Friday's Fave Five

Welcome to FFF hosted by Susanne!

1. Spring is definitely in the air and it  is  greatly received by this country  gal..!

One of the main things we are noticing is that    our church  which has been open for a few months now,  is finally seeing some families come back. Praise God.

We  had been hosting about  10-15   faithful folks every week.  But the last couple of weeks we are seeing  more like 25-30.   Now our flock is on the small side anyway,  about  60 on roll.    Our pastor has worked so hard during this  pandemic to   keep the thrust of the  Spirit moving and  people encouraged.  Services can be heard on youtube!  Our prayers are being  answered in seeing our old friends  coming back in person... Thank you, Father!     

2.  

  Hubs has been taking advantage of this season  to get  a job done that has been on the back burner for literally years... Painting the  laundry area of our 85 year old home.  The walls had never been painted. .. there was a  crummy homemade  shelving unit we had packed with  items  we thought we needed  30 years ago when we moved here,  but we  went through it all and   purged  over  half of it and then tore out those  horrid shelves and  bought new metal ones  to begin  sorting through other  things we had stored in the basement and really tidy up the space..  Now the  area has been freshly painted ,  new exciting storage units,  the   old  concrete double tub    by the  washing machine   had been looking pretty bad for some time so we  replaced it with    a nice new  tub and even worked on the  water  pressure issue we had been having. The windows now look amazing ..  I will share  a photo of the whole  thing once it is complete.  Today he is down stairs busting up the old sink so we can get it out of there.  That means another trip to the transfer station.  Well,  he came up and told me it was finished  before I finished editting!  

  3.  While he was working down stairs I have been doing a bit of sprucing up upstairs..

Our St.Patrick's table  really    makes me happy...  it was good to trade in some spring colors  for the red  that we had since  December through Valentine's Day and beyond. 

Our trip to Ireland inspired me  in this table design.  I kept thinking of the gorgeous stags we saw  in Phoenix Park outside of Dublin!

4. 

The mantel  was the next  area I  worked on.  I   went a bit more minimal here.. using spring  flowers  surrounded by angels.  I collected these  lovely angels years ago and  often forget to use them in decor,  but   they certainly do herald in springtime  with their  glorious singing and   gladsome tidings!

1	“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
	“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”   Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—     “Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!
2	Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
3	Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!                  One of my all-time favorites! 5. My granddaughters, age 5 and 7,  have been enjoying their dad reading to them the Narnia Series by  CS Lewis. I had read   The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe years ago, but never the whole series and they  inspired me to read the series, too.  At the  same time as the Sprit would have it our pastor  has been doing a Sunday night study of Lewis.  I read many of his  theological books years ago in the early days of my faith..  Now I  must round up  those books, ( I think my daughter has them)   and  reread  them, especially Mere Christianity!  Now the girls are on the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  and only have two books to go. I am way behind.  But I  do want to read them, because  there are many wonderful  faith  discussions to be had with  those girls the  next we are together...

Skywatch Friday~ Sunset

    Visit  our host at Skyley.

We actually took this photo  while we awaited the     setting of the sun in order to see the "Star of Bethlehem" in December!

Which was actually the convergence of three stars.  This was how my  phone camera captured it!

Wednesday Hodge Podge

        Hosted by Joyce!

1. Is March coming in like a lion where you live? Aslan, Simba, Elsa, The Cowardly Lion...your favorite 'famous' lion? Of course, my favorite lion is Aslan... I  absolutely love the tales of Narnia!Our son-in-law is reading it to our granddaughters  and are  into the Dawn Treader now.  He has to stop regularly and give  some    explanation   to those 5 and 7 year olds but the girls are  loving it and it brings up a lot of  in depth  serious questions  about life to them...I hink  our March is coming in like Aslan  with a roar of wind... all up and down the east  coast.  "R:::O:::A:::R!!!"  

2. In what way do you 'march to the beat of your own drum'? I have pretty strong opinions in my  old age...  I do not think Im known for being the least bit wishy-washy in my outlook  and sometimes I know I have to rein myself in...    That is the drum, I suppose, I march to..   In that I am much like my mother, and  as a teen, I  had a very decided  dislike for the trait!

3. What item that you don't have already, would you most like to own? Any chance of that happening soon? I have been wanting  a recumbent bike ever since I stopped my knee  therapy last spring. Covid had stopped the manufacturing of them.. I  want a Schwinn ... and they are   becoming available now.  It is  now  sort of low on the list but I do need one for my knees!

