cascades which have a charm of their own!
My Bible Study group went to a spiritual retreat to Moravian falls near North Wilksboro, NC.. known for it angelic activity.. I know it was very peaceful if not dramatic in its appearance.
4. Looking back, what's something you wish you'd done as a teenager?
I wish I had had more confidence. I missed out in so many things because of my shyness and lack of self worth...especially in the area of being more adventurous as a teen... I just didn't allow myself to participate in teen activities like I should have....
5. Ham...yes please or no thank you? If you said yes please which of the following do you like best-baked ham with all the trimmings, a ham and cheese sandwich, prosciutto with melon, a ham biscuit, a bowl of split pea and ham soup, or a slice of pizza topped with ham and pineapple?
I love ham.... love it baked for dinner.. love a sugar cure ham biscuit like the kind one gets at Bojangles... yum!!! Not quite as salty as regular cured ham... I love ham in soups.... and on pizza... I am just a big ham I guess!!!
6. Are you typical of your generation? How so?
I think so... maybe not as athletic as some.... but I am very engaging now... I enjoy social functions and discussion groups... I love to lead Bible Study groups. I love singing, and travel,,, and arts and crafts groups... I love getting together with my small set of friends( 5 ladies) about once a month to go to lunch or together at each others homes...
7. April rolls in at the end of the week, and in keeping with that theme...'act the fool', 'nobody's fool', 'a fool's errand', 'could have fooled me'...which foolish idiom most recently applies to you? Explain.
I suppose as a retired elementary school teacher I was always on the look out for foolish pranks and not wanting to get caught unawares I guess I am "Nobody's fool" although I do enjoy performing a really good prank on folks... but I am a tidy prankster....nothing too 'bad'.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
I am still trying to figure out where March went.... When one is sick with a terrible virus for 3 weeks time flies by!!! Apparently!!!
the overnight rainy spell has past and the wind is picking up....
the maple trees are all abloom with their new sprouting leaves....I am allergic to maple trees, so I dont want to get out in that wind much today..... yikes!!!
I am thinking...
there are some items I would like to order today.... time to peruse the catalogues and Amazon
I am thankful...
for such great friends. it was sort of hard to think about our dearest granddaughters enjoying their holiday and missing seeing them hiding/seeking eggs.... I guess I always thought I'd be with my grandchildren on holidays... that was our tradition growing up...but we're learning to be thankful for great christian friends... Dot and Bill had David, Gerri, and hubs and I over after church for a wonderful Easter dinner..It was a delightful time of fellowship and conversation!!!!
I am wearing...
my jeans and turquoise tee....
I am creating...
the house is so cleaned up and in such good order, I have no plans to mess it up this week... maybe next week I will bring out our new sewing machine and begin a project!
I am going...
looking for shoes today... I need some comfortable walking shoes for an upcoming trip...more on that later!
I am wondering...
if we might do face time this morning. if so it could be any minute.... it is my most favorite Monday activity!!!!
At least we get to enjoy breakfast with the girls!
On my reading table...
another Lynn Kurland book....
I am reading it rather slowly because I want to relish every moment... only 2 more to go.
I am hoping...
to still locate the particular type of hydrangea I am seeking....
paniculata
I'll be stopping in to several greenhouses this week!
I am learning...
discipline of contentment... that one is hard!
In my garden...
Once the maple pollen season is over by mid April it will be time to focus on the porch.... we will wash the jute carpet and and wrought iron furniture and scrub the porch area... I so look forward to time spent on the porch... I want to have some lovely pots of greenery and perhaps c couple of hanging baskets out there.. I love the Jacobean pattern of our porch cushions...
This season I would love to purchase some outdoor curtains for the porch.... I have a bit of a sales job to perform on hubs, though!!!! A white sheer type fabric would make the porch so much more intimate yet breezy!
In my kitchen...
I am really anxious to learn how to make macarons using my new silpat macaron sheet This is my project for this week
A favorite quote/scripture for today...
John 10: 1-4
I Am the Good Shepherd
10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
A peek into one of my days...today shopping for shoes and perhaps a travel outfiT.. I need something Springy!!!!!!!!
One of my favorite things...
Hydrangeas.... it is now afternoon, and we jsut got back from shopping.. and thankfully hubs took me to Windy Gap nursery.. where we found 2 excellent hydrangeas... paniculata Limelight
Well, my shopping experience was most productive.... just in time for our up coming little jaunt out of town.. 2 new slacks, 2 new tops and a pair of walking shoes!!
It is interesting how the various stages of life bring seasons of remembrance during holidays... especially... for example the last year we did the Passover Seder with my parents.
The celebration of a Messianic Passover meal adds so much to our holy week celebration.
Messianic haggadahs are easily accessible online and the symbolism is so precious!!
