Wednesday's Random Dozen!

You can link up to the Wednesday Random Dozen at Linda's blog and join the fun!! :-)

1. Have you ever been so lost that you were really afraid?

No, I don't believe I ever have been truly lost. Thankfully, I have a very good sense of direction.

2. Have you ever been to an island?

Yes, we've been to Kelly's Island in Lake Erie.

3. Are you more of a thinker or feeler?

Well, while I tend to be more of a feeler, I do believe that most of the time I am a fairly balanced blend of both.

4. Do you tend to see issues or situations in life as black and white or shades of gray?

Mostly black and white. Right or wrong. Yes or no. :-) K.I.S.S. :-)

5. If you were stuck on an island, what book would you hope to have with you (Let's pretend the Bible is already there, so you can't say that.)
A compilation book of Countryside magazine which is a "living beyond the sidewalks" publication that I love!!!

6. What are you most afraid of?

Of losing the good health that I have and not be able to live life fully and do the things that I do now.

7. Would you rather lose all of your old memories or never be able to make new ones?

If I had to choose, it would have to be to not be able to make new memories, though I dread the thought of that, but I have so many wonderful memories. I just couldn't give them up easily. Especially at my age.....58. I find myself so often remembering lessons that I have learned through the years and hoping that I've passed them on sufficiently to Daniel, our son and also to my nieces and nephews and others who might benefit from them.

8. Pretend I'm looking at a scrapbook page about you. There are three spaces for you to drop in individual pictures. What are those pictures of, and why did you select them?

A picture of me and Ed, a picture of Daniel, Erin and Jaylon and a picture of my siblings because these are the people that I love the most!

9. If you were re-doing your wedding, what would you do differently? (If you're single, tell me one thing you would do if you were planning a wedding OR huge party.)

I would have had our wedding videotaped! We got married in 1986 and videotaping was just in the beginning stages of being very popular. :-/

10. Tell me one thing you know/believe about forgiveness.

Offering true forgiveness to someone is liberating for both parties. Receiving true forgiveness is so humbling. Forgiveness is the most wonderful gift you could ever give or receive.

Thank the Lord that He first brought to us true forgiveness. Oh, what a Saviour!

11. You're waiting in a doctor's office. What is your favorite way to pass that time?

Browsing through women's magazines, i.e. Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, etc. or just closing my eyes and resting. Once in a great while, I'll strike up a conversation with someone sitting nearby, especially if they are someone I already know and haven't seen in awhile, but most often I like to sit quietly with myself and my thoughts. :-)

12. If there were a clone of you in a parallel universe what is one way you hope she/he would be the same as you and one way you hope she/he would be better?

I hope they would have my zest for life! :-) And I hope that they would not be a procrastinator!

:-/

"Please don't cut down any more trees!"

I received the above picture in an email and at first, when reading the subject line, thought the government was going to start telling us that we couldn't cut down any more trees. Not so! LOL I thought the picture was sooo funny! :-)
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Below, is a picture of our granddoggy, Heidi! She has on her pink hoodie which says "Good Girl" on it. That is what Jaylon calls Heidi. "Good Girl" Well, actually, that is what he calls every dog now. And sometimes he really gets on a roll and just says "Good Girl" repeatedly. Especially when the dogs are running and playing and he is all excited! :-)

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And below, once again, is some pictures that I took of a little cemetery that is just down the road from us. We were coming home from somewhere last week and as we were driving by this cemetery, it just about took my breath away.....it was soooo beautiful! So, of course, I just had to go back and take some pictures.
Now, there have been a few little flowers growing about in this cemetery in years past in early spring, but never like this!! It was just literally carpeted with these little lilac flowers this year!!





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Jaylon loooooves grandma's spaghetti and meatballs, as evidenced in these pictures! AND he is learning to feed himself, too, as is very evident, also! Egads! I hope I am up for this! LOL


And below are two pictures of Jaylon sleeping. In the first one, he is sleeping with grandpa on the sofa. In the second one, he is sleeping in the position that his daddy loved to sleep in when he was a baby. :-)

Wednesday's Random Dozen! :-)