4. March is National Flour Month...are you a baker? Cookies-cakes-or pies...your favorite sweet treat to bake? What's the last non-sweet thing you made that called for flour?  I do have a sweet tooth for baked goods.  I love to make scones,  and cookies  best..  I am not a pastry  chef at all.   I  love to make  quiches of various kinds.

5. There are 31 days in the month of March...where were you and what were you doing when you were 31? If you haven't hit that milestone yet, then tell us where you were and what you were doing 31 months ago? (if math is not your thing, that would be August 3, 2018)

At age 31 I had been teaching  third grade for 8 years.  I was becoming anxious to  start a family, but  we knew we would have to adopt, so ou r application was in for a  local adoption, The  time frame was becoming so long  we  were  checking out other options.  When I was 32  we  made the decision to go for foreign adoption  from Korea!  15 months later  we were parents.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

This will be our view  in a few weeks.. I am really looking forward to  getting there~~  BtW! I got my covid shot today  #1.  

Tuesday 4

Houses

 Hi and welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 kept alive in her memory. Hosted by Annie!

This week's questions come from Pamela Steiner from Florida and the Open Doors Closed Windows blog.

Let's jump right in:

1. In what part of the country is your current home located? North, South, East, West, Mid West,
coastal, rural, city, mountains or plains?Mid-Atlantic, mountains.

 2. Why did you choose your present home, and how long have you lived there?  When we bought our home I saw it as a diamond in the rough.  It needed some tender loving care,  but I was charmed by the Tudor detaisls on the inside!

 

3. What do you like the most about your present home? I love the thick  English style plank from door.  The gum wood surround mantel of the fireplace, the thick stuccoed walls of the  downstairs rooms, and the park like yard.

  

           

4. If money were no object, is there anything you would change about your present home, or would you keep it just the way it is?  I woud love to upscale the front of the home with  Stucco and timbers  on the top  where  the  siding has been   placed..  That wass done  before we moved here. I wonder if  there is  that  detail  underneath that siding?!?!

 Answer on your own blog.. and then visit others.

Wednesday Hodge Podge

1. Your favorite cleaning product? Do you clean your own house or hire out? Most disliked household chore? What one chore do you not mind so much? In these  days  my hubs  does the  major cleaning... my knees and back    are  not what they were... He has his favorite  cleaner...  but  frankly, I'm not sure of its name.  I  like to work in the kitchen,  cooking and   washing up and  making the kitchen look nice and  spit shined.  It is after all the first room folk  see after entering through the sunroom.  No one comes to the front door here! I  cannot vaccuum either. .. it  does something to my sinuses...  So I do the dusting on vaccuum day!

 2. It's Canned Food Month...do you use a lot of canned goods? What are the three canned items you purchase most often? Last thing you made using a canned ingredient? We really do not use that much of canned items.    I did have a bowl of  soup.. Our favorite is any type of Progresso.  I use canned veg  for homemade soups and  stews  but we dont  make that often!

 3. Can of worms, anything can happen, can you imagine?, as best I can, kick the can down the road, more than one can take, no can do, not if I can help it...choose an idiom and tell us how you currently relate.  I think  "Not if I can help it" reasonated most with me.  That seems to be my station in life at this time.  I  dont do  anything much around here unless it is  absolutely necessary.  I am very much more  involved in church work  working on the Mission Committee and fellowship mission.  and doing Bible Study.  I feel called to be doing taht work in our church and  I  save my reserves..  Not to say we live in a hovel,  but I take my time to those things I used to love to do around here. 

4.The last Tuesday in February is National Spa Day. Are you someone who enjoys a day at the spa? Last time you visited a spa? Do you have a favorite spa? Are salons open for business in your area? Have you made changes to your hair and nail routine since Corona hit? In what way? I have never visited a spa.  I do my own nails..  I  am a very  low maintenance  young lady! haha

 5. Believe it or not this is the last Hodgepodge of the month. In one sentence sum up your February.   Whew... whiz  ... where did it Go?

 6. Insert your own random thought here.

I am very excited-  we did finalize the booking and payment for a beach holiday   coming up this spring! After our trip last October   after 15 years of no trips of  that nature..Lynn has decided a regular trip to the  ocean (6 hour drive) is good for us! And it is so much fun to  travel with and  

enjoy time there with friends! YAYAYAYAYA!

                                             Where we stayed in October!

Tuesday 4~~Moving

Moving

Hosted by Annie!