It really brings Christ's sacrifice to bear on our lives!!! It is even so much more meaningful since our daughter gave us this gorgeous Seder Plate..where each element offers its own special representation to the meaning of passover..
The Passover meal is celebrated on Maundy Thursday and the next night is Good Friday.. which absolutely pierces our hearts as we contemplate the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ!!
Such a solemn and thought provoking evening....we have so much to thank our Lord for the depth of His love and honoring of the Father in enduring the cross on our behalf... The scourging and the humiliation.. the suffering and the death and His complete innocence, then separation from God is something the human mind can not truly fathom. But we must try to wrap our mind around it during this season that we will understand the depth, the width ,the, height of His so great love for us. Then tomorrow, resurrection Sunday we shout glory to God... He is risen... He is risen, indeed!! it is then we can truly celebrate the new life and redemption we enjoy by Christ's resurrection!!! Even creation sings hallelujah!11
Even as the day wanes the glory is singing, Amen!!!
So it's time to bring the exultation inside... I just love the vibrant colors of spring!! Celebrating with family and friends! An Easter dinner seems to seldom change.. Especially coconut poke cake!! Cakes
Coconut Poke Cake Ingredients
1. 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix 2. 1 (14 ounce) can cream of coconut 3. 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 4. 1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed 5. 1 (8 ounce) package flaked coconut Baking Instructions 1. Prepare and bake white cake mix according to package directions. Remove cake from oven.
While still hot, using a utility fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake. 2. Mix cream of coconut and sweetened condensed milk together. Pour over the top of the still
hot cake. Let cake cool completely then frost with the whipped topping and top with the
flaked coconut. Keep cake refrigerated. It makes 1 9X13 cake So tomorrow,, enjoy the exultation of our risen Lord!!!!!
1. Has spring sprung in your little corner of the world? Other than the calendar how would I know? What's your favorite thing about spring? Yes, spring has definitely sprung and all is right with my world... today's temps will be in the 70's and even the daffodils are fading and the tulips are budding!!!
My favorite thing about spring? I have to agree with Joyce. I love the longer days, and having the windows open.. I love birdsong!!! My favorite birdsong is found here.. I love their lonely sound when heard rather afar off... it floods my soul!!!
2. Besides the weather, what's put a spring in your step recently?
I get excited about new plantings and garden delights..I recently purchased as a new treat from Plow and Hearth...
I cant wait to get it up and going... possibly today!!!
3. How does Easter impact you?
I saw a quip on face book this morning that said Christmas was our promise... Easter is our proof... promise of what... the redemption of the world.. victory over sin and death... healing of our diseases...assurance of Christ's wonder working power on our behalf...because Christ's last word on the cross was "It is finished" What satan had been given in the garden,,, Christ had taken back... and even as sin seems to be taking over our world at an alarming rate... we in Christ have the power to overcome .. for whatever befalls us or we must endure,... Christ will either bring us through, lead us around it, or take us out of it...
4. I saw this somewhere on Face book and thought it would make a fun Hodgepodge question. Which of the following would you find most disappointing...
a just stuffed taco shell breaking open and spilling out when before you take the first bite? dropping a just-purchased Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts coffee? opening the peanut butter jar and finding it empty? upending a just-purchased ice cream cone?a burnt bagel popping up in your toaster when you're rushing breakfast? or cutting into an avocado and finding out it's rotten?
I had that one about the upended ice cram happen to me when I was about 10 years old... I had earned a quarter for doing something and I was so excited to get to walk to our little community market to buy myself a Nutty Buddy..I can still remember with what relish I had gingerly opened the packaging not to disturb the thin shell of chocolate that coated the beautiful white ice cream. As I was just beginning the 2 block walk back home, a scary dog ran up to me and jumped up on me, giving me such a fright I dropped my ice cream in the gravels.. I will never forget how upset I was .. so upset I forget to be scared of the dog and just kicked it in my anguish...
5. What's something held together with tape at your house? Or a paper clip? Or a wing and a prayer?
I really hate to admit this one... but hubs just had to do this yesterday...our downstairs half bath is in dire need of a redo... especially the wallpaper needs to come off... well, it is trying its best to come off by itself... Hubs had to apply a slip of tape to the edge thankfully right behind the tank to reinforce the seam... Our problem is finding someone to the work in there... no one around here wants a smallish reno job!
6. Do you feel under appreciated? In what way?
No, I have had a season of my life when due to my lack of confidence I felt rather unappreciated and unfulfilled, but it was more my own poor esteem and self concept than anything that was cast upon me by others... Praise God, he is the great Physician, I was healed from this infirmity!!!
7. What's something you'd build if you knew how?
Actually, Id have to decline to say anything..I have no desire to build anything.. I have plenty of things on my to do list that I need to contemplate first.. need I say... in my retirement.. I fear I have lost some ambition to make things.. or perhaps to rephrase that.. my life is just too full to have time to contemplate more projects..