It's that most wonderful time of the week again! Time for Wednesday's Random Dozen hosted by Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee! Just click on Linda's blog back there to join in the fun!!!
1. Ever had any run-ins with the "library police?"
Noooooo. :-) I used to BE the "library police"! And, now that I am no longer the "library police", I am in good with the staff and they cut me some breaks if I have overdue books (egads!) or movie fines (horror of horrors!). Hey, it happens to the best of us, but, thankfully, because of my connections good standing as a library patron, those awful things....fines....are taken care of.
I do try my best not to take advantage of these special privileges, though.....just so you know!!!
:-)

2. Do you have a special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper, gift bags, etc., or do you just purchase whatever you need as you give gifts?
I didn't know there was a "special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper", etc. LOL
Okay, does a huge "already been used" gift bag, sitting on the shelf in my closet, that contains all of the gift bags that I've gotten things in and then folded and stuffed into this huge bag, count as a "special organizational plan and place"?
I haven't purchased wrapping paper for years! I would love to shake the hand of and offer my appreciation to the wonderful person that came up with the idea of gift bags!! I love them!!!! AND I love that you can get gorgeous ones at Dollar Tree for a DOLLAR!!!! :-)

3. Have you ever been in (first-hand witness) a natural disaster?
The closest I (we) ever came to being in or witnessing a natural disaster was one time when it rained, I mean POURED rain for an hour or more. We had had flooding in the lower part of our back yard before but this was different. It was unrelenting rain. The creek, which is fairly wide, overflowed its banks but soon we heard a roar coming down through the valley and out of nowwhere came this huge torrent of raging, muddy water down through the valley, flattening small trees and brush. I had never seen anything like it!
I had heard about flash floods but this was the first time I had seen anything close to one!
Thankfully, we live on a slope and we were up high enough so that our home was not damaged but many who lived up our road were.
Soon after the water tore through the valley, the rain subsided and it was amazing how quickly the water receded, leaving a muddy trail of debri in its path.

4. What's your favorite Barry Manilow song?
The only Barry Manilow song that I can remember is "Mandy" and, indeed, I DID looooove that song!!! *sighhhhh*

5. What's the best costume you've ever worn?
Good heavens! Let me see......*thinking* thinking* I would have to say a clown costume that I made and wore for our outreach program when I went to church in Lancaster.
I had gone to the church early that morning, gotten all dressed and applied my makeup. We then proceeded to get on the church bus and do outreach the entire day. I remember it as being so hot that day.
Well, when we got back to the church, I discovered that I hadn't brought anything to remove the makeup with and I was so bone tired, that I just decided to drive home.....about a 25 mile trip down Rt. 33........in my clown getup, makeup and all.
Welllllll, not long after I left the church, I heard cars honking. Remember I am boned tired, but I've got this smile and surprised look painted on my face. :-)
People are driving by me honking and waving and laughing, expecting me to respond in kind and so I did! It was just the best trip home ever! And it re-energized me so!
I was just amazed at the grown-ups who still acted like little kids when seeing a clown...ME....driving along in the car. They just waved and waved and were so excited when I responded back!
It was an awesome experience, because, you know.....clowns are never off-duty. :-) And, wow, to think that I brought so much happiness to so many people on that drive home. Talk about a ministry?!

6. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
The dictionary, though by dictionary I mean http://www.m-w.com/ :-)

7. What's your favorite breakfast food?
Bacon!!!! Bacon!!!! Bacon!!!! LOL

8. Have you ever purchased anything from an infomercial?
Yes! We purchased a set of the Dean Martin DVD's. We purchased the first five, I believe. (I'd look but I'm at the library.) Of course, they tried to get us to buy more but we were just a tad disappointed in the ones that we purchased, as they didn't have alot of the scenes that they showed on the commercial....of course!!! I'm sure that was a ploy to get us to buy the other ones, but we didn't!

9. Have you ever crawled through a window?
Oh yes! Do you want the gory details??
I was home alone. It was in the morning after Daniel had gone to school and Ed had gone to work. I had on my robe and I had hot sticks in my hair. While waiting for the hot sticks to curl my hair, I went outside to feed the dog and so on. (We live in the country. I can get away with this.) BUT just as the door clicked shut, it occurred to me that I might be locked out. I was!!!! Thankfully, the bathroom window was open BUT it was way up high and it is a slender......and that is the OPERATIVE word here....SLENDER window. Hello. Sooooo, I got the ladder from the garage, steadied it as much as possible, removed the screen and somehow managed to wrangle myself through that window without doing any lasting damage to myself or the window.
*WHEW*

10. Do you believe in love at first sight?
No. I believe you are attracted to someone. You respect them. You love them to a degree. But, in all honesty.....you LEARN to love someone. Love is such a process. Real, true love, that is. My dear dad always explained this to us as we were growing up and maturing and I can say that I've come to really believe it.
"Love doesn't come and go,
When it takes a notion,
Is not only concerned with itself.
Is not given to impulse,
Or emotional swings,
Never takes away,
More than it brings,
Love accepts responsibility,
Love gives a guarantee,
The reason that love is the way it is,
Love gave its life on Calvary."

11. How man pairs of jeans do you own?
WE own one pair and they belong to my husband and let me just say that he looks REALLY good in them!!! ;-) Oh yes he does!!! ;-)
I wear only skirts and dresses. :-)

12. If someone were going to bake a cake to honor/represent you, what would it be? (Think creatively, like Duff and Crew on "Ace of Cakes.")
Hmmmm......it would have to be something musically oriented, I believe. A black baby grand piano accessorized with musical notes and sheet music, possibly.

Pictures of this and that and you-know-who!!! :-)

Last Friday I drove into Logan and on my way took some random pictures of things that caught my eye!
The first picture below is of the Fox farm. They have sheep-like animals on the hillside in front of their beautiful home and I just had to take a picture!!! :-)

The one below is of a beautiful little tree that I thought was so pretty! Soooo, I stopped and took its picture!

Next! Little Jaylon playing hide and seek underneath his high chair!!! Adorable little guy!! :-)


AND lastly, but certainly not leastly, is Ellie, the kitty of the house! She is adorable, too!!! :-)

Wednesday's Random Dozen!!! Yay!!!

It's that most wonderful time of the week once again! Wednesday's Random Dozen time!!! Linda at 2nd Cup Of Coffee hosts this fun meme, so if you would like to join the fun and meet some really wonderful women, click on Linda's blog up there and random right along with the rest of us!!! Happy Wednesday!!!

1. How do you feel about "Gladiator" sandals, also called "Roman" or "Jesus" sandals? A fashion yea or nay?
Well, seeing as how I don't really keep up with fashion...... it would be a fashion nay for me. AND I just can't stand to have anything even remotely snug around my ankles. No, these sandals would never do. :-) The only sandals I have is a pair of black Birkenstocks and I love them!! Talk about comfortable!! They were worth the money, wear like iron, and I could walk MORE than a mile in them! :-)

2. What is your favorite pizza?
Oh, this one is easy! Pizza Crossing All-the-way large pizza!!!! Oh my word!!! It is THE best pizza ever!!!

3. There are plans in the works to sell roughly 1,000 items from Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas. This means you could buy Picard's chair for your family room. If not a Star Trek item, what prop, background, set, etc. from what TV or movie would you buy if you could?
[Ex: Hurley's "I Love my Shih tzu" shirt from LOST, the plantation home "Tara" from Gone With the Wind, or Tracy's tambourine from the Partridge Family.]
Hmmmm.......I am coming up with a mind blank here. But as I think about my favorite movies, the newer version of "Little Women" comes to mind and I believe I would like to have one of
Jo's (played by Winona Ryder) writing instruments that she used to write Little Women with.
Little Women is such a great movie!

4. Name a local food or restaurant that your area is famous for.
It would have to be The Old Dutch Restaurant, though I don't care for it much. In the summer, busloads of people come to this restaurant to eat and shop. There is also an antique mall next door, a craft mall beside the antique mall, a glassware outlet, canoe livery....Hey! you can check it all out HERE! :-) The restaurant's atmosphere is great! The gift shop is very nice. They have wonderful banquet facilities but the food just isn't as good as you might expect it to be. That is my own humble personal opinion.

5. What is your current favorite snack?
Wheat Thins! Oh yum! :-)

6. Hypothetical: You are required to be a reality show contestant. Which show would you choose based on your probability of success? (You cannot choose "none.")

A. Dancing with the Stars
B. Biggest Loser
C. Survivor

It would have to be "B", the Biggest Loser. I've lost 50lbs. so many times in my lifetime AND gained it back....a fact that I am not bragging about, in the least. But I would be good at losing weight. It is the keeping it off that I have a leeeeetle trouble with. :-)

7. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being uninhabitable and 10 being cleanliness that meets the standards of OCD, how clean is your vehicle's interior?

I would have to say a "7". I just don't like for the inside of my car to be messy.

8. It doesn't feel like Spring until _________.
Until the big daffodil cross that is planted on a nearby hillside comes out each spring! When I see the green stalks and stems from afar, I know spring is close at hand!!! :-) I am so thankful that someone took the time and put forth the effort to plant this flower cross for all of us to enjoy each spring!

9. Something that made you laugh really hard recently is ____.
Okay, I had a Just My Size catalog laying on the kitchen table. I had been looking through several small catalogs that a friend had given me. I loooove looking through catalogs.
Anywayyyy.....a couple of days ago, Ed picked up the JMS catalog.....which had a young buxom woman on the cover......pointed to the young buxom woman.....and said, "Will you order me one of these?"
It just struck me as sooooo funny!!! We both laughed until we cried!!!! :-) It was just one of those crazy funny moments that a husband and wife share from time to time. :-)


10. Tell me about a goal you're working toward.
Well, one goal I am working toward it finishing an afghan that I started some time ago for a young lady that I love dearly. I was her caregiver when she was a little girl. Then she started going to church with us, was in our youth group, and is now married and living in Bossier City, La., where her husband is stationed in the Air Force. Her favorite colors are hot pink and black, so this is going to be a pretty hot looking afghan! :-)

11. Share a thought-provoking or inspiring quote this week.
"......that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." I Timothy 2:2
"And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;..." I Thess. 4:11
"But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." I Peter 3:4

12. Name one thing that you do as a parent that you absolutely know will make your kids happy. If you're not a parent, feel free to substitute "friend" or nomenclature that works for you.
One thing that I know for sure that makes Daniel happy is when he walks in the door in the evening to get little Jaylon and I have something good to eat simmering on the stove! AND especially if I have enough for him to take home for his and Erin's supper!! :-) That is one thing less that they have to do when they get home after a long day at work and a tiring commute home. Daniel LOOOOOVES good food! (He is his mother's son!) I mean, we get emotional about food!!! We are food junkies and I love that about us!!! LOL

Monday Randomness!

Below is a picture of Jaylon looking through one of his favorite books, "Spot Can Count". He loves the Spot books! And he is wearing his little spaceship jammies! He has the cutest jammies! I always look forward to seeing what ones he'll be wearing when he comes over in the mornings. :-)

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Every spring, I buy a pot of hyacinths to put on my kitchen table because I love the smell of them and the fragrance wafts through the house for us to enjoy. Ahhhhhh!!!! I purchased these at Walmart and on my way to the checkout lane, I noticed 4 or 5 little old ladies with hyacinths in their carts, too. I asked Ed, "Oh my....am I becoming a little old lady who buys hyacinths in the spring?" :-/ I don't remember him answering me. :-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As you can see in the picture below, we had some pretty stiff winds one day this past week! If it wasn't nailed down, it probably got blown over or was sent on a short flight to somewhere else in the yard! :-)

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Erin got a great deal on a Little Tikes water play center for Jaylon. He loves it, as you can see below. I got a picture of his daddy videoing him playing in the water!! :-)
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The Tuesday before Easter, we had Daniel, Erin and Jaylon over for an early Easter dinner. I used some of the leftover ham and delicious broth to make what I call "Ham Stew", pictured below.
Now, I've made this before with leftover turkey and broth from Thanksgiving dinner. It is really good, too. But I've never made it with ham and broth. I also used the pineapple chunks that I had put on the ham when I baked it.

All you do is put the leftover broth, pineapple chunks and ham, which has been cut into chunks or shredded, in a dutch oven and bring to a simmer. To this I added 2 cans of drained green beans, 1 can of whole potatoes, drained and diced, 1 can of sliced carrots, drained, and approximately 8 oz. of rotini pasta. I like to use rotini because it stays firm. I add the rotini uncooked and let it cook in the broth. Add parsley flakes and let simmer until the rotini is tender and all of the vegetables are heated through thoroughly. You won't need to add much salt, if any, because of the saltiness of the ham. I served this with corn muffins and butter. Yum!

In order for there to be enough liquid to cook the rotini, I either add approximately 2 cups of water or just don't drain the canned vegetables. Either will work. :-)

Hope you are all having a wonderful Monday!

Easter pictures of "You-Know-Who"!!! :-)

Whoever said eating a marshmallow bunny on a stick was easy? :-)













I'd post a bunch of words with these pictures but sometimes I just can't find the right ones to express what is filling up my heart to almost bursting.
But one thing I can say is: Do you see why I love this little guy so much? *sigh* He's just so stinking cute and lovable!!! :-)
AND he'll be here in about fifteen minutes so I have to get this posted!!! There's not much time for blogging or anything computer-related when his little hands he is here! :-)

A change of plans

Ed and I had made last minute plans to travel to Washington D.C. for three days to see the cherry blossoms! I've always wanted to go and, on the spur of the moment, we planned to. Hotel reservations made. Luggage packed. Other essentials ready. The pets provided for. Got to bed early Wed. night in expectation of leaving at 5:30 the next morning.

The phone rang at 3:20 in the night. It was Ed's sister. She called to tell us that his older brother, Paul, had passed away a few minutes prior to her call.

His health had been failing. He had several issues that just come with age, the doctor said. Paul was 81.

Of course, our plans changed. Thankfully, the hotel management was understanding and reimbursed the charges to our credit card. The luggage was unpacked. Things put away.

Paul was a quiet man. He had never married. He lived with his mother and helped her maintain the homeplace until her death at age 94. He continued to live there until he was no longer able to keep up with everything and the house was sold to Justin, Ed's nephew, who has really spruced the place up, with his new wife, Ashley, by his side.

Though losing a loved one is so difficult, it brings the family together and that is always such a precious time. I love to watch Ed interact with his sisters. :-) They always laugh and have a great time together. :-)

There were ten Cavinee children. Three older brothers, three older sisters, then Ed, and three younger sisters. Can you imagine being born in the middle of six sisters? Oh my. The stories they tell. And do they ever laugh! :-) They are all a joy to be around.

We all gathered at the little Methodist church fellowship hall afterward, where Ed had attended as a child. He showed me the pew where he used to sit.

An older couple, Jim and Maggie Barber, had stopped by their house one day and asked if any of the kids would like to go to Sunday School and Ed was the only one who said he would like to. So, they began picking up on Sunday mornings. He told me that he would get in the car and they always offered him a stick of Beeman's gum. :-) Precious memories.

It is such a beautiful little church nestled in the small village of Moxahala. The ladies had prepared a delicious array of food for the family to enjoy and indeed we did!

While the death of a loved one is always very difficult, to say the least....and I can't even imagine losing a sibling....it always brings about good, too, it seems. We get to see friends and relatives that we don't see often. Precious memories are shared and savored. Promises to get together more often are made sincerely, though the busy-ness of life many times impedes those heartfelt plans.

Paul was buried in a beautiful little cemetery in Oakfield, where many of the Cavinee descendants are interred. It is situated on a hillside and was a beautiful sight on Saturday afternoon. Though there were flowers on the different gravesites, fresh spring flowers and newly vibrant green grass blanketed the ground.

The only negative was that the wind about blew us off of that hillside. Literally. Whew!! :-)

Something a bit comical: A frail little man....one of the military veterans....was standing at the corner of the tent, holding this humongous American flag which was attached to a pole and the wind was giving this little man a run for his money! I thought for sure that a big wind was going to take him and that flag off into the wild blue yonder before it was all over with but finally another gentleman stepped up to help him hold the flag through the remainder of the service. :-) Thankfully.

Below is a picture of Ed and his brothers and sisters. His oldest sister, Ruth, lives in Alabama and because her husband is not well, has not been able to make the trip home for some time.
Paul is sitting in the chair. This is such a good picture of him and we are all the more thankful now that we have it.

The Quiet Man

He is not one who does yearn for renown,
And he never will be the toast of the town,
The quiet achiever in his own quiet way,
Of himself he never has much for to say.

The quiet man he is happy in his life,
He takes care of his own, never stirs up strife,
He rise at dawn to go to work every day,
And he is one who earns his every pay.

A paid member of the local football club,
And on saturday evening at the local pub,
He joins his mates for an hour or two of cheer,
And he does enjoy a good laugh and a beer.

A family man and quite a gentle soul,
And he has his ego well under control,
A good friend to have those who know him will say,
And to help others out he goes out of his way.

A man who does laugh loudly at a good joke,
And a hard working person and quite a good bloke,
He never does yearn for great wealth and fame,
And to him all are equal and all are the same.

~Francis Duggan