Welcome to Tuesday 4 kept up in memory of our friend Toni Taddeo who began it

 several years ago.  She would be so pleased to see people keeping up with it!

Let's talk about moving today.

1. How far away are you from where you grew up?  We  moved  across town     to an

older and better establish area when we moved into this home. Hubs and I had  lived

 in Germany after college and so coming home we were  content to stay!

2. Families sometimes move all over the country.Do you feel that a family should

 try to stay close together?  When our daughter and son-in-law decided to move to 

 New England  after college,  (7 states away)  my heart was broken.  It just 

wasn't our tradition..Up until then families had stayed pretty close together!

3. How many times have you moved in your life and would you like to share

 when and where you moved?  As I said we lived inLampertheim, Germany,

 a village outside of Mannheim, while Hubs finished his tour of duty. Then we

  bought a homerather close to where I grew up,  but  more importantly  between

 our two  work locations. When  out daughter was school age, we moved  here

 to this home mainly to be closer to the school we desired for her to attend.

4. What brought you to where you are living now and are you happy there?

  We are very happy here.  It is close to everything we love, and  I love the style

 of our home.  My only wish is that we ahd a bedroom on the main level. Stairs

  are becoming a sort of an issue!

Happy Homemaker Monday

 

Has anyone bought fresh strawberries lately.. They are  huge,  yet  very tasty and sweet.. I think  they come from Florida  and  it is glorious to see they are coming in here in the states..  We buy them all through the  year for our  yogurt parfaits!  Yummy!!!

Hosted by Sandra!

♥♥The Weather♥♥ 

Monday~ 54 with  rain

Tuesday~ 57 sunny/wind

Wednesday~ 65  partly cloudy

Thursday~ 50  mostly sunny

Friday~  44  rain/snow

Rather a mixed up mess for the week!

♥♥How I am feeling this morning♥♥  

I am doing  pretty fine today!  Glad to  say!!

 ♥♥On the breakfast plate♥♥

2  thin slices of  country ham, 2 over medium eggs,  and English muffin with coffee!

♥♥On my reading pile♥♥ 

Chronoloigical study of the NT   using the online app  The Bible Recap...   Highly recommended!!!

Thanksgiving Journal and  tips from Ann Voskamp

Colossians

 ♥♥On my tv♥♥

Joanna Lumley, Home Sweet Home Vlog on Youtube  3 episodes of her travels around Britain.  terrific!!!!

When Calls the Heart...  always.. I love that!!  I will watch the final  episode of All Creatures Great and Small this evening.  I taped the series, thankfully!

♥♥On the menu this week♥♥  

Monday - Crab cakes and tossed salad  

Tuesday - Grilled cheese and  tomato soup

Wednesday -Chicken quesadilla

Thursday -pizza

Friday - Baked Cod and  sweet potato fries

♥♥From the camera♥♥

Snow fun  in New England!! 

♥♥Looking around the house♥♥

Well, I stripped the house of winter and Valentines, and stored it all away .. Now time to consider spring  beginning with St. Patrick's Day!    Takes me a bit longer  now as I  get  a bit more over the hill!!     A bit of inspriation from years past!

♥♥To relax this week, I will♥♥

I love sitting by the fire with my  hot tea, reading.... that is my most relaxing joy!

♥♥Something I want to share♥♥ 

♥♥Devotional, inspirational, prayer list or Bible verse♥♥

Dear  God,  nothing takes you by surprise. You know everything that has transpired in the last  few years in  our nation..  I won't take your time reminding you but please  know  that our hearts are wrenching from the  knowledge that our nation  has  fallen beyond the pale into the  hands of an evil entity  that has been brewing for  a long time,  but  who has  reared its ugly head  mightily  in the last   few months. Deception, deception, deception!!!   You know best what is to be done,  so  we wait patiently for your help! Thank you for your peace  that passes all understanding.

 Meanwhile,  we pray that the covid vaccine is   truly  safe and  leaves  NO  long lasting  problems. That  the roll out for it will be  swift and  securely  given..  That those who  have limited means of  acquiring the vaccine will be  found and  help administered.   I pray the the  virus will  run its course in due time and   I speak to the virus, "do not mutate any more, in Jesus name!... Give the scientists and  govenment officials  wisdom beyond their  usual understanding and  I pray that all politization of  health issues will be   stopped in the name of Jesus!!  God we  know that without you, we  are and can do nothing. Our trust in in you by the power of the name of Jesus Christ our Lord!  Amen