TRY,TRY,TRY

TRY, TRY, TRY, it has taken me days to get my pictures to be posted. Don't know what went wrong. After much frustration, I just couldn't deal with the computer. I'm sorry for the delay and now will try to say Hi! to my friends.Please notice my post dated 12/05/10. your friend, Rose

CHRISTMAS IS COMMING

I, had planned to do this post sooner, but as many of us bloggers have said,"busy", it's easy to get sidetracked. I'm still alive and will get back to reading blogs. I hope that all of you had a safe and warm Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving was good and busy. As we have just celebrated Thanksgiving, we are preparing for Christmas. This usually involves decorating and food preparation. Some families have certain traditions and ideas. In 1991, my 1st. husband was killed in a car accident. As the months went by (husband was killed during May, Memorial weekend), Christmas became an issue. My Mother, asked me why would I want to decorate the house and celebrate Christmas. I, told Mother that I felt if I didn't acknowledge Christmas life would be very miserable and that we needed to celebrate the birth of Jesus. When I lost my husband, I never got angry at God and ask why me. I was fortunate to have 18 years with my husband and that was a blessing. During this time, I used an idea given by my church to help people through Christmas. I, set up a "Blessing Tree". What is a " Blessing Tree"? A tree that is not pretty or several tree limbs to make up as a tree. Everyone at church would write on a piece of paper a blessing they have received. The blessing was put onto the tree and eventually there was a beautiful tree thanking God for providing blessings to everyone. I, remember getting a few tree limbs, setting this up as a tree in my home and daily place a blessing on my tree. It looked strange to some, but was my salvation. I, admit that I don't do a blessing tree every year, but try to remember how this helped me. The tags on the tree would be written from Thanksgiving until the end of December. Currently, my tree is located in our hallway, I, can't miss it. I, have a bowl of tags, a calender on the table and check each day off as I write a blessing. Some of my blessings are having friends, a husband who will make oatmeal and coffee for us, that is just some examples. When the Christmas holiday is over, I still keep my tree and decorate for different holidays. I, wanted to share this idea to you and maybe the "Blessing Tree", will become a part of your life. Attached is a photo of my tree, you can notice that it is different from our Christmas tree. Also included are photos of our Christmas decorations in our home. My husband often will tell me I go overboard decorating, but I still go the same path. I, have a collection of Santa's, some of which my Mother gave me way before she died. I, also have a very old chalk nativity scene that I had when I was a toddler.Enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed decorating. Are there any traditions that you do in preparing yourself and your home for Christmas?

THANKSGIVING

THANKSGIVING

T-time to remember who/whats important in our life
give thanks to God.
H-hear the sounds of laughter,birds chirping
give thanks to God.
A-all of the great wonders of the world,Grand Canyon,etc.
give thanks to God.
N-nature, trees, flowers are there for us to enjoy
give thanks to God.
K-know that miracles can happen
give thanks to God.
S-sunshine acts as a blanket to keep us warm
give thanks to God.
G-God gave life
give thanks to God.
I-I am never alone,He is with me
give thanks to God.
V-valuable people and things in our life
give thanks to God.
I-I have the ability to become the person I want to be
give thanks to God.
N-notice the colors of a rainbow
give thanks to God.
G-God loves us
give thanks to God.


As Thanksgiving approaches, let us all remember that God is always with us.
Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy family, friends, food. It is also a time to
reflect into our lives of the people and possessions we have, not taking
these for granted.Take time to pray and thank God. I wish to all of you
a blessed Thanksgiving.

Peace be with you, Rose

STEPS

The little toddler, putting his feet on the floor, looks forlorn and
frightened. He hesitates to move, but he wants to reach for the toy truck
across the room. Slowly moving, his wobble feet, one at a time. He loses
balance and falls down on the floor. He lingers, and wonders what he will
do. Will he remain on the floor or try to get up to get to the toy?
Just as a toddler, we have to make decisions to either move forward or
remain stationary. With no movement we don't have to leave our "comfort
zone".We know what and who we have in life, job, relationships, values.
Uncertainty, may not be an issue we have to face and challenge ourselves.
Just leave everything as it is , don't challenge and create changes. If,
we remain in life with little movements, we might not have to face
failure and disappointment. To move forward and challenge ourselves opens
up new experiences, situations and yes, the possibility of regretting

our decisions. Moving forward gives us the potential to grow and learn.
To move forward we can experience new situations. Yes, we might
get frustrated but we can grow as an individual.




In my life, I have made 5 job changes in 34 years as a social worker.
I remained within our State gov. system. Many times I would say to myself,
Why do this? At the end of my career, I had learned valuable information
which had some impact on each job change. Moving forward can cause stress,
but can open a new world to us. Just think, if no person didn't challenge
themselves and initiate movement and change in their "comfort zone",
we might not have the leaders of different nations, inventions, and
so much more. We can grow everyday. Take movements, changes, to learn
from mistakes, advice, observations.Look back in time, Jesus reached
out to people. He approached issues about tyranny, false Gods, loose
morals,people relationships, etc. He was crucified, but his impact
upon this world is the most significant factor that has impacted our lives.
Take steps, move forward, question, challenge , learn. Move out of your
"comfort zone", and Grow.

Veterans Day

I vow to thee,my country----
All earthly things above===
Entire and whole and perfect,
The service of my love.

18, 20, 22, does age matter? He comes to volunteer to serve
his country. Unseasoned, not knowing what path-road he will go.
Will he be able to follow commands? Will he be able to fire a
rifle if needed and wound or kill another person, the enemy who
resists allowing people to live in a free world from tyranny?
Will he be able to face the possibility of his own death? He knows
that God is everywhere. He asks for God's help to endure this new life
in America's service. He asks God to give him strength to do what
needs to be done in peaceful times as well as in war. When, all
is done, he no longer is a inexperienced soldier, but now a seasoned
veteran and his youth is gone. God Bless our military veterans.
Rose


V--volunteer, valor
E--enforcer, enlisted
T--troops, training
E--elite, enterprising
R--resourceful, rookie,recuirt
A--armed forces, amazing
N--Navy, National Guard
S--soldier, serviceman, seasoned

D--defend
A--amazing
Y--youth

Back At Home ,Welcome

Back at home from a short trip out of town trip.You are welcome to come into our home. I forgot that there was a scarecrow being lazy on a bale of hay guarding the gate into our yard. Don't worry, he won't frisk you. Walking towards our house you can see the trees just beginning to change in color with leaves of orange, red,and gold. Be careful walking,there are leaves and fallen acorns on the driveway. You can hear the crunching sound of the acorns as you walk. I, guess we need to do some sweeping. Our welcome mat is partially covered with leaves. Where is the housekeeper when you need them? Don't mind the several scarecrows on a bale of hay, they won't bother you. Let's go inside of our house. Did some decorating,but I didn't over do it. I, didn't want to feel like a party pooper. We have two fireplace mantels, one in the living room as well as one in the dining room. The mantel in the living room,has candles, orange-gold leaves and a sweet figurine standing on a cart. Do you think she will use the cart and leave the mantel? Let's open the French doors into the dining room. Couldn't resist decorating the mantel. Love using burgundy candles, with greenery wrapping around our old antique clock and cute contented girl hold a basket with squash and surprising not dead flowers. Soon time will pass and the mantels will be decorated with Christmas items. I, enjoy decorating our dining room table. On the table, you will notice dinnerware that have a turkey design with leaves. I, love a bargain. I, bought an eight piece setting for twenty dollars at an indoor flea market. Candles are a must item on our table as well as those pilgrim people. My husband often tells me we have too many candles. No woman can have too many candles to decorate the house. Oh!, I forgot, I have an appointment and have to end our tour. Soon I'll be decorating for Christmas and will invite you back to our home. Best wishes for a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. God Bless. Rose

The Week That Was

This week was THE WEEK THAT WAS! I, say that because it makes me reflect on the most important thing in life. Life itself, love and caring for our families, friends and acquaintances. This week , I went to our local hospital three days in a row. No, I wasn't sick. I, took a young friend to the ER at our community hospital. In my blog I mentioned that I volunteer with a hospice program. Over one and half year period, I agreed to help a young 24 year old whose father had died while receiving hospice services. She has no family involvement and for the first time in her life has ever lived alone. She no longer receives volunteer services, but my husband and myself still help her.. The day she called me to take her to the ER on Monday, then a trip to the hospital on Tues as well as wed. for tests, kept me busy. I'm not complaining. The reality, my husband and I discussed, was what would she have done in this circumstance being alone. The most important thing I recognized was the importance of people, whether family or friends, or volunteers. I, can't imagine how lonely and frightened I might be without my family and friends. My young friend will know the outcome next week re her medical tests. During this week, I had the pleasure of being assigned to a hospice patient with cancer. I, again, recognized the importance of family, friends, acquaintances. Family members providing support to this very ill person. If, anything that I will ever say, Treasure Life, Treasure Family, Treasure Friends. It has been a busy week, but it reminds me what's important in life and don't take people for granted. It was a good week. Now as I end this post, I will be gone for a few days and will not post until late next week. I, didn't want you to think that I was gone forever. I'll drop back into your blogs when I return. Take care, be safe. rose

Trees

If you own your home, you know that any yard work can be expensive. Having an older home and 4 acres of land, we have a number of very old trees,possible over 100 years old. Recently, we had to hire someone to cut down as well as trim some trees. Thank goodness this wasn't as expensive as the tree we had to remove 2 years ago. That particular, tree had been hit by lightening, had a huge hole in it's trunk.This tree was located near our home and our insurance co. told us if it hit the house, they might not cover our house. "It's maintenance". Well, over 3,000 dollars., the tree came down. Unfortunately, years ago, it was the norm to somehow to pour cement into the tree's base, this added problems as well as money expense. That particular event still haunts me.

In this post, I am going to include photos of the recent trees that had to be cut down as well as trimmed. Unfortunately the man who shimmied up the trees looks like a red dot in the photos. You need to follow the dot. Sorry! These men were amazing as they had limited equipment. The man up the trees works for a tree co. does this on the sideline.
As my husband and I were watching the tree episode,my husband got into the subject of history. Can you imagine what these trees witnessed throughout their 100 years? These large giants, looking down on our property saw life from different centuries. People wearing different attire,changes in the house when it had few rooms and through the years a number add on rooms. On HGTV, there is a program, If Walls Could Talk. We exchange this to, If Trees Could Talk. Just think, God created life, nature. Trees could be considered as "eyes" in the world. I, realize that trees could be a problem.I,also realize that if we had no trees there would be problems with building, no paper, no books,shelter for animals,etc. God created trees ,what would it be like if we had no trees? As well as the practical aspects of trees, I, find so many beautiful trees that give me pleasure just by being in our world. God has given us so many wondrous things, including trees.

RECAPTURE LIFE

Growing up my parents had very little money. We never went on vacations,we would go on rides in the country and stop at fruit stands and buy the best apples,that weren't sold in the grocery store. Riding our bicycles, going to a swimming hole with friends, playing with Barbie dolls,climbing trees and swinging from what we called "Monkey trees",was our form of entertainment.Life seemed so simple with no major problems.Now, in adulthood we have the freedom to make decisions of where we live, do I stay with this job,which bill to pay first as my money is limited?It's easy to get into a "rut" and forget we had a childhood and overlook what God has provided in our world, as well as overlook what gave us laughter,fun as a child. Sometimes we need to recapture that childhood otherwise the time will come our bodies are aged and life itself we may feel has no value. A question may come up,"Do you feel old"?How do you answer that question? I, admit that I think about getting older, but that doesn't sadden me. Life is still precious as if I were a child. Taking time to enjoy my surroundings,family, friends and being like a child who just wants to play and enjoy life. I, never had the opportunity to ride go carts as a child.Oh! what fun. I'm in my 60's, I love go carts. Years ago, my husband, his daughter, my sister in law and my niece went to Walt Disney World. We went as children, not as adults. Laughter, goofing off, eating way too much at buffets, was a great memory. During that time,I got the "go cart fever". Feeling the air hitting our faces, the laughter and determination to drive with speed and beat all of the family to complete the number of laps, before the ride was over. I, still have this "child" in me to dare a family member/fried to race. I, don't know what there is with me and kites. I rarely run, but give me a kite and i will run to catch the ocean breeze to have the highest kite in the air. My husband and friends know I like bubble gum. No, I shouldn't swallow it. I'm told it sticks to your inner body parts. My child in me doesn't listen so in my 60's I still do this. I, know this may be gross. Whenever, I get into a "rut", and forget to make life less boring and overlook My world, I tell myself, stop, be a child and enjoy what God has given us as well as those activities that give us pleasure. What thing or activities do you do or what to do to make life more enjoyable? Time creeps up so fast,that one day, we are no longer of this earth.


Where has time gone bye?
My face aged with wrinkles,
my eyes tired.

Where has time gone bye?
No longer a child,an adult
All grown up and time goes bye.

Time, goes bye, doing this and
that, but where's the fun,
enjoyment of life?

Laughing, climbing trees,
playing house, those days
are gone.

Now, I'm grown I'm no longer
playing house. My house is my
house with mortgage and all.

Life seemed to be more simple.
I, played , laughed,noticed the
birds flying, caterpillars becoming
butterflies, and the wonders
of life being special.
Where has time gone bye?
Let me find it.

rose


Don't wait for the verge of death before
you begin to live.

The time to be alive is now.

Life begins every morning when we wake up.




.

THE HORSES

On 9/27/10, I wrote a post about our neighbor's two horses. Well, I wanted to update all of you on the horses.In my post, I had explained that we allowed these horses to graze in our pasture as the neighbor didn't have the land as well as ongoing money to buy feed. Probable, he shouldn't have had these animals as well as this 23 year old man and his wife and baby were moving.This young man told us he tried to sell the horses, called horse rescue with no response. He said he would give the horses away, free, as he didn't want to sell them to be killed for dog food.As we were learning all of this, my husband and I had to contend with the horses, finding spots in our fence and then grazing in our yard. They did this a number of times. It was frustrating. It was also sad, I would struggle giving up my pets. From a practical standpoint I understand why this had to be accomplished. I, have to admit, we at times allowed these beauties in our yard to graze on the grass which was still green.
Sometimes, being a good neighbor, more issues than you anticipated develop,in our case, the horses. The good news is that a friend of ours, Eddie, agreed to take the horses. Eddie has 15 acres of pasture land. He also has a barn for the animals. Eddie has a soft heart. He owns 10 donkeys, one horse. On 10/14/10, Eddie while driving his jeep pulling the horse trailer, the jeep overheated. My first. thoughts, what are we going to do with this jeep and large trailer if stuck in the yard.Secondly, what about the horses? That's sounds terrible. To the rescue, my wonderful mechanic husband. After a short time, the problem was resolved. We baited Strawberry, the female horse and had little problem getting her into the trailer. Jackson, has been skittish. We were told he had been abused, whipped by another owner. Surprisingly, it didn't take too much effort to get him into the trailer. Following the horse trailer, we arrived at the pasture. Both horses got out of the trailer and began galloping around. The donkeys scattered as they saw "new inhabitants". There were goats running.The goats belonged to someone else. I,know that we took on too much with this situation, but sometimes you just do. The family's owner told me they had said prayers for these horses. Before leaving Eddie at the pasture, I told him he was an Angel,Eddie had tears .I'm glad to say this story has a happy ending. Our prayers were answered. I have to admit I miss the horses, but can go and see them. Yesterday, my husband said"I, wonder what the horses are doing"? Have you ever helped someone and it got more involved than you anticipated or backfired? One thing, I can say,we love animals. Thanks to all of my blogger friends who were concerned about us taking on this situation.

LISTENING/SHARING

Listening to someone is sometimes
all the help He /She needs.

Replying well in conversation is just
as important as listening well.

If you know nothing,say nothing.



Most of us have been in a situation trying to provide comfort,
support to a friend. "Lending An Ear"(listening/sharing), can be one
of the most important things we can give to another person. "Lending An
Ear",putting full attention to the other person's conversation about
a loss, financial troubles, marriage discord, etc. Allowing this person to
vent, while we listen, possible offering the human touch such as a hug,
holding a hand, soothing the person's back. In doing this we are expressing
sincere concern in a non verbal way.
While listening, it is important to maintain full attention of
our friend's conversation and mannerisms. If we appear distracted,
the sincerity we want to display maybe interpreted as false feelings.
Along with this, it is important to be careful of any advice or responses
we offer. Sometimes, people mean well, but say inappropriate statements,
without thinking how it would be interpreted. At that time, we maybe anxious
and feel a need to express , but the words aren't right. I have a young
friend whose father had died. A friend made the statement, "I know how
you feel". My friend got upset and responded, "No, you don't know how
I feel, you have never lost a parent". Unfortunately, this other person,
made a statement which he realized wasn't the best thing to say. In that,
situation, making an acknowledgment of a mistake would be appropiate. From
a personal experience,being a widow at age 42, my friends expressed
their condolences, but were unable to relate to me as a widow. For
a long time, I felt lonely as I didn't know anyone at my age had this
situation. We view widows as usually much older than I was at the time.

In giving yourself to comfort a friend, we are reaching out and
saying, "You, are important, I care". Life can be very lonely especially
if we feel an additional emptiness with lack of another human beings
presence.

Let Me reach out to you,
you are my friend, eyes red, swollen
from so many tears.

Let Me reach out to you,
I offer a gentle touch to comfort.

Let Me reach out to listen, to
be silent while you share your words
of misery.

Let Me reach out as your friend
as I know that you would do so for me.

Let Me reach out, knowing that I,
hurt for you and will be beside you
to help you, if you will allow this.

Rose

IMAGINATION

to imagine


Our most powerful asset is our mind.
Its powers are virtually unlimited.
And often largely untapped.
With imagination we can create new worlds.
And improve old ones.
Live our wildest dreams.
And dream our wildest lives.
Imagination has neither rules nor boundaries.

W. Stevens


Imagination is a wonderful thing. Some people have more imagination than others. What would the world be without the ability of imagination? I, live with a man, my husband, who has alot of imagination.We have a double garage which has never been a garage, it's a workplace. It's my husband's domain,filled with tools, containers of nuts and bolts,and a stereo as well as a small television. The stereo is either playing music or my husband is watching tv as he is working on something or taking a break. In this domain, there should be a sign"Beware Of Where You Walk". Husband is prone to have alot of items scattered over the floor.I, take care of the house, my husband does whatever he wants with the appearance of the garage. It's not uncommon, for me while in the kitchen to hear an electric saw, sparks flying from a blow torch when my husband is welding as well as a hammer hitting metal. I, tell my husband "It's a war zone". Items all over the floor as well as a path of items leading into the garage. We have 4 acres of land. Often my husband is coming up with ideas. He is also a Great Mechanic, which causes us to have cars, trucks, tillers, lawnmowers in the yard to be fixed for other people. Husband loves to use his imagination to build things.I'm always amazed and often shake my head as to what item he will make. Above in this post are photos of things that have been made. Husband is very thrifty. After going back and forth to a car/junk yard, he built what I refer as "The Bullet".This is an air compressor that can be moved to another part of the property to blow up flat tires on the tractor. "The Bullet", has a driver's seat, steering wheel and brakes. It's wild seeing this item being driven by my husband. Other items that you will See in our yard A removable blower attachment to a green old riding mower.Beware, this has alot of power and dust and leaves will fly. There's a ladder that can be attached and removed from a cart. we needed to reach heights to trim trees. Micki, our youngest dog loves to go on rides. His Daddy built a seat on the green mover so he had a place to sit. It' funny watching "my 2 boys" going for a ride. In the yard we have an 8 ft. wind mill as well as the part of a car framed on the barn. I think of all the imagination flowing , the jeep is a work of art. In one of the photos above there is a junky old jeep. It had to be towed into the yard as well as another jeep. we had 2 jeeps that were dead. Like Lazarus, a jeep was made using these 2 clunkers. This jeep works and my husband will take all 5 dogs for rides. Currently a 1973 truck is almost finished with a new engine, paint job, and other extras. We could use this truck as I hate to always haul items in the van. I'm certain, that there other items built by my husband, but my mind is blank. I, guess my memory as well as my imagination is gone. In all of this post, my thoughts are imagination is great and that we need to use the brain and talents that God gave us. Do you use your imagination? Do you use your talents